Lewis Elementary School
Weekly Newsletter
June 3, 2020
Message from Principal Froehlich:
Dear Lewis Community,
Wow! This is the last full week of school for the 2019-2020 school year. This year has been way too fast. We could certainly use more time in school to teach about events going on in our country. I hope that you are finding time to talk with your children about our world and all of the things that are happening around us. This is by far the most unsettling time in our country, city, and neighborhoods along with the ending to a school year and COVID 19, which is making it difficult for many. If you have questions or need support, please reach out to myself, Kylea Sundberg the school counselor, or your child's teacher. We are all here to provide support, encouragement, and problem solve. Together we can make a difference in the world, and our kids certainly need time to process and talk about ways to make things better for all of us. This is a time to model, show, and demonstrate - love, care and with compassion. You as parents are raising the next generation of leaders. Your kids are the ones who will take care of all of us and make a difference in how the world is formed. Teach your child to see the humanity in all people regardless of their skin color. Black lives matter! Please take time to process together. In this newsletter you will find some resources that will support you as parents in your conversations with your children. The staff at Lewis has come up with many resources that they are sharing in classroom newsletters. I have included a few here, you will also find some within the counselor corner below. Take the time to go through the resources and sit down with your family for conversations. Now is the time.
Currently, we have no answers as to what next fall will look like for school. We will have school, just how that will look is still being discussed at the state and district level. When more information comes out from the state and the school district, I will keep you updated throughout the summer. For now, this is a time to cherish your family, stay positive, enjoy the sun, and make the most of summer months.
Next week we have several things happening "in virtual school." On Monday, June 8th you will receive an email from your child's teacher for next year. They will invite you to a "Move Up Day" on June 9th from 9:00-9:20 for grades 1st and 2nd and from 9:30-9:50 for grades 3rd-5th. Move up day is an opportunity for your child to see and hear from their next fall teacher, see who is in the class, and have a few minutes of fun together. I would like to encourage everyone to make sure to check your email, and attend move up day!
Classroom teachers have lots of fun activities and end of the year wrap up next week. Be sure to set the timer and attend the class meetings. It would be nice to end the year with a full classroom of students..virtually of course.
If you are a band student, be sure to check your email from Mr. Jamesbarry about instrument return day on June 8th. The district has asked that all instruments get turned in for the summer.
On June 10th, we will congratulate and cheer on our 5th graders at our drive thru virtual promotion starting at 5:30pm. We wish them all great success on the next adventures in education and life. This is the time that it is alway sad to see students leave after six years in a school house, but at the same time so exciting that they are moving on and growing up! Cheers to this year's 5th grade class!!
Here are some resources that the staff have put together for parents and children to talk about race and Black lives matter.
Happy June! Happy Sunshine! We all need to work together to teach our children! Be well! Be safe!
Thanks,
Deanne
Register for Kindergarten Online!
If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, please register for kindergarten! To register, go to pps.net/kinderenroll. The process takes 20-30 minutes and school staff will follow up with you later in the summer. With schools closed, online registration is the easiest option, but paper options will be available soon. You don’t need to register if your child attends a PPS Head Start or Pre-Kindergarten program. Children with IEPs need to register using a paper form.
Kindergarten packets available for pick up on Tuesday June 9 from 9-11 at Lewis. Packets will be at the main entrance.
Paper registration packets will also be available in multiple languages at meal sites.
Coming soon: The Early Learner Programs team is developing a family-centered kindergarten transition plan. We know families are worried about the start to school, especially kinders. We’re planning on a slower, more family-friendly approach this year. Early registration will ensure that families stay in the loop on updated plans for the start of school.
Please feel free to contact Kathleen Gagnon Witter at kgagnonwitter1@pps.net the Lewis School secretary for school questions or support with the application process.
Counselors Corner
Dear Lewis Community,
In the wake of George Floyd's death, there have been numerous and continuous protests occurring throughout the country. While it appears that the vast majority of these protests have been peaceful, as we've all no doubt seen at this point, there have been numerous instances of these events turning violent and destructive. I write about this to you this morning because I have no doubt given the focus on these events in the news and in social media, that many of our children have seen images and clips from these protests and are aware of the ongoing unrest as well. I think it is likely, too, that seeing and hearing about these issues in whatever filtered ways our students are might be leaving them anxious, scared, confused, and with questions, especially given the larger feeling of uncertainty that we all are living through right now. As adults it is difficult to process what is happening. I could only Imagine how this is for our children and particularly our black children.
Below are some Resources for Families: Discussing Racism and Police Violence.
The Parent Toolkit: How to Talk about Race and Racism
Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids
9 Children's Books About Police Brutality – Feminist Books for Kids
Your Kids Aren’t Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup
Talking about Racism and Bias: Resources for parents and caregivers
Best,
Kylea Sundberg
PE with Mr. D, Newsletter #9
Hello Lewis Families and Students!
I hope everyone is great! June is here, and I still cannot believe it. Thank you for the kind notes from the people who enjoyed last week’s Family Field Day. For those of you that did not have a chance to get to it, you can always access it at a time that is best for you and your family. This week’s presentation has a variety of activities to choose from as well as some family fun. Be sure to check out the Sports Charades in the Family Fun section, a good one that you can share some laughs with and get moving.
I also included a Do It Yourself Backyard and Water Games section. This section will take some supplies and the students will need a hand with some of them. I hope you get a chance to experience them,(I know your plates are full!) similar to the Family Field Day it can be referenced to at a later date and even over the summer.
Lastly a shout out to the May Push Up Challenge winners, Lucas Anderson(K-2), and Shaunti Fauser(3-5). Thank you to all the participants! Have a great week!
Best,
Mr. D
June 2nd PE with Mr. D Presentation Link
Music & Technology Updates from Mr. J
Hello Lewis Families,
On Monday I posted new lessons for K-5 technology and 3rd grade recorder club. On Wednesday I’ll be sending out a K-5 general music lesson. Your student can access these lessons in both Seesaw (K-5) and Google Classroom (3-5) under the Music Class tile.
For 5th grade band students I sent out a video on Monday through Google Classroom about turning in their instrument. PPS has asked us, music teachers, to collect band instruments and books before the end of the school year. After talking with Ms. Froehlich, we decided that Monday, June 8th would be a good day to do this as the new music room will be ready to store the instruments until the district can come pick them up to thoroughly clean them.
I sent out a detailed email with times and procedures to all band families on Tuesday. If you didn’t get that email, or you have questions please reach out to me. My email address is: ajamesba@pps.net
Be well ~ Tony Jamesbarry
Lewis Garden
The Garden Committee wanted to take a moment to update the whole community on the status of the Lewis School Garden as the growing season gets underway. The garden is a resource for the students, teachers, parents, and staff, and we hope to find ways to get everyone involved with this valuable resource. As I write this we are in the midst of a true Oregon spring, enjoying both the cloud bursts that soak new plant starts and make weeds easier to pull and days of full sunshine and warming temps that help plants grow.
Some highlights of the Lewis Garden include:
On MLK Day earlier this year parent arborist Ryan Neumann helped us prune the apple trees and families weeded the landscaping at the front of the school.
Students have been surveyed about what aspects they are most excited to learn about in the garden. We are hoping to get a garden education program back up and running to get kids outside taking advantage of a different learning space.
Volunteer parents, staff, and kids have cleared out the vegetable beds in the garden and in the Kindergarden and planted veggies, fruits, and beneficial flowers and herbs. Our space is alive and well and starting to flourish.
Thanks to the Schroeder family we have a new 3-sisters garden of squash, corn, and potatoes growing where we used to cultivate some pretty healthy weeds.
Hopefully by July there will be cherry tomatoes growing in the Kindergarden on the blacktop by the playground. Please feel free to let your kids graze. Carrots should be ready for classes to pull up in the fall.
On-going efforts are still underway to rehab the rain garden. Parent volunteers cleared out large sections of invasive grass, and, thanks to donations of cardboard and generous support by the PTA, we began the first phase of refurbishing one of the two gardens. The other rain garden was weeded and replanted thanks to Depave Portland, and we are seeking volunteers to keep supporting weeding efforts in this critical first growing cycle to make sure the native plants can get established.
Weeds have been cleared by the garden along SE 43rd Ave and raspberries established along the fence line. Please feel free to take a peek in and check out the garden growing and snack on any berries that start poking through the fence.
We are always looking to get folks involved. Please email Pauline Ruegg (pclauterbach@gmail.com) and Kathleen Gagnon-Witter (kgagnonwitter1@pps.net) if you are interested in being a part of the Garden Committee. We have ways to help no matter how small your time or commitment level, so please get involved in this awesome resource.
Library Update
This week marks our last two read alouds for the year. Ms. Tori has recorded readings of My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis written by Paul Meisel and Nothing to Do by Douglas Wood. I think you’ll enjoy listening to both stories.. Find them in Seesaw and Google Classroom.
Lewis School Library Books!
Thank you all for holding on to those library books for the past three months! We’d love to take them off your hands now! All families are invited to drop off library books on Tuesday, June 9th between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm in the school courtyard. There will be a table and/or carts available to drop books off on/in at the covered area near the hallway windows (along the south cafeteria wall). Please follow proper social distancing guidelines while dropping off books.
Summer Reading through Multnomah County Library
Multnomah County Library has recorded a video on how summer reading will work this year and PPS Librarian Darcy Rudnick at Buckman Elementary has added some more info. Be sure to take a look to learn how it will be different. Find the presentationhere. Summer reading begins on June 15!
Anti-Racism Resources
The School Library Consultant for the State of Oregon Library has curated some links with anti-racism resources appropriate for adults, families, and children. I wanted to pass along the resources to you in the event you find any of them helpful.
Vote for ORCA and BCCCA!
Students in grades 3-5 are invited to vote for their favorite ORCA nominee as long as they have read at least 2 books on the list. Please help your student(s) navigate to this voting link before June 15.
All K-5 students are invited to vote for their favorite BCCCA nominee as long as they have read at least 2 books on the list. Please help your student(s) navigate to this voting link before June 10.
Virtual Book Fair through Scholastic Now Open at: https://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bf/lewis
*Please sign up or sign in to your Scholastic account to make sure Lewis gets credit for purchases. Free standard shipping is available on book-only orders of $25 or more, after all discounts are applied. Free standard shipping (books) must be selected during checkout. Orders containing products other than books are not eligible for this shipping promotion.
Summer Reading Book Lists
Every year, the Association for Library Service to Children curates and annotates reading lists for children from birth to 8th grade. Though libraries are currently closed, many of these titles are available through MCL as eBooks and audiobooks. Please visit http://www.ala.org/alsc/publications-resources/book-lists/2020-summer-reading-list to view the lists.
Be well!
Ms. Lisa
