Wildcat Family Newsletter

We have a lot of exciting events coming up at Whitman! Our Black History Night is Wednesday, February 26 from 5:30-7:00. We hope to see you all there! Students have been working hard on their door decorations celebrating Black Excellence, and we will also have lots of community guests!

We will also be visited by State Senator Mark Meek and Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Armstrong next Friday, 2/28. We are excited to show them the great work your children are doing here at Whitman! State Senator Meek is interested in the challenges we are facing related to school funding. PPS has put together the PPS advocacy toolkit, please take a look to get some ideas about how you can advocate for increased school funding!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and week to come!

Ms. Thompson

We are always accepting donations to support our school! Funds may be used for a wide range of student support purchases, especially snacks and classroom supplies. Use the button below to donate. You can log in using your ParentVue infomation or you can donate as a guest.

Everyone is invited to our celebration of Black History Month! On Wednesday, February 26 (after the early dismissal) we are holding a night of festivities to honor Black History. Dinner from Bamboo Grove Hawaiian Grille will be served from 5:30-6:00 and the event will end at 7:00. We will have a poet perform, a free barber, awesome raffle prizes, and a showcase of our annual door decorating project! Mark your calendars now and don't miss Black History Night!

We are excited to be starting our student affinity groups again! We have made some changes to the groups this year that we think will make the experience even better for students across the school. Student affinity groups will meet once a month on Friday afternoons, for students in 3rd-5th grade only. If students don’t choose to go to a group or if there is not a group that matches a student’s identity, they will get to do similar activities in their classroom! Group activities will be based on our Wayfinder SEL curriculum, and then supplemented by group leaders. This month’s group will be Friday, 2/21, and we currently have the following groups:

Asian-American / Pacific Islander group, facilitator Janet Do

Black Excellence, facilitators Marshall Goss and Darien Washington

Latine/Hispanic group, facilitator Kayla Noto

LGBTQ+ group, facilitators Melissa Ortiz and Reggie Nock

Native group, facilitator for this month Gillian Murr

We are looking for a long-term facilitator for our Native affinity group! If you are free on Friday afternoons and would like to help out, please contact the office! (This is a paid position.)

When I'm not making music I love to quilt and knit. I make a lot of my own clothes! I also love to hike in all of Oregon's beautiful nature. I go on at least one hike every week with my very long dog named Table. (haha)

I'm having so much fun playing, dancing, and singing with all of the students at Whitman. This is an incredibly creative and musical bunch! Looking forward to the year and please feel free to reach out if you would like drop by the music room for a jam!

Teacher Liz is at our school on Mondays and Tuesdays. You can contact Liz at llovell@pps.net.

We are excited to be able to provide High Impact Tutoring to many students in grades 1-3 during the school day! If your child is eligible for High Impact Tutoring, you will be getting notified by the district office. If you have questions please contact Ms. Thompson or Ms. Huerta, or check out the district High Impact Tutoring website. https://sites.google.com/pps.net/highimpacttutoringfamily/home

School begins at 8:00 AM. Doors open for breakfast service at 7:53. Students should be in their classrooms at 8:00 AM. Teachers take attendance at 8:10. Students who are not in the classroom when the teacher takes attendance are marked absent. For an absence to be changed to a tardy, students need to check in at the office for a late slip. This helps avoid false alarm attendance calls.

Tardiness (lateness) is not something to be ashamed of but it does have an impact on a student's day. Learning starts at 8:00 AM sharp, so tardy students miss out on social opportunities, routine building, and important instructional time. Since most classes have a consistent schedule, students who are regularly late are missing the same subject every day.

We are setting goals to improve tardiness rates at Whitman- if you are contacted about your student's timeliness please know that our intention is to support you in addressing barriers.

If your student will be going home with a friend or in a way they do not usually go home, please call the office or send your student with a note. We cannot let students get on the bus who do not typically ride it and we cannot delay the bus by calling home at dismissal time to confirm.

MESD School Health has updated their Symptom Based Exclusion guidelines. Please note that in cases of vomiting, the guideline has changed– a student will now be excluded (asked to stay home) after two or more episodes that are unexplained. (An explained episode might look like vomiting after seeing another student vomit, vomiting after eating with a known case of reflux, or excessive spitting after playing hard at recess.) Students excluded for vomiting will need to stay home until they have been symptom-free for 24 hours OR have been cleared by a doctor.

You can view/download the Symptom Exclusion Chart below.

SUN Site Manager Coach Tae' will be on Paternity leave starting 2/24.

Dulce, our Family Resource Navigator, and Dana, Program Manager at ImpactNW, will be coordinating SUN during his absence, so please contact them with questions, concerns, or compliments about SUN programming.

You can reach them here:

Dulce: dlopez@impactnw.org, (503) 290-8058
Dana: dspears-talbert@impactnw.org

My name is James Stobie and I represent Whitman for the Family Advisory Council on Education (FACE).

The subject of the February 12 FACE meeting was special education, led by Jey Buno, Chief of Student Support Services.

Among the topics that he discussed was the increase in the number of special needs students in the Portland Public Schools system. Since 2019, the percentage of students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) has increased from 14.8% to 17.2%.

Unfortunately, funding for Special Education has not kept pace with the needs of our students. In the 2023-2024 school year, it was underfunded by 18.3 million dollars.

The Oregon Legislature is trying to fill this gap in funding with the passage of two measures.

House Bill 2448 will transfer more money from the State School Fund to the High-Cost Disabilities Account. This will allow schools to provide better service for children whose educational costs exceed a certain amount.

House Bill 2953 will remove the state funding cap for students with disabilities.

Please support these bills by emailing our State Representative Willy Chotzen here: rep.willychotzen@oregonlegislature.gov

You can find a sample letter on page 17 of this advocacy toolkit.

Next month's subject is Advancing Literacy. If you have any questions, concerns, or thoughts you would like me to share with the council, please email me at jstobie@gmail.com

-Early Release February: 2/26 11:50AM
-Black History Night: 2/26 5:30-7:00PM

-Monthly Award Assembly: 2/28 1:45-2:30PM

-PTA Meeting: 3/13 7:00-8:00AM

-Spring Break: 3/24-3/28

If your student has a health condition that requires emergency medication, such as for severe

allergic reaction (EpiPen) or asthma (rescue inhaler), you can ask your student’s health care

provider for another dose/device to be held here at school in the health room. Please sign these

in at the front office and/or health room. It is important we have life-saving medication on hand for your student, should they need it!

Good handwashing makes a huge difference to our immune systems! Please practice good

handwashing. Here is a guide to all the proper steps for keeping our germ “load” low, so our

immune systems can better fight them.

Upper respiratory infections, also known as the common cold, typically affect our children 6-

10 times per year! There are some steps you can take to protect your family and children from

viruses that cause colds, flu, and gastroenteritis (“stomach flu”). The best action to take against

viruses and to help your children stay healthy is to wash your hands thoroughly! Wash your

hands:

•  After blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing
•  Before eating food
•  Before and after being around someone who is sick
•  After using the bathroom

Viruses are spread when a person with the virus coughs or sneezes; the droplets then move

through the air or the person touches surfaces such as pencils, desks and door handles. Viruses

can live for several hours on these surfaces, and anyone who touches the surface can pick up

the virus on their hands, and if they touch their eyes, nose, or mouth, they can put the virus

into their body.

Multnomah County Health Department partners with Portland Public Schools to provide high-quality primary and mental health services at Cleveland, Franklin, Jefferson, McDaniel, and Roosevelt high schools. Student Health Centers are like having a regular doctor’s office at school. We serve all K-12 Multnomah County youth ages 5 to 18 with or without insurance. There are no out-of-pocket costs for our services. We welcome all colors, all genders, all sizes, and all cultures regardless of immigration status. Students don’t need to attend the school where the center is located to receive services. Visit the Student Health Centers website or click on the following for PPS Student Health Center locations and more information:

Student Health Centers provide many services including:

•  COVID-19 vaccines and testing
•  Routine physical exams, including sports physicals
•  Early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of illness and injury
•  Vision, dental, and blood pressure screenings
•  Immunizations
•  Mental health services
•  Age-appropriate reproductive health
•  Routine lab tests
•  Prescription medications
•  Health education, counseling, and wellness promotion
•  Fitness and nutrition education and counseling
•  Referrals for health care services not provided at the clinics

Of course, another good option is to visit your student’s primary care provider.

• Menus for breakfast and lunch can be found here: https://www.pps.net/Page/214
• If you have questions or concerns about the School Bus: https://www.pps.net/Page/115
• School Year Calendars can be found here:
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Whitman Contacts

Whitman‬

Heather Thompson, Principal: hethompson@pps.net (Se habla español.)

Reggie Nock, Principal's Secretary: rnock@pps.net

Joanna Goebel, School Secretary: jgoebel@pps.net

Nicole Costello, Social Worker: ncostello@pps.net (Se habla español.)

Jenny Locarno, Counselor: jlocarno@pps.net

Head Start

Ida Wiley, Community Agent: iwiley@pps.net (Se habla español.)

Laura Rosales, Teacher: lrosales@pps.net

Chelsea Clyde, Teacher: cclyde@pps.net

Kaeli Shanley, Teacher: kshanley@pps.net

SUN

Tae' Bridges, SUN Site Coordinator: jbridges@impactnw.org

Dulce Lopez, Family Resource Navigator: dlopez@impactnw.org (Se habla español.)

PPS Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook