• November 25-26: No school for students - Parent Teacher Conferences
• November 27-29: Schools closed for holiday
• December 4: Dorian Picture Retakes
• December 6: Duniway Holiday Home Tour & Boutique
• December 6: Duniway Choir Concert
• December 6: Last Day to submit Successful Schools Survey
• December 9: OBOB Kick-Off, 5-7 p.m.
• December 18: Early Release - Dismissal at 11:50 a.m.
• December 23-January 3: Schools closed for winter break
• January 6: First Day of School in the new year - 2025!
• January 20: Schools closed for holiday
• January 23: OBOB Mock Battle, 4-6 p.m.
• January 27-28: Schools closed for grading and planning days

• February 22-23: OBOB Final Competition

2024-25 District Calendar

Dear Families,

Happy Friday and welcome to Fall Break! I hope you all have had a good week and I know we are all excited for the break ahead. We had a great week here at Duniway as we move towards Parent Teacher Conferences next Monday and Tuesday. We held a whole school assembly on Wednesday and the themes for the assembly were Native American Heritage and Gratitude. We displayed flags from the original Native Tribes of Oregon and spoke about their history. Student council members and our 5th grade emcees also shared reflections on things they are grateful for both here at school and in their home lives. As we move towards Parent Teacher Conferences and Fall Break next week, I wish you all a productive conference and also an enjoyable break. I hope you all are able to spend quality time with your loved ones and family. Thinking of the theme of gratitude, I am grateful to be a part of our caring, connected Duniway community. We have faced adversity and challenges this year and I feel we are doing our best to work together to help our school grow and thrive. I look forward to seeing some of you next week and when we return to school on December 2.

In gratitude,

John Melvin

We look forward to meeting with families on November 25-26. Please come in through the main entrance on SE Reed College Place - there is no need to ring the bell. Head straight to your student's classroom.

Be sure to check the lost and found for missing items. All remaining things will be boxed up and donated on December 2.

We will be placing the Lost and Found in the hallway by the main entrance on Monday and Tuesday, November 25-26. Unclaimed items that do not include a child's full name will be boxed up and donated on Monday, December 2. Please be sure to take a look during Parent Teacher Conferences!

Portland Public Schools uses Remind to communicate with families. Duniway uses Remind to send announcements and weekly newsletters. Visit the PPS website to learn more about how to use Remind. Please be sure to update your notification settings to allow for text, email, and/or push notifications.

The Special Education screen in Parentvue displays the student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and Progress Reports if a student is receiving services. Click here for instructions: Viewing Special Education Documents in ParentVUE

Hello Duniway Community,

The Duniway Foundation is happy to announce that we’ll be continuing our 28th Annual Giving Campaign. We will be working more closely with the Duniway PTA toward a shared vision of community engagement and school improvement. It runs November 21st through December 31st. There will be a lot of exciting incentives at all levels, including participation!

HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE?

Please consider donating as generously as you can. Many families make a gift equal to the value of one week’s tuition for summer camp. Others give the cost of eating one family dinner out. Last year, the average gift was around $250. There is a monthly payment option as well. Others simply fill out the annual campaign participation form to show their support and to help get their class participation to 100%. All gifts of any size are appreciated and 100% tax-deductible!

We have some great prizes and incentives to help us meet our goal, including:

• A popsicle party for the class in each grade with the highest participation

• Dr. Melvin dressing up in costume when we get halfway to our $50,000 goal

• A “students choice” movie night at Duniway if we reach the same participation or higher as last year’s campaign!

• A “Proud Supporter of our Duniway Dragons” yard sign for families donating $250 or more

Does your employer match donations for Giving Tuesday? Feel free to reach out and we can help if needed. Our Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) and your donation is 100% tax-deductible. All donations will stay at Duniway.

This year your donations will go directly to Duniway and its students in the form of supplemental art and science curriculum, literacy support, improving our facilities, and so much more that would otherwise go overlooked by the district for 2025-2026 school year.

Last year, your dollars hired two Educational Assistants, kept music programming full time at Duniway, and closed the funding gap to keep a part-time office assistant, helping parents and students across the school. While we can no longer fundraise for PPS positions – your dollars will continue to enrich our Duniway student experience and help our teachers.

Please consider supporting Duniway! Click HERE to read all about what the Duniway Foundation is about, and CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

We look forward to working together with our amazing and special Duniway community. Go Dragons!!

With gratitude,

Andrea Angell and The Giving Campaign Committee

president@duniwayfoundation.org

Join us for our Second Annual Duniway Wreath Auction!! Grab a couple friends and have a wreath making party, or get crafty solo. We are currently looking for 20 wreaths that are unique, traditional, and festive. You can drop your wreaths off at the office after December 2nd no later than December 5th. These will be featured at our Duniway Home Tour Boutique to be auctioned off. Winners will be notified December 7th, buy it now option will be available. Funds raised will go to the PTA. Duniway does not provide supplies. Sign up HERE to donate a wreath!

Registration is now open for several of the PTA's winter enrichment programs. Whether your kids are into art, lego, sports, chess, Spanish, music, or dance, we have many returning favorites as well as a few new activities to try. Check out the schedule for details and registration info, and contact programs directly with any questions.

The Successful Schools Survey is an opportunity for students, staff, and families to provide important feedback on their school environments, learning experiences, and sense of well-being and safety at school. The survey is conducted once every school year to provide timely information to schools, district leadership, and the community, allowing us to make informed decisions about school climate and culture. This year, the survey window is open November 1 to December 6.

Portland Public Schools highly values the input and opinions of its families, and we welcome all PPS parents and guardians to complete this year’s survey. We use the data to help improve our schools, providing targeted feedback and training on how to create healthy school environments that are welcoming for all.

You can complete the Successful Schools Survey online using the link provided below. Please complete one survey per household. If you have more than one student at PPS, we ask that you complete the survey considering the experiences of your eldest child.

The survey will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese.

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/fall24family

For more information about the Successful Schools Survey, please go to pps.net/sss2024.

Duniway’s 2024-2025 Oregon Battle of the Books Sign Up Roster will close on December 1, 2024. If you have signed up to Coach a Team you should have received an email of confirmation from the OBOB Committee. The OBOB Committee is diligently working on finalizing our Duniway OBOB Teams for this year. We have over 80 3rd, 4th and 5th graders signed up, it’s going to be another exciting year of OBOB at Duniway! Questions? Email Emily: emylou104@gmail.com.

Save the date for our first event: The OBOB Kick-Off for Coaches and Teams: Duniway Auditorium, Monday 12/9/24, 5:00-7:00 pm.