August 8, 2025

Dear Students and Families,

Greetings to you all.  Wow, not sure how August came around so quickly!  I hope summer is treating you all well.  Our office staff has been back since Monday and we are already gearing up for the 2025-2026 School Year.  I wanted to reach out with a bit of staffing news and some other information to get you thinking about the upcoming school year.

We are excited to welcome back all 20 of our classroom teachers from last year!  It will be great to have the same crew in place to build on our successes and to continue working towards providing the very best educational experience for all students.  We do have a few new “specialists” who will be joining us for the 2025-2026 School Year:

• Music:  Joy Schuett-Hames - Joy comes to us from Chief Joseph Elementary School. Joy will be at Alameda three days a week.

• PE:  Ash Livingood: Ash will be at Alameda full-time.  She most recently worked at Ainsworth and Bridlemile Elementary Schools.

• Art:  Zachary Doiel - Zachary will be splitting his time between Alameda and Marysville

A few other reminders and things on the horizon:

• Email with Class Placement information and other back-to-school details will be coming out by August 13th. 

• The first day of school for students in 1st - 5th grade is Tuesday, August 26th.  Kindergarten schedules for the first week will be detailed when you receive your teacher assignment email next week.  The first day, for ALL kindergarten students is Tuesday, 9/2.  

• The first bell is STILL at 7:55 AM, with school beginning at 8:00 AM.  Dismissal will be at 2:30 PM.  Additional information regarding arrival and dismissal procedures will be coming soon.

• Connect to Kindergarten:  Our next Connect to Kindergarten meet/greet event takes place on August 21st from 4:30 - 5:30 PM on the Alameda Playground.

Here are a couple important updates from our PTA:

Supplies:  Think it is time to buy school supplies? No need because we have you covered! Instead of sorting through long supply lists to send you out to hunt for school supplies, we will collect your money, buy in bulk, and connect directly with the teachers to purchase and provide what they want for their students in their classrooms as well as classroom items to benefit all students.

Suggested contribution for 2025-2026 is $50.00 per student. This covers supplies for your student as well as an "extra" component, which is used to ensure all students, regardless of need, are provided the same supplies and to offset a portion of out-of-pocket expense each teacher pays for general classroom supplies through teacher reimbursements and grant program throughout the year.

Membership:  Support the PTA and help us provide family events, staff support, enrichment activities and other school needs all year long! A portion of dues is sent to Oregon and National PTAs as part of our membership structure.

** To join the PTA and/or to make your supply contribution PLEASE CLICK HERE **

If you have any questions about enrollment or other school related topics please feel free to reach out to the Alameda office at 503-916-6036 or email Beth Minch or Elaine Chan.

I hope you continue to enjoy summer. I look forward to seeing you all later this month.

Regards,

Matt Goldstein

mattgoldstein@pps.net
Principal

Online Portal Open for Registration

PTA Popsicle Social for Newly Enrolled Families - August 21, 2025 from 4:30pm to 5:30pm

Joining the PTA is a great way to get involved in your child or children’s education at Alameda and education issues generally. Your tax-deductible $25 membership helps sustain PTA programs at Alameda and supports child-first lobbying efforts in Oregon and Washington, DC. Membership offers access to the Alameda PTA online school-wide directory, enrollment in the Oregon PTA, a vote on decisions affecting PTA activities and policies, and the opportunity to serve on the PTA board.

Joining the PTA is quick, convenient, and secure. To sign up:

• Go to https://alamedapps.memberhub.com/store

We look forward to working with all of our families this year and are confident that with the help of our community this year will be yet another fantastic year at Alameda School! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at ptamembership@alamedaschool.org.

Congratulations to Lincoln High School students Richard Deng and Coral Platt! Both were awarded National Merit Scholarships of $2,500 toward their college studies.

They were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists nationwide. Richard plans to pursue a career in politics and Coral is looking at a future in the legal sector.

Two exceptional PPS educators, Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones, were recently named OnPoint Educators of the Year for 2025.

As part of this prestigious honor, both teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year, and their schools also receive a $2,500 donation. 

Ricardo Barber teaches third grade at Faubion, and Hang Jones serves as a social worker at Marysville Elementary. 

The OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education celebrates educators who embrace innovative teaching techniques that ignite enthusiasm in their students. 

Congratulations to Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones! And thank you both for everything you do to make a difference in the lives our students.

The assignment their teacher gave them was simple – make a short film that begins with a phone call and ends with someone hanging up. Benson first-year students Dylan Martinez-Torres and Dariel Soriano Zamora ran it all the way to a small city populated by two very big and rather iconic monsters – Godzilla and Hedora.

The result, Sorry, Wrong Number, is one of the more than 90 films entered into the annual Best of PPS Film Festival. The festival is a celebration of exceptional student filmmaking that includes a showcase at the historic Hollywood Theatre. 

The fourth annual installment of the festival took place on May 21 and included a screening of 13 standout films. The films came from all over PPS and ran the gamut from Dylan and Dariel’s monster short to documentaries, film noir, and broadcast journalism. 

If you are a passionate student or community member that wants to make a difference at PPS, apply to join the Climate Crisis Response Committee! This is a committee that reports to the PPS Board of Education.

On the committee you will learn about how PPS is making progress towards our climate justice and sustainability policies, provide input and recommendations to the PPS Board on how to better support PPS staff as we advance these policy goals, and connect with other passionate members of our PPS community from diverse backgrounds, knowledge areas, and lived experiences.

No previous professional experience in climate change or sustainability required! Students can apply via this form. Community members can apply here.

Deadline to apply: June 6.