TUBMAN TRIBUNE

You are receiving this message because your student is currently registered to attend Harriet Tubman Middle School for the 2024-2025 school year. Please contact the school office if your student's enrollment has changed, at kibacon@pps.net (Kiah Bacon, School Administrative Assistant).

We are excited to invite you to enroll your students in our after-school SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) Program! SUN offers a range of enriching activities, academic support, and a safe, engaging environment for your child after school hours.

To complete the enrollment process, it is MANDATORY to fill out the following forms by the end of this week. These forms are crucial for our data and ensure your student can participate in SUN. Without these completed forms, students will not be allowed to attend the program.

Please fill out the required forms using the link below: ENROLL HERE

Important Reminders:

• Pick-up time is no later than 6:15 PM. Persistent late pick-ups may result in students being unenrolled until the next quarter.
• All other necessary details are included in the enrollment form.

First things first: what is Site Council?

The site council is made of Principal Greer, teachers, staff and community members, plus parents/guardians of HTMS students. There are 4 parent/guardian spots currently open, which will be elected by the HTMS family community. No particular experience is required to serve beyond a commitment to the school. The site council benefits from a wide variety of voices.

What does the Site Council do?

The site council's purpose is to work together to identify ways to best support our students, in their academic learning, social-emotional wellness and sense of belonging at school. One of the main ways we do this is through making sure our School Continuous Improvement Plan (SCIP) continues to be relevant and responsive to student needs.

What's the time commitment?

Monthly meetings are from 4:15-5:30pm in the school library, plus the occasional training or feedback session.

I'm interested! What should I do next?

Please submit your name and a short bio through this nomination link by Wednesday, October 9th. An election email will be sent out on Oct 10th, with members determined by Oct. 14th. The first site council meeting will be Wednesday, October 16th in the school library at 4:15pm.

Friday, October 11 is a statewide inservice day. There is no school on this day.

Enjoy your long weekend!

Tuesday, October 15 will be a 15 minute late-start day for school. School begins at 9:30am. For students riding the school bus, routes will run 15 minutes later than their regularly scheduled pick up time. The building opens at 9:23am for student entry, with instruction beginning promptly at 9:30am.

The days that students will start at 9:30am will be the following: 9/10, 10/15, 11/5, 12/3, 1/7, 2/4, 3/11, 4/8, 5/6, 6/3.

We are planning a trip for current HTMS 8th graders for this year’s Spring Break. March 23 - 27, 2025 we will be taking a group of students across the country to visit New York and Washington DC. It will be a packed 5 day/4 night adventure, squeezing as many sights, museums, experiences as we can into that time including:

New York City

• Central Park, Broadway Show and walk through Times Square, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, 9-11 Memorial Museum, Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock, 5th Avenue/Wall Street/Trinity Church

• Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Holocaust Memorial Museum, Smithsonian Museums (African American Culture and History, American Indian, Air and Space, Natural History, Art, American History), Ford’s Theatre, White House, Capitol Building...all the memorials we can get

Plus - all the fun we can manage on an airplane and hotel.

The trip’s cost covers all expenses (minus any spending money), including buses, night chaperones, and insurance.

For more information, please join us at the parent meeting Thursday, October 17th, at 5:00PM in room 203.

Please contact Mrs. Heggem for more information at dheggem@pps.net

The next PTSA next meeting will be held Thursday, October 17 at 6 PM in the library and online. Parents, community members, teachers, and STUDENTS - All are welcome! PTSA meetings are held the 3rd Thursday of each month.

Click here to join the meeting on ZOOM

Join the PTSA! Your membership will help support student programs and services at Harriet Tubman Middle School: https://www.oregonpta.org/membership/joinnow/11510594

We will have an early release this Wednesday, October 23rd. This will allow staff to receive Professional Development (PD).

Students who ride the bus will arrive at their stop approximately 2-hours earlier than their regularly scheduled end-of-day arrival time.

As a reminder, please note that the 2024-2025 school calendar is live on the district website.

Free Food Market at Randall Children’s Hospital is still going on. This is open to all community members, no questions asked, who could use a little extra food support.

El mercado de alimentos gratuito en Randall Children's Hospital todavía continúa. Esto está abierto a todos los miembros de la comunidad, sin hacer preguntas, a quienes les vendría bien un poco de apoyo alimentario adicional. Traducido con el Traductor de Google

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).

Harriet Tubman Middle School is excited to welcome award-winning author Rebecca Balcárcel to our school on Monday, October 28th!

“A Guatemalan-Anglo American, Rebecca Balcárcel is the award-winning author of SHINE ON, LUZ VÉLIZ! and THE OTHER HALF OF HAPPY, as well as a contributor to Highlights magazine and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters.”

(Source: https://rebeccabalcarcel.com/about-me/)

During her visit, Ms. Balcárcel will give HTMS students a behind-the-scenes peek at the origin story of her book "Shine On, Luz Veliz!”, which is an engaging story that has a focus on computers, coding, and robotics. Ms. Balcárcel will also show them writing tips to make their own stories or assignments better. It is an interactive, fun, and energetic presentation!

The visit will be open to all HTMS students who would like to attend and students who are interested can see Ms. Boldman in the library to RSVP! We would like to purchase a copy of Shine On, Luz Veliz! for all students who attend the author visit to be signed by Ms. Balcárcel. If you would like to contribute to the purchase of those books, please use the included link.

For any questions, please reach out to our School Librarian, Ms. Boldman (eboldman@pps.net).

We are thrilled to announce our upcoming Fun Friday In-School Carnival, October 31, and we would love for you to join in the fun by volunteering! This special event will feature exciting gaming stations, arts & crafts, and concessions, and we need your help to make it a success.

Whether you’re able to assist with games, help kids with creative crafts, or lend a hand at the concession stand, your participation will make a huge difference in creating a memorable experience for our students.

If you’re interested in volunteering**, please sign up here:

Thank you in advance for your support! We look forward to celebrating the season together with your help.

**All volunteers must complete a PPS background check

Multnomah County’s School and Community Oral Health Program is offering Free sealants and dental screening. A dental screening is a quick look inside your child’s mouth to check the overall health of their teeth, and sealants will be placed if needed.

Per PPS policy, all students will be required to wear their school I.D. badge during the school day. We will supply lanyards and holders for all students. We will have a “soft start” to this policy until picture day on October 1st. Once students receive their new IDs, there will be no exceptions to the policy.

Harriet Tubman Middle School has several policies and expectations for our students and our Code of Conduct Agreement (CCA) outlines each of them. You will see expectations for students in regards to our general building expectations (A.S.K.), our attendance system (ASERT), behavior referrals and discipline ladder, cell phone policy, social media and attire expectations as well as our food policy.

Our goal is to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students. It is your responsibility to review our building expectations and to ensure both you and your student/s understand HTMS and PPS expectations and policies.

If you have any questions and or concerns, please reach out to our team for support.

• Digital Signature form
  

• PRINTABLE version

At Harriet Tubman Middle School, we would love for you to visit your student and to support our building! Please make sure to sign in at the office and if you would like to stay, per district safety policy, you will be asked to show your ID and will receive a visitor badge. Please remember to return to the main office to sign out.

If you would like to visit a classroom, you will need to provide educators with a 24 hour notice. This can be done via email or over the phone with the educator.

All volunteers must have a background check. Ask our front office how to get that going!

OCTOBER

7 SUN after-school programming begins

11 Inservice, No school

15 Late start, school begins at 9:30a

16 Site Council, 4:15p (library)

17 NYC/DC Info Mtg, 5pm (Rm 203)

17 PTSA meeting, 6p (library)

18 BSU field trip, Warner Pacific University

23 Early release, students dismissed at 1:45p

25 6th Gr (Q1) AVID field trip, PSU

28-31 School Spirit Week

31 Fun Friday, 2p (volunteers needed)

31 End of Q1

NOVEMBER

1 Grading Day, No school

4 Teacher PD, No school

5 PTSA Fundraiser Night, Sparky's Pizza

11 Holiday, No school

PPS has worked to align middle school schedules through their middle school redesign process. This means that we will have a new bell schedule for the 2024-2025 school year. Monday, Wednesday and Friday will have the same schedule which includes an advisory period for 25 minutes to start the day. Advisory will be critical to setting up your student for success and it is an expectation that all students attend. Tuesday and Thursday will also see identical schedules, without advisory, which results in slightly longer class periods.

To ensure a smooth and efficient beginning and end to each school day, we want to remind you of our arrival and departure procedures.

Arrival Procedures:

• Doors Open: Students may enter the school building starting at 9:08 AM. This early entry time provides students with the opportunity to pick up a free breakfast, setting a positive tone for their day of learning.
• Classroom Readiness: The school day officially begins at 9:15 AM. To maximize instructional time, all students are expected to be in their classrooms, seated, and prepared to learn by this time.
• Late Arrivals: If students arrive after 9:15 AM, they will need to check in at the school office before proceeding to their classroom. This helps us ensure that all students are accounted for and ready to join their classes.

Departure Procedures:

• Dismissal Time: The school day ends at 4:00 PM. Students will be dismissed to go home at this time. Please ensure that arrangements are made for timely pick-up or transportation.

We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these times as they help maintain a structured and productive learning environment for all students. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact the school office.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership.