The Mt. Tabor Tribune

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• March 13: STAMP Testing for Spanish and Japanese 8th Grade Students Begins
• March 15 at 5:30 pm: JRR Chaperone Training #1
• March 15 at 6:00 pm: 8th Grade Career Night
• March 22 at 6:00 pm: Japan Research Residency Meeting
• March 24: Requested return for OSAS Opt-Out Forms
• March 27-31: Spring Break

Happy Weekend, MTMS Staff and Families,

Last week at Mt. Tabor MS, we were busy hosting events for our rising 6th grade students--from 5th Grade Open House to our 5th Grade Visit from Richmond Elementary. It was so exciting to see students and families looking forward to next year and beyond, and our 8th grade WEB leaders, counselors, and community partners were amazing in sharing all the ways that students and families could become an even bigger part of the MTMS family.

This week is another amazing opportunity--but for our 8th grade students, to participate in a look forward toward the many options in store for them when thinking about their adult careers. Our school team has really invited some effort in finding volunteer presenters in a variety of career fields--from photography and fabrication to medicine and law. There is something for everyone at the 8th Grade Career Night!

Last week's newsletter shared a QR code and link for families to RSVP for the event--we hope to have an amazing showing and will be providing dinner. If we don't see robust registration by the end of the day on Monday, we will be opening the opportunity to participate to our 7th grade students and families as well. I sincerely hope that our students and their families from all programs take some time to participate in this event. You will find the QR code and information to RSVP immediately below this newsletter.

There is other information in the newsletter below about looking forward--like making sure you have ordered your yearbook and marked your calendar for 8th grade promotion.

All the best,

Tonya

Ms. Tonya Longo

Principal, Mt. Tabor Middle School

8th grade families, now is the time to RSVP for Career Night. The event will be held this Wednesday, March 15th from 6-8 pm here at Mt. Tabor. You will hear from various professionals about their exciting careers! We will be serving pizza and childcare is available.

Please RSVP at this link or scan the QR code to let us know that you will be there. This will help us ensure we have enough food and childcare available.

Deadline to pre-order yearbooks is approaching in April! We only have a limited number of copies that we order beyond the pre-order, so if you want one, now is the time to order. Don't miss out on the yearbook by ordering online through SchoolPay. Only $20 for priceless memories!

Dear 6th Grade Families,

Below you will find some information about placement for middle school Common Core State Standards (CCSS) mathematics courses in Portland Public Schools.

The Compacted Mathematics courses are different from any advanced math course that PPS has offered in the past. In these courses, students are expected to complete 3 years of math over 2 years. This means that these courses are fast paced. Students are expected to master a topic with minimal practice before moving on to the next topic. 6th grade students must have highly mastered the 6th grade topics and skills when given ample practice time in order to show readiness for this kind of pace. Students who earn a grade of ‘PR’ or better in Compacted Mathematics Year 1 and Compacted Mathematics Year 2 can earn high school Algebra credit.

Process for CY1 Placement for rising 6th graders:

1. Student(s) and Guardian(s) complete the FAMILY survey by no later than Friday, March 24, 2023.

2. School team completes the SCHOOL survey* (recommend or not)

3. If there is a discrepancy between family survey and school survey that would change the placement, schools will meet with the families to determine placement for the student.

If you have any questions, please contact your child’s current math teacher, Tonya Longo (our school principal), or the PPS Middle Grades Mathematics department.

Sincerely,

PPS Middle Grades Mathematics Team

Congratulations to the ‘Top Hat Cats” who won Mt Tabor’s Battle of the Books, 2023. The “Cats” faced the formable “Sassy Salamanders” (Sophia Chandler, Hazel Allen, Dylan Dyar, Nolan Johnson, Nova Graham), and “Title Waves” (Zoe Durocher, Eloise Bishop, Olive Morgan, Olive Oxman) teams, but in the end Zoey Moses, Cece Mitchell, Hazel Carlson, Charlotte Rasche and Dot Houston proved to be too much to overcome!

The battle was held Thursday, March 2 in the library. The teams answered questions regarding SIXTEEN books they’d read since the beginning of the school year. Answers to the questions needed to include the title of the book, as well as the author’s name.

The “Cats” will head to the regional tourney March 18 at Ron Russell Middle School in Portland. The OBOB state tournament is scheduled for Saturday, April 15, 2023, at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

GOOD LUCK CATS!!!

In the coming weeks and months, our students will be engaged in their annual cycles of state assessments. All students in Grade 6-8 are scheduled to take the English Language Arts and Math assessments (both a computer adaptive exam and a performance task) and 8th grade students will take the state science assessment as well.

OSAS Testing ELA and Mathematics:

Oregon's ELA and math summative assessments go beyond multiple-choice questions to include extended response and technology enhanced items, as well as performance tasks that allow students to demonstrate critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to complex real-world problems. They can best be described as collections of questions and activities that are coherently connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities are meant to measure capacities such as depth of understanding, writing and research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with traditional assessment questions. The performance tasks will be taken on a computer (but will not be computer adaptive) and will take one to two class periods to complete. Smarter Balanced capitalizes on the precision and efficiency of computer adaptive testing (CAT). This approach represents a significant improvement over traditional paper-and-pencil assessments used in many states today, providing more accurate scores for all students across the full range of the achievement continuum.

OSAS Opt-Out Information

Parents have the right to opt their students out of OSAS testing (in Math, Reading and 8th Grade Science). It is important that parents choosing to opt their students out do so prior to the start of the testing window--students who start their tests and later opt out before their completion will have their incomplete scores registered (and these scores skew our school's testing data and state report cards). To support our planning and organization of the testing window, we would appreciate receiving opt out forms as early as possible, preferably by Friday, March 24.

To opt out your student from these tests, please read and complete the forms from the PPS Assessment Website at https://www.pps.net/Page/1651. There are two separate forms: one for ELA & Math, and one for Science (Grade 8 only). Completed forms must be returned to Mt. Tabor Middle School in care of Assistant Principal Evening Krauel, our Site Testing Coordinator.

MTMS Testing Schedule

The testing schedule and special bell schedules for testing days are listed below.

Thank you to all the 6th and 7th grade families and students that have signed up as volunteers to support 8th Grade Career Night. We appreciate all the support and participation in the community! We hope to see many 8th graders and their families on Wednesday, March 15th for the event from 6-8pm. Pizza will be served AND there will be volunteers to entertain and care for younger siblings in the library. Don’t forget to RSVP (look for QR code in this newsletter), so organizers know how much pizza to order.

As it has been for the past months, The Courtyard Beautification project is at the forefront of our minds as we move into spring planting season. Thank you to those that have contacted the PTA to sign up for the Courtyard Workgroup. We are excited to have a list of potential and interested volunteers for courtyard work. If you would like to be added to this list, which just means you are interested and that we can reach out to you with volunteer garden work opportunities, please email Sarah at snutt@spu.edu.

Financial contributions from the MTMS community remains an important component of this work. The more our budget (which is solely through direct donations from you, the MTMS community) grows, the more planning and work can be done to create a fantastic, educational, and climate and environmentally appropriate space. To accomplish the basic Courtyard Beautification project plan, $4,000 needs to be raised. To accomplish some of the great additional requests from teachers and staff, we need to raise enough funds from MTMS families to reach our “stretch goal” of $8,000. If you are able to donate, please do so now through School Pay https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/MTMS-Courtyard-Beautification/SdhjVRd.

For more detailed information on the courtyard project click here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MR-RG3dtBJ5WBYZKVqXtDf-ammTgJhz8-cwSEM5M5Ws/edit

Over the last two years, health guidance on when to stay home has become of the utmost importance. Below you will find the most updated guidance on when your student should stay home with specific symptoms and for how long. We appreciate our families screening their students to symptoms and keeping them home according to these health guidelines.

For the 2022-23 school year, MTMS shortened the list of student-provided materials considerably and are working to provide community supplies to ensure that all students have access to these tools. We are asking that families contribute $15-$25 toward the purchase of these community supplies.

It is also time to purchase your 2022-23 Yearbook. Every year come June, students and families are disappointed because we run out of extras for sale. This year's book with cost $20.

You can pay your community supply contribution AND purchase your yearbook by scanning the attached QR code.

While you or your student is welcome to bring payment to the office or the cafeteria to pay for school lunch, you can make payments easy by signing up for School Cafe.

At PPS , we use SchoolCafé to:

• Make Payments
• Set up Auto Pay
• Get Low Balance Alerts
• Submit Meal Applications
• View Letters
• View Purchases
• View Menus

You can sign up at https://www.schoolcafe.com/pps

The nationwide waiver to provide all K-12 students free meals regardless of income expired June 30, 2022. Meals will no longer be free to all PPS students in the 2022-23 school year. Eligible families can submit an online or paper Confidential Family Application to see if they qualify for free and reduced-priced meals.

Applying Online:

• Click the Apply Online link or download the mobile app to complete and submit an application via SchoolCafe.

Two Step Process to Submit an Online Meal Application with SchoolCafe:

1. Create a SchoolCafe Account. You can use this account each school year to submit an online meal application.
2. Complete and submit the online application. You can check the status of the application and even print out the approval/denial letter.

Applying with a Paper Application:

To submit a paper application, click on the 2022-23 Confidential Family Application for Free and Reduced Priced Meals below.

• English
• Chinese
• Russian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

Then, print out and complete the required information and mail the application to the PPS Nutrition Services Department, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227. To request one to be mailed to you, please fill out the online request form or contact the PPS Meal Benefits Office at 503.916.3402 or email mealbenefits@pps.net.

If families do not qualify for free and reduced-price meals, a meal application can be submitted any time during the school year. This means if circumstances change that allow families to meet the income guidelines, they can submit an application at that time.

Home of the Eagles. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at mttabormiddleschool

Email: tlongo@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/Domain/143
Location: 5800 Southeast Ash Street, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-5646
Twitter: @Tonya_A_Longo