4/10/24

• 4/12 RGMS School Dance, 6-8:30pm - SAVE THE DATE
  

• 4/13 Gather for Gray - Rivkah Ross Quartet, 7pm, @ the Cider Mill

• 4/26 8th Gr Spring Pictures, 9:45am-4:00pm ***DATE CHANGE***

• 5/11 Gather for Gray - Hard Maybes, 7pm, @ the Cider Mill

• Click here for the full RGMS calendar
  

Dear RGMS Community,

Community. Equity. Growth. Our core values resonate with me as I envision how we will end the year and set the stage for the start of the 24-25 school year. Ending this year well is the biggest bucket of work for me and our team. Ensuring that we celebrate ourselves - our Community - especially now in the face of the challenges we've faced this year.

I'm grateful to our helpers for being thought partners and active members in support of our Community.

• Props to the JGray Climate and Culture Teams are collaborating as we plan together for fun between our schools including JGray swag and Afternoon of the Arts.
• Props to our PTA for their collaboration with the Jackson PTA AND especially to Brandin Bowen for her work to Make it Glow at Friday night's dance!
• Props to our Foundation for their work to put support our staffing needs by bringing some fun and music into our lives Saturday night at the Cider Mill. Shout out to Melissa Light and her team for making it happen!

Forecasting and planning for next year is an exercise in adaptability and focus on our values in Equity. We need a strong academic and social emotional program so that all students are welcome and feel supported. To that end we are focused on

• welcoming incoming 6th graders,
• completing forecasting,
• crafting a schedule that gives access to a full complement of 7 classes including an additional movement lab class for PE credit, and an optional STEM class for 7th graders interested in Algebra in 8th grade.

The RGMS campus will be open in August. Walking through the lower hall this week and talking to the project manager, I heard the team's confidence that our building will be completely restored and ready for students for Fall. It's important to me that we signal confidence in our return for the 24-25 school year.

As we get clearance and approval to move out to the portables, I'll keep you updated. I anticipate that sometime in the next week I'll have exact dates and details for you to share. Thank you for hanging in with us as we navigate this process.

As always, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to share feedback, ask questions, or volunteer in any way: lnewlyn@pps.net

Have a great week - see you Friday with your GLOW on!

Lisa Newlyn

Principal

Ms. Miller and the RGMS Band took a neighborhood tour on Tuesday to Hayhurst, Reike and Bridlemile schools to showcase our music program. A new group of music enthusiasts are on their way to Robert Gray!

The PTA is excited to present The RGMS Spring Glow Up Dance 2024 on Friday, April 12th at the Jackson Middle School Cafeteria from 6-8:30pm! This is a ROBERT GRAY ONLY school dance with a GLOW UP! theme.

The Dance will include:

• Free admission

• Free PIZZA & Snacks

• Free glow accessories at Check-in

• Professional DJ

• Blacklights for Glow theme Throughout

• Dress Up or Casual in Neon or White- Prints are good too!
  

• Pro Photo Booth- with Digital images available next week

• Chill Out area in Library

• Prize Drawings for RGMS prizes like “Skip the lunch line” or “Principal for a day” As well as boxes of treats. (Students will enter the prize drawing with Ka'chings that they bring with them!!)

• Secure Check in/Check out process- Checking that students are RGMS students and have signed permission slips, checking that the kids are going home with the right person.

• Safely Monitored halls

• A phone-free environment for students (see details on this below)

• Secure Coat, Bag and PHONE check, if your student must bring a phone

Volunteers! We still have a few spots to fill if you'd like to join the party! Please sign up HERE to volunteer at the dance.

All volunteers must be current with their PPS volunteer background check. If you're not sure if you are still in your 3-year approval period, try to register. If you are currently approved, it will tell you. Follow the steps here! https://www.pps.net/volunteer

Permission slip: Must be signed by a parent, with designation of how your student is getting home.

Behavior Contract: You and your student will need to sign.

Thank You to all of the Volunteers who are going to make this a fun and safe event!!

~The Dance Committee

8th grade spring pictures will be taken on April 26. THIS IS A DATE CHANGE!

Order info will be coming soon.

We are looking forward to celebrating the Class of 2028 as they promote from RGMS in June! Some important dates to hold onto:

• 06/06 @ 9:30am - 2:30pm Celebration Day @ Oaks Park
• 06/13 @ 6:30pm Promotion in the Ida B. Wells Auditorium with PTA Family Reception to follow

Currently all students in grades 6 and 7 are forecasting for next year.

We are encouraging students to share this information with their guardians/ parents.

Presentations were shared with your students this week. Included in each presentation are the course guide links and forecasting links.

We are asking students to forecast on their Chromebook, so their email is entered.

Deadline for submission was the first day after Spring Vacation: April 1, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Laureen Held. lheld@pps.net or call/text on her business cell phone: 971-231-4621.

https://bit.ly/7thGradeForecastInfo24

https://bit.ly/8thGradeForecastInfo24

The Locker Clean Out was a success! We were able to clean out and bag all of the locker contents in the upper hallway. We now have the contents of the lockers in the upper hallway and lower hallway ready to return to students. Unfortunately, the lockers in the crossover aka gym hallway are not accessible at this time.

Locker contents from the upper and lower hallways can be retrieved outside the RGMS Cafeteria on Friday, April 5th from 11:00AM-1PM Locker partners do not both need to be present, as the contents are bagged together. Locker partners DO have the responsibility of dividing their stuff up after their bag is picked up, making sure items make it back to their rightful owners.

We will need a couple of parents to help facilitate retrieving and passing out bags. Please sign up if you are available.

Returning Locker Contents to Students

Click here to see the Daily Student Announcements

Please remind your student to charge their Chromebook overnight so they are ready to use the next day at school.

Please continue to use the Robert Gray MS phone number, 503 916 5676 to get ahold of RGMS secretaries. Calls are being forwarded to RGMS secretaries at Jackson MS.

Markham Elementary, Jackson MS & Robert Gray MS all have school buses arriving at different times, beginning at 3pm, at Jackson. If you need to pick up your student early from school, please, if at all possible, plan on doing so before 3pm when buses begin arriving. It is a very busy place after 3pm. Please park in the upper lot and walk to the main door, ring the bell and come to the office to sign out your student.

The last day to order a yearbook is quickly approaching! Student yearbooks will be on sale until Friday, May 10th.

LifeTouch Link To Purchase

Robert Gray Middle School

Yearbook ID: 14931524

RGMS Affinity Spaces are BACK!

Check out our Affinity Space and Lunch Club schedule.

ADPI pictures below.

The RGMS Foundation raises money to augment our elective options. The money raised is used at the principals discretion.

More Gather for Gray Music Nights

We are excited to be hosting more Music Nights at the Cider Mill. All events are from 7-9 PM, with minors allowed until 9 PM. Below are the dates for the upcoming events.

Saturday April 13-Rivkah Ross Quartet

Rivak Ross Quartet (Mr. Goldstein's Wife's Band!)

Saturday April 13, 7-9 PM

Minors allowed until 9 PM

Suggested donation $15

Saturday May 11-The Hard Maybes

BottleDrop Drive

1. Get Blue bags from the following locations: Rieke area-1656 SW Sunset Blvd.; Hayhurst area: 5252 SW Idaho St.; Bridlemile area-4031 SW Jerald Way

2 Fill Your Bags!

3. Return Full Bags to any BottleDrop location or Burlingame Fred Meyer.

4 Scan the Barcode on the bag to unlock the self-service bag drop.

Questions: Melissa Light, grayschoolfoundation@gmail.com

PTA meetings occur the 3rd Wednesday of every month. Next week’s meeting will be over

Zoom.

If you’re potentially interested in being a PTA officer next year, this is definitely the

meeting to attend! We will also discuss staff appreciation week, among other topics.

Zoom information is as follows:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86339523318?pwd=TmZubFFFWWRFWlBaYzZLQnJ2V0lqZz09

Meeting ID: 863 3952 3318

Passcode: 080505

Haven’t joined the PTA yet? Do so now using this link.

You will have to select “ROBERT GRAY MS PTA (PORTLAND)” as your “Local Unit”. The rest

is straightforward and takes less than 5 minutes to complete. Membership is $20 for the year.

Do you wish to make a one-time or recurring donation to PTA? You can do so here. Click “Donate” then enter your amount and indicate your intent to donate monthly if desired!

Robert Gray PTA Volunteer Opportunities

Looking for ways to get involved this year? Use the following form to sign up for the events you are interested in and you will receive a follow up email with additional information. The time and support of our volunteers is greatly appreciated. Without it we couldn't make special Gray events happen! Some of these events include Run for Gray, Teacher Appreciation Week, Bottle Drop Fundraiser, Sustainability and extra supervision during lunch time, and more. Please consider volunteering or donating as you are able.

RGMS Volunteer Sign-up

Thank you for your time and support! Looking forward to a great year!

RGMS PTA

Get text alerts about school closures, delays, emergencies and school events:

Text YES to 68453

Email: lnewlyn@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/gray
Location: 5505 Southwest 23rd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-5676
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertgraymiddleschool
Attendance Reporting: grayattend@pps.net