September 18, 2019

Good Morning!

We had a wonderful turn out on Tuesday evening this week for the Back-to-School Night event at our Lane location. Thank you to our 8th graders who provided pizza for a reasonable price and baked yummy treats for sale. I hear that they raised a good chunk of money for the class trip this spring. A huge shout out to those who came early for pizza and home baked treats! I also heard from many parents regarding how happy they are with their students experience thus far this school year. It has been a great start to the school year!

ACCESS teachers at our middle school location were very happy to see so many parents. Thank you all again! If you were not able to be with us for B2SN this week, please do contact your students teachers to learn about any teacher web pages, google classroom details, course syllabi, etc... 

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ACCESS @ Vestal

Tuesday, 9/24 8:35am - 9:35am - Principal Coffee. No agenda, no pressure. I will be available to chat, answer questions, hear ideas. I realize with B2SN later in the evening folks may need to make a choice. Or consider that you have two options in one day to connect with me! Mr. Corona will join us as well.

Tuesday, 9/24 6:00pm - 7:30pm - Back-to-School Night. 

5:30pm pizza and treats for sale in support of the 8th grade class trip. Check in for childcare (not confirmed as of 9/18 evening).

6:00pm - Introductions and Welcome. Sessions to follow for:

• "Specials"
• Homeroom
• Walk-to-Math

See you all next week!

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For all - just a quick note regarding the planned Climate Strike Friday 9/20, around the World! We have had some families contacting us regarding their plan to not have their student(s) in school on Friday 9/20 in order to be able to participate in the Climate Strike. We really appreciate this prior notice of your intentions. I am attaching the guidance sent by PPS Communications for your review. Climate Strike message to families.docx  

I must say that the call to action being generated by our youth on behalf of our precious planet is noble, impressive, exciting, and promising. I often tell students that they will change the world, and the activation and determination I see in our youth with regard to the health of our planet gives me much hope! Thank you! Ginger & Gabriel

September 12, 2019

WOW! Our first full week of classes and the weather changes too. I am not ready for fall.... Students are settling in, building strong community, becoming active with clubs and leadership activities, and beginning to show what they know academically. I am very excited about things to come....

Back-to-School Nights 

@ Lane location - 9/17 6:00pm - 7:45pm (time adjusted just a bit). We will begin in the cafeteria with a short welcome, introductions of staff, the run of the B2SN schedule, and then parents will dismiss to follow their students schedule. 10 mins with each teacher. There will be food for sale, pizza by the slice and cookies, in support of the 8th grade trip from 5:15pm - 6:00pm. No child care will be provided. We will have your students schedule ready for pick up when you arrive. Teachers are super excited to have you all in to really get our school year off the ground!

@ Vestal - 9/24 6:00pm - 7:30pm Details to come next week.

9/24, 8:35am - 9:35am Coffee with Principal Taylor & Assistant Principal Corona. We will go ahead with our first coffee as scheduled knowing that Back-to-School Night is the same date. Thank you to those parents who were able to stay for the Lane location coffee this week.

Middle School Spanish

I have spent a good chunk of my day sorting through what the issues are for mostly our 8th gr cohort in Spanish. In speaking with Profe Gonzalez a few times to hear his professional assessment of students readiness, as well as talking with Michael Bacon, Assistant Director for Dual Language Immersion, and having exchanged a few e-mails with Profe Salmon, we now understand the scope of what needs to happen to adjust for rate and level, and make the needed adjustments to Spanish 3-4. I'm so grateful for the hard work of Profe Gonzalez with his pre-assessment work with students and his proactive work to begin preparing for the needed adjustment.

Assistant Director Bacon is going to track down the STAMP results from last year, and conduct a double review of the results (standard protocol) before we issue high school credits. I’ll figure out whether or not the current 9th gr cohort needs this as well. 

Profe Gonzalez is working closely with Profe Marisol Keuzer, district Spanish Language Specialist, to adjust for Spanish 3-4 with our current 8th gr cohort. They plan to meet Friday to outline what is needed in terms of curriculum planning. The textbooks have already been requested, and Profe will have a high school course syllabus ready for back-to-school night. I will have a firmer timeline by the weekend regarding curriculum, but expect by Monday 8th graders will .

I have to confess that the turnover in administrators for ACCESS the past few years, including the TAG Director, on top of moving to a split program is presenting a level of challenge I did not anticipate. I share that because it adds an additional layer to my learning. Trying to stay ahead of things, such as this issue with Spanish that has taken many days to “unpack” all-the-while managing day to day things, etc... 

I understand the scope of the issue with regards to Spanish, we now have a plan for getting things on track. Profe Gonzalez and I will talk with students in class on Friday (I am out of the building all day tomorrow). Profe Gonzalez and I spoke about B2SN as well. Thank you all so much for your questions, inquiries, assistance with providing past practice, and ALWAYS staying immersed in the ACCESS mission!

Walk-to-Math @ Vestal location - WTM has begun, with few exceptions. Teachers will be in contact (if not already) to introduce themselves as your child's math teacher. We will build into the B2SN schedule a session to hear from your students WTM teacher.

Thank you! Have a great Thursday! Ginger & Gabriel 

September 6, 2019

Happy Friday! 

Just a few items to pass along...

Chess Club is open for Fall 2019. First session: Sept 9th, Monday 3:15pm - 5:15pm  @ Lane location. Bus #335 from Vestal to Lane location.

Please welcome our second coach (and new ACCESS parent) Chad Lykins to chess at ACCESS- yes, we'll have two chess coaches this time.

Register now through the store at https://accesspta.membershiptoolkit.com/home Details linked here.

Back-to-School Night (B2SN) - several of us realized there were lots of conflicting times for B2SN in various locations. After consulting with a few folks we will hold both B2SN events from 6:00pm - 7:30pm

• Tuesday, September 17th, 6:00pm - 7:30pm ACCESS Academy @ Lane location
• Tuesday, September 24th, 6:00pm - 7:30pm ACCESS Academy @ Vestal location

Details to come next week.

From ACCESS Academy PTA -  There are still about 20 families who are not yet in the PTA database. We hope all families will participate as there is lots of information, opportunities for students and families, and is our main vehicle for communication. https://accesspta.membershiptoolkit.com/home  Please join us!

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ACCESS @ Vestal location 

Dismissal Safety Protocol (2:00-2:45)

If you are picking up a student at dismissal please park first (outside of the school black top), then walk onto the black top to meet your student.

We will try our best to put up a big whiteboard sign reminding people...no driving on the black top when students are getting dismissed.

Thank YOU!

Enjoy the coming weekend! Next week is our first full week of classes. Ginger and Gabriel

September 5, 2019

Good Morning ACCESS Families!

I am seeing lots of progress with getting bus routes sorted out and am hopeful that district transportation will be operating at a much more efficient level. Pass along some appreciation if you feel compelled too. I know folks are appreciative. I learned today that some of the routes with new drivers have had bus assistants these first few days to help support students with expectations while the driver is learning the routes and other nuances of pick up and drop off. I am not sure which routes these have been, and the assistants positions will end this Friday. Mostly we wanted to pass along the information in case your students are talking about having an extra adult on the bus this week.

ACCESS @ Vestal - several pieces of information to share.

1. Walk to math will begin Friday. A "soft start". Teachers will continue to assess students in these next few weeks and may have a few adjustments to make. Placement changes will be reflected in ParentVUE by Monday, although I expect teachers will be in communication directly as well.

2. Counseling programming. Ms. Tessema has a great web site https://sites.google.com/pps.net/accessatvestalcounseling/home outlining all of the programming opportunities available for supporting pro-social behavior and executive functioning skill development. 

3. An update in reference to a situation we have been working on with the Vestal admin team since before school started this year. There are multiple cars/garbage/cooking devices and people that have set up a camp of sorts right outside of a vacant house at 8036 NE Flanders. We have been working with the Madison school cluster School Resource Officer (SRO) and other Portland Police, as well as the PPS security team to try and help resolve the challenges presented by this camp being so close to school. As of today, the police have towed one car, and noted about 6 others that are abandoned or in disrepair and will work to have these removed quickly. We have learned that the house is being remodeled and the owners have now been notified. The SRO, Parking Patrol, and PBOT have added this location to their regular patrols.

Portland Police have asked that staff and parents continue to call non-emergency ((503) 823-3333), or 911 in emergency circumstances, so that concerns are both documented and officers can respond as soon quickly. 

We have been assured that the police will be working to try and uproot the issue to ensure that all of our students and families feel welcome and safe.

If you have any questions, please reach out...and please do not hesitate to call the non-emergency number. We know that the squeaky wheel gets the attention, so we will stay squeaky as long as necessary!   

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ACCESS @ Lane 

A quick reminder from our library that this Friday (9/6), we'll be celebrating the ACCESS MS students who earned a t-shirt through the Multnomah County Library Summer Reading Program. 

• What: Students who wear their 2019 T-shirt to school this Friday will be treated to pizza and ice-cream (and fruit & veg) during lunchtime in the library. Teachers are welcome too! And if you bought a t-shirt or have one from a previous year - please wear it - the more the merrier!
• When: This Friday, Sept. 6th, from 11:32-12:12 PM 
• Where: In the library! 
• Why: To celebrate our readers and infuse a little addition joy into their day!
• How:  With generous support through the PTA's support of the library! 

Many clubs and activities are getting up and running during lunch/recess this week. I am so pleased to see the level of participation from our students!  Thank you to teachers who are graciously hosting groups in classrooms, and to Mr. Harkness for getting the word out and encouraging involvement.

We also started morning announcements using the phone intercom system during advisory. Our two 8th grade student leaders, Ania and Gwen lead the charge. A more formal way for students to submit items for announcements will be forthcoming before Tuesday next week.

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MAPS testing has begun. You are able to access information for MAPS at this parent link https://sites.google.com/view/map-growth/for-parents. We will share in more detail during Back to School Nights and hope to have assessment results for this first round for parent/teacher conferences in November.

Coffee with Principal Taylor. Time is moving so quickly, that I am finding myself remiss with getting a few of my "promises" formalized. With input from a few folks these past few weeks I will host 2 coffees each month. One at Lane and one at Vestal. All available staff are welcome to join us. Dates as follows:

• 2nd Tuesday each month, 8:35am - 9:35am @ Lane location. The first one is 9/10, next week
• 4th Tuesday each month, 8:35am - 9:35am @ Vestal location.The first one is 9/24

I will secure a location in the buildings and share that out before the weekend. Coffees are a casual opportunity for me to chat with and get to know ACCESS families. There are no prepared agendas, nor any pressure. 

A few other dates to get on your radar:

Back-to-School/Curriculum Nights

• Tuesday, September 17th, 7-8pm ACCESS Academy @ Lane location
• Tuesday, September 24th, 7-8pm ACCESS Academy @ Vestal location

Have a great rest of the week. Next week begins our full week of classes. It has been good to build our stamina for full time school again with two short weeks. Now we will dig in and get to learning lots! Ginger and Gabriel

August 31, 2019

Good Evening Everyone! 

I just have a few brief things to offer as we go into the Labor Day weekend.

Transportation - I am seeing Teri Brady from transportation services, responding to your inquiries and concerns regarding long bus rides home after school. She is including both Mr. Corona and myself on her e-mails. I appreciate her keeping us in the loop as they work to solve issues, and I am hopeful they will have things smoothed out come Tuesday afternoon.

School Supplies - A huge thank you to Marian Berger for spending time today sorting and organizing donated school supplies at our Lane location. We are grateful for everyone's generosity! 

Walk to Math - I was able to get over to the Vestal location in the late afternoon and Mr. Corona and I met with teachers to review placement, assessment use, and anticipated start for students. It will take a few more days to assess our new students. Teachers are reviewing MAP and SBAC data as well. Our soft goal is to begin the walk to math schedule by the end of next week. Teachers are feeling pretty excited by students high level of engagement and attention to doing their best work!

I will offer a more thoughtful and detailed message regarding math assessment practice, the ACCESS walk to math model, and a bit about data sources considered throughout the year, later next week. I must share that I am completely in awe of the high level of commitment, intelligence, and thoughtful practice each of our ACCESS teachers demonstrates everyday. I have much to learn from them!

I have seen several teachers sending all class communications home to families to welcome you all into the school year. I expect this will be the case through next week. Do not hesitate to contact your students teachers directly to offer support and insights specific to your student. 

It has been a great start to the school year for everyone on staff at both locations. Mr. Corona and I have received lots of positive feedback from both staff and families. Thank you all for your patience, flexibility, and commitment to not only your exceptional student(s), but the ACCESS community as well! Enjoy the long weekend! I am at the coast for the lowest tides of the year! Wifi access will be really spotty. See you all Tuesday! Ginger & Gabriel

August 29, 2019

Good Evening ACCESS Families!

Your student(s) should have a "welcome packet" in their backpack from this week with a variety of items in it. Please take a few moments to review the materials, update, sign, and return the registration pages, the walking field trip form, and any other items we need for our records back at school. If for some reason your student did not bring home a welcome packet , please notify Susie Fung, sfung@pps.net and we will get one together and send home right away. 

All students at both the locations have been issued lockers as of today. Some may have opted out of wanting a locker. If your student is one who opted out, but later decides they would like to have a locker please let us know and we will accommodate. Many of our middle school students were so excited to have a locker today I noticed some coming to their locker between every class. With a three minute passing time it will be important for students to consider how to best organize their school materials and be good time managers. One suggestion would be for students to have all of the morning classes items with them until lunch and then to switch out for the afternoon, circling back at dismissal to ensure they are taking what they will need at home. It is so fun to see the look on their faces once they understand the nuances of a locker combination!

I was able to get over to the Vestal location this afternoon and pop into all of the classrooms today. Students were busy drawing and learning the continents with Ms. Byrkit, holding a community circle with Ms. Evans, and discussing what they would like to write about in Ms. O-Hagan's class, "something special that represents your summer". Ms. McShane's class was on their way to art, and Ms. Ryneal's class was cleaning up before dismissal. I was able to stop down with Ms. Webb's class and just chat for a few minutes with students. I missed Ms. Millis' class because they were already out to art.

I want to introduce Renee Takara, rtakara@pps.net or 503.916.6482. Renee will be with us at the Lane campus for several weeks while we work with HR to get a secretary vacancy posted, interview, and fully on-board. Thank you so much Renee for coming to support us at ACCESS!

Community school supplies. It would be great to have one or two volunteers to help sort and organize the school supplies in our very small closet next to our office at the Lane location. If you have a few hours to spare (even tomorrow, Friday)  let me know. I think most of the supplies are either in my office or down the hall with Ms. Szok in the art room.

Social media platforms. I have to confess that I am fairly new to using Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but really see the value in these outlets for highlighting and celebrating day to day learning. Many schools and programs do so throughout the day. I was able to finally set aside some time today to get Twitter and Instagram accounts activated and shared a few photos and messages.

Follow us:

Twitter - @ACCESS_PPS

Instagram - ppsaccess

Facebook - waiting for approval

Another good day! 

-Principal Ginger Taylor

August 28, 2019

Good Evening ACCESS Families-

Day one is in the books! It was very nice to have students in the building. Welcome Back! As I popped into middle school classrooms throughout the day I heard lots of sharing about summer experiences, new friendships forming, promises of interesting novels to be read, a science activity involving assumptions, inferences, and evidence collecting, with a fun surprise to make a point about scientific methods by Dr. Garcia!  There were cooperative games in PE this morning, and in the afternoon I heard lots of Spanish being spoken with our new teacher, Mr. Gonzalez.

We will begin issuing lockers with our 6th graders during 0 period in the morning. Any community school supplies can come to the ACCESS office @ both locations and we will get the closet organized for teachers. We appreciate your generosity!

I heard from many people, both staff, some parents, and district supports at both locations that buses went much smoother then last year. I have no frame of reference for this, and also know that transportation is working to get every route and drop off location right. Please continue to communicate directly with transportation regarding your needs. Student Transportation, (503) 916- 6901, transportation@pps.net. We will do everything we can in the afternoons to communicate what we know.

Our middle school students and staff gathered at the end of the day for a quick welcome assembly and then processed out to the bus pick up area for the ACCESS Academy Arch of Friendship for our new students and staff. What a sweet tradition. I will get over to the Vestal location on Friday this week to stop into classrooms and say hello to students. Cooler weather is coming!

Thank you for entrusting your students to us. Ginger Taylor

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Hello ACCESS @ Vestal families.

I wanted to take a moment to let you all know how good today felt. I am grateful for parent and district staff supporting our first day and making sure students felt welcome and knew where they were going. I also want to thank you for your patience and flexibility with transportation services. They are working stops in their system and bus drivers are becoming aware of all the new stops on their routes.

Overall, students were here, excited and ready to learn. Good job parents on setting the stage. As I visited classrooms students were learning about each other and our classroom routines. We were also able to practice and model some of those school wide expectations. We even got to walk out The Arch of Friendship, to honor all new ACCESS people to our community. Students were having fun and were reminded to drink water often. You may want to send a water bottle with them for the next few days.

On a different note, math assessments for new students will be taking place this week. We will finalize the math levels and have students walk to math by the middle of the next week. Returning students have already been placed, unless your student worked extra hard on math this summer. If so, contact the teacher for a possible new assessment.

Have a great evening! Gabriel Corona

August 27, 2019

Hello ACCESS Academy Students & Families!

Tomorrow is the first day of school! We are really looking forward to having students back in the building on Wednesday! Teachers and other staff & faculty are ready to greet their smiling and eager faces.

Bus Transportation announcement

Please be aware that Transportation Services is adding stops and changing times throughout the day. Visit the Transportation website frequently. https://www.pps.net/Page/141

 If you are a parent who received an email confirmation with a stop and no bus number or time. There will be a bus tomorrow to take your student to school, those are being put in their system.

Also please fill out our google form titled, ACCESS @ Vestal After-School Plan. This will inform us of your plans so we can coordinate your child’s transportation at the end of the day. Fill out even if you are planning to pick them up. https://forms.gle/tY73jYa3yVkhThiHA

We are so sorry that arranging transportation has been so frustrating. For peace of mind as parents, it may make sense to drive your student(s) to school the first day? 

Middle School schedules

We will have middle school schedules at the ice cream social tonight, but if you are looking in StudentVUE you can see the A/B schedule for PE/Art as follows:

Meet Days: “ABWHF” classes meet every day. “A” and “B” classes (PE and Art) meet every other day. The first day of school, Wednesday, August 28^th is an A day. The following day is a B day, then an A day, and so on throughout the year. A sign will be posted each day in the hall outside the ACCESS office to remind you whether it is an A or B day.

Period 10 = 0 period (1st class of the day). Everyone reports to their 0 period class for advisory and stays for 0 period.

Sample MS ACCESS schedule.pdf 

My hope is that this information provides some clarification and reassurance. Please trust that we will have "all hands on deck" this week to smooth out any issues that arise. I expect that I will send a daily messenger for the first week or so. 

Thank  you and we are really looking forward to getting the school year underway! Ginger & Gabriel

August 24, 2019

Happy Weekend! 

We have been hyper focused on preparing for your students to be with us in just a few short days. Team bonding, community agreements, tightening our commitment to a positive school climate and culture with a lens for dismantling practices of oppression and challenging bias, digging into refreshed scope & sequence with district GVC (guaranteed viable curriculum) implementation, student planners for middle school, and room arrangements on shiny new floor tiles, so I am just catching up to e-mails... 

ACCESS @ Vestal location: teacher-student assignments (aka "who is my teacher"). Hard copy letters went in the mail today. You should have also received a short welcoming e-mail from your students teacher (3rd, 4th, & 5th anyway), and we will have hard copies of class lists to reference at the ice cream socials on Monday & Tuesday.

Who is teaching what again?

1st/2nd blend - Mr. Ryneal 

3rd - Evans & Millis

4th - McShane & O'Hagan

5th - Byrkit & Webb

All staff are listed on web site https://www.pps.net/domain/3787

New Hires

Abigail Webb will be stepping in for 5th grade this year while Ms. Egan is out on leave. Ms. Webb is so excited o be joining the ACCESS team! She has many connections with the ACCESS community. Abigail and I worked together many years ago at Oregon City High School. She has taught Spanish, ESOL, and has been a grade level teacher is several schools around the Portland area. Please welcome Ms. Webb!

Mario Gonzalez will join the ACCESS @ Lane team to teach middle school Spanish. Mr. Gonzalez is a world traveler who enjoys blogging and photography as ways to engage in his travels. He has taught in Japan and Peru, and has last served as an educational assistant at Sitton School here in PPS. Please welcome Mr. Gonzalez!

Spanish/Math at ACCESS @ Vestal location. Gabriel and I just interviewed a strong teacher candidate that we think will be a great fit for our younger students. We have made our recommendation to HR, and hope things will move quickly.

Buses - update We've heard from many families that the bus departure and school dismissal times do not align.Transportation is aware and Susie Fung our secretary, has spoken with them several days ago, as well as again today. They have reassured us that buses will not depart without students on them and that they are working to change the times in the system.

Enjoy the weekend and hope to see many of you at ice cream socials! Ginger & Gabriel

August 23, 2019

Good Morning ACCESS Community! 

Teachers are back! I am so excited to meet our team of educators and spend the today in community reaffirming why we all love education and serving ACCESS students! We were provided with a delicious meal for lunch on our first day, prepared with love by two fabulous parents, Natalie and Liz. Thank you so much! I was overcome by the care, and preparation that went into you responding to our request.

It was also very nice to meet many families and a few students, at the principal meet & greet Wednesday evening. Thank you all for coming to welcome me and assistant principal Mr. Corona!

Details as I know them

Bell Schedule - found on the ACCESS web site. https://www.pps.net/domain/4202

Transportation - Bus Schedule: https://www.pps.net/domain/3781 We are hearing from many of you that the new transportation on-line program is tough to navigate. We will do everything we can on our end to work with district transportation to rectify issues, and please, please, please do everything you can on your side to ensure transportation understands what your students needs are with regard to pick up and drop off location. Bus tags will be available at the respective ice cream socials M/T

ACCESS @ VESTAL bus and after school form. Please take a few moments to provide us with your students after school plan. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1PAE2y3oaJXIo_vwZhkmbIAWCFcnkjlLOOhjnncH5NdM/edit It is really important to communicate any changes to the after school plan for your student. Secretary at Vestal location Susie Fung, sfung@pps.net and Assistant Principal Gabriel Corona, gcorona@pps.net are the main contacts for any changes. 

School Supplies- Families can find a link to the requested school supplies for ACCESS Academy at https://www.pps.net/domain/4419 The PTA has financial resources available to families who request help purchasing school supplies (no application, just ask). Please contact: Tanya Schaefer, Co-Chair, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee at access.pta.dei@gmail.com. All requests will be kept confidential. In addition, the PTA works with teachers to ensure all students have the materials they need.

All ACCESS families and staff are encouraged to register with the new ACCESS PTA website to be part of the school directory and bus, class, grade and special event message boards. You can also order t-shirts (free to all new students and staff), sign up to volunteer, donate and more! Create your account today at https://accesspta.membershiptoolkit.com/home

Please contact Phoebe Shen (access.pta.sec@gmail.com) with any questions. 

Important Dates:

8/24, 9am-Noon - Community Care Day.  Project-Community-Care-Flyer-2019.pdf   
@ Vestal, we will help with a number of outside projects, so bring your gloves and gardening tools.
@ Lane , we will need Community Care Day volunteers to help get classrooms Earthquake Ready -- we will be using items purchased by the PTA to reduce the chance children will be hit by falling objects. (We will follow-up this effort at Vestal.) We cannot do this without support.  Thank you!

8/26, 4-6pm @ Vestal & 8/27, 5-7pm @ Lane - Ice Cream Social. Attached is information about our ice cream social events for each ACCESS @ Vestal and Lane locations. Please join us! Principal Taylor will be there hoping to meet you all! We will have bus tags ready for students

Vestal Location teacher assignments - Letters will go in the mail tomorrow, and we will have a hard copy of class lists at both ice cream socials.

ParentVUE - We will activate ParentVue by the end of the day on Monday.

Lastly, I want to share that although it has been incredibly challenging and often stressful to step into my new role and as principal for the ACCESS Academy community and begin to learn how to navigate all of the details and nuances of the operations side of things, Mr. Corona and I are feeling very supported, and loved by all of the families and now the staff. We cant wait to meet all of our students next week! Enjoy the last weekend of summer break!  

Hello ACCESS Community!

We have been hard at work preparing for the start of the 2019-20 school year and have so many things to share with you!

New to the ACCESS Team

Glenn McCormick - .5 PE, @ Lane site. Glenn is moving to ACCESS from Lincoln HS (Yes, we have worked together the past few years!). Glenn is a veteran teacher with lots of experience and creative ways for engaging all students in developing life-long fitness goals. Glenn has children in PPS. He loves, loves fly fishing and anything having to do with the outdoors.

Carrie Hutchinson – 1.0 Learning Center Specialist, @ Vestal site. Carrie has been with PPS for a few years, and comes to us after working in a variety of schools around the district. She is a strong systems thinker and has had good outcomes in the schools where she has worked. Carrie also has children in PPS and personal experience with ACCESS Academy.

Ruth Tessema – 1.0 school counselor, @ Vestal site. Ruth is moving to ACCESS after working in two different schools in PPS the past few years. She brings strong pedagogy for classroom guidance and teaming with teachers for supporting all students. She is so excited to spend all of her days with our elementary students and families!

Kirsten Crombie – kcrombie@pps.net Principal Secretary, ACCESS @ Lane (sub). Kirsten has already been engaged in a two day district on-boarding PD, and has the office organized and everything on-line ready for work to begin. Kirsten comes with a strong recommendation as an experienced admin assistant. She is a go getter, great communicator, and is excited to be with our team for the duration. Kirsten also has children in PPS.  

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Summer Building Projects

ACCESS @ Vestal - Many windows have been replaced and they are beautiful! Several room tiles have been replaced as well, and there is now a permanent wall in the 3rd grade classroom. It looks so great!  The asbestos abatement is almost complete. Cleaning crews are working day and night to have everything cleaned up and welcoming by the start of school. Our Learning Center has been relocated to room 206 and is no longer a shared space with Vestal teachers.

ACCESS @ Lane - The entire ACCESS hallway and rooms have beautiful new floor tiles after the asbestos abatement work has finished. I can't believe how shiny the floors are with a fresh coat of wax! Mr. Coste will move downstairs into room 129 (I think that's the room number?), and our new Spanish teacher will be upstairs in room 228.

Thank you to our hardworking and dedicated custodial and maintenance teams!  

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Important Dates

8/21, 5:30-7:00pm - Principal Taylor meet & greet. Please join me. I will share a little about both my personal and professional journey and I am so excited to meet everyone! Light refreshments will be provided.

8/24, 9am-Noon - Community Care Day.  
@ Vestal, we will help with a number of outside projects, so bring your gloves and gardening tools.
@ Lane , we will need Community Care Day volunteers to help get classrooms Earthquake Ready -- we will be using items purchased by the PTA to reduce the chance children will be hit by falling objects. (We will follow-up this effort at Vestal.) We cannot do this without support. If you can help at either location, please contact the PTA Emergency Preparedness Coordinator through the PTA: access-academy-pta@googlegroups.com. Thank you!

8/26, 4-6pm @ Vestal & 8/27, 5-7pm @ Lane - Ice Cream Social. Please join us! Principal Taylor will be there hoping to meet you all! We will have bus tags ready for students, and you can drop off school supplies, meet classmates and any teachers who are around, ane learn about after-school activities adn other ACCESS community groups and clubs.

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Other Info

8/21 - ACCESS @ Vestal teacher/student assignment letters go in the mail. 

8/22 - ParentVUE activated 

Buses - Susie Fung, sfung@pps.net is hard at work coordinating with district transportation for the start of school. By the end of next week I will share a google survey asking for bus and after-school care information. Again, bus tags will be ready at the ice cream socials. Thank you Ms. Fung!

Welcome packets will go in student back packs on the first day of school.

Student Planners - Our dear Mr. Johnson has been hard at work these past few weeks creating an incredible student planner that is 8.5" x 11", spiral bound, and three hole punched so it fits nicely in student binders. Our hope is to have them back from the district print-shop by the first day of school. Middle school students will each get one, and our rising middle schoolers (5th graders) will have a chance to use them as well. Planners are great tools for supporting executive functioning skill development. Thank you Mr. Johnson!

Enjoy the last few days of summer break. We are really looking forward to having our students back in buildings! Ms. Taylor & Mr. Corona 

July 30, 2019

Hello ACCESS Community,

I am so very excited to join the ACCESS Academy team as principal! I am looking forward to meeting you and your students beginning with our “meet & greet” August 21^st @ 5:30pm in the Lane MS cafeteria. I spent a little time on the phone with David Jamieson last week as he transitions to a new job with ODE starting later this week. David and I plan to meet up later next week to further prepare. David has worked very hard and thoughtfully to ensure a smooth “hand off” to me. Thank you so much David! I have also exchanged several e-mails with teachers and have times scheduled to meet with some teachers once I am back in town.

(warning: this is the first Schoolmessenger I have ever sent, so forgive me if my embedded links do not come through.)

From David Jamieson – “I hope summer is treating everyone well. I know I am enjoying the extra time I get with my family over the break. I wanted to take the time and space to give you an update on schedule and class placements, hiring and introduce you to some of our new learning community members.” 

ACCESS @ Vestal families: we have finalized class placements and will be sending out a letter to each student by the end of next week.

A note about elementary school placements: this coming school year there will be some shifts in staff and student placements. These shifts were made based on input from teachers, specialists, and families. Please know the shifts were made in the best interest of all students. Most notably are the shifts in 4^th & 5^th grade next year. We are happy to report that Joyce McShane will be with us next year in a new position as a classroom teacher! In looking at the needs of our students, current staffing, and the invaluable input from both John Blanck and Teri Geist, our 4^th grade team next year will be Ms. O’Hagan and Ms. McShane and our 5^th grade team will be Ms. Byrkit and Ms. Egan. There were many factors that went into this decision, but I can tell you the ultimate determining factor is that we believe this shift is best for ALL students. Also, because there will be a new 5^th grade team we will be adjusting the cohort of students a bit for best fit. These moves do not mean the end of looping at the elementary level. They are meant to ensure curricular stability across the 4^th/5^th grade band for next year. Every elementary family will receive a letter in the mail soon with class placement information.

ACCESS @ Lane families: I have also just finished building individual schedules for each middle school student. Middle school student schedules will be available through ParentVUE and StudentVUE on August 19^th when the district rolls over the new schedule allowing access. 

• If you are new to PPS you can access ParentVUE or StudentVue using this link as a guide.

Staffing Update

As of today, here are the new staff members joining us, as well as our remaining hiring needs:

Assistant Principal – Gabriel Corona: Mr. Corona comes to us from Tigard-Tualatin Schools, with a teaching and counseling background. We have worked together in the recent past at PPS Summer Scholars, and Mr. Corona has worked a several PPS schools prior to TTSD. I am so excited to have Mr. Corona on our team! His bi-lingual and bi-cultural perspective will be a wonderful addition to our ACCESS community.

Elementary PE - Yishan (Michael) Chen: We have a new placement for our PE position, Mr. Chen is coming to us from Jason Lee School. He is originally from Kunming, China. Mr. Chen spent three years at the University of Idaho where he earned degrees in PE & Health. At Jason Lee, Mr. Chen taught PE & Dance. Before he got into Physical Education Mr. Chen played professional basketball in China for 10 years!

4^th Grade Classroom Teacher - Joyce McShane: Ms. McShane joins us next year as a classroom teacher. Last year she worked with ACCESS students in math and drama. Ms.McShane is excited to join the staff in her new position and we are all very happy and excited to have her back!

Currently posted with interviews & hiring pending:

• .5 Middle School PE
• Elementary SPED Learning Center Specialist
• .5 Elementary Spanish/Math

• 1.0 Elementary School Counselor
• MS Spanish teacher (we had a teacher transfer, but she just resigned her position with PPS today)

Enjoy Summer!

Ginger Taylor, incoming principal & David Jamieson, outgoing assistant principal

June 19, 2019

Hello ACCESS Community,

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I wanted to provide some information regarding After-School Care options for next school year.

YMCA Care at Vestal: 

• If there are a minimum of 10 ACCESS students per day, the YMCA will be able to provide child care services at Vestal for ACCESS students for the 2019-20 school year. Please sign up with the Y by Monday, July 8. To register for Y childcare, you can find registration forms at the YMCA of Columbia-Willamette website. Please call the main office, 503-327-0007, with any registration or programming questions. If there are fewer than 10 students registered, families will have the options below:

• If you prefer to attend child care closer to home, first confirm that PPS provides a bus to the school. If that school is listed on the Student Transportation website, please reach out to the child care provider of your neighborhood school.

• The YMCA will be holding four spots at its Tabor Heights location for ACCESS families in case there is not enough demand to run a program at Vestal school.

To explore other options, contact 211info. This agency holds the data base for all licensed and registered child care programs and can inform you if a child care provider has bus or van service.

This information will also be shared with incoming families in the very near future.

Thank you,

David Jamieson

May 24, 2019

Dear ACCESS Academy Staff and Families,

I wanted to share with you that ACCESS will have a new principal next school year. We thank Ms. Blovad for her service in her time at ACCESS, and we will now begin the process to identify the next ACCESS principal. 

As we enter the summer months, David Jamieson will be the ACCESS administrator. Pam Joyner and John Blanck have been wonderful interim leaders for ACCESS, but they are not available during June and July. David is an experienced administrator and I am confident that he will be an effective leader and familiar face while we search for a new principal.

In the coming days, we will invite staff, parents, and students to attend meetings to understand the process for selection of next year’s principal and to get your feedback and input. We want to hear what you think is special about ACCESS and the characteristics and skills you would like to have in your new principal. The full hiring process will also be explained at the meetings. A survey link will be sent to staff and families next week to allow those who are unable to attend the meetings to give their input. Your voice and feedback in this process is absolutely critical to help create the principal profile unique to ACCESS.

Staff Meeting for Principal Hiring Input
Date: Thursday, May 30th 
Time: 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Location: ACCESS @ Lane Room 131
 
Community Meeting for Principal Hiring Input
Date: Thursday, May 30th 
Time: 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Location: ACCESS @ Lane Library

I look forward to seeing you all on May 30th.  

Sincerely,

Keeley Simpson, Ed.D. 
Area Assistant Superintendent 

May 24, 2019

Hello to you all in the Access Community,

Happy Friday!

This is a brief note to remind you of some important information:

• I am delighted to be able to continue as the Interim Principal here for as long as I am needed. I have a desk at the Access at Lane site; if you want to contact me, or any of the staff, the Access webpage has current information on the names, phone numbers, and emails for all the Access staff at both sites, shown at https://www.pps.net/domain/3787 . 
• No School Monday in PPS - this is a Planning Day for teachers to work on report cards, grades, and plans for the last quarter of the year. 
• Outdoor School: Our 6th graders leave on Sunday for their Outdoor School experience, and will return Friday afternoon. If your child is goibng to Outdoor School, please remember to send an medicines or medical information with them, as detailed by Eric Lannes.
• Parent Support: I am so impressed by the responsiveness of the parent community, as well as your expertise, commitment, and generosity. Whether its in your donations in the Auction, hosting fund-raisers, coordinating movie nights and supporting talent shows and school dances, or the thoughtful provision of teacher lunches (and chair massages for the staff this coming planning days), it is truly humbling to experience. Your PTA, Foundation, and individual offers are so very appreciated.

With warmest regards, 

John

March 8, 2019

Hello ACCESS Families,

Thanks to all of you that participated in the Successful Schools Survey. The district wide goal for family participation was 50%, we exceeded that number with 63% of our families taking the survey.

I also appreciate those of you that have been waiting patiently for us to confirm the date for 8th grade promotion.  It will be June 5th at Franklin High School.  There will be more details in the coming weeks.

I know many of you have been concerned and had questions about our staffing numbers for next year and the impact of the 17 million dollar district shortfall on our program.  Like many schools in the district we are facing a cut.  The good news is that our initial cut has been significantly reduced down to -.40 FTE.  We are going to use Foundation funds to offset this reduction in FTE in order to keep our current staffing in place.

Final Staffing Summary

Promised district supports as a result of the co-location are continued this year:

• Admin at both sites
• Counselor at both sites
• Full-time Secretary at both sites
• Learning Center teacher at both sites
• Media Specialist at both sites
• School Climate Specialist
• Advanced Math FTE for Walk to Math program at Vestal Site

Elementary teaching staff kept in tact pending closure of the lottery.  We will need 20+ new 4th and 5th graders to be staffed for 7 teachers.  If we fall short, we would be facing a cut of one FTE and need to create three sections of 4/5 blends.  

Middle school staff kept in tact as long as Foundation keeps pace with their 3-year historical fundraising numbers.  We are planning to pay for a .35 FTE to keep staffing the same and class sizes small.

Foundation help:

• .35 FTE towards a teacher in order to  keep middle school classes small, allow for current differentiated math levels, and keep current elective program in place.

• .1 FTE added to elementary physical education, making the position half time

• 1.0 FTE for two half time educational assistants to support academic and social emotional needs in the elementary grades

While I consider all of this very good news, our work is cut out for us to attract additional students in 4th and 5th grade, as well as raise lots of money at the auction for our FTE needs.  We want to keep this program stable and growing!  

Thanks,

Pam Joyner, Interim Principal ACCESS Academy

February 16, 2019

Hello ACCESS Community,

We have been very busy both with the day to day, but also with an eye towards what is coming up.  We also want to express our gratitude to all those who are supporting staff and students.  The PTA potluck for staff was a recent example of the kindness of this community, and I know that we are all deeply appreciative.

Upcoming Events

• PTA Meeting - Wednesday, February 20, 7:00-8:30 at the BESC (501 N. Dixon)
• Principal’s Coffee - Friday, February 22, 8:45 to 9:45 in the Vestal Library. We will provide some coffee and hot water/tea that morning, just prior to the Parent Tour. You are welcome to join both administrators for this informal get-together.
• School Tour - Friday, February 22, 10:00 – 11:00. This tour is offered to parents who are interested in finding our more about ACCESS, including how to apply and the offerings here. It will be hosted by both administrators along with Brigid O’Hagan, (our amazing teacher), Linda Smith, (Director of TAG), and current parents. If you are a parent that is willing to come and help answer questions about the program, please let us know.
• Movie Night - Friday, February 22, at Vestal. Pre-events start at 6:30 and the movie starts 7:00.

Other Information:

• Inside Recess at Vestal – We’ve had to have inside recess after lunch several times in the last few weeks. Students get the choice of either going to read in the library, going to the “studio” to play board games, or going to the auditorium to watch a video (Planet Earth episodes on “Mountains” and “Cities”, with notable hit performances by golden eagles, grizzly bears, and swifts).
• Successful Schools Survey – Please take time to complete this PPS survey that will give school leaders an opportunity to hear your voice.  The window to take the survey is open until March 1^st. 
• Communication - John discovered that his district Outlook account has been deciding to send some of his incoming emails to the “Junk” folder (its happening to other principals too). He has been looking through that folder, and so far only found one related to ACCESS (the email with feedback on the Read a Thon). He wants to apologize if any of you have had other emails that weren’t returned; PPS IT department has been working on this and we think it is fixed.
• Battle of the Books competition and Talent Show rehearsals are under way, stay tuned for upcoming details and updates.
• Interim Staff - With several interims stepping into roles right now, we want to make communication lines are open.
  • Pam Joyner-Principal  pjoyner@pps.net
  • John Blanck-Assistant Principal jblanck@pps.net
  • MeKenzie Fife-Principal’s Secretary (Lane)  mfife@pps.net
  • Jessica Triplett-Counselor (Vestal)  jtripplett@pps.net
  • Pratima Sharma-5^th grade teacher (for Ms. Egan)  psharma@pps.net

With Gratitude,

Pam and John

February 8, 2019

Hello Access Families,

I have enjoyed meeting many of you since officially becoming the interim principal on February 1st.  I want to thank you for all the support and encouragement that I have received already. For those who were not able to attend the meet and greet on Wednesday night, I would like to give you a brief introduction to my background.

I have been in PPS for many years as a teacher (Madison HS and Grant HS) and administrator and have considerable knowledge of how the district operates. I am also a parent, with three adult children who went all the way through PPS schools, so I bring that perspective as well.

As an administrator I have been at all levels K-12:

• I was a vice principal at Cleveland High School

• Principal at Lane MS and Hosford MS

• Retired as the principal of Metropolitan Learning Center K-12 Alternative School                                                                                Retired is a relative term, since officially “retiring” a year and a half ago, I have been working as a mentor to six new administrators (who are in their 1st or 2nd year as leaders) while also subbing in buildings as my schedule allows it.

In the past few weeks (before admin went on leave) I have had the opportunity to sub at both ACCESS sites. I have been impressed with the professionalism and resilience of the staff.  They are very student-focused and many have leaned-in to help in ways that have allowed me to get on board quickly and understand the needs of the school.

I will be serving as the interim principal ACCESS for the month of February, my goal is to lead and manage the school while the Krista is on leave.  

• This will include being responsive to the day to day needs of staff, students, and families.  

• Ensuring that there is clear communication along the way. I consider myself someone who listens to lead.

• I will also make sure that priorities such as teacher evaluations, professional development for teachers, and Open Houses are effectively scheduled and completed on deadline.

• I will also be looking ahead at the calendar to make sure that events such as the talent show, auction, and 8th grade promotion are on track for Krista’s return.  On a side note, I very much enjoyed the poetry slam that I attended this week.

I also want to say that I feel very comfortable working with John Blanck who is the interim assistant principal. I believe he has the right expertise and temperament to be the acting admin at the Vestal site.  Area Assistant Superintendent Keeley Simpson and TAG director Linda Smith (who I met with last week) have also been tremendously helpful.

Finally, I can’t say enough about the parent community, you all are amazing.  Thanks to those of you who came today to help with our Open House and for the lunch provided for staff at both sites.  I admire your generosity and passion for the ACCESS learning community.

In Gratitude,

Pam Joyner, Interim Principal ACCESS Academy

February 8, 2019

Hello to the Access at Vestal parents and community!

     My name is John Blanck, and I am happy to be the Interim Assistant Principal here during the leave for David Jamieson. During my first two and a half days here, I have been trying to jump in immediately to be of help to the staff and students. I have also been looking at ways to get you as much information and communication as possible. I really appreciate the patience and understanding that you have shown me in my brief time here.

Communication to you can come in many ways, and I am working to find the best ways to do that. In the meantime, I want to at least give you some preliminary thought and information. So as a very brief start, I want to at least let you know about the following:

·        My background related to ACCESS:  I have 4 adult children, and two of them attended a program very similar to ACCESS while in elementary grades in Illinois. I remember well my nervousness and the advocacy I needed to get them into that program (for example, in spite of my years experience as a School Psychologist in that district, and my usual calm demeanor, I’ll never forget my impatience in the eligibility meeting for my first daughter, waiting to hear them agree that she should be eligible for that TAG program and placement!).  It was a wonderful experience for my kids. I have worked as a School Psychologist in public schools for 24 year (including about 7 years assigned to that TAG program my daughters had attended). I then went directly into Elementary Principalship at Maplewood Elementary near Multnomah Village in 2000, and stayed there 11 years. I retired as a Principal, but have continued in part time work supporting the Principal hiring process for PPS which included my facilitation of the meetings held to hear what the community wanted in their next Principal. I conducted those meetings at Sabin and at Rose City Park when there was administrative changes there for Access. (I remember those meetings well and what people were asking for, and remember thinking to myself that I’d love to be an administrator for Access.) I have been mentoring new administrators for PPS schools for the last 4 years, as well.  When I was asked very recently to take on this interim role here, I did commit to continuing my work as a mentor, but making those appointments with them happen after school hours as much as I can.

·        My time here at Access:  I don’t have any information about how long Mr. Jamieson will be out, but I sure sympathize with the need for continuity, so I made the commitment to be here full time, as long as needed.   So far, I am trying to address the immediate needs of the students, and the staff, to keep things working smoothly, and happily. I am confident in, and enjoy, helping in this way. I also want to assure you that I have great respect for you, the parent community, and always like to help facilitate your generous offers of time and help, which are very appreciated and welcome.

·        Communication and Emails – I will be working to give you as much information as efficiently as possible. To those who have emailed me about upcoming events, etc., I want to thank you for your patience. I want to get to the immediate concerns first. In my career tried to reply as quickly as possible, but I know that I just haven’t gotten to some of the longer-range issues as yet. Regrettably, I know there is a backlog, but I promise you I am working on it as quickly as I can. I am also working closely with the Interim Principal, Pam Joyner, who I know well and respect immensely, to try to keep things working smoothly. I believe in healthy communication, which includes the concepts of assumption of positive intent, transparency, and integrity.

·        Events – I enjoyed meeting some of you at the “Meet and Greet” and was delighted to catch most of the Poetry Slam last Wednesday night. I really appreciate Keeley Simpson, and the parents who coordinated the thought-provoking and mindful Slam. I am going to gather more specifics on many of the immediate and future events, including Author Visits, Talent Show, Movie Night, Tours, Taiko Residency, and other special offerings. I will get those dates and information out to you as soon as I confirm them (I really don’t want to send out incorrect or misleading information.)

·        As I write this on my third day, I also know that the forecast makes us anticipate the possibility of another snow day, possibly on Monday. Please watch for messages from PPS and the media for information about that.

John Blanck

Interim Assistant Principal, Access at Vestal

August  13, 2018

Welcome to the 2018-19 school year families and students!

It is our absolute pleasure to welcome everyone to the start of what we deeply believe will be an incredible school year for us all. We know it is a year of significant change and apprehension as to the future of the program and school. We understand many of the complexities and emotions involved, due to so many of you reaching out to us and sharing your experiences. We also know that the driving force behind everything is the success and growth of the children who attend and depend on ACCESS to serve their unique talents and learning pathways. Individualized education that accounts for who each student is, what they are passionate about, where they come from, and who they want to be- is what we want to be a part of together.

We are co-located in 2 spaces, but often barriers provide opportunities for us to overcome them and become even stronger in spite of them. We also have a unique opportunity to grow skills around collaboration and learn from communities that are new and may be very different from us. My hope is that we find those things that unite us are as strong as those that define us individually. Knowing that there will be challenges has us embracing the belief that the only way we will address them is together, which includes student involvement and input.

David and I are thrilled to be in this with you. We will be the ACCESS Community's supporters, advocates, leaders, learners, and thought partners in the journey. When Dr. Curtis called me to offer me the opportunity and privilege to come to ACCESS, my response was, “Absolutely. Let’s do this!”

That is how David and I have been diving into it all, along with everyone else we have been working with since we came on board. We ask you to adopt this “Let’s do this”, mindset alongside us and the ACCESS staff. We know and honor that there is a special history and culture that comes with you. Most of all, we want work with you to make the ACCESS Community even stronger as it moves forward.

Thank you for allowing us into your community. It is truly an honor!

-Krista & David

July 3, 2018

Hello ACCESS families of 1^st through 5^th graders and welcome to the Vestal Campus! We are excited to have you join us at our amazing school.

David Jamieson has been named the Assistant Principal for ACCESS. He will have an office here at Vestal.  Many of you got a letter from me in May sharing some of what we knew then about our co-locating plans. David and I have spent some time meeting and we are able to share more of what we now know. Our intention is to share another letter in August. Once the school year begins, our intent is for David to share a weekly newsletter with ACCESS families and I will send a weekly newsletter to Vestal families.

Here are a few more things we can share as of July 3^rd:

• ACCESS and Vestal will have different start/end times to allow for a smoother entry and exit.
• We are working with transportation on our bus/car drop off/pick-up plan. The specific details will be shared in August. It seems hopeful that the buses will NOT be on the playground. ACCESS and Vestal students will wait outside until the doors open and students are greeted by staff. Please note- there is not an outdoor covered area for waiting in the morning. There are not staff available to be supervising students before school.
• ALL school doors remain locked during the school day. The door facing Everett has a buzzer for families (for both ACCESS and Vestal) to be let in during the school day.
• Vestal office in on the main floor.
• ACCESS at Vestal will have a separate office, on the 2^nd floor.
• All safety drills (Fire, Lock down, Earthquake, etc.) will happen for both ACCESS and Vestal at the same times. David and I will work together on safety/emergency planning and drills. We will teach and practice all drills with all students. We will share details in the Fall.
• New information regarding the library/media teacher- we will share one library teacher, Ms. Melody Lang. She will be .50 Vestal and .50 ACCESS. The ACCESS library books are being integrated into the Vestal Library. Ms. Lang is working closely with head of the district library, Susan Stone.
• ACCESS and Vestal specialists will be Library/Media, PE, Art.
• We are moving forward with hiring a .60 Drama teacher. Details on scheduling to follow!
• ACCESS students will be notified of homeroom teacher in August.
• Recess and lunch times will be the same for both Vestal and ACCESS. We are currently working on our supervision schedules, which includes indoor recess procedures. All students will be taught recess/lunch procedures during the first week of school.
• ACCESS at Vestal will have a student handbook/calendar that will go home with every student on the first day of school.
• ACCESS at Vestal will be implementing the district EBBL (Equity Based Balanced Literacy) Writing Curriculum, Units of Study, in the Fall.
• Just FYI-  ACCESS is currently in the process of hiring the following positions for ACCESS at Vestal- 1.0 School secretary, 1.0 Counselor, .50 School Climate Specialist, .60 PE, .50 Spanish, .50  Math
• Vestal hosts weekly KICKBALL games every Wednesday during the summer on our playground, 6:30-7:30...please join us. No kickball on July 4^th!
• Community Clean Up day for both Vestal and ACCESS at Vestal is Aug. 18^th, 9am-12pm. Please join us in sprucing up our campus!

This is a lot of information and I know it doesn’t answer all of your questions, but again our plan is to share another similar letter in August.

We hope everyone is having a fun summer! Know that we are working together to make the Fall welcoming and enjoyable!

Sabrina Flamoe and David Jamieson

June 22, 2018

Dear ACCESS Community,

I hope that this finds you enjoying your summer. I have been busy working hard with the district and the principals of Vestal and Lane on the transition of ACCESS to our new school campuses. More staffing information will be shared as it gets finalized, but I am happy to announce that Mr. David Jamieson will be the new Assistant Principal of ACCESS. He will have an office at the Vestal campus.

Mr. Jamieson joins the ACCESS community having served as an Assistant Principal at both Beach K5 and Ockley Green. During that time he has enjoyed the opportunity to learn from many mentors, lead a co-located Spanish DLI school, open a middle school and get to know the people in PPS who serve as resources to school leaders.
 
Before moving to Portland, Mr. Jamieson served as an administrator at a high-performing charter school in Los Angeles. While there he saw a 100% graduation rate for all students as well as the development of a school and instructional culture of acceleration, differentiation, creativity, and critical thinking.
 
Born in Portland and an Oregon native, his love of travel and diverse culture began as a child while his father volunteered as a doctor in the Philippines and Hawaii. Traveling throughout Central America and living in Costa Rica while studying Spanish in college shaped his early career path which lead him to pursue his Teaching Certificate at San Diego State University. He then obtained a Masters of Education Teaching English as a Second Language as well as a Masters of Education in Leadership. Mr. Jamieson’s career experience spans sixteen years of working in private, public and charter schools at the elementary, middle and high school levels. He also has international teaching experience at an IB school in Xiamen, China.
 
In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, fly fishing, surfing, reading and spending time with his wife Sara, their son R.E and daughter Finley.
 
Mr. Jamieson looks forward to getting to know the ACCESS community and being part of the school’s next chapter.

Please join me in welcoming Mr. Jamieson.

Sincerely,

Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

Upcoming Events:

• Back to School Picnic: Sunday, August 19 at Normandale Park (5700 NE Halsey Street) *More details to come
• First Day for All ACCESS Students: Monday, August 27

June 15, 2018

Hello ACCESS families of 1^st through 5^th graders and welcome to the Vestal Campus! We are excited to have you join us at our amazing school. Vestal is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse schools in the city. We have about 68% of our students receiving free or reduced price lunch, which qualifies us as a Title 1 school. We have some unique programs due to our Title status. We also made the community wide decision to be a school that explicitly focuses on social justice starting in the Fall.

My name is Sabrina Flamoe and I am just wrapping up my first year as principal of this wonderfully diverse and beautiful school. Previous to Vestal, I was the principal at Laurelhurst K-8, right down the street, and previous to Laurelhurst I was a teacher of grades 3^rd through 8^th, then an instructional coach.

I wanted to share a few things we know for sure for Fall 2018:

• ACCESS grades 1-5 will be co-located at Vestal; classrooms and the office will be in one wing. The ACCESS counselor and Learning Center will be in a different wing, but all on the 2^nd floor.
• Vestal and ACCESS will share a .6 DRAMA teacher which will be housed in our gorgeous auditorium.
• ACCESS will have its own Assistant Principal, which will be the consistent administrator on campus. The ACCESS principal will be housed at Lane.
• Recess and lunch times will be common times for both Vestal and ACCESS
• We are hopeful to integrate the Playworks philosophy across both Vestal and ACCESS
• Vestal and ACCESS will each have their own Art and Media Specialist teachers, but both will be teaching in the Art room and in the Library.
• Vestal and ACCESS will each have their own PE teachers. ACCESS students will have PE in the Playcourt 2/week and in the gym 1/week…and hopefully outside lots!
• Vestal partners with Earth/Art/Agriculture to bring a garden teacher in for all classes. We are hopeful that we can extend this partnership for ACCESS students
• Vestal and ACCESS PTA’s have begun working together to schedule both evening and school day events that can be shared by all!
• Vestal is hopeful that our focus on Social Justice and ACCESS focus on Service Learning can be an area of common ground and shared learning.
• Vestal PTA hosts weekly KICKBALL games every Wednesday during the summer on our playground, 6:30-7:30. Please join us!
• There will be staggered start time for Vestal and ACCESS in the Fall.

• Vestal hours will be 8:00-2:15pm
• ACCESS hours will be 8:20-2:35pm

• PPS transportation dept. is working on logistics and will be communicating with families once decisions are made about transportation. Transportation decisions are not made by building administrators.

While we can all agree co-locating comes with challenges, please know we believe we can do this well, even knowing there will be challenges! We invite you to join us in positive problem solving and assuming positive intent that this can be beneficial to all of our students, families, and staff!

If you have ACCESS specific questions, please contact ACCESS administration. If you’d like to connect with Vestal’s PTA, please contact our PTA president Galen Gamble at galenblairg@gmail.com.

Thank you so much, I wish all of you a very enjoyable summer,

Sabrina Flamoe
sflamoe@pps.net

June 1, 2018 

Dear ACCESS Community,

The final five days of the school year are here! How did we get to the end of the year so quickly? Next week will fly by!

On Wednesday we learned about our co-location sites and now the work of transitioning and preparing for the 2018-19 school year begins, as we also try to close out this year and finish strong. There is a lot to do and so I will be out of the building for some meetings next week to plan with the principals and the district for next school year.

As I mentioned in this morning’s Principal’s Coffee, we have been on a wild roller coaster ride this year and I want to thank you all for staying on this ride with us. As our learning community expands onto two campuses and includes two other communities, we will be working on ways to help everyone with this transition.

Our staff is still evolving as the year comes to a close. I have already shared the changes that we have so far in previous communications, but there is one more change that has come about in the last week. We also still have a few vacancies which we hope to fill by the end of June.

• Ana Simantel has accepted a position outside of PPS

Please also see the message below from Principal Lawler:

Being principal for the day was a lot of fun.  It includes lots of learnings about being a principal today with Ms. Nguyen-Johnson.  It was really fun being able to be in her office, walk around the school and eat in the teacher’s lounge.  A principal's job takes a lot of responsibility.  It is to take care of a lot of things and a lot of people.  They help with activities, paperwork, meetings, answering questions, talking to people.  A principal has their own office and is very busy.   

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,
Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

Upcoming Events:

• Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
• Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
• 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
• 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 

Year End Cafeteria Account Balances
Any remaining account balances (positive or negative) on students’ meal accounts at the end of the year will be automatically held for students at their current school or transferred to students’ new schools within the district.  If your student is leaving the district, then you may call Robin Cafeteria Lead at Access and BC@RCP to arrange for a refund. Donations are also accepted for helping cover owed money on student meal accounts.  Visit our department webpage www.pps.net/nutrition to make a donation.

Lost & Found
All Lost and Found items are on display at the main entrance of school until the end of the day on Monday, June 11th.  Please take a look for any items you may be missing.  All unclaimed items will be promptly donated to the PPS Clothes Closet the following morning.

8th Grade Picnic
Hello 8th grade families! Hopefully you’ve heard about the picnic following the 8th grade promotion.  Here are details:

There will be an 8th grade potluck picnic at Rose City Park (the actual Park at NE 62nd Ave and Tillamook- we will set up on the 62nd side around the picnic tables) directly following the 8th Grade promotion ceremony on Friday, June 8th.  This is not a school sponsored event, so students will need to be signed out by a parent or guardian at the office before leaving (or have a note from home with permission to leave school and go to the park).  Students can return to school to catch their bus.

We will provide meat and cheese deli trays, bread, and fixings for sandwiches as well as a vegetarian option.  Signup genius link is https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4aafaf2cabfb6-8thgrade. It includes spots to sign up to contribute $ toward party trays as well as set up and clean up.

Hope you can come help celebrate the last day of eighth grade!

May 11, 2018

Dear ACCESS Community,

This week also flew by! We have four weeks of school left. The last day of school for 2017-18 remains June 8 - please see the message from the district that was shared with the PPS community earlier this week.

A huge thank you to the PTA and the families of ACCESS Academy for making the staff feel appreciated during Staff Appreciation Week this week! We were well fed, ready to go with morning beverages, and showered in notes and flowers. We also thank you all for the generous gift cards.

The latest staffing updates:

• Hans Weih, paraeducator, will be leaving PPS to explore other opportunities
• Mandarin Teacher; a new Mandarin teacher will be placed with us for the 2018-19 school year

Also, we still anxiously await a decision on our location(s) for next school year.

Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!

Sincerely,

Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

Upcoming Events:

• Science Night: Tuesday, May 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
• Late Opening: Wednesday, May 16 - School begins at 10:45am  *Reminder that breakfast is not served on Late Opening since Lunch/Recess begins 40 minutes after arrival
• PTA Meeting: Wednesday, May 16 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Library
• Dine Out for ACCESS: Wednesday, May 23 from 11am-10pm at ¿Por Qué No? (3524 N. Mississippi Ave.)
• ACCESS Choir Concert: Tuesday, May 29 in the Auditorium
• Principal’s Coffee:  Friday, June 1 from 8:45am-9:45am in the Auditorium
• Last Middle School Dance: Friday, June 1 - 5th graders are invited to attend
• Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
• Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
• 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
• 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 *Details to come

May 4, 2018

Dear ACCESS Community,

It is hard to believe that May is already here...the time has been flying by!

I will continue to share staffing updates as they become finalized. In addition to the ones that were shared last week, here are the latest:

• Jeremy Johnson will be the Head Varsity Football Coach and Mathematics Teacher at Lincoln HS
• Yinan Sun, Mandarin Teacher, will return to China as her 2-year contract will end
• Ana Simantel will return as the Grade 1 / 2 Teacher
• Michael Todd will be the Learning Center Teacher (.50FTE) replacing Christy LeeWehage

Also, we still await a decision on our location(s) for next school year. There were two communications sent out this week from the district, and in case you did not receive them, I have linked to them below:

• Update on ACCESS Decision Process
• ACCESS Decision Update

Sincerely,

Anh Nguyen-Johnson, Principal

Upcoming Events:

• Science Night: Tuesday, May 15 from 6:00pm-8:00pm
• Late Opening: Wednesday, May 16 - School begins at 10:45am  *Reminder that breakfast is not served on Late Opening since Lunch/Recess begins 40 minutes after arrival
• PTA Meeting: Wednesday, May 16 from 7:00-8:30pm in the Library
• ACCESS Choir Concert: Tuesday, May 29 in the Auditorium
• Principal’s Coffee:  Friday, June 1 from 8:45am-9:45am in the Auditorium
• Last Middle School Dance: Friday, June 1 - 5th graders are invited to attend
• Field Day: Tuesday, June 5
• Jr. Rose Parade Early Release @RCP: Wednesday, June 6 - Students dismissed at 11:15am *No lunch served
• 8th Grade Oaks Park Field Trip: Thursday, June 7
• 8th Grade Promotion & 8th Grade picnic: Friday, June 8 *Details to come

Safe Routes to School Bike Fairy Week
The Bike Fairy will be visiting the Rose City Park Campus on Wednesday, May 9 and leave a small surprise on all the bikes parked on campus.

Oregon Health Plan
Starting Jan. 1, 2018, the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) is available to more children and teens younger than 19, regardless of immigration status. OHP is free health coverage for Oregonians who meet income and other criteria. It covers many health care services such as check-ups, tooth fillings, glasses and prescriptions. It also covers labs, x-rays and hospital care. It even pays for rides to and from the doctor’s office. Apply to see if you qualify. Help is free. A trusted and OHP-certified community partner nearby can help you apply. You can find one by calling 1-800-699-9075 or 711 (TTY). You can also go online at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/OHP/Pages/OHPcoversme.aspx