Greetings Hosford Families,

Happy month of May! As we close out our fourth official week of distance learning, I hope you and your loved ones have what you need. Please let us know if you need resources.

Many of you and your students have used our recent messaging to create a schedule for your student during distance learning. As you do so, please know that the more consistent you can be, the easier it will be to set up routines that adolescents can follow. Many of you are learning first hand how stress and trauma can affect students (and adults!). Many of the skills that are affected are what we call Executive Functioning skills, or the set of organizational skills that develop during adolescence and continue to serve us into adulthood. The most important and relevant skills that your students are working on right now are:

1. Emotional Control - The ability to modulate or manage their feelings. 

2. Inhibition - This is the ability to control one's own thoughts and actions. The impulse to act seemingly comes out of nowhere. 

3. Working Memory - This consists of several forms of memory that all work together. Visual memory, auditory memory, and spatial memory. These are all connected through spatial awareness.

4. Initiation - The ability to start a task. Initiation can be difficult for many because of stress or fear of failure. Anxiety, worry and confusion will generally inhibit initiation. In other words, it can cause procrastination.

The good news for our community is that our students are constantly developing these skills, whether in or out of a school environment. Brain research is telling us that adolescents have neuroplasticity, or the ability to develop and strengthen new neural pathways, creating skills that control emotions, inhibition, working memory, and procrastination. Thank you for encouraging your students to connect with school. As always, we want you to know that You Are Enough, that survival is enough, and that distance learning is optional if it is just too much for your family right now. However, we are here and missing your students! We hope to see you soon online and someday in person.

Warmly,

Caitlin Klenz

Hosford Middle School Principal

Leap into 9th Grade prepares incoming ninth grade students to excel in high school by building a foundation for success before starting high school. Families can find out more information here and can register students online. Leap into 9th Grade will take place at 8 high schools June 24 – July 15 and at Benson July 6 – 24, Mon - Fri from 9:00 am- 12:30 pm. 

Please note that programming dates are subject to change due to social distancing guidance updates.

Distance Learning Meeting Times: 

To help you and your student organize, we have put together links for the google meetings for each grade level. Please check out the links below to more easily plan your weekly schedule. If you or your student are struggling counselors, AVID teachers and Special Education case managers have had a lot of success in meeting with students to help map out their new schedules. Please reach out!

Distance Learning Resources:

Please remember that all links and a variety of resources are listed for HMS Distance Learning. Additionally, all community messages and learning resources are also linked on the HMS website.

Update about Content and Assessment:

Per Oregon Department of Education guidance, teachers are not going to be covering new standards driving Distance Learning. However, they will be teaching new lessons with new information and using priority standards that have already been available to students this year to use those skills sets. 

Acceptable Use Policy for Technology:

Please remember that students need to adhere to our Acceptable Use Policy while using PPS network, School Google accounts and PPS devices. If students violate this policy, it could result in a warning, and up to a suspension of use of distinct devices. Please this document for information on Title IX descriminiation and harassment over technology.

Help our Hosford Teachers fund their Donor's Choose Projects!

PPS partners with Multnomah County Student Health Centers (SHCs) to keep students healthy and focused on school. There are 10 SHCs throughout Multnomah County. The SHC is like having a doctor's office in your school. The center serves K-12 students and does not have any out of pocket costs for the student or family. 

 
Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRqjPHG74ys  

Dear PPS Community,

The Portland Public Schools Board of Education is hosting its annual budget town hall virtually, so that community members can be heard, even in the midst of social distancing made necessary by COVID-19. 

After an unprecedented pandemic prompted the closure of campuses for the final 13 weeks, the 2019-20 school year in Portland Public Schools will officially end on Wednesday, June 10. 

A public meeting of the Board of Education, acting in its capacity as the Budget Committee of Portland Public School District 1J, Multnomah County, Oregon, will take place during the regular School Board meeting on the 11th day of June at 6 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to receive any additional public comment related to the Superintendent’s budget message and Proposed Budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, which was presented on May 26.

My heart breaks.

My heart breaks for the Black lives that continue to be lost to racist brutality and the failure of recognizing our shared humanity.