Dear HTMS Families,

While I continue to hope for an agreement prior to November 1st, our staff continues to prioritize our students and the “whole child”. We are maintaining high expectations for all of our kids and learners while also providing students a calm, positive learning environment filled with community and joy. It was such a great experience during our last Fun Friday (October 27th) where our kids created and led the experiences to come together to celebrate one another for Legends of the Month while also enjoying some snacks, time to paint pumpkins, play games, watch movies and much more! I would also like to thank community members who donated items for the event while giving a special thank you to Mr. Ramiro Eusebio Sanchez for donating food from his restaurant RJ Skillets Oaxacan Cuisine. The kids LOVED it! If you and your local business would like to donate and support Harriet Tubman MS in the future, please email our Principal’s Secretary, Toni, at csmithmyles@pps.net.

If there is a teacher strike the building will not be open except for food distribution. PPS has created this family resource one pager as well as creating this site that provides families with resources they may access if there is a teacher strike. There are resources to support students such as optional and supplemental learning as well as maps for school meal locations. There are also sections that may be helpful when having conversations with your student about school closures and a FAQs area to answer general questions.

If there is a school closure, we want to ensure your student has access to a Chromebook. Please check in with your student to ensure they have their assigned Chromebook and that it is in working order. If your student is missing their Chromebook or it is not working, please contact Mr. Goria at agoria@pps.net to coordinate getting your student a loaner device.

If your student has a broken charger, they can swap it for a working one with Mr. Goria. We are unable to provide replacement chargers for students who have lost theirs. A replacement charger can be purchased through Amazon or elsewhere for about $12-$15. (universal chromebook charger, usb-c)

At this point in time, the district is not providing internet hotspots.

If there is a strike, Harriet Tubman MS will be a food distribution site. During a potential strike, HTMS will have grab and go lunches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays between 11:30-1:00pm. We will be handing out the sack lunches at our doors off Flint Street.

Harriet Tubman’s first Student Council class just led our second school-wide assembly! They gathered student-voice while sharing the committees they’ve organized such as the Beautification Committee, Planning Committee, Outreach Committee and the Presentation Committee. They also shared different things they’ve done so far like volunteering in the student store, volunteering at the Back to School Night, helping judge the Hispanic Heritage Month door decoration contest, organizing student supplies, planning spirit weeks, organizing a sock drive and most recently planning our school-wide celebration (Fun Friday) on October 27th.

• They are also organizing an 8th grade “lock-in” (overnighter). They have worked really hard to create expectations for students and will continue to work to create fun and community centered activities for the event. The following is what Student Council has identified as requirements to participate:

• Entry:

• $5 or 15 Phoenix Feathers (the $5 will be used as a fundraiser for Student Council)

• Behavior expectations:

• In order to attend, for the month of November no student can have more than two (2) stage one (1) referrals, no more than one (1) stage 2/3 referral, and cannot be suspended.

• Students also cannot be on step four (4) or step five (5) of the cell phone plan.

• If you would like to support the event you can do so by making a donation:

• $5 student scholarship

• Donate snacks for the evening and morning such as water, muffins, granola bars, fruit, etc.

8th grade families, please check your email the week of November 6 for additional information including, permission forms, payment information, and a link to sign up for food/beverage donations.

8th Grade families, mark your calendars to attend high school information night sessions. This is your opportunity to hear about program offerings, 2024-25 course forecasting, and their community.

High School Information Night Sessions:

Benson Polytechnic High School - Tuesday, Nov. 7, 6:00 p.m.

• Fact sheet: English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

• Video (2021): English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

• Overview video of Benson Tech

Jefferson High School - Tuesday, Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m. (cafeteria)

• Fact sheet: English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

• Videos (2021): English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

Grant High School - Wednesday, Dec. 6, 6:00 p.m.

video link: Watch here

• Fact sheet: English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

• Video (2021)

2024-25 High School Lottery Window

November 15, 2023 to December 15, 2023

Students from across Portland Public Schools can apply to lottery slots at our three focus options high schools:

• Benson Polytechnic High School
• Jefferson High School-Middle College for Advanced Studies
• Metropolitan Learning Center

Learn more: Application and other information

This school year, we are planning to have in-person conferences on Monday, November 20th and virtual conferences on Tuesday, November 21st. Monday will be from 8:30am - 8:30pm and will be an open door set-up. You will not need an appointment for Monday as grade level and elective teams will be available to meet with families in common spaces. Conferences will be 10 minutes long per student. For Tuesday, conferences will again be between 8:30am - 8:30 pm. We will share a link in our next newsletter where you can sign-up to meet with your student’s teacher/s virtually.

Join us for our second annual Native American Community Science Night! This family friendly event welcomes visitors of all ages for a night of museum exploring, science demos, lectures, and cultural entertainment. All are welcome!

Featuring music, science demonstrations, planetarium shows, access to our featured exhibits, Orcas: Our Shared Future, Staying Alive: Defenses of the Animal Kingdom, and more.

Community Science Night Tickets $10 Adults, $8 Youth/Seniors | Ticket includes all activities. OMSI members receive a 15% discount

Each year parents and/or guardians are asked to review and update the information on file for their children (students). This information needs to be reviewed, edited and submitted online via PPS ParentVUE. Failure to update your student's information prior to October 31 will disable access to your PVUE account.

Benefits of verifying online via ParentVUE:

• Complete yearly verification of your student's information
• You can update your communication and language preferences
• Ensures your school has the most up to date information
• Saves paper and time

Get started by going to: parentvue.pps.net.

Every Friday we show our school pride be wearing our school colors, black and gold, or Tubman swag. Let's go Legends!

Oregon Bottle of the Books (OBOB) is a statewide voluntary reading motivation and comprehension program sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries in conjunction with a Library Services and Technology Act grant. Students in 3rd-12th grade, regardless of ability, are exposed to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints.

OBOB's mission is to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, to increase reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and to promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.

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.

This service is available for students attending Harriet Tubman Middle School.

What questions do you have? Please call us at 503-988-3905.

To use this FREE service please fill out the electronic permission slip at this link:

Electronic Permission Form English

Electronic Permission Form Spanish

Electronic Permission Form Russian

The PPS middle grades (6th - 8th) youth sports program will be directed by the Portland Interscholastic League (PIL). The student/athletes will represent their neighborhood high school cluster. The cluster each athlete participates in is determined by address. For information about this policy and to access the interactive map please go to Boundary Map and FAQ's under the Youth Sport tab.

Registration is currently open for Winter sports season (November 4 - February 25)

WINTER SPORTS OFFERED: Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Wrestling

Registration Deadline November 13, 2023

Details for each sport will be distributed to all cluster feeder schools, their SUN site managers and PE teachers.

Learn more at the PIL website

The next PTSA meeting will be November 9th at 6:30pm.

Our PTSA aims to foster connections and provide support to our school community, most especially our amazing middle school scholars. In the past, PTSA has helped pay for school supplies, tech support and COVID care packages. We are currently seeking new officers: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. If you're interested in running for any of these roles or other ways you can be involved with PTSA this year, please join us for the monthly meeting, Thursday, November 9 at 6:30pm. Officers will be elected during the meeting - all are welcome!

The monthly Site Council meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 15 in the school library, 4:15p - 5:30p. Site Council is a group of administrators, teachers, and parents that identify ways to support the school community. By providing leadership, direction and support, we define school priorities and implement ways to improve them.

Our award winning Band is fundraising to support the festival expenses including, purchasing new music, transportation, and much more. Please help our community by donating through Fred Meyer Community Rewards program, BottleDrop. General donations can also be given directly through SchoolPay by clicking here.

State law requires that comprehensive sexuality education be taught in each grade K-12. At Harriet Tubman Middle School, each student will have one quarter of Health Education, which includes a sexual education unit. Please review the video and attached documents for information covered in the unit.

To watch the videos in other languages, please use the links below.

• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Chinese (Cantonese)
• Spanish
• Somali
• Russian
• Vietnamese

• English - 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade

• Chinese - 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade
• Russian | Русский - 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade
  
• Somali | Soomaali - 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade
  
• Spanish | Español - | 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade
  
• Vietnamese | Tiếng Việt - 6th Grade | 7th Grade | 8th Grade
  

Portland Parks & Recreation offers exciting programs and activities for teens citywide! TeenForce strives to reflect the energy and excitement of the teens themselves in the awesome trips, classes, drop-in activities, events, and volunteer/service learning outings we program. TeenForce strives to provide safe spaces for adolescent aged youth to engage in prosocial activites, surrounded by caring adults. All youth, aged 10-20 year old, are welcome. Get your FREE TeenForce Pass and engage in activities with other youth.

Results for the 2022-23 Successful Schools Survey are now available for the public! The 2023-24 Successful Schools Survey will be administered November 1 to December 8th, 2023 this year, earlier than in previous years. More information about the new survey will be shared in the near future.

At Harriet Tubman Middle School cell phones are off and away in classrooms. Students are able to use their cell phones before and after school, during passing periods, and at lunch/recess.

We believe that families are important partners to support each student at Harriet Tubman and we welcome each of you in our school. In order to ensure that our schools are safe places for our students and staff, we are taking some additional steps to ensure we know who is in our buildings at all times.

• Upon entering a PPS school, visitors/volunteers will need to present a government-issued identification (i.e. driver’s license, state ID card).
• All visitors/volunteers will need to wear the printed name badge that identifies their name, photo, the date and their destination the entire time of their visit. When departing, please return to the office to sign out.
  
• First-time volunteers should visit www.pps.net/volunteer to complete the online volunteer application.
  
• Families who wish to visit their student's classroom must send the teacher a written request at least 24 hours in advance. Teacher email addresses can be found on the school website.
• Parents may request a conference with their student's teachers throughout the year. Teachers are available before school (8:30a - 9:05a) or after school (3:50p - 4:15p). Please email your teacher to schedule a conference.

• Letter to Parents/Guardians Regarding New Visitor/Volunteer Procedures

  English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

Additional detailed information about visiting and volunteering at PPS is available on the PPS website https://www.pps.net/Page/144. Thank you, in advance, for your understanding and support of enhanced school safety protocols at HTMS and throughout schools in our our district.

HTMS is a closed campus and students are restricted to the school grounds during the school day. For the safety of our entire community, food deliveries - direct (dominos, pizza hut) or 3rd party (Grub Hub, Door Dash, Uber Eats, etc.) - for students are not permitted. All meals at Harriet Tubman are free, breakfast and lunch. If your child is not eating school lunch, please make sure to send food with them before school starts. Lunch and recess break is 30 minutes, 12:26pm - 12:57pm (lunch times may vary on school assembly days). Families who would like to bring their student food, please deliver their lunch to the office, prior to lunch. Food brought to the school after the student’s lunch will be given to the student at the end of the day. All students are expected to remain on campus all day, unless signed out by a parent or guardian. Students who leave the school grounds without permission will be considered truant and appropriate discipline will be administered. Thank you for understanding and adhering to these guidelines. We appreciate your help in keeping the students and campus safe. Please contact the school office if you have any questions, (503)916-5630.

NOVEMBER - Native American Heritage Month

1 Site Council, 4:15p (postponed until 11/15)

2 End of Q1

3 Teacher Work Day, no school

6 Benson Polytechnic HS 8th Gr Family Information Night, 6pm

6-10 School Psychologist Week

9 PTSA Mtg, 6:30p (Library)

10 Veteran's Day, no school

14 Jefferson HS 8th Gr Family Information Night, 5:30p

15 Site Council Mtg, 4:15p (Library)

20, 21 Parent teacher conference, no school

22-24 Holiday, no school

28 Winter Band Concert (all grades @Grant HS, 7pm)

DECEMBER

7 Q2 Midterm

18 - 1 Winter break