Laurelhurst Community Update

A huge thank you to all of you who have supported our inaugural Roar for Reading fundraiser, celebrating celebrated reading throughout our community. Reading logs, amazing local author and illustrator visits, a family literacy night, and a chance to dress as a favorite book character at school—the Roar for Reading fundraiser had it all! Most importantly, it has highlighted the importance of literacy, creativity and storytelling in our lives. Please see the Roar for Reading update below for important information on how to turn those reading minutes into funds for our school programs!

This celebration of reading would not have happened without the dedication and facilitation of parent volunteers Daniela Blum and Tracy Bialis-White. Starting in March of last year, Daniela and Tracy worked tirelessly to make this fundraiser work from finding local authors, communicating with the school and PTA, facilitating visits, and organizing the fundraising platform. Shout out to Brandie Roberts, who supported this effort with countless hours of work with contracts and logistics. A big thanks also to Roar for Reading committee members Dawn Knopf and Beverly Moon, who created the colorful and adorable Roar for Reading logo and materials.

As a reminder, this Wednesday we have an Early Release schedule. Our start time remains the same, at 8:45am. All students will have a scheduled lunch time and then will be released at 12:45pm. Early Release provides time for our staff to attend professional development and work together to plan our lessons and activities.

Middle School Conferences will be open for sign ups later this week. Middle school families, please keep an eye out for a Remind message with a link for signups. This year we will continue to do "arena style" conferences with our middle school teachers. Each family will have an opportunity to meet with each of their students' teachers in an open forum. Conferences take place on Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.

The leaves are falling, the days have a chill to them, so it must be time to think of registering for the Oregon Battle of the Books!

For those of you new to OBOB, Oregon Battle of the Books consists of teams reading a selected list of 16 wonderful books and practicing answering trivia questions about the books. Teams compete with other teams at their school, the winning team goes to a Regional Tournament, and the winning team of the Regional Tournament goes to a State Tournament. Students read wonderful books, make new friends, and enjoy friendly competition!

At Laurelhurst we have Elementary OBOB (grades 3-5) and Middle School OBOB (grades 6-8.)

If you are a third grade parent or new to OBOB, you are invited to join an online OBOB Informational Meeting on Wednesday, 11/6 from 6:00 p.m. - 6:45 pm. Please use this link to join:OBOB Informational Meeting

There is also everything you need to know about OBOB on the official OBOB website.

Copies of the OBOB books are available in our library as well as at Multnomah County Library branches.

Dates and Details:

Oct./Nov. Read the books, form teams and select a Parent Coach and Register (see below for Registration Details)

• December 6: Team Registration Deadline
• January: Continue to Read and meet as a Team
• February: School Battles for Elementary OBOB and MS OBOB
• March 1-March 22: the “window” for Regionals. Date TBD
• April 12, 2024: State Tournament at Chemeteka Community College in Salem

Registration:

Each parent needs to register their own student. Please include as much information about the team that your student is joining as possible. If your student is having difficulty finding a team, please email me. I will do what I can to facilitate them finding a team but unfortunately, I cannot guarantee that they are placed on a team.

To sign your student up, use these forms according to Grade Level:

• OBOB 3rd Grade Registration
• OBOB 4th Grade Registration
• OBOB 5th Grade Registration
• OBOB Middle School Registration

Registration due Friday, 12/6.

Please email me if you have any questions, mdlang@pps.net. Happy Reading!

Melody Lang, Teacher-Librarian

As Halloween approaches, we're excited to share information about the Teal Pumpkin Project, an initiative by FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education). The initiative promotes safety and inclusion for kids with food allergies by encouraging households to offer non-food treats like toys and stickers. For more information please check out this link, FARE Teal Pumpkin Project.

Congratulations, Lions, on all the reading you’ve done these past few weeks! It has been a fun and inspiring event with dress-up days, reading challenges, and author visits. Thank you, truly, for your participation and enthusiasm for literacy in our community. Please be sure to turn in your reading tracker form and any checks or cash to your teacher by FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25th. This is also the last day to make any online donations on the 99pledges fundraising website.

**If you have any per-minute donations on 99pledges, please enter in your total minutes by using the tracker (tab) on your individual site so that those donations can be processed. **

Tracker forms will be used to determine prizes for most minutes read in each class and each grade. Top Reader prizes will be announced November 5th-7th and Donut Parties will occur on Nov 8th.

Step right up: Tickets Now on Sale for our Carnival!

Tickets are now on sale on Konstella for our annual Carnival happening Friday, October 25 at 5:30pm. Pre-order your wristbands and tickets for the best deals (prices increase at the door) and to avoid the lines.

Juggling a surplus of party favors and small toys? Drop them in the box by the front of the school and we’ll use them for prizes.

Each year, we hold a Silent Auction for wreaths in all shapes and sizes during the Winter Bazaar, coming up in just EIGHT WEEKS! From fresh floral arrangements to festive crafty creations—made of felt, craft paper, baubles, beads, wood, even LEGO!—there is no limit to your wreath design. We welcome submissions from dedicated wreath makers and brand new donors. Let your imagination and creativity run wild!

You can sign up for a submission here. THANK YOU!

I am excited to see all the creative, spooky, and fun costumes at our Carnival, this Friday, October 25th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm. We will have lots of fun games, BJ the Clown, food, and a haunted house. You should not miss this community party!

With Gratitude,

Alyson

• 10/23 - Early Release Wednesday - School is 8:45am-12:45pm for ALL Students
• 10/25 - Laurelhurst School PTA Carnival
• 10/31 - End of 1st Quarter
• 10/31 - 6th Grade Field Trip - OMSI
• 11/1 - NO SCHOOL - Grading Day
• 11/4 - NO SCHOOL - Teacher Planning Day
• 11/5 - 1st Grade Field Trip - Oregon Children's Theater
• 11/11 - NO SCHOOL - Veterans Day
• 11/20 - Early Release Wednesday - School is 8:45am-12:45pm for ALL Students
• 11/25-11/26 - Parent-Teacher Conferences
• 11/27-11/29 - NO SCHOOL - Fall Break/Thanksgiving Holiday
• 12/8, 9am-4pm - Laurelhurst Winter Bazaar

Email: abrant@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/laurelhurst
Location: 840 Northeast 41st Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-6210

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