Friday, June 11, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

We did it, we made it through another school year, and despite everything, it was an absolute pleasure and privilege to do it alongside all of you. I am excited and plan on welcoming all of the students back in person in the fall. 

Special thanks to our PTA and foundation, who went above and beyond to provide whatever was necessary to add to our students’ school experience. To Colby, Jenna and many other, 5th (now 6th!) grade parent volunteers who helped put on another amazing promotion ceremony, to Amanda, Leah, and many other auction volunteers  for another fun auction, we simply couldn’t do any of this without you. 

The hybrid and virtual learning experiences could not occur without the endless energy, skills and devotion of the Buckman staff. The list of thank yous is long, but especially to the amazing and legendary Joanne Godfrey. For 28 years, you have been an icon at Buckman and you will always be a part of the Buckman family, even in your retirement. Thank you to Mr. Clarkson, Ms. Davis, Ms. Kaeleen Kirkpatrick, Mr. Laurence and Ms. Crispen for joining us this year and filling such important roles in our community. We would not have been able to do this hard work without you. To our amazing staff: your dedication and passion for teaching our students was consistent throughout this entire year. No matter our age, or amount of experience in education, this past year was new to all of us and every single one of our teachers stepped up and rose to the occasion.

And finally, to our Buckman Bears: students, you are the reason why we do what we do. You have worked so hard this year and I am so proud of each and every one of you. I am grateful for your laughter, your smiles, your encouragement of one another, your patience and your amazing talents. I love that you allow us, your teachers, to learn alongside you. You have made me the happiest, proudest, most humbled, and most warm-fuzziest principal ever. As we consider our theme for next year “in community” I want you to know that in all of schools I have worked at, I have never felt a community like this.  

I wish you a delightful summer filled with wonder, love, and laughter.  

In  gratitude,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 6/11 last day of school
• 6/14 (week of) report cards and teacher placements mailed home

2021 school year dates:

• 8/23, 24, 25, 11am: kindergarten picnics
• 8/30-31: 1^st grade family meet and greets
• 9/2, 8:45am: 1^st day of school for grades 2-5
• 9/6: no school, Labor Day
• 9/3: 1^st day of school for 1^st grade
• 9/3 OR 9/7: first day of school for kindergarten (schedule will be sent out in August)
• 9/14, 6pm: back to school event

ART

5th Grade Virtual Showcase  In celebration of their years of growth and artistic development at Buckman, the Arts Team and the 5th grade class present The 5th Grade Showcase, a video performance and online gallery highlighting each student's unique artistic abilities. Click this link to view their work. 

4th Grade Virtual Performance   This year´s 4th grade performance took the form of 3 videos and an online gallery. Click this link to view their work. 

PPS Special Virtual Student Exhibition   Congratulations to 5th grader, Lucas Tyler, whose artwork titled Mountains under Sky was included in the PPS Special Virtual Student Exhibition which can be viewed here. 

Portland Art Museum Postcard Installation   Congratulations to 5th and 4th grade students, Cleo, Indra, Una, Greta H, Olivia, Naomi, Teegan, Brooks, Julia, and Elliana, whose artworks are on display in the Portland Art Museum gift shop. Click here to see the Virtual Display of the show, or see it in person June 1-30th. 

FOUNDATION

Thank you to everyone who attended the Buckman Auction kickoff; it was wonderful to gather as a community as we close out the 2020-2021 school year. Thanks to everyone who participated in the event by bidding, gifting, or sponsoring; we are delighted to share that we have exceeded our goal! Once again, we have collectively proven that the Buckman community is strong and we are collectively committed to keeping the Buckman magic alive.

From the Buckman Foundation, we’d like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone in our Buckman family for an incredible school year in challenging times. THANK YOU!!!

LIBRARY

• ALL BUCKMAN LIBRARY BOOKS ARE OVERDUE! Drop at the front entrance during school hours on Monday (6/14) and Tuesday (6/15). 
• Students can now use their school ID as a public library card at MCL! Library Connect info - Email drudnick@pps.net if you need your student’s school ID number.
• Read Alouds by Ms. Rudnick and guests!
• Buckman Library’s Wish List

• Summer Reading Video to students
• Summer Reading Slidedeck with links (Spanish)

PTA

As we say goodbye to another year, we want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve the Buckman community. Many of our priorities, events, and fundraisers could not have happened without your support. We hope that we can continue to come together to support the goals and objectives of the new board to ensure that all Buckman students are able to flourish and shine. 

With that, we welcome our new board members: Caryn Jones and Shannon Berke (Co-presidents); Aron Goffin (VP-Communications); Maralea Lutino (VP-Equity and Inclusion); Jeff Burns and Leanne Holm (Treasurer and Treasurer-elect, respectively); and Emily Sokolski (Secretary). We wish them all the best in their new endeavor.  

Have a great summer and congrats to all the 5^th graders!

SUN

• Oregon host families needed for CIEE exchange students for the 2021-2022 school year! Families come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re ready to open your heart and share your home, chances are you’ve got what it takes to host an international student. Connect your family with the world! Contact Virginia Doss at vdoss@ciee.org or 1-207-749-7679 if you're interested. 
• Support local BIPOC farmers by visiting the Come Thru Market at The Redd on Salmon (832 SE Salmon) on the first and third Mondays of the month from 12-4pm. Come Thru Market is an incubator market centering Black and Indigenous Farmers and Makers. We support BIPOC growers in taking their small business dreams to the farmers market environment. 
• Buckman SUN is HIRING for part-time summer instructors (July 19-August 6)! Contact Katie for more information or if you (or someone you know) might be interested.
• Sign up for our summer anti-racist study group to learn and grow in space with other Buckman families! 
• Are you struggling to afford internet service right now? There is a new program out to help that provides a monthly discount for broadband service! Contact Katie for more information or assistance applying.
• Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, please paint one at home or come by the school to paint one or pick up supplies. Contact Katie with questions.
• Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!
• Are you looking to get a COVID vaccine and would like assistance? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

PPS Meals: How to Access Meals Starting June 21

It has been a pleasure to serve our students meals this school year.  While the school year is ending, we will be providing opportunities for all families across the city to access meals during the summer.  We are planning to support many in-person programs across the district, however, we will also be providing grab and go meals at various schools and parks throughout the summer.   

New Meal Distribution Sites for Summer

From June 21 through August 20, grab-and-go breakfasts + lunches will be available between 3 and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday for all children in the community (PPS students and children not enrolled at PPS) ages 1-18. The district will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of the holiday.

The sites for curbside distribution:

• Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary, 620 N Fremont St.
• Bridger K-9 School, 7910 SE Market St.
• Faubion PK-8 School, 2930 NE Dekum St.
• Franklin High School, 5405 SE Woodward St.
• George Middle School, 10000 N Burr Ave.
• Grant High School, 2245 NE 36th Ave.
• Grout Elementary, 3119 SE Holgate Blvd.
• Ida B. Wells High School, 1151 SW Vermont St. 
• Kelly Elementary, 9030 SE Cooper St.
• Lane Middle School, 7200 SE 60th Ave.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary, 4906 NE 6th Ave.
• Roosevelt High School, 6941 N Central St. 
• Roseway Heights Middle School, 7334 NE Siskiyou St.
• Sitton Elementary, 9930 N Smith St.
• Woodmere Elementary, 7900 SE Duke St.

Also, in partnership with Portland Parks and Recreation, daily free meals (breakfast + lunch) and activities will be offered throughout the city in the following parks June 21-August 20:

Portland Parks and Rec Summer Camps

Registration for the first half of summer opens May 24^th. Click here for locations, pricing, and registration information.

Saturday Academy Summer Camps and Classes (Grades 2-12)

To find out more, check out this flyer or go to their website at saturdayacademy.org.

Buckman Champions
Champions is being offered at Buckman this summer! Click here for more details.

Friday, June 4, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

June is PRIDE month. We honor the LGBTQIA2S+ community and individuals all year long and especially in June! How lucky we are to work at Buckman where we have student and family QSA groups. When we walk through the front entry, the first thing we see is a beautiful rainbow, which says to everyone “hello, you are welcomed and celebrated here”.  If you’re interested, check out this podcast episode of Hidden Brain, which discusses the transformation of public attitude over LGBTQ+ issues and rights, and how we can use those lessons towards advocacy for other underserved groups looking for change. 

Online subscriptions: Good news, your students can continue to work on Dreambox, Lexia, and other district applications this summer using their clever accounts!

Auction news: I hope many of you can make it to our online auction, launching tonight at 6pm! Every dollar raised goes towards staffing to keep our library open full time, hire a theater teacher for in person instruction, and educational assistants to support literacy. Please join us here for the kickoff party at 6pm and click here to check out the auction catalogue.

K-2 SES teacher hire: I am so excited to introduce you to Brianne Abrahams to our staff as our K-2 SES teacher. For the last 5 years Brianne has been a teacher at Serendipity Center, a private nonprofit school that supports students with complex needs that have been unsuccessful at other school placements. She is passionate about helping students that face challenges become successful learners! Her classroom is filled with hands-on projects, silly dances, and laughter. Outside of school, Brianne is a cat mom, radio dj, musician, and hiker. Welcome Brianne! 

Teacher spotlight: Huge shout out to Eric, for editing and producing all of our ROARS videos this year. These videos have sparked so much joy this year, and they take hours of work for Eric to put together. We even have one very special kindergartener who proudly boasts “I watch every single ROARS video every single day”. Eric, huge kudos and on behalf of the entire Buckman community, thank you for all of your hard work this year. And with that, here is our final ROARS video for the year.

And finally, a note of solemnity. We mourn for the 215 children found buried on the grounds of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia. It was a devastating discovery and as someone who works in a school with the delight of being around children every day, the news of the 215 Indigenous children found is sad and true. If you feel compelled to join me this summer in reading, I invite you to dive into an Indiginous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, by Debbie Reese and Jean Mendoza. It is difficult, and essential, for us to learn. This will be our collective read for the Buckman community anti-racist study group. If interested, sign up here.

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm Nichenko, 3:50 Nicholl, 4:10 Jensen, 5th grade drive/walk/bike through promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school
• 6/14 (week of) report cards and teacher placements mailed home

2021 school year dates:

• 8/23, 24, 25, 11am: kindergarten picnics
• 8/30-31: 1^st grade family meet and greets
• 9/2, 8:45am: 1^st day of school for grades 2-5
• 9/6: no school, Labor Day
• 9/3: 1^st day of school for 1^st grade
• 9/3 OR 9/7: first day of school for kindergarten (schedule will be sent out in August)
• 9/14, 6pm: back to school event

AUCTION TIME!  Are you ready for auction weekend? Register for FREE in advance (http://buckmanauction.org) so you are ready for bidding when it opens shortly after the kickoff this evening. If you register before 5pm, pick up a complimentary 20oz beer from our delightful sponsor West Coast Grocery Co.  Together, we’ll virtually raise a glass (or can) to Buckman at the kickoff party on Google Meet, TONIGHT at 6pm (https://meet.google.com/rrj-kbwe-quc?authuser=0)!

There’s still some time to grab a Golden Ticket to enter into the raffle for one of the amazing getaways up for bid in this year’s auction. Golden Tickets are $50 each, sales end today at 5pm! The winner must be at the kickoff party to claim their prize.

And remember: you will have just over 24 hours to get your bids in for the fabulous items in this year’s auction. Bidding will officially close at 9pm on Saturday, June 5. THANK YOU for supporting Buckman! 

YEARBOOKS ARE HERE!  Pick up preordered yearbooks next Wednesday (6/9) on the upper playground between 3:00-4:45pm. Yearbooks for 5^th graders will be handed out during 5^th grade promotion. 

 You can still order yours at https://store.shopyearbook.com/buckman (direct shipping). Electronic copies are FREE! $19 softcover, $28 hardcover. 

LIBRARY

• ALL BUCKMAN LIBRARY BOOKS ARE DUE! Drop at the front entrance during school hours. 
• Students can now use their school ID as a public library card at MCL! Library Connect info
• Buckman Library’s Wish List

• Summer Reading Video to students
• Summer Reading Slidedeck with links (Spanish)
• Salt & Straw: Fiction to Flavor Contest! 

SUN

• Oregon host families needed for CIEE exchange students for the 2021-2022 school year! Families come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re ready to open your heart and share your home, chances are you’ve got what it takes to host an international student. Connect your family with the world! Contact Virginia Doss at vdoss@ciee.org or 1-207-749-7679 if you're interested. 
• Support local BIPOC farmers by visiting the Come Thru Market at The Redd on Salmon (832 SE Salmon) on the first and third Mondays of the month from 12-4pm. Come Thru Market is an incubator market centering Black and Indigenous Farmers and Makers. We support BIPOC growers in taking their small business dreams to the farmers market environment. 
• Buckman SUN is HIRING for part-time summer instructors (July 19-August 6)! Contact Katie for more information or if you (or someone you know) might be interested.
• Sign up for our summer anti-racist study group to learn and grow in space with other Buckman families! 
• Are you struggling to afford internet service right now? There is a new program out to help that provides a monthly discount for broadband service! Contact Katie for more information or assistance applying.
• Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, please paint one at home or come by the school to paint one or pick up supplies. Contact Katie with questions.
• Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!
• Are you looking to get a COVID vaccine and would like assistance? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Portland Parks and Rec Summer Camps

Registration for the first half of summer opens May 24^th. Click here for locations, pricing, and registration information. 

Saturday Academy Summer Camps and Classes (Grades 2-12)

To find out more, check out this flyer or go to their website at saturdayacademy.org.

Buckman Champions
Champions is being offered at Buckman this summer! Click here for more details.

Friday, May 28, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

This week marked the 1 year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, and ensuing renewed support for the Black Lives Matter movement.  If you would like to continue your own growth towards racial justice, please consider joining the Buckman Anti-racist Family Learning Group. To sign up and for more details, please see this survey link. 

LAST DAY OF SPECIALS: Monday, June 7th. Our fabulous specialists will be helping to facilitate Field Day during the last week of school, so there will be no online synchronous specials classes (including the Arts, PE, BuckmanBites and BuckmanReads) after Mon. June 7th. 

Field day: Coach E is organizing in person and virtual field day events for the last week of school. Virtual field day will be posted on SeeSaw. In person field day schedule will be:

June 8 - K-2 hybrid field day

June 9 - CDL field day (Last names A-L come from 11am-12pm, last names M-Z come from 1pm-2pm).

June 10 - 3-5 hybrid field day

For more information, see the flyer.

Class placements: We decided this year to try to keep our original cohort of students together so that as we head into a new school year, students will be able to look forward to reuniting with their original CDL cohort from this year. Class placement notifications will be mailed out with report cards at the end of this school year. If you know you will not be attending Buckman next year, please let us know by emailing our school secretary Karen, at kcathcar@pps.net 

Fall 2021: The superintendent announced earlier this month that he is planning on a full reopening of schools in the fall. We are excited to welcome everyone back in person with a full daily schedule from 8:45-3:00 and Champions offering extended day as well! More details will come in August about entry/exit routines, SUN enrichment offerings, and the soft start schedule for grades K-1.

School Supplies: We will not be sending out school supply lists for this year. Instead, we will be asking families for a cash donation at the beginning of the year so that teachers can buy school supplies in bulk and also purchase exactly what they will be using in class. Any additional funds required for supplies will be offset by a donation from the PTA. 

Read Aloud: We near the end of AAPI heritage month and I wanted to share this read aloud of "Eyes That Kiss in the Corners" that Ms. Rudnick helped me to record for all your Buckman Bears. Video Link 

I hope you all enjoy the 3 day weekend. Memorial Day is in honor of veterans who died in service to our country. Thank you so much to all that you have given and sacrificed. 

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm, 5th grade promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school

YEARBOOKS ARE HERE! Order yours now at https://store.shopyearbook.com/buckman.

Electronic copies are FREE! $19 softcover, $28 hardcover. All 5^th graders will receive a free yearbook. 

Pre-orders will be sent in bulk for pick up at the school to save on shipping costs. Orders will be available for direct shipment after the school year at an additional expense.

A huge shoutout to Sean Doran for editing and putting this book together, as well as to Darcy Rudnick for the additional photography. Thank you for making it possible this year!

FOUNDATION

The Buckman Auction is right around the corner! In this wild year, we’re taking the party back online! The Buckman Foundation bridges the gap between the funding allotted by PPS and what our community needs to maintain staffing to support the excellent programming at our school. As the biggest fundraiser of the year, the Buckman Auction is a fun way to show your support for our community!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Buckman Auction catalog is online NOW, so visit buckmanauction.org to check it out! Join us with our very own Ms. Seidel and Ms. Rudnick for the Virtual Kickoff via Google Meet @6pm on Friday, June 4th, bidding will officially begin at 6:30pm following the kickoff and will end on Saturday, June 5 at 9pm, just over 24 hours!

Register in advance at the link: https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/auction2021/?_ga=2.214400991.93929400.1620668254-1184676446.1620247309. (Credit card required). After you have signed up, grab a complimentary beer from our delightful sponsors at West Coast Grocery and save it for the auction toast at the Google Meet auction kickoff!

Golden Tickets sales are open, $50 per ticket. The winner of the Golden Ticket raffle will win the getaway package of their choosing. Winner must be at the Kickoff to select package. More details are available on the Golden Ticket page (https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/auction2021/catalog?id=97). Golden Ticket sales will close on June 4 at 5pm, one hour before the auction kickoff begins!

We’ll have more details over the coming days, but mark your calendars, sign up, and grab your beer now so you are ready to rock starting June 4!

LIBRARY

• All Buckman library books due by June 2nd. Drop at the front entrance during school hours. 
• Students can now use their school ID as a public library card at MCL! Library Connect info
• Buckman Library’s Wish List

PTA 

Volunteers still needed for next year! Consider volunteering for one of the following positions to ensure we can continue many of our Buckman traditions and to keep our practices equitable:

• VP of Equity and Inclusion on the Buckman PTA board (to work alongside the wonderful Maralea Lutino)
• Yearbook Coordinator
• Room Parent Coordinator

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

• Parks and Rec summer camp registration opens May 24th for activities happening 6/21-7/25! Pay what you can pricing, outdoor activities, Monday - Thursday. Camps offered June 21st - August 29th. Find more information and the link to register here. 
• Buckman SUN is HIRING for part-time summer instructors (July 19-August 6)! Contact Katie for more information or if you (or someone you know) might be interested. 
• FREE soccer lessons for girls! Every Monday at 8:15pm at Eastside Timbers Complex (4710 SE 174th Ave) through Street Soccer USA - Portland. Open to girls all ages and skill levels. To sign up, email Coach Abbey at alportis@gmail.com. 
• Are you struggling to afford internet service right now? There is a new program that provides a monthly discount for broadband service! Contact Katie for more information or assistance applying. 
• Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, please paint one at home or come by the school to paint one or pick up supplies. Contact Katie with questions. 
• Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!
• Are you looking for help getting vaccinated from COVID-19? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.
• Join our online SUN clubs! Every Monday at 3pm for 3-5th graders and every Thursday at 3pm for K-2nd graders. Code is BuckmanSUNRoom. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Registration for the first half of summer opens May 24^th. Click here for locations, pricing, and registration information. 

Saturday Academy Summer Camps and Classes (Grades 2-12)

To find out more, check out this flyer or go to their website at saturdayacademy.org.

 
Buckman Champions
Champions is being offered at Buckman this summer! Click here for more details.

PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing Update

In February, the Board approved Resolution 6236, which completed Phase 1 of the process. 

PPS staff is proposing a narrowed scope for Phase 2 that focuses on three areas:

• Converting Harrison Park (currently a K-8) into a 6-8 middle school
• Re-locating Harrison Park K-5 students 
• Increasing enrollment at Lane Middle School

The proposed timeline includes a few meetings between May and August for the Southeast Guiding Coalition to orient new members, review new data and learn about school programs and services. The proposed timeline also offers meeting time between September and November to test scenarios and listen to stakeholder feedback at open houses and other events.  

The Southeast Guiding Coalition’s recommendation is due to the Deputy Superintendent by the end of December, with Board consideration beginning in January 2022. Implementation of Board-approved changes will begin in Fall 2022. 

For more information about the Enrollment and Balancing process, please visit https://www.pps.net/enrollmentbalancing. To access the board materials about the Phase 2 proposed scope of work and a list of included schools, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/915.

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually.

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe

Friday, May 21, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

Here are your weekly updates! If you are planning on leaving the district, please make sure to return all PPS issued materials and devices (Chromebooks, hotspots, library books) to school by June 15.

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm, 5th grade promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school

YEARBOOKS ARE HERE! Order yours now at https://store.shopyearbook.com/buckman.

Electronic copies are FREE! $19 softcover, $28 hardcover. All 5^th graders will receive a free yearbook. 

Pre-orders will be sent in bulk for pick up at the school to save on shipping costs. Orders will be available for direct shipment after the school year at an additional expense. 

A huge shoutout to Sean Doran for editing and putting this book together, as well as to Darcy Rudnick for the additional photography. Thank you for making it possible this year! 

FOUNDATION

The Buckman Auction is right around the corner! In this wild year, we’re taking the party back online! The Buckman Foundation bridges the gap between the funding allotted by PPS and what our community needs to maintain staffing to support the excellent programming at our school. As the biggest fundraiser of the year, the Buckman Auction is a fun way to show your support for our community!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Buckman Auction catalog is online NOW, so visit buckmanauction.org to check it out! Join us with our very own Ms. Seidel and Ms. Rudnick for the Virtual Kickoff via Google Meet @6pm on Friday, June 4th, bidding will officially begin at 6:30pm following the kickoff and will end on Saturday, June 5 at 9pm, just over 24 hours!

Register in advance at the link: https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/auction2021/?_ga=2.214400991.93929400.1620668254-1184676446.1620247309. (Credit card required). After you have signed up, grab a complimentary beer from our delightful sponsors at West Coast Grocery and save it for the auction toast at the Google Meet auction kickoff!

Golden Tickets sales are open, $50 per ticket. The winner of the Golden Ticket raffle will win the getaway package of their choosing. Winner must be at the Kickoff to select package. More details are available on the Golden Ticket page (https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/auction2021/catalog?id=97). Golden Ticket sales will close on June 4 at 5pm, one hour before the auction kickoff begins!

We’ll have more details over the coming days, but mark your calendars, sign up, and grab your beer now so you are ready to rock starting June 4!

LIBRARY

• All Buckman library books due by June 2nd. Drop at the front entrance during school hours. 
• Students can now use their school ID as a public library card at MCL! Library Connect info
• Buckman Library’s Wish List

PTA 

Volunteers still needed for next year! Consider volunteering for one of the following positions to ensure we can continue many of our Buckman traditions and to keep our practices equitable:

• VP of Equity and Inclusion on the Buckman PTA board (to work alongside the wonderful Maralea Lutino)
• Yearbook Coordinator
• Room Parent Coordinator

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

• Parks and Rec summer camp registration opens May 24th for activities happening 6/21-7/25! Pay what you can pricing, outdoor activities, Monday - Thursday. Camps offered June 21st - August 29th. Find more information and the link to register here. 
• Buckman SUN is HIRING for part-time summer instructors (July 19-August 6)! Contact Katie for more information or if you (or someone you know) might be interested. 
• FREE soccer lessons for girls! Every Monday at 8:15pm at Eastside Timbers Complex (4710 SE 174th Ave) through Street Soccer USA - Portland. Open to girls all ages and skill levels. To sign up, email Coach Abbey at alportis@gmail.com. 
• Are you struggling to afford internet service right now? There is a new program that provides a monthly discount for broadband service! Contact Katie for more information or assistance applying. 
• Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, please paint one at home or come by the school to paint one or pick up supplies. Contact Katie with questions. 
• Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!
• Are you looking for help getting vaccinated from COVID-19? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.
• Join our online SUN clubs! Every Monday at 3pm for 3-5th graders and every Thursday at 3pm for K-2nd graders. Code is BuckmanSUNRoom. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Portland Parks and Rec Summer Camps

Registration for the first half of summer opens May 24^th. Click here for locations, pricing, and registration information.

Saturday Academy Summer Camps and Classes (Grades 2-12)

To find out more, check out this flyer or go to their website at saturdayacademy.org.

Buckman Champions
Champions is being offered at Buckman this summer! Click here for more details. 

PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing Update

In February, the Board approved Resolution 6236, which completed Phase 1 of the process. 

PPS staff is proposing a narrowed scope for Phase 2 that focuses on three areas:

• Converting Harrison Park (currently a K-8) into a 6-8 middle school
• Re-locating Harrison Park K-5 students 
• Increasing enrollment at Lane Middle School

The proposed timeline includes a few meetings between May and August for the Southeast Guiding Coalition to orient new members, review new data and learn about school programs and services. The proposed timeline also offers meeting time between September and November to test scenarios and listen to stakeholder feedback at open houses and other events.   

The Southeast Guiding Coalition’s recommendation is due to the Deputy Superintendent by the end of December, with Board consideration beginning in January 2022. Implementation of Board-approved changes will begin in Fall 2022.  

For more information about the Enrollment and Balancing process, please visit https://www.pps.net/enrollmentbalancing. To access the board materials about the Phase 2 proposed scope of work and a list of included schools, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/915. 

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually.

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe

Friday, May 14, 2021

 Hello Buckman Bears,

It was so good to see some of you at the PTA meeting this week. Huge thank you to the current board (Katie, Amanda, Jeff, Maralea, Marina, Lene) for holding this school up with support this entire year. I am pleased to share the new PTA board, with some returning and some new members: Co-presidents:

Caryn Jones (caryn.c.jones@gmail.com) & Shannon Berke (featherhearttrading@gmail.com) are the PTA presidents for next year, along with the rest of the PTA board: Aron Goffin, Maralea Lutino, Emily Sokolski, Jeff Burns and Leanne Holm. Feel free to reach out to any of them if you want to learn more about the Buckman PTA and how to get involved!

Kindergarten: If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1st, 2021 I invite you to join us on Wednesday, May 19th at 6:00 pm.  A meeting link can also be found on our school website.  Please share this news widely with incoming kindergarten families as registration is directly tied to staffing.

Shout out to Buckman parent Tony Pitone, for sharing this video titled “Awakening” directed by Peilin Chou. From Tony: “This is a piece that she recently did highlighting the impact Asian Americans have in the arts. She was moved to do this by all the recent hate against Asian Americans. I find it to be right in line with the message Buckman teaches.” 

May is Mental Health Awareness Month which aims to increase the conversation and decrease stigma around mental health. It is just as important as our physical health, and nearly 50% of children will have had a diagnosable mental illness at some point before they are 18. Check out these resources around the awareness month, why it's important, and supports. 

• mental health in the time of COVID
• For youth - teen to teen help line
• Need to talk to someone? NAMI can help
• More about mental health awareness month
• If you or anyone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the Multnomah County Crisis line at 503-988-4888

If you are interested in finding mental health support for you or your children and would like some assistance, please feel free to contact Anne Mulligan-Brinson, School Social Worker, at 503-729-2642 (voice or text) or amulliganbrinson@pps.net.

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/17 fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm, 5th grade promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school

FOUNDATION

Head over to neighborhood favorite West Coast Grocery Co (1403 SE Stark St) on Thursday, May 20 from 3:00-8:00pm for this month’s Dines Out! Canned beer and growler refills are available at the Beer Window, as well as delicious burgers, chicken sandwiches and more! For every purchase, West Coast Grocery Co will generously donate 15% of proceeds to the Buckman Foundation. Good eats for a good cause!

LIBRARY

• It’s time to start bringing back your Buckman Library Book Bags! Drop at the front entrance during school hours. Please leave the books in the bags. All books due by June 2nd.
• Students can now use their school ID as a public library card at MCL!
  •  Library Connect info (If you need your student’s ID number, email me at drudnick@pps.net)
• MCL: Bikes to Books Contest
• Four middle grade novels for fans of “Flora & Ulysses” on Disney+
• Ramona Rocks: A Celebration of the life and work of Beverly Cleary - Sunday, May 16, 2021 1:00-2:30 p.m. PT
• Buckman Library’s Wish List

PTA 

Can you imagine a year without yearbooks? Or a school year without visiting artists and performances funded by Run for the Arts? Us either! Consider volunteering for one of the following positions to ensure we can continue these traditions and to keep our practices at Buckman equitable:

• VP of Equity and Inclusion on the Buckman PTA board (to work alongside the wonderful Maralea Lutino)
• Run for the Arts Coordinator (2)
• Yearbook Coordinator
• Room Parent Coordinator

Email Amanda at pta@buckmanelementary.org if you are interested.  

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

• FREE soccer lessons for girls! Every Monday at 8:15pm at Eastside Timbers Complex (4710 SE 174th Ave) through Street Soccer USA - Portland. Open to girls all ages and skill levels. To sign up, email Coach Abbey at alportis@gmail.com. 
• Are you struggling to afford internet service right now? There is a new program out to help that provides a monthly discount for broadband service! Contact Katie for more information or assistance applying. 
• Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, please paint one at home or come by the school to paint one or pick up supplies. Contact Katie with questions. 
• Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!
• Are you looking for help getting vaccinated from COVID-19? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.
• Join our online SUN clubs! Every Monday at 3pm for 3-5th graders and every Thursday at 3pm for K-2nd graders. Code is BuckmanSUNRoom. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Saturday Academy Summer Camps and Classes

To find out more, check out this flyer or go to their website at saturdayacademy.org.

Buckman Champions

Champions is being offered at Buckman this summer! Click here for more details.

PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing Update

In February, the Board approved Resolution 6236, which completed Phase 1 of the process.  

PPS staff is proposing a narrowed scope for Phase 2 that focuses on three areas:

• Converting Harrison Park (currently a K-8) into a 6-8 middle school
• Re-locating Harrison Park K-5 students 
• Increasing enrollment at Lane Middle School 

The proposed timeline includes a few meetings between May and August for the Southeast Guiding Coalition to orient new members, review new data and learn about school programs and services. The proposed timeline also offers meeting time between September and November to test scenarios and listen to stakeholder feedback at open houses and other events.  

The Southeast Guiding Coalition’s recommendation is due to the Deputy Superintendent by the end of December, with Board consideration beginning in January 2022. Implementation of Board-approved changes will begin in Fall 2022. 

For more information about the Enrollment and Balancing process, please visit https://www.pps.net/enrollmentbalancing. To access the board materials about the Phase 2 proposed scope of work and a list of included schools, visit https://meetings.boardbook.org/Public/Organization/915.

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually. 

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe

Friday, May 7, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

Wow, what a week of cards, treats, coffee, lunches, flowers, notes, smiles, virtual high fives and appreciation we have all felt. Thank you for all of the appreciation you have shown the Buckman staff this week. It meant the world to us all. 

Calendars for the rest of this year and next: PPS Academic Calendar for school year 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. Kindergarten and 1^st grade will have unique schedules for the first days of school in the fall that will be shared separately.

Here it is! The ROARS video all of your students will be talking about: https://youtu.be/1WRnHZ5VF20. 

Staffing update: In kindergarten, Ms. Godfrey is retiring after 36 years of teaching and 28 years at Buckman. We are so happy for her - if you have any words or stories that you would like to share involving Ms. Godfrey, please feel free to send them my way! We will celebrate her properly at the end of the year. In her place, Ms. Ingraham will be joining the kindergarten team. This leaves us with an opening in our k-2 Social Emotional Skills classroom. I am recruiting for this essential Special Education position and if you know of any amazing educators who are licensed to teach SpEd, please send them my way!

The other news we have to share is that Ms. Crispen, our temporary 4th grade teacher this year, her position has been cut for next year. We thank Ms. Crispen for jumping in head first in October and hope to see her again soon! This leaves us with 2 teachers teaching 4th grade. I have appealed to the district for additional funding to give us a 3rd teacher in 4th grade. That decision is pending and I will be in touch with families if there are any changes with that. 

Hope to see you at the PTA meeting Monday Evening at 6pm. Here is the virtual meeting info: 

PTA meeting Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nhj-pevw-zmg

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: ‪752 643 720 5486#

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/10 6pm, PTA meeting
• 5/14 9am, 1:30pm fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm, 5th grade promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school

FOUNDATION

Head over to neighborhood favorite West Coast Grocery Co (1403 SE Stark St) on Thursday, May 20 from 3:00-8:00pm for this month’s Dines Out! Canned beer and growler refills are available at the Beer Window, as well as delicious burgers, chicken sandwiches and more! For every purchase, West Coast Grocery Co will generously donate 15% of proceeds to the Buckman Foundation. Good eats for a good cause!

Get it before it’s gone. Our last three apparel sales of the school year will be on May 12, May 26, and June 9 from 3:00pm-4:45pm on the upper playground. This is your last opportunity to stock up on Buckman tees, totes, and other gear. Mark your calendar so you don’t miss out!

LIBRARY

• If you have dropped off a bag of books or loose books from an old bag, please email me and let me know. I’ve been receiving books in random bags and I don’t know what student they are from. Thanks! drudnick@pps.net 
• MCL: Bikes to Books Contest
• ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS HERITAGE MONTH!
  • Asian & Asian American VOICES book list here (resources for teaching here)
  • Buckman Booklist 
  • PAT Resource Website for AAPI - book lists, choice boards, week of action, etc...
• BUCKMAN STUDENTS WITH LIBRARY BOOKS! If you no longer are reading your Buckman library books in your BOOK BAGS, please return any school day to the front entrance.  If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books or book bags, email me drudnick@pps.net  and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience.

PTA 

Thank you to all who contributed to staff appreciation week! We were able to show Buckman staff some love throughout the week with treats, lunch, gift cards, and totes. This could not have happened without your generosity! 

PTA General Meeting May 10^th at 6pm  Join us for our last PTA meeting of the school year!

We’ll discuss next year’s budget, introduce you to Buckman PTA’s incoming board members for 2021-2023, and answer any questions you may have. Use the following link to join: meet.google.com/nhj-pevw-zmg 

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, come get supplies at school or contact Katie to arrange a time to paint it on site! We are aiming to have them all painted and returned by May 12.

Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!

Are you looking for help getting vaccinated from COVID-19? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability. 

Join our online SUN clubs! Every Monday at 3pm for 3-5th graders and every Thursday at 3pm for K-2nd graders. Code is BuckmanSUNRoom. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Oregon STEAM Week, May 8th - May 16th
STEAM week is a state-wide movement to raise awareness, celebrate and engage in activities involving Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.  Buckman students will receive STEAM activities posted in Seesaw throughout the week.  Click here for more information about Oregon STEAM Week 

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually.

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe

Friday, April 30, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Check out this awesome resource – I especially appreciated the video on Culture & Identity. And finally, on the last day of April poetry month, I hope you check out these three poems by H.Melt #transandgenderqueerpoetry

A few hybrid reminders: there is NO parking on Pine street – that entire block is reserved for the bus loading zone. Also, please remember to bring reusable water bottles as drinking fountains are turned off for the rest of the year. Unfortunately we have distributed over 500 plastic water bottles already. 

Each year in March, the third grade students prepare a multi-arts performance for their families and the Buckman community. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, this year the performance took the form of a video and online gallery- put together by the Buckman Arts Teachers. The concept of this year's performance integrates learning that Buckman third grade students have been doing in all three arts disciplines, as well as in their regular classroom centering around the themes of Portland history and jazz.

You can view the performance videos and gallery of their work at: https://sites.google.com/pps.net/buckman-performances/3rd-grade 

Lastly, 5^th grade families please mark your calendars for our drive through promotion ceremony: June 10, 3:30. More details to follow.

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/3-5/7 Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
• 5/10 6pm, PTA meeting
• 5/14 9am, 1:30pm fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 3:30pm, 5th grade promotion 
• 6/11 last day of school

STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK IS NEXT WEEK!  Let’s show the awesome Buckman staff just how much we appreciate them. Send notes, pictures, and thank you cards to your student’s teacher. Don’t forget all the other amazing folks who contribute to our school, such as the arts teachers, librarian, school counselor and social worker, office staff, custodians and nutrition service workers, assistants, student teachers, and our steadfast leader, Principal Seidel!

LAST CALL FOR YEARBOOK PHOTOS  We need those selfie-type photos for the yearbook! Email submissions to yearbookbuckman@gmail.com, making sure to include your student’s name and grade. If you have already submitted photos, no need to send again. Assembly will start next week, so now is your chance to ensure your student is included in Buckman’s 2020-2021 yearbook!

FOUNDATION

The 2021 Buckman Auction will officially kick off on Friday, June 4th at 6pm!  

The auction team is curating grade-level baskets for this year’s event. This is a fun and easy way to get involved. Each grade has a different theme; check out the Sign-Up Genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f48acad28abfe3-buckman) for some of the items the team is hoping to collect to see how you can help out. *Only one week left to sign up!*

LIBRARY

• ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS HERITAGE MONTH!
  • Asian & Asian American VOICES book list here (resources for teaching here)
  • Buckman Booklist  
• BUCKMAN STUDENTS WITH LIBRARY BOOKS! If you no longer are reading your Buckman library books in your BOOK BAGS, please return any school day to the front entrance (I need books for our Hybrid book bins!).  If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books or book bags, email me drudnick@pps.net  and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience.
• Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays 3-4:30pm (new ending time) or by emailing drudnick@pps.net  to arrange an alternate Wednesday time
• Lunch Time Story Time with Ms. Rudnick: M/T/TH/F 11:15-11:45, buckmanreads

PTA 

Buckman Fundraiser at Livingscape – just a couple days left!  Shop all your plant and gardening needs at Livingscape, mention you are from Buckman and our school will receive 10% of your sale. Click here for location details.

New Group!  From Jeff, PTA Treasurer: Your PTA treasurer has dyslexia and ADHD and wants to invite parents in common interest to a monthly Professional Dyslexia Network Meeting on Tuesday, May 4th at 7:00 pm.  May the Fourth be with us! It’s geared for parents and professional adults. Conversation is personal, funny, and tearful. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/91416257374. Drop an email to jeff@organicmodern.com if you have interest or questions.

PTA General Meeting May 10^th at 6pm  Save the date for our last PTA meeting of the school year. We’ll discuss next year’s budget and introduce you to Buckman PTA’s prospective board members for 2021-2023.  

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

Has your student painted their rock for the community art project yet? If not, come get supplies at school or contact Katie to arrange a time to paint it on site! We are aiming to have them all painted and returned by May 7.

Do you need clothing support or energy assistance? Katie has new resources available, let her or your student's teacher know that you could use some help!

Are you looking for help getting vaccinated from COVID-19? Contact Katie to get signed up or to find locations with availability.

Join our online SUN clubs! Every Monday at 3pm for 3-5th graders and every Thursday at 3pm for K-2nd graders. Code is BuckmanSUNRoom. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Oregon STEAM Week, May 8th - May 16th
STEAM week is a state-wide movement to raise awareness, celebrate and engage in activities involving Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.  Buckman students will receive STEAM activities posted in Seesaw throughout the week.  Click here for more information about Oregon STEAM Week

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually. 

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe 

PPS Child Care

For the most up to date information about child care programs located in schools, please visit the PPS Child Care website. Twenty-one elementary/K-5 schools are hosting child care programs operated by partner organizations. These organizations:

• follow strict Health and Safety Guidelines from the Early Learning Division.
• are fee-based with qualifying families receiving state subsidies. 
• enroll students ages 5-12 before and after hybrid instruction and all-day for those students enrolled in distance learning. 

Nutrition Services Information

Are all meals free for all children?

Yes!  We are operating a USDA child nutrition program that allows us to provide meals at no cost to all children ages 1-18 years.  There is no need to pay.

If I take meals for my child, does it take away from others?

No.  We would love to provide every child with food.  There is no limit to our program - we are reimbursed for every meal we serve.  The more children participate in our program, the more we are able to do - work and pay for our team members, larger purchases and money to our local partners that we purchase from, and better pricing on food and supplies the larger the volume that we purchase.

Why is there so much packaging?

You may see more packaging during this time.  Since our services are so different than our usual cafeteria experience, we are tasked with ensuring food safety.  We will continue to use less when possible, but appreciate your patience during this transition until we can resume our sustainability efforts. 

What types of foods can I expect?

We will have some familiar foods included in the upcoming meals such as the bean and cheese burrito, yakisoba, tamales, etc.  We try to provide a variety of protein options throughout the weeks, that also meet the varying home situations such as refrigerator space and food storage for food safety.  We do try to purchase locally sourced foods when possible, such as the mini cheese pizza that families may have seen recently.  Everyone’s support in our meals supports our team's work, and the local economy. Families can reference our menus online for more information and help guide their students on which days they would like them to participate.  We may have a few substitutions along the way depending on availability.  

Are you hiring?

Yes!  We are in need of assistants to help support our services across the district.  Our job posting can be found on the district website, under Jobs. 

Where to get meals? 

CDL and hybrid students may pick up at Buckman from 10:15-10:30am, 2:30-2:45 on m/t/h/f. OR daily distribution at another site (Buckman is no longer a regular pickup site with the late afternoon hours). Those schools are listed here: 

https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals

Friday, April 23, 2021 

Hello Buckman Bears,

Thank you to all of you for being respectful of our school rules and keeping the playground empty from 7:30-3:30 M-F. COVID cases are on the rise in Oregon. Please send your hybrid students to school with well-fitting masks. If your students experience any primary symptoms, they must remain at home and families must notify the office immediately. We will send that information to our nurse who will follow up with the family. Here are the primary COVID-19 symptoms: cough, fever of 100.4 or higher, chills, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, new loss of taste or smell. If your student has been in close contact with a positive COVID case they must stay at home and, the office must be notified as well. We appreciate everyone’s combined effort in keeping our community safe!

We are one week away from staff appreciation week (May 3-7). Please show your Buckman teachers and staff some love by sending them notes, emails, cards, poems, or anything else you can think of to show your appreciation to the staff of Buckman. Students can mail cards to school at 320 SE 16th Avenue, Portland OR, 97214. Please put the name of your teacher on the front of the card and we’ll make sure they receive it the first week of May! 

This was a week that featured lessons in racial and climate justice. As President Biden said this week, it’s not enough and we can’t stop here. Also, tomorrow is your final chance to drop off old batteries and sneakers for recycling. The Buckman Green Team will be on the school blacktop from 10-1 Saturday. 

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/3-5/7 Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week
• 5/10 6pm, PTA meeting
• 5/14 9am, 1:30pm fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/4 6pm, Buckman Virtual Auction
• 6/10 5th grade promotion (details TBD) 
• 6/11 last day of school
•  

FOUNDATION

The 2021 Buckman Auction will officially kick off on Friday, June 4th at 6pm!  The auction team is curating grade-level baskets for this year’s event. This is a fun and easy way to get involved. Each grade has a different theme; check out the Sign-Up Genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f48acad28abfe3-buckman) for some of the items the team is hoping to collect to see how you can help out.

Buy one, give one! Stop by next week’s apparel sales (April 28, 3-4:30 on the upper playground). For every Buckman tote purchased, a second will be donated towards staff appreciation week (May 3^rd-7^th)! Our goal is to give a tote to every staff member, come out to grab yours to help contribute.

GREEN TEAM

To Celebrate Earth Day (April 22, 2021) Green Team is hosting a recycling event April 19, 2021 - April 24, 2021 for:

• Common household batteries (AAA,AA,B,C,D,9V)
• Used athletic shoes

One last chance to drop off recycling THIS Saturday, April 24, 2021 from 10:00 - 11:00 AM (next to the Art Room)

Batteries - Common household batteries AAA, AA, B, C, D, 9V

• Please make sure batteries are not leaking
• No button batteries
• No laptop, cellphone, or other batteries 

Athletic Shoes

• Pairs of athletic shoes - athletic sneakers(running, jogging, basketball, training, sports), rubber soccer cleats, rubber baseball cleats
• Any condition
• Big kids size 3.5 and larger
• No boots, heels, sandals, or dress shoes

The Green Team is partnering with Got Sneakers for this event. Through Got Sneakers each pair of athletic shoes will be evaluated to see if they can be resold or if they are at the end of their life and need to be recycled. The Green Team will receive between $0.25 (completely trashed sneakers) to $7.00 (like new brand name sneakers) for each pair of sneakers delivered to Got Sneakers. 

If you are unsure if what you have can be recycled through this even please feel free to text a photo of what you have questions about to Korrin Weldon 503-706-5338

LIBRARY

• BUCKMAN STUDENTS WITH LIBRARY BOOKS! If you no longer are reading your Buckman library books in your BOOK BAGS, please return any school day to the front entrance (I need books for our Hybrid book bins!).  If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books or book bags, email me drudnick@pps.net  and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience.
• Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays 3-4:30pm (new ending time!) or by emailing drudnick@pps.net  to arrange an alternate Wednesday time.
• Lunch Time Virtual Story Time with Ms. Rudnick: MTTHF 11:15-11:45, buckmanreads
• April Reading Calendars

PTA 

Buckman Fundraiser at Livingscape now through May 1^st!  Shop all your plant and gardening needs at Livingscape, mention you are from Buckman and our school will receive 10% of your sale. Click here for location details.

PTA General Meeting May 10^th at 6pm  Save the date for our last PTA meeting of the school year. We’ll discuss next year’s budget and introduce you to Buckman PTA’s prospective board members for 2021-2023. 

Classroom Assignments in Konstella  If your student has switched classrooms, be sure to update their class assignment in Konstella to ensure that you receive the appropriate class information. Doing so will also give you a chance to connect with other parents and families. To change classrooms: log in to your account, click on “Your Children”, select your child’s name, then click on the tab with the grade and teacher’s name, a drop-down menu will pop up for you to select the new classroom. 

Scrip Sales  Get your Fred Meyer, Amazon, and Target scrip cards!  We’ll be on the upper playground on April 28 from 3-4:30 pm. Come by and pick up some scrip all while supporting Buckman. 

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

1. It's not too early to apply for Head Start for next school year! The application can be found here, for all families within PPS boundaries. Head Start serves 760 low-income three- and four-year-old children and their families. Contact Katie for help with the application process. 

2. We have begun our community art project to celebrate staying together in spirit over the last year, even while we had to stay physically apart. If your student is not able to paint a rock during their class' designated time, reach out to Katie to make alternative arrangements.  

3. Resource Assistance and Support   New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

4. Support SUN   Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Student Groups for BIPOC Students

New student groups are now up and running with Brown Girl Rise, Adulting IRL, and Coalition of Black men. Groups will begin next week on April 29th and 30^th, and will continue every Thursday for ages 8-12, and Fridays for ages 13-18 from 4pm-5pm, virtually. 

Check out their flyer and FAQ for more information. Signups are available here: https://tinyurl.com/BIPOCvibe

PPS Child Care

For the most up to date information about child care programs located in schools, please visit the PPS Child Care website. Twenty-one elementary/K-5 schools are hosting child care programs operated by partner organizations. These organizations:

• follow strict Health and Safety Guidelines from the Early Learning Division.
• are fee-based with qualifying families receiving state subsidies. 
• enroll students ages 5-12 before and after hybrid instruction and all-day for those students enrolled in distance learning. 

Nutrition Services Information

Are all meals free for all children?

Yes!  We are operating a USDA child nutrition program that allows us to provide meals at no cost to all children ages 1-18 years.  There is no need to pay.

If I take meals for my child, does it take away from others?

No.  We would love to provide every child with food.  There is no limit to our program - we are reimbursed for every meal we serve.  The more children participate in our program, the more we are able to do - work and pay for our team members, larger purchases and money to our local partners that we purchase from, and better pricing on food and supplies the larger the volume that we purchase. 

Why is there so much packaging?

You may see more packaging during this time.  Since our services are so different than our usual cafeteria experience, we are tasked with ensuring food safety.  We will continue to use less when possible, but appreciate your patience during this transition until we can resume our sustainability efforts.  

What types of foods can I expect?

We will have some familiar foods included in the upcoming meals such as the bean and cheese burrito, yakisoba, tamales, etc.  We try to provide a variety of protein options throughout the weeks, that also meet the varying home situations such as refrigerator space and food storage for food safety.  We do try to purchase locally sourced foods when possible, such as the mini cheese pizza that families may have seen recently.  Everyone’s support in our meals supports our team's work, and the local economy. Families can reference our menus online for more information and help guide their students on which days they would like them to participate.  We may have a few substitutions along the way depending on availability. 

 Are you hiring?

Yes!  We are in need of assistants to help support our services across the district.  Our job posting can be found on the district website, under Jobs.  

Where to get meals? 

CDL and hybrid students may pick up at Buckman from 10:15-10:30am, 2:30-2:45 on m/t/h/f. OR daily distribution at another site (Buckman is no longer a regular pickup site with the late afternoon hours). Those schools are listed here: 

https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals

Friday, April 16, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

The sun was shining brightly on our school both in person and virtual this week! I had the pleasure of visiting 2nd grade CDL class this week when they were learning about identity in a series of Racial and Social Justice and inclusion lessons. When asked “What is identity?” Here were some delightful 2nd grade responses: Your face. What you like and don’t like. Your personality. Who you are. 

What to do if you are late to school: If students arrive late to school and find that their class has already entered the building, please go to the front entrance to ring the doorbell. The office will let the student in and check them in before sending them to class. Thanks! Students begin entering the building at 8:00am/12:15pm. Pickup is 10:15am/2:30pm.

No state testing this year for grades 3-5.

Report cards are finished will be sent home next week.  If you have any questions about your child’s report card, I want to remind you that they were completed by your child’s original classroom teacher so any questions should be directed to those individuals.  Your child’s 4th quarter marks will be completed by their 4th quarter teacher. 

COVID notifications: the district has had a few confirmed cases of COVID in several elementary schools. As of today, there have been none at Buckman. If there is a confirmed case within the Buckman population (staff or student), I will let the community know. Any folks who have been exposed and require a quarantine will be notified directly. The school and local health officials are making decisions out of an abundance of caution, keeping the safety and health of our students and families at the front.

Lastly, I wanted to acknowledge that it has been another difficult week for the United States. The death and violence is too much. I think we can all agree that something needs to change.

Sincerely,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 5/14 9am, 1:30pm fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day
• 6/1 9:30am, 1:45pm fire drill
• 6/10 5th grade promotion (details TBD) 
• 6/11 last day of school

FOUNDATION

Round two of our Buckman Dines Out at Screen Door was a great success. Many thanks to the families who ordered food from this neighborhood favorite, and to Screen Door for their ongoing support of Buckman! Stay tuned for news about our next Dines Out event.

The 2021 Buckman Auction will officially kick off on Friday, June 4th at 6pm. As the biggest fundraiser of the year, be sure to mark your calendars for this important online event! The auction bidding will also begin that evening and will continue through the next day. We’ll have more details coming soon!

GREEN TEAM

To Celebrate Earth Day (April 22, 2021) Green Team is hosting a recycling event April 19, 2021 - April 24, 2021 for:

• Common household batteries (AAA,AA,B,C,D,9V)
• Used athletic shoes 

There are three opportunities to drop off recycling:

• Send recycling with hybrid students April 19, 2021 - April 23, 2021. Recycling will be collected in bins located inside of the student entrance doors
• On the upper playground during bookbag pickup April 21, 2021 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM 
• Next to the Art Room on Saturday, April 24, 2021 from 10:00 - 11:00 AM

Batteries - Common household batteries AAA, AA, B, C, D, 9V

• Please make sure batteries are not leaking
• No button batteries
• No laptop, cellphone, or other batteries 

Athletic Shoes

• Pairs of athletic shoes - athletic sneakers(running, jogging, basketball, training, sports), rubber soccer cleats, rubber baseball cleats
• Any condition
• Big kids size 3.5 and larger
• No boots, heels, sandals, or dress shoes 

The Green Team is partnering with Got Sneakers for this event. Through Got Sneakers each pair of athletic shoes will be evaluated to see if they can be resold or if they are at the end of their life and need to be recycled. The Green Team will receive between $0.25 (completely trashed sneakers) to $7.00 (like new brand name sneakers) for each pair of sneakers delivered to Got Sneakers. 

If you are unsure if what you have can be recycled through this even please feel free to text a photo of what you have questions about to Korrin Weldon 503-706-5338

LIBRARY

• BUCKMAN STUDENTS WITH LIBRARY BOOKS! If you no longer are reading your Buckman library books in your BOOK BAGS, please return any school day to the front entrance (I need books for our Hybrid book bins!).  If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books or book bags, email me drudnick@pps.net  and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience.
• Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays 3-4:45pm or by emailing drudnick@pps.net  to arrange an alternate Wednesday time
• Lunch Time Virtual Story Time with Ms. Rudnick: MTTHF 11:15-11:45, buckmanreads
• April Reading Calendars

PTA 

Yearbook   Don’t be left out! Email a yearbook-style photo of your Buckman bear. You may also include pictures of them “at school’, or doing a pose in dance, music, or PE. You’re invited to include pictures of their artwork or quote about school. Email your submissions to yearbookbuckman@gmail.com be sure to include your children’s name, teacher, and grade. Due April 20^th! 

Classroom Assignments in Konstella  If your student has switched classrooms, be sure to update their class assignment in Konstella to ensure that you receive the appropriate class information. Doing so will also give you a chance to connect with other parents and families. To change classrooms: log in to your account, click on “Your Children”, select your child’s name, then click on the tab with the grade and teacher’s name, a drop-down menu will pop up for you to select the new classroom. 

Scrip Sales  Get your Fred Meyer, Amazon, and Target scrip cards!  We’ll be on the upper playground on April 28 from 3-4:30 pm. Come by and pick up some scrip all while supporting Buckman. 

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

SUN

1. Register for 4th Quarter SUN clubs!  Below is the information and you can register your student here. They began this week but we are still welcoming new students anytime!

Mondays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Art Club

Join Ms Tabitha and other students to do some art together. There will be a directed art project your student can follow along with, or they can work on their own thing while sharing virtual space with peers. 

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, K-2nd grade: Still Life Drawing

Think black and white is boring or lines are only for writing? Think again! Find out how much you can express with just a line or how much color you can make with just dots. Using different art styles and techniques, see how much art you can make with just a few supplies.

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Newspaper

Fridays, 3pm-4pm, K-5th grade: Tae Kwon Do 

2. Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

3. Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

PPS Child Care

For the most up to date information about child care programs located in schools, please visit the PPS Child Care website. Twenty-one elementary/K-5 schools are hosting child care programs operated by partner organizations. These organizations:

• follow strict Health and Safety Guidelines from the Early Learning Division.
• are fee-based with qualifying families receiving state subsidies. 
• enroll students ages 5-12 before and after hybrid instruction and all-day for those students enrolled in distance learning. 

Nutrition Services Information

Are all meals free for all children?

Yes!  We are operating a USDA child nutrition program that allows us to provide meals at no cost to all children ages 1-18 years.  There is no need to pay. 

If I take meals for my child, does it take away from others?

No.  We would love to provide every child with food.  There is no limit to our program - we are reimbursed for every meal we serve.  The more children participate in our program, the more we are able to do - work and pay for our team members, larger purchases and money to our local partners that we purchase from, and better pricing on food and supplies the larger the volume that we purchase.

Why is there so much packaging?

You may see more packaging during this time.  Since our services are so different than our usual cafeteria experience, we are tasked with ensuring food safety.  We will continue to use less when possible, but appreciate your patience during this transition until we can resume our sustainability efforts.  

What types of foods can I expect?

We will have some familiar foods included in the upcoming meals such as the bean and cheese burrito, yakisoba, tamales, etc.  We try to provide a variety of protein options throughout the weeks, that also meet the varying home situations such as refrigerator space and food storage for food safety.  We do try to purchase locally sourced foods when possible, such as the mini cheese pizza that families may have seen recently.  Everyone’s support in our meals supports our team's work, and the local economy. Families can reference our menus online for more information and help guide their students on which days they would like them to participate.  We may have a few substitutions along the way depending on availability.  

Are you hiring?

Yes!  We are in need of assistants to help support our services across the district.  Our job posting can be found on the district website, under Jobs.  

Where to get meals? 

CDL and hybrid students may pick up at Buckman from 10:15-10:30am, 2:30-2:45 on m/t/h/f. OR daily distribution at another site (Buckman is no longer a regular pickup site with the late afternoon hours). Those schools are listed here: 

https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals 

211info Child Care

211info Child Care provides free, customized referrals to child care providers and strategies for finding quality child care in Oregon. For information and resources on finding quality child care, click here. 

To speak with a Parent Educator about child care resources:

CALL 211 or 1-866-698-6155
TEXT keyword "children" or "ninos" to 898211 (TXT211)
EMAIL children@211info.org
HOURS Monday-Friday 7am-11pm; Saturday-Sunday 8am-8pm 

Bilingual staff and interpreters are available to serve families in all languages. To search for child care providers online, click here; materials can also be downloaded here. 

Free Online Theatre Games for Kids K-6 from Imago 

Imago is offering families and schools FREE ONLINE THEATRE GAMES. Designed for K - 6 students, these 2 to 3-minute short videos are fun, exciting and easy, and give viewers a chance to learn mime, have fun and break up the day.

To access the videos, you need to request the link; click here and we'll send the link to you with a password. 

There are 15 videos that will be available beginning April 15, 2021. Sign up now! It's free. 

Friday, April 9, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

Welcome to quarter 4. In some ways, it feels like we have just begun. Here are your weekly updates:

Tag update: TAG Nominations from this year will be rolled over into the fall and testing will happen at the beginning of the school year. No additional paperwork will need to be done, all nominations from Fall 2020 will be honored in Fall 2021. Additionally, both 2nd and 3rd grade will be tested for TAG in Fall 2021 as the current 2nd graders did not get tested last fall.

COVID symptom tracking: will happen when a student or staff member is absent due to illness. It is everyone's responsibility to keep our community safe and well, which includes staying home when you may be sick with an illness that may spread to someone else. Tracking symptoms will help us to keep everyone healthy.

Report cards: will be sent home with hybrid students or mailed home for CDL students the week of April 19. Report cards will be completed by 1st semester teachers.

The A Kids Books About series just released a new title, A Kids Book About Anti-Asian Hate. You can go to this LINK to download the book for FREE.

Welcome to the 2nd grade team Sarah Davis! Sarah comes to us after student teaching at Abernethy in 3rd grade, working as an educational assistant at Laurelhurst in grades 2-4, and over a decade of work as a Chemist in the business field. Ms. Davis is joining Ms. Lee as a co-teacher in our 2nd grade CDL cohort.

3-5 Map reports will be mailed home this week from the district.

Specials classes: There were a few errors on the link that was sent out yesterday. Check out the updated schedule to find your teacher, cohort, specials times, and meeting codes (Note: some classes have NEW google meeting codes).

Here's to keeping the arts alive during hybrid and distance learning!

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 4/22 Earth Day
• 5/19 6pm virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day

SUN

1. Register for 4th Quarter SUN clubs! Below is the information and you can register your student here. They began this week but we are still welcoming new students anytime!

Mondays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Art Club

Join Ms Tabitha and other students to do some art together. There will be a directed art project your student can follow along with, or they can work on their own thing while sharing virtual space with peers. 

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, K-2nd grade: Still Life Drawing

Think black and white is boring or lines are only for writing? Think again! Find out how much you can express with just a line or how much color you can make with just dots. Using different art styles and techniques, see how much art you can make with just a few supplies.

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Newspaper

Fridays, 3pm-4pm, K-5th grade: Tae Kwon Do

2. Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.orgor 503-858-0230.  
3. 
   Support SUN  Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

FOUNDATION

Buy one, give one! At this month's apparel sales (April 14 and April 28, 3-4:30 on the upper playground), for every Buckman tote purchased, a second will be donated towards staff appreciation week! Our goal is to give a tote to every staff member, so come out to grab yours to help contribute. Other Buckman gear, including beanies, hoodies, and masks, will also be available for purchase.

The Buckman Auction team is curating grade-level baskets for this year’s event. This is a fun and easy way to get involved. Each grade has a different theme; check out the Sign-Up Genius (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0f48acad28abfe3-buckman) for some of the items the team is hoping to collect to see how you can help out.

Back by popular demand: Buckman Dines Out at Screen Door! On Tuesday April 13, from 11am until 8pm (or until food runs out!), order your pick-up or delivery and 10% of proceeds will benefit the Buckman Foundation! Enjoy traditional Southern cooking with Northwest food values at this popular Buckman favorite. Call 503-542-0880 to order or check out the menu at screendoorrestaurant.com.

LIBRARY

• Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays 3-5pm or by emailing drudnick@pps.net to arrange an alternate Wednesday time
• Return all found library books (missing from returned book bags or checked out from previous school years) any school day to the front entrance (new book return!)
• If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books or book bags, email me and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience
• Used book donations accepted through May during Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays
• April Reading Calendars

PTA

Classroom Assignments in Konstella  If your student has switched classrooms, be sure to update their class assignment in Konstella to ensure that you receive the appropriate class information. Doing so will also give you a chance to connect with other parents and families. To change classrooms: log in to your account, click on “Your Children”, select your child’s name, then click on the tab with the grade and teacher’s name, a drop-down menu will pop up for you to select the new classroom.

Scrip Sales  Get your Fred Meyer, Amazon, and Target scrip cards!  We’ll be on the upper playground on April 14 and April 28 from 3-4:30 pm. Come by, say hi, and get pick up some scrip all while supporting Buckman.

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Symptom Surveillance Video – Guidance for Parents and Students

There is a new video on YouTube called “Return to School Process” that can be used to help parents/students understand the 5 layers of symptom surveillance to keep the school community safe. Click on one of the following links to view:

ENGLISH:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbLhz0c_xtw&t=5s

MANDARIN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR3OWPxpy0k

RUSSIAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NSVYDtfWZI

SOMALI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDlYOlFsdNA

SPANISH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO-3AzPiTMA

VIETNAMESE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vryEiDYGOy0

Summer Programming Opportunities

Cognizart 360 Arts Camp 2021 (ages 6-12) - July 5-9 & July 12-16

PSU Portland Summer Percussion Academy (ages 12-18) - July 19-21

OSU Precollege Programs Summer Reading Skills Programs (ages 4 through 11th grade)

211info Child Care

211info Child Care provides free, customized referrals to child care providers and strategies for finding quality child care in Oregon. For information and resources on finding quality child care, click here.

To speak with a Parent Educator about child care resources:

CALL 211 or 1-866-698-6155
TEXT keyword "children" or "ninos" to 898211 (TXT211)
EMAIL children@211info.org
HOURS Monday-Friday 7am-11pm; Saturday-Sunday 8am-8pm

Bilingual staff and interpreters are available to serve families in all languages. 

To search for child care providers online, click here; materials can also be downloaded here.

Hybrid and Distance Learning Meal Services

All school meals will continue to be free for all students in all schools, and no student ID or names are needed to receive meals. 

- Once a student returns to hybrid in-person instruction, meals will be served at the end of each of the in-person sessions. Service Style may vary between schools depending on facility, dismissal schedule, etc. 

- If a student is staying in distance learning -- or if their hybrid in-person learning has not begun -- they should visit any of our new meal distribution sites between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. on school days to pick up meals. 

New Open Community Meal Distribution Sites

For the remainder of the year, grab-and-go meals will be available between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. on school days for all children in the community (PPS students and children not enrolled at PPS) ages 1-18. The sites for curbside distribution:

• Beaumont Middle School, 4043 NE Fremont St.
• Franklin High School, 5405 SE Woodward St.
• George Middle School, 10000 N Burr Ave.
• Harriet Tubman Middle School, 2231 N Flint Ave.
• Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl.
• Ida B. Wells High School, 1151 SW Vermont St.
• Jackson Middle School, 10625 SW 35th Ave.
• Jefferson High School, 5210 N Kerby Ave.
• Lane Middle School, 7200 SE 60th Ave.
• Leodis V. McDaniel @ Marshall High School, 3905 SE 91st Ave.
• Tabor Middle School, 5800 SE Ash St.
• Ockley Green Middle School, 6031 N Montana Ave.
• Robert Gray Middle School, 5505 SW 23rd Ave.
• Roosevelt High School, 6941 N Central St.
• Roseway Heights Middle School, 7334 NE Siskiyou St.

Meals on Buses

When students are dismissed from their in person learning, they will be offered school meals to take home with them.  If they are riding on the bus, there will be a green container for all school meals to be held while they are traveling to their home or bus stop. As the student leaves the bus, they will pick up their meal again from the green container.  Students with special diets or allergies will have their meals in labeled bags and may be stored in a separate container.  Please reference this Standard Operating Procedure for more information. 

Free Online Theatre Games for Kids K-6 from Imago

Imago is offering families and schools FREE ONLINE THEATRE GAMES. Designed for K - 6 students, these 2 to 3-minute short videos are fun, exciting and easy, and give viewers a chance to learn mime, have fun and break up the day.

To access the videos, you need to request the link; click here and we'll send the link to you with a password.  

There are 15 videos that will be available beginning April 15, 2021. Sign up now! It's free. 

Friday, April 2, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

We welcomed our 1st and kindergarten students back this week! It was a day of sweet connection both in person and online with our CDL students. I popped into the 1st grade CDL classroom today and was delighted to hear all of the students practicing their small group assignments by being farm animals. In 1st grade hybrid, students practiced waiting in line for the bathroom, played hula hoop tag on the blacktop, and did some book shopping in their classroom libraries! 

1st grade CDL: Welcome back Greg Clarkson, who will be co-teaching CDL in 1st grade with Ms. Agre. Due to a number of shifts to cohort assignments in 1st grade, we had enough students in CDL to hire another staff to help support our 1st graders. Mr. Clarkson is coming out of his recent retirement last year after teaching at Buckman for over 20 years! 

Please share this hybrid video with your students: https://youtu.be/PRnwdLnhKN4

Amazing work from the support team, Buckman Bear, and Mr. Schopmeyer, who edited and published the video in less than 24 hours.   

Join a lunch Google Meet social time of your choice, open to ALL Buckman students.

11:15-11:45 M/T/TH/F

-BuckmanBites with Mr. Rudolph: jokes, games, chit chat social time divided by grade level.

-BuckmanReads with Ms. Rudnick: Daily storytime for all ages welcome! Come once a week or four times a week!  

Playgrounds closed 7:30-3:30: now that our school is open to students, our campus and playground is closed from 7:30-3:30 daily. Please help spread this message to other families and community members.  

Wednesday was transgender day of visibility. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of transgender and gender nonconforming people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans justice. If you want to learn more, click on the link above. 

Monday, we will welcome back all students to CDL/hybrid school. Grades 2-5 hybrid, we will see you on the blacktop at 8am/12:15pm. Please bring a water bottle, mask (and maybe a backup mask), and that’s it! Dismissal is at 10:15am and 2:30pm. Students and families are asked to leave campus right after pick up to prevent congestion and to allow our staff enough time to prepare for the next cohort. Thank you for your help with this!

Take care everyone, 

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• 4/5 – k-5 hybrid open for all grade levels
• 4/8     End of Quarter
• 4/9   No School, Teacher planning day
• 4/16, 10am Virtual Run for the arts 
• 5/14 9am, 1:30pm fire drill
• 5/19 6pm  virtual connect to kindergarten
• 5/31 No School, Memorial Day 

Buckman Bites with Mr. Rudolph

Buckman Bites continues!  New time, same old fun.  During these times of change, take this opportunity to connect with your classmates.  Together we will build relationships and strengthen our Buckman community.  Be prepared to be stumped by Mr. Rudolph’s riddles and laugh uncontrollably at his dad jokes.  Silly stories and kid jokes are highly encouraged.   Meet Code: buckmanbites

What: Buckman Bites, a virtual lunchtime meetup for ALL Buckman students   

Why:  For connections and smiles

When: Kinder & 1st grade - Mondays 11:15-11:45 

2nd grade - Tuesdays 11:15-11:45

3rd grade - Wednesdays 11:15-11:45

4th grade - Thursdays 11:15-11:45

5th grade - Fridays 11:15-11:45

 Classroom Assignments in Konstella

If your student has switched classrooms, be sure to update their class assignment in Konstella to ensure that you receive the appropriate class information. Doing so will also give you a chance to connect with other parents and families. To change classrooms: log in to your account, click on “Your Children”, select your child’s name, then click on the tab with the grade and teacher’s name, a drop-down menu will pop up for you to select the new classroom. 

Run for the Arts Update

Unfortunately, RFTA for the current school year has been cancelled. We hope to continue this Buckman tradition in Fall 2021. Until then, we are looking for two RFTA coordinators to take the helm. Please email pta@buckmanelementary.org. This is a great opportunity to get involved and raise money to support our arts program!

SUN

Girls on the Run registration is OPEN and runs through April 23rd. The team is open to 3rd-5th graders, and is available on a sliding scale payment system. Practices are at Buckman Field from 3:30-5pm Mondays and Thursdays from April 12-June 5. Complete the registration form here. We have found enough coaches at this point!

Register for 4th Quarter SUN clubs! Below is the information and you can register your student here. SUN Clubs will run from April 5- May 27th. 

Mondays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Famous Art and Artists

In this art history club, we'll explore different famous pieces of artwork from around the world and learn about the people, culture, time periods, and places that each piece of art was made. We'll even make some art history of our own! 

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, K-2nd grade: Still Life Drawing

Think black and white is boring or lines are only for writing? Think again! Find out how much you can express with just a line or how much color you can make with just dots. Using different art styles and techniques, see how much art you can make with just a few supplies. 

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Newspaper

Fridays, 3pm-4pm, K-5th grade: Tae Kwon Do

Volunteer with Brown Hope! Volunteers under the age of 18 are welcome with a guardian present. Brown Hope is a community solution for racial justice, creating connection with Black, Brown, and Indigenous leaders through the heart, mind, and voice to inspire our collective healing. Sign up here. 

Resource Assistance and Support  New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

Support SUN   Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

FOUNDATION

Back by popular demand: Buckman Dines Out at Screen Door! On Tuesday, April 13, from 11am until 8pm (or until food runs out!), order your pick-up or delivery and 10% of proceeds will benefit the Buckman Foundation! Enjoy traditional Southern cooking with Northwest food values at this popular Buckman favorite. Call 503-542-0880 to order or check out the menu at screendoorrestaurant.com.

The 2021 Buckman Auction will officially kick off on Friday, June 4th at 6pm. As the biggest fundraiser of the year, be sure to mark your calendars for this important online event! The auction bidding will also begin at that time and continue through the next day. We’ll have more details coming soon!

GREEN TEAM

The Buckman Green Team is considering hosting an end-of-the-school year bike celebration (Bears on Bikes!!) the weekend of June 5th/6th. We are hoping to have fun, COVID-safe bike events, safety and maintenance stations, and a free raffle. 

Please complete this short survey to help us gauge interest, potential participation, and volunteer availability by April 5th.

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete this survey and help Buckman kiddos start the summer ready to roll.

LIBRARY

• Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays 3-5pm or by emailing drudnick@pps.net  to arrange an alternate Wednesday time
• Return all found library books (missing from returned book bags or checked out from previous school years) any school day to the front entrance (new book return!)
• If you cannot get to Buckman to return your library books, email me and I will arrange a porch pick up at your convenience
• Used book donations accepted through May during Book Bag Exchange Wednesdays
• Starting April 5th! M-F 11:15-11:45; Google Meet: BuckmanReads Lunch time Read Alouds with Ms. Rudnick & BuckmanBites with Mr. Rudolph
• April Reading Calendars

Additionally, 

• If you have a copy of “The Adventures of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen from the Future” by Dav Pilkey, I highly recommend removing it from your home library, or using it as a learning resource in authors making apologies for microaggressions (Dav Pilkey’s apology letter). This book has passive racism against Asian people. You can read more here. 
• In addition to Dav Pilkey’s above novel, many Dr. Seuss titles are under review to be removed from school libraries as Seuss Enterprises has halted production for similar reasons. If you have copies of these titles, consider doing the same:
  • Six by Seuss
  • And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
  • If I Ran the Zoo
  • McElligot's Pool
  • On Beyond Zebra!
  • Scrambled Eggs Super!
  • The Cat's Quizzer
• I can collect your copies of Dav Pilkey’s novel and the specified Dr. Seuss books. 
• Beverly Cleary died last week at the age of 104, just a few weeks before her 105th birthday. She was a monumental writer for early and middle grade fiction at a time when there were not many books for children that mirrored some children’s experiences in everyday life. OPB produced a documentary of her life. You can watch it here.

PTA 

Scrip Sales  Get your Fred Meyer, Amazon, and Target scrip cards!  We’ll be on the upper playground on select Wednesdays in April. Come by, say hi, and get pick up some scrip all while supporting Buckman. Stay tuned for dates on Konstella. 

PTA Membership   Sign up online to become a member. Your membership strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Childcare during Hybrid and CDL

PPS Child Care website has a list of schools hosting child care programs during hybrid instruction. The website includes directions for translating the information. In addition, 211info offers child care referrals for all types of programs (including Boys and Girls Club and community centers) throughout Multnomah County. Parents can text, call or search for programs online.  

Hybrid and Distance Learning Meal Services

All school meals will continue to be free for all students in all schools, and no student ID or names are needed to receive meals. 

- Once a student returns to hybrid in-person instruction, meals will be served at the end of each of the in-person sessions. Service Style may vary between schools depending on facility, dismissal schedule, etc. 

- If a student is staying in distance learning -- or if their hybrid in-person learning has not begun -- they should visit any of our new meal distribution sites between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. on school days to pick up meals.  

New Open Community Meal Distribution Sites

For the remainder of the year, grab-and-go meals will be available between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m. on school days for all children in the community (PPS students and children not enrolled at PPS) ages 1-18. The sites for curbside distribution:

• Beaumont Middle School, 4043 NE Fremont St.
• Franklin High School, 5405 SE Woodward St.
• George Middle School, 10000 N Burr Ave.
• Harriet Tubman Middle School, 2231 N Flint Ave.
• Hosford Middle School, 2303 SE 28th Pl.
• Ida B. Wells High School, 1151 SW Vermont St.
• Jackson Middle School, 10625 SW 35th Ave.
• Jefferson High School, 5210 N Kerby Ave.
• Lane Middle School, 7200 SE 60th Ave.
• Leodis V. McDaniel @ Marshall High School, 3905 SE 91st Ave.
• Tabor Middle School, 5800 SE Ash St.
• Ockley Green Middle School, 6031 N Montana Ave.
• Robert Gray Middle School, 5505 SW 23rd Ave.
• Roosevelt High School, 6941 N Central St.
• Roseway Heights Middle School, 7334 NE Siskiyou St.

Meals on Buses

When students are dismissed from their in person learning, they will be offered school meals to take home with them.  If they are riding on the bus, there will be a green container for all school meals to be held while they are traveling to their home or bus stop. As the student leaves the bus, they will pick up their meal again from the green container.  Students with special diets or allergies will have their meals in labeled bags and may be stored in a separate container.  Please reference this Standard Operating Procedure for more information.  

Free Online Theatre Games for Kids K-6 from Imago 

Imago is offering families and schools FREE ONLINE THEATRE GAMES. Designed for K - 6 students, these 2 to 3-minute short videos are fun, exciting and easy, and give viewers a chance to learn mime, have fun and break up the day. 

To access the videos, you need to request the link; click here and we'll send the link to you with a password. 

There are 15 videos that will be available beginning April 15, 2021. Sign up now! It's free. 

Friday, March 19, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

It was an emotional week at Buckman virtual school as about a third of our students said goodbye to their teachers today and yesterday. As we make the shift towards re-opening schools, we had to adjust the teachers and schedules for many children. In my own household, there were tears and feelings of loss as we learned that our CDL community will be changing. There is also excitement for many, anxiousness, happiness and all of the other emotions as well. When we return to school, whether it be virtual or hybrid, our staff will be starting off with building a new classroom community and welcoming everyone back with get to know you activities. We will be sharing resources as a staff on how to do this in the middle of a school year - a new experience for many of us. 

Changes in Seesaw: With the reassignment of classes and cohorts, many of you will notice a change in Seesaw. Folks switching to a new cohort or teacher will similarly be switched to a new Seesaw class. If there is anything you want to keep now, be sure to download that before the switches happen on March 29. Linked here is a helpful guide that will show you how to do this 

Virtual community meeting: On Tuesday, March 30 at 6pm, I’ll host a virtual meeting regarding all of the changes. Here is the google link to that meeting. Anne, our social worker will also be there to share some resources, tips, and tricks for parents and guardians to help students who are feeling distressed by the upcoming shift in school plans. Whether your student is remaining in CDL or shifting to returning for hybrid and in person learning, check out this PowerPoint for some helpful tips Click Here.  

Virtual Assembly: Here it is, our ROARS video. Thanks to our special guest Buckman Bear for making this video super special. https://video.link/w/Gu3ac. 

Champions childcare: Click here for information on Champions childcare.

Finally, in a time of racial reckoning, I was crushed to hear of the shooting in Atlanta that killed 6 Asian-American women. The news shook me out of my hybrid-planning mind and immediately took me to the last memory I had with my friends before the country shut down last March. We went to my favorite Asian foot spa off of 82nd and Powell. My sister and I go together every time she comes to visit me and if I'm lucky enough, there isn't a line at Mei Sum, my favorite Chinese bakery across the street. If you would like to learn more at bystander intervention,the folks at Hollaback! have partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC to adapt our free bystander intervention training as well as offering a de-escalation training to meet this moment.” I hope you all give your loved ones and extra squeeze, whether it be in person or virtual tonight.

Take care everyone, and I hope you all have a great spring break. 

Warmly,

Teresa 

Important dates and reminders:

3/22-3/26  No School, Spring Break

3/29-4/2 – CDL instruction for all students (asynchronous work, no teacher meetings)

3/30  6pm hybrid info session

4/1 – first day of hybrid for AM cohorts in k-1

4/2 – first day of hybrid for PM cohorts in k-1

4/5 – k-5 hybrid open for all grade levels

4/9   No School, Teacher planning day

4/16  10am Virtual Run for the arts

Buckman Bites with Mr. Rudolph

Buckman Bites continues!  New time, same old fun.  During these times of change, take this opportunity to connect with your classmates.  Together we will build relationships and strengthen our Buckman community.  Be prepared to be stumped by Mr. Rudolph’s riddles and laugh uncontrollably at his dad jokes.  Silly stories and kid jokes are highly encouraged.   

What: Buckman Bites, a virtual lunchtime meetup for ALL Buckman students  

When: Kinder & 1st grade - Mondays 11:15-11:45 

2nd grade - Tuesdays 11:15-11:45

3rd grade - Wednesdays 11:15-11:45

4th grade - Thursdays 11:15-11:45

5th grade - Fridays 11:15-11:45

Meet Code: buckmanbites

SUN

1. Join GirlStrength for virtual self-defense and empowerment classes! See info and dates below: To Register: Students/parents can email girlstrength.pb@portlandoregon.gov or fill out the WORKSHOP REGISTRATION FORM. 

Tuesday, March 23rd (10-11:30): Self-Defense Basics

Wednesday, March 24th (1-2:30): Self-Defense for LGBTQ+ Students

Thursday, March 25th (2-3pm): All About Healthy Relationships 

2. Girls on the Run registration is OPEN and runs through April 23rd. The team is open to 3rd-5th graders, and is available on a sliding scale payment system. Practices are at Buckman Field from 3:30-5pm Mondays and Thursdays from April 12-June 5. Complete the registration form here. We have found enough coaches at this point! 

3. Register for 4th Quarter SUN clubs! Below is the information and you can register your student here. SUN Clubs will run from April 5- May 27th. 

Mondays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Famous Art and Artists

In this art history club, we'll explore different famous pieces of artwork from around the world and learn about the people, culture, time periods, and places that each piece of art was made. We'll even make some art history of our own!

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, K-2nd grade: Still Life Drawing

Think black and white is boring or lines are only for writing? Think again! Find out how much you can express with just a line or how much color you can make with just dots. Using different art styles and techniques, see how much art you can make with just a few supplies.

Thursdays, 3pm-4pm, 3rd-5th grade: Newspaper 

Fridays, 3pm-4pm, K-5th grade: Tae Kwon Do

4. Volunteer with Brown Hope! Volunteers under the age of 18 are welcome with a guardian present. Brown Hope is a community solution for racial justice, creating connection with Black, Brown, and Indigenous leaders through the heart, mind, and voice to inspire our collective healing. Sign up here. 

5. Resource Assistance and Support  New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

6. Support SUN   Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

FOUNDATION

Our Dines Out raised close to $300!  Thank you Xico and everyone who showed their support for Buckman and this Buckman parent-owned local business.   Mark your calendar, they have offered to schedule another Dines Out for June 10th.

Save the date for our virtual auction kickoff on June 3rd!  Be on the lookout for a sign-up genius to help create or purchase items for the grade-level baskets we are curating for the auction this year; more details in the sign-up. 

Happy Spring Break!

PTA

National PTA Federal Advocacy   The National PTA met virtually this month with our Federal House Representatives, Senators, and staffers. Usually in person, online meetings this year let 800+ people attend nationally, nearly 3x normal attendance. The local PTA will continue to follow up with our elected officials to push the PTA “asks”, so expect to hear more from me. – jeff@organicmodern.com, Buckman PTA treasurer.

This year’s asks:

• Make meaningful, robust investments in education in the next COVID relief package. 
  • School support is in the latest Covid Bill and was officially approved during our meetings! The excitement in the ‘digital air’ was amazing to witness. Met with State Rep. Rob Nosse on Thursday, and he said the amount of educational funding is going to go along way this next year to fill gaps.
• Increase funding for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers to $20 million. 
  • There are 13 centers nationally. None in Oregon. The centers are geared towards helping families navigate education options and create community between parents.
• Include schools in any comprehensive infrastructure package.
  • Rebuilding/repair
• Improve the federal school meal program through Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
  • Renew waivers so states can continue to provide meals and reinstitute nutrition guidelines.
• Support policies which protect all students, including students from historically marginalized populations and communities.
  • This includes ending seclusion and holding as forms of punishment, which Oregon already does, but not all states.

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

March Meal Services

Meal services will pause during the week of Spring Break, March 22-26 and resume Monday, March 29.

Ready for Some Math Fun Connected to the Blazers?

Check out this opportunity and share with interested families to get a free NBA Math Hoops game for home!!!

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106.

Friday, March12, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

I hope you have been able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine that came our way this week. Shout out to our Buckman Family Equity Team for hosting a lovely evening with Brown Hope. It left me inspired and called to action!

All K-5 schools in PPS are currently in the planning stages so that Hybrid instruction can begin the week of March 29^th. Every elementary school will follow this schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays:

• AM instruction (Hybrid) is 8:00 - 10:15
• PM instruction (Hybrid) is 12:15 - 2:30
• CDL instruction: 1^st morning meeting at 8:45, small group schedules vary

Wednesdays will be a combination of asynchronous and independent lessons and activities for all students.  More specific details about Wednesdays will be announced in the coming weeks.

There are still a number of unknowns but we are getting closer to being ready to open our doors in a limited fashion. Whether your child will receive their instruction in a CDL or Hybrid Model, our goal is, as it always has been: to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment that meets each students’ academic and social-emotional needs. District Website: Hybrid Learning FAQ

Each year in February, the second grade students prepare a multi-arts performance for their families and the Buckman community. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, this year the performance took the form of a video and photo gallery - put together by the Buckman Arts Teachers.

3-5th grade families, MAP results will be mailed home to families at the end of quarter 3. 

The concept of this year’s performance was African Inspiration: A Journey to Three Small Places within a Vast Continent. 2nd graders created movement, music, and visual art inspired by arts from various countries and tribes in Africa. You can view the performance videos and gallery of their work here.

I want you to know how much I appreciate your willingness to continue to live in this space.  It can be terribly challenging when you are trying to plan, make important family decisions, and look out for your loved ones.  This year has been a true test of our perseverance and resilience as a community.  I am continually grateful for the ongoing support you show the staff as we navigate unchartered territory as a Buckman Community.

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students
• 3/8-3/14  Buckman Art Show and Sell *at home*
• 3/14  Daylight savings begin, clocks move forward 1 hour
• 3/22-3/26  No School, Spring Break
• 4/8     End of Quarter
• 4/9   No School, Teacher planning day
• 4/16  10am Virtual Run for the arts

BUCKMAN ART SHOW AND SELL *AT HOME* - Get your raffle tickets! 

The week-long online raffle of local art ends March 14^th. The 2021 art show includes a community art project, so don’t forget to display your student’s art or to check out the “drawing trees” on the north side of the school. Visit buckmanartshow.weebly.com for more information.

SUN

1. Join GirlStrength for virtual self-defense and empowerment classes! See info and dates below: To Register: Students/parents can email girlstrength.pb@portlandoregon.gov or fill out the WORKSHOP REGISTRATION FORM.

Saturday, March 13th (10-11:30): Self-Defense Basics

Tuesday, March 23rd (10-11:30): Self-Defense Basics

Wednesday, March 24th (1-2:30): Self-Defense for LGBTQ+ Students

Thursday, March 25th (2-3pm): All About Healthy Relationships

2. Girls on the Run registration is OPEN and runs through April 23rd. The team is open to 3rd-5th graders, and is available on a sliding scale payment system. Practices are at Buckman Field from 3:30-5pm Mondays and Thursdays from April 12-June 5. Complete the registration form here. 

3. New SUN clubs coming soon for 4th quarter! Keep an eye out for registration information next week. 

4. Resource Assistance and Support  New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  
5. Support SUN   Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

FOUNDATION

Many thanks to Buckman-owned Xico for supporting our school this week for the March edition of our Dines Out! We’d also like to thank the Buckman families who ordered from their delicious menu of handmade Mexican cuisine for this event. If you haven’t yet given Xico a try, be sure to check out all they have to offer on their website (https://www.xicopdx.com)!

Spring apparel sales are ready to rock! Stop by the upper playground on March 31, April 14, or April 28 from 3:00-4:30pm to get all the Buckman gear you need. In addition to beanies, hoodies, masks, and shirts, we will have new Buckman canvas totes in stock soon! Stop by after spring break and grab what you need to show your Buckman pride.

LIBRARY

• March Reading and Activity Calendars
• Are you spring cleaning? Has your Buckman student outgrown some titles and need more space on the bookshelf? The Buckman Library is now accepting GENTLY used book donations! We will be hosting a used book sale at the end of the school year. Location, date and times TBA. Donations accepted during Book Bag Exchanges on Mondays and Wednesdays 3-5pm on the upper playground. Please limit donations to 1-2 bags/boxes per family. 
• K-2 Afterschool Stories with Friends. Longer read alouds, time to share and connect with special guests.
• Do your students like Graphic Novels? Here is a list of some really great books that can lead to some important conversations. Social Justice Graphic Novels - also, as a parent, if you haven’t read a graphic novel, give it a try!

PTA

Scrip Sales  Get your scrip cards for various stores including Amazon, Target, and Fred Meyer, March 31 from 3-4:30pm on the upper playground. A portion of these sales goes back to Buckman. 

We still need your membership! Can you help PTA reach our goal of 100 members or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

March Meal Services

On Friday, March 19, all grab and go, curbside services and home meal deliveries will include 7 days worth of meals. Meal services will pause during the week of Spring Break, March 22-26 and resume Monday, March 29.

K-5 Transfer Cycle & Explore Your Options Event

From February 17-March 16, families can submit transfer requests to K-5 dual language immersion, focus option and alternative programs. 

ACCESS Academy applications for grades 1-8 are available from February 17-April 16. 

Applications are available at www.pps.net/schoolchoice. 

Free Tax Prep Services

Metropolitan Family Service/Cash Oregon is providing Free Tax Service. Click here for more information or visit this site: https://cashoregon.org/get-tax-help/mfs-cash-oregon-vita-site/. 

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106.

Friday, March 5, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

I hope you enjoyed the pre-spring sunny weather this week! In March we celebrate Women’s History Month. “i stand on the sacrifices of a million women before me thinking what can i do to make this mountain taller so the women after me can see farther” – rumi kaur

TAG Update: TAG testing for students who were nominated in the fall is slated to happen in late spring after Hybrid instruction begins. All 2nd and 3rd graders will be tested next fall.

Grades 3-5 MAP: The district will be sending out individual student MAP assessment results by the end of 3^rd quarter.

Along with many of you, I am still waiting for details on what hybrid instruction might look like for Buckman. The Governor just announced that she is mandating that all elementary schools open back up for some in person instruction the week of March 29^th. Once the district has finalized negotiations with their labor partners, and the Governor details her expectations, I will be able to share more. In the meantime, the Buckman team and I have been busy collecting last minute hybrid interest surveys, scenario planning, and welcoming the first students back into Buckman this week with our Limited In Person Instruction. Here is the district website for all things hybrid.

Hybrid information for Buckman: As I begin planning for forming hybrid cohorts, here are some things you can count on

• I will prioritize children/siblings in the same household stay in the same cohort.
• Efforts will be made to keep as many students with their current teacher as possible. Please know that no scenario that I am planning places 100% of students with their current teacher.
• Requests for AM/PM assignments will not be accepted. Students will either be assigned an AM or PM section.
• Requests to be with a specific peer, peer group, or teacher will not be accepted.
• 43% of our families have indicated that they prefer to remain in comprehensive distance learning. For the remaining 57%, I understand that every student has a unique situation and that their hybrid assignment may not work. In those situations, CDL will hopefully remain an option.

I will be at our PTA Meeting from 6-6:30 to repeat some of this information and take questions. I hope to see you there.

This week is Classified appreciation week! Thank you to our amazing classified staff!

• Sam – Principal’s secretary – everything we do, we do because Sam has made it possible. Nearly everything that I send out, Sam has touched in some way or another, including this newsletter
• Karen – School secretary – she answers the phone, mails home mailers, does your attendance, pulls up report after report after report, and is back in the office M-F from 8-2 every day!
• Scott, Patrick and Darren - they are the custodians who keep our school clean and sanitized.
• Dixie, Heidi, Casey – they are the paraeducators in our K-2 SES room. They are some of the kindest, patient, talented and funniest staff members that we have. 
• Angie, Niko, Alex – the are the paraeducators in our 3-5 SES room, and they work with our students with calm, genuine care, so many home deliveries, and all around support!
• Mr. Darby – he’s back in the game as our SES Therapeutic Intervention Coach and it’s like he never left. Rumor has it that Mr. Darby actually saw the Buckman Bear up to no good at school this week!
• Julie & Kate – serving hundreds of meals to our family in grab and go kits weekly. Behind those masks we know you are both smiling!
• Michelle & Kevin –  the rocks of our Special Education team, so creative, so engaging, and filling in so many gaps for our students! 

Warmly,

Teresa Seidel 

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students
• 3/8     6:00-7:30pm   Buckman PTA Meeting
• 3/8     6:00-8:00 district connect to kindergarten virtual event
• 3/8-3/14  Buckman Art Show and Sell *at home*
• 3/9     5:30-7:00pm   Buckman FET Race Talks meeting, with guests Brown Hope
• 3/14  Daylight savings begin, clocks move forward 1 hour
• 3/22-3/26  No School, Spring Break
• 4/8     End of Quarter
• 4/9   No School, Teacher planning day
• 4/16  10am Virtual Run for the arts

BUCKMAN ART SHOW AND SELL *AT HOME* MARCH 8-14TH 

Art Show & Sell 2021 starts Monday! This year we will have a week-long online raffle of local art. The raffle will be open all week! In addition, we will celebrate student art with a drawing tree… three trees on the north side of the school will have wire and clips along their trunks ready for art to be displayed. Get creative and display an original piece of art or just walk by and soak up some Buckman community magic! Smaller sized pieces will work best (3x5 or 5x7). Visit buckmanartshow.weebly.com for more information.

SUN

1. Save the date for Buckman FET Race Talks with guests Brown Hope, Tuesday, March 9!  The Buckman Family Equity Team invites all Buckman Elementary families and staff to attend an online presentation about Brown Hope on Tuesday, March 9th from 5:30-7pm. Brown Hope is a Portland non-profit community solution for racial justice.  The organization creates connections with Black, Brown, and Indigenous leaders through the heart, mind, and voice to inspire our collective healing.  Brown Hope's programs include Power Hour, Blackstreet Bakery, Equity and Beyond, and the Black Resilience Fund. Come learn more about the good work this organization is doing in our community and their program leaders! Join us here. 

2. Girls on the Run registration is OPEN and runs through April 23rd. The team is open to 3rd-5th graders, and is available on a sliding scale payment system. Practices are at Buckman Field from 3:30-5pm Mondays and Thursdays from April 12-June 5. Complete the registration form here. 

3. Educational Theatre in support of Kaiser Permanente's equity, inclusion, and diversity efforts invites you to join us for a free performance-based exploration of the beauty, unrest, and "two-ness" of the Black experience in America, expressed through the work of Black authors, poets, activists, artists, and leaders. The goal of this event is for communities to feel inspired and seen, wanting to learn more and do better. To be followed by a panel discussion. March 10, 3:30pm PST, ages 9+. Register here. 

4. Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

5. Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA.  

FOUNDATION

We’re delighted to share that the Foundation raised nearly $500 from our February Dines Out at Sparky’s pizza, and we hope to keep the momentum going for March. This month, we’re partnering with Buckman parent owned Xico (3715 SE Division St). Try out their amazing handmade Mexican cuisine; 10% of proceeds from orders and pre-orders made on March 10 from 4-6:30 pm will be donated to the Buckman Foundation. Thanks to Xico for your generous support!

LIBRARY

• March Reading and Activity Calendars
• Are you spring cleaning? Has your Buckman student outgrown some titles and need more space on the bookshelf? The Buckman Library is now accepting GENTLY used book donations! We will be hosting a used book sale at the end of the school year. Location, date and times TBA. Donations accepted during Book Bag Exchanges on Mondays and Wednesdays 3-5pm on the upper playground. Please limit donations to 1-2 bags/boxes per family. 
• This event takes place during spring break, however most webinar author visits are recorded and offered later. It might be something fun to do during spring break! Whether you like his humor or not, kids seem to glom on to his titles!

• When DAV PILKEY was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books -- the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. In college, Dav met a teacher who encouraged him to illustrate and write.

PTA

Buckman Community/PTA Meeting   Join us Monday, March 8^th, starting at 6pm. We’re combining forces with Principal Seidel again in a joint PTA/community meeting. The first 30 minutes will be dedicated to discussions about LIPI (limited in-person instruction) as well as to answer any additional questions you may have for Principal Seidel.

Scrip Sales  Get your scrip in March on Wednesday, March 10 and March 31 from 3-4:30pm on the upper playground. A portion of sales goes back to Buckman! 

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

Explore Your School Options – March 8^th, 6-8 PM

See attached flyer for more details:

Explore your options - English

Explore your options - Spanish

March Meal Services

On Friday, March 19, all grab and go, curbside services and home meal deliveries will include 7 days worth of meals. Meal services will pause during the week of Spring Break, March 22-26 and resume Monday, March 29. 

K-5 Transfer Cycle & Explore Your Options Event

From February 17-March 16, families can submit transfer requests to K-5 dual language immersion, focus option and alternative programs. 

ACCESS Academy applications for grades 1-8 are available from February 17-April 16. 

Applications are available at www.pps.net/schoolchoice.

Free Tax Prep Services

Metropolitan Family Service/Cash Oregon is providing Free Tax Service. Click here for more information or visit this site: https://cashoregon.org/get-tax-help/mfs-cash-oregon-vita-site/.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable. 

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106.  

The start of Phase 2 of the Enrollment Balancing process has been delayed until at least after April 15th.

The Board of Education met on February 22 to discuss phase 2 of PPS’ enrollment and program balancing. Here is the “February 22, 2021 Work Session Agenda.” The focus of the 3-hour work session was to:

• Identify the most critical issue(s) the School Board believes are the most important to address in the next 12-months on Enrollment and Program Balancing.
• Identify the policies that require clarification, so that the PPS school district staff (and the Coalition) can effectively and clearly complete Phase 2 of its work.
• Clarify what PPS believes to be the most important focus areas in the next 12-months.
• Articulate the successes and opportunities they look to see executed as we plan student, family, school and community engagement on Enrollment and Program Balancing.

District staff are continuing to engage with the Board to finalize the Phase 2 scope of work with a commitment to center the lived experiences of our students and their families, especially our communities of color.

An update of the Phase 2 scope and schedule will be shared in April.

A full archive of Southeast Guiding Coalition (SEGC) meeting notes, presentations, meeting videos and links are available on the PPS Enrollment and Program Balancing website.

Friday, February 26, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears!

Big shout out to the Family Equity Team, SUN school, and all of the families and staff who attended our Race Talks event this past week. As the facilitators of the event said loud and clear “Parents and guardians, you have the most important job out there”. This resonated so deeply with me, as I know that every single one of you reading this right now have worked so hard to make this past year work.  

PPS is working to transition into a hybrid model beginning quarter 4. Click here for more details specific to PPS. I will also be hosting a hybrid info session from 6-6:30 at the beginning of the PTA meeting on Monday, March 8. While I won’t have all of the answers, I am looking forward to chatting with you and sharing some of Buckman’s preliminary plans for safely opening up our school. 

Today is the last day of Black History Month, but we will continue to celebrate Black History every month! As author Nikki Grimes puts it, “Black history is American history. February is just the highlight reel”. Some of our teachers have introduced the students to Bellen Woodard, “the 9 year-old Founder of Bellen’s More than Peach™ Project & the World’s 1st Crayon Activist™. Since spring of 2019, Bellen has been the creative genius behind the start and expansion of The More than Peach Project—the vision and philanthropic effort she imagined to place multicultural crayons in the hands of all students.”. Click here to learn more about this student artist advocate. 

Warmly,

Teresa

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students

• 3/3     6:00-7:00pm  Connect to Kindergarten Virtual Meeting  

• 3/8     6:00-7:30pm   Buckman PTA Meeting

• 3/8     6:00-8:00 district connect to kindergarten virtual event

• 3/8-3/14  Buckman Art Show and Sell *at home*

• 3/9     5:30-7:00pm   Race Talks meeting, with guests Brown Hope: 

• 3/22-3/26  No School, Spring Break

• 4/8     End of Quarter

• 4/9   No School, Teacher planning day

Friday, February 19, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

It was good to see many of you back online this week. I hope the rest of Portland (and the nation) is able to recover from the winter weather. There are two major updates in this week’s newsletter: 1) Buckman spirit week and 2) 4th quarter learning survey. Also, here is the monthly ROARS virtual assembly, featuring a very special Buckman visitor. 

Buckman Spirit Week is next week 2/22/21 - 2/26/21!  What better way to celebrate the melting ice than wearing our clothes backwards and flexing our superpowers?  Let’s leap into spring while showing our Buckman pride!  

• Monday, February 22nd - Creative background day

Students can create a beautiful background for their synchronous classes.  Draw it, paint it, sketch it, sculpt it, so many possibilities!  Time to let that Buckman creativity shine. 

• Tuesday, February 23rd - Superhero day

Be a Buckman superhero and bring your powers to PE.  Get creative and invent a new hero, or dress as your favorite superhero.  All you need is a few household items and your imagination.

• Wednesday, February 3rd - Hedgehog & school colors day

Students can show their spirit by bringing hedgehog stuffies, making spikey headwear, and wearing Buckman gear

• Thursday, February 25th - Backwards or mismatched clothes day

Students can get silly by wearing their clothes backwards or by picking an outfit that clashes spectacularly!

• Friday, February 5th - Pajama day

Who says you need to get dressed for school?  Students will wrap up spirit week by wearing their most comfy pajamas to class. 

Lastly, I appreciate all of the questions around the 4th quarter learning survey. Once I have our schools’ responses, I’ll be able to create a more detailed plan for Buckman. We still have 200 students to fill it out, so look for your individual, unique survey code sent from me to one parent/guardian’s email address on file. If you need the survey resent, or can’t find it, email me at tseidel@pps.net. At the March 8th PTA meeting (6pm, link here.), I will give an update on where we are with hybrid, and share some of our plans to keep Buckman Hybrid School as safe as possible. Please fill that survey out by this weekend! 

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

• 2/24 5:30-7:30 Race Talks 

• 3/3 6pm connect to kindergarten

Next Week - RACE TALKS!

Join PTA and the Family Equity Team for an evening hosted by RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism on February 24th from 5:30-7:30PM. This is a school-wide event intended for all Buckman families. Grab your dinner, your kids, and a virtual seat at the table to discuss race and recent occurrences in America. Use Zoom code: 837 8685 9810; password: 02242021. Hope to see you there!

BIPOC Leadership Group for 3rd-5th Grade Students

Alex Duran (Para Educator) and Jasmine Springs (Restorative Justice Specialist) are hosting a new leadership group for Buckman students 3rd- 5th grade.

This group will be open to all students grades 3rd- 5th grade who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino /a, Asian, or any other person of color.

The group will meet Mondays 12:15-1:00pm starting Monday, February 22nd.

The focus of the group is for BIPOC Students to engage with others who may share similar experiences around identity and learn about and celebrate our differences. The group will center student voice and student leadership and the first meeting will decide student goals for our weekly meetings.

If your student fits the identity markers mentioned above they can log in to Google Meet Mondays at 12:15pm using the code: BuckmanBIPOC

FYI - PPS Communication Pathways

• Text messages: Sign up for School Messenger by texting YES to 68453

• Alert pod on www.pps.net and all school websites

• Twitter: @PPSConnect

• Facebook

• Phone: Auto-dialer calls in supported languages

SUN

1. Have you lost food because of the recent storm and power outages?  You may be able to get some of your SNAP dollars added back to your EBT card. Call 800-699-9075 or email SSP.StatewideWorkshare@dhsoha.state.or.us to request replacement benefits. For shelf-stable food boxes, reach out to Katie and she can deliver one to you.

2. Join us for Race Talks next Wednesday, 2/24.  Join us for a school-wide dinner and virtual conversation hosted by RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism. February 24th from 5:30pm - 7:30pm, at this link. Bring your kids and dinner! Come meet other families as we all learn to talk about race and recent events in America. 

Zoom ID: 837 8685 9810

Password: 02242021

3. Girls on the Run lottery registration is OPEN and runs through February 21st. The team is open to 3rd-5th graders, and is available on a sliding scale payment system. Ten participants will be randomly selected to fill the Buckman team on February 22nd.  All remaining spots will be open to the public on a first come first served basis until April 23rd. Practices are at Buckman Field from 3:30-5pm Mondays and Thursdays from April 12-June 5. Complete the application here. 

4. SUN Hygiene Supply drive continues through February!  Thanks to all who have donated already. We are still collecting toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and other hygiene items every Monday and Wednesday at the upper playground from 3-5pm. 

5. Resource Assistance and Support  New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

6. Support SUN  Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

FOUNDATION

Buckman Dines Out at Sparky’s has been moved to next Tuesday, February 23. Call in your order to ANY Sparky’s Pizza location and 10% of sales will go to the Buckman Foundation! Offer is valid for the entire day and is an easy way to support a local business and our school. 

Buckman apparel sales will be on February 24 and March 10 from 3-4:30pm, head to the upper playground to grab your Buckman gear. Beanies, hoodies, masks, and more! Sport your Buckman goods knowing all proceeds benefit the Foundation!

LIBRARY

• Alan Gratz Author Visit Book Orders from Green Bean Books are now at Buckman. If you chose to have them delivered to Buckman, you can pick up during Book Bag Exchange times (M&W 3-5p).

• February Reading Calendars

• If you have not exchanged your Book Bags in 2021, now is the time! Open exchange times are M&W 3-5pm AND M&W 8-12 by appointment

PTA

Upcoming General Meeting   Save the date for our next general meeting Monday, March 8 at 6pm. We’re combining forces with Principal Seidel again in a joint PTA/community meeting. We’ll discuss PTA business and answer your questions. 

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

K-5 Transfer Cycle & Explore Your Options Event

From February 17-March 16, families can submit transfer requests to K-5 dual language immersion, focus option and alternative programs. 

ACCESS Academy applications for grades 1-8 are available from February 17-April 16. 

Applications are available at www.pps.net/schoolchoice.

Free Tax Prep Services

Metropolitan Family Service/Cash Oregon is providing Free Tax Service. Click here for more information or visit this site: https://cashoregon.org/get-tax-help/mfs-cash-oregon-vita-site/.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

Friday, February 12, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

Today is the Lunar New Year, year of the Ox! Growing up, my large Chinese extended family and I gathered during this time every year and as a young person, I would be the fortunate recipient of many red envelopes filled with “good luck money”. As I got older, my family got wiser - the tradition in our family was that if you gathered before the new year, no lucky money was handed out, only after. Fortunately, we always celebrated with great food and family time. If you would like to learn more about Lunar New Year, click on this video  here! 

BIPOC Leadership Group for 3rd-5th Grade Students

• Alex Duran (Para Educator) and Jasmine Springs (Restorative Justice Specialist) are hosting a leadership group open to for Buckman students grades 3rd- 5th grade who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino /a, Asian, or any other person of color.

• The group will meet Mondays 12:15-1:00pm starting Monday, February 22nd using the code: BuckmanBIPOC

• The focus of the group is for BIPOC Students to engage with others who may share similar experiences around identity and learn about and celebrate our differences. The group will center student voice and student leadership and the first meeting will decide student goals for weekly meetings.

Are you new to Buckman this year? Do your kids miss the smell of the cafeteria? Are you curious about what the new playground looks like? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please click here for the Tour of Buckman video! 

RACE TALKS Event: Join PTA and the Family Equity Team for an evening hosted by RACE TALKS: Uniting to Break the Chains of Racism on February 24th from 5:30-7:30PM. This is a school-wide event intended for all Buckman families. Grab your dinner, your kids, and a virtual seat at the table to discuss race and recent occurrences in America. Use Zoom code: 837 8685 9810; password: 02242021. 

The district sent a message earlier this week about the plans to move towards hybrid instruction. If you missed that, the complete message can be found here. Most importantly, please be sure to fill out the email with the survey asking for your interest in participating in hybrid learning, or remaining in compressive distance learning. This survey is specific to each student and not transferable. 

LIPI, Hybrid, CDL - what does it all mean? 

LIPI = limited in person instruction. This varies campus to campus. Buckman has reached out to a small group of kindergarten families about this.

Hybrid - this will be an optional model for all student, slated to begin April 12, the start of 4th quarter. If a family elects into this model, students will receive some of their learning in person and some online.

CDL - comprehensive distance learning - this is what we are currently doing with all of your students. All instruction is online, some in live google meetings and some asynchronously through Seesaw assignments, Lexia, Dreambox, or other assignments. 

I hope this helps to clear some things up. As the district moves more towards hybrid, I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated with this newsletter and updates and at PTA meetings (our next one is March 8, 6pm, link here.)

Hope you all have a great long weekend, remember there is no school on Monday as it’s Presidents’ Day!

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

• 2/10 10:30am 3-5 Author Visit with Alan Gratz

• 2/15 No school, Presidents’ Day

• 2/18 Connect to Kindergarten district event 6-8pm, zoom link here

• 2/24 5:30-7:30 Race Talks 

• 3/3 6pm connect to kindergarten, link here

• 3/8 PTA Meeting, 6pm, link here.

SUN

Virtual programs for information about the COVID-19 vaccine   Multnomah County’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program is hosting the following events to support African-American/Black/African community members (click on the links for more information):

• Feb. 18: REACHing Us: It's Not a Game - The 411 on Vaccines Including Flu and COVID: Join us for a community game night and interactive conversation about COVID-19, vaccines and resources for our African-American/Black/African community aged 55+.

• Feb. 21: REACHing Us: A Faith in Health Virtual Conversation for Our Community

• Feb. 25: REACHing Us: African Immigrant and Refugees - The 411 on Vaccines Including Flu and COVID

 Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Would you like to collaborate and be in a community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Join us for a Family Equity Team meeting on Tuesday, February 9th at 5:30pm. Zoom link here: https://pps-net.zoom.us/j/84107470268

SUN Hygiene Supply drive continues through February!   Thanks to all who have donated already. We are still collecting toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and other hygiene items every Monday and Wednesday at the upper playground from 3-5pm. 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.   

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

COUNSELOR NEWS

Want to talk with your school counselor Ms. Jess? 

 Mondays and Wednesdays stop by the upper playground between 3 and 5. Look for the rainbow umbrella.

 Tuesday appointments with Ms. Jess & Ms Cara for students, parents, or families. Schedule here: https://calendly.com/msjessbuckman/check-in-with-counselor

Thursday drop-in time with Ms. Jess at FirestoneClassMeeting 12-1pm

 *For other times, fill out this check-in sheet and Ms. Jess will email you: Check in with Ms Jess or Ms Cara

FOUNDATION

Buckman Dines Out at Sparky’s next Tuesday, February 16.  Call in your order to ANY Sparky’s Pizza location and 10% of sales will go to the Buckman Foundation! Offer is valid for the entire day and is an easy way to support a local business and our school. 

Buckman Foundation’s apparel sales are back! On February 24 and March 10 from 3-4:30pm, head to the upper playground to grab your Buckman gear. Beanies, hoodies, masks, and more! Sport your Buckman goods knowing all proceeds benefit the Foundation!

LIBRARY

• WOW! Our author visit on Wednesday was incredible. If you would like to view it and/or order books from Green Bean, the link to the author visit/Order button is here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/176csk15 (side note: if you are a K-2

  parent, you might be interested in watching this too!)

• February Reading Calendars

• If you have not exchanged your Book Bags in 2021, now is the time! Open exchange times are M&W 3-5pm AND M&W 8-12 by appointment 

PTA

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman. 

DISTRICT & OTHER NEWS

February Meal Services

Because Monday, February 15 is a holiday and the district is closed, there will be no meal services. Additional meals will be included in surrounding service days to make sure families still receive 7 days worth of meals. 

Free Tax Prep Services

Metropolitan Family Service/Cash Oregon is providing Free Tax Service. Click here for more information or visit this site: https://cashoregon.org/get-tax-help/mfs-cash-oregon-vita-site/. 

Dreaming Justice Event

Students, parents, and staff are invited to Oregon Episcopal School’s next Dreaming Justice event! On February 18, 4:30-5:30 PM, Renée Watson will be joining us for an author visit. Watson will read from her work and talk about growing up in Portland and how that influenced her writing. She will also answer questions from the audience. Please RSVP here.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

Friday, February 5, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

Multnomah county libraries are hosting a variety of online events for Black History month including: Clownin' Around with Nikki Brown Clown! Portland’s favorite clown is back with an online storytime that is a culturally creative blend of picture books infused with sounds and activities for all. This will be an interactive online experience and participation is encouraged!  All ages are welcome!  

This week was national school counselors week. We are so lucky to have Ms. Jess holding our students, staff and school up with her positivity, thoughtfulness, leadership and compassion. As one staff member shared to Jess, “You love the kids with your whole heart. You hold all their stories and needs, and then serve them as the precious individuals they are.” Thank you Jess, and all school counselors, for being there for our students all of the time.

Current Buckman Families: If you entered Buckman through the PPS Lottery, and have another child you want to attend Buckman, you MUST complete the Lottery process! Lottery will be open from Feb 17-March 16. Click here for more information and how to apply.  

Take care everyone, 

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

• 2/10 10:30am 3-5 Author Visit with Alan Gratz

• 2/15 No school, Presidents’ Day

• 2/18 Connect to Kindergarten, time TBD 

• 2/24 5:30-7:30 Race Talks 

• 3/8 PTA Meeting, 6pm, link here.

SUN

Virtual programs for information about the COVID-19 vaccine   Multnomah County’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program is hosting the following events to support African-American/Black/African community members (click on the links for more information):

• Feb. 18: REACHing Us: It's Not a Game - The 411 on Vaccines Including Flu and COVID: Join us for a community game night and interactive conversation about COVID-19, vaccines and resources for our African-American/Black/African community aged 55+.

• Feb. 21: REACHing Us: A Faith in Health Virtual Conversation for Our Community

• Feb. 25: REACHing Us: African Immigrant and Refugees - The 411 on Vaccines Including Flu and COVID

 Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Would you like to collaborate and be in a community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Join us for a Family Equity Team meeting on Tuesday, February 9th at 5:30pm. Zoom link here: https://pps-net.zoom.us/j/84107470268

SUN Hygiene Supply drive continues through February!   Thanks to all who have donated already. We are still collecting toilet paper, paper towels, soap, and other hygiene items every Monday and Wednesday at the upper playground from 3-5pm. 

Save the Date for Race Talks on February 24th from 5:30-7:30pm.   Open to all families, this is an opportunity to be in dialogue with other families about racial issues. 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.   

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

COUNSELOR NEWS

Want to talk with your school counselor Ms. Jess? 

Mondays and Wednesdays stop by the upper playground between 3 and 5. Look for the rainbow umbrella. 

Tuesday appointments with Ms. Jess & Ms Cara for students, parents, or families. Schedule here: https://calendly.com/msjessbuckman/check-in-with-counselor 

Thursday drop-in time with Ms. Jess at FirestoneClassMeeting 12-1pm 

*For other times, fill out this check-in sheet and Ms. Jess will email you: Check in with Ms Jess or Ms Cara

FOUNDATION

Dines Out   February is here, which means it’s time for another Buckman Dines Out. On Tuesday, February 16, call in your order to ANY Sparky’s Pizza location and 10% of sales will go to the Buckman Foundation! Offer is valid for the entire day and is an easy way to support a local business and our school. 

Apparel Sales   Buckman Foundation’s apparel sales are back! On Wednesday February 10th and 24th from 3-4:30pm, head to the upper playground to grab your Buckman gear. Beanies, hoodies, masks, and more! Sport your Buckman goods knowing all proceeds benefit the Foundation!

LIBRARY

• Green Bean Books is providing a free author visit in lieu of selling 30 copies of any Alan Gratz novel. If you would like to purchase a copy of one of his books for our library or yourself, please see this order form. In the section “Calculate Shipping Cost” please choose “Pick up at Buckman Elementary - Author Visit Only $0.00”. Thank you for your support! (3-5th grade virtual author visit with author ALAN GRATZ is next week February 10th at 10:30am)

• February Reading Calendars

PTA

Upcoming Race Talk   Save the date for an upcoming race talk on February 24th presented and facilitated by RACE TALKS PDX. 

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565. 

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman. 
 

DISTRICT NEWS

New K-5 Report Cards

We are excited to share with you the new K-5 Report Card. The report card has been revised by a committee of teachers and parents with one of the main goals being to help families more easily understand how your students are doing as they progress through the elementary grades.  Click here to see the new report in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Somali, and Chinese. A highlight of the new report card is that there is now only one marking system for grades (E/M/CM/N/NE) and the +,V,/,-- system is now only for characteristics of a successful learner 

Teachers will be using this new report card for Quarter 2 reporting. And you will receive the report card via mail in early February. 

Access to Kids Discover Magazine!

All K-5 educators, students and support staff now have access to Kids Discover. All students and educators can access by utilizing the URL or credentials below: 

PW Embedded URL: http://online.kidsdiscover.com/portlandps

- or -

URL: http://online.kidsdiscover.com

UN: portlandps

PW: portlandps 

Participate in PPS’ Long-Range Facility Plan

Portland Public Schools is currently developing a Long-Range Facility Plan that will align the District’s educational vision with future capital planning. This work is an opportunity to institute lasting change in our schools by re-envisioning teaching and learning environments. 

If you are a PPS community member interested in participating in a dialogue session, please visit www.pps.net/lrfp to register or email longrangefacilityplan@pps.net with any questions.  

Oregon Dyslexia Professional Network

Decoding Dyslexia Oregon has shared a great opportunity for adults living with dyslexia. Regardless of where in the world you live, please accept our invitation to join us virtually at the Oregon Dyslexia Professional Network. ODPN is a live, monthly chat space for adults living with dyslexia to connect, learn from each other, and share resources. Build your network and connect with others to help further your goals whether that be as a student, employee, or a job seeker.

Moderated by two individuals who have dyslexia, Jesse Rapport, and Jared Blank, we welcome you and hope you can join us by signing up HERE.  Interested, and want more information? Ask by emailing ODPN@orbida.org.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

Friday, January 29, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears, 

I wanted to share my deepest gratitude for our staff now that we are closing in on an entire semester of Comprehensive Distance Learning. As I visited classrooms this week learning how to balance equations, using a rubric to write a convincing essay, and reflecting on how the author’s writing makes me feel and making art inspired by books, I was amazed at how our entire teaching staff has been able to pivot to an instructional model that was completely foreign to us all less than a year ago. Our commitment and focus is still on Comprehensive Distance Learning, but there are changes on the horizon. If you didn’t catch it, here is the most recent district communication including a comprehensive update on Vaccinations, Expanding In-Person Opportunities and Plans for Hybrid Instruction. 

ROARS Assembly: Here is the ROARS assembly  video for last month.

Limited In Person Instruction: Buckman is in wave 3 of 3 to open up our doors to students in a “Limited In Person Instruction” or LIPI model beginning as early as March 1. I want to reiterate that our primary focus is still remaining on Comprehensive Distance Learning, and that LIPI is a supplement to that. Here are the details that we have so far for Buckman:

·       LIPI will be offered to students who meet certain criteria based on academic or attendance data. Once a student has been identified the teacher will contact the family. Some students may be invited to participate in LIPI but decide not to, which is absolutely okay and up to the family to decide.

·       LIPI will first be offered to our youngest learners in kindergarten. Specifics of the program are changing and will therefore be shared with those invited once plans and participants are finalized. 

·       Lipi will be offered to the first students for a total of 4 hours a week (2 hours per day, in the afternoon). 

·       If the first round of LIPI is successful, we will open up LIPI to other grade levels based on need as outlined in our assessment and attendance data.

·       LIPI teachers are volunteering and may not be a child’s current classroom teacher.

·       Students who participate in LIPI must agree to wear masks appropriately, maintain physical distancing and wash hands regularly. 

I want to emphasize that we will be starting small, with 12-16 students engaging in LIPI beginning  as early as March 1. The selection process will include using academic and attendance data and we are targeting students who have participated the least so far during CDL. 

Black History Month: In February, we celebrate Black History month. This is an important time to dig deeper into history and deepen our discussions with each other and our students about how race and racism plays out in our everyday lives. I want to acknowledge not only those who have made history (Ruby Bridges, Bessie Coleman and Elijuah Cummings come to mind), but also recognize all of the recent and current black Americans who are contributors and heroes in our lives (Amanda Gorman & Vice President Kamala Harris). In class, examples of Black Excellence will be shared not just in the month of February, but every month. We invite you to explore some ways to celebrate the many contributions of African Americans and to talk about racial injustice both in the past and today. Here is a resource from National Geographic to explore.

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

· Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

· Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

· 2/1 First day of Black History Month

· 2/8 Report cards mailed home

· 2/10 10:30am 3-5 Author Visit with Alan Gratz

· 2/15 No school, Presidents’ Day

· 2/18 6pmConnect to Kindergarten

· 2/24 5:30-7:30 Race Talks 

· 3/8 PTA Meeting, 6pm, link here.

Dines Out   February is around the corner, which means it’s time for another Buckman Dines Out. On Tuesday, February 16, call in your order to ANY Sparky’s Pizza location and 10% of sales will go to the Buckman Foundation! Offer is valid for the entire day and is an easy way to support a local business and our school. 

Apparel Sales   After a short break, Buckman Foundation’s apparel sales are back! On Wednesday February 10 from 3-4:30pm, head to the upper playground to grab your Buckman gear. Beanies, hoodies, masks, and more! Sport your Buckman goods knowing all proceeds benefit the Foundation!

• 3-5th grade virtual author visit with author ALAN GRATZ on February 10th at 10:30am at this Crowdcast link. If you would like to purchase a copy of one of his books for our library or yourself, please see this order form. Students are encouraged to ask the author questions through this FlipGrid.

Upcoming Race Talk   Save the date for an upcoming race talk on February 24^th presented and facilitated by RACE TALKS PDX. More details coming soon! 

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

Hygiene supply donations needed!   SUN is collecting donations of toilet paper, soap, paper towels, laundry detergent, kleenex, diapers/pull-ups, and cleaning supplies. Drop items off on Mondays and Wednesdays between 3 and 5pm at the upper playground, or contact Katie to arrange an alternate drop-off time or location. 

New term of SUN clubs is coming!   Register your student here for virtual clubs running February 1 - March 19. See below for new club descriptions in addition to ongoing Newspaper and Tae Kwon Do clubs: 

Monday, 3-4pm, grades 3-5, Reach for the Stars. Join us for a virtual trip through space as we learn about the planets in our solar system, stars, and galaxies. Who knows- maybe we'll even discover some alien life!

Wednesday, 3-4pm, grades 1-5, Create Your Own Fairytale with Northwest Children's Theater (fee-based class). Our experienced Teaching Artists will create an engaging, interactive online class where students can make and perform their own fairy tale story! Based on the innovative online theater classes NWCT provided since the stay-at-home order, this class will provide your students an exciting way to connect with their school peers and have fun developing their drama skills all while being safe and socially distant!

Thursday, 3-4pm, grades K-2, Writing Art. With fun writing prompts and ideas, we'll read fun stories and write our own stories, poems, and do other writing activities. We'll also draw pictures and illustrations to match our stories. Theater Club with Northwest Children's Theater, Newspaper Club with Ms. Katie and Ms. Jess, and Tae Kwon Do! 

Become a Girls on the Run Coach!   Buckman will soon have its very own Girls on the Run program, and we need one more coach to make it happen! Coaches will need to attend all practices, which will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-5pm at Buckman field, from April 12-June 5. Practices will be socially distanced and can adjust to going virtually at any point depending on the current status of COVID-19. Contact Katie if you're interested in becoming a coach for the team!

Multnomah County Eviction Moratorium Extended   Multnomah County has extended the eviction moratorium until July 2, 2021. Tenants will have 6 months to pay back rent. If you owe rent, make sure you complete and submit a hardship declaration form to your landlord ASAP. More details here.  

Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!   

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.   

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT NEWS

New K-5 Report Cards

We are excited to share with you the new K-5 Report Card. The report card has been revised by a committee of teachers and parents with one of the main goals being to help families more easily understand how your students are doing as they progress through the elementary grades.  Click here to see the new report in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, Somali, and Chinese. A highlight of the new report card is that there is now only one marking system for grades (E/M/CM/N/NE) and the +,V,/,-- system is now only for characteristics of a successful learner 

Teachers will be using this new report card for Quarter 2 reporting. And you will receive the report card via mail in early February. 

Access to Kids Discover Magazine!

All K-5 educators, students and support staff now have access to Kids Discover. All students and educators can access by utilizing the URL or credentials below:

PW Embedded URL: http://online.kidsdiscover.com/portlandps

- or -

URL: http://online.kidsdiscover.com

UN: portlandps

PW: portlandps 

Participate in PPS’ Long-Range Facility Plan

Portland Public Schools is currently developing a Long-Range Facility Plan that will align the District’s educational vision with future capital planning. This work is an opportunity to institute lasting change in our schools by re-envisioning teaching and learning environments.

If you are a PPS community member interested in participating in a dialogue session, please visit www.pps.net/lrfp to register or email longrangefacilityplan@pps.net with any questions. 

Oregon Dyslexia Professional Network

Decoding Dyslexia Oregon has shared a great opportunity for adults living with dyslexia. Regardless of where in the world you live, please accept our invitation to join us virtually at the Oregon Dyslexia Professional Network. ODPN is a live, monthly chat space for adults living with dyslexia to connect, learn from each other, and share resources. Build your network and connect with others to help further your goals whether that be as a student, employee, or a job seeker.

Moderated by two individuals who have dyslexia, Jesse Rapport, and Jared Blank, we welcome you and hope you can join us by signing up HERE.  Interested, and want more information? Ask by emailing ODPN@orbida.org.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable. 

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

 K-12 Educator Opportunity: “Picture a Scientist” Discussion  

The Science Leadership Network, hosted by the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD), is offering a free viewing opportunity and synchronous discussion of the documentary "Picture a Scientist" on Feb. 22 from 3-4 pm. Click here for more information and to register.

Friday, January 22, 2021

For there was always light.

If only we're brave enough to see it.

If only we're brave enough to be it. - Amanda Gordon

Hello Buckman Bears,  

We welcomed a new president to lead our nation this week. If you didn’t have a chance to watch the inauguration, it’s not too late! Here is a version of the events geared towards students, filled with facts, warmth, respect and diversity. Forward to moment 2:19 to meet Amanda Gordon, the first Youth Poet Laureate of the United States. 

This year PPS has revised its report card format. Along with many other changes, they have consolidated all performing arts (music, dance, theater) grades into a single category labeled "Performing Arts." This change seems to overlook Buckman and the few other schools that have more than one performing arts class. Students at Buckman will be graded in both music and dance so we created the following work-around:  

Under the "Performing Arts" heading on the report card there are two lines with different grading criteria. The first, beginning with "Creates and refines..." will be where the dance grade is entered. The second, beginning with "Responds and Relates..." will be where the music grade is entered. The descriptions in both boxes taken together is essentially the criteria we will be using to grade both subjects.

We apologize for the confusion.  Hopefully this issue will be resolved for future report cards. NOTE: Visual art has its own category on the report card so it will be graded separately. 

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

· Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

· Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

· 1/28 End of 2nd Quarter

· 1/29 No school, Teacher Planning Day

· 2/1 First day of Black History Month

· 2/10 10:30am 3-5 Author Visit with Alan Gratz

· 2/15 No school, Presidents’ Day

2/18 Connect to Kindergarten, time TBD

THANK YOU to everyone who helped make the Year-End Ask campaign a success. We know this year has had its challenges, but we are reminded again and again of the strength of the Buckman community, and we are so grateful for your support! Funds raised through our Year-End Ask campaign will go towards staffing for the 2021-2022 school year.

• 3-5th grade virtual author visit with author ALAN GRATZ on February 10th at 10:30am at this Crowdcast link. If you would like to purchase a copy of one of his books for our library or yourself, please see this order form. Students are encouraged to ask the author questions through this FlipGrid.
• COLOR YOUR EMOTIONS - A Kids Book About Emotions Coloring Contest - Ends Wednesday, January 27th!  

Upcoming Race Talk   Save the date for an upcoming race talk on February 24^th presented and facilitated by RACE TALKS PDX. More details coming soon!

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565. 

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

Hygiene supply donations needed!   SUN is collecting donations of toilet paper, soap, paper towels, laundry detergent, kleenex, diapers/pull-ups, and cleaning supplies. Drop items off on Mondays and Wednesdays between 3 and 5pm at the upper playground, or contact Katie to arrange an alternate drop-off time or location. 

New term of SUN clubs is coming!   Register your student here for virtual clubs running February 1 - March 19. See below for new club descriptions in addition to ongoing Newspaper and Tae Kwon Do clubs: 

Monday, 3-4pm, grades 3-5, Reach for the Stars. Join us for a virtual trip through space as we learn about the planets in our solar system, stars, and galaxies. Who knows- maybe we'll even discover some alien life! 

Wednesday, 3-4pm, grades 1-5, Create Your Own Fairytale with Northwest Children's Theater (fee-based class). Our experienced Teaching Artists will create an engaging, interactive online class where students can make and perform their own fairy tale story! Based on the innovative online theater classes NWCT provided since the stay-at-home order, this class will provide your students an exciting way to connect with their school peers and have fun developing their drama skills all while being safe and socially distant!

Thursday, 3-4pm, grades K-2, Writing Art. With fun writing prompts and ideas, we'll read fun stories and write our own stories, poems, and do other writing activities. We'll also draw pictures and illustrations to match our stories. Theater Club with Northwest Children's Theater, Newspaper Club with Ms. Katie and Ms. Jess, and Tae Kwon Do! 

Become a Girls on the Run Coach!   Buckman will soon have its very own Girls on the Run program, and we need one more coach to make it happen! Coaches will need to attend all practices, which will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-5pm at Buckman field, from April 12-June 5. Practices will be socially distanced and can adjust to going virtually at any point depending on the current status of COVID-19. Contact Katie if you're interested in becoming a coach for the team! 

Multnomah County Eviction Moratorium Extended   Multnomah County has extended the eviction moratorium until July 2, 2021. Tenants will have 6 months to pay back rent. If you owe rent, make sure you complete and submit a hardship declaration form to your landlord ASAP. More details here. 

Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!  

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT NEWS

PPS Parent Workshop - Racism in Oregon History

The Humanities Department is offering a virtual workshop in collaboration with the Oregon Historical Society on Jan. 27, 2021 designed to help parents understand how both racism and justice are at the heart of Oregon’s history and are crucial to our ability to build a better future. For more information including a flyer and the registration, click here.

January Meal Services

On Friday, January 29 (a teacher planning day), meal services will continue as scheduled.

For PPS families not near a meal pickup location or who need assistance accessing meals and would like to request home meal delivery, please contact nutritionservices@pps.net with:

• Family name
• Address (where meals should be delivered)
• Contact phone number
• Number of children in the household
• School(s) attended

Requests submitted by end of day Monday, will begin receiving meal deliveries on the following Monday. For cancellations, changes or updates, please contact nutritionservices@pps.net. Please feel free to visit our website or contact us at nutritionservices@pps.net with any questions.

Food and Nutrition Benefits through Federal Relief

The federal economic relief package passed late last month included a temporary increase of approximately 15% in SNAP benefits. These benefits are planned to be distributed this month in Oregon. To see the details please read this news release.

SNAP Emergency Allotments will continue for January as well, meaning families will still receive their maximum household allotment of SNAP benefits. Please see these FAQs for more information. 

Information from the Multnomah County Library:

• Sign up for our Family Newsletter in English or  Spanish.
• We also have online content, like Storytimes in multiple languages for younger kids, and our Books We Love series for older ones in English and Spanish.
• We are trying to offer lots of online events, and have lots more coming for school-aged kids soon, like a weekly Tween Club that will have a Graphic Novel Book Group, Minecraft Challenges, D&D and Science!
• Just a reminder that we have services including curbside service, as well as lots of ebooks.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable. 

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

 K-12 Educator Opportunity: “Picture a Scientist” Discussion  

The Science Leadership Network, hosted by the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD), is offering a free viewing opportunity and synchronous discussion of the documentary "Picture a Scientist" on Feb. 22 from 3-4 pm. Click here for more information and to register.

Friday, January 15, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

I hope you all had a great week. Monday is a holiday celebrating the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. MLK day is a great opportunity to reflect on how we are serving all our students and families with honor and excellence.

In February, all of PPS 3-8 grade students will take an online assessment in math. To learn more about this assessment, see the video: Parent Video

I know there is a lot of talk about returning to school and what all those possibilities might look like.  Right now, with the uncertainty of the vaccine rollout and the increase in cases in Oregon, there hasn't been an official statement from PPS regarding our next concrete steps.  As always, administrators and teachers work together to support our community and our primary concern is to continue our commitment to CDL.  As we get more information and concrete next steps, I will work with the staff and community to make the Buckman plan. I appreciate that everyone wants answers, but please be patient as we await our guidance from district and state officials. I hope to be able to have a community conversation about this during our PTA meeting on Tuesday at 6pm.

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

· Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

· Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

· 1/18  No School, MLK Holiday

· 1/19 6pm  PTA Meeting

· 1/28 End of 2nd Quarter

· 1/29 No school, Teacher Planning Day

· 2/1 First day of Black History Month

· 2/8 Report cards mailed home

· 2/10 10:30am 3-5 Author Visit with Alan Gratz

· 2/15 No school, Presidents’ Day

· 2/18 Connect to Kindergarten, time TBD

WOW Buckman! We are thrilled to share with you that our Year-End Ask campaign raised an incredible $18,571! THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this campaign a success. We know this year has had its challenges, but we are reminded again and again of the strength of the Buckman community, and we are so grateful for your support! Funds raised through our Year-End Ask campaign will go towards staffing for the 2021-2022 school year.

·  3-5th grade virtual author visit with author ALAN GRATZ on February 10th at 10:30am at this Crowdcast link. If you would like to purchase a copy of one of his books for our library or yourself, please see this order form. Students are encouraged to ask the author questions through this FlipGrid.

·  Multnomah County Library: Digital magazines are now available from Libby, the same app where you get e-books and audiobooks from OverDrive. You’ll find more than 3,000 magazines in many languages — with no holds and unlimited checkouts.

·  COLOR YOUR EMOTIONS - A Kids Book About Emotions Coloring Contest!  

PTA & Buckman Community Meeting   Stop by next Tuesday, January 19^th at 6pm for a combined PTA/Buckman community meeting. The PTA and Principal Seidel will be available to answer questions and delve into various topics. Use the following meeting link to join: meet.google.com/rmm-etts-zyd

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

Let’s Reach 100 Members! Currently, PTA membership at Buckman is hovering around 50 members. Can you help us get to 100 or more? It’s easy to become a member; sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school at the state and national level. Membership is $12/person or $20/household and helps support many of the programs, events, and school-related items that we fund at Buckman.

Hygiene supply donations needed!   SUN is collecting donations of toilet paper, soap, paper towels, laundry detergent, kleenex, diapers/pull-ups, and cleaning supplies. Drop items off on Mondays and Wednesdays between 3 and 5pm at the upper playground, or contact Katie to arrange an alternate drop-off time or location. 

New term of SUN clubs is coming!   Register your student here for virtual clubs running February 1 - March 19. See below for new club descriptions in addition to ongoing Newspaper and Tae Kwon Do clubs: 

Monday, 3-4pm, grades 3-5, Reach for the Stars. Join us for a virtual trip through space as we learn about the planets in our solar system, stars, and galaxies. Who knows- maybe we'll even discover some alien life!

Wednesday, 3-4pm, grades 1-5, Create Your Own Fairytale with Northwest Children's Theater (fee-based class). Our experienced Teaching Artists will create an engaging, interactive online class where students can make and perform their own fairy tale story! Based on the innovative online theater classes NWCT provided since the stay-at-home order, this class will provide your students an exciting way to connect with their school peers and have fun developing their drama skills all while being safe and socially distant! 

Thursday, 3-4pm, grades K-2, Writing Art. With fun writing prompts and ideas, we'll read fun stories and write our own stories, poems, and do other writing activities. We'll also draw pictures and illustrations to match our stories. Theater Club with Northwest Children's Theater, Newspaper Club with Ms. Katie and Ms. Jess, and Tae Kwon Do! 

Become a Girls on the Run Coach!   Buckman will soon have its very own Girls on the Run program, and we need one more coach to make it happen! Coaches will need to attend all practices, which will be on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:30-5pm at Buckman field, from April 12-June 5. Practices will be socially distanced and can adjust to going virtually at any point depending on the current status of COVID-19. Contact Katie if you're interested in becoming a coach for the team!

Multnomah County Eviction Moratorium Extended   Multnomah County has extended the eviction moratorium until July 2, 2021. Tenants will have 6 months to pay back rent. If you owe rent, make sure you complete and submit a hardship declaration form to your landlord ASAP. More details here.  

Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!  

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT NEWS

January Meal Services

Due to Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day falling on a meal service day, the Nutrition Services department will be providing extra meals on Friday, January 15 and Wednesday, January 20 in order to continue to cover meals for all 7 days. On Friday, January 29 (a teacher planning day), meal services will continue as scheduled.

For PPS families not near a meal pickup location or who need assistance accessing meals and would like to request home meal delivery, please contact nutritionservices@pps.net with:

• Family name
• Address (where meals should be delivered)
• Contact phone number
• Number of children in the household
• School(s) attended

Requests submitted by end of day Monday, will begin receiving meal deliveries on the following Monday. For cancellations, changes or updates, please contact nutritionservices@pps.net. Please feel free to visit our website or contact us at nutritionservices@pps.net with any questions.

Food and Nutrition Benefits through Federal Relief

The federal economic relief package passed late last month included a temporary increase of approximately 15% in SNAP benefits. These benefits are planned to be distributed this month in Oregon. To see the details please read this news release.

SNAP Emergency Allotments will continue for January as well, meaning families will still receive their maximum household allotment of SNAP benefits. Please see these FAQs for more information.

Information from the Multnomah County Library:

• Sign up for our Family Newsletter in English or  Spanish.
• We also have online content, like Storytimes in multiple languages for younger kids, and our Books We Love series for older ones in English and Spanish.
• We are trying to offer lots of online events, and have lots more coming for school-aged kids soon, like a weekly Tween Club that will have a Graphic Novel Book Group, Minecraft Challenges, D&D and Science!
• Just a reminder that we have services including curbside service, as well as lots of ebooks.

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106. 

Bridge Over Troubled Water: A Tribute to the Life & Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Monday, January 18, 2021, 12-5 p.m.

Worlds Arts Foundation Inc. presents this retrospective program that draws from the organization's legacy hosting a community event honoring Dr. King's work. Their events have connected local performing artists and community leaders to underserved communities of color since 1978. This year's program film features performing artists, activists, public officials, businesses, choirs, and youth who have participated in this event over the years. Through a combination of archival footage and contemporary interviews, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" draws inspiration from Dr. King's mission to ensure peace, social justice, civil rights, and human dignity for all.

Streaming on: www.worldartsfoundation.org, Open Signal, KBOO 90.7 FM, XRAY 107.1 FM, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

K-12 Educator Opportunity: “Picture a Scientist” Discussion  

The Science Leadership Network, hosted by the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD), is offering a free viewing opportunity and synchronous discussion of the documentary "Picture a Scientist" on Feb. 22 from 3-4 pm. Click here for more information and to register.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Hello Buckman Bears,

Like many of you, I am saddened by what happened at our Nation’s capital on Wednesday. It was a disgrace to our democracy and upsetting on so many levels. I am humbled by all of the Buckman staff and students who used the following days as a teaching/listening/educating/comforting in our classrooms. Thank you for the courageous conversations. 

If like me, you are looking for ways to talk to your own children about the breach at the capitol, please check out this article. The author reminds me that despite it all, at least we have the children. Some of your students also watched this in class: A read aloud on youtube: The Breaking News

Attention all K-2 SpEd and ELD students - Buckman has received a shipment of brand new Acer touchscreen chromebooks. Here are the instructions on how to pick yours up. Please note, only 1 device may be issued per student so if you currently have a PPS device, it must be brought in for exchange of a new one.

·       Who: Families of k-2, SpEd and ELD students

·       Where: the front main entrance of Buckman (320 NE 16th Ave)

·       When: Monday and Wednesday, January 11th or 13th from noon-4:30pm

·       What: Bring your old PPS issued chromebook AND charger to exchange for a new touchscreen chromebook.

      Option: you can email brudolph@pps.net to set up an appointment if the times above don’t work for you

COVID-19 reporting: PPS has a new protocol requiring that a school building administrator and/ or school nurse track and document any student or family cases of COVID-19 to ensure that precautionary steps can be taken to reduce the spread of communicable disease. All reports will remain confidential.

Welcome back Mr. Darby! PPS has restored the Therapeutic Intervention Coach positions to all SES (Social Emotional Skills) classrooms. We have two such incredible classrooms and are thrilled that former staffer, current Buckman parent, will be supporting those classrooms. If you see him in Seesaw or in your google meets, please give him a big Buckman wave! 

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

·       Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

·       Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

·       1/14 6pm: Race Talks: Code Switching. Click here for the zoom meeting link.  

·       1/18  No School, MLK Holiday

·       1/19 6-7:30 pm PTA meeting, Buckman principal chat: google meet link here. 

·       1/28 End of 2nd Quarter

• 1/29 No school, Teacher Planning Day

Closed Captions:  Did you know nearly all students who use closed captions find them at least moderately helpful for learning. Specific ways in which closed captions can aid learning during CDL include comprehension, accuracy, engagement, and retention.  Students, staff and families who are deaf or hard of hearing often rely significantly on closed captioning to access content. Here is a guide on adding captions to your Zoom meetings and events.  Google meets also allows captions to be turned on by simply hitting "Turn on Captions" at the bottom of your meeting screen.  

GREEN TEAM

The Green Team is still collecting nonworking strings of holiday lights and #6 styrofoam THROUGH JANUARY 13th. This is a terrific opportunity to clean out those non-working light strings and your hard-to-recycle styrofoam collection, help Buckman, and support a cleaner environment —a triple win! 

How do you know if it is #6 Styrofoam?

·  If it is stamped with a 6 in a recycling triangle (items marked #4 or #7 can’t be recycled at this time)

·  If it is white and when you break it those annoying little balls get everywhere

·  IT IS NOT #6 Styrofoam if it pops back into shape when you squeeze it. 

Drop off at Buckman, Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 - 5:00pm on the upper playground during book bag distribution. (All dates are dependent on book bag distribution and COVID restrictions.) Please wear masks and maintain 6 feet distance during drop offs

·  Book eFair Order Pick Up during Book Bag exchange times (M&W 3-5pm, doors on upper playground)

·  January Reading Calendars

·  3-5th grade virtual author visit with NYT bestselling author ALAN GRATZ. Known for his riveting-chapter-cliff-hangers-cannot-put-down historical fiction for middle grade, Gratz is releasing his newest novel Ground Zero in early February. The visit will be on February 10th at 10:30am at this Crowdcast link.

His impactful novel Refugee is an Oregon Battle of the Books title this year, and available on EPIC as an audio book (Ms. Rudnick's class code is czs3110). 

As always, our quality authors are brought to us by Green Bean Books at no charge in exchange for supporting a local independent teacher supported bookstore. If you would like to purchase a copy for our library or yourself, please see this order form. 

Students are encouraged to ask the author questions through this FlipGrid.

PTA & Buckman Community Meeting   Join us Tuesday, January 19^th at 6pm for a combined PTA/Buckman community meeting. We will take care of PTA business, then discuss SE redistricting and online special education with Ms. Seidel. We will also be present to answer any of your questions. Use the following meeting link: meet.google.com/rmm-etts-zyd

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

Not a Member Yet? It’s easy; just sign up online! Being a member strengthens our voice as advocates for our students and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household.

Race Talks: Please join us at our next Race Talks on Thursday, January 14th at 6pm. We invite families to engage in a dialogue about code switching, hosted by our very own Family Equity Team. Click HERE for the Zoom link to join. **All Buckman families are welcome to attend.** 

SUN clubs are back  SUN clubs have returned! We are looking forward to virtually seeing your students after school this week! Quarter 3 registration will open soon - keep your eyes out for an announcement! 

Multnomah County Eviction Moratorium Extended   Has your family lost wages due to the pandemic? Have you had trouble paying rent? Please check out the Multnomah County COVID-19 Rent Relief Fund Program here: https://www.211info.org/multco-rent 

New Statewide Eviction Moratorium

There is a new statewide eviction moratorium that will last until June 30, 2021. This means that, with limited exceptions, landlords cannot evict renters for nonpayment or without cause until July of 2021. But you must take action now if you want to take advantage of future rent relief that your landlord can access. Please turn in the Tenant's Declaration to your Landlord under HB 4401 (Unable to pay rent due to Coronavirus factors) right away!

For a copy of the declaration to sign and send to your landlord, click here: oregonlawhelp.org

Family Equity Team  Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.  

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!   

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.   

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT NEWS

Student Success at Home – Free Program through Friendly House

Thanks to a generous grant from Oregon Health Authority, Friendly House is developing a pilot program to offer free support to students and families and improve their experience. Student Success at Home aims to alleviate and elevate by providing resources, technical and academic support, and social interaction so students can stay engaged and families can feel equipped and capable.

You do not need to be enrolled with Friendly House After School to benefit from this program. Interested families can complete a one-time questionnaire at FriendlyHouseInc.org to help us understand your specific needs and tailor our support. If internet connectivity or other technical issues are a barrier to completing the form easily, call Chris at (503)935-5269 Ext 106.  

Bridge Over Troubled Water: A Tribute to the Life & Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Monday, January 18, 2021, 12-5 p.m.

Worlds Arts Foundation Inc. presents this retrospective program that draws from the organization's legacy hosting a community event honoring Dr. King's work. Their events have connected local performing artists and community leaders to underserved communities of color since 1978. This year's program film features performing artists, activists, public officials, businesses, choirs, and youth who have participated in this event over the years. Through a combination of archival footage and contemporary interviews, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" draws inspiration from Dr. King's mission to ensure peace, social justice, civil rights, and human dignity for all.

Streaming on: www.worldartsfoundation.org, Open Signal, KBOO 90.7 FM, XRAY 107.1 FM, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.

 K-12 Educator Opportunity: “Picture a Scientist” Discussion  

The Science Leadership Network, hosted by the Multnomah Education Service District (MESD), is offering a free viewing opportunity and synchronous discussion of the documentary "Picture a Scientist" on Feb. 22 from 3-4 pm. Click here for more information and to register.

December 17, 2020

Dear Families,

Each year in December, the first-grade students put on a short performance for their families. Due to the pandemic and distance learning, this year the performance took the form of a video and online gallery- put together by the Buckman Arts Teachers. 

The theme of this year's performance was Community and Unity. In Music, the students learned the song, “This Little Light of Mine” a gospel song that came to be an anthem of the civil rights movement. People sang this song and other spirituals as a way of expressing unity as they fought for equal rights and freedom for everyone. In Dance, they learned choreography to the song, and in Visual Arts, they created portraits inspired by Caroline Mims Lawrence, a visual artist known for her role in the Chicago Black Arts Movement. 

Link to 1st Grade Performance Video: https://video.link/w/rM2Ab

Link to 1st Grade Gallery: https://tinyurl.com/ybeoaxef

Links to individual class dance Videos: Danielson, Miles, Agre

This is a great time for a reminder that the Specials classes (Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Library, and PE) are a part of core curriculum and we are encouraging all students and families to engage in the Specials courses. Buckman is the ONLY PPS arts integrated elementary school and we are so fortunate to have all of these Specialist classes and incredible teachers! Benefits to specialist assignments: Creativity! Hands on! Problem solving! Off screen activities! Body movement and expression! Art! Log into class to check it out.

Arts, PE and Library Seesaw assignments will remain open during winter break, perfect winter activities while we stay at home. For students who do not participate in live or Seesaw Specialist classes, the Quarter 2 report cards will reflect a mark of “No Evidence”.  

From the entire Buckman family to yours, we hope you all have a fantastic winter break. We will see you all back in 2021, with devices, batteries and hopeful hearts fully charged.

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders: 

·      Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

·      Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

·      12/21-1/1   Winter Break

·      1/4 First day back from winter break

·      1/18  No School, MLK Holiday

·      1/28 End of 2nd Quarter

• 1/29 No school, Teacher Planning Day

WOW, BUCKMAN! We launched our Year-End Ask Campaign on Giving Tuesday (December 1), asking at least 50 members of the Buckman community to make a gift of ANY amount to unlock the $13,350 collectively promised by Year-End Ask sponsors. Within seven days, we met our goal of 50 donations, setting a record for Buckman! Incredible!  

All donations go toward maintaining our staffing next year, and more specifically toward preserving our Librarian/Media Specialist, Darcy Rudnick, full-time.  Please consider continuing this amazing momentum by making your gift today or any time before December 31.

THANK YOU to everyone; it’s so inspiring to see our community’s continual support of our school, staff, and students.

GREEN TEAM

The Green Team is hosting a recycling event for broken holiday light strings and #6 styrofoam. This is a terrific opportunity to clean out those non-working light strings and your hard-to-recycle styrofoam collection, help Buckman, and support a cleaner environment —a triple win! Here are the details:

Drop off at Buckman, Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 - 5:00pm on the upper playground during book bag distribution through January 13, 2021:

• All dates are dependent on book bag distribution and COVID restrictions.

Neighborhood Porch Drop Off Locations:

• SE Location: Erin Severe 3623 SE 9th, Portland, OR 97202
• NE Location: Korrin Weldon 3229 NE 66th Ave, Portland, OR 97213
• If you are interested in hosting a porch drop off location email buckmangreenteam@gmail.com 

COVID precautions:

• Please wear masks and maintain 6 feet distance during drop offs
• If you have a large (e.g., a carload) of recyclables, please email buckmangreenteam@gmail.com to arrange for pickup

Happy Winter Break to All Families!   Warm greetings from your School Nurse Shannon!  As we all roll into the Winter Break, and with so much COVID-19 information coming at us all, I wanted to remind everyone about WINTER SAFETY as well.  There are many seasonal and holiday accidents that cause us harm as well.  So, as you all go out to enjoy the season, please stay safe!  Here is a link to the Tom Sargent Safety Center with safety information for the season, including information such as sledding safety, signs of frostbite, and holiday decoration safety.  

Have a wonderful and relaxing Winter Break!

• I am thankful for a community of caring and the overwhelming support for keeping the library open full time. I’m grateful for my position in supporting the whole school community and am overjoyed with the year-end ask campaign. Thank you Buckman. I love you! ~Ms. Rudnick
• KEEP YOUR STUDENTS READING (listening to books, or read to them) EVERYDAY. This week’s library Seesaw activity has a reading calendar for the winter break. Check it out!  Reading for fun, improves students test scores!
• Look for coming updates on Book eFair pick up times in January.

We wish you all a wonderful winter break and thank you for supporting the PTA and our community.

We ask one more thing of you – please read the message below and contact our congressional members, urging them to fund our schools. We cannot accomplish this without our collective voices demanding what is in the best interests of our students and teachers; thank you!

An Urgent Message from Oregon PTA Regarding Federal Funding:  We are supporting the National PTA Call to Action!  It is imperative that Congress acts now to come to an agreement on a COVID relief package. Despite the record-breaking numbers for new COVID-19 cases each day, public schools continue to do the hard work to deliver education in virtual and in‐person settings. There are numerous critical needs that children, families, educators and public schools are facing which must be addressed in the next COVID relief package. National PTA continues to ask Congress to address five key areas 1) funding to reopen schools safely, 2) increased support for Title I and IDEA, 3) dedicated funding for remote learning, 4) more resources for family engagement in education, and 5) increased funding for child nutrition programs.
 
Public schools need resources now!  Please contact your Members of Congress today and ask them to provide the critical funding needed to reopen schools. Click the link below to log in and send your message:
https://www.votervoice.net/BroadcastLinks/vdjeYngewepnTv7IatVwxQ

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards   Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity. Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

SUN Clubs on Break   SUN clubs are taking a break with school! We’ll be back when school resumes January 4^th. 

SUN Staff Available over Break   If you have basic resource needs or want to talk to someone about supporting your student while school is closed, please reach out to Katie by email, phone, or text (503-858-0230). 

Multnomah County Eviction Moratorium Extended   Multnomah County has extended the eviction moratorium until July 2, 2021. Tenants will have 6 months to pay back rent. More details can be found here. 

Family Equity Team   Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!  

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write “Buckman SUN” in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

DISTRICT NEWS

Black Youth Crisis Recovery Group   If your Black student is interested in joining an affinity space for Black students to process and unpack the trauma and grief that they or you may be dealing with as a result of police brutality; opposition to the BLM movement; seeing fellow Black people lose their lives without consequence; follow this link for more information about the Black Youth Crisis Recovery Group. The facilitators are skilled in working with groups and are knowledgeable in the areas of trauma, grief, coping skills, and celebrating Black joy. You may also contact one of the facilitators for additional information: Maurice Phillips (mphilli1@pps.net) or Jonicia Shelton (jshelton@pps.net).

Childcare Openings at Winterhaven   Art4Life, a PPS childcare contractor, has childcare openings available at Winterhaven! PPS staff are welcome to enroll their children as well, even if their children do not attend PPS.

Families may be eligible for financial support courtesy of the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) benefit that has increased income limits to 250% of the poverty rate. (*Eligible families must be employed to receive benefits. Refer to this link to access more information.)

For more information, check out the PPS Child Care website to locate the child care flyer and the ‘Family and Navigator Resources’ tab or contact PPS’s child care team at childcareservices@pps.net.

Families who are in need of a representative to assist in the process should view the following: Release of Information.

December Meal Service    Nutrition Services will be providing extra meals each service day to help keep our students with access to food as we head into the winter break. On Friday, December 18, we will provide each child with a food box that will contain enough food for 7 days. We will not be serving or delivering meals on Monday, Dec 21 through Friday, January 1. Meal services will resume Monday, January 4.

Oregon Health Plan Insurance Information   Click here to learn more.

Friday, December 11, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears,

Due to the PPS reopening meeting being scheduled at the same time, our Buckman PTA/Community meeting has been rescheduled for January. Date TBD. PPS meeting info below:

Schools, COVID and Shared Understandings
Virtual Panel Discussion
Monday, December 14
6:00-8:00 p.m.
PPS YouTube channel

5th Graders in Mrs. Jensen's class created cookbooks with family favorite recipes, and are selling them to raise money for NAYA (Native American Youth and Family Center) as part of their Land Back unit.  Click HERE for details/order form. 

Wishing a happy second night of Hanukkah to all who celebrate. No matter what we celebrate or what we do not, I hope we can all appreciate a little more light in this world. 

Important dates and reminders: 

· Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off

· Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 

· Buckman Bites Theme: Rose, thorn, and bud

· 12/16 3-5pm  Apparel Sales

· 12/17 9am-5pm Book fair order pick up

· 12/14 8:30am, 7pm:  Buckman PTA & Community Meeting google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting

· 12/21-1/1   Winter Break

· 1/4 First day back from winter break

· 1/18  No School, MLK Holiday

· 1/28 End of 2nd Quarter

· 1/29 No school, Teacher Planning Day

WOW, BUCKMAN! We launched our Year-End Ask Campaign on Giving Tuesday (December 1), asking at least 50 members of the Buckman community to make a gift of ANY amount to unlock the $13,350 collectively promised by Year-End Ask sponsors. Within seven days, we met our goal of 50 donations, setting a record for Buckman! Incredible!  

All donations go toward maintaining our staffing next year, and more specifically toward preserving our Librarian/Media Specialist, Darcy Rudnick, full-time.  Please consider continuing this amazing momentum by making your gift today or any time before December 31.

THANK YOU to everyone; it’s so inspiring to see our community’s continual support of our school, staff, and students.

The Green Team is hosting a recycling event for broken holiday light strings and #6 styrofoam. This is a terrific opportunity to clean out those non-working light strings and your hard-to-recycle styrofoam collection, help Buckman, and support a cleaner environment —a triple win! Here are the details:

Drop off at Buckman, Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:00 - 5:00pm on the upper playground during book bag distribution through January 13, 2021:

• All dates are dependent on book bag distribution and COVID restrictions.

Neighborhood Porch Drop Off Locations:

• SE Location: Erin Severe 3623 SE 9th, Portland, OR 97202
• NE Location: Korrin Weldon 3229 NE 66th Ave, Portland, OR 97213
• If you are interested in hosting a porch drop off location email buckmangreenteam@gmail.com 

COVID precautions:

• Please wear masks and maintain 6 feet distance during drop offs
• If you have a large (e.g., a carload) of recyclables, please email buckmangreenteam@gmail.com to arrange for pickup 

• Book eFair Order Pick-up: Thursday, December 17th 9am-5pm upper playground
• December Reading Calendars
• Buckman Library’s Green Bean Books Wish List

PTA General Meeting    Our combined PTA/Buckman community meeting scheduled for December 14^th has been postponed due to an overlap with the PPS’s virtual panel discussion that same night. We will pick back up in early January to take care of PTA business and discuss SE redistricting and online special education with Ms. Seidel. We will also be present to answer any of your questions. Stay tuned!

Scrip Sales   Pick up scrip cards next week! They’re just like using a gift card except Buckman gets a portion of the proceeds. Stop by the upper playground on Wednesday, December 16^th and Thursday, December 17^th from 3-5pm or contact Allysa Davis at scrip@buckmanelementary.org to get your Scrip cards.

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards    Got a lot of shopping on the horizon? Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity.

Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

Holiday Food Boxes   Available through All Saints St. Vincent De Paul. Call this number to request one: 971-319-1471. All boxes will be delivered on December 19^th. 

Season of Sharing   Thanks everyone for your gift contributions! We are able to support 24 families with almost every single request this season, and that feels so good! 

Tree Giveaway in Corbett: For anyone who is interested, we found a unique opportunity to pick a tree, for free, from a u-pick farm in Corbett/Troutdale on Saturday, December 12^th from 10:00am-2:00pm. Check out this flyer for more details! It could be a fun, family excursion. Farmers will be there with saws, twine and whatever you need to leave with a beautiful tree. También se hablan espanol. Directions are on the flyer. Email Katie if you have any questions. 

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest!  

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230.  

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

December Meal Service    The Nutrition Services department will be providing extra meals each service day to help keep our students with access to food as we head into the winter break. Each service day through December 16, we will be providing 3 days worth of meals for each child. On Friday, December 18, we will provide each child with a food box that will contain enough food for 7 days. We will not be serving or delivering meals on Monday, Dec 21 through Friday, January 1. Meal services will resume Monday, January 4.

Oregon Health Plan Insurance Information   Click here to learn more. 

Middle/High School Transfer Deadline Extended to 12/18

Based on feedback from school leaders and counselors, we are extending the deadline for families to middle and high school transfer requests. This includes submission of dual assignment choices for all 8th grade students living in the Jefferson cluster. 

We are committed to providing results in mid-January. Lottery and dual assignment applications are available at http://www.pps.net/schoolchoice , or contact your school counselor. 

Friday, December 4, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears!

Huge shout out to Darcy Rudnick, our media specialist librarian extraordinaire, for putting on our first virtual Book Fair. Thank you to all of the supporters as well – every dollar raised will go back to our students’ literary experiences here at Buckman. Speaking of extraordinary teacher-librarians, the Buckman foundation is raising funds in their year end ask to keep Ms. Rudnick at full time next year. For more details on that, please see below.

 We apologize for scheduling our Family Equity Team meeting on December 10, the first night of Hanukkah. I’ll send a message out later with the rescheduled date.

Did you know that yesterday, December 3, was International Day of Persons with Disabilities? Some quotes from the Ability Foundation that a friend of mine shared with me that resonated with our values of inclusion, diversity, and equity at Buckman:

“Work with me not on me. Do with me not for me”

“Know me: by my name, strengths, abilities, hopes & dreams – not by my diagnosis”

“Your words, attitudes and actions impact my life more than my disability”

To all of the students and families of Buckman, we recognize and celebrate you and all of your abilities.

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed (8am-noon by appointment, 3pm-5pm on blacktop) 
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students 
• Now - 12/9 Season of Sharing 
• 12/16 3-5pm  Apparel Sales
• 12/11 5pm  Middle School Lottery Applications Due
• 12/14 8:30am, 7pm:  Buckman PTA & Community Meeting google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting
• 12/21-1/1   Winter Break

Champions is offering Winter Break Camp at Creston Elementary. We will follow all COVID protocols by OHA and CDC. This is a designated Oregon Essential Child Care site and is licensed. ERDC is accepted. We have tons of fun plans including canvas painting, arts and crafts, and science experiments, all while social distancing. We have limited pod sizes and are taking enrollments now on discoverchampions.com or by contacting Family Support at 1-800-246-2154. They can help walk you through the process. We will be open December 21^st-23^rd and December 28^th-30^th from 7:30-5:30pm for a $150 weekly cost. If you are interested or have additional questions, email Stephanie Balke or call 503-915-3063. 

Buckman Year End Ask Is On!  We've been so grateful for our librarian /media specialist, Ms. Rudnick.  Help us keep her full time next year.

Principal Seidel, Buckman staff, students, and parents all agree: Ms. Rudnick is a treasure! And so, the Buckman Foundation’s top priority this year is raising enough money to cover the difference between the .75 of her position covered by PPS and the amount we’ll need to keep her at full time next year, 2021-22.
If 50 people give at any level before December 31, a group of Buckman families have pledged to donate $13,350 to this campaign! Click here to give!

Students, Families & STAFF!  Do you still have library books at home from last school year (not book bags)? Maybe you weren’t able to return them at the beginning of this year?  Well, we NEED them!  With next semester coming up after the holidays, we need to make sure we have enough library books to keep our collections strong.  Please check your shelves, under the bed, behind the couch, everywhere! for books to return to the library.  

Bring them to the book drop box at the front door of Buckman (photo),  Mon-Fri 8am-1pm.  Or bring them to our Book Bag exchange days (M&W; 3-5pm; upper playground - photo). Contact me at drudnick@pps.net  if you have any questions.  Help me keep our library materials available for us all to use and enjoy.  

Thanks, Ms. Rudnick and PPS Campaign to Collect Books

• Book Bags Exchange @ upper playground: M&W 8am-12pm by appointment only; M&W 3-5pm drop in
• Book eFair Order Pick-up: M-F; 12/14-12/18; 2-5pm @ upper playground
  • *Monday & Wednesday will coincide with library Book Bag exchange (will open at 2pm instead of 3pm for these two days)
  • **Tuesday, Thursday & Friday - no Book Bag exchange (no exceptions) 
• December Reading Calendars
• Buckman Library’s Green Bean Books Wish List  

Scrip Sales   In-person scrip sales are back! We have a variety of gift cards to most major grocery stores in the area, as well as Amazon and Target cards. It’s just like using a gift card except Buckman gets a portion of the proceeds. Stop by the upper playground on December 9^th (3-5pm) or contact Allysa Davis at scrip@buckmanelementary.org to get your Scrip cards.

Amazon Smile and Fred Meyer Community Rewards    Got a lot of shopping on the horizon? Shop through Amazon Smile and money automatically goes back to our school. It’s easy to sign up online, just select Buckman PTA as your charity.

Money also goes back to Buckman with every Fred Meyer purchase when you use their community rewards program. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

PTA General Meeting    Join us December 14^th at 6:30pm for our quarterly meeting. Details coming soon!

Season of Sharing   Sign up for a tag (or more) here. You can drop off items at Buckman on December 7^th and December 9^th from 3-4:30pm. Contact Katie at kolson@impactnw.org if you need to arrange an alternative time for drop-off or pick-up. 

 We are also collecting the following donations by grade level:

• Kindergarten- (non-holiday) wrapping paper, tape, and ribbon
• 1st grade- hats and gloves (kids 3-13 yrs)
• 2nd grade- socks (kids 3-13 yrs)
• 3rd grade- boys underwear S, M, L and XL; shampoo, conditioner, and soap
• 4th grade- girls underwear S, M, L, and XL; toothpaste, toothbrushes
• 5th grade- toilet paper, paper towels, canned and non-perishable food

The Oregon Cares Fund has been organized by the leaders of Oregon’s Black community. Now, more than ever, it is critical that the Federal dollars from the CARES Act serve to honor and protect those individuals, families, business owners, and non-profit leaders who are what make Oregon great. We will be serving tens of thousands of Oregonians in a short period of time. It’s our goal to answer your questions with a high level of customer service. If your questions aren’t answered here, please click our Application Help form.

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in a community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA.  

Parenting Workshop   Big Village and Volunteers of America are offering a free workshop on “parenting through the holidays during a pandemic” on Thursday, December 10^th  from 6:00-7:30pm. It will include brief presentations, resources, and strategies, and break out groups for parents to connect and share with other parents. Contact Mary Krogh at 503-577-6104 if you have questions. 

Early Reading Skills Workshop   The Humanities Department is offering a virtual workshop in collaboration with Read by 4th, Drexel University School of Education, and AIM Institute designed to help parents grow their grade K-3 students into strong readers. 

Sessions will be offered in both Spanish and English with translation available during the English session. Sessions will be recorded. 

• Friday, December 11, 2020 (4:00 pm-6:00 pm) - English with translation
• Saturday, December 12, 2020 (10:00 am - 12:00 pm) – Spanish

Click here to register, or check out these links for information in English or Spanish. 

Hello Buckman Bears

Friday, November 20, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears!

Whew, what a week! This was the only full 5-day week of school for students in November, and there sure was a lot of learning happening. I had a chance to see 4th graders explore different strategies for multiplying multi digit numbers, second graders play games against their teachers called “comparing big numbers”, 2nd graders also taught me about the “R controlled vowel” in spelling, and our 3-5 SES classroom worked on all of the steps to the writing process. If you are interested in learning more about early literacy, please see below for details on a Parenting Workshop for Reading. I am so proud of this incredible staff who are working so hard to make distance learning work for the students. I am equally proud of your children for showing up every day and doing their best.  

To access parent teacher conferences, use your google meets classroom code. Parents will need to sign in under their student account to join the google meet for conferences. 

As we head into Fall break and the week of Thanksgiving, I want to give recognition to the Indigenous lands that we reside on. Our students know that the story of Thanksgiving can be told from many perspectives and it’s important that we acknowledge the harm done to the people, Wampanoag Tribes and many more, who were here before Mayflower, before the pilgrims. And yet, this coming week gives me pause to be thankful for our amazing Buckman staff and community. Every week I get to visit classrooms and see the students and teachers rise to the challenge of distance learning more and more. I hope that this next week offers rest, restoration, and connection for you and your loved ones.

“We are thankful for the clouds, rain, and snow that feed the springs, rivers, and our people.”  John Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo), 2002

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bags- on pause until after fall break
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students (no meals week next week)
• 11/12-11/24 Parent Teacher Conferences
• 11/21-11/29 BOOK eFAIR 
• 11/25-11/27 Fall Break-no school
• 11/17 - 12/9 Season of Sharing 
• 12/2 & 12/16 3-5pm  Apparel Sales
• 12/10 6-7pm  Family Equity Team Meeting
• 12/11 5pm  Middle School Lottery Applications Due
• 12/14 8:30am, 7pm:  Buckman Community Meeting google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting
• 12/21-1/1   Winter Break

Your Champions program is here and ready to play a supporting role in your child’s school day! Program is available from 7:30-5:30pm Monday-Friday for only $250/week. Interested in enrolling your child? Sign up here. 

·       The BOOK eFAIR  starts tomorrow! 11/21! Some teachers have made wish lists for their classroom!

·       Our library has switched to a local independent bookstore for our Wish List. Green Bean Books has been a supporter of school libraries and responsible for bringing some of the best authors for visits to our school. Consider a book donation from Buckman Library’s Green Bean Books Wish List!   

Thank you, Buckman! We raised more than $2600 through the Charleston Wrap Fundraiser. These funds will be put toward things like PTA-sponsored grants for teachers and staff, as well as academic materials for our students next year. We appreciate all the support!

Scrip Sales   In-person Scrip sales have been paused for the rest of November due to new state restrictions, but we are offering no-contact delivery! We have a variety of gift cards to most of the major grocery stores in the area that we can deliver to your house just in time for Thanksgiving shopping. Using SCRIP is just like using a gift card to do your grocery shopping except Buckman gets a portion of the proceeds. It is an easy way to support our school! 

If you’re thinking of getting a jumpstart on your holiday shopping, you can order holiday gift cards from us as well. Please contact Allysa Davis at scrip@buckmanelementary.org.

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership! 

Season of Sharing Mittens are up!  Sign up for a tag (or more) here. You can drop off items at Buckman November 30th, December 2nd, December 7th, and  December 9th from 3-4:30pm. Contact Katie at kolson@impactnw.org if you need to arrange an alternative time for drop-off or pick-up.  

SUN Winter Term   New SUN clubs are coming for November 30-January 28th. Registration is open now; complete this form to sign your student up. 

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. The next meeting will be held on December 10th.  

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

TAG nominations are now available! Please email your teacher to request a nomination, or email our TAG facilitator Melanie Betz at mbetz@pps.net with your student's name, student ID number and parent email addresses. 

TAG services are being provided during distance learning! Teachers are meeting student needs by meeting their rate and level through differentiated assignments, flexible grouping, and independent projects.

Look forward to the spelling bee and science fair after winter break!

Parent Workshop on Early Reading Skills   The Humanities Department is offering a virtual workshop in collaboration with Read by 4th, Drexel University School of Education, and AIM Institute designed to help parents grow their grade K-3 students into strong readers. 

Sessions will be offered in both Spanish and English with translation available during the English session. Sessions will be recorded. 

• Friday, December 11, 2020 (4:00 pm-6:00 pm) - English with translation
• Saturday, December 12, 2020 (10:00 am - 12:00 pm) – Spanish

Click here to register, or check out these links for information in English or Spanish. 

Rebel Wise - Student Workshop Opportunity   Rebel Wise are a local Hip-Hop collaborative who are currently offering student workshops that combine music videos with interviews of indigenous Elder teachings, lead talking circles, and guide students through a creative undertaking. Click here to learn more.

Friday, November 13, 2020

Hello  Buckman Bears,

Shout out to the Parent Equity team for hosting another thoughtful Race Talks this week. Our Race Talk events are open to all families, and formatted in a manner that encourages reflections, dialogue, and community. In case you missed it this week, here are the videos that we watched to guide our conversation. 

Also, as a reminder, library book bag distribution will be on pause until after Fall break, and there will be no meal pickup service the week of November 23.

Take care everyone,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bags- on pause until after fall break

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students (no meals week of November 23)

• 11/12-11/24 Parent Teacher Conferences

• 11/21-11/29 BOOK eFAIR 

• 11/25-11/27 Fall Break-no school

• 11/17 - 12/9 Season of Sharing 

• 12/2 & 12/16 3-5pm  Apparel Sales

• 12/10 6-7pm  Family Equity Team Meeting

• 12/11 5pm  Middle School Lottery Applications Due

• 12/14 8:30am, 7pm:  Buckman Community Meeting google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting

• 12/21-1/1   Winter Break

CHAMPIONS NEWS

Your Champions program is here and ready to play a supporting role in your child’s school day! Along with offering distance learning support, we will be incorporating multiple group class meetings to re-introduce our learning community and be providing our Champions project-based units that will incorporate academic skills and social emotional learning. Program is available from 7:30-5:30pm Monday-Friday for only $250/week. Interested in enrolling your child? Sign up here: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/e9c1f402768548329e2aab25cfa1dff4

We here at Champions look forward to providing you and your family support.

FOUNDATION NEWS

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Por Que No for November’s Dines Out! While we’re still crunching the numbers, we know these fundraisers add up, and we are so grateful to the support of our neighborhood restaurants!

Buckman apparel has been in high demand but we are pausing sales until December 2, so be sure to mark the date! Stop by 3-5pm on the upper playground to get your Buckman-themed hoodies, hats, masks, and more. Show your Buckman pride this holiday season!

LIBRARY NEWS

Last week I sent a note from PPS Campaign to Collect Books. This is for books that were checked out during the 2019/2020 school year. Please do not return book bags in the collection bin. Thank you!

• Book Bags are closed until 11/29. We hope to start up again 11/30. 

• Mark your calendars: BOOK eFAIR dates 11/21-11/29 (You can start by making your own wish list!) Teachers are currently making wish lists too! (left hand menu “View Wish Lists”)

• Our library has switched to a local independent bookstore for our Wish List (from Amazon). Green Bean Books has been a supporter of school libraries and responsible for bringing some of the best authors for visits to our school. Consider a book donation from Buckman Library’s Green Bean Books Wish List!   

PTA NEWS

Scrip Sales  - In-person Scrip sales have been paused for the rest of November due to new state restrictions. Stay tuned for future dates. 

Charleston Wrap Fundraiser – Final Days!   This fundraiser ends November 18th. Forty percent of sales goes back to Buckman. We’ve raised $2200 so far! 

To register, go to charlestonwrapstore.com and complete the Register Participant form using Buckman's organization ID: 20270. Call 1-866-395-2926 if you have trouble registering.

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership! 

Did you know PTA funds are used toward things like playground maintenance, academic materials, teacher grants, and staff appreciation? Get to know your PTA and what we do!

SUN NEWS

Season of Sharing   Requests are in! Look for an announcement next week on Konstella and from your teachers about how to fulfill item requests ("mittens") this year. 

SUN Winter Term   New SUN clubs are coming for November 30-January 28th. Registration is open now, complete this form to sign your student up. 

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is Back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

TAG NEWS

TAG nominations are now available! Please email your teacher to request a nomination, or email our TAG facilitator Melanie Betz at mbetz@pps.net with your student's name, student ID number and parent email addresses. 

TAG services are being provided during distance learning! Teachers are meeting student needs by meeting their rate and level through differentiated assignments, flexible grouping, and independent projects.

Look forward to the spelling bee and science fair after winter break!

DISTRICT NEWS

November Meal Service   We will not be serving or delivering meals the week of November 23. More updates about our services in December will be provided later. Home meal delivery sign ups will remain open this week. Visit our website or contact us at nutritionservices@pps.net with any questions.

OTHER NEWS

School Vaccination Requirements and Reminders    Immunizations are an important part of keeping our kids and community safe from certain diseases. That is why vaccines are required for school. Click here to see what immunizations are required for your child’s grade. Fall is a great time to catch-up on vaccines and get your yearly flu shots. Students need to be up-to-date on vaccines or give the school documentation of an exemption by early January, so that your child is not at risk of being excluded from school. Exclusion day is February 17, 2021.

Free Flu Shots   Legacy Health is offering free flu shots in November. Click here for more information. 

Hello Buckman Bears

Friday, November 6, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears,  

This week was an important reminder of the necessity of holding space for our kids and looking for the helpers in our community. We touched on how we hold respect as a core value and in that unity, we become closer as a Buckman family. If you would like to connect as a Buckman family, please join me on Monday at our next community meeting. 

Monthly Buckman Community Meeting: On Monday, we will have our November Buckman community chat times (8:30am, 7pm, google meet code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting). I hope to answer any questions folks may have around distance learning, parent teacher conferences, and also want to hold space for folks to connect on parenting post-election. I also want to say a huge thank you to Portland voters for approving the school bond renewal!   

Parent teacher conferences: No school week of November 23 as teachers will be holding conferences 23 and 24, and the rest of the week is off for Fall Break. 

Native American Heritage Month:  November is Native American Heritage Month. It’s a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. As I have spent many hours this week looking at a blue and red map of the United States, I humbly acknowledge that I am on stolen land.  It’s a good reminder to remember the counter-narratives of the history of the first Thanksgiving story and other ways that we can offer or present authentic Native stories and perspectives.  

Buckman Bites lunchtimes: Is your student looking for more social time with friends? Reminder that we have grade level lunches offered Monday- Friday at google meets code “BuckmanBites”. Monday = 1st grade, Tuesday = 2nd grade, Wednesday = 3rd grade, Thursday = 4th grade, and Friday = 5th grade. Fun fact, in the Chinese language, this is how we refer to the days of the week, as “day #1, day #2, etc. In Chinese, Sunday is referred to as the “big day”. I hope you all enjoy your “big day” this weekend as well.  

Quarter 2 arts schedule changes for 1st and 3rd grades: We are shifting our visual-art/dance/music times to allow for slightly longer art sessions. 1st grade will have arts classes beginning at 1:45 on Monday and Wednesday and 3rd grade arts classes will begin at 2pm. 

Race Talks presented to you by the Family Equity Team:  Please join us at our next Race Talks on Tuesday Nov. 10th from 6-7:30. We invite families to view and discuss Hyphen-Nation.  Hyphen Nation is a series of mini-films about race produced by The New York Times:  What makes someone American? How do you define American identity? When do you feel most American? Or least? Nine American citizens describe their struggle to belong in a nation that both embraces and rejects them. Click HERE for the Zoom link to join.

Lastly, there is no school on Wednesday in honor of Veterans day. Veterans Day means freedom, sacrifice, and honor for those who served in the military. We give thanks and honor to those who have served. 

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Buckman bites: theme for next week will be “ Student Led Art”
• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up/drop off (closed 11/11, 11/23 & 11/25)
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students 
• 11/9  5:30pm ESL family night: join using code SpectorClassMeeting
• 11/9  8:30am, 7pm: Buckman Community Meeting, google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting
• 11/10 6:00pm: Race talks. Zoom meeting link here
• 11/11 Veteran’s Day - no school 
• 11/11 4pm-9pm- Dines Out @ Por Que No
• 11/12-11/24 Parent Teacher Conferences
• 11/21-11/29 BOOK eFAIR 
• 11/25-11/27 Fall Break-no school

COUNSELING NEWS

3rd-5th graders are invited to join a leadership group! See the attached schedule and description of each group. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Halloween raffle, and congrats to our two winners! The raffle reached our goal of raising $5,000 for the Buckman Foundation! We are always amazed to see the support of the Buckman community. 

Apparel Sales   New apparel is in; time to celebrate Buckman in style! Come grab your hoodies, tees, beanies, hats, face masks, and stickers; sales will be available November 18, December 2, and December 16 from 3-5pm on the upper playground.

Dines Out    Remember to get this month’s Dines Out on your schedule! Stop by Por Que No (4635 SE Hawthorne) on Wednesday, November 11, from 4-9pm; kids menu and meal kits are available for take-out! Whatever you grab, 10% of proceeds will go towards the Buckman Foundation.

Students & Families!  

Do you still have library books at home from last year? Maybe you weren’t able to return them at the beginning of this year?  Well, we NEED them!  With next semester coming up after the holidays, we need to make sure we have enough library books to keep our collections strong.  

Please check your shelves, under the bed, behind the couch, everywhere! for books to return to the library.  

Bring them to the book drop box at the front door of Buckman (photo),  Monday-Friday 8AM-1 PM.  Or bring them to our Book Bag exchange days (M&W; 3-5pm; upper playground - photo). Contact me at drudnick@pps.net  if you have any questions.  Help me keep our library materials available for us all to use and enjoy. 

Thanks, Ms. Rudnick and PPS Campaign to Collect Books

• November Reading Calendar (Epic code: czs3110)
• Mark your calendars: BOOK eFAIR dates 11/21-11/29 (You can start by making your own wish list!) Teachers are currently making wish lists too! (left hand menu “View Wish Lists”)
• Our library has switched to a local independent bookstore for our Wish List (from Amazon). Green Bean Books has been a supporter of school libraries and responsible for bringing some of the best authors for visits to our school. Consider a book donation from Buckman Library’s Green Bean Books Wish List!   

Last chance for the Charleston Wrap Fundraiser!   This fundraiser ends November 16^th. If you haven’t already, check out charlestonwrapstore.com. Forty percent of sales goes back to Buckman. We’ve raised nearly $2100 so far! It’s all-virtual and has minimal impact on time for our families.  (Participation is completely voluntary.)

To register for the fundraiser,and complete the Start Here: Register Participant form. Buckman's organization ID is: 20270. Trouble registering? Call 1-866-395-2926 and someone can assist you and/or complete the registration for you.

Other Ways to Fundraise: did you know you can help raise for PTA without any additional purchases required? Find out how ordinary purchases at Fred Meyer and Amazon can support the PTA. 

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership!

Season of Sharing Requests   Wishlist forms are here! Get one through your student's teacher or complete one online here. Forms are due back by November 13th. 

SUN Winter Term   New SUN clubs are coming for November 30-January 28th. Registration opens next week. 

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is Back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Complete this survey or reach out to Katie Olson, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during book distribution at the upper playground every Monday & Wednesday from 3-5pm.

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

Childcare Update Six partner organizations are currently offering full-day licensed childcare programming in 10 PPS schools: Beach, Creston, Hayhurst, James John, King, Lent, MLC, Rigler, Vestal, and Winterhaven. These programs enroll PPS students and children of PPS employees regardless of which school children attend. Most programs still have space available. 

Childcare programs: 

• Accept children ages 5 - 12. 
• Enroll no more than 30 students per school. 
• Support children in distance learning while also providing enrichment, breaks and meals. 
• Set aside slots for low-income, full-time working families qualifying for state subsidies. Low cost child care rates last for one year if subsidy is approved by Dec. 31, 2020. More information including the subsidy application is posted on the PPS Child Care website. 
• Follow strict safety guidelines including stable cohorts, face coverings, and hand hygiene. 

While the Employee Related Day Care (ERDC) state subsidy is generous to full-time working families, understanding these restrictive eligibility requirements can be challenging. We will soon be posting detailed information about child care subsidies to share with your staff who are supporting families. In the meantime, contact the childcare provider organization. 

The Benson Wellness Center is OPEN!    The Benson Wellness Center, located at 546 NE 12^th Ave., is now open for in-person (T & Th 1-4pm, W 8-12pm) and virtual visits (M-F 8-5pm) for students aged 7-18. Appointments are available for BOTH mental health and physical wellness, as well as for flu and all other vaccinations. 

To SCHEDULE an appointment:

1. Call OHSU Registrar and register each person needing an appointment at 503-494-8505 (if you've not been seen there before)
2. Leave a Message for Reva at the Benson Wellness Center at 503-418-0409 with your call back information
3. Reva will call back and schedule an appointment, appointments are readily available

Student Health Centers at Roosevelt, David Douglas, and Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. 

Updates to Meal Service as Weather Changes, Distance Learning Continues    PPS will be pausing meal services at Clarendon, Sacajawea and Harriet Tubman Middle School due to low participation starting November 1^st. To see the full list of meal sites, please visit the Nutrition Sites During Distance Learning website. 

Starting November 2, our grab-and-go curbside serving locations will be open from 3 to 4:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  

Finally, PPS is re-opening access to home meal deliveries for PPS families that are not near a meal site or need assistance accessing meals. To request meal delivery service, please complete the request form. 

School Vaccination Requirements and Reminders    Immunizations are an important part of keeping our kids and community safe from certain diseases. That is why vaccines are required for school. Click here to see what immunizations are required for your child’s grade. Fall is a great time to catch-up on vaccines and get your yearly flu shots. Students need to be up-to-date on vaccines or give the school documentation of an exemption by early January, so that your child is not at risk of being excluded from school. Exclusion day is February 17, 2021.

Free Flu Shots   Legacy Health is offering free flu shots in November. Click here for more information. 

Friday, October 30, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears,

One more hour this Sunday, I hope you all enjoy it!

Conferences: PPS elementary students will receive a report card 3 times per year. In lieu of quarter 1 report cards, families will receive a quarter one summary report to be shared during parent teacher conferences. For all families who can’t make it to conferences, please work with your teacher to schedule a phone conference, and we will send the quarter 1 summary notes home in December. 

To respect the time of our teachers and to ensure we are offering enough time slots for every single student, families are asked to sign up for one conference slot per student. If this does not work for your family, please reach out to your teacher before signing up for an additional slot. Teachers will be sending out conference sign up links on Wednesday, November 4. Conferences will mostly be held on November 23 and 24. Some teachers will hold conferences during other times to accommodate for family schedules.  

Work around the building: The district has started work in and around the building to prepare for possibilities of hybrid or in person learning. You will soon notice dots being painted outside of the building to help with physical distancing efforts. Again, the district will remain in Comprehensive Distance Learning until January 28.  

Buckman’s Site Council: The purpose of our Buckman Site Council is to address school improvement plans and staff development. The team is composed of teachers, classified staff, administrator, parent/guardians and community members. The team works towards our school’s continuous improvement plans (SCIP Plan) which includes our school’s academic and school climate/culture goals. Please let me know if you would like to be a part of this team. We meet 4-6 times per year at 8am. 

Teaching during an election year: You may have noticed some classrooms engaging in lessons and conversations around the upcoming election. Next week, as a community, we must be prepared to hold space, no matter what the outcome is. As a staff, we know that students may have questions and that many of you are discussing family values and beliefs at home. “As educators, we have an important responsibility to prepare our students with an understanding of the civic participation necessary for our democracy to thrive.” – Superintendent Guerrero

 To note:

• All PPS buildings will close at 4pm on Tuesday. This is in anticipation for any potential election day/evening protests or gatherings.
• All staff have been trained in the difference between Hate Speech (prohibited), Political Speech (not allowed), and speaking on topics of Racial Equity and Social Justice (encouraged). 

Take care everyone, 

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

•        Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up and drop off
•        Mon/Wed/Fri 3-4:30pm - Grab and Go meals for students
•        11/6 Grading Day - no school 
•        11/9  5:30pm ESL family night: join using code Spectorclassmeeting
•        11/9  8:30am, 7pm: Buckman Community Meeting, google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting
•        11/11 Veteran’s Day - no school
•        11/12-11/24 Parent Teacher Conferences
•       11/25-11/27 Thanksgiving Break-no school

Online Raffle    TODAY (October 30) will be the last chance to purchase raffle tickets for the Astoria House and Scamp Trailer giveaway! Tickets are $20 each; all funds raised will go towards staffing positions at Buckman for the 2021-2022 school year. Buy 5 tickets, get one free! BONUS: get one free entry by sharing your family’s fall or Halloween art! Share your entry in the Buckman Community Facebook group (request to join, if you haven’t already!) or send an email with an attached photo to foundation@buckmanelementary.org.

Dines Out   This month's Dines Out will be at Por Que No (4635 SE Hawthorne) on Wednesday, November 11, from 4-9pm. Stop by this friendly neighborhood taqueria; kids menu and meal kits are available for take-out! Whatever you grab, 10% of proceeds will go towards the Buckman Foundation.

·       Book Bag exchange Mondays & Wednesdays 3pm-5pm (Closed 11/23 &11/25)

·       Mark your calendars: BOOK eFAIR dates 11/21-11/29 (You can start by making your own wish list!)

o   Teachers are currently making wish lists too! (left hand menu “View Wish Lists”)

o   Consider a donation from our Amazon Wish List! Hardback used copies are always welcome!   

Thank you, Buckman Community!   Your generosity at our donation drop-off event resulted in FOUR extra-large boxes full of coats, shoes, and other clothing items. Woot, woot!

We will continue to collect the following (look for the donation box on the Book Bag dates):

• Packaged underwear and socks (various youth sizes)
• Toiletries (e.g., shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.)
• Toilet paper and paper towels

Fundraising Updates   The Charleston Wrap Fundraiser is still going on, but will end November 16^th. Forty percent of sales goes back to Buckman. We’ve raised nearly $2100 so far! It’s all-virtual and has minimal impact on time for our families.  (Participation is completely voluntary.)

To register for the fundraiser, go to www. charlestonwrapstore.com and complete the Start Here: Register Participant form. Buckman's organization ID is: 20270. Trouble registering? Call 1-866-395-2926 and someone can assist you and/or complete the registration for you. 

Other Ways to Fundraise: did you know you can help raise for PTA without any additional purchases required? Find out how ordinary purchases at Fred Meyer and Amazon can support the PTA.

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership!

Season of Sharing Requests   Wishlist forms are here! Get one through your student's teacher or complete one online here.  

Thanksgiving Food Boxes   Sign up for one from Sunshine Division here. 

SUN Winter Term   New SUN clubs are coming for November 30-January 28th. Registration opens next week.  

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is Back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Complete this survey or reach out to Katie Olson, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during book distribution at the upper playground every Monday & Wednesday from 3-5pm. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

Champions Childcare Still Available!   Champions, a PPS childcare contractor, has several open spots in their programs at Lent and Creston Elementary Schools.   Welcome to Champions.M4V

Families may be eligible for childcare benefits covered by Employment Related Day Care (ERDC): ERDC has raised the income limits to 250% of the poverty rate to allow many more families who usually wouldn’t meet eligibility. For qualifying families, ERDC covers most or all childcare costs. Qualifying families must be working and make less than 250% of the poverty rate. Click here for more details or to access this information in other languages. 

You can also email Sierra Warren or the child care team at childcareservices@pps.net with any general childcare questions.

The Benson Wellness Center is OPEN!    The Benson Wellness Center, located at 546 NE 12^th Ave., is now open for in-person (T & Th 1-4pm, W 8-12pm) and virtual visits (M-F 8-5pm) for students aged 7-18. Appointments are available for BOTH mental health and physical wellness, as well as for flu and all other vaccinations. 

To SCHEDULE an appointment:

1. Call OHSU Registrar and register each person needing an appointment at 503-494-8505 (if you've not been seen there before)
2. Leave a Message for Reva at the Benson Wellness Center at 503-418-0409 with your call back information
3. Reva will call back and schedule an appointment, appointments are readily available

Student Health Centers at Roosevelt, David Douglas, and Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers.

Updates to Meal Service as Weather Changes, Distance Learning Continues    PPS will be pausing meal services at Clarendon, Sacajawea and Harriet Tubman Middle School due to low participation starting November 1^st. To see the full list of meal sites, please visit the Nutrition Sites During Distance Learning website.  

Starting November 2, our grab-and-go curbside serving locations will be open from 3 to 4:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

Finally, PPS is re-opening access to home meal deliveries for PPS families that are not near a meal site or need assistance accessing meals. To request meal delivery service, please complete the request form.

OTHER NEWS

School Vaccination Requirements and Reminders    Immunizations are an important part of keeping our kids and community safe from certain diseases. That is why vaccines are required for school. Click here to see what immunizations are required for your child’s grade. Fall is a great time to catch-up on vaccines and get your yearly flu shots. Students need to be up-to-date on vaccines or give the school documentation of an exemption by early January, so that your child is not at risk of being excluded from school. Exclusion day is February 17, 2021.

Free Flu Shots   Legacy Health is offering free flu shots in November. Click here for more information.

Friday, October 23, 2020

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up and drop off
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students
• 11/1 Daylight savings ends 
• 11/6 Grading Day - no school 
• 11/9  5:30pm ESL family night: join using code BuckmanESL
• 11/9  8:30am, 7pm: Buckman Community Meeting, google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting

Online Raffle    ’Tis the season for a spooky Halloween raffle! In lieu of our traditional Bowl-A-Ween event, we’re hosting an online raffle to raise funds for the Buckman Foundation. Enter for a chance to win a Fall getaway of your choice: three nights at the Astoria House or a camping-in-style adventure in the Scamp Trailer. Tickets are $20 each; all funds raised will go towards staffing positions at Buckman for the 2021-2022 school year. Buy 5 tickets, get one free! BONUS: get one free entry by sharing your family’s Fall or Halloween art! Share your entry in the Buckman Community Facebook group (request to join, if you haven’t already) or send an email with an attached photo to foundation@buckmanelementary.org. Carved pumpkins, drawings, paintings, a Halloween rap… it’s all fair game! Click here (https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/raffle) to purchase raffle tickets any time until midnight on October 30th; one randomly selected winner for each getaway will be announced and contacted at 10am on October 31st!

• Mark your calendars: BOOK eFAIR dates 11/21-11/29 (You can start by making a wish list!)
• Monthly Reading Activity Calendars posted the first of each month. EPIC! class code: czs3110
• New books are being added to Let's Get Reading book bags (M&W; 3-5p) every week! Consider a donation from our Amazon Wish List! Hardback used copies are always welcome! 
• How can students READ during distance learning? (ebooks, Epic code, research links and more!)  

Donation Drop Off This Saturday!   We're rallying our community one last time for the PTA/SUN Clothing Drive. Drive by the school (near the upper playground entrance) this Saturday, from 9-11 AM, and drop off any gently used clothing, shoes, and other donations. You don't even have to get out of your car! We'll meet you (masked and gloved), take your donation, and send you off with a Delicious Donut. 

We are in significant need of the following:

• Packaged underwear and socks (various youth sizes)
• Toiletries
• Paper products (e.g., toilet paper and paper towels)
• Gently used coats, rain boats, and other cold weather clothing items (various youth and adult sizes)

FYI - Fred Meyer currently has a "buy one get one half off" sale on socks and underwear.  

Charleston Wrap Fundraiser We have officially started our Fall Fundraiser with Charleston Wrap.  Charleston Wrap gives 40% of sales back to Buckman! It’s all virtual and has minimal impact on time for our families.  As with all Buckman fundraisers, participation is completely voluntary. 

To register for the fundraiser, go to www. charlestonwrapstore.com and complete the Start Here: Register Participant form. Buckman's organization ID is: 20270. 

If you are having trouble registering, please call 1-866-395-2926 and someone can assist you and/or complete the registration for you.

Other Ways to Fundraise  Did you know you can help raise for PTA without any additional purchases required? Find out how ordinary purchases at Fred Meyer and Amazon can support the PTA. 

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership! 

SUN Winter Term    The fall term is wrapping up and we will be doing a short winter term. Keep an eye out for new club registration starting soon!

Family Equity Team    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during book distribution at the upper playground every Monday and Wednesday between 3 and 5pm.

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

Updates to Meal Service as Weather Changes, Distance Learning Continues    With the announcement that Portland Public Schools is extending Comprehensive Distance Learning through at least January 28, we want to make you aware of upcoming updates to our meal service as we adjust to the coming colder weather and shorter days.

We will be pausing services at Clarendon, Sacajawea and Harriet Tubman Middle School due to low participation. The last day of service at these three locations will be Friday, October 30. Families who have been visiting these sites are encouraged to visit one of the other PPS meal sites close by or request home meal delivery. 

Starting November 2, our grab-and-go curbside serving locations will be open from 3 to 4:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Some schools might shift their serving location on campus to help keep employees dry and visible. To see the full list of meal sites, please visit the Nutrition Sites During Distance Learning website. 

Finally, we are re-opening access to home meal deliveries, a service for PPS families that are not near a meal site or need assistance accessing meals. To request meal delivery service, please complete the request form. We continue to assess the capacity of both the Nutrition Services and Transportation departments and will keep you apprised of any updates we make to our services.

If you have any questions about our meal service, please contact us at nutritionservices@pps.net. English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali

Pandemic EBT Update for Families    The Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) was approved to provide additional Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits to eligible students enrolled from July 1 - September 22. Similar to the spring, benefits are provided to children who receive free or reduced price school meals through the National School Lunch Program that are not attending school in-person.

Every child who is eligible will receive at least $100 and some will receive more benefits based on when school began. The initial $100 benefits were distributed on September 28th. If a child qualifies for any additional benefits beyond $100, this will be provided through a second deposit. Eligible students who receive Oregon SNAP benefits, or who received an Oregon EBT card in the mail with P-EBT benefits in the past, received these September P-EBT benefits on their existing Oregon EBT card. For lost EBT cards, families can request a new one by calling a local ODHS office or calling the EBT replacement line 1-855-328-6715.

If eligible families did not receive P-EBT benefits, they can send an email to the PPS Meal Benefits Office at mealbenefits@pps.net with the following information: Student name, school name, and parent contact information (address, phone). Once the student is verified as eligible an email will be sent to the P-EBT email address (ebt.schoolmeals@dhsoha.state.or.us) on the behalf of the family for follow up.

Middle/High School Transfer Cycle    Here are the dates for the upcoming Middle/High School Transfer Cycle. More details to follow.  

Thursday November 12:  Middle and High School transfer and dual assignment applications available.  Current 5th & 8th grade students will receive letters home that week containing their forecast school and transfer options.

Friday, December 11: Application deadline.  
Mid-January:  Run lottery, notify families of results
Early February: Final transfer results loaded into Synergy. 

Information about virtual open houses and other updates will be available soon.

Meal Applications    While meals are served at no cost to children ages 1-18 at several Portland Public School sites through December, there are several benefits for eligible families to submit a meal application this school year.

• To ensure eligible students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals continue to receive meals at no cost for the entire school year (past December)
• Families approved for free and reduced-price meals may be eligible to receive future potential government assistance such as Pandemic EBT benefits.  
• Families may be eligible for other benefits such as school related fee reduction or waivers, low cost internet and health coverage.

Families have the following options to submit a meal application:

1. Online at www.schoolcafe.com/pps.
2. Print, complete and mail back a paper meal application (https://www.pps.net/Page/2464) to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227.
3. Request a paper meal application be mailed home from mealbenefits@pps.net or call 503.916.3402.

Families do not need to submit a meal application if any of the following apply:

•  A meal application has been submitted and approved for the 2020-21 school year.
• The household received a 2020-21 Direct Certification Approval letter.
• All students in the household attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school (list located online: https://www.pps.net/Page/2088) where students eat meals at no cost.
• The household does not meet the Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines

For meal benefits related questions, please call 503.916.3402 or email mealbenefits@pps.net. 

Student Health Center    This fall, while schools are engaged in Comprehensive Distance Learning, PPS Roosevelt Student Health Center will be open starting Monday, September 14^th for phone, video and in-person visits. Monday-Thursday  8:45 am-4:45 pm and Friday for phone and video appointments only. Call 503-988-3909 to make an appointment. 

Any Multnomah County K-12 youth can visit the center and there are no out of pocket costs. We also can connect students and their families with community resources for food or help with medical insurance. 

Student Health Centers at David Douglas & Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. Stay connected via Facebook and Instagram.

Link to fliers in multiple languages: English   Spanish   Chinese   Russian   Somali   Vietnamese 

Friday, October 16, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears,

Community Meeting: If you missed our community meeting, here are the slides that our Social Worker, Anne Mulligan-Brinson, presented on Parenting During Covid. Here is the TAG Presentation from that day as well. Our next community meeting will be Monday, November 9 at 8:30am and 7pm, and the theme will be “Family Fun with SUN!”.

Family Equity Team: Attention all parents of students of color - we hope you can join us for a Family Equity Team meeting this Tuesday, October 20, from 6-7pm at google meets code: BuckmanFET. We hope to see many of you there to connect with one another! 

Seesaw updates: Is Seesaw proving to be overwhelming? Watch this video on how to view assignments in a calendar view, as well as other new tips and pointers from Seesaw!

PPS Academic Calendar for school year 2020-2021: Academic Calendar 2020-21

Have a great weekend everyone!

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up and drop off
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students
• 11/1 Daylight savings ends 
• 11/6 Grading Day - no school 
• 11/9  5:30pm ESL family night: join using code BuckmanESL
• 11/9  8:30am, 7pm: Buckman Community Meeting, google meeting code: BuckmanCommunityMeeting
• 11/11 Veteran’s Day - no school

CHAMPIONS NEWS

Join us for a Champions Virtual Open House this month!

Champions is providing an Extended Learning Program at select PPS schools and in the surrounding Portland area to help kids stay on track with our distance learning curriculum! They are currently taking enrollments at Creston and Lent Schools. Families can visit www.DiscoverChampions.com, call Family Support at 800-246-2154 or contact Champions Area Manager, Sherri Burks at 503-701-3488 or SBurks@DiscoverChampions.com. 

Champions’ programs for students are so much more than basic supervision while you work. I encourage you to attend one of their upcoming Virtual Open Houses to learn all that they’re doing to provide a health and safety conscious program along with space for your child to focus on their schoolwork, including a supportive environment to complete all their assignments and participate in Champions fun.

Champions Virtual Open House

Wednesday, Oct 14 – 7pm

Thursday, Oct 15 – 9am

Tuesday, Oct 20 – 5:30pm

At this event, you’ll have a chance to meet the staff and teachers and learn how Champions is making health and safety a top priority. Additional information will be shared on the latest in state subsidy and ERDC support, allowing more families to attend their programs at virtually little to no cost.

If you’d like to attend, please fill out THIS_LINK and a meeting link will be provided. Thank you and stay well!

FOUNDATION NEWS

Online Raffle    ’Tis the season for a spooky Halloween raffle! In lieu of our traditional Bowl-A-Ween event, we’re hosting an online raffle to raise funds for the Buckman Foundation. Enter for a chance to win a Fall getaway of your choice: three nights at the Astoria House or a camping-in-style adventure in the Scamp Trailer. Tickets are $20 each; all funds raised will go towards staffing positions at Buckman for the 2021-2022 school year. Buy 5 tickets, get one free! BONUS: get one free entry by sharing your family’s Fall or Halloween art! Share your entry in the Buckman Community Facebook group (request to join, if you haven’t already) or send an email with an attached photo to foundation@buckmanelementary.org. Carved pumpkins, drawings, paintings, a Halloween rap… it’s all fair game! Click here (https://buckmanelementary.schoolauction.net/raffle) to purchase raffle tickets any time until midnight on October 30th; one randomly selected winner for each getaway will be announced and contacted at 10am on October 31st!

Dines Out    Thanks to all who came out to Ankeny Tap + Table for the October edition of Dines Out! We are so grateful to community businesses who continue to support Buckman, and to those of you who make it out to support our local restaurants. Stay tuned for details of the next Dines Out coming soon!

LIBRARY NEWS

• Mark your calendars: BOOK eFAIR dates 11/21-11/29
• Monthly Reading Activity Calendars posted the first of each month. EPIC! class code: czs3110
• New books are being added to Let's Get Reading book bags (M&W; 3-5p) every week! Consider a donation from our Amazon Wish List! Hardback used copies are always welcome! 
• How can students READ during distance learning? (ebooks, Epic code, research links and more!)  

PTA NEWS

Our Fall Clothing Drive is Underway!    We are accepting the following donations:

• Gently-used (i.e., no stains or holes) or new fall/winter clothing, rain coats, and winter coats
• Gently-used or new sneakers/shoes
• Packaged underwear and socks
• Toiletries
• Toilet paper and paper towels
• Grocery store gift cards

Drop off locations and times:

- School entrance (school hours only)

- Upper playground on Mondays and Wednesday during Book Bag distribution

- Amanda's house at 114 SE 17th Ave.

- Katie's house at 3324 NE Klickitat Ave. 

Charleston Wrap Fundraiser We have officially started our Fall Fundraiser with Charleston Wrap.  Charleston Wrap gives 40% of sales back to Buckman! It’s all virtual and has minimal impact on time for our families.  As with all Buckman fundraisers, participation is completely voluntary.

To register for the fundraiser, go to www. charlestonwrapstore.com and complete the Start Here: Register Participant form. Buckman's organization ID is: 20270.

If you are having trouble registering, please call 1-866-395-2926 and someone can assist you and/or complete the registration for you.

Other Ways to Fundraise  Did you know you can help raise for PTA without any additional purchases required? Find out how ordinary purchases at Fred Meyer and Amazon can support the PTA. 

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your annual membership!

SUN NEWS

Family Equity Team meeting on October 20^th at 6pm   Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team in their first meeting of the school year at 6pm on October 20th. Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected, and join the meeting by typing the code "BuckmanFET" at meet.google.com. 

The Buckman Newspaper is back!   Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during book distribution at the upper playground every Monday and Wednesday between 3 and 5pm.

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA.

DISTRICT NEWS

Middle/High School Transfer Cycle    Here are the dates for the upcoming Middle/High School Transfer Cycle. More details to follow. 

Thursday November 12:  Middle and High School transfer and dual assignment applications available.  Current 5th & 8th grade students will receive letters home that week containing their forecast school and transfer options.

Friday, December 11: Application deadline.  

Mid-January:  Run lottery, notify families of results

Early February: Final transfer results loaded into Synergy. 

Information about virtual open houses and other updates will be available soon.

Meal Applications    While meals are served at no cost to children ages 1-18 at several Portland Public School sites through December, there are several benefits for eligible families to submit a meal application this school year.

• To ensure eligible students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals continue to receive meals at no cost for the entire school year (past December)
• Families approved for free and reduced-price meals may be eligible to receive future potential government assistance such as Pandemic EBT benefits.  
• Families may be eligible for other benefits such as school related fee reduction or waivers, low cost internet and health coverage.

Families have the following options to submit a meal application:

1. Online at www.schoolcafe.com/pps.
2. Print, complete and mail back a paper meal application (https://www.pps.net/Page/2464) to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227.
3. Request a paper meal application be mailed home from mealbenefits@pps.net or call 503.916.3402.

Families do not need to submit a meal application if any of the following apply:

•  A meal application has been submitted and approved for the 2020-21 school year.
• The household received a 2020-21 Direct Certification Approval letter.
• All students in the household attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school (list located online: https://www.pps.net/Page/2088) where students eat meals at no cost.
• The household does not meet the Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines

For meal benefits related questions, please call 503.916.3402 or email mealbenefits@pps.net. 

Student Health Center    This fall, while schools are engaged in Comprehensive Distance Learning, PPS Roosevelt Student Health Center will be open starting Monday, September 14^th for phone, video and in-person visits. Monday-Thursday  8:45 am-4:45 pm and Friday for phone and video appointments only. Call 503-988-3909 to make an appointment. 

Any Multnomah County K-12 youth can visit the center and there are no out of pocket costs. We also can connect students and their families with community resources for food or help with medical insurance.  

Student Health Centers at David Douglas & Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. Stay connected via Facebook and Instagram.

Link to fliers in multiple languages: English   Spanish   Chinese   Russian   Somali   Vietnamese 

Friday, October 2, 2020

Hello Buckman Families,

I want to shout from the rooftop how regularly amazed and proud I am of your students. This week in classes, I heard students discussing the intersectionality of gender and race and more, I heard students share strong opinions on the presidential candidates (and their teachers gently steering them away from the candidates and back to the electoral process), I saw amazing artwork and cute pictures of siblings working together posted on Seesaw, and I also listened to a bilingual 3rd grader have a conversation in Mandarin Chinese with my mom! For all of the challenges of distance learning, I hope you and your family know that the brightest moments always involve your Buckman Bears! Now, onto the updates for this week:

MAP Assessment: The MAP assessment has been put on hold for now. Instead, teachers will be using their own grade level assessments to get to know your students and to form small groups for instruction. 

Headsets: We have a limited number of headsets available to students who are SpEd, ESL, or in kindergarten. These headsets have built in microphones. Please come to a meal pickup time to pick one up, or call the office if you need one or want one delivered to your home.  

Family Equity Team: huge thank you to Marina Heitz and the FET for inviting us to listen to Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race, during her livestream this past Tuesday evening. A Pacific NW native, she instantly made a connection with me and also told us in no uncertain terms that the time for change is now, and the agents for change are all of us. Chcek here for details on the event and where the livestream video will soon be uploaded.

And a final reminder, no school next Friday as it is a statewide inservice. Have a great weekend.

Warmly,

Teresa

Important dates and reminders:

• Ongoing and as needed: Chromebook/hotspot/headphone Pickup (Call school office for Appointment)
• Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Library book bag pick up and drop off
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals
• 10/9 Statewide inservice - no school
• 10/10 District to decide on format of second quarter  
• 10/12 8:30am, 7pm Buckman Community: join using code BuckmanCommunityMeeting
• 10/12 5:30pm TAG family night: join using code BuckmanTAG
• 10/12 6pm Buckman PTA meeting: Join using code BuckmanPTA
• 11/9  5:30pm ESL family night: join using code BuckmanESL
• 11/9  8:30am, 7pm: Buckman Community Meeting

Check out the new Buckman School Counseling website!  Highlights include:

• The Hedgehog Blog, updated daily with photos of kids taking care of class hedgehogs at home 
• Form for students to request a check-in with Ms. Jess
• Links to community resources and Anne's Virtual Social Work Office
• Coming Soon: Buckman Newspaper, a blog of student contributions through the 3rd-5th grade SUN class that has rolling open enrollment. 3rd-5th graders, come Thursdays at 3:00 to https://meet.google.com/gpk-mczq-czq

Family Changes Group    Anne Mulligan-Brinson (school social worker), and Cara Vangorder-Lasof (school counseling intern) are forming a group for students who have divorced or separated parents, to build community, skills, and resiliency. The first set of groups will be October through November; if there is a large demand, we will have another round beginning January 2021. If you are interested please sign up here. 

An information session will be held October 5th, 7-7:30 PM if you would like to learn more. Use the code BuckmanFamilyChanges on GoogleMeet. 

Questions? Email Anne at amulligabrinson@pps.net

Apparel sales    Apparel and Scrip sales will now happen on the following Wednesdays during library book pick-ups: Oct 7^th, Oct 21^st, and Nov 18^th from 3-5pm. You can find us on the upper playground. The new cotton face masks were a big hit at our first apparel sales of the year (adult and kid sizes - $10 each). 

Dines-Out   Our next Dines-Out is at Ankeny Tap and Table on October 14^th from 4-8pm.  Take-out, or patio seating (street closed off in front of the restaurant with socially distanced tables) available.  

We are working on filling our Dines-Out schedule for the school year; if you know of a restaurant that would be interested in hosting, please contact foundation@Buckmanelementary.org. 

• Asynchronous Library activities start Monday 10/5 in each student’s Library Seesaw class. 
• How can students READ during distance learning? (ebooks, Epic code, research links and more!)
• New books are being added to bags every week! Consider a donation from our Amazon Wish List! Hardback “used” copies are always welcome! Many thanks in supporting our 21st century literacy library!   
• "Let's Get Reading" book bag pickup/return every Mon & Wed 3-5pm. 
  • Students can submit questions in this FlipGrid
  • Please return bags of books when picking up new bags. Do not leave bags unattended at Buckman. Thank you!

PTA General Meeting    Our first PTA general meeting is around the corner and will coincide with the Buckman community meeting scheduled for Monday, October 12^th at 6pm. We invite you to get to know a little more about Buckman PTA and our school community. To join, use this meeting link. 

Fall Clothing Drive    PTA and SUN will be working together in the coming weeks to collect clothes and household donations for our families-in-need. Specifically, we need:

• Gently-used or new fall/winter clothing, rain coats, and winter coats (various children’s sizes)
• Gently-used or new sneakers/shoes
• Packages of underwear and socks
• Toiletries
• Toilet paper and paper towels
• Grocery store gift cards

Please stay tuned for more information and drop off dates. 

Charleston Wrap Fundraiser We have officially started our Fall Fundraiser with Charleston Wrap.  Charleston Wrap gives 40% of sales back to Buckman! It’s all virtual and has minimal impact on time for our families.  As with all Buckman fundraisers, participation is completely voluntary.

To register for the fundraiser, go to www. charlestonwrapstore.com and complete the Start Here: Register Participant form. Buckman's organization ID is: 20270.

If you are having trouble registering, please call 1-866-395-2926 and someone can assist you and/or complete the registration for you. 

Scrip    Scrip sales are now on select Wednesdays from 3-5pm. Bottledrop bags and back to school packets are also available for pick up at this time.  

PTA Membership    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online to join or renew your membership!

Room Parents and 2021-2022 Board Members Needed!  Learn more at our general meeting or email us at pta@buckmanelementary.org. 

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during meal distribution along Pine St. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 3 and 5pm.

Save the date for a virtual Family Equity Team meeting on October 20^th    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected.

The Buckman Newspaper is back!  Find published content by third, fourth, and fifth grade SUN students here. Check back weekly to see the latest! 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

STEM Workshops for Students in Grades K-4    The University of Portland robotics team is hosting asynchronous Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) lessons which will be posted every other week! Please see attached flyer to start getting involved in STEM activities specifically designed for your, or your kid's, age level. Through this program, we aim to encourage more students to engage in STEM education and expand a love for STEM in kids in grades k-12. This program is hosted by the University of Portland robotics team is a group of undergraduate students which competes yearly in the NASA's Robotics Mining Competition (RMC).

If you want to register fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xFKVszNwokrnkJbu8

STEM Workshops for Students in Grades 5-8    The University of Portland robotics team is hosting asynchronous Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) lessons which will be posted every other week! Please see attached flyer to start getting involved in STEM activities specifically designed for your, or your kid's, age level. Through this program, we aim to encourage more students to engage in STEM education and expand a love for STEM in kids in grades k-12. This program is hosted by the University of Portland robotics team is a group of undergraduate students which competes yearly in the NASA's Robotics Mining Competition (RMC).

If you want to register fill out this form: https://forms.gle/xFKVszNwokrnkJbu8

Meal Applications    While meals are served at no cost to children ages 1-18 at several Portland Public School sites through December, there are several benefits for eligible families to submit a meal application this school year.

• To ensure eligible students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals continue to receive meals at no cost for the entire school year (past December)
• Families approved for free and reduced-price meals may be eligible to receive future potential government assistance such as Pandemic EBT benefits.  
• Families may be eligible for other benefits such as school related fee reduction or waivers, low cost internet and health coverage.

Families have the following options to submit a meal application:

1. Online at www.schoolcafe.com/pps.
2. Print, complete and mail back a paper meal application (https://www.pps.net/Page/2464) to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227.
3. Request a paper meal application be mailed home from mealbenefits@pps.net or call 503.916.3402.

Families do not need to submit a meal application if any of the following apply:

•  A meal application has been submitted and approved for the 2020-21 school year.
• The household received a 2020-21 Direct Certification Approval letter.
• All students in the household attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school (list located online: https://www.pps.net/Page/2088) where students eat meals at no cost.
• The household does not meet the Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines

 For meal benefits related questions, please call 503.916.3402 or email mealbenefits@pps.net.

Home Meal Delivery Sign up End September 30 and other NS Updates    A reminder that the home meal delivery request form will be closed after September 30th.  Home meal deliveries will continue to be offered while in the comprehensive distance learning platform for all PPS students.  Thank you to everyone who has supported families with this process and connecting them to food resources.  All families in the community are still encouraged to visit one of our 38 school sites for free meals for all PPS students and children ages 1-18 years every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3-5pm.  Please note that our services will not be open on the statewide inservice date, Friday, October 9th.  For the week of October 5th, meals will be served and delivered on Monday, October 5th (3 days worth of meals per child) and Wednesday, October 7th (4 days worth of meals).  Even with no service on Friday, there will be no change in the amount of food offered during the week. For questions about meal services, contact nutritionservices@pps.net 

PPS SE Guiding Coalition    PPS school boundaries are being revised in SE Portland. Kellogg Middle School will be opening 2021 and K-8 schools will be reconfigured. The district will be rebalancing classroom sizes in Southeast. Parent Jeff Burns is representing Buckman School during PPS conversations and would love to hear your feedback and concerns. Contact via Konstella.

Childcare Update    In addition to community childcare programs that are available citywide, seven partner organizations will offer licensed childcare in 11 PPS schools during Comprehensive Distance Learning. The programs will be phased in starting next week:

Sept. 28:  Beach, Creston, King, Rigler 
Oct. 5:     Hayhurst, James John, MLC, Vestal, Winterhaven
Oct. 12:   Irvington, Lent

To register for childcare, click on the flyer below. Information below is included on the flyer. 
English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaal   

Childcare programs

• Accept children ages 5 - 12. 
• Enroll no more than 30-40 students per school. 
• Set aside 50% of the slots for families qualifying for state subsidies. Low rates last for one year if subsidy is approved by Oct. 31, 2020. State subsidy application is here. 
• Enroll PPS students and children of PPS employees regardless of which school children are enrolled in. 
• Follow strict licensing guidelines including stable cohorts, face coverings, hand hygiene, routine cleaning and sanitation, parent drop-off/pick-up outside of the school building. 

SUN site managers, coordinators and community agents have been trained to support families in accessing childcare, as well as trained in supporting students during distance learning.

For more information, visit the PPS Child Care website.  

Covid Testing Event    Click here for more information on this event. 

Student Health Center    This fall, while schools are engaged in Comprehensive Distance Learning, PPS Roosevelt Student Health Center will be open starting Monday, September 14^th for phone, video and in-person visits. Monday-Thursday  8:45 am-4:45 pm and Friday for phone and video appointments only. Call 503-988-3909 to make an appointment.  

Any Multnomah County K-12 youth can visit the center and there are no out of pocket costs. We also can connect students and their families with community resources for food or help with medical insurance. 

Student Health Centers at David Douglas & Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. Stay connected via Facebook and Instagram.

Link to fliers in multiple languages: English   Spanish   Chinese   Russian   Somali   Vietnamese 

Friday, September 25, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears, 

The seasons have changed, rain is here, and folks are flooded with emails and communication. I hear the feedback, too many emails and too much information at once. I agree! Here are the (shortened, bulleted and bolded for easier reading) updates for this week:

-Library pickup: The Buckman Library has been in full swing with the first week of book bag pick up. Over 200 book bags were checked out! Ms. Rudnick (Teacher-Librarian) and Ms. Katie (SUN director) felt like gift deliverers handing these treasures out to students that have been devouring new titles they didn't even know they liked. If you didn't get a bag this week, no fear! All families can pick up (and drop off) bags of books any Monday & Wednesday, 3-5pm on the upper playground.

-Meals: M/W/F 3-5pm at Buckman, free for all kids ages 1-18 

-Chromebooks/headphones/hotspots: We have Chromebooks and headphones for any student who needs it, but the district is waiting for another shipment of hotspots. If you need a hotspot, please call or email the front office (sbruner@pps.net) to get put on the list.  

-Buckman Bites Lunch Bunch: Come join Mr. Rudolph for lunch!  Take this opportunity to enjoy the company of your classmates, as well as get to know Buckman’s Climate Specialist.  Together we will build relationships and strengthen our Buckman community.  Be prepared to be stumped by Mr. Rudolph’s riddles and laugh uncontrollably at his dad jokes.  Silly stories and kid jokes are highly encouraged. Meeting link: g.co/meet/buckmanbites

When: 1st grade - Mondays 12:15-12:45 

               2nd grade - Tuesdays 12:15-12:45

               3rd grade - Wednesdays 12:15-12:45

               4th grade - Thursdays 12:15-12:45

               5th grade - Fridays 12:15-12:45

-Family Equity Team: Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Do you want to be in community with other parents and caregivers of color at Buckman? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie (kolson@impactnw.org) or Teresa (tseidel@pps.net) to get connected. Join us online for a quick check-in with the Family Equity Team (FET) next Tuesday (9/29) at 6:40pm, before watching a livestream event with guest speaker Ijeoma Oluo, hosted by Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries.  

Take care everyone, 

Teresa Seidel

Principal 

Important dates and reminders:

• Ongoing and as needed: Chromebook/hotspot/headphone Pickup (Call school office for Appointment)
• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals
• 10/10 District to decide on format of second quarter  
• 10/12 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Community and joint PTA meeting Meeting
• 10/12 5:30pm TAG family night Meeting  

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during meal distribution along Pine St. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 3 and 5pm. 

Anti-Racist Movement at Buckman    Looking for ways to get involved in the anti-racist movement with Buckman? Join us online for a quick check-in with the Family Equity Team (FET) next Tuesday (9/29) at 6:40pm, before watching a livestream event with guest speaker Ijeoma Oluo, hosted by Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

Family Changes Group    Anne Mulligan-Brinson (school social worker), and Cara Vangorder-Lasof (school counseling intern) are forming a group for students who have divorced or separated parents, to build community, skills, and resiliency. The first set of groups will be October through November; if there is a large demand, we will have another round beginning January 2021. If you are interested please sign up here. 

An information session will be held October 5th, 7-7:30 PM if you would like to learn more. Use the code BuckmanFamilyChanges on GoogleMeet.

Questions? Email Anne at amulligabrinson@pps.net

How can students READ during distance learning? (ebooks, Epic code, research links and more!)

"Let's Get Reading" book bag pickup/return every Mon & Wed 3-5pm.

• Students can submit questions in this FlipGrid
• Please return bags of books when picking up new bags. Do not leave bags unattended at Buckman. Thank you!
• New books are being added to bags every week! Consider a donation from our Amazon Wish List! Hardback “used” copies are always welcome! Many thanks in supporting our 21st century literacy library!    

Join Us and Become a Member!    Become an advocate for your student and our school. Membership is $12/person or $20/household. Sign up online! 

New Fundraising Opportunity   With an uncertain year ahead of us, we are offering a fall fundraising opportunity. It’s easy to sign up and 100% virtual. Check out this flyer for details. 

Scrip    Scrip sales are now on Wednesdays from 3-5pm. Bottledrop bags and back to school packets will also be available for pick up at this time. 

Website Help and Volunteers Needed!    Our school website, buckmanelementary.org, needs some TLC. Please email Amanda or Katie at pta@buckmanelementary.org if interested in helping us revamp and maintain this parent-run site.  We are also in need of room parents and individuals interested in joining next term’s PTA executive board. Email us for more information! 

Apparel sales    Apparel and Scrip sales will now happen on the following Wednesdays during library book pick-ups: Oct 7^th, Oct 21^st, and Nov 18^th from 3-5pm. You can find us on the upper playground. The new cotton face masks were a big hit at our first apparel sales of the year (adult and kid sizes - $10 each). 

Dines-Out    Thank you Buckman for making the Screen Door Dines-Out a great success! They sold out of brisket!  We are hoping to schedule another Screen Door event in the spring, so stay posted. Our next Dines-Out is at Ankeny Tap and Table on October 14^th from 4-8pm.  Take-out, or patio seating (street closed off in front of the restaurant with socially distanced tables) available. 

We are working on filling our Dines-Out schedule for the school year; if you know of a restaurant that would be interested in hosting, please contact foundation@Buckmanelementary.org. 

PPS SE Guiding Coalition    PPS school boundaries are being revised in SE Portland. Kellogg Middle School will be opening 2021 and K-8 schools will be reconfigured. The district will be rebalancing classroom sizes in Southeast. Parent Jeff Burns is representing Buckman School during PPS conversations and would love to hear your feedback and concerns. Contact via Konstella.

Childcare Update    In addition to community childcare programs that are available citywide, seven partner organizations will offer licensed childcare in 11 PPS schools during Comprehensive Distance Learning. The programs will be phased in starting next week:

Sept. 28:  Beach, Creston, King, Rigler 
Oct. 5:     Hayhurst, James John, MLC, Vestal, Winterhaven
Oct. 12:   Irvington, Lent

To register for childcare, click on the flyer below. Information below is included on the flyer. 
English | Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaal  

Childcare programs

• Accept children ages 5 - 12. 
• Enroll no more than 30-40 students per school. 
• Set aside 50% of the slots for families qualifying for state subsidies. Low rates last for one year if subsidy is approved by Oct. 31, 2020. State subsidy application is here. 
• Enroll PPS students and children of PPS employees regardless of which school children are enrolled in. 
• Follow strict licensing guidelines including stable cohorts, face coverings, hand hygiene, routine cleaning and sanitation, parent drop-off/pick-up outside of the school building. 

SUN site managers, coordinators and community agents have been trained to support families in accessing childcare, as well as trained in supporting students during distance learning.

For more information, visit the PPS Child Care website. 

Covid Testing Event    Click here for more information on this event.  

Student Health Center    This fall, while schools are engaged in Comprehensive Distance Learning, PPS Roosevelt Student Health Center will be open starting Monday, September 14^th for phone, video and in-person visits. Monday-Thursday  8:45 am-4:45 pm and Friday for phone and video appointments only. Call 503-988-3909 to make an appointment. 

Any Multnomah County K-12 youth can visit the center and there are no out of pocket costs. We also can connect students and their families with community resources for food or help with medical insurance.  

Student Health Centers at David Douglas & Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. Stay connected via Facebook and Instagram.

Link to fliers in multiple languages: English   Spanish   Chinese   Russian   Somali   Vietnamese 

Friday, September 18, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears,

September 15-October 15, is National Hispanic Heritage Month. If you would like to be a guest speaker in your child’s/children’s classrooms, we invite you to let your child’s teacher know you are interested in being a guest speaker. Check out these videos from OPB to learn more about unsung heroes and dive into Hispanic Heritage.

Thanks to those who attended our first ever Virtual Open House. Here are the slides we used to talk about our programs at Buckman and the student rights and responsibility handbook. Also, huge shout out to PTA and Green Team for donations of supplies, books, headphones and time, getting supplies ready for our students.  

Staffing update: We have been allocated another FTE for our 4th grade! The 4th grade team and I will be conducting interviews next week and I hope to announce our new hire soon. Also, our Therapeutic Intervention Coach position has been inactivated, and funds restored to our Foundation. Coach Alex was assigned here briefly, and then decided to take another position within the district. If we return to in person school, I will revisit opening that position back up.

In a traditional school year, teachers use a variety of assessments to determine where students are at academically. We then use that data to form instructional groups and practices. While we are in digital learning, we will be using a tool that the district has been using in schools for several years now. It is called the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) test. 

The MAP will be administered remotely to all of our K-5 students, in reading and math. Teachers will be given the month of October to administer the test, and they will mostly happen during Synchronous instruction times. The test takes 45-75 minutes to complete, and is designed to where students should get about 50% of the questions correct. Here is the parent guide to the MAP test. Please note how to disable popup blockers, as well as a video on how to set your student up for MAP testing (pro tip - start at minute 5 of the video if you want to see how to log on). Click here to run a diagnostic test to make sure your child’s device will work with the MAP assessment. 

Thanks for hanging in there this week - it has been tough and I am sure many of you are ready for the weekend. Take care everyone.

Warmly,

Teresa 

Important dates and reminders:

• Ongoing and as needed 10am-2pm Chromebook Pickup (Call school office for Appointment)

• Mon/Wed/Fri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals

• 10/10 District to decide on format of second quarter  

• 10/12 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Community Meeting  

SUN NEWS

Resource Assistance and Support    New to Buckman or seeking basic resource support? Buckman SUN can help! Please complete this survey or reach out to Katie, Buckman SUN Site Manager, at kolson@impactnw.org or 503-858-0230. You can also connect with someone from the student/family support team during meal distribution along Pine St every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 3 and 5pm. 

Free online SUN Clubs    Buckman SUN will be offering free SUN clubs virtually this fall! We will host an online origami club for grades K-2 (Thursdays 3-4pm) and an online games club for grades 3-5 (Mondays 3-4pm), beginning September 21st. There will also be a low-cost Tae Kwon Do club on Friday afternoons. Register for all clubs here. This is a great space for students to have more creative and connection opportunities to enrich their learning.   

Anti-Racist Movement at Buckman    Looking for ways to get involved in the anti-racist movement with Buckman? Keep an eye out for announcements to come about Race Forward events and a second round of the Me and White Supremacy book study. 

Family Equity Team (FET)    Are you a parent or caregiver of color? Would you like to help influence what equitable practice looks like at Buckman? Join the Family Equity Team! Reach out to Katie to get connected. 

Support SUN    Wondering how you can help support the SUN program and Buckman families? Buckman SUN is always seeking donations to assist our families in need. You can make donations here (be sure to write "Buckman SUN" in the special program of support field), or purchase Scrip from PTA. 

PTA NEWS

Back to School Information and Packets   Check out the Back to School folder on Konstella (located in “Files and Links” under the “More” tab). There, you’ll find information about PTA, Foundation, SUN, and our parent groups (e.g., Family Equity Team and Green Team), as well as have access to Buckman’s Family Handbook. For those preferring hard copies, back-to-school packets will be available for pick up weekdays in front of the school or during Scrip sales. **Kindergarten families, we have special packets for you and your kindergartener! These will also be available for pick up or email Amanda at pta@buckmanelementary.org. 

Membership:    You can now join Buckman PTA online! To sign up, go to: https://buckman.new.memberhub.store/store. 

Konstella 411:   Don’t forget to update your student’s classroom in Konstella! Log into your account, go to “Your Children”, then “Change Classroom”. This is required to receive classroom-specific communications. If you’re not on Konstella, check out this link for how to join. 

Scrip:    Scrip sales are every other Thursday afternoon from 4-6pm. Bottledrop bags and back to school packets will also be available for pick up at this time. 

Race Talk:    Save the date to join a virtual event on September 29th with Ijeoma Oluo, author of “So You Want to Talk about Race”, hosted by FVRLibraries. Click here for more information. 

Website Help and Volunteers Needed!    Our school website, buckmanelementary.org, needs some TLC. Please email Amanda or Katie at pta@buckmanelementary.org if interested in helping us revamp and maintain this parent-run site.  We are also in need of room parents and individuals interested in joining next term’s PTA executive board. Email us for more information!

LIBRARY NEWS

• "Let's Get Reading" book bag distribution starts 9/21. Please read this FAQ for details.

• Questions about Let’s Get Reading? Students can submit questions in this FlipGrid!

• **NOTE! We have made a change! Book Bag pick up/drop off is every week on M&W 3-5pm for all families starting 9/21!

• How can students READ during distance learning? 

FOUNDATION NEWS

Dines Out:    Our first Buckman Dines Out of the 2020-2021 school year was postponed to Wednesday, September 23! Order pick-up or delivery from neighborhood favorite Screen Door, any time from 11 am to 8 pm that day and Screen Door will donate 10% of proceeds to the Buckman Foundation! Offer is available only until food runs out; pre-orders highly encouraged.

Apparel Sales:    Show your Buckman pride in Buckman apparel during your next Google meeting! Buckman gear (including face masks!) will be available from 4-6 pm in front of the school (credit cards preferred). You can also pick up SCRIP cards to benefit the PTA (cash or check preferred).

DISTRICT NEWS

Student Health Center:    This fall, while schools are engaged in Comprehensive Distance Learning, PPS Roosevelt Student Health Center will be open starting Monday, September 14th for phone, video and in-person visits. Monday-Thursday  8:45 am-4:45 pm and Friday for phone and video appointments only. Call 503-988-3909 to make an appointment. 

Any Multnomah County K-12 youth can visit the center and there are no out of pocket costs. We also can connect students and their families with community resources for food or help with medical insurance. 

Student Health Centers at David Douglas & Parkrose high schools are also open. For more information visit https://multco.us/health/student-health-centers. Stay connected via Facebook and Instagram.

Link to fliers in multiple languages: English   Spanish   Chinese   Russian   Somali   Vietnamese 

Friday, September 11,2020

Hello Buckman Community, 

Before going into school details, appreciations and updates, I need to acknowledge that it is a dark day to recognize the anniversary of 9/11. The phrase “I can’t breathe” can mean so much to so many. When schools and our country shut down last spring, it was because people were getting sick and dying of coronavirus and could not breathe. When George Floyd was murdered by a knee to the neck, he whispered “I can’t breathe”. As we look to the sky and see our beautiful Oregon lands, home to indigenous tribes and nations, covered in dust smoke and fire, Mother Earth is telling us she can’t breathe. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted in the fires that are ripping across our state. May we all join together in supporting our friends, families and neighbors. 

Now that we are transitioning out of our soft start, we will be working more closely with each student in live (synchronous) and not-live (asynchronous) sessions. As a teaching body, we believe in inclusion and a growth mindset. We welcome feedback from all stakeholders. On that note, if you have a concern within the classroom, I encourage your first stop to be with the classroom teacher. Thank you for extending our teachers this professional courtesy. As always, if you have any immediate or confidential concerns, please reach out to me.

I hope you will all be able to join me in our virtual Open House Meeting on Monday. 9/14 8:30am or 6pm. You can join by phone with ‪(US) +1 617-675-4444 PIN: ‪378 754 780 8615#

We will go over the Buckman arts programming, share some Comprehensive Distance Learning updates, and reveal our first ROARS assembly presented by our arts team. For those unable to attend, the presentation slides and assembly will be shared next week as well. Teachers will hold their own “Open House” evening events with families sometime in September.  

Finally, I had the opportunity to visit all of the classrooms this week, and saw firsthand the Buckman Bear spirit in all of your children. I loved seeing the bright eyes of kindergarteners (and their parents and guardians!), the cool calm of fourth graders, the second graders shriek with surprise when they saw our hedgehog animal mascot, the first graders leaping not just with their legs but with their whole bodies during our storytime, and our fifth graders - old enough to do so much independently but still young enough to squeeze their stuffies tight during our read aloud. In the background of it all, we know you are there as the parents and caretakers of our children. We thank you for allowing us into your homes, and for sharing your children with us. Thank you for making the space for distance learning to happen in your family, and for working with us to figure it all out. And if you haven’t figured it all out, well, to be completely honest, I’m right there with you too. 

Warmly,

Teresa 

Important dates and reminders:

• Ongoing and as needed 10am-2pm Chromebook Pickup (Call school office for Appointment)
• Mon/WedFri 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals
• 9/14 First Quarter of School begins (comprehensive distance learning)
• 9/14 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Open House Meeting 
• 10/10 District to decide on format of second quarter  
• 10/12 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Community Meeting  

A MESSAGE FROM THE ARTS TEAM

Dear Buckman Families,

Greetings! We, the Buckman Art Specialists, would like to welcome you to the 2020-21 school year.  We are so looking forward to working with your student(s) in dance, music, and visual art! While it is certain to be a year unlike any other, our mission as art educators remains the same; To provide every student with high quality art instruction across the disciplines and to cultivate students’ curiosity and critical thinking skills. To allow ample opportunities for students to develop their own artistic voices through exploration and composition, and to provide historical and social context for our art forms all the while looking and working through a racial equity and social justice lens. 

Traditionally at Buckman, the arts team collaborates to produce a performance for each grade level.  We are carefully considering what that may look like this year, factoring in the different instruction models that may occur such as hybrid and in person.   At this time, we believe that younger students would benefit from a greatly scaled back sharing experience rather than a traditional performance, with much more emphasis on process rather than product.  For 3rd through 5th grades, we will be creating showcases centered around activism and social justice, with performances delivered in either a home-recorded online format or live performance as conditions allow.  We will continue to update you regarding performances as the year unfolds.

We have each created a short video to help introduce ourselves to your student(s) and to you.  We will be sharing this with our students at some point this fall, but feel free to watch it ahead of time, especially if you are new to Buckman.

Hannah Downs (Dance) Introduction Video

Eric Schopmeyer (Music) Introduction Video

Nicole Penoncello (Visual Arts) Introduction Video 

This year and always, your student(s) physical and mental health are extremely important to us.  Please feel free to email us at any time with any questions or concerns.  We will also be scheduling socially distanced, masked, outside visits with students who would benefit from face to face contact.  More information on that will follow, in the meantime, here’s to a happy and healthy start of the school year!

Sincerely, 

Hannah Downs (Dance) hdowns@pps.net

Eric Schopmeyer (Music) eschopme@pps.net

Nicole Pennencello (Visual Art) npenoncello@pps.net,  Ms. Pen’s webpage

A note about visual art materials from Ms. Pen:

Dear Buckman families,  

As we start the year remotely, I am excited to find creative ways to teach Visual Art to your students. As we did this past spring, we will continue to make art with things we have around in our homes. However, I hope to also teach your children drawing, painting, and sculpting skills, which will require hard materials. Each quarter I will provide a list of materials that your student will need. Should you need them, packets of these materials will be at Buckman Elementary for pick-up on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3-5pm (next to meal pick-up on the north side of the building). If you already have these materials or prefer to purchase them yourselves, that works as well. 

First Quarter Art Material List:

• Watercolor paper or mixed media paper
• Drawing paper or sketchbook (computer paper is fine)
• Watercolor paint set and paint brush

Lessons may also require basic materials like pencils, erasers, rulers, scissors, glue, tape, and something to color with (crayons, markers, or color pencils). These materials will also be available for pick-up on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions.

Sincerely, 

Ms. Pen

FOUNDATION NEWS

Buckman Dines Out – Wednesday, September 16th, all day! We are kicking off our first Dines Out at Screen Door.  Thank you to Buckman parents Sarah and Dan Grill for making this possible. Pre-Orders encouraged at screendoorrestaurant.com. Check out the website for more options, including dessert!  10% of proceeds benefit Buckman. 

Apparel sales    We have postponed our Apparel Sales until next Thursday, September 17th from 4:30-6:30 pm in front of Buckman.  Cotton face masks are in and we have plenty of youth and adult sizes for $10.

LIBRARY NEWS

• PPS "Let's Get Reading" book bag distribution starts 9/21. Please read this FAQ for details.

• Buckman audio and eBooks: Destiny Discover → use the “Learning Links” to search on Sora or TumbleBooks  
• How can students read during distance learning?

PE NEWS

Hello Buckman Bears! I'm excited to see all of our students for LIVE PE sessions this year! Live PE lessons will take place on Tuesdays. Please check the schedule to see what time to log on. **You must use the meeting nickname: evolaclassmeeting or the link: g.co/meet/evolaclassmeeting  to access the PE sessions.  For more information click HERE or email Coach E at sevola@pps.net 

PTA NEWS

Back to School Information and Packets   Check out the Back to School folder on Konstella (located in “Files and Links” under the “More” tab). There, you’ll find information about PTA, Foundation, SUN, our parent groups (e.g., Family Equity Team and Green Team), as well as have access to Buckman’s Family Handbook. For those preferring hard copies, back-to-school packets will be available for pick up weekdays in front of the school or during Scrip sales. **Kindergarten families, we have special packets for you and your kindergartener! These will also be available for pick up or email Amanda at pta@buckmanelementary.org. 

Konstella 411   It’s time to update your student’s classroom in Konstella! Log into your account, go to “Your Children”, then “Change Classroom”. This is required to receive classroom-specific communications. You can also adjust your Konstella notification settings. Log into your account, go to “Account Settings”

 

 

 

Tabitha Teo, she/her pronouns

Buckman SUN Extended Day Coordinator 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tteo@impactnw.org

 

 

 

Katie Olson, she/they pronouns   

Buckman SUN Community School Site Manager  

503-858-0230

kolson@impactnw.org

*hablo español

Friday, August 21, 2020

Dear Buckman Bears, 

Thanks for all who could attend the Buckman School Community Conversation last night. Here is the presentation that was shared for those of you who weren’t able to make it. Those who were there last night saw my first epic fail with technology (and yes, please tell all of your children about it because failure offers opportunity for growth!). We plan on holding monthly virtual meetings to keep communication open and to offer families an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback, and I have figured out how to use Padlet properly now. We may schedule additional meetings as needed. 

Staffing changes for 2020-2021: In 4th grade, we were reduced to 2 teachers. Mr. Rudolph, who taught 4th grade last year will now serve as a School Climate Specialist, supporting all families and teachers with distance learning. All other grade level teachers remain the same, with the exception of 5th grade, where we have hired Sonya Jensen and Alicia Nicholl to join Linda Nichenko. Our Therapeutic Intervention Coach will be Mr. Raheem Alexzander. Due to layoffs and seniority, Mr. Darby’s spot in the district was not protected. We thank Mr. Darby for all that he has done for Buckman and hope to see him back on the staff soon! We also welcome Anne Mulligan-Brinson as our half time Social Worker. 

Chromebooks/Hot Spots: If your child needs a Chromebook or hotspot, please email Karen Cathcart, our school secretary, at kcathcar@pps.net. If you are preparing your own at home learning space, Buckman recommends having pencils, a writing notebook, a pair of scissors, a ruler, markers/crayons/color pencils, post it notes, index cards, and construction paper at hand. Headphones will be nice for class meetings. Your teachers will also be providing material lists that are specific to their classrooms. The school also has supplies and materials ready to distribute to families. Please email kcathcar@pps.net if you would like some school supplies as well! 

I know there is a lot of information coming at you - sometimes all at once and sometimes not enough. Please don’t hesitate to email me directly with any of your questions or needs (tseidel@pps.net). Thank you all so much for your patience, kindness, empathy and care towards one another. Although we cannot be there in person, each and every one of your children are in our hearts.  

Warmly,

Teresa Seidel

Principal, Buckman

Important dates and reminders:

• 8/24-8/28, 10am-2pm Chromebook Pickup (Call school office for Appointment)

• 8/27, 6-7pm Kindergarten Virtual Meeting  

• 9/2-9/11 (Soft Start) Comprehensive Distance Learning Orientation  

• 9/2  First Day of school for 1st-5th grade

• 9/2 - 11/14 Mon/Wed 3-5pm - Grab and Go meals for students https://www.pps.net/fall2020meals

• 9/8  First Day of School for Kindergarten

• 9/14 First Quarter of School begins (Comprehensive Distance Learning)

• 9/14 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Community Meeting 

• 10/10 District to decide on format of second quarter  

• 10/12 8:30am, 6pm Buckman Community Meeting

   

School Counselor News:

As we countdown to September 2nd, I am so looking forward to seeing all of your children on a screen, a porch, or meal pick-up at school! This summer I've been practicing hugging myself, as hugging Buckman students is one of the best parts of my job that is currently on Covid hold.  

Next week with staff, we will be framing our year to be emotionally connected, while physically distant. We will work to balance our on-screen education with an understanding of digital wellness and how to continually regulate our challenging emotions. We will be in our homes, but connected to our world, working to shape Buckman into an anti-racist school, building on the increased national awareness of the enduring and pervasive systemic racism of our society.If you'd like to take a peek at one of the documents guiding our work this year, these are the Social Justice Standards from Teaching Tolerance.  Welcome to the Year of the Hedgehog- may we infuse delight and meet the creative challenge of deepening our sense of community and belonging from a distance.

Notes from the district: 

“Remind” App: Portland Public Schools is continuing the partnership with Remind to support connection needs. The Remind email is not phishing and it's free to use the web version or mobile app. Resources for families are available on the Remind App for Students and Parents page.

Virtual Orientations for Parents & Families: Virtual orientations for parents and families will be offered by the central office prior to the start of school. Orientations will include information about accessing learning platforms such as Canvas, Seesaw, and Google Meet and will be offered in multiple languages. More information to come.

Soft Start Opening Portland Public Schools will have a “Soft Start” Opening of School from September 2-11 for students in grades 1-5. Kindergarten Students will start on Tuesday, September 8th. The soft start is intended to provide educators, families and students with an opportunity to develop relationships, learn more about the distance learning platforms/tools, and build a virtual classroom culture

Attendance will be recorded daily

Social-emotional learning activity will be included each day

Students practice lessons in Seesaw (all K-5 students will be using Seesaw this year, no more google classroom for elementary students).

2020-21 MEAL BENEFITS AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION

To Families Using SchoolCafé to Submit a Free and Reduced-price Meal Application:

• Families can now submit a new meal application for the 2020-21 school year. 

• Families who do not meet the 2020-21 Federal Income Guideline may qualify using the 2020-21 Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines. Please go to the PPS Nutrition Services website https://www.pps.net/Page/2464 for more information.

2020-21 Free & Reduced-Price Meal Benefits - Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines

The State of Oregon has increased the income guidelines for free meal eligibility in the 2020-21 school year from 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 300% of FPL. This means more families may qualify for free meals using the Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines instead of the Federal Reduced Income Guidelines. For additional meal benefits information including how to submit a meal application, please refer families to the PPS Nutrition Services website at www.pps.net/nutrition.

To Families Who Use SchoolCafé to Pay for School Meals:

• Due to the high volume of refund requests last school year, the autopay setting was disabled. Sign into your SchoolCafe account to either:

  • Delete your autopay settings to discontinue payments, or

  • Update your autopay expiration date to continue payments

• If you set up alert notifications and requested a refund, the alert was deleted. If you would like to continue receiving balance alerts, please set up a new one.

• If there was a credit balance on the student meal account at the end of the school year, it automatically rolled over to the 2020-21 school year for the student(s) to use. If you would like to request a refund or to donate to a student in need, please submit your request via SchoolCafe or email nssupport@pps.net. 

• If the account had an outstanding/owing balance at the end of the school year, it automatically rolled over to the 2020-21 school year. Families have the following payment options:

• Send a check to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N. Dixon St, Portland, OR 97227.

• Submit an online payment via SchoolCafé. NOTE: There is a 5% fee and a minimum payment of $15 per transaction.

NOTE: If the total amount cannot be paid in full, payments can be made in installments. Families will continue to receive notifications until the balance is paid off.

For general account related questions, please call PPS Nutrition Services at 503.916.3247 or email nssupport@pps.net. 

If your student no longer attends Portland Public Schools or you no longer want to use SchoolCafé, you can deactivate your SchoolCafé account anytime by logging in and selecting ‘Deactivate My Account’ under My Profile. To request PPS Nutrition Services disable the account, please send an email to nssupport@pps.net.

Friday, August 14, 2020

Dear Buckman Families,

I would like to officially welcome you to the 2020-21 Buckman Arts Focus school year. Many of you have already heard about the District’s decision that all students will be participating in online learning at least throughout the entire first quarter.  I’m sure this decision brings up many emotions for our families, students and staff as we look ahead to beginning the year together, yet physically apart.  You can find Superintendent Guerrero’s message to the community and other updates about this fall here:  www.pps.net/fall2020.  

The school year officially begins September 2nd for 1st-5th graders and September 8th for kindergarteners. We will be in touch before then to make sure everyone has what they need for distance learning. Be on the lookout for regular weekly email updates from me. All of these communications will also be posted to our school website at https://www.pps.net/buckman. Please know that my (virtual) door is always open and that I am always available through school email.

As partners in your student’s education, it is important for us to gather together as a school community and discuss what online learning will look like this fall. I want to use this time to listen and support your concerns.  I also want to have the opportunity to share with you the most up to date information we have from the District. Please save the date for Thursday, August 20, 6pm. Link to the virtual meeting here (https://meet.google.com/jsd-zbjk-eco or call 321-586-2458 PIN: 939 117 234#)

We have finalized teacher assignments and yours will be coming in the mail. 

Many factors, including parent input, have been considered in the creation of class lists. The Buckman staff takes this responsibility very seriously and has spent many hours collaborating to ensure that each classroom supports the social and academic needs of students and reflects a diversity of gender, race, academic skill, and learning styles. We hope that in sending these placements prior to the beginning of the year, families have time to plan for the unprecedented beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. It is understandable that families want to create connections and share resources.  Given the level of effort and time staff have put into creating these lists, and the inequity behind prioritizing families with the resources and connections to form learning pods and potentially excluding others, I am sure you will understand why changes will not be made.   

Knowing that the 2020-21 school year will be online until at least November, we understand there are concerns about computers and internet access. We want you to know that PPS is committed to helping families of students that need to borrow a computer and/or internet access. Please let me know by the end of the week if you need to borrow a computer, a mobile hotspot, or need a Comcast Internet Essentials subscription paid for by The Fund for PPS.

A few key dates to mark on your calendars:

August 24-28 Window for new families to pick up devices at school. Please call the school (503-916-6230) to arrange for a time to pick up a device and/or hotspot for your child(ren). The devices will be checked out. 

September 2nd - 11th Comprehensive Distance Learning Orientation

• Focused on student supports

• Teacher-Student connection and building relationships

• Technology platform orientation

September 14th - First Quarter of School begins (comprehensive distance learning)

By October 10th District to decide what second quarter of school will look like (in school building, hybrid or online)

November 5th - End of the grading period

Having all of our students participating in online learning will create new challenges and have a  significant impact on our learning community.  I believe in the Buckman Community and know when we come together for our students, whether it be physically or virtually, we can help to support their academic and social emotional growth.  Together, We can do hard things.  I am honored to be doing them alongside all of you.   

With gratitude,

Teresa Seidel

Buckman Principal

PTA NEWS

Buckman families, we want to thank you for welcoming us as your new PTA board this year, as well as for providing immeasurable support to us, the teachers, and staff. It takes a village to do this work and there are so many of you who have put in a lot of volunteer hours and tangible donations. We are grateful to be a part of this community. 

We wish you all a wonderful summer. Stay healthy, stay strong, stay committed; persist! 

Bottledrop Bags   Need a bag? Contact Amanda for a bag drop off or send a Konstella message to Buckman PTA. 

Amazon Smile   You can now support Buckman PTA through the Amazon shopping app on your iOS and Android phones! It’s simple – just open the app, go to the main menu and tap “Settings”, then tap “AmazonSmile” and follow the instructions to complete the process. A percentage of your purchase goes directly to Buckman. 

Fred Meyer Rewards   While you’re shopping at Fred Meyer this summer, don’t forget to list Buckman as your charitable recipient. Sign up online and search for Buckman Elementary PTA #94565.

SUN Donations   This summer, please send donation checks directly to Katie Olson at Impact Northwest, PO Box 33530, Portland, Oregon 97292—or donate online on Impact NW’s website. Be sure include “For Buckman Elementary” on the check memo line (or in the information box) so donations go to Buckman families in need.

FOUNDATION NEWS

Thanks again for the incredible show of support from the members of the Buckman community at our first-ever online auction! We are delighted to share that not only did we exceed our goal of $40,000, but we ultimately reached an astounding $50,000! THANK YOU for supporting arts and literacy education at Buckman! In these turbulent times, we are so grateful to feel the strength and determination of our community to ensure solid staffing for the 2020-2021 school year.

Thank you to the Buckman community for your support in this challenging 2019-2020 school year. Wishing you all a wonderful summer!

SUN NEWS

Summer SUN!   Wondering how to keep your children engaged over the summer when schools are closed? Buckman SUN is going virtual! This is still new for all of us, but we're excited to play games, learn some sweet dance moves, draw, and connect together online. 

We invite students to join us for SUNrise camps with themes that change every week from 10-11am Monday-Thursday, and for afternoon "Snack & Stretch & Sketch" sessions, from 1:30-2:30pm Monday-Thursdays. We will also continue the "Try Try Try" and the relaxation drawing groups that have already been going. Everything will begin (or pick back up) June 15th and are open to "almost" 1st-5th graders. More details to come soon, but mark your calendars now! We look forward to seeing you (online) soon. Email Katie with any questions.  

Support Services and Assistance   Katie is available to support you over the summer with resources related to basic needs, including rent deferment, energy assistance, physical/mental health, and food security, as well as books and art supplies. Please reach out directly to her (503-858-0230) if you would like support finding resources or need assistance.  

LIBRARY NEWS

The Multnomah County Library Summer Reading Program is up and running! All PPS students are registered. Please see this slideshow for more information! (Also posted in SeeSaw and Google Classroom this past Monday, June 1st.)

DISTRICT NEWS – SUMMER UPDATES

Click here for Multnomah County Health Center summer information.

SUMMER CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

Due to COVID-19 state guidance for licensed childcare programs and health concerns, PPS will not be hosting summer childcare programs in our buildings. The exception is the Emergency Child Care program at Capitol Hill operated by Champions. Families can access the latest information about available child care slots by contacting 211info or visiting the PPS COVID resources page, and selecting the child care tab. 

SUMMER MEALS FOR PPS STUDENTS

Nutrition Services will be extending current meal services into the summer, June 11th through August 21st at all locations except Rigler and Harrison Park due to extensive construction projects.  Faubion will start Monday, June 15.  

Breakfast and lunch will continue to be free for all PPS students and all children in the community ages 1-18 years, Monday through Thursday from 11:30am to 1:00pm. Meals for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are provided on Thursdays. Children do not need to be present to pick up the meals.  

Pantry services in partnership with Oregon Food Bank and SUN will also continue into the summer, along with the food boxes with Pacific Coast Fruit Company. 

PPS also is partnering again with Portland Parks & Recreation to provide meals at 13 additional parks throughout the city starting June 22. See PPS and Parks meal sites and times

IMAGINE, EXPLORE & CREATE: SUMMER FUN FOR K-5 STUDENTS

3 weeks of fun for current K-5th grade students!

• Students will EXPLORE, IMAGINE and CREATE an awesome project of your choice each week 

• Create with items from in and around their home

• Submit a photo or video of their weekly project to be showcased on our PPS summer gallery website 

Photo or video project entries qualify students for a RAFFLE with great prizes...books, restaurant, take-out gift cards, OMSI family passes and more! 

For more information & to register visit, bit.ly/PPS_Summer_2020

OTHER NEWS

Register for Kindergarten Online!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, please register for kindergarten! To register, go to pps.net/kinderenroll. The process takes 20-30 minutes and school staff will follow up with you later in the summer. With schools closed, online registration is the easiest option, but paper options will be available soon. You don’t need to register if your child attends a PPS Head Start or Pre-Kindergarten program. Children with IEPs need to register using a paper form. 

Click here to access this information translated into the 5 supported languages. 

Paper registration packets will be available in multiple languages at meal sites starting Wednesday, May 27th.

Coming soon: The Early Learner Programs team is developing a family-centered kindergarten transition plan. We know families are worried about the start to school, especially kinders. We’re planning on a slower, more family-friendly approach this year. Early registration will ensure that families stay in the loop on updated plans for the start of school.

Food Assistance

As our community deals with fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, we want to make Portland Public Schools families aware of a state benefit to help pay for food. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program, or P-EBT, is available to help families offset the cost of meals that would have been consumed at school. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

The P-EBT benefit is available to families with a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price meals and any student enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school. For those families:

• Households who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Association Program (SNAP), which offers food benefits to eligible, low-income individuals and families, will have benefits automatically deposited to their existing EBT accounts. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.  

• Households who currently qualify for free or reduced-price meals or attend a CEP school will receive an Oregon Trail Card in the mail along with instructions on how to activate or refuse benefits. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.

For families not currently eligible and seeking benefits:

• Households financially impacted by COVID-19 may qualify for SNAP. See the program’s website to learn more.

• Families who have experienced income loss may now be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Apply online at pps.net/nutrition.

For assistance with submitting a meal application, please contact the PPS Meal Benefits Office: mealbenefits@pps.net or 503-916-3402. 

For Pandemic-EBT questions, please contact the Oregon Department of Human Services.

K-8 Growth and Development Instruction for Spring 2020 

From Jenny Withycombe, Program Administrator, Health and Physical Education 

PPS decided not to teach growth and development (comprehensive sexuality education) and/or violence prevention (Erin’s Law) in grades K-8 via Home-Based Distance Learning during the spring of 2020 because of a variety of reasons and challenges.  

PPS teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers continue to support students’ safety and are prepared to identify, prevent and intervene if a child or family needs support. In remote learning environments, it may be more difficult to assess safety and detect signs of child abuse. Educators and school personnel are still mandated reporters and the PPS Office of Student Success and Health provides guidance on what to do if a district employee suspects child abuse and/or neglect.

Like ODE, PPS recognizes the fundamental role that parents, caregivers, and families play in preventing violence and abuse. Distance learning provides a window for dialogue between students and families around: naming important values, identifying emotions, sharing about health and safety, and exploring sexuality-related topics.  ODE has published a guide on Family Engagement during Distance Learning for All that will help to maximize the strengths of the students, families, and learning environments, while also acknowledging the real challenges given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Oregon.  Families who would like to provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education and/or Violence Prevention lessons at home can access the curricula used in PPS - Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs), developed by Advocates for Youth as well as Fight! Child Abuse developed by the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center Foundation.  Please also feel free to check out these resources for parents and caregivers posted by ODE:

• Listen to ODE’s Webinar for parents and caregivers on Erin’s Law during Distance Learning 

• Oregon SATF’s Violence Prevention Resource for Parents (resources and tips for caregivers/parents) 

• Parents for Prevention (lists of topics related to parenting and sexual violence prevention, by age range from PK-12+) 

• Hot Chocolate Talk for Parents (strategies and talking points for child abuse response and risk reduction) 

• County-Specific Support for Violence Prevention 

Portland Public Schools is looking ahead, and will be working with the Oregon Department of Education on how to best support students during the 2020-2021 school year. 

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Dear Buckman Bears,

Buckle down everyone, this newsletter is a long one!

This week, many of our final class meetings were touched with emotions and questions as teachers and students discussed the tragic events that have again uncovered the racist underbelly of the United States. I want to thank all of the students and families who came to our virtual Buckman Race Forward event. We had over 80 students and family attend! If you missed, it’s not too late! Here is a copy of the slides we used to start the conversation. From the PPS library department, here is a list of Resources and Books on Racism. Multnomah County Library is offering UNIVERSAL ACCESS to the book, Me and white supremacy in both ebook and audiobook formats. Direct links to both below. 

Ebook version

Audiobook version

Link to instant library card app to Multco's digital collection

Thank you so much to Caryn Jones, Elizabeth Lavenue, Jenna Ostrand, Karen Gerber, our 5th grade families who made our sweet promotion ceremony happen. 5th graders, we are so proud of you and will miss you dearly. Best of luck in middle school. And to Mr. Clarkson, congratulations on 35 years of teaching, with 22 of those serving the students and families of Buckman.

While this marks the final week of school, there are still many unanswered questions about next school year, one of them being our staffing. The district is working with individual schools on staffing based on the state budget for the biennium and is facing a (roughly) $36 million dollar shortfall. The bottom line is that every school will feel cuts for the fall, and for years to come. We also do not know what school will look like in the fall. There are three different scenarios we are working under for the fall: 1) All virtual learning, 2)Back in school, or 3)A hybrid of scenarios 1 and 2. I will keep families updated as I learn more as well. Families will receive class placement notifications in August before school begins.

IMPORTANT: Information on picking up student belongings from school.

Due to county health guidelines, we are not able to have students return to clean out their own lockers so staff will be opening student lockers, bagging and labeling items and they will be available for pick up next week. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to return items stored in lockers in the safest most efficient way we can, and rest assured that gloves and face coverings were used when these items were packed.  

While we miss our students tremendously, this pick up of belongings needs to be as “contactless” as possible so will take place outside the building and will follow social distancing guidelines. 

Hours and location of pickup:

• Back of the school on the BLACKTOP
• Pickup hours will be 9am-3pm
• K-1 pick up on June 10
• 2-4 pick up on June 11
• We will have space to return all library books
• Our plan follows county health guidelines, and we will maintain physical distancing orders, keeping our students, staff, and families safe. Please be sure to practice physical distancing procedures when picking up.

Because all of our students shared lockers, please check your bags to make sure items weren’t inadvertently placed in there. We will also put the lost and found outside as well. At the end of the day June 11, all unclaimed items will be set aside for donation or the trash. Please contact the school if you need to arrange another day/time to pick up your items.

Thank you,

Teresa

Please join Ms. Seidel and other Buckman families for a Kid’s March to show support for the memory of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.  Families are encouraged to make signs and meet in front of Buckman at 3pm on Sunday, June 7th.  Please wear masks, we will be practicing social distancing and marching around the school area for about 1 hour.  Please see the Buckman Elementary Community Facebook page for other questions regarding this event.

A WEEK OF ACTION IN DEFENSE OF BLACK LIVES

The Movement For Black Lives, and organizers mobilizing across the country, organized a week of action June 1st to 7th in defense of Black lives. This is an opportunity to uplift and fight alongside those turning up in the streets and online. Each day of the week of action represents one of our [The Movement for Black Lives] demands.

Thursday: Community Control

Friday: End the War on Black People

Saturday: Make Meaning from Crisis

PICA condemns the violent, racist, and militaristic methodologies of police departments across the United States and specifically in Portland, Oregon, as well as the move to increase funding for inherently violent policing in our city when it is rather a time to defund. We will actively work to dissolve our own connections to these systems. We challenge our city, state, and national government, our partner organizations, our audiences, our donors and funders, and our own organization to do better. We urge you to donate, read, post, petition, protest, and take a form of action. We are asking our white and non-Black audiences, artists, donors, partner organizations, and ourselves to find ways to show up and actively engage in solidarity and support of the Black community. 

The information below is time-sensitive and based on the demands put forward by The Movement For Black Lives. If you have additional resources and links please let us know. This will be an ongoing and evolving process. 

DONATE

• PDX Protest Bail Fund is a fundraiser to cover bail and other legal expenses for protesters arrested in Portland, Oregon in connection to protests against George Floyd's murder by Minneapolis police, along with general police brutality.
• Don't Shoot PDX, a community non-profit working to increase civic participation and social change in Portland, Oregon.
• Communities United Against Police Brutality^TM is a Twin-Cities based organization that was created to deal with police brutality on an ongoing basis.
• Reclaim the Block organizes Minneapolis community and city council members to move money from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget that truly promote community health and safety.

PETITIONS

• Care Not Cops Campaign PDX, a grassroots campaign in PDX to challenge policing and shift our reliance and resources to self-determined community care, has put together a list including petitions to defund Minneapolis Police Department, auto-fill email forms for Multnomah County Commissioner, Demands for Multnomah County Budget Process, and more.
• Color of Change Petition: Demand the officers who killed George Floyd are charged with murder.
   

TEXT OR CALL

• Call your Senators and Representatives. Visit Indivisible Oregon's website for phone numbers and sample scripts for direct outreach to: Wyden, Merkley, Blumenauer, Bonamici, DeFazio, and Schrader.
• Get in contact with the District Attorney and Minneapolis Mayor. Leave a message for them DEMANDING that 4 officers including Derek Chauvin (Badge #1087) and Tou Thao (Badge #7162) be arrested for the Murder of George Floyd.
• Call or E-mail the Louisville Mayor’s office and demand that the officers involved in Breonna Taylor's murder be charged.

READING

• The People's Budget Campaign creates a blueprint for a government that invests in our communities, not corporate CEOs, by making bold investments in health care, infrastructure, education, and other areas that face steep cuts in the Republican budget.
• New Era of Public Safety: An Advocacy Toolkit for Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing, a free downloadable PDF.

In this moment, we need as many people in action as possible. This is not just about George Floyd; it’s about Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and the centuries of violence against Black people and communities of color by the police. It is about what happened in Central Park and a throughline to Trump and white supremacy. This is an opportunity for us to change the conversation. We are asking for something simple that everyone can do, show up at your police headquarters or city hall with a sign that says #endwhitesilence. One person can do this or hundreds can.

PTA NEWS

A few words…

In this time of reckoning with racial inequality and injustice, we reflect on what our community can do and needs to do to support our families of color. We know there is much work to be done in this regard, and we recognize our responsibility in being part of the solution as advocates and allies. We want families of color to feel welcome, safe, seen, heard, and appreciated. We stand together with you.  

Finally, congratulations to all our graduating 5^th graders! We wish you the best as you transition to middle school and hope that you continue to persist in maintaining the values of a Buckman Bear; but, most of all, Be Brave, Be Proud, and always BE YOU! We say thank you to all our outgoing families for making our community so exceptional. You are forever Buckman Bears and you will be missed.

SUN Donations  This summer, please send donation checks directly to Katie Olson at Impact Northwest, PO Box 33530, Portland, Oregon 97292—or donate online on Impact NW’s website. Be sure include “For Buckman Elementary” on the check memo line (or in the information box) so donations go to Buckman families in need.

Yearbook   The 2019-2020 yearbook is now available! Please go to https://buckman.picaboo.com for details. Hardcovers are $28 and softcovers are $18. eYearbooks are free! You can also personalize four pages of the book for an additional fee. An enormous THANKS to all the parents and teachers for supplying the content.

AUCTION NEWS

Thanks again for the incredible show of support from the members of the Buckman community at our first-ever online auction! We are delighted to share that not only did we exceed our goal of $40,000, but we ultimately reached an astounding $50,000! THANK YOU for supporting arts and literacy education at Buckman! In these turbulent times, we are so grateful to feel the strength and determination of our community to ensure solid staffing for the 2020-2021 school year.

SUN NEWS

Kid/Youth Focused March for Black Lives - TONIGHT at Creston 6pm

This march is a family friendly, kid focused march, allowing our children the opportunity to support our Black community, voice our opposition to the violence and racism Black people experience, and raise visibility to this issue both in our own families as well as the world at large. 

DETAILS: 

Meet at the US Postal Service on 5010 SE Foster at 6:15pm and we will march one mile to Dutch Brothers on Foster and SE 67th. We will be joining an already established neighborhood family protest that has been meeting there the past few nights at 7pm. Wear masks. Bring signs. Stay six feet apart from other families. 

We will offer sign making materials from 6-6:15pm in the parking lot of the USPS, courtesy of SUN. If anyone has a megaphone or portable microphone/speaker, please let me know. Any questions, suggestions, comments - we’re open to them!

Summer SUN!   Wondering how to keep your children engaged over the summer when schools are closed? Buckman SUN is going virtual! This is still new for all of us, but we're excited to play games, learn some sweet dance moves, draw, and connect together online. 

We invite students to join us for SUNrise camps with themes that change every week from 10-11am Monday-Thursday, and for afternoon "Snack & Stretch & Sketch" sessions, from 1:30-2:30pm Monday-Thursdays. We will also continue the "Try Try Try" and the relaxation drawing groups that have already been going. Everything will begin (or pick back up) June 15th and are open to "almost" 1st-5th graders. More details to come soon, but mark your calendars now! We look forward to seeing you (online) soon. Email Katie with any questions. 

Support Services and Assistance   Katie is available to support you over the summer with resources related to basic needs, including rent deferment, energy assistance, physical/mental health, and food security, as well as books and art supplies. Please reach out directly to her (503-858-0230) if you would like support finding resources or need assistance.  

LIBRARY NEWS

The Multnomah County Library Summer Reading Program is up and running! All PPS students are registered. Please see this slideshow for more information! (Also posted in SeeSaw and Google Classroom this past Monday, June 1^st.)

DISTRICT NEWS – SUMMER UPDATES

Click here for Multnomah County Health Center summer information.

SUMMER CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

Due to COVID-19 state guidance for licensed childcare programs and health concerns, PPS will not be hosting summer childcare programs in our buildings. The exception is the Emergency Child Care program at Capitol Hill operated by Champions. Families can access the latest information about available child care slots by contacting 211info or visiting the PPS COVID resources page, and selecting the child care tab. 

SUMMER MEALS FOR PPS STUDENTS

The Nutrition Services department will be extending current meal services into the summer, June 11th through August 21st at all locations except Rigler and Harrison Park due to extensive construction projects.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided to any PPS student and any children in the community ages 1-18, Monday through Thursday. Meals for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are provided on Thursdays. Children do not need to be present to pick up the meals.  

Meals will be available for pickup outside the school from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the locations below. 

As in years past, the Nutrition Services department will partner with Portland Parks and Recreation to provide meals at 13 additional parks throughout the city starting June 22.   More information will be provided later about services times.  

The park locations are listed below:

IMAGINE, EXPLORE & CREATE: SUMMER FUN FOR K-5 STUDENTS

3 weeks of fun for current K-5th grade students!

• Students will EXPLORE, IMAGINE and CREATE an awesome project of your choice each week 
• Create with items from in and around their home
• Submit a photo or video of their weekly project to be showcased on our PPS summer gallery website 

Photo or video project entries qualify students for a RAFFLE with great prizes...

 *Books  *Restaurant Take-Out Gift Cards   *OMSI Family Passes & more! 

For more information & to register visit, bit.ly/PPS_Summer_2020

OTHER NEWS

Register for Kindergarten Online!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, please register for kindergarten! To register, go to pps.net/kinderenroll. The process takes 20-30 minutes and school staff will follow up with you later in the summer. With schools closed, online registration is the easiest option, but paper options will be available soon. Children with IEPs need to register using a paper form. 

Click here to access this information translated into the 5 supported languages.

Paper registration packets will be available in multiple languages at meal sites starting Wednesday, May 27th.
Coming soon: The Early Learner Programs team is developing a family-centered kindergarten transition plan. We know families are worried about the start to school, especially kinders. We’re planning on a slower, more family-friendly approach this year. Early registration will ensure that families stay in the loop on updated plans for the start of school.

Food Assistance

As our community deals with fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, we want to make Portland Public Schools families aware of a state benefit to help pay for food. The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program, or P-EBT, is available to help families offset the cost of meals that would have been consumed at school. It is administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

The P-EBT benefit is available to families with a student who qualifies for free or reduced-price meals and any student enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school. For those families:

• Households who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Association Program (SNAP), which offers food benefits to eligible, low-income individuals and families, will have benefits automatically deposited to their existing EBT accounts. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.  
• Households who currently qualify for free or reduced-price meals or attend a CEP school will receive an Oregon Trail Card in the mail along with instructions on how to activate or refuse benefits. There is no additional paperwork to submit to receive P-EBT benefits.

For families not currently eligible and seeking benefits:

• Households financially impacted by COVID-19 may qualify for SNAP. See the program’s website to learn more.
• Families who have experienced income loss may now be eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Apply online at pps.net/nutrition.

For assistance with submitting a meal application, please contact the PPS Meal Benefits Office: mealbenefits@pps.net or 503-916-3402. 

For Pandemic-EBT questions, please contact the Oregon Department of Human Services.

K-8 Growth and Development Instruction for Spring 2020

From Jenny Withycombe, Program Administrator, Health and Physical Education 

PPS decided not to teach growth and development (comprehensive sexuality education) and/or violence prevention (Erin’s Law) in grades K-8 via Home-Based Distance Learning during the spring of 2020 because of a variety of reasons and challenges.   

PPS teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers continue to support students’ safety and are prepared to identify, prevent and intervene if a child or family needs support. In remote learning environments, it may be more difficult to assess safety and detect signs of child abuse. Educators and school personnel are still mandated reporters and the PPS Office of Student Success and Health provides guidance on what to do if a district employee suspects child abuse and/or neglect.

Like ODE, PPS recognizes the fundamental role that parents, caregivers, and families play in preventing violence and abuse. Distance learning provides a window for dialogue between students and families around: naming important values, identifying emotions, sharing about health and safety, and exploring sexuality-related topics.  ODE has published a guide on Family Engagement during Distance Learning for All that will help to maximize the strengths of the students, families, and learning environments, while also acknowledging the real challenges given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Oregon.  Families who would like to provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education and/or Violence Prevention lessons at home can access the curricula used in PPS - Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs), developed by Advocates for Youth as well as Fight! Child Abuse developed by the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center Foundation.  Please also feel free to check out these resources for parents and caregivers posted by ODE: 

• Listen to ODE’s Webinar for parents and caregivers on Erin’s Law during Distance Learning 
• Oregon SATF’s Violence Prevention Resource for Parents (resources and tips for caregivers/parents) 
• Parents for Prevention (lists of topics related to parenting and sexual violence prevention, by age range from PK-12+) 
• Hot Chocolate Talk for Parents (strategies and talking points for child abuse response and risk reduction) 
• County-Specific Support for Violence Prevention 

Portland Public Schools is looking ahead, and will be working with the Oregon Department of Education on how to best support students during the 2020-2021 school year. 

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Hello Buckman Bears, 

Can you believe that next week, we turn our calendars to the month of June? My youngest child will celebrate his birthday in June. Despite all of the struggles that we have had during the shutdown, picture the brightness of a childing jumping up and down at the thought of cake. If you want to celebrate with us, join me the last week of school (June 8-10) at google meet code “BuckmanArtParty” and we will make cake together. We will also sing, dance, read, and kick this coronavirus school year to the curb!

As I mentioned last week, families will receive end of year report cards. 

This report is for the following dates:

• March 16 - April 10  Supplemental learning due to COVID-19 (not including spring break) 
• April 13 - June 11, Distance learning due to COVID-19

This report gives one mark reflecting student participation in distance learning: 

• Evidence of Participation 

          OR

• No Evidence of Participation.

In the 4^th quarter of 2019-20 school year, Portland Public Schools converted to distance learning to reduce the spread of COVID-19 virus during the global pandemic. The teachers and administrators of PPS recognize that not all families had the same access to distance learning opportunities. Applying an equity lens, this 4th quarter report card was developed by acknowledging that students were working in circumstances beyond their control.

Distance learning prioritized care, connection, and continuity of learning for all students. Teachers focused on maintaining connections with students, delivering innovative instruction, and ensuring that all learners had the opportunity to succeed and were not penalized by the extended school closure. Distance learning marks will not adversely affect student placement in the 2020-21 school year

Take care everyone.

 Warmly,

Teresa

Important Dates and Reminders

June 3 - 10am, coffee chat, use code “principalcoffeechat”

June 4 - drive through promotion. 2pm - Nichenko, 2:30 - Clarkson 

June 4 - last day for whole group meetings and assigning work

June 8-10 - last week of school arts and electives activities, 10am-2pm “Buckman art party”

June 11 - planning day for teachers

AUCTION NEWS

Thanks again for the phenomenal outpouring of support from the Buckman community in our first-ever online auction and paddle raise! We are thrilled to announce that we raised $48,400(including sponsorships), which will allow us to maintain current staffing levels for the 2020-2021 school year.

Donations can still be made on our school auction website until June 30^th.

PTA NEWS

Virtual Coffee Chat    Join us Wednesday, June 4^th at 10 AM for our final coffee chat of the year with Principal Seidel. Log on to Google Meet using your student’s account and type in the code principalcoffeechat.

Yearbook   The 2019-2020 yearbook is now available! Please go to https://buckman.picaboo.com for details. Hardcovers are $28 and softcovers are $18. eYearbooks are free! You can also personalize four pages of the book for an additional fee. An enormous THANKS to all the parents and teachers for supplying the content.

SCRIP    Buy your SCRIP for the summer and help Buckman and the PTA.  We have the following items still available:

Fred Meyer $25 and $50    //    New Seasons $50 and $100

Safeway $25, $50 and $100    //    Amazon $100

Burgerville $10    //    Chipotle $10

Cinemark $25    //    Chili's $25

Papa Murphy $10    //    Panera $10 and $25

McMenamins $25    //    Regal $10

Shell/76 $25    //    Starbucks $25

Target $25, $50, $100    //    Washman $30

Please reach out to Katie Barth at katiejabara@yahoo.com or 503-502-6517 to arrange a no-contact drop off.

SUN NEWS

Summer SUN!   Wondering how to keep your children engaged over the summer when schools are closed? Buckman SUN is going virtual! We didn't feel comfortable hosting physical camps with social distancing guidelines still in place, but we're excited to do online camps with Buckman students this summer.  

Join us for SUNrise camps with themes that change every week from 9-10am Monday-Thursday, and for afternoon "Snack & Stretch & Sketch" sessions, from 1-2pm Monday-Thursdays. Both will begin June 15th. More details and information to come!

Buckman Parent Support Group    SUN is now offering an online support group for parents/caregivers as we navigate this pandemic together. Join Katie, Jess, and other caregivers to discuss issues, challenges, and concerns that we are facing right now in this current crisis. Daytime and evening sessions available. Connect with Katie (503-858-0230) for more information.

Donations Welcome   If you are willing and able, please consider donating to Buckman SUN or buying SCRIP from Katie Barth to support our wonderful community!

Virtual SUN Activity with Tabitha!   Join Buckman SUN on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for a fun activity hosted by Tabitha Teo for any Buckman students. Please email Tabitha to receive the meeting code. See you there!  

Additional Resources and Information   If you have been laid off or need extra resources due to COVID-19, please read the information below:

-    SNAP benefits will be maximized for all EBT-card holders. This means that if you weren't already receiving the highest amount for your household, you will be moving forward. Also, Amazon Fresh and  Amazon Pantry accept SNAP benefits in OR and WA, see here for more information. 

-    Apply for unemployment benefits. They have expanded their eligibility requirements for now, so if you have been denied in the past, you may be eligible now. Same goes for OHP (Oregon Health Plan—publicly funded health insurance).

-    Landlords and energy companies are generally not evicting or disconnecting services due to nonpayment at this time. However, please communicate with them so they can provide additional assistance or payment plans.

-    If you are experiencing heightened anxiety and/or depression symptoms, you are not alone. Call the Multnomah County Crisis Line (503-988-4888) or Lines for Life (800-273-8255) to talk to someone who can help. 

Support Services and Assistance   Katie is available to support you with resources related to basic needs, including rent deferment, energy assistance, physical/mental health, and food security, as well as books and art supplies. Please reach out directly to her (503-858-0230) if you would like support finding resources or need assistance.

FIELD DAY NEWS

The end of the school year is approaching fast and one way to celebrate our transition to summer is FIELD DAY! Woohoo! This is one of my favorite days of the year and I couldn't let our year end without it. Check out of the Virtual Field Day Link (also posted in your child's virtual classroom) to see how to compete in each event and how to submit your results. I would love to create a Virtual Field Day video to share with the entire Buckman family, please share videos and pictures of your students and family participating in the events through SeeSaw, Google classroom, or email. I was lucky enough to have some special guests as competitors in a few of the events... be sure to check them out!

OTHER NEWS

K-8 Growth and Development Instruction for Spring 2020

From Jenny Withycombe, Program Administrator, Health and Physical Education 

PPS decided not to teach growth and development (comprehensive sexuality education) and/or violence prevention (Erin’s Law) in grades K-8 via Home-Based Distance Learning during the spring of 2020 because of a variety of reasons and challenges.   

PPS teachers, administrators, counselors, and social workers continue to support students’ safety and are prepared to identify, prevent and intervene if a child or family needs support. In remote learning environments, it may be more difficult to assess safety and detect signs of child abuse. Educators and school personnel are still mandated reporters and the PPS Office of Student Success and Health provides guidance on what to do if a district employee suspects child abuse and/or neglect. 

Like ODE, PPS recognizes the fundamental role that parents, caregivers, and families play in preventing violence and abuse. Distance learning provides a window for dialogue between students and families around: naming important values, identifying emotions, sharing about health and safety, and exploring sexuality-related topics.  ODE has published a guide on Family Engagement during Distance Learning for All that will help to maximize the strengths of the students, families, and learning environments, while also acknowledging the real challenges given the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Oregon.  Families who would like to provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education and/or Violence Prevention lessons at home can access the curricula used in PPS - Rights, Respect, Responsibility (3Rs), developed by Advocates for Youth as well as Fight! Child Abuse developed by the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center Foundation.  Please also feel free to check out these resources for parents and caregivers posted by ODE:

• Listen to ODE’s Webinar for parents and caregivers on Erin’s Law during Distance Learning 
• Oregon SATF’s Violence Prevention Resource for Parents (resources and tips for caregivers/parents) 
• Parents for Prevention (lists of topics related to parenting and sexual violence prevention, by age range from PK-12+) 
• Hot Chocolate Talk for Parents (strategies and talking points for child abuse response and risk reduction) 
• County-Specific Support for Violence Prevention  

Portland Public Schools is looking ahead, and will be working with the Oregon Department of Education on how to best support students during the 2020-2021 school year. 

Register for Kindergarten Online!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, please register for kindergarten! To register, go to pps.net/kinderenroll. The process takes 20-30 minutes and school staff will follow up with you later in the summer. With schools closed, online registration is the easiest option, but paper options will be available soon. Children with IEPs need to register using a paper form. 

Click here to access this information translated into the 5 supported languages.

Paper registration packets will be available in multiple languages at meal sites starting Wednesday, May 27th.

Coming soon: The Early Learner Programs team is developing a family-centered kindergarten transition plan. We know families are worried about the start to school, especially kinders. We’re planning on a slower, more family-friendly approach this year. Early registration will ensure that families stay in the loop on updated plans for the start of school. 

Food Assistance