The Cheetah Coalition #2

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Monday is Labor Day so there is no school. Enjoy your long weekend and we'll see you on Tuesday!

Dear Atkinson Community,

We made it through the first week! What a joy it is to have your children back in the school building with us, embarking on a new school year! We love to see how they've all grown and changed over the summer.

We are welcoming a few new staff this year:

• ESL 0.5 Teacher: Lilia Doni
• Para for 3rd-5th grade ISC: James Foxhall
• Adaptive PE Teacher: Rob Hill
• K-2 ISC Teacher: Mary Watkins
• Speech and Language Pathologist: Ellie Baumgartner
• Art Teacher: Amy Close
• Kinder DLI Teacher: Christine Klein-Leong
• Kinder DLI Teacher: Maria Tobón-Olguin
• Friday additional Counselor: Tony Shoukas

We are still working to fill some vacancies including a half-time bilingual EA, another para for the K-2 ISC, and a permanent teacher for the ISC 3-5.

I want to let you know that my husband will be having knee replacement revision surgery on September 11. I’ll be out for two weeks to care for him. Dr. Kehaulani Haupu will be here covering for me.

Please take a few moments to read through the following important information and do reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Debbie Armendariz

Principal

Atkinson Elementary School

darmenda@pps.net

This month we will have the following safety drills:

• Wednesday, September 4 — General Transportation STOPPS Drill
• Thursday, September 5 — First Fire/Evacuation Drill

Backpack Donation

If your child is in need of a backpack, please let Ms. Lilly know. We received a generous donation of backpacks, with school supplies in them. Email Ms. Lilly at lilwilliams@pps.net if you are interested in one.

Back to School Routine

We know transitions can bring up mixed emotions for students. This document includes tips on supporting students who experience separation anxiety and includes strategies to use and avoid.

So much fun and learning happening already!

We are searching for a half time (mornings) bilingual (Spanish and English) educational assistant! We would love to have an Atkinson parent fill this position! If you or someone you know is interested in this position, go to careers.pps.net, create an account, type job ID 27897 in the search bar, and submit an application.

Atkinson will have two General Transportation (GT) routes this year: 247ATK and 279ATK. Route information is available HERE. Keep in mind that in the first weeks of school, the routes are subject to changes as we add and subtract students from routes, so pay attention to route updates (usually Transportation will send out notifications whenever a route changes).

We are in need of one or more parent volunteers to help serve 3-5 lunch from 11:40 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.. Contact Katie (kcarriker@pps.net) if you are interested!

Each year parents and/or guardians are asked to review and update the information on file for their students. This information can be reviewed, edited, and submitted online via PPS ParentVUE.

If you are interested in volunteering this year, in school or as a field trip chaperone, you must complete a district background check. These can take a couple of weeks to process, so we recommend doing them early in the year! If you've done one in the recent past, they are valid for 3 years, but if Atkinson Elementary is NOT one of the schools you already have listed, you will need to email securityservices@pps.net and have them add Atkinson to your record. More information HERE.

PPS Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook is available to read digitally HERE.

The parking lot behind our building belongs to Clinton Park/Portland Parks & Rec, however, we are aware that many families use it for school drop-off and pick-up. Please remember to be kind and courteous when using this lot:

• Please do not park in handicapped spaces unless you have a valid permit.
• Please do not double park and block in other cars.
• Please be patient with your fellow Atkinson families.
• As an alternative, park on the street!

Read the latest PTA newsletter HERE, including lots of information about after school programs!

The first Dine Out for Atkinson is Monday, September 23 from 5-9pm at Migration Brewing on Glisan, 2828 NE Glisan. 10% of all sales will be donated to Atkinson PTA. This goes for to-go sales and packaged beer sales as well for those who can't hang out but still want to participate! And this is an Atkinson parent-owned business so we'll be supporting our community too!

• Monday, September 2 — NO SCHOOL, Labor Day
  
• Tuesday, September 3 — First Official Day of School for Kinder
• Tuesday, September 3 — Kinder Parent Coffee, 8:10 a.m. in the cafeteria
• Friday, September 6 — First Running Club at Lunch Recess
• Friday, September 6 — Popsicles on the Playground with the PTA, 2:30 p.m.
• Thursday, September 12 — PTA Meeting in the cafeteria, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
• Thursday, September 19 — Back to School Night, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, September 20 — Amigos Meeting in the cafeteria, 8:10 - 10 a.m.
• Monday, September 23 & Tuesday, September 24 — School Photos