January 2, 2019

Dear Hayhurst Community,

Happy New Year! Welcome back to  school!  I hope you all had a wonderful winter break with family and friends. It is hard to believe how fast the year is flying by, and that we have already completed four months of the school year.

I want to THANK everyone who participated in the Giving Snowman!!! Your generous giving of gifts and gift cards allowed us to share the holidays with 38 families from our school community. Parents came in the last few days before break to pick up their bag of goodies….we had lots of tears, hugs, and thank you’s! I love that our Hayhurst family can take care of our families who are in need and bring a bit more joy to everyone. THANK YOU!!

Last year I received a grant that I had designated for a school improvement project that would be used by all students. Over the year, I have been working with district staff and Coach Winkler to pick out our new addition to Hayhurst. It amazes me how many steps one has to go through to add new items to a school. However, on Friday December 14^th my vision became a reality, as we unveiled our new rock climbing wall in the gym. It was a perfect holiday gift for the school.  We held a morning assembly in the gym so that everyone could be part of our ribbon cutting. Coach Winkler has already begun to teach our students how to use the wall appropriately, and he is super excited to have this as part of our gym equipment.  I invite you to stop by the gym and check out the wall…it is very exciting for everyone!

As the weather gets colder, please be sure to send your child to school with winter jackets (labeled with their name), as we still go outside for recess, even in the cold. If we get snow or ice, be sure to check the PPS district webpage or listen to the news or radio for school closures or delays. This is a good time of year to check into bus snow routes, so that you know where the bus will pick up and drop off, as several of our school bus stops change for bad weather.

This summer our school house will be closed for seismic upgrades.  Currently, the architects and engineers have been looking at walls. Work has been done in the evenings and weekends, but you may begin to see some patched holes around the building….do not worry they will be replaced with the upgrades. I am not sure of the exact closure  date or completion of the work, as I get more details I will share them with you.

Hayhurst is a great school community, with such wonderful support for each other and the things that happen in our school.  I wish everyone a wonderful New Year with lots of good cheer!

Thanks!
Deanne Froehlich
Principal
Hayhurst/Odyssey

In this week's PPS Pulse: Deadline coming for students to be immunized; Jefferson students discuss Black History Month

If you are the parent or guardian of a Portland Public Schools student, ask yourself: How is the educational climate at the school? Portland Public Schools is looking for answers to this and other key questions from family members of PPS students as part of the Successful Schools Survey. Students in grades 5, 7 and 10 also are being surveyed, and school-based staff will participate starting Feb. 19.

The recent outbreak of measles serves as a reminder about immunizations, with an important deadline coming up.

Students in Portland Public Schools who have not gotten all of their required immunizations face a Wednesday, Feb. 20 deadline. That is the “exclusion date” set by the state for 2019, when any student who is not fully immunized may be barred from attending classes or district-provided child care.