Thur 2/7: MTMS PTA shift at Portland Council Clothing Center

Thur 2/7: 5th Grade Info Night, 6:00-8:00

Tue 2/12: PTA General Meeting, 6:30-8:00

Thur 2/14: Valentine's Day Dance, 4:00-5:00

Wed 2/20: Immunization Exclusion Day

Thur 2/28: Courageous Conversations About Race, 5:30-8:00

Dear Mt. Tabor Families, 

When I was assistant principal at West Linn High School, I enjoyed one of the more powerful experiences that I've had in my career. West Linn alum Melissa Lowery hosted a screening of her autobiographical documentary, Black Girl in Suburbia. My keenest memories were the questions some of our students of color posed to Ms. Lowery after the show. In the majority white audience, you could hear a pin drop. It felt like a collective awakening for the school, a moment of light. 

I'm thrilled to announce that Melissa Lowery is hosting another screening on Wednesday, February 6th, at the Abernethy School auditorium. The event starts at 6:30. It's a family-friendly night with free childcare and pizza upon request--email aberaceinfo@gmail.com. The Abernethy PTA is sponsoring this event. 

Today, Ms. Rachel told me that we're $8,500 in the red for our meal account. This means students are getting the delicious food Rachel is cooking and not paying for it! Please, if your student gets food, make sure you've placed money in the account. We don't ever want to turn a student away, and we also want to sustain our cafeteria. Please visit the Nutrition Services page, and click the payment button. 

Finally, I'm happy to announce a cool thing for our 8th graders: Leap Into 9th Grade, a summer class at Franklin that prepares students for high school. The program will introduce students to teachers, classmates, career pathways, high school math skills, and will earn your student 0.5 elective credits. There will be breakfast and lunch, and the classes will run from 9:00-12:30, June 24th through July 19th. Register here.

Have a nice, long weekend, everyone. 

Sean

In this week's PPS Pulse: PPS performers, speakers set to appear at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute; first-graders dive into coding

Portland Public Schools will again be a featured part of the city’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute event. The 34th edition will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21, at the Highland Christian Center, 7600 NE Glisan St. The event will feature digital, musical and artistic performances, and an array of community speakers.

The PPS Visioning initiative has entered a new phase in January, with a series of community meetings in which  students, families, educators and volunteers will be able to share what they think the future of education in Portland should look like. 

Christy Wheeler of Sellwood Middle School recently won the Oregon Counselor of the Year Award from the Oregon School Counselors Association. We asked her to share her thoughts on the role counselors play in school communities.