March

3/25-3/29- Spring Break

April

4/8- Grading Day- No School

4/9- Staff Development Day- No School

4/25- Talent Show

May

5/1-Conferences 4pm-8pm

5/1- Book Fair 4:00-7:30pm

5/2- Conferences 8am-8pm.

5/2- Book Fair 8am-3pm

5/3- No school

5/10- Raccoon Run

5/27- Memorial Day- No School

Dear Sato Families,

Assigning Sato students to their classes for the next school year is an important responsibility. Our goal is to place students in a learning environment in which they can succeed. Classroom teachers and specialists provide important input into classroom make-up. They spend time with students in the classroom and other school environments and are aware of student needs, abilities and learning styles, as well as peer relationship considerations. For this reason we have an extensive process by which we collaboratively consider the following criteria as we organize classes for next year:

• Gender balance

• Combination of students who may have a positive or negative influence on each other’s learning and play

• Balance of students with individualized education programs, academic achievement and second language needs

• Balance of social maturity

We recognize that as parents and caregivers you are your child’s most important advocate and teacher. We want to offer you the opportunity to provide information on your child that may not be directly available or observable in the school environment. You may provide relevant educational information about the specific needs or learning characteristics of your child by completing the form on the next page. We are requiring that all input be in writing in order to protect the integrity of our process. Please do not request a specific teacher. Individual teacher requests cannot be considered because student balance is first priority in class make-up and because we can have changes in staffing and the number of classes at grade levels over the summer. Your information sheet will be taken into consideration while the team makes classroom assignments. While we work to honor the information you provide, the final placement decision is made by the school.

Thank you for your patience and support! The student information form is due by Friday, April 26th. Classroom assignments will be available at the end of August.

Sincerely,

Annie Pleau

Principal Sato Elementary

This form is Optional! Please fill out ONLY if you have information you would like our team to consider.

This message was shared in January from the district.

Sato has changed to an early start school for the Fall. This means our start time will be 7:45am for the 2024-25 school year. Please read the details below and start planning accordingly.

Dear BSD Families,

As we shared with you in November, the district will be adopting a new schedule for school start and end times — what we refer to as our “bell schedule” — for next school year.

This change is based on research and recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics that indicate older students benefit from later start times in terms of academic success and mental well-being. For younger students, research indicates that earlier start times have a near-zero effect on academic outcomes, meaning that there’s no measurable negative academic impact from moving to earlier start times at the elementary level.

Based on the transportation needs of the district, elementary schools have been assigned as either early- or late-start schools:

• Early-start elementary schools: Aloha-Huber Park K-8, Barnes, Bethany, Fir Grove, Greenway, Hazeldale, Hiteon, Jacob Wismer, Kinnaman, McKay, McKinley, Nancy Ryles, Oak Hills, Raleigh Park, Ridgewood, Sato, Vose and West Tualatin View

• Late-start elementary schools: Beaver Acres, Bonny Slope, Cedar Mill, Chehalem, Cooper Mountain, Elmonica, Errol Hassell, Findley, Montclair, Raleigh Hills, Rock Creek, Scholls Heights, Sexton Mountain, Springville, Terra Linda and William Walker

We recognize that this change may impact after-school child care needs for some families. It's worth noting that 29 of our 34 elementary schools do have some form of on-site, after-school care provided by third-party vendors. In addition, we’re working to ensure that buses will be able to deliver students to all off-site child care providers within their particular school’s boundary.

It was so nice to see the families that made it to the Family Wellness & Connection event last month. Kevin Ashworth and Megan Barella provided some useful information about child anxiety and building connections with our children. Based on these topics, I plan to add some

“nuggets” of information in the Racoon Register for the remainder of the school year. As spring break is quickly approaching, I would like to touch on one of the parent/child connection ideas that Megan talked about. This is not a new idea, but it provides real results.

During Covid we had to make changes that often made us less connected, even if we were all in the same house together. Many parents worked from home and the only way to do that successfully was to find activities that would keep our children occupied and quiet. These routines are now difficult to break. Parenting experts agree that if you spend 10-15 completely uninterrupted minutes with your child (one at a time if you have more that one), it can dramatically improve behavior and emotional regulation. To do this, we just need to turn off the television, put our cell phones away, and let our child lead the way. It’s recommended to engage in more open-ended imaginative activities instead of reading a book to them or playing a board game. It’s a time to truly connect and be a part of their world. I would love to hear from families who try this and any changes that you notice. Have an amazing spring break!

Executive functioning skills are mental processes that allow all of us to plan, manage our time, organize and have self-control. These skills are important for everyone to have, but are especially essential in children. When children have opportunities to develop and enhance their self-regulation skills, not only do the children gain advantage in career development, but society as a whole benefits for years to come.

BSD is currently in the process of selecting a curriculum to recommend to the School Board for adoption in the content areas of Language Arts and English Language Proficiency. An important part of this process

is community input from staff, parents and community members. The viewing and input opportunities will open March 21, 2024 and close April 12, 2024. Both in person and virtual reviews are available.

In Person Reviews

• April 1 - 5, 2024 at BSD Administrative Offices 1260 NW Waterhouse Ave,, Beaverton 8:00 - 4:00

• April 4, 2024 at Terra Linda Elementary 1998 NW 143rd Ave., Beaverton 4:30 - 6:30

• April 4, 2025 at Aloha Huber Park Elementary 5000 SW 173rd Ave., Beaverton 4:30 - 6:30

Virtual Reviews

• April 1 - 12, 2024

LA / ELP Elementary Curriculum Adoption

In 2026, the United States will mark our Semiquincentennial: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Today’s young people are the leaders, innovators, and thinkers who will shape the next 250 years — and it’s important their voices are heard as we commemorate this historic milestone.

America’s Field Trip is a new contest that invites students across the country in grades 3–12 to be part of America’s 250th anniversary by sharing their perspectives on what America means to them — and earning the opportunity to participate in unforgettable field trip experiences at some of the nation’s most iconic historic and cultural landmarks.

Students may submit artwork, videos, or essays in response to the contest’s prompt: “What does America mean to you?” Additional Information

The Gilder Lehrman’s Institute of History is seeking nominations for an outstanding Oregon K-12 Social Studies educator. This award will go to any full-time educator of grades K–12 who teaches American history (including state and local history). American history may be taught as an individual subject or as part of other subjects, such as social studies, reading, or language arts.The nominated teacher must have at least three years of classroom teaching experience and must be planning to teach for at least one year following the award year.

National winners chosen from among state winners receive a $10,000 prize presented at an award ceremony in their honor in New York City. State winners receive a $1,000 prize, an archive of classroom resources, and recognition at a ceremony in their state.

Nominate a teacher by April 30, 2024

BSD Math Placement Testing for 5th Grade Families

About 9 out of 10 BSD students will be enrolled in “Math 6/7” for math next year. If you would like your student evaluated to determine whether “Math 7/8" or “Alg/Geo/Stats 1” would be appropriate instead, please see the BSD Math Placement Testing site to request testing.

All testing will take place in May at your student’s school during their school day. There will be no testing for current students after May. If you have any questions, please refer to the FAQ on the BSD Math Placement Testing site.

Pre-order Patrick Carman’s newest book here!

Patrick Carman is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author and has written forty novels with over five million books in print across twenty-three countries, including The 39 Clues, Skeleton Creek, The Land of Elyon, and Floors. He is also the creator of Aftershock, a #1 fiction podcast on Apple and iHeart, and co-founder of GoKidGo, where he has written, directed, and produced hundreds of episodes of scripted audio content for kids.

Patrick will be visiting Sato third, fourth, and fifth grade students on Tuesday, April 2. Book orders will be available to students at school following the visit. Order deadline is March 31.

What is Women’s History Month?

Women’s History Month is celebrated in the U.S. in March. It is a time to learn about and celebrate women’s contributions in American history.

Why do we celebrate it?

We celebrate it because the United States has often overlooked or ignored accomplishments of women. Now we learn about extraordinary women all year long at Sato, but we take extra time to honor them in March.

Family discussion questions:

• Why do you think we learn so little about women in history? Why is it important that we learn more?

• What can you do to learn more about women who did great things?

• What extraordinary women do you already know about? What did they do? How could you celebrate them?

• A stereotype is an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about specific groups of people. Think about stereotypes that you may have heard about females. What can you do to dispute any stereotype, including those about females?

• Visit this website to see examples of some women heroes. Click on each picture to read more about them.

Looking for activities?

From April 28-May 26, Oregon Children’s Theater is proud to present “She Persisted: The Musical.” Based on the best-selling children's book by Chelsea Clinton, this musical features the stories of female trailblazers such as Harriet Tubman, Virginia Apgar, Ruby Bridges, Sally Ride, Florence Griffith Joyner, and Sonia Sotomayor. Visit https://www.octc.org/she-persisted for more information and to purchase tickets.

Looking for books to read with your students?

Check out A Mighty Girl, PBS.org, and Cedar Mill Library for some great book recommendations!

Looking for adult books?

Visit these collections from the Washington County Library and the New York Public Library for some ideas!

Credits:

BSD Office of Equity and Inclusion

https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month

https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=33102

SECO is excited to bring you another fun Movie Night! On Friday April 5th SECO will be showing the "Sing 2" movie in the Sato Gym from 6:00-8:00pm...and they'd love to see you there! Pizza is available for purchase. This is a ticketed event...click here to buy your tickets!

Hello Sato Families,
Here's SECO's March Newsletter, just in time before Spring break!

Inside, you will find information about:

• Sato Spring 2024 Raccoon Run - Go register now!
• Popcorn Friday - March 22nd, 2024
• SECO Movie Night - April 5th, 2024 (please watch out for more info)
• SECO Board meeting - March 20th, 2024

We will also be rolling out info about next Art Literacy training soon. So please check back again next week!

Click on the link above and be sure to sign up to volunteer! It takes up to 10 days to approve a volunteer application. The sooner you get the application completed, the better. Stay tuned for more information from SECO, our community organization.

We get a tremendous amount of things in our lost and found each year and when they are not claimed, we donate it to the clothes for kids program. Please label all things brought to school with a first name and last initial so we can get it back to the rightful owner! Thank you!

If you'd like to know a little more about the Administration at Sato please check out the Meet the Principal Page on our website, linked below!