The Mt. Tabor Tribune

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• Oct. 10: Back-to-School Night, 5:30-7:30pm
  
• Oct. 11: State In-service Day, No School
• Oct 15: Late start at 9:30
• Oct. 23: Early release at 1:45pm
• Oct. 25: Freaky Fall Fling (Dance), 4:15-5:45pm
• Oct. 30: Int./Adv. Band Concert, 6-7pm

Hello, MTMS Staff and Families,

We are sending this week's newsletter at a different time to ensure that everyone has one more scoop of information regarding Back to School Night tomorrow evening from 6:00-7:30 pm (with our TAG and ELD sessions as well as the pizza fundraiser to support the 8th grade Oregon Research Residency).

Please remember, we HIGHLY ENCOURAGE families to bring their students with them for Back to School Night. They are truly the best tour guides and can share so much more about their experience here at MTMS when their families are with them.

Don't forget to check out the information about our upcoming Trailblazers Night with the PTA--tickets are available for purchase until October 14.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening.

All the best,

Ms. Tonya Longo

Principal, Mt. Tabor Middle School

Hi students and families,

Help support the 8th grade ORR trip by eating pizza! Pre-order your slices and drinks for a quick & easy dinner at Back to School Night (Oct. 10). Pre-order by Oct. 08. Pizza served in cafeteria starting at 5:30.

Alex Dawson, Dawn Gordon, & Valerie Turner

Get all the information about the trip by clicking here.

The Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) is allocating Portland Public Schools funding for student-led climate action through the Climate Friendly Public Schools program. This program gives students the opportunity to engage in real-world climate action, community needs identification, leadership development, and Project Based Learning that will allow for innovative and creative solutions to climate change.

The program will allocate $10,000 per school, per year for student-led projects with an additional $5,000 available to support staff advising and central coordination of program development. PCEF funding is available to all schools that serve grades 6-12, so it will apply to all middle schools, high schools, and K-8s.

At MTMS, Ms. Arras has agreed to be our building advisor, and students will learn more about this program during next week's advisory. We are hoping to establish an after school group that will meet and plan for our building's climate project efforts!

Please help us by reminding your student to make sure they are leaving the house each day with their student badge/lanyard. We have many students who come to school each day without it; it is a PPS requirement that badges are worn during the school day. We do provide sticker badges for students who forget theirs, but it is no longer an occasional need. We have many students who continually use this fall back but unfortunately, because of the expense, this is an untenable option to keep up with at this rate.

Thank you for you help and understanding!!

Ann P.

October 21-25 is the school year's first SPIRIT WEEK, and our WEB Leaders are proud to share with you the week's worth of dress up days:

Monday 10/21: Matching Monday

Tuesday 10/22 Tired Tuesday (PJ Day)

Wednesday 10/23: Royalty Wednesdays

Thursday 10/24: Mismatch Thursday

Friday 10/25: Costume Friday (no masks, simulated weapons, or clothing that would violate PPS dress code)

On Friday, 10/25, MTMS WEB will be hosting our fall dance and carnival. The dance will begin at 4:15 pm and run to 5:45 pm. The cost to attend is $3.

Admission wristbands will be for sale the day of the event during lunch to minimize lines at the door. Bring extra money if you would like to purchase refreshments. Only current MTMS students may attend. No student will be allowed to enter the school dance after 4:30 pm.

Who Can Attend:

• Any current Mt. Tabor Middle School student

• Guests for middle school dances are prohibited.

• Per district policy, students who are absent from classes (unexcused) are not allowed to attend same-day extra-curricular functions.

• Students with disciplinary consequences that prohibit their participation in extracurricular events (i.e. Level A Drug/Alcohol violations, suspensions, etc) will not be allowed to attend.

What to Wear:

• Come as you are. Friday is Costume Day of Spirit Week, and students are welcome to attend in their spirit wear.

• Students do not have access to change clothes for the dance during class time or the end of the school day, so they should wear to school what they are wearing to the dance.

What to Bring:

• Admission

• Student ID card

• Additional money for concessions and photos

It is important that students have pre-arranged transportation at 5:45 pm. Students will not be released early without a parent. Parents who need to pick up their students early need to make a plan with their parents to meet them at the main entry at the specified pick-up time (as it is incredibly difficult to track down students across the many spaces on campus).

I've Been Framed, a local small business, is generously matching all donations to our Art program here at Mt. Tabor during the month of October. If you'd like to help support this fundraiser, please use this link: https://ivebeenframedpdx.com/give-the-gift-of-art/#contact or head over to the store at 4950 SE Foster Rd, Portland, OR 97206 during business hours and make a donation in person there. They are open Monday through Saturday from 10-5.

Thank you! Molly Renauer mrenauer@pps.net

Art Teacher Mt. Tabor Middle School @mttaborart

Our 6th Grade Language Arts team is looking to teach a new novel, The New Kid, this year! Please consider giving to this Donors Choose grant in order to fulfill the number of books we would need to purchase for each student. Thank you so much for your consideration!

Gina Gray and Heather Dulin

Donors Choose Donation Link

Any time a student rides a different bus, is taking the bus for the first time or even wants to get off at a different stop than normal, parents need to write a note to the driver letting them know of this change. The student should bring this note to the office to be initialed by one of the Admin. Assts. before giving it to the driver. Drivers will not accept different riders or any changes to normal stops without parent permission. The drivers do their best to get to know all their riders and their stops so that they can keep everyone safe.

Thank you for understanding!

In just the last week, we are seeing a marked increase in students reporting damaged Chromebooks and lost devices.

In this year's back to school packet (and in the Student Verification process in ParetnVUE), families are required to sign the "Required Technology Consent Policy and Acknowledgments form. In that document, it states:

PPS students who are assigned to take home a District technology device are responsible for all damages or loss, whether intentional or accidental and regardless of whether damage or loss occurs on or off District property. Parents/guardians will be fully financially responsibly for any associated cost for damage, loss, or theft, regardless of whether incidents occur at home or at school.

It is important to emphasize with your students the importance of taking care of their devices. This means that binders containing their devices should be kept in their lockers when not in use, and that they use provided tote bags to support transporting those devices around at school.

The current replacement cost for a Chromebook is $515.00 with chargers costing $11.50. Parents are responsible for paying these fees for lost/damaged cords; lost devices or devices damaged beyond repair; and intentional misuse, abuse, willful or negligent damage by the student or any household members.

Hello families,

Some of our students did not receive their preferred names on their ID cards. We are very sorry about this. We have received the electronic pictures from Dorian, so will be able to print new ones for them. Please have your student check in with the office if they will be needing a new card.

Thank you!

Ann Pinzelik

And it is a big hit! Students earn Soaring Eagle tickets throughout the day for showing care, respect and kindness toward themselves and others in the school community. They can then cash in these tickets at the student store. We are putting out an ask for donations from you, specifically for the following items:

Goldfish crackers

Various chips

Dum Dum lollipops

Guava candy (available on Amazon)

Jolly Ranchers

Capri Suns

Squishy fidgets or finger traps

Thank you for any way you can help!

OBOB! We had lots of interest at last week's OBOB kickoff meeting. Next step is to register your interested student for OBOB. All registrations are electronic this year via this Google Form. Registrations are due Friday, October 18th. No team? No problem, we will find a team for all students that want to participate. Please complete the registration form and select 'Free Agent' for the team name. The MTMS Library page has a new OBOB tab with lots of helpful information. Questions? Contact Annie Licurse, MTMS Librarian alicurse@pps.net and OBOB Parent Coordinator Isabel Johnson johnson.isabel@gmail.com.

This term's sessions have been finalized, and we are excited to welcome another year of SUN programming to our after-school time.

Packets with all the details will be coming home with students on Monday afternoon, but we are linking the digital packet below (just click on the image to access the full packet). We have lots of options for students, including choir, chess, open basketball, fencing, ping pong, Dungeons & Dragons, and more. Programming starts the week of October 7 and concludes at winter break.

Hello Families,

As we begin this new year, please be sure to go into ParentVue and review and update the information we have on file for your student. Once logged in, you will see a tab at the top of the screen saying "Online Registration/Yearly Verification/Transfer Application". Click here and follow the prompts for the yearly student verification process. If you do not have a ParentVue account set up yet, please contact me, Ann Pinzelik, at apinzeli@pps.net, and I will be happy to do that for you.

Thank you!

Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00pm vs the Timberwolves. Come support our Blazers and our school community. Each ticket includes an after game free throw on the Blazers court! This is the first In-Season Tournament game of the 24-25 season. Purchase our special discounted tickets here blazersgroups.com/mttabor . Tickets are $20 for Section 333 and $45 for Section 225. Deadline to purchase tickets is Monday, October 14th. Go Blazers!

1) Library Volunteers Needed

Ms. Licurse in the library needs help. She is looking for two parent volunteers to come once a month at drop off to help with special projects such as creating visual displays. Please contact Annie Licurse directly at: alicurse@pps.net if interested.

2) PTA Board Seeking Members

Further, we need parents to join the PTA board in the following positions:

Fundraising chair

Fundraising committee members
* Fundraising endeavors include planning and orchestrating sports events and Dine Out Nights.

Hard of Hearing Program Rep

Communications Lead

Volunteer Coordinator

Please reach out to Christina Master, PTA president at christinadmaster@gmail.com with interest.

3) Back to School Night

Thursday, October 10th is Back to School Night from 5:30-7:30. The MTMS PTA will have a table at the event. Come meet parents who are working on the PTA this year and learn about our mission.

4) MTMS PTA General Meeting

The MTMS PTA encourages all parents (including new 6th grade parents) to attend our general membership meetings. Our next meeting will be:

Thursday November 7th at 6:30 pm - Location and/or Zoom link forthcoming.

General Meetings for 2024-2025

When: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

How: via Zoom + in person at MTMS (library)

Thursday, September 19th *approval of budget

Thursday, October 17th

Thursday, November 7th

NO DECEMBER MEETING - HOLIDAY DRIVE

Thursday, January 16th *if needed

NO FEBRUARY MEETING

Thursday, March 20th

NO APRIL MEETING

Thursday, May 22nd *election of officers***Staff Appreciation Week

NO JUNE MEETING - FOOD DRIVE *8th Grade Dance **Graduation

We are still actively recruiting host families for the Nanto group, who will be visiting Mt. Tabor Middle School from Monday, October 28, 2024, to Monday, November 4, 2024 (they will depart on the 4th). This is a great way to get to know some Japanese students!

We need a total of 25 host families to accommodate 21 students (7 boys and 14 girls) and 4 chaperones (2 men and 2 women). If you or someone you know would like to host, please fill out the application form using this link: Host Family Application Form

Feel free to reach out to our Exchange Coordinator, Soshi Miyazaki, with any questions: soshi.miyazaki@oyanokai.org. Thank you for your support!

Stay connected: sign up for an Oya no Kai membership! Now that your kids have moved on from Richmond, it’s time to get on the ONK mailing list. Register your family for free just to get all the news about the JDLI, or sign up for a paid Family Membership ($40) to be able to register your students for exchanges and camps - or just to support Oya no Kai’s mission. More information online at: https://oyanokai.org/membership/

The Grant Choir Program is hosting an interactive preview night and every 8th grader who is considering attending Grant next year is invited! Join us in the Grant Choir room (281) on Wednesday, October 30th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. 8th graders will get to sing with current Grant Choir students, learn about the opportunities vocal music at Grant can provide, ask questions, and enjoy free cupcakes! Even if your student has no singing experience, or you think they would "never join something like choir," please consider attending – choir is one of the most popular, fun, inclusive, and supportive elective programs Grant has to offer and there are students from all walks of life enthusiastically enrolled in the program. For more information, please see the Full Event Flyer or email the director John Eisemann (jeisemann@pps.net).

Please follow the links to see your student-athletes' game schedules:

For 7/8 football:

7/8 Tackle Football Schedule

6th, 7th and 8th Grade Volleyball:

https://cjvb-pily.web.app/st/games

6th-8th Grade Cross Country Meets:

2024 Cross Country Meet Schedule

We have had reports from several families that they are not receiving Remind notifications from the school or district. A number of families had checked the box to not receive Remind messages when they do their ParentVue update at the beginning of the year. Please know that all district and school communication will be coming through Remind, so it is important to go in and check to see if you have checked that box.

In the past, PPS has mailed hard copies of assessment results home to families. Often these results arrived in timelines that were confusing and did not provide all families with access to important measures of student learning.

Moving forward, all families will have digital access to their students assessment results directly from the ParentVUE screen. Simply click on the "Assessment" icon to view both OSAS and MAP assessment results.

Dear Portland Public Schools families and students,

As our students embark on another exciting year of learning and growth, we want you to know it is a priority to create spaces where your students feel safe, cared for, and connected to their learning environment. Ensuring a healthy and safe environment for our students, staff, and families is a shared responsibility, and we must continue to work together to prevent the spread of communicable diseases within our school communities.

Prevention continues to be the best health approach to minimize risk for illness and contagious disease. Our 2024-25 Family Guide for Preventing Illness and Contagious Disease in Schools includes practical prevention strategies such as keeping your student up to date with recommended vaccinations and boosters, outlines steps to take if your child is sick and/or diagnosed with a communicable disease, and addresses the current measles outbreak in Oregon. You can expect all PPS schools and facilities to continue regular cleaning and disinfecting, promoting vaccine and booster clinics, providing access to masks and COVID-19 tests, and improving air circulation.

Our schools remain vigilant and work with the Multnomah County Health Department to respond to communicable disease outbreaks and notify affected families if necessary. You may continue to monitor illness activity in our region through Oregon Health Authority’s Respiratory Virus Data dashboards.

We thank you for entrusting us with your students, and for your cooperation in ensuring our schools remain healthy, safe, and productive learning environments. Please contact your school administrator or Let’s Talk with questions about your school’s health and safety protocols.

In service,

Jey Buno, Chief of Student Support Services

Home of the Eagles. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at mttabormiddleschool

Email: tlongo@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/Domain/143
Location: 5800 Southeast Ash Street, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-5646
X: @Tonya_A_Longo