MLC Weekly News and Notes
May 20th-24th
Hello, MLC community! Welcome back to our 6th and 8th graders who embarked on overnight camping adventures this week! We are excited to have our full school community back on Monday.
This continues to be the busiest time of the year with end of school activities, celebrations and senior crunch time. Please make sure to read all the way through so you don't miss anything!
Please take a moment to fill out the Successful Schools Survey. We need your voice!
More details are below.
Best,
Suezann & Darren
MLC Seniors 2024! We will feature a few each week.
Fox!
Kinkajou!
Possum!
Zane!
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Monday May 20th
Tuesday May 21st
4x6 Electives
Sources of Strength lunch group with Clement
Wednesday May 22nd
1x3 Electives, 7x8 Electives
Students of Color lunch group 6x12 with Alberti
Builders' Club Sponsored Snow Cone Sale! 3:30 pm on the blacktop
Thursday May 23rd
4x6 Electives END!
SAGA lunch group 7x12 with Erewyn
Friday May 24th
HS Portfolios
4x5 field trip Oregon Children's Theater 9:45am.
Coming soon through the end of the school year:
5/27: Memorial Day: no school
5/29: Wed Schedule/Senior Assembly 8:30 for High School and 12th grade families
All-school assembly end of day during elective time 2:45
5/30: Egg drop 12:30 p.m.
5/31: Seniors last day, HS portfolios AM
Senior Trip to Bullwinkles 12:30
6/1: Celebration in honor of Avril Munro in auditorium; Time 1-3pm
6/3: Kinder Field Trip
HS Trip To Lakeside Industries
6/4: PTSA 6:30 pm
6/5: Kinders to OMSI 9:30, Graduation: Providence Park 4:30 pm
6/6: Portfolio night K-6, Tour with Benner
6/7: Move Up Day
Volunteer Appreciation 8:45 am
6/11 4x5 FT to Central Library 11:15
6/13: All School Assembly and Picnic
6/14: 8th Grade Promotion 10:00 am & LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!
SCHOOL UPDATES AND NEWS
Our highest priority at MLC as an inclusive community is to facilitate the intellectual and emotional growth of our students in a safe, compassionate, and rigorous environment. Our community works together to ensure that our classrooms remain spaces of knowledge, empathy, and belonging. There is much unrest in our world. At MLC we are building a learning community of inclusivity, respect and equity.
3rd Grade Class Fundraising Project
The 3rd grade class has organized a fundraiser for their final project of the year. The class decided to raise funds for Rose Haven! Rose Haven is a day shelter and community center serving women, children, and gender non-conforming folks experiencing the trauma of abuse, loss of home and other disruptive life challenges.
There are FOUR ways you can help:
They will be accepting donations of stuffed animals, mineral sunscreen, toiletries, and gently used clothing.
They are also having something they call “Battle of the Loose Change” to see which grade band can collect the most coins to donate.
There will be a lemonade and art sale June 3rd, 4th, and 5th after school by the stairs between the black top and the playground.
You can donate using this link: https://www.makeitreign.org/campaign/metropolitan-learning-center/c587960
Please help us as we work to help this wonderful organization!
Successful Schools Survey
Dear families,
Today Portland Public Schools begins the annual Successful Schools Survey. 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 May 6-31.
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/familyspring24/surveys
For more information about the Successful Schools Survey, please go to pps.net/sss2024.
Sincerely,
Dr. Renard Adams, Chief of Research, Assessment, and Accountability
Jey Buno, Chief of Student Support Services
Volunteer Appreciation!
HS Portfolio Survey
We're having our high school student portfolio presentations on Friday, May 24th and 31st, from 8:30am-12pm, and we're looking for community panelists to participate.This is a great opportunity to see what our high school students have been up to! Panelists will be provided with a short training and a grading rubric prior to the presentations. If you are interested in being a panelist, please fill out this brief survey, and we'll follow up with you!
--
Tanya Leib
Career and Community Partnerships Coordinator
(she/ her)
Changes for 2024-25 - Updated!
PPS schools have changes in scheduling and staffing for the 2024-25 school year.
MLC is exploring a full day on Friday for students and staff to accommodate the changes in the contract as a result of bargaining as well as FDA rules regarding lunch not being served on a half day.
PPS recently sent an email with new start and end times for all schools. We are an MPG school (Multiple Pathways to Graduation) so we are able to decide which model works best for us. Here is a potential schedule:
Monday-Friday
Kx12 Start Time: 8:45 am
Kx5 End Time: 3:15 pm
6x12 End Time: 3:30 pm
There would also be a once a month early release day at 12:45.
We know families need to plan as soon as possibly for next year. Once a schedule is 100%, we will let you know. For now - here is a good idea of what you could expect.
PTSA News
Grow Together MLC Community Event & Annual Auction: Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to Grow Together! It was uplifting to see so many folks come together to support our school and celebrate our community. We are thrilled to share that we met our goal to provide funding for next year’s PTSA activities and we raised over $11,000 to help fund additional experiential learning opportunities at MLC. Our youth have been advocating for more science and music (check out this sweet video!) and thanks to your generous donations, we will be bringing in the OMSI Planetarium for 3 days and a Music Artist in Residency for the entire school year! We are grateful to all of you who donated to fulfill these wishes for our students. Your contributions help keep our unique academic tradition alive, sustaining the culture that makes MLC so special and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to grow and thrive. Buy-In Parties Still Available: Connect with our Community! Book Faire Recap Parking Crew for June, August & September: Join the Fun! The MLC PTSA hosts parking in our school lots for Timbers and Thorns games and we need volunteers to take money and direct people to spots. This is an easy and fun way to raise money for our school. Shifts are short and we will be there to teach you everything you need to know. For every shift you volunteer, we will enter your name into a drawing for a prize (Timbers tickets, Oaks Park skating passes, and more). Thanks to our generous donors for these fun incentives. Sign up HERE with a friend or come make new ones! Questions? Contact our coordinators, Tammy or Chenney. BottleDrop: Grab a Blue Bag and Keep Collecting! We Need PTSA Board Members for Next Year: IS IT YOU? The MLC PTSA will be holding elections on June 4 for board positions for the 2024-25 school year. We are looking for candidates for: President - 2 year term Vice President - 2 year term Secretary - 1 year term (to finish out current term) The PTSA is a great way to meet new families, get to know staff better, and to ensure that our teachers and students are supported. If you are interested in serving, or just want any more information about the positions and what they are responsible for, please contact current President Jeremy Booth. Upcoming PTSA Meeting: Tuesday, June 4, 6:30-8:00pm MLC Library and Zoom (see mlcptsa.org for the Zoom link) Dinner and childcare are provided for all meetings.
Did you miss the chance to secure a spot at one of our fun community building events? Perhaps you missed that they were even happening?! We’re keeping a number of our Buy-In Parties open until the end of May (or until they fill!) so be sure to check them out and sign up. There are opportunities for kids, adults, or the whole family so see what appeals to you…Absurdly Fun *Stick-Fighting* Party? Check! Adults Only Roller Skating Party? Check! Eb & Bean & Park Craft Party? Check! Swiftie Sing-Along Karaoke? Crafty Halloween Party? Euchre Night? Check, Check, Check! And we know someone could use a 2-hour Semi-Private Snowboarding Lesson…get in there and get it before it sells out! Find out more and sign up on the Grow Together website: Buy-In Parties
The MLC Book Faire was a huge hit with students and adults alike! Thank you to all who donated books and who came in to buy some “new” reading materials. We were able to raise over $900 for the MLC library update shelf signs, to purchase our 2024-2025 OBOB books for both 3x5 and the 6x8 and to purchase a scanner to help with checkouts next year.
BottleDrop is the most convenient way to recycle your Oregon beverage containers and an easy way for you to help fundraise for our school! Grab one of the MLC labeled BottleDrop blue bags from the front office at MLC or other bins around school, collect your redeemable containers, then drop them off at one of the BottleDrop bag collection points. Contact Adam Perryman with questions or to get more bags.
Our last meeting of the year is going to be a big one! In addition to electing our 2024-25 Board, we will be voting on revised Standing Rules and the 2024-25 Proposed Budget. Join us as we wrap up this year and begin planning for our next year together!
KCLC News!
Summer Camp!
KCLC Summer Camp Registration is open!
Camp will run from June 24th through August 2nd. Weeks are themed with two field trips per week with special guests, activities lead by a highly qualified staff and lots of fun! For more information and to register, visit their website at kidscommunity.org.
SUPPORT
Requests for Support
Ongoing Resources
Art is ALIVE at MLC!
Do you wonder what's going on in the Kx12 Art Room? Art teacher Ned and his students are posting their creations and flops on Instagram at studio_mlc !