Beverly Cleary Connection

It's hard to believe that at this time next week, we will be cruising into another break! This week, we seemed to have a lot of absences from both staff and students. If your child is feeling under the weather, we appreciate you keeping them home. That way, our petri dish stays slightly healthier.

On Monday, the PTA met. Outside of the yummy snacks that are always provided, there was robust conversation! The PTA has many plans in the works, and I'm excited for all of our families to learn more and participate in the upcoming events! Be sure to read the PTA newsletter below to find out more! Tuesday night, I was able to attend the PTA Sponsored Fundraiser at Dara, and boy was it delicious. On top of that, I was able to see a few families which is always so fun!

Another highlight for me this week was subbing in classrooms. I was lucky to be in one of our third grade classrooms to start the day on Tuesday and I got to end my day teaching middle school health! Seeing students thrive and rise to the expectations you set for them is such a joy! I can't keep the joy in, so many families probably heard from me about it. I always joke that the best principal role would be one that has a period each day set aside for teaching a class. Unfortunately, know one else seems to go for the idea (and I guess I don't really have time most days to do so without taking a lot home).

On Tuesday, our Instructional Leadership Team met to review our FIT assessment data (assesses the systems we have on campus) and prioritize a next step. Their driving focus for future meetings will be around boosting collaborative opportunities for older students and younger ones to be in community and learning together, so stay tuned! On Wednesday, our attendance team met to see about how we can support students who may need a little help getting to school. Our school is often celebrated for our attendance, and we want to make sure we keep it that way. After all, we want students to want to be here! On Friday, Keersen Combs hosted our Coffee Talk and talked Restorative Justice 101. To say we got lucky and snagged the best RJ (and colleague) out there when they were hired last year is an understatement.

On Wednesday, our Cougar Reps (shout out to Ms. Kobs and Ms. L for leading this effort) hosted a school-wide assembly on Collaboration. The cheerleaders from Grant came and taught students what that looks like in action and even taught us their version of an "easy" cheer. I'm also very certain it was clear I was never a cheerleader as I fumbled through what felt to me like a very intricate cheer! Students had a blast and learned a little something, too!

Next week is Spirit Week! All week long, students are invited to participate. Join us on Monday for silly sock day which is designed to spotlight the PTA sponsored Sock and Underwear Drive! I know I've said it before, but our school is the primary donor of socks/underwear for PPS' Clothing Closet. The Spirit Days are as follows: M- Silly Sock, T- Camo Day, W- School Spirit Day, Th- Dress like a Teacher, and F- College Day. Cougar Reps picked each day's theme, and we are excited to see students participating in community together!

Next week Wednesday, Dec. 18, is an early release day for students. The focus of the professional development for teachers is centered around supporting students with ASD. We appreciate your flexibility in making these days happen.

As you gear up for the holidays, I hope you are able to find time to enjoy the weekend with family. No Ducks' game on Saturday means the world is my oyster. I'm hoping the rain holds off at times, so we can take a walk and enjoy the holiday lights! Have a great weekend!

I hope your family has the best weekend!

I think we all can agree that parking is a pain at Beverly Cleary. We have 60 staff members and about 30 parking spots, so finding a spot is hard for us too! Because of this, we want to remind parents to not park in the school parking lots, they are for staff only. We have a number of staff members who run errands (bank, etc), work at multiple schools, or are part time, so even if there is an empty spot, it's probably still in use.

Thanks for being considerate of our staff.

Calling all BCS Families!

BCS is collecting donations of NEW socks, underwear, gloves and winter hats - sizes 4T- adult to benefit the PTA Clothing Center. More than 2,000 PPS students turn to the Clothing Center every year for support, and every year our BCS community steps up to ensure that the Clothing Center can provide new socks, hats, gloves and underwear to every student who visits. They have already served 600 kids in the last two months!

All donations are appreciated, but this year the Center reports a particular need for these items:

• New Boys and Men’s Knit Boxers sizes men's small, medium and large (preferred over briefs)

• New little boys underwear boxers 4T, 6,

• New Teen boy socks sizes 3-9 and 6-12, ankle/low cut style

• New Women’s bikini and hipster style underwear (variety of sizes)

• Warm winter coats for teens gently used or new (they only have 8 coats)

• Big need for New boys and men's sweatpants and joggers size 4T- adult

• Lots and lots of New Socks and Underwear ranging from 4T-adult sizes boys and girls.

To make it easy, you can go to our Amazon wish list and have it sent directly to the school!

Starting Dec 16th-Dec 20th collection bins (decorated by BCS students) will be located inside the front door of our school and in the cafeteria by the doors leading out to the playground. They will be there all week. At the end of each day students will be counting the items and they will be placed on the stage! At the end of the week the PTA will take all the items to the Clothing Center.

We LOVE a challenge at BCS, and the PTA is challenging the BCS students to beat their generosity from past years. The PTA Clothing Center relies heavily on our donations each year. The goal this year is for our BCS community to collectively donate at least 2,800 pairs of socks, underwear, gloves and hats! Let's come together and help make a difference for so many kids and families in Portland!

Please feel free to reach out to Korwren Peterson community@beverlyclearyschool.org with questions you may have.

Thank you so much for your generosity and willingness to help!

BCS PTA

Calling any and all 8th Grade parents! Every year we put together a fun day of celebration for our 8th grade students to usher them into high school.

Plans are in place, now we are looking for a few parents to lead and/or volunteer at the events. If you are interested, please contact Korwren Peterson with the PTA or Ali in the front office.

Hi Families! I am the K-4 School Counselor, here at Beverly Cleary School. I am working on forming small groups for K-4 students. Small groups provide additional social skills learning opportunities. Please click on the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lY-QiOgEx-BbuHtDPNmQkzipMxiJ_Zx-20ijPRkSkwI/edit if you are interested in your child participating in a small group for K-4th graders. Questions? Feel free to email me at slannom@pps.net.

Yours In School Counseling,

Samantha Lannom

Ms. L

Yearbook Volunteer Assistant(s) Wanted

Yearbook is looking for 1-2 parents interested in assisting this year's student staff and adult advisors. Yearbook is every Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Must have a heart and willingness to serve and work with middle schoolers. A background or interest in design, layout, or yearbook experience is helpful.

U of O 8th grade Field Trip Chaperones Needed

When: January 22, 2025

Time: 6 am to 5:30 pm

Cost: $12 for lunch

We need 10 chaperones to attend the field trip with us. Please email Liz Kobs if you can participate this year! Come spend the day at U of O with the 8th grade class learning more about College Career Readiness and touring facilities.

CLICK HERE to read the 12/13/24 PTA Newsletter.

This week includes:

- Annual BCS Clothing Drive

- Winter After School Enrichment Enrollment

- Upcoming NEW BCS Heritage Night

- Oregon PTA Advocacy

- and more!