Beverly Cleary School

May 10th, 2024

A Note from Principal Presley

The sun came back out this week, and what a difference it makes! Students were able to play and even learn outside! It seems like for many grade levels students are settling back in after Spring Break and really showing what they're made of as they inch closer to advancing to the next grade level. This week was also Teacher Appreciation Week, and boy oh boy am I grateful for our wonderful educators and staff. Thanks to all of the families who supported recognizing our teachers for all they do and a special shout out to our PTA parents who organized the daily events. This week, our Site Council met; click here if you want to see a little about what we talked about during our time together. Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting Winterhaven School and seeing their middle school math class in action. It's a cute little school tucked in the Buckman neighborhood! It's always a great perspective when I travel to other schools and a nice way to level set as a K-8 leadership team. It also always makes me grateful to be in our community, and I say that with the utmost respect to my other K-8 colleagues! This Thursday (and tonight), The Phantom Tollbooth is showing! Our students have been working very hard, and their efforts have paid off! If you haven't bought tickets to the performance yet, click here to purchase them- you won't want to miss it! The play continues through next week.

As the year starts to wind down, I know many are curious about who's staying, who's leaving, and who is moving teaching positions. For most of our teachers, they will be staying in their same role, but we do have two who are moving grade levels! Ms. Lee will be taking her talents to third grade next year, and Ms. Best will be moving to 4th grade to share her joyful spirit with students there! With that said, the number of K-5 grade level sections have plateaued to two. That means, we will be losing a valuable member of our team, Mr. Hilyard! We thank him for his commitment to our students and community and are excited for him to continue his work as a teacher in PPS at Lee School! They sure are lucky to be gaining him! If you see him around, be sure to thank him for his work and wish him all the best.

Now that our core K-5 teachers have been solidified, we are asking families to share their input for next year. The placement of students in classes is determined using several criteria, so we look forward to hearing families' voices in this process through a brief survey. Click here to complete the survey. This is a confidential survey, and the professional judgment of the Beverly Cleary staff will also be applied to the considerations for the final placement decisions.

As we head into the final weeks of the school year, we're gearing up for some amazing events! One outstanding opportunity to support our school is McMenamins Kennedy School's BCS PTA’s Friends and Family Night at their Courtyard restaurant on Wednesday, May 15th from 5pm-11pm. 50% of all dine-in, take-out and wine sales from the event will go to the BCS PTA. It's an event you surely won't want to miss- we look forward to seeing you there!

Another exciting opportunity is next Friday, May 17th, at 9:00 AM! Kristin Lasher (our guest counselor until the end of the year) will be hosting a special Coffee Talk centered around parenting. Many of you requested this, and she's an expert! In addition to the coffee talk, we are working to organize a parent book club to keep the momentum going! 29 of you have already expressed interest in signing up! If you are interested but haven't had a chance to sign up, click here.

Before we know it, the end of the month will be here, and that means the Art Show! It will be held from 5-7 PM on May 30th in the cafeteria- come join us in celebrating all of the creativity and art from students of all grade levels! Then, as we enter June, we have the Junior Rose Parade on June 5th. As a reminder, students will be dismissed at 11:00 AM that day for the festivities (more to come in the coming weeks).

Finally, mark your calendars for June 7th! The BCS Foundation is hosting an event at Tough Luck from 6-9 PM. Funds raised will provide one-on-one support for reading and math across BCS, and supervision at recess during the 2024-2025 school year. A portion of funds raised are distributed to high-need schools through the district equity fund. We can't wait to come together as a community and celebrate BCS!

As the year starts to wind down, I know many are curious about who's staying, who's leaving, and who is moving teaching positions. For most of our teachers, they will be staying in their same role, but we do have two who are moving grade levels! Ms. Lee will be taking her talents to third grade next year, and Ms. Best will be moving to 4th grade to share her joyful spirit with students there! With that said, the number of K-5 grade level sections have plateaued to two. That means, we will be losing a valuable member of our team, Mr. Hilyard! We thank him for his commitment to our students and community and are excited for him to continue his work as a teacher in PPS at Lee School! They sure are lucky to be gaining him! If you see him around, be sure to thank him for his work and wish him all the best.

Now that our core K-5 teachers have been solidified, we are asking families to share their input for next year. The placement of students in classes is determined using several criteria, so we look forward to hearing families' voices in this process through a brief survey. Click here to complete the survey. This is a confidential survey, and the professional judgment of the Beverly Cleary staff will also be applied to the considerations for the final placement decisions.

Now, as we head into the weekend, I hope you can enjoy the beautiful weather! My husband and I plan to play kickball for a friend's birthday and enjoy a Timbers game on Sunday!

Need to Knows

Successful Schools Survey

Dear families,

Today Portland Public Schools begins the annual Successful Schools Survey. The Successful Schools Survey is an opportunity for students, staff, and families to provide important feedback on their school environments, learning experiences, and sense of well-being and safety at school.

The survey is conducted once every school year to provide timely information to schools, district leadership, and the community, allowing us to make informed decisions about school climate and culture. This year, the survey window is open May 6-31.

Portland Public Schools highly values the input and opinions of its families, and we welcome all PPS parents and guardians to complete this year’s survey. We use the data to help improve our schools, providing targeted feedback and training on how to create healthy school environments that are welcoming for all.

You can complete the Successful Schools Survey online using the link provided below. Please complete one survey per household. If you have more than one student at PPS, we ask that you complete the survey considering the experiences of your eldest child.

The survey will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese.

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/familyspring24/surveys

For more information about the Successful Schools Survey, please go to pps.net/sss2024.

Sincerely,

Dr. Renard Adams, Chief of Research, Assessment, and Accountability

Jey Buno, Chief of Student Support Services