Wildcat Newsletter

Staff Appreciation Week is this week! We are taking time to honor each and every one of our incredible staff members at Woodlawn this week. It takes a village to keep our building running smoothly, and we could not do it without the special role that each and every person plays around here. Woodlawn is so lucky to have such dedicated staff. Many staff have remained at Woodlawn since their student teaching days. This year we have two staff celebrating their 15th year at Woodlawn! Ms. Petersen and Ms. Simpson, we so appreciate you and all you have been doing to teach Wildcats over the last 15 years. Big thanks to the PTA, parent volunteers, families that donated items, and our sponsors for celebrating us for Staff Appreciation Week! We feel so loved!

Yes, spring has sprung, but those crazy weather days have just begun. We want students to be healthy and active, and we try to make it outside for recess as much as possible. This means jackets and closed toe shoes are essential with the ever changing weather patterns. However, we end up with A LOT of lost and found items… especially on those sunny days. Please make sure your student has their name in their jackets and hoodies, so we can get them back to owners if left behind. Many jackets, hoodies, shirts, sweaters, lunch boxes, and even shoes are all in our wonderful Lost and Found waiting to be reunited with their owners. Any lost and found remaining at the end of the year will be donated. Take a look in the front hall this week, and if you see something familiar in the images below please let us know so we can slip it into your child’s backpack to take home. Thanks!

Last Friday was a Wildcat Spirit Day. Each year students vote on which Spirit Days they would like to celebrate. Silly Hair Day was the Spirit Day for May. Our last Spirit day is Grade Level Color Day on 6/7/24. Soon it will be time for students to propose ideas and vote on their favorite Wildcat Spirit Day choices for next year’s calendar.

Thank you to all of our students and families that participated, and thanks to all the volunteers that made it happen!!

Join us for a night of FUN! Visit your classroom and explore the school where classroom teachers host a range of activities for students and their families to enjoy. We will also be hosting barbers who will give out free haircuts and a raffle with gift cards! Top off the evening with a delicious plate of fried chicken, potato salad, mac n cheese, and greens. Vegetarian options available while supplies last. See you there!

Do you know anyone who is 5 years old or will be by September 1st? Please join us for our upcoming Kindergarten event, Welcome to Woodlawn on May 14th from 10:30-11:30am. This event is for incoming Kindergarteners to spend an hour in our Kindergarten classroom. Parents and caregivers will meet separately for Q&A while children hang with our Kinder team.

We are also extending an invite to any and all of our upcoming school events to our incoming kinder families as well.

Family Fest is May 16th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Join us for dinner, haircuts, STEM activities, a raffle, and more!

Celebrate Woodlawn is May 31st from 4:30-7:00pm. We will have BBQ, snow cones, a bouncy house, student drumming residency showcase, talent show, and more!

Successful Schools Survey (SSS) Is a chance to give feedback on how we are doing as a school and district. Your input matters greatly. For the next couple weeks the survey link will be active for you to share your input. Please fill out the survey as soon as you are able. We use data from the survey to make important decisions regarding our school so again, your feedback matters greatly.

Directions for families: Families will select Woodlawn from the drop-down list at the following URL. Families with more than one student can respond for their eldest student or take the survey more than once. https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/familyspring24/surveys

YAY to Mr Clegg’s class, Ms. Amanda’s class, Mr. Ransom’s class, and Ms. Escovedo’s class! They will be enjoying class parties and treats on Friday. Remember there is still time for everyone else to win an attendance party too! Coming to school matters and we want to celebrate all of our wonderful students and families who do their best to come to school every single day. Yay!

Thanks to funding raised from Run 4 Woodlawn, we are thrilled to welcome Alex Addy who will be teaching our students Ghanaian dance and drumming. Classes begin on Monday. All of our classes will have three sessions with Alex and performances will happen at Celebrate Woodlawn on May 31st. Keep an eye out for more information regarding performances in next week’s newsletter.

This Friday, May 10th, Nutrition Services will be serving authentic Mexican tamales in your school cafeteria. Please consider sharing this video with your child to meet Lucy De Leon, the owner of Salsas Locas. We’ll learn the story of her family business and how she makes tamales for schools like ours all over Oregon.

Learn more about Salsas Locas by visiting the website: https://salsaslocas.com/

This summer we have a half-day Performing Arts camp at the Village Ballroom, and a new, active, Fun in the Sun afternoon camp at Woodlawn Park. We offer camps for:

• the youngers (rising pre-k, kinder, and 1st gr)

• the middles (rising 1st-5th) morning and afternoon option

• and the big kids (middle schoolers)

Some camps are already full but many have space remaining. We reserve mutual aid scholarship spots (no pay) for historically marginalized communities in each camp. Email Ms. Paige (pbyquist@pps.net) for a mutual aid scholarship code! We love having Woodlawn Wildcats join our summer camps. Click here to learn more and register!

Introducing Albina Softball & Baseball!

The Hopscotch Foundation has partnered with Gerald Bolden to out together softball and baseball teams for kids. Most families have been priced out of the game of baseball and softball, Albina Baseball and Softball wants to mitigate any obstacles that prevent inner-city scholar-athletes from an opportunity to participate. Community members have come together to support kids who want to build their skills and have fun!

If you are interested in being an athlete age 8-12 years old, please visit the link below or scan the QR code to learn more! All equipment, including mitts, are provided by Albina Baseball and Softball.

If you are interested in being a coach or umpire, please contact Gerald Bolden at geraldbolden@yahoo.com

Practice begins May 15th

Games begin June 15th

Season ends August 11th

Starting in Summer 2024, families will get $120 for each eligible child to buy groceries during the summer months. Around 294,000 children in Oregon may be eligible for Summer EBT.

Summer EBT webpages in English and Spanish are now available with answers to common questions about the new food benefit program. The application will open soon, so keep checking SEBT.Oregon.gov for updates.

More Information-

• The Summer EBT food benefits will be put on an Oregon EBT card (Oregon Trail Card) that families can use to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets and other places that accept EBT cards.
• Already have SNAP, TANF or OHP? You won't need to apply. Summer EBT will be automatically added to your EBT card. Others can apply online, by email or by paper, when the application is available later this summer.
• Children who receive Summer EBT can still participate in other summer meal programs.
• Getting Summer EBT will not affect a family’s immigration status.
• Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) will offer Summer EBT in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

The last day of SUN School for Spring term is now Wednesday May 22nd. Please save the date for a SUN Community Event at Boise Eliot School on Thursday May 23rd. Look out for a flier next week.

• 5/6 - 5/10 Staff Appreciation Week
  

• 5/16 Family Fest
  

• 5/23 Last Day of SUN (Spring)

• 5/27 Memorial Day, No School

• 5/31 Celebrate Woodlawn