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

Due to weather, all schools and offices will open two hours late this morning. Buses are also on snow routes and will arrive approximately two hours later than regularly scheduled.

In this week's PPS Pulse: Roosevelt, Madison use support from Damian Lillard to help students take positive steps; advice for parents to help high school students cope with finals

If you’re the parent or guardian of a high school student, you surely know what’s coming next week: final exams. It can be a stressful time for students, but there are ways you can help. Here are some tips on ways to assist your student during finals week, courtesy of Portland Public Schools’ Student Success and Health Department: 

Students and staff, packed in a high school gym, cheer wildly as Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard enters the building – that is probably the prevailing image of Lillard’s RESPECT program on local news. But if you look closer at the details, you’ll see just how much the program means to the two PPS high schools that are partners in it.