TUBMAN TRIBUNE

You are receiving this message because your student is currently registered to attend Harriet Tubman Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year. Please contact the school office if your student's enrollment has changed, at kibacon@pps.net (Kiah Bacon, School Administrative Assistant).

Harriet Tubman MS community,

As we approach finishing the first month of school (hard to believe!) I cannot wait to welcome you all into the school yet again for this year’s Back to School Night event this Wednesday, September 25th.

We had our first PTSA meeting last Thursday. It was great to meet new families and talk about how we can partner to establish the school environment our kids deserve. If you’re interested in learning more about the HTMS PTSA, they will be available during Wednesday’s event.

While there are a number of things happening in our building, I would like to highlight our first assembly this upcoming Friday. Our Hispanic/Latinx affinity group, SOL, who we partner with Latino Network to help facilitate, is hosting the assembly as we acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month. We’re looking forward to continuing to put our students in leadership opportunities as they always rise to the occasion!

Please be sure to read through this week’s newsletter and I hope to see you Wednesday!

Take care,

Trevor Greer

Principal

At Harriet Tubman Middle School, we recognize that cell phones are an important part of our students' lives and can be used for various purposes such as communication, education, entertainment, and safety. However, we also believe that cell phone use in the classroom can be a source of distraction, disruption, and disrespect and cell phones can sometimes interfere with our students’ learning process and our school climate. Therefore, we have established the following cell phone policy for the 2024-25 school year to balance the benefits and drawbacks of cell phone use at school. Please note that this is also outlined in our Code of Conduct Agreement.

1. Students are not allowed to use cell phones during class time. This includes texting, calling, browsing, gaming, social media, or any other activity that involves the use of a cell phone.

2. During class time, cell phones must be stored away at all times by the student and must not be visible or accessible to the student.

3. Students may use their cell phones before school, at lunchtime, and during passing time. However, students must follow the school rules and expectations regarding appropriate interactions and respectful behavior when using their cell phones.

4. We ask that parents call the school office at (503) 916-5630 if there is an emergency and they need to reach their child. The office staff will relay the message to the student or the teacher as soon as possible. Please do not call or text your child directly during class time as this may disrupt the learning environment.

If a student violates the cell phone policy:

1. We will give the student a verbal warning to put their cell phones off and away. We will let them know that if this is their first warning then the next time they will have to turn their phone into the office and the family/guardian will be called.

2. We will let the student know that the teacher is calling the office and someone will come to collect the phone. This will be a stage 1 referral and call home to notify families/guardians that their phone was confiscated. The student can pick their phone up from the office at the end of the school day.

3. A third violation will initiate the teacher calling the office to have someone collect the phone. This will be a stage 1 referral and the phone must be picked up from the main office by the family/guardian. A phone plan will be established with the family/guardian which may result in the student turning in the phone every day and up to the entirety of the school year.

Please note, due to extenuating circumstances, there will be a few exceptions to this new policy. Also, smart watches will be handled in the same capacity as cell phones, if necessary. We appreciate your cooperation and support in enforcing this cell phone policy. We believe that this policy will help us create a positive and productive learning environment for all our students and staff.

We were fortunate to receive 1.0 Full Time Employee from set-aside FTE due to our over enrollment. We used .5 FTE to make our Spanish teacher full time. This provided us a section of Spanish for all three grade levels while also allowing us to create two new sections of a PE elective being Yoga!

We also added a .5 elective teacher who will be teaching Changemakers Through Film (a film studies course). I am beyond excited to announce we have hired Kiera Asay in this role! She previously served at HTMS as an RJ coordinator and recently was the RJ Coordinator at Roosevelt HS. Please join me in welcoming Kiera!

Here is a short description of the new elective: Students will explore activist movements and changemakers using documentary films as our text. We will analyze not just what change is being advocated for, but how they do the work within their movements. Semester 2 students will then use that knowledge to build out their own documentary centered around change they want to see in our community/world.

Thank you all for your patience as we work through schedule change requests and try to balance classes. The addition of FTE was needed, but getting the allocation after the start of the school year created a lot of work and another disruption to student schedules and classes.

After Monday, September 23, we will be pausing schedule changes until the 2nd quarter. Due to our PE/Health/Elective Wheels all students will be getting a new schedule for 2nd quarter, and we will use that opportunity to make additional adjustments to balance classes, especially electives.

Please reach out to Ms. Benice (lbenice@pps.net) if you have questions.

We will have an early release this Wednesday, September 25th. This will allow staff to receive Professional Development (PD).

Students who ride the bus will arrive at their stop approximately 2-hours earlier than their regularly scheduled end-of-day arrival time.

As a reminder, please note that the 2024-2025 school calendar is live on the district website.

The early release days for students will be on the following dates: 9/25, 10/23, 11/20, 12/18, 2/26, 3/19, 4/23, 5/21. You will see these days identified on the PPS calendar with a symbol of a clock

Fall Festival of Shakespeare returns to Tubman! We are kicking off this year's festival program with exploratory games and playful creations each Monday through Thursday afternoons, 4pm - 6pm. Learning includes

to play, build and rehearse a play by William Shakespeare. The program concludes on November 16th with a multi-school festival celebration at the Winningstad (There will be 5 unique productions this year).

This program is FREE. ALL are welcome. No previous experience required. Students can sign up for this extended-day program through SUN.

ree Food Market at Randall Children’s Hospital is still going on. This is open to all community members, no questions asked, who could use a little extra food support.

Harriet Tubman Middle School’s Back to School Night will be this Wednesday, September 25th at HTMS. Come for all that we’re offering, or just the parts that are important to you!

SUN school is sponsoring food and dinner will start to be served at 4:45pm. Please do your best to come with enough time to order/eat as our event will start promptly at 5:30pm in the HTMS commons.

During the event, you will receive general information about the school while also getting to hear from grade level teams and teachers.

We will also have our PTSA and community partners present from 4:45-5:30pm with whom you can mingle while you eat dinner. There will be different resources available such as opportunities to sign up for dental

sealants and to meet with the Ballmer Institute and more!

We look forward to seeing you on September 25th!

• Dinner and Community Partners: 4:45 pm - 5:30 pm

• Diverse Learners Event (TAG, ELD): 5:00 pm - 5:30pm

• HTMS Back to School Info Event: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

This is a friendly reminder to complete your student's Yearly Verification in ParentVUE by September 30, 2024. The yearly verification ensures that we have the most up-to-date information about your student, including contact information and emergency contacts.

Please note the following important details:

• The deadline for completing the online Yearly Verification is earlier this year, with September 30, 2024 being the last day to submit the verification.
• Beginning on October 1, 2024, if you have not submitted the online verification, your ParentVUE access will be blocked, and you will receive the following message upon login:
  • "The Yearly Verification process must be completed to continue"
  • This message will serve as a hard stop to accessing your ParentVUE account. You will only have two options: to click "Begin Yearly Verification" or "Logout".

To avoid any disruptions to your access and ensure your student's information is current, we encourage you to complete the Yearly Verification as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this important task. If you need any assistance or have questions about the process, please feel free to reach out to our office.

Time to pose and smile. Our picture day is scheduled for October 1. All students will be photographed for their student ID badge. Ordering information will be emailed directly to families from the photographer.

Come connect with the HTMS PTSA! We are sponsoring a cleanup of the parking lot to prepare for our game day parking lot rental fundraisers during the Blazer season.

Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty. If you have, also bring loppers, push broom, battery operated leaf blower, or rake.

Friday, October 11 is a statewide inservice day. There is no school on this day.

Enjoy your long weekend!

Tuesday, October 15 will be a 15 minute late-start day for school. School begins at 9:15am. For students riding the school bus, routes will run 15 minutes later than their regularly scheduled pick up time. The building opens at 9:23am for student entry, with instruction beginning promptly at 9:30am.

The days that students will start at 9:30am will be the following: 9/10, 10/15, 11/5, 12/3, 1/7, 2/4, 3/11, 4/8, 5/6, 6/3.

The next PTSA next meeting will be held Thursday, October 17 at 6 PM in the library and online. Parents, community members, teachers, and STUDENTS - All are welcome!

Join the meeting on ZOOM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83595960474?pwd=1yVDbBpzX2mabyaBji9WFXCGnemQ1H.1

Meeting ID: 835 9596 0474
Passcode: 755849

Join the PTSA! Your membership will help support student programs and services at Harriet Tubman Middle School: https://www.oregonpta.org/membership/joinnow/11510594

Hello bus riders!

It has come to our attention that there are students riding Tubman buses who are not currently attached to any bus roster. If you know your student is eligible to ride (meaning you live 1.5 miles or more away from HTMS), you still have to communicate to the Transportation dept. that you would like them added to the roster.

You can do this by calling the department directly, or by calling the school so that the main office can flag them as needing transportation.

This process is incredibly important for two main reasons. The first is so students aren't being turned away from riding because of capacity issues. Secondly, when we don't know which student is riding which bus, it creates major safety issues.

If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact PPS Transportation, (503)916-6901 or the school office, (503)916-5630.

Thank you for your support with this process!

If you are planning on picking up your student before the dismissal bell at 4:00pm, please come into the main office to sign them out. There is no need to call the office prior to your arrival. Please make sure your plans allow for the time it takes to call the classroom and for your student to transition downstairs.

Thank you!

To report a student absence please call the attendance line at 503-916-5630, x2. You may also report an absence by utilizing ParentVUE - here are instructions to get started. If you received an automated call/text/email about your student missing specific classes, please make sure to check in with them. Once you confirm that they were in fact in class, please call us to rectify.

Any morning tardies that aren't excused by a parent or guardian will be marked as unexcused. Please call the office or send them to school with a note in order to excuse them. Students missing 25% - 50% of instruction in a class will have their attendance marked as LAT (Late After Tardy). Students missing more than 51% of a class will be considered absent (A). Both late after tardy and absent attendance codes will result in an automated attendance communication.

Harriet Tubman Middle School has several policies and expectations for our students and our Code of Conduct Agreement (CCA) outlines each of them. You will see expectations for students in regards to our general building expectations (A.S.K.), our attendance system (ASERT), behavior referrals and discipline ladder, cell phone policy, social media and attire expectations as well as our food policy.

Our goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students. It is your responsibility to review our building expectations and to ensure both you and your student/s understand HTMS and PPS expectations and policies.

If you have any questions and or concerns, please reach out to our team for support.

• Digital Signature form
  

• PRINTABLE version

At Harriet Tubman Middle School, we would love for you to visit your student and to support our building! Please make sure to sign in at the office and if you would like to stay, per district safety policy, you will be asked to show your ID and will receive a visitor badge. Please remember to return to the main office to sign out.

If you would like to visit a classroom, you will need to provide educators with a 24 hour notice. This can be done via email or over the phone with the educator.

All volunteers must have a background check. Ask our front office how to get that going!

Multnomah County’s School and Community Oral Health Program is offering Free sealants and dental screening. A dental screening is a quick look inside your child’s mouth to check the overall health of their teeth, and sealants will be placed if needed.

This service is available for students in 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.

What questions do you have? Please call us at 503-988-3905.

To use this FREE service please fill out the electronic permission slip at this link:

Electronic Permission Form English

Electronic Permission Form Spanish

Electronic Permission Form Russian

Per PPS policy, all students will be required to wear their school I.D. badge during the school day. We will supply lanyards and holders for all students. We will have a “soft start” to this policy until picture day on October 1st. Once students receive their new IDs, there will be no exceptions to the policy.

The State of Oregon has implemented a new requirement for all students to take the equivalent of a full year of PE and Health. As HTMS transitions to this new requirement, we are using Dance to help fulfill the PE minutes. We will do our best to accommodate other elective requests, but ask for your patience and understanding as PE and Health are now considered a core content class, and take up an entire class period for the full school year.

Still have questions? Please reach out to Ms. Benice at lbenice@pps.net

Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services is happy to announce all students will be able to enjoy breakfast and lunch at no charge for the 2024-25 school year. This opportunity is made possible in part by the expansion of federal eligibility and additional funds allocated by the state’s Student Success Act.

Breakfast includes an entrée, choice of fruit, and milk. Lunch includes a choice of entrée, milk, and unlimited fruits and vegetables. Students must choose at least three foods, with one food being at least a 1/2 cup of fruit and/or a vegetable.

Due to this change in services, our kitchen teams will no longer be able to take cash or check payments. If students bring their lunch from home and want milk, they must may choose two other foods – such as a fruit and vegetable – at no charge. Milk can no longer be purchased separately.

A few more clarifications:

• Families do not need to submit a free and reduced-price meal application. All PPS students are automatically enrolled in this program.

• If you have questions about your student’s meal account, please visit our webpage for more information or contact our department for further support.

• This change has no impact on Title I funding.

Access to nutritious meals is a crucial component of student success and well-being, and we are thrilled to be able to take advantage of this opportunity on behalf of our students.

PPS has worked to align middle school schedules through their middle school redesign process. This means that we will have a new bell schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have the same schedule which includes an advisory period for 25 minutes to start the day. Advisory will be critical to setting up your student for success and it is an expectation that all students attend. Tuesday and Thursday will also see identical schedules, without advisory, which results in slightly longer class periods.

To ensure a smooth and efficient beginning and end to each school day, we want to remind you of our arrival and departure procedures.

Arrival Procedures:

• Doors Open: Students may enter the school building starting at 9:08 AM. This early entry time provides students with the opportunity to pick up a free breakfast, setting a positive tone for their day of learning.
• Classroom Readiness: The school day officially begins at 9:15 AM. To maximize instructional time, all students are expected to be in their classrooms, seated, and prepared to learn by this time.
• Late Arrivals: If students arrive after 9:15 AM, they will need to check in at the school office before proceeding to their classroom. This helps us ensure that all students are accounted for and ready to join their classes.

Departure Procedures:

• Dismissal Time: The school day ends at 4:00 PM. Students will be dismissed to go home at this time. Please ensure that arrangements are made for timely pick-up or transportation.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these times as they help maintain a structured and productive learning environment for all students. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact the school office.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Please note that the 2024-2025 school calendar is live on the district website. There are three changes that came out of the new PAT contract which I would like to highlight.

First, while school will continue to start at 9:15am for kids, every month there will be one day that school starts at 9:30am. You will see these days identified on the PPS calendar with the following symbol/s: **

The days that students will start at 9:30am will be the following: 9/10, 10/15, 11/5, 12/3, 1/7, 2/4, 3/11, 4/8, 5/6, 6/3.

Second, we will have an early release day once a month as well. Students will be dismissed at 1:45pm to allow allow staff to receive Professional Development (PD) and collaboration time from 2:00-5:00pm. You will see these days identified on the PPS calendar with a symbol of a clock.

The following early release dates when students will be dismissed at 1:45pm: 9/25, 10/23, 11/20, 12/18, 2/26, 3/19, 4/23, 5/21.

Lastly, kids will see their day extended by 15 minutes resulting in their school day now concluding at 4:00pm.

This school year, all students will receive free breakfast and lunch.

Who: The purpose of Title I is to provide additional support for schools that serve children who have risk factors like poverty or high mobility. Eligible schools get an amount of money based on the number of students in the school who are directly certified by USDA standards.

What: The use of the school-wide Title I Funding must align to school improvement planning which is informed by a school level self-assessment and needs assessment using measures from five key domains: Leadership, talent development, stakeholder engagement, well-rounded coordinated learning principles, and inclusive policy and practice.

How: PPS follows the recommended school-wide allocation model. In order to be identified as a Title I school, at least 33% of K-8 students need to be receiving support services from the state.

SEPTEMBER

25 Early release, students dismissed at 1:45p

25 Back to School Night, 5:30p

26 Mid-term, Q1

27 7th Gr AVID field trip, U of P

OCTOBER

1 Picture day

11 Inservice, No school

15 Late start, school begins at 9:30a

23 Early release, students dismissed at 1:45p

25 6th Gr (Q1) AVID field trip, PSU