10/21/2019

It's been such a stormy weekend!  I hope the weather didn't dampen your spirits or your time with family and friends.  We've entered that time of year when we take a close look at the weather around 10:30am to make sure that it's not too rainy for students to play outside.  We really want kids to have as much time outside as possible - kids need their exercise and space to play and relax together.  To be honest, we let kiddos tolerate drizzle.  But, when it's too wet we call for inside recess.  We had a couple of those this week.  On inside recess days we give students three options: undercover area for outside play including basketball, hula hoops and tether ball; library for quiet reading; and room P3 for an engaging, short video.

I want to take a moment and thank Deputy Superintendent Dr. Kregg Cuellar for spending his morning at FPE on Friday.  Dr. Cuellar loves FPE - staff, students, and parents - and in his role enjoys staying connected to schools.  He hosted Morning Mug on Friday for an hour.  Come back anytime, Dr. Cuellar!

At Morning Mug, Dr. Cuellar made a big announcement: FOFPE has approved funds for the installation of five new cameras.  This safety upgrade is huge for our campus safety.  Thank you to our Safety Committee Parent Leads Mara, Heidi, and Cheri for giving time to plan and advocate for this safety upgrade.  

I want to thank everyone who was able to join me for the Fall State of the School Address.  We had a great turnout!  If you missed my presentation, please feel free to review the slide deck.  And,  take a look at FPE Mission, Vision, and Goals for 2019-2020. 

We had a lot of excited students this past week as the FOFPE sponsored our annual Scholastic Book Fair.  Thanks so Stephanie and her team of volunteers for giving our community access to great titles!  Book fair proceeds go towards our upcoming author visits from Trudy Ludwig and Eric Kimmel.  Thank you for your support!! 

This month is Dyslexia Awareness Month.  Please take a moment and read about a great opportunity offered on 11/07/19 that will increase your knowledge of dyslexia's impact on students, below. 

Lice has made it's way to FPE recently.  Please take a moment and make sure you know how we address head pets (lice) so that you can keep our school community itch free: 
https://www.multnomahesd.org/headliceinformation.html 

In honor of Pronoun Day last week, I have updated to email signature to include my preferred pronouns: she/hers.  It's important to me that all people who enter Forest Park Elementary know they are in an inclusive environment.  

There's lots more to know about life in the land of Forest Park; read on below.

Warmly,
Lisa Newlyn, Principal
she/her

School level data for the Successful Schools Survey is now available. The survey, which was conducted during the 2018-19 school year, is part of the district’s initiative to use data to make informed decisions about school climate and culture.

SafeOregon continues to grow as a reliable way for students, families and community members to report unsafe situations. Portland Public Schools has been encouraging our community to use the anonymous tipline since 2017.

The Portland Interscholastic League excelled not just on the field, court and trails during the fall sports season. PIL teams also stood out in the classroom.

Meteorologist Rod Hill of KGW recently issued a winter forecast that projected 8 to 10 inches of snow, including possible early snow in November or December. If that turns out to be correct, that would be much earlier snow than last school year, when our first weather-caused disruption to the regular classroom schedule did not come until Feb. 5.