a day at the beach

انقر فوق الزر "ترجمة" أعلاه لقراءة هذا باللغة العربية

ይህንን በአማርኛ ለማንበብ ከላይ ያለውን ተርጉም ይጫኑ

Haga clic en el botón TRADUCIR de arriba para leer esto en español

Cliquez sur le bouton TRADUIRE ci-dessus pour lire ceci en français

February 3-7 is National School Counseling Week! Elementary school counselors play a key role in helping young students build confidence, develop social skills, and navigate their emotions. They support students in managing friendships, handling big feelings, and creating positive learning habits. By providing a safe and welcoming space, counselors help children feel understood and supported as they grow. They also collaborate with teachers and parents to ensure each child has the tools they need to succeed both in and out of the classroom. Let’s take a moment to appreciate the incredible impact our school counselor, Katrina de Boer, has on our students' well-being! Katrina, that you for all you to to support our Bobcats!

All families and friends are invited to Beach School to celebrate Black Excellence on Thursday, February 27th from 5:00-7:00pm. We look forward to seeing you!

Report cards were posted on ParentVUE on Friday. If you have opted in for a printed report card, that should have come home on Friday as well. If you would prefer a printed report card, you can make that request through ParentVUE. If you'd like someone to talk you though it, call the school's office at 503-916-6236.

For those of you who have a child(ren) who is receiving ELD services and is in an immersion class, a glitch has been identified in ParentVUE. There is currently an issue with the elementary grades not showing in ParentVUE on the Report Card tile for students who are scheduled in a DLI class and identified as ELD.

The workaround is for parents to click on the link to view the Quarter 2 report card:

The Black Student Union Needs Your Help!

We’re on a mission to gather unused or gently used items for our 1-day school-wide student store! Your donations will help students at Beach purchase fun and useful items with their PAWSitive Cards.

What We’re Looking For:

Toys (new or gently used), Stickers, Arts & Crafts Supplies, Fidgets, Learning Games, Board Games, Journals, Fun jewelry, Cool Pens

Why: Financial literacy is your map! It teaches you to save, spend wisely, and make smart choices—helping you become a money wizard for a bright future!

Drop-Off Locations: Donation Box found in the office

Every little bit helps! Let’s create a vibrant store for our students. We can work together to get students excited about making and earning, counting, saving, and spending smart. Together, we can make a difference!

Thank you,

Chanell Hopson-Willis

Instructional Coach and BSU Chair

Beach students are focused on learning!

Students in PPS engage in math and literacy assessments three times per year: September, January and April. The results of these assessments are immediately available to classroom teachers so they can use them to plan instruction based on current student needs. We also use them to help us plan math support and What I Need (WIN) groups for literacy. We're thrilled to share with you the progress our students have made so far this year.

In an ideal situation, approximately 80% of our students will get everything they need in what we can core instruction, or Tier I (green). This is what happens every day in classes during their regular math and literacy time. 10-15% of students will likely need that information to be retaught in a new way in order for them to internalize the learning. This is called Tier II (yellow). Some students will required additional support even if they've received Tier I and Tier II, this is called Tier III (red). This may be between 5-10% of students. Our goal is to get our student outcomes on these assessments to align with the ideal. This will tell us that our practices are strong, consistent and aligned across grade levels. Here is where we are at the moment:

MATH: GRADES 1-5

The image below shows our outcomes in the fall (the bottom, lighter bar) and in January (the bar at the top). You can see that nearly half of the students that were in Tier III in the fall have moved to Tier II and about the same number of students moved from Tier II to Tier I. While we still have work to do, this trend is exactly what we'd like to see.

ENGLISH LITERACY: GRADES 2-5

The top bar shows the percentage of students who have met their growth goal from the fall until now. The second row shows the difference in achievement from fall until now. You can see that 3% of the students who were in Tier III in the fall have moved to Tier II (orange and yellow) and 4% of students have moved from Tier II to Tier I (green and blue). We will continue to focus on student individual needs in our core (classroom) instruction and WIN.

One of our School Improvement Goals this year is to increase the percentage of students overall, including students of color, who report a feeling of sense of belonging from 50% to 75% by June, 2025 as measured by the Successful Schools Survey. We are excited to share that we have met that goal for many of our students. This data tells us that we are not yet meeting the needs of American Indian, Alaskan Native, White, Asian and Pacific Islander students or our students who identify as transgender. While we are proud of the growth we've made, we are committed to continuing our focus on ensuring each and every one of our students feels a strong sense of belonging in our school.

As you know, the question of how we respond to hate speech was a topic of discussion at one of our Principal Chats in December. I'm please to share that we now have a clear Beach Hate Speech protocol.

Everyone at Beach deserves to feel deeply safe, and that means that hate speech of any kind is unacceptable. In order to support all students, Beach staff will have a consistent response to hate speech so that we can eliminate it from campus. After receiving input from Beach staff, our Site Council and Climate Team finalized our hate speech protocol. This outlines how we support both the student(s) who has been harm and the student(s) who engaged in hate speech. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions.

We have been working on enhancing the school environment, and one thing that has a huge impact on how a space feels is plants! Do you have plants at home that could use a new home? We would love to have them! We're hoping to have more plants in the office, hallways, auditorium, cafeteria and other shared spaces. Plants of all size are welcome. If interested, please bring them to the office and we'll take care of the rest.

It is important to PPS that immigrant families feel safe and supported. A number of families have expressed to me and other members of our staff that they are concerned about possible immigration actions under the new presidential administration.

I want to reassure you that our top priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of all students and staff. We continue to work closely with PPS leadership and our community partners to uphold Oregon law prohibiting state and local law enforcement from arresting or detaining people based solely on immigration status. Additionally, Oregon law protects student educational records from use for immigration actions.

In times of uncertainty, it is always beneficial to be proactive and prepared, and it’s crucial that we have up-to-date contact information for you and your student. If you have not done so already, please complete the yearly student verification form to ensure we’re reaching you via the right information and in the right language.

I also wanted to provide the following resources:

• This FAQ and this webpage answer many questions about the steps Portland Public Schools will be taking to safeguard staff and students going forward.

• This page from the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) includes a family resource hub and culturally specific information for families in the Portland area.

• The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Little Red Card is meant to help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations. The cards can be printed out in your preferred language and carried on your person.

• Know Your Rights for Families/Students (Oregon ACLU)

• Immigrant Rights Resources One Pager

• PPS’s Office for Civil Rights offers support addressing discrimination, harassment, and bias-related concerns.

Please contact me at njohnson@pps.net if you have any questions or concerns. I am here for you and your child(ren), and you have my word that, at Beach, we will always stand together to champion our diversity and support the most vulnerable among us.

We are excited to share that we have created a 4th/5th-grade blended classroom to better support the learning needs of our students. This adjustment will:

• Provide a focused and effective educational environment.

• Ensure all students receive the resources they need to succeed.

Due to limited funding for an additional teacher, this approach offers the best solution for our school community.

This blend will support students for the remainder of this school year. We do not anticipate continuing a blended classroom next year. School staffing season is upon us; I look forward to sharing information about next year's staffing when it is available.

By now, you have likely heard that the PPS Board voted to ban cell phone use in schools for all PPS students beginning next school year. The decision came after the Board spent months receiving feedback and public comment from educators, families, and students.

We understand that you might have questions about this policy, and I wanted to provide some clarity. To begin, the ban applies to students of all grade levels and will be enforced for the entire school day. (Students will not be able to use their phones during lunch.) The policy will not go into effect until fall 2025, so, regardless of your school’s current cell phone use policy, you can continue your current approach for the remainder of the year.

Members of the Board and district leaders are currently considering a range of options for cell phone storage, including:

• Yondr pouches

• Aluminum lockboxes

• Classroom pocket charts/caddies

We will be evaluating the pros and cons of each option over the coming months and will keep you informed of the results of those discussions. Our main concerns are obviously the well-being of our students and the integrity of our learning environments, and it is the Board’s conclusion that an “off-and-away-all-day” approach is the best way to support both our young people and our educators.

To ensure a smooth transition to this new policy, we are asking school leaders to begin to hold informative meetings with their staff, students, and parents if you haven’t done so already. Your OSP team will work with anyone who needs additional information or guidance on what to cover in these meetings. More information and calibration will be needed before the fall and we will set up opportunities this 2nd half of the year for this to happen. We will also be messaging the community so they are aware of this new policy.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have questions.

A draft of next year's calendar is now available. PPS leadership would like your input. Please share your thoughts about next year’s school calendar here.

It is cold season and we have been hearing many questions about when to send students to school. Luckily, here at Beach we have plenty of hand sanitizer and tissues to help with runny noses, sore throat, and cough. We want your child here each and every day!

You only need to keep your child home if their symptoms include:

• Fever higher than 100.5

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea (more than 2 loose stools in 24 hours OR sudden onset of loose stools)

• New skin rash, sores, or wounds (not previously diagnosed by a health care provider)

Please help us keep our school healthy by encouraging your children to wash their hands frequently, cover their coughs, and avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth.

If you have any questions, please call the main office.

50% cover band and 50% live karaoke, 1000% Awesome. Join us Saturday, February 8th at the Chill N Fill on N. Lombard for an amazing night of live music and supporting the Beach community! Go to beachrocks.org to get your sliding scale tickets (or purchase at the door)! All profits go to the BCU.

(Sponsored tickets available- email bcufundraising@gmail.com to learn more.)

¡Entradas para Beach Rocks a la venta ahora!

50 % de bandas de covers y 50 % de karaoke en vivo, 1000% increíble. ¡Únase a nosotros el sábado 8 de febrero en el Chill N Fill en N. Lombard para disfrutar de una increíble noche de música en vivo y apoyar a la comunidad de Beach! Visite beachrocks.org para obtener sus entradas de escala móvil (o cómprelas en la puerta). Todas las ganancias se destinarán a la BCU.

(Entradas patrocinadas disponibles: envíe un correo electrónico a bcufundraising@gmail.com para obtener más información).

February Breakfast Menu

February K-5 Lunch Menu

You can also get to these from the quick links on our website for future reference.

• Saturday, February 8 @ 7-10pm - Beach Rocks - Chill N Fill
• Monday, February 17 - President's Day, NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, February 18 @ 5-6pm (in person) - Connect to Kinder
• Tuesday, February 25 - Restaurant Night @ Double Mountain
• Wednesday, February 26 @ 11:50 - Early Release
• Thursday, February 27 - Black Excellence Night
• Friday, February 28 - Beach OBOB Competition (during school)