Our Virtual Family Information Session Schedule
In order to provide more information to families interested in having their student apply to ACCESS Academy and entering our lottery process, we have set up family information and tours monthly starting in January of 2021 at our Elementary program at Vestal and our Middle School program at Lane. Due to COVID-19 social distancing and stay-at-home requirements, we are offering virtual tours for the 2021-22 school year lottery.
We will provide an introduction and general information about the program and application process by administration, followed by a chance to talk to current families about their experience with the program.
You can also learn more about applying to ACCESS Academy through this online presentation. We also encourage you to contact access.pta.outreach@gmail.com to connect with current ACCESS families and students to learn about their experiences at ACCESS. 

 

2020-21 school year  Elementary School Informational Slide Deck
2020-21 school year Middle School Informational Slide Deck

Dates of Information Sessions

Month	ACCESS @ Vestal Elementary	ACCESS @ Lane  Middle School
Secretary Contact	Janae Merritt jamerritt@pps.net (503) 916-6483	Susie Fung sfung@pps.net (503) 916-6482
January	Tues - Jan 19, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm	Wed - Jan 20, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm
February	Wed - Feb 17, 2021 6:00pm – 7:00pm	Tues - Feb 16, 2021 6:00pm – 7:00pm
March	Mon - Mar 8, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm	Thurs - Mar 11, 2021  6:00pm - 7:00pm
April	Tues, Apr 7, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm	Mon, Apr 6, 2021 6:00pm - 7:00pm
May	Thurs - May 6, 2021 4:00pm - 5:00pm	Mon - May 3, 2021  4:00pm - 5:00pm

Dr. Garcia-Arriola, middle school science teacher at ACCESS Academy, was named to the Circle of Excellence by Circle of Excellence by OnPoint Community Credit Union. This award comes with a $1,500 cash prize for Dr. Garcia-Arriola and a $1,000 donation to ACCESS Academy. Congratulations, Dr. Garcia-Arriola, on this recognition of your outstanding work as an educator! See the full article here. 

Award-winning local author Rosanne Parry will be Writer-in-Residence at ACCESS Academy for elementary grades throughout the Read-a-thon, providing writing workshops and culminating in a Family Literacy Celebration on Friday January 31 from 6:30-7:30. 

Award-winning author Renée Watson gave presentations at both ACCESS campuses in October. Ms. Watson is a Portland native whose writing focuses on the lived experiences of black girls and women and explores themes of identity, home, and the intersection of race, gender and class. As she explained to students at Vestal, she writes “so girls who look like me can see themselves in books, and so people who don’t look like me can get to know girls who look like me.”

There are three ways we send messages to families about delays, closures and other weather-related decisions:

• Phone calls: Automated calls, in all supported languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian and Somali), will be placed to the primary number listed on each student’s registration. If you’ve changed your number recently, please update it with your school.
• Email: An automated message will be sent to the email address you listed in your child’s registration. The message will be translated into our five supported languages.
• Text message: You will receive a text message on your cell phone, but first you’ll have to opt in to the SchoolMessenger system by texting “Yes” or just “Y” to 68453. If you opt in, you will still receive an auto-dialer call. Texts go to parent and staff phone numbers registered with the district.

We also post updates online:

• Twitter: Follow our account, @PPSConnect.
• Facebook: Connect with us at facebook.com/pps.homepage.
• Our website: Go to net and look for a yellow bar across the top of the page. That’s where you’ll find more detailed information, such as snow routes for buses. Messages will be translated.

Happy Friday ACCESS Families!

As we move into the 3-day MLK Holiday weekend, I continue to reflect on the state of our Nation and the overwhelming Global Pandemic. Martin Luther King Jr was unrelenting in his pursuit of racial justice for Black communities across our country. The same systems of oppression that Dr. King railed against during the Civil Rights era still have a strong hold in our communities of color. There are a new generation of Freedom Fighters and one way that we are able to join them in the fight for racial justice is to learn about Dr. King’s teachings, challenge systems of oppression, racist speech, and interrupt decision-makers that serve to perpetuate the “racial divide”.

The MLK holiday weekend has for many years, asked people to gather in ways that we are able to “serve” our communities. A day of service. This year, with COVID-19, creates challenges. Be intentional this weekend. We have much to learn!

Virtual MLK Jr celebrations, service opportunities, and resources (to highlight just a few)

• Portland’s own The Skanner Foundation will stream the 35^th Annual  Martin Luther King Jr Breakfast on Monday, January 18^th, 2021 @ 9:00am. Please register here for this free event.
• World Arts Foundation Inc presents the 36^th Annual Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” from Noon-5:00pm. Free event.
• HandsOn Greater Portland no events planned this year, but information for other organizations and events found here.

This & That….

Our ACCESS Talent Show audition sign up deadline has been extended to January 24. Please encourage students to SIGN UP. Email dharkness@pps.net with any questions.

ATTENTION 8th GRADERS

High school forecasting (choosing classes) will be happening over the next 3-4 weeks.  The timing depends upon the individual school. This spreadsheet includes links to high schools and their forecasting information, if available. Contact dharkness@pps.net with any questions.

---

Spelling Bee

Congratulations to the following spellers who will advance to the school-wide “spell off” on Friday, February 5, at 9:30 am:

4th grade:

• Dahlia C
• Myles D
• Phoebe N
• Evelyn N-G
• Gar P
• Cormac R

5th grade:

• Corey C
• Emily D
• Ramona S
• Peiyi W

6th grade:

• Talla B
• Eric C
• Finley C
• Zan O'L
• Daniel P
• Colin Y

7th grade:

• Raphael B
• Nate C
• Kirin C-S
• Manu I
• Eliot L

8th grade:

• Jenny C
• Sophie J
• Oscar J
• Finnian R
• Ashley R

~~~~~~~~

Semester One ends January 28^th, 2021

There are two weeks remaining for first semester. Teachers will spend the planning day, January 29^th , assessing student works and finalizing grades. Please take time with your student to review CANVAS and SeeSaw, catch up with communications from teachers, and ensure assignments are completed and turned in.

Enjoy the weekend.

Be well, Ginger

Dear ACCESS Community, Faculty, Staff, & Families –

The range of emotions I have felt throughout today as I witness what is happening in our Nation’s Capital are incredible. I quickly think about how our students are processing and trying to make sense of what is going on and what the implications are for how our current government operates. I worry that once again, students are feeling anxious and unsafe. Their emotional threshold for anxiety, stress, fear, and uncertainty, when paired with the extended isolation of this global pandemic are a test of our resilience as a people and educational community like I’ve never experienced.

I will share that reflection, open dialog, and listening to understand are invaluable steps for making sense and settling emotions. We will continue to navigate such disruptions and uncertainty like professionals. We have an awesome team of educators at ACCESS! We are blessed this way.  Lean on each other as adults; reach out to counseling and admin teams for support, questions, or concerns. We are great thought partners and problem-solvers.

As adults and particularly as educators it is important to make space for individual student voice and establish norms that help to guide discussions. Assist with words and language that are supportive of our community. Challenge and interrupt hate, bias, and discriminatory comments. Our ACCESS community is so caring. Thank you all!

This is not about politics. This is about safety: physical, spiritual, and emotional. It is about respect and civility. This is about systems of white privilege and oppression. These are big issues, complex, and very challenging to navigate in conversation, classroom lessons, and day-to-day living.

Teachers will do everything possible to be adaptive and provide for students needs to talk and process. Our counseling team is ready to support and provide safe spaces for students as well. They will visit community meetings for our elementary students in the morning and open drop in meeting links for students who need to access them outside of class. Please let us know if your student needs individual support right away.

ACCESS support team:

• Devin Harkness, deharkness@pps.net counselor
• Dave Hall, dhall2@pps.net counselor
• Ashley Bevan, abevan@pps.net counselor
• Michelle Strickler, mstrickler@pps.net climate specialist
• Val Anderson, vanderson@pps.net middle school learning center
• Beth Ricketson, bricketson@pps.net elementary school learning center

Stay safe, Be Well. We care about you and your students, Ginger & Team

Wanting to learn more?  Below are some additional resources for helping students process the current turbulence in Oregon and the U.S.

• Helping Students Process the 2020 Elections - Approaches to having difficult conversations with students:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KrLWtp2oh4P6wfGNTnyaIBQQ8SzjfGUnfNnE17mzGQc/edit

• Helping Students Process the 2020 Elections Best Practices and Resources

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qkaCr7-M-spP35euFoxRfa0EDQL88OZ8iZNr4yuj5fU/edit

• Difficult Event: Community Circle Discussion Plan

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aHTJR07G0agnD3ViESBqZrYDyJVdSERKmUQQJOkbymA/edit?usp=sharing  

• Morning Meeting following a Difficult Event

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Yd_2z2rg7fkK4JV9yvvdMbmRWR7vXy67WTV4O1QicbQ/edit?usp=sharing  

• Teaching Tolerance: Let’s Talk: Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics with Students

http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/TT%20Difficult%20Conversations%20web.pdf

PTA Helping Hands for Fall Break

Fall break, November 23rd - 27th, is quickly approaching, and during that time off from school, some ACCESS families may find it difficult to make ends meet.

The ACCESS Academy PTA’s Helping Hands Fund exists to assist ACCESS families over school breaks. If your family would benefit from this support over Fall break, please contact ACCESS@Lane Counselor Devin Harkness or ACCESS@Vestal Counselor David Hall by Wednesday, November 18. They can provide assistance to you — in the form of a Fred Meyer gift card — by Monday, November 23.

Mr. Harkness can be reached at: dharkness@pps.net or 503.916.6482 (main office); Mr. Hall can be reached at: dhall2@pps.net or 503.916.6483 (main office). Your family’s name and request will be kept strictly confidential.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A reminder that next week, Wednesday, Nov 11th is Veteran's Day and is an observed National Holiday. There will be no school this day. The middle school schedule will shift a bit in order to accommodate the loss of instructional time. so, for the week of November 9th - 13th the middle school schedule will adjust to: 

Monday/Friday - pers 1, 2, 3 live classes (this means Friday pers 4. 5. 6, will not meet, nor will there be advisory period)

• 9:00-9:45     per 1
• 10:00-10:45 per 2
• 11:00-11:45 per 3
• 11:45-12:15 AppL/SG/Enrichment
• LUNCH/RECESS
• 1:00-1:45    per 1 AppL
• 1:45-2:30    per 2 AppL
• 2:30-3:15    per 3 AppL

Tuesday/Thursday - pers 4, 5, 6 live classes (same as always)

• 9:00-9:45
• 10:00-10:45
• 11:00-11:45
• 11:45-12:15 AppL/SG/Enrichment
• LUNCH/RECESS
• 1:00-1:45    per 4 AppL
• 1:45-2:30    per 5 AppL
• 2:30-3:15    per 6 AppL

The elementary schedule will not be impacted (other then the no school day Wednesday)

Teachers will review this with students in detail through out the week so as to not reinforce the no school day and the shift to the middle school schedule.  Thank you, Ginger

Dear PPS Students, Families and Colleagues,

Today we celebrate and honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a hero of mine. As his influence is seen and felt in the ongoing movement for racial justice, I want to share this video created by the Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School community. They found a creative way to unify their voices to bring us a unique reading of Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963, originally delivered to a crowd of almost a quarter million people at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C. I think you will enjoy this collaboratively produced presentation of Dr. King’s words brought to life by a new generation of change-makers for justice at PPS.

Dear PPS Families,

We are so grateful to our educators and our community who have continued to support our students through these times of transition this year. The presidential election and its fallout, especially the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, have been disturbing and unsettling for all of us, and the feeling of unease continues as next week’s inauguration of Joe Biden nears. We know it can be an especially difficult time for our students and we remain optimistic about the power of democracy and education as they try to make sense of the events and issues.

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has issued adapted versions of its annual reports for every school and school district, including Portland Public Schools. The 2019-20 reports do not include data on statewide assessments, class size or attendance. That data is typically included but was not gatherable because classes were conducted online starting in March during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear PPS Families,

I join all those in public education across the country who denounce the attack on the U.S. Capitol yesterday. The violent and ultimately failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was traumatic to witness for all of us, including our students, but I remain optimistic about their future and our country’s.