Lenox Elementary

Greetings Families,

Can you believe that we are almost a month into the school year already? We are settling into routines, modeling and practicing expected behaviors, learning new standards and strategies, and having a positive start to the year. We have already completed our first fire drill and lockdown drill of the school year. Students did a fabulous job during both drills and we earned high praise from our School Resource Officer, Deputy Curry and his fellow Sheriff Deputies for the effectiveness of our lockdown drill preparedness and demonstration of safety strategies. Thank you for your continued patience with our new arrival and dismissal procedures for our new parking lot. I have included reminders below for continued safety and efficiency of our new procedures. It has been going really well, but please read through those reminders to ensure continued success and safety. Thank you for your collaborative support of our students during this school year!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gina McLain

• Tues., Sept 24th--Picture Day!
• Fri., Oct. 4th--Color Me Fun Run! 8:00-12:00. Please visit the Booster Club website for more info and for volunteering opportunities.
• Mon., Oct. 7th--Lenox's Independence Day! Please see details below.
• Tues., Oct. 8th--Booster Club Dining Night Out at MOD Pizza. Earn $$$ for our school while enjoying a delicious meal! Click here for details.
• Thurs., & Fri. Oct. 10 &11--No School (Teacher Work Day and Non-Contract Day)
• Wed.-Fri., Oct. 23-25--6th graders at Outdoor School

A reminder for Lenox sponsored events and Booster Club sponsored events which occur after regular school hours: all students must be accompanied by an adult (i.e movie nights, STEAM Family Night, Bingo Night, etc.). If students are not accompanied by a designated adult, they will not be allowed to stay. Thank you!

This year at Lenox Elementary we will be celebrating “Independence Day” in an effort to support our students walking to class by themselves in the morning and providing a safe and secure school at all times. The purpose of Independence Day is to help and encourage students to become more independent. They will gain valuable life skills by being able to get themselves to class, unpack their own backpacks, and get ready for the day on their own. We have found these skills to be empowering to all children and a proud moment for parents! We also want our teachers to make the most of their instructional time with your children, which includes the morning time starting with the first bell at 7:35. This time is a very busy time in our classrooms. Teachers must monitor students and attend to instructional duties. While this may seem like the ideal time to check in with your child’s teacher, we ask that you call or email teachers if personal conversations are needed.

We are declaring our “Independence Day” on Monday, Oct. 7th. On this date and thereafter we are expecting all students K-6 at 7:35, when our first bell rings, to say goodbye to parents and walk with their teacher and classmates to their classroom. At that time, parents will be asked to leave the gym and cafeteria out through our main entry. If students arrive at school between 7:35-7:45, they will be expected to say goodbye to parents outside or in the lobby and walk themselves to class. We have staff available to walk them down to their classrooms as needed. Instruction starts at 7:45, so please make sure your child is here, ready to learn by that time. Thank you for joining us in celebrating our students’ independence!

General Info:

• Dogs are not allowed on campus during school hours.
• Please continue to stay off of the grass and landscaping since it is still fresh and can get damaged easily.
• Please stay off of your cell phone while dropping off/picking up your student in the drop off/pick up lane. Cell phone use is allowed when you are parked safely in a designated parking spot (Oregon Distracted Driving Fact Sheet).
• Please be courteous to staff who are doing their job in directing traffic for the safety of our students and for the efficiency of our drop off and pick up procedures. Thank you!
• Please exercise patience and understanding with your fellow families during arrival and dismissal. Thank you!

Arrival:

• Please DO NOT get out of your vehicle when using the drop off lane. If you need to get out of your vehicle for any reason, park and walk your student to the sidewalk/door.
• Once you drop your child off, immediately start exiting the lane/parking lot. Please do not wait as there are many cars behind you waiting to drop their child off.
• Please follow the directions of staff on duty who are motioning/telling you to pull forward. Even if there are no cars behind you, there will be. We can't have cars dropping students off at the beginning of the drop off lane if there are no cars in front of you. Pull forward as far as possible.
• Please make sure your child is ready to hop out of the vehicle. They can put their jacket and backpack on once they are out of the vehicle. Again, if you need to get out to assist your child, please park and assist them.
• Please do not park and have students cross the parking lot and vehicle lanes by themselves. Please walk them over to the sidewalk or use the drop off lane.
• Once you drop your student off, please do not sit and wait to watch them walk all the way into the building as this holds up the flow of traffic. We have adults stationed outside and at the entrance of the building to ensure students get inside.

Dismissal:

• Please do not park and then wave students over to the car. You must either get out of your car and cross over to collect your students or use the pick up lane to pick them up.
• If you are waiting on campus to pick up a student in grades 3-6, please wait in the designated area by the bike racks at the front of the school. Please do not walk along and wait on the sidewalk where the car pick-up students are waiting. This adds to the congestion and confusion of students waiting for their cars.
• If you arrive to pick up your child after 2:15, please park your car and come in to school to get them. Supervision is provided until 2:15 and then students are taken into the office to wait.

Parents are welcome to refer their child for services designed for students identified as talented and gifted. Students who score at or above the 97th percentile on a nationally standardized, norm-referenced test of overall reading or math or on a mental abilities test, and have other confirming evidence that they learn at a rapid rate and advanced level, are identified as TAG students. With parent input, individual plans are made to adjust the rate and level of the student’s instruction to meet his or her specific needs.

If you think your child may qualify for TAG services, and want information about the referral and identification process, please contact: Kim Laws lawsk@hsd.k12.or.us

Servicios para Estudiantes Talentosos y Dotados (TAG) Los padres son bienvenidos a recomendar a su hijo/a a los servicios diseñados para estudiantes identificados como TAG. Estudiantes cuales sacan más del 97 porciento en una prueba de logro nacionalmente Regularizada, o en habilidades mentales prueban y tienen otra evidencia confirmando que ellos aprenden a una proporción rápida, se identifica como TAG. Con las sugerencias del padre, se hacen planes individuales para ajustar la proporción y nivelar dela instrucción del estudiantes para satisfacer sus necesidades específicas.

Si usted piensa que su niño puede calificar para los servicios del TAG, y quiere información sobre la referencia y el proceso del resguardo, por favor en contacto a Kim Laws lawsk@hsd.k12.or.us

The Student Success Act (SSA, Oregon 2019 HB 3427) is an historic piece of legislation intended to bolster support of public education in Oregon. Designed to generate approximately $2 billion per biennium, the legislation is funded by a tax on businesses with taxable receipts of over $1 million - this is NOT a tax on individuals. In fact, the legislation includes a 0.25% decrease in personal income taxes for payers in all but the top tax bracket to help ease the burden of potential pass-through costs to consumers.

The SSA is divided into three funding areas - one of which is specifically for public school districts:

• Student Investment Account (SIA) - 50% of SSA funds (approximately $500M/year statewide). This money is available to districts through a non-competitive grant process. Districts can use the money to support four areas:
• Class size
• Well-rounded education
• Instructional time
• Health and safety

Please share your voice in the process of determining how SIA funds will be spent in HSD! Please click on the survey below and watch the embedded video for more info.

Also, find more info here on the HSD District Website

Don't forget that if you would like to volunteer in the classroom, for school events, field trips, etc. you need to fill out the district volunteer application. Please do this as soon as possible so you are cleared to volunteer.

https://volunteerapplication.hsd.k12.or.us/

For more information regarding volunteering in HSD, please click here.

Website: https://www.hsd.k12.or.us/lenox
Location: 21200 Northwest Rock Creek Boulevard, Portland, OR, United States
Phone: (503) 844-1360
Twitter: @LenoxHSD