Alameda Friday Newsletter

September 13, 2024

Dear Families,

This week marked our first, full, five day week. I think we all were a bit tired by the end of today and many of us will rest and sleep well over the weekend. We finally got to see Mr. Grievel, our Monday PE teacher, in action and all our classrooms are definitely in full swing. Today we had our first Whole School Assembly which was a joy. The entire school sang our new school song, led by one of our new music teachers, Ms. Zeller-Williams. In addition, we had some brave 5th graders dance and we announced the first winners of our Alameda Ticket raffle. Thanks to Nectar (the frozen yogurt shop on NE Fremont) for donating gift cards. We look forward to recognizing students on a weekly basis.

This week I have visited most (still have a few more to go) classrooms to read and have a short discussion about the book The Yellow Bus. It is a beautiful book and the story connects well to our school wide values, especially joy, kindness and inclusion. From kindergarten to 5th grade, students had great connections to this story. As always, a highlight for me is to spend time in our classrooms and this was no exception.

In addition, many of our students have started fall benchmark assessments in both literacy and math. All students will take the iReady diagnostic assessment which is a component of our iReady Math Curriculum. In addition, our students in 3-5 grade will take the MAP Growth assessment in math. In literacy, our K-2 students will complete a literacy/fluency assessment and our students in 3-5 grade will take the MAP Growth assessment in literacy. All assessments are computer adapted - providing students with a sequence of questions that change based on how they have answered previous question(s). In the coming weeks, teachers and teacher teams will be using this data to help better serve students - planning appropriate lessons, supports, and extensions.

I know everyone has a busy schedule, but I hope to see many of you on Tuesday evening at our School-wide picnic. Bring food, purchase food from one of five food trucks, and learn more about how you can help out during the upcoming year. The event begins at 5:30 PM.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. See you on Monday!

Regards,

Matt Goldstein

Choir is Full: Thanks to the over 70 students who have signed up for choir and an even bigger thanks to our Choir Director, Ralph Nelson, for his willingness to take such a large group. Because of this, we are no longer able to take any more students at this time. We look forward to hearing the choir in the coming months.

No Smart Watches Please: Please make sure your child either leaves their smart watch at home (that is the best and easiest choice) or that it is off and away in their backpack. We are still seeing a number of students wearing watches to school, especially older students. Thanks for your support.

Welcome Back Picnic: The picnic is this coming Tuesday, 9/17 from 5:30 - 7:30 PM.

There will be food trucks, face painting, and more. We hope you can attend!

Back to School Night: This year, we are going to try a new format for BTSN. All families, including students, are invited to visit the school. Students will be given a “passport” to move around the school, visiting all the fun and exciting spots. At each spot, students will get a stamp or sticker. At the end of the evening, all completed passports that are turned in will be entered into a raffle! Be on the lookout for any specific grade level information from your child’s teacher. We are excited to see you all then. BTSN is on Thursday, 9/26 from 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Early Release: The first early release of the year will be on Wednesday, 9/25/25. The day will end at 11:50 AM.

Picture Day: Picture day is coming up. Picture will take place on either September 26th or September 27th. Your child’s teacher will be letting you know which day and we will be communicating more information about how you can order pictures.

Lockdown Drill: During the week of September 20 - 25th our counselors will be doing a short lesson with our K-2 students about a lockdown. Teachers in older grades will also spend some time reviewing lockdown procedures. We will then have a schoolwide drill on Monday, September 30th. As I mentioned previously, we are required to perform a number of different drills during the school year, including two lockdown drills, one in the fall and another later in the year. Our intention is to practice and discuss how to react during a situation where something unsafe is happening inside the building. The drill will only last a few minutes and all teachers will let all students know beforehand that it is a drill.

Call for PTA Volunteer Team:

At Alameda, we aim to foster community spirit, support our students, and enhance their school experience. Your participation can play a key role in making these events truly memorable for our children.

Volunteering with the PTA is a fantastic way to connect with fellow parents, support our students, and contribute to creating an engaging and vibrant school environment. Your involvement directly benefits our children and strengthens our school community.

If you’re interested in joining our PTA volunteer team and making a difference, we’d love to add you to our volunteer contact list. Please sign up here:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/2a5e2d7939ad4d5caf531164605df8e4

For any questions or further information, don’t hesitate to contact audreyg@gnicharch.com

Call for Room Parents:

Room Parents play a vital role each year by serving as a representative for teachers at Alameda. The role as Room Parents is to communicate what is happening in the classroom / grade to other parents and assist the teacher with various tasks so that she/he/they may focus on teaching our students.

As a Room Parent, you might work with your teacher to coordinate holiday parties, classroom volunteers for various tasks such as field trips, and classroom fundraising projects. You will also coordinate gifts/support for your teachers for holidays, birthdays, and teacher appreciation time.

Please fill out this form if you are interested in volunteering for the Room Parent Roll.

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/f6ebb1fbbd5b4aa6990267ccad0f9937

**Please note, some teachers prefer not to have a room parent handle many of these tasks, however the PTA would still like to have a classroom contact to connect with on a few items. If you volunteer for one of these teachers, we will work with the teacher to ensure we are respecting boundaries.

If you have any questions, please email Audrey Gnich at audreyg@gnicharch.com.

Thank you for your willingness to support our school and help create positive experiences for our students. We look forward to collaborating with you!

PPS Early Release
Day Camps

PPS has Early Release Wednesdays each month
Trackers camps have you covered!

Portland Public Schools (PPS) has announced Early Release Wednesdays for the 2024-25 school year. These will occur almost every month. We understand this might disrupt your plans, but don’t worry—Trackers has got you covered. Our new PPS Early Release Day Camps are now open for registration.

To support working parents, we have made these camps as cost-effective as possible. Kids can spend their afternoons connecting with friends and learning awesome Trackers skills. They can craft in our pottery studio, build in our woodworking shop, hone their archery skills, create characters for epic role-playing games, or explore the great outdoors while connecting to nature.

Our PPS Early Release Day Camps are available at our SE and NE Portland site, with easy parent pick-up from 5 PM to 6 PM. Remember, students of our After School Program already get early release camp as part of their Wednesday membership. While you tackle your workday, your kids can have a blast learning new things—all in a safe and fun environment!