Dear Families,

Last year our 2^nd grade team “piloted” a plan where a voluntary donation was requested instead of bringing in school supplies.  The response, from families and teachers, was overwhelmingly positive.  It was convenient, cost-effective, and provided a more equitable learning environment for all students.  As a result, we are going to offer this option school-wide for the 2017-2018 school year.  Here are a few more details: 

We are asking for a voluntary contribution of $45.00 per student in lieu of shopping for school supplies.  Payments can be made to the office (Check payable to Duniway) or through our new on-line payment system called School Pay beginning in August.  Money will be used to buy all classroom supplies as well as subscriptions to any magazines or publications that a grade level team decides to purchase.

We believe this choice supports the following values that are important to the Duniway Community.

·       Equity:  By contributing financial support to the whole class, all students have equal access to the supplies they need for school.

·       Environmental Awareness:  By ordering supplies in bulk, we save on packaging; and one truck delivers supplies instead of hundreds of cars visiting multiple stores in search of those hard to find items.

·       Cost Effectiveness:  For every dollar a family spends on school supplies at retail prices, we can get up to three dollars worth of supplies through Portland Public Schools suppliers.  In this way, we maximize your contribution for the educational benefit of all students in the class.  When priced out at retail prices, most school lists cost families between $60 - $90 per student.  We feel $45 is a reasonable amount, providing teachers with enough to purchase what is needed for the year, while saving families time and money.

 All of our teachers are excited about this new approach and we hope it makes late August a bit less stressful for families.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office at 503-916-6343. 

We hope you have a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing many of you at our Welcome Back to School Picnic and 90^th Birthday Party for Duniway School on Monday, August 26^th from 4 – 6 PM.

Regards,

 The Duniway Staff

Forgot to order your yearbook in time? It's not too late. Additional copies are still available for sale in the office. Each yearbook is $17.

Families enrolled in the Fred Meyer Community Rewards program will receive an email on June 8th directing them to re-link their Rewards Card to the Duniway Educational Foundation. Please remember to do this then, or to take care of it now, by logging on to your account at https://www.fredmeyer.com/topic/community-rewards-4

If you fail to re-link your Rewards Card by July 1st, you will be dropped from the program and Duniway will no longer get any support based on your purchases.

Last year our school received nearly $700 just because people like you took 30 seconds to link their Rewards Cards to Duniway (#82148). Please do so again, and tell all your friends, neighbors and relatives to do the same! 

President: Erin Black-Mitchel, blackerinm@gmail.com
Vice-President: Sarah Lewis, lewissarahc@gmail.com
Secretary: Christina Timberlake
Treasurer: Rachel Ffolliott
Member at Large 1: Andrea Nieto
Member at Large 4: Christian Solsby
Member at Large 5: Alison Lopakka Joy

¡Sí Se Puede! or Yes, we can! is an opportunity for students to celebrate and inspire one another, build relationships outside their schools and share the rich diversity of their talents and experiences with the greater Portland community.

Dear PPS staff and families,

Summer has started, but we want to let you know that the PPS Task Force on the Superintendent Recruitment is continuing to meet on a regular basis and work is happening daily to advance our efforts to find and recruit our next superintendent. We have a final position description and are still actively recruiting candidates.  We appreciate the feedback and candidate recommendations we have received from the community to date.  Below are highlights of our last meeting. We will keep you informed as we go forward. Thank you.

Julia Brim-Edwards, Chair, Superintendent Recruitment Task Force

SEI and Oregon Seal of Bi-Literacy awardees were honored at the June 13 Board meeting. PPS celebrated 13 years of partnership with Self Enhancement Inc. (SEI) Academy. Libra Forde, SEI Chief Operating Officer, Timothy Rodgers, SEI Academy Principal, and Linda Harris, 2006-2010 SEI principal, were presented with plaques honoring this partnership. SEI Academy was named a model school by the Oregon Department of Education in 2013 and 2014.

Dear PPS Families,

Over the summer, crews will be working in schools throughout the district to address health and safety issues, using funds from the bond that voters approved in May. At the same time, planning is under way for bigger projects to rebuild three high schools and a middle school. We wanted to give you an update on what is coming up.