Fernwood Campus: 1915 NE 33rd Ave•Portland, OR 97212•Ph (503) 916-6480•Fx (503) 916-2626
Hollyrood Campus: 3560 NE Hollyrood Ct•Portland, OR 97212•Ph (503) 916-6766•Fx (503) 916-2635
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While the best protection we have against COVID-19 continues to be vaccines plus booster shots, we know that when used correctly, face masks create an important barrier that reduces the spray of a person’s respiratory droplets, which can spread the virus that causes COVID-19. Because the Omicron variant spreads more easily than the Delta variant, wearing a well-fitting mask is more important than ever to slow the spread of COVID-19. To limit the spread of the Omicron variant, PPS continues to require individuals to wear masks at all times while on school campuses (indoor and outdoor) and on school buses.
Below are some tips from public health experts on proper use of masks:
A high-filtration efficiency mask with a tight fit to the face is another option. These include N95, KN95, and KF94 respirators.
Do not wear masks with ventilation valves. These ventilation valves allow particles and droplets to escape into the air.
If you are interested in learning more about how to select, properly wear, clean and store your masks, here are links to a few trusted resources:
In addition to personal protective equipment we ask every individual to wear, we’ve upgraded existing air filters in each of our schools' mechanical systems to MERV 13 standards. This higher level of filtration provides another layer of protection to fight against COVID transmission. And as part of the PPS multi-layer approach to protecting against COVID transmission, the District has distributed portable air purifiers into classrooms and many other areas in all District buildings. The portable air purifiers provide HEPA level air filtration, which is capable of removing 99.97% of particles of 0.3 microns. This is the standard filtration used to capture virus aerosols.
We continue to urge all members of our community who are eligible to please get vaccinated and boosted against the virus. We encourage you to talk to your children about proper and effective mask-wearing on school campuses. Thank you for your patience and understanding and for doing your part to keep our community safe.
Benefits of Test to Stay: Given the lower level of COVID-19 in schools, students exposed at school will have the opportunity to stay in in-person learning and minimize the impact quarantine has had on their education. This is called a modified quarantine and requires students to continue to wear masks during any activity that does not require its use, for example band, athletics, etc., until day eight (8). Students must remain symptom free and will be provided two tests during their quarantine period. You can help expedite the process by signing and returning the consent form for the BinaxNOW rapid nasal swab test, unless you already did it this year. Here is the form.
For students who were exposed outside of the school day (at home, extracurricular activities, etc), we will have available the Test to Return process. This process will allow students to return on Day 8 after an exposure with any negative antigen or pcr COVID-19 test performed between days 5-7.
As always, vaccinated students who do not have symptoms do not have to quarantine or Test to Stay. We will share more specifics about this program in early January. 5-Step Process for Parents and Families
As more of your students get vaccinated against COVID-19, we want to ask you to share that information with us to help us make more efficient decisions on positive cases and quarantining and to make informed plans for the future.
If your child has received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and is considered fully vaccinated, please enter that information into ParentVUE, our student data platform for families.
Having the vaccination status of individual students will also help us more quickly identify students who need to be quarantined after close contact with an infected individual. Students who are fully vaccinated do not need to quarantine after close contact as long as they remain symptom-free.
To update your children’s COVID-19 vaccine status, you will need their vaccine card. You can upload an image of the card into ParentVUE by following these simple instructions. You can also take, or have your student take, a copy of the vaccine card to your school office.
Beverly Cleary is participating in a free COVID-19 weekly screening testing program in partnership with Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). The project is a collaboration with Oregon Health Authority, OHSU, Multnomah County, and our health partners at Multnomah Education Service District (MESD). We are excited to participate in this free and simple testing program, as it will be an additional measure in maintaining a safe environment for our community.
If you are interested in signing your child up for the free weekly COVID screening testing, please complete the release of information and either email it to Ali Zeulner or turn it into your school office. It takes approximately 2-3 weeks for OHSU to process the paperwork and send us student kits. Once received, we will contact families with additional instructions. After OHSU has run the tests, you will receive a secure email with your child's results.
With our ongoing commitment to keeping you informed, PPS has built an improved and more informative COVID-19 Monitoring Dashboard: PPS COVID Dashboard
Welcome to Beverly Cleary School! The community of BCS is committed to meeting the educational, social, emotional and physical needs of all students regardless of their background or ability. We work diligently to build relationships with every student and their families so that we may create an environment that supports every child on their individual road to academic success. All staff members, the PTA, the Foundation and the parent community as a whole, works as a cohesive unit to ensure that every child can participate in a rigorous academic program K-8. We value all stakeholders because we know it takes all of us to create a school of excellence.
John Ferraro
Principal
Beverly Cleary K-8
May is Mental Health Awareness Month: Information and Resources from PPS Student Support Services
While focusing on mental wellness is essential every month, May has been designated as Mental Health Awareness Month. Portland Public Schools is committed to uplifting wellness and to supporting all of our students to stay healthy, mentally and physically.
Dear PPS families and staff,
This week, Multnomah County health officials made an announcement about masking, due to the current COVID-19 surge. The Health Department is asking people to wear masks indoors until new coronavirus case counts and hospitalizations start to fall, and strongly recommend that people wear masks in schools. The current increase in COVID-19 cases is expected to peak in mid-June, when PPS’s school year ends.
On National School Nurse Day, we salute the four dozen nurses who serve Portland Public Schools.
Our school nurses have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 pandemic, taking on responsibility for a wholly different level of care and an illness that remains a mystery in many ways, even after two years.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Portland Public Schools recognizes the important contributions of Asian Americans Pacific Islander.
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM District Board Meeting
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Field Day!
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Board Charter Schools and Alternative Programs Committee Meeting
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM Board Policy Committee Meeting
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Coffee Talk Hollyrood
11:15 AM Early Release for Junior Rose Parade
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM Board Audit Committee Meeting
5:00 PM 8th Grade Promotion at Grant HS
4:30 PM TSCC Hearing
6:00 PM District Board Meeting
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Board Facilities and Operations Committee Meeting