Dear PPS Families and Students,

Thank you, again, for your patience as we work through the bus driver shortage. Please know our team is exploring every option, big and small, to provide the best possible service to our students and families during this challenging time.

Dear PPS families, students and staff,

Beginning next week, families will receive a consent form to opt-in to participate in our free COVID-19 screening testing program, which is a partnership between the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and PPS. Screening testing provides early detection of COVID-19, even when individuals have no apparent COVID-19-like symptoms. 

Dear PPS Families and Students,

We share your concern about the continuing transmission of COVID-19 in our community and remain deeply committed to keeping our students, families, staff, and community healthy and safe. Portland Public Schools plays a critical role as a partner to county and state health authorities in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We take seriously our responsibility to monitor and communicate every on-site COVID case we become aware of, so that we too can do our part to limit the spread of the virus by asking students and adults to isolate and/or quarantine^[1] from others.

Tomorrow (September 16), families will receive a brief survey (5-10 minutes) about your students and the COVID-19 vaccination.

In short, we’d like to determine how many of our students (ages 12 and older) are fully vaccinated against the virus and as we anxiously await approval for the COVID-19 vaccine for younger students (age 5 to 11), we’d like to plan for targeted outreach for families to quickly access the vaccine. The information you share will help us prioritize vaccine access and outreach to schools this fall.

Welcome Letter for Kinder Families

August 19, 2021

Dear Kindergarten Families, 

We are so excited to welcome your child and family to the Abernethy Community! This year is going to be extra-special as we return to full-day schooling, five days per week. We are kicking things off on Thursday August 26th with a meet and greet kinder which will be closely monitored by parents/staff to ensure a safe and socially distanced event on our school playground at 6pm! We hope you can join us!!!!

Schedule for the First Week of School
This year, we will be hosting “Ramp Up” days for our Kindergarten (and First Grade) students and families. The goal of having ramp up days is to give teachers, students, and families time to get to know each other and become comfortable with the school day. The Ramp Up Days are described below. 

Kindergarten
September 1-2: Your child’s teacher will send you a link to sign up for an individual conversation with them at the school. In this conversation, teachers are hoping to learn about your child. Students will not be coming to school during these days. Please think about how you will answer the following questions. 

• What are your hopes and dreams for your child this year?
• What do you most want me to know and understand about your child?
• What questions can I answer that will help your family feel ready for Kindergarten?

September 3 and 7: Your child will be invited to attend one of these days for a full day of learning. Only half of the class will be attending each of these two days. The purpose of these days is to allow children to learn school routines, and start developing the close relationships they are bound to create in Kindergarten. We will let you know which day they will be invited to attend soon. 

September 8: This will be the first full day of Kindergarten. All Kindergarten students will come to school on this day.

Teacher Assignments
Teacher Assignments will be posted by Friday at 3 pm in ParentVue. You can view your students' Teacher assignment on ParentVue. Below are instructions on how to view the information. 

1. Either open Browser on a Computer https://www.pps.net/Page/2341 or Download/Open the App on a mobile device 
2. Sign-in or create an account (You may need an ACTIVATION KEY to open the APP/Website - if this is the case, email Christine Olsen - colsen1@pps.net)
3. Once logged in, click either "CLASS SCHEDULE" or in the APP, click "GRADE BOOK", you will see your students teacher name listed here. 

If you are having trouble logging in, please email Christine for assistance (colsen1@pps.net). 

We know how exciting and overwhelming it is for any child to start school.This year, these feelings are likely to be even stronger than at any time in the past. One of our PPS librarians at Capitol Hill Elementary School, Mrs. Wutzke, recorded a read aloud of a cute story that we hope you will share with your child. The story is perfect for easing the fear that little ones have about their first days at school. We hope you enjoy this read aloud together. We are looking forward to seeing you this Thursday August 26th and at the start of the school year. 

While we are excited to return to full time in-person learning, I want to take a moment to acknowledge PPS’s Safety Protocols around Covid-19 and let you know that we at Abernethy, take our safety precautions very seriously and work hard at continued enforcement of these protocols. Last Spring, during our Hybrid Model (in-person school for 2 hours a day), we had 3 students who tested positive for Covid while they were off campus, however thanks to our Parents and our Staff’s vigilance, these cases never resulted in exposure to other students or staff, and furthermore never resulted in a classroom or cohort quarantine. We will continue to follow our approved Safety Plan Protocols which AES received auditors commendations and positive feedback from OHSU staff members as well. More information to come on Monday , 8/23 regarding Arrival and Dismissal as well as lunch procedures for our school. In the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the following slides that summarize our safety protocols. 

PPS 2021 Health and Safety Guidelines AES

Please know that I will have more information to share with you soon, however, I hope this brief overview helps you begin planning. I will be in touch soon with more information to address your many questions like lunch for example. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have. 

It's a joy to serve our school community,

Dr. Christie M. Petersen

Principal

503-916-6190

cpetersen@pps.net

Equipping Our Students for Success in Their Next Learning Experience!

Welcome Letter for 1st Grade Families 

August 19, 2021

Dear First Grade Families, 

We are so excited to welcome your child and family back on Campus in less than 2 weeks! This year is going to be extra-special as we return to full-day schooling, five days per week.  

Schedule for the First Week of School
This year, we will be hosting “Ramp Up” days for our First Grade students and families. The goal of having ramp up days is to give teachers, students, and families time to get to know each other and become comfortable with the school day. The Ramp Up Days are described below. 

First Graders
September 1-2: Your child will be invited to attend one of these days for a full day of learning. Only half of the class will be attending each of these two days. The purpose of these days is to allow children to learn school routines, and start developing the close relationships they are bound to create. We will let you know which day they will be invited to attend soon. 

September 3: This will be the first full day of first grade. All first grade students will come to school on this day.

While we are excited to return to full time in-person learning, I want to take a moment to acknowledge PPS’s Safety Protocols around Covid-19 and let you know that we at Abernethy, take our safety precautions very seriously and work hard at continued enforcement of these protocols. Last Spring, during our Hybrid Model (in-person school for 2 hours a day), we had 3 students who tested positive for Covid while they were off campus, however thanks to our Parents and our Staff’s vigilance, these cases never resulted in exposure to other students or staff, and furthermore never resulted in a classroom or cohort quarantine. 

We will continue to follow our approved Safety Plan Protocols which AES received auditors commendations and positive feedback from OHSU staff members as well. More information to come on Monday , 8/23 regarding Arrival and Dismissal as well as lunch procedures for our school. In the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the following slides that summarize our safety protocols. 

PPS 2021 Health and Safety Guidelines AES

Please know that I will have more information to share with you soon, however, I hope this brief overview helps you begin planning. I will be in touch soon with more information to address your many questions like lunch for example. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have.  

It's a joy to serve our school community,

Dr. Christie M. Petersen

Principal

503-916-6190

cpetersen@pps.net

Equipping Our Students for Success in Their Next Learning Experience!

Welcome Letter for 2nd-5th Grade Families

August 19, 2021

Dear Second - Fifth Grade Families, 

We are so excited to welcome your child and family back on Campus in less than 2 weeks! This year is going to be extra-special as we return to full-day schooling, five days per week.  

Schedule for the First Week of School

Second - Fifth Graders

September 1: All second through fifth graders will have a full first day of school!! 

If you have not accessed your ParentVue Account to learn who your child’s teacher is, please do so now. This information can be found under GRADE BOOK (in the mobile app) and CLASS SCHEDULE in the browser version. If you are having trouble with ParentVue, please contact colsen1@pps.net for assistance. 

While we are excited to return to full time in-person learning, I want to take a moment to acknowledge PPS’s Safety Protocols around Covid-19 and let you know that we at Abernethy, take our safety precautions very seriously and work hard at continued enforcement of these protocols. Last Spring, during our Hybrid Model (in-person school for 2 hours a day), we had 3 students who tested positive for Covid while they were off campus, however thanks to our Parents and our Staff’s vigilance, these cases never resulted in exposure to other students or staff, and furthermore never resulted in a classroom or cohort quarantine. We will continue to follow our approved Safety Plan Protocols which AES received auditors commendations and positive feedback from OHSU staff members as well. More information to come on Monday , 8/23 regarding Arrival and Dismissal as well as lunch procedures for our school. 

In the meantime, please familiarize yourself with the following slides that summarize our safety protocols. 

PPS 2021 Health and Safety Guidelines AES

Please know that I will have more information to share with you soon, however, I hope this brief overview helps you begin planning. I will be in touch soon with more information to address your many questions like lunch for example. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have. 

It's a joy to serve our school community,

Dr. Christie M. Petersen

Principal

503-916-6190

cpetersen@pps.net

Equipping Our Students for Success in Their Next Learning Experience!

This year’s health and safety measures can be found on the PPS.net/BacktoSchool2021 webpage.