TUBMAN TRIBUNE

It’s hard to believe that we are already in May! We’ve recently received our updated FIT data that “informs continuous improvement plans to implement and sustain evidence-based practices such that race and other identity markers no longer predict student outcomes.” We’re excited to share our data and have been reviewing it as a school with our Instructional Leadership Team, Climate and Culture Committee, Site Council and building leadership team. We also just finished the OSAS testing and will be participating in the Spring MAP assessment starting on May 7th which will run through May 14th.

We have a bunch of fun and exciting activities coming up for students as well. Our 6th graders are getting ready to go to Outdoor School and our 8th graders are preparing to go on a college and career capstone trip. All 8th graders will go to Oregon State University (we need permission slips and chaperones!) on May 14th while we’ll have additional opportunities for 8th graders to go to the Oregon Women’s in Trade fair and the Food Innovation Center as well. Each of our grade level teams are also preparing end of the year field trips and we’re activity planning our end of the year school party with the support of SUN school and our PTSA!

We are the only school in PPS to have students come together from all of our affinity groups to form a cross affinity group. There are student leaders from our Asian American Pacific Islander group (AAPI), Black Student Union (BSU), Latinx Affinity (SOL), Native American Student Union (NASU), Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) and our Peacemakers (students trained in restorative justice). This week they came into our staff meeting and shared their experiences while collaborating with teachers about how we could all work together to improve the school community of Harriet Tubman MS. It was a special experience and one that reminds us as adults that our kids are more than capable of leading us today, tomorrow and in the future.

We also welcomed SAGE who put on our Climate Solutions Fair that all of our science classes got to participate in! The goals were to offer creative, hands-on learning experiences about Portland’s 2030 climate goal and the solutions in our regional Climate Action Plan, as well as our school district's own climate change response goals or policies while also helping students learn about and engage with initiatives that advance these solutions through internships, service learning projects, and climate careers. It was a hit across the building so make sure to ask your middle schooler about it!

Please make sure to read through today’s newsletter and to reach out if you have any questions. We have a number of things happening in the next month and a half and we’re excited to share these experiences with our students and families. Go Legends!!

Portland Public Schools has partnered with nearby school districts to launch Right to Return, an enrollment opportunity for students whose families have been displaced by the practices of gentrification and urban renewal. Click here for additional information https://www.pps.net/Page/20619

Join the conversation about our community's vision for Portland Public Schools to center Black and Native students. The action is rooted in values and priorities, but also data - data that shows Black and Native students feel less safe, and have a lower sense of belonging and academic achievement than their white counterparts. See flyer for additional information.

Engage in the community talks to address this academic crisis:
March 20, April 10, April 24, May 22.

The end of this school year will still be June 14 for K-11 students, and it will be May 31 for seniors.

Back in January, after Oregon’s children unexpectedly lost days of school due to the severe winter storm, the Oregon Department of Education outlined a process to help districts meet the state’s requirement for instructional time. Last Tuesday, our Board authorized staff to join other districts in following that process in light of the extraordinary circumstances this year.

We strive to provide as much instructional time as we can, and will therefore make some smaller adjustments that you can read about here. (Notably, we will not reduce kindergarten recess time by 15 minutes in April as initially proposed). You can watch the full discussion here, and the discussion from the prior week.

Second, next year’s bell schedules will change for many students.

Beginning next school year, we added 15 instructional minutes for elementary and middle school students and provided all middle school students with a seven-period day. Accommodating these changes while supporting 410 minutes per week of teacher planning time and aligning our transportation systems requires us to adopt common start and stop times:

• At K-5 schools, students will now start at 8:00 AM and end at 2:30 PM

• At K-8 schools, all students will start at 8:45 AM.

• K-5 students will end at 3:15 PM.

• 6-8 students will end at 3:30 PM

• At middle schools, students will now start at 9:15 AM and end at 4:00 PM

• At high schools, students will now start at 8:26 AM and end at 3:30 PM

More particular variations of these schedules (e.g. early-dismissal or late-arrival) will be available in the coming weeks on your school’s website. Multiple Pathway to Graduation schools (alternative, charter and treatment schools) develop their own schedules and will be sharing those later.

Third, next year’s school calendars are available.

We have shared them in the District News and Events on March 8 and February 23, but wanted to make sure families knew these were available.

We hope this information enables you to solidify your summer plans and begin planning for next year as well.

Save the date! We are excited to announce that our Rising 5th Grade Family Night will be on Tuesday, May 14th, from 6-7pm. Please share the date with friends, neighbors and community members enrolling new students to Harriet Tubman Fall 2024. This is a great opportunity to learn about our school and its programs.

As we approach the culmination of another fantastic academic year, we are thrilled to share with you the exciting lineup of events and activities planned for our 8th-grade students leading up to their much-anticipated promotion ceremony on June 12th.

Over the next six weeks, our 8th-grade students will embark on a journey filled with learning, growth, and, most importantly, fun! We have meticulously planned a series of enriching experiences aimed at celebrating their achievements and fostering cherished memories.

Here's a glimpse of what's in store:

• Precollege Readiness: All 8th grade students will travel to Oregon State University on May 14. This will be a great opportunity for our students to start thinking about all of the options available to them after high school and set goals. Oregon State University is a public college in Oregon and they are very excited to host our students. The entire 8th grade class will embark on this all day trip, returning at 5:30p. We are excited for our students to take advantage of this opportunity to broaden their horizons through carefully curated field trip.
• May 17 Special Workshops: Oregon Tradeswomen's Career Fair offers an unparalleled opportunity for your students to explore lucrative, debt-free career training opportunities available in the skilled construction trades and adjacent industries. Food Innovation Center learn about programs that provide basic training in food safety, good manufacturing practices (GMPs), and advanced trainings

• Friday June 7 8th Gr dance, 5:30p - 7p. “A Night in Paris” the promotion class will dance into the evening. This is a closed event for HTMS 8th gr students ONLY.
• Monday, June 10: Oaks Park - a fun day of playing in the sun!
• Monday, June 10: Awards luncheon: students will enjoy a catered lunch, including an awards ceremony and yearbook signing.

The cost per student is $30 (ride bracelet, transportation and lunch). Click HERE to pay online.

Promotion Preparation: In addition to the festivities, we will ensure that our students are well-prepared for their upcoming promotion ceremony. We will travel to Grant HS on June 11 to rehearse our promotion ceremony to make this milestone moment truly special. Promotion will take place at Grant HS on June 12 at 6p in the auditorium. Entry by ticket only.

We are committed to making these next few weeks memorable and impactful for our 8th-grade students, and we invite you to join us in celebrating their journey and accomplishments.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us, (503)916-5630. Please sign and return the attached field trip form for all events by May 10.

Permission form for 8th grade events.

Friday, May 31 we will be celebrating success within our community as we acknowledge our Legends of the Month during grade-level assemblies. In addition, we will be paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America's history and are instrumental in its future success.

Everyone is encouraged to wear school swag or school colors - black and gold. Students who are honored with the Legends of the Month Award have display one or more of our school expectations within our community.

Accountable - Taking responsibility for your actions.

Safe - Not causing harm to yourself or others.

Kind - Being generous, helpful and thinking about others' feelings.

We will end the day with our community celebration of Fun Friday activities...Go Legends!

ORDER YOUR 2023-2024 YEARBOOK TODAY!

The magic of the school year lives forever in our school yearbook. Don't miss these pages of milestones and memories - place your order TODAY to guarantee your copy!

Soft cover Yearbook - $25

Hard Cover Yearbook - $30

Year in Review - $1.75 (in addition to cost of yearbook)

ORDERS DUE MAY 10!

WAYS TO ORDER

SchoolPay or QR code below

Order in the school office when paying by cash or check. Contact the school office if you have any questions, (503)916-5630

Join us for our next PTSA meeting (HTMS Library and on Zoom) on Thursday, May 16 at 6 pm.

Join meeting on Zoom

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89822943562?pwd=LzVZSUhFSUJGekVTU2UrUmhLMDBtZz09

Meeting ID: 898 2294 3562

Passcode: 885418

Become a member of HTMS PTSA to stay up to date and involved with what’s happening at the school. You can join for just $12 for an annual membership here:

https://www.oregonpta.org/membership/joinnow/11510594

Catch up on important news and upcoming events, including volunteering, fundraising opportunities, and meeting 2023-24 school year goals. Email htmsptsapdx@gmail.com to get involved!

PTSA Officers

Rachel Oh, Phil Yien, Negar Heckscher and Mandi Hoyt-McBeth

HTMS is seeking parent and student representation for the 2024-2025 Site Council. This is a once-monthly commitment, with the opportunity to help provide input into the life of the school and to help increase student achievement. If you'd like to nominate yourself or someone else, please complete the HTMS Site Council Form or email Toni Smith-Myles at csmithmyles@pps.net to express your interest.

On Monday, May 6th 5-9 pm, Steeplejack will support Jin Ren - the parent organization supporting the Albina Mandarin Immersion program at HTMS and Jefferson. They will generously donate 5% on all Steeplejack beer (including to go beer) and 10% on food (dine in only). Funds support Jin Ren's travel fund - including hosting our sister school at HTMS in just a few weeks

Por Que No will be supporting our school community by donating a percentage of all sales made on May 29. Proceeds will be given to support the needs within our school. Please share this information with your friends and family.

HTMS is a closed campus and students are restricted to the school grounds during the school day. For the safety of our entire community, food deliveries - direct (dominos, pizza hut) or 3rd party (GrubHub, DoorDash, Uber Eats, etc.) - made by students are not permitted.

If, however, the parent is choosing to order food for their student, please remember the following:

• Food orders can only be placed by parents or guardians.

• Notify the school that a delivery is being made, and which student should be picking up the order.

• Food orders need to be delivered prior to lunch starting (lunch is from 12:26pm - 12:57pm everyday).

• Make sure that the delivery instructions require food to be delivered to the main office.

As a reminder, all meals at Harriet Tubman are free, breakfast and lunch. If your child is not eating school lunch, please make sure to send food with them before school starts. Lunch and recess break is 30 minutes, 12:26pm - 12:57pm (lunch times may vary on school assembly or special days). Families who would like to bring their student food, please deliver their lunch to the office, prior to lunch. Food brought to the school after the student’s lunch will be given to the student at the end of the day. All students are expected to remain on campus all day, unless signed out by a parent or guardian. Students who leave the school grounds without permission will be considered truant and appropriate discipline will be administered.

Students who do not follow the food policy will be subject to disciplinary action.

Thank you for understanding and adhering to these guidelines. We appreciate your help in keeping the students and campus safe. Please contact the school office if you have any questions, (503)916-5630.

We believe that families are important partners to support each student at Harriet Tubman and we welcome each of you in our school. In order to ensure that our schools are safe places for our students and staff, we are taking some additional steps to ensure we know who is in our buildings at all times.

• Upon entering a PPS school, visitors/volunteers will need to present a government-issued identification (i.e. driver’s license, state ID card).
• All visitors/volunteers will need to wear the printed name badge that identifies their name, photo, the date and their destination the entire time of their visit. When departing, please return to the office to sign out.
  
• First-time volunteers should visit www.pps.net/volunteer to complete the online volunteer application.
  
• Families who wish to visit their student's classroom must send the teacher a written request at least 24 hours in advance. Teacher email addresses can be found on the school website.
• Parents may request a conference with their student's teachers throughout the year. Teachers are available before school (8:30a - 9:05a) or after school (3:50p - 4:15p). Please email your teacher to schedule a conference.

• Letter to Parents/Guardians Regarding New Visitor/Volunteer Procedures

  English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

Additional detailed information about visiting and volunteering at PPS is available on the PPS website https://www.pps.net/Page/144. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding and support of enhanced school safety protocols at HTMS and throughout schools in our our district.

At Harriet Tubman Middle School cell phones are off and away in classrooms. Students are able to use their cell phones before and after school, during passing periods, and at lunch/recess.

MAY

AAPI Month

Teacher Appreciation

2 Band/Dance showcase at feeder elementary, 10a-2p

3 Mt. Hood Jazz Festival

3 Latin X/SOL/Spanish class field trip

6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week

6 -10 Spirit Week

7-9 MAP ELA

8 School Nurse Day

9 Q4 Midterm

14 Incoming & New family info night, 6p

14 8th Graders to OSU Fieldtrip (8th Grade Capstone)

14-16 Math MAP

15 5th grader visit (Sabin & King)

16 5th grader (Irvington, Sabin)

16 Grant HS rehearsal

17 Woman in Trade Fieldtrip (10-2) (8th Grade Capstone)

17 Food Innovation Center Field Trip (8th Grade Capstone) (11-1:30)

19-24 6th Gr Outdoor School

20 Final Band Concert (7th & 8th grades @Grant HS, 7pm)

22 APE Field Day (ISC), 10a - 2p

27 Memorial Day, school closed

29 Por Que No school Night

29 Final Dance Concert (@Jeff)

30 Final Band Concert (6th grade @HTMS, 7pm)

31 Awards/AAPI assembly and Fun Friday

JUNE

3 Pride Assembly

4 BSU field trip (6th & 7th gr), Soul Restoration 12:15p - 2:45p

4 DLI Capstone Night, 6p

5 Drama performance, 6pm

6 WEB Student Training, 1:30 - 3:45

7 8th Gr Locker clean out/chromebook return

7 8th Gr Dance, (evening), 5:30-7

10 8th Gr Oaks Park, luncheon, awards assembly, yearbooks

11 8th Gr Promotion practice, AM (Grant)

12 8th Gr Promotion, Grant, 6:00P

12 6th & 7th Gr (grade level awards, locker clean out & yearbooks) Assembly Schedule

13 6th & 7th Gr field trips

14 Last day of school - Field Day Celebration