In this Edition
The
Doctor Is In! Message From Dr Berg: Below
Staffing
Update: Below
Message
from School Counselor – Leadership Program, LGBTQ Luncheon: Below
Free/Reduced
Lunch Applications Due October 9: Below
Oregon Battle of the Books Parent Meeting: Below
TAG/2e/Neurodiversity
Parent-Student Meetups: Below
Trails
Club of Oregon: Below
**MARK
YOUR CALENDARS! Our BIGGEST Restaurant Night this
year is McMenamin's Friends & Family Night at Raleigh Hills Pub on Tuesday,
October 15th. They're generously donating 50% of their total night's sales to
our school. Come one, come all!
--------------------------------
Upcoming Events
OBOB Parent Meetings: Tuesday, October 8th at 8:15am
and 5:30pm in the Library
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications Due October 9
No School: Friday, October 11
McMenamin's Restaurant Night at Raleigh Hills Pub: Tuesday,
October 15
Odyssey Talent Show:
Friday, October 18, 12:30pm & 6pm
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The
Doctor Is In! Message from Dr Berg
Hello
Odyssey Families,
First
off, I want to extend a thank you to Danica Wnuk and Todd Stevenson for their
work on the Fall Festival. In addition, a big thank you to the many
volunteers who donated their time or resources to make it a great event.
It was a blast and I have to say that the bake sale rivals any bake sale I’ve
ever attended. Yummy treats. I loved watching the kids be part of
the festival and run around on the bouncy slide and field. A big shout
out to all the teachers who also came out to enjoy the event and support our
school. I brag all around about the parent community here and you have
all been so supportive. I know it’s not easy to give as you are all busy
and everyone is trying to make end’s meet, but your generosity is very
appreciated. I am already looking forward to the next Fall Festival!
It
seems like school just started and here we are sliding into October. I
have really enjoyed visiting classrooms and getting to know personalities
more. I love watching the 3-5 take on a different perspective as they are
trying to write and to see them embrace the learning around Native American
customs and lifestyles. The talking sticks are a great resource for
learning how to listen and take turns with one another. K-2 has been busy
with reading and writing and I love listening to them share their writing with
each other, their teachers, and me. Not too long ago we had the Olympics
outside for 6,7,8, and our kids were getting some good exercise while also
doing some ancient Rome research. Having PE, Art, and Library for our
students has been such a fun start to the year and they are practicing soccer
skills, making clay pots, and navigating library resources every week.
I
wanted to make sure that all of our families know that we have resources to
provide for anyone who needs a little assistance. Hayhurst has food bags
for families who need food assistance. We also can help out if other
families are struggling and we want to help. Please go ahead and email me
if needed.
Please
remember that we go outside in almost any weather, so make sure your child
comes with a coat and don’t forget to check lost and found frequently.
A
brief note to our families of tweens and teens:
This
is a very exciting time for your child as they start the journey from childhood
to adolescence. It can also be a roller coaster of a time with changing
bodies and emotions. As kids grow into their teen years they will be
faced with new adventures and new challenges and they will have new bumps and
bruises along the way. As a principal I have always worked in concert
with the school counselor to assist with any mental health concerns and the
first thing we always ask kids is whether they have a support network or not
and whether they have talked things over with their parents. As a parent
of two teenagers, I also know that they don’t always love to open up to us and
they are often afraid that we will be judgmental or invalidate their
feelings. I want you to know that Stephanie and I are here to support and
we both have a lot of experience working with kids and we can help guide
families to supports if needed and help kids start the conversations. We
often hear of the dangers of adolescence from vaping to drugs to cutting or
suicide. We also know that most adolescents are thoughtful, bright,
funny, and kind little people who are just trying to figure out the crazy
changes of the teen years. Please let us know if you have concerns and
please encourage your child to open up the conversation whether it be with you,
us or a trusted adult. It is always fun to work with your kid and I enjoy
watching them grow and navigate.
Finally,
this year we will be holding conferences a little differently to try and serve
as many families as possible. We wrote a contract exception so that
Odyssey can hold conferences the Thursday evening before Thanksgiving week from
3-8, that Monday from 8-8, and then Tuesday from 8-3. This gives us a
little more flexibility to try and get as many conferences in before people
leave for Thanksgiving. Please note that teachers are not contractually
obligated to hold a make-up conference if you are unable to attend conference
due to a vacation. We of course will be flexible if there is a family
emergency or illness.
Please
see sign ups from your child’s teacher for further information.
Thanks
for all you do!
Dr.
Eryn Berg
Principal,
Odyssey K-8
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Staffing
Update
During
the beginning of the school year we had the district SPED department evaluate
our numbers and look at our staffing per student. It was determined that
Odyssey should have a 1/2 time learning center teacher and that we could no
longer share our staffing with Hayhurst as we merited a staffing of our
own. Due to Blake’s full time status, he is being moved from Odyssey to
Hayhurst full time. We are thankful for all Blake has done to serve
Odyssey students and want to wish him the best as he continues on with his
journey. We are happy to welcome Esther Fischer to Odyssey as our half
time learning specialist. Below is her bio:
Esther Fischer is driven to
help students overcome challenges that impact their learning and social
environments. She graduated from Adelphi University in 2000 with a
Master's Degree in Special Education. She has taught in various classroom
settings for over 20 years, including teaching and directing at a
center for Autism, teaching as a learning center teacher in elementary
school, as well as teaching and directing in the early childhood
environment. Esther most recently was an Early Childhood Director at a
Jewish Private School in Lake Oswego, where she helped shape and define the
early childhood program of the school. Esther was born and raised in New York
and has been living in Portland for the past 13 years. She is married to
her husband, Tzvi, for almost 20 years. As a mother of 6 children, she
has become a natural resource for parents in her community. Esther believes
in building rapport and trust, and cultivating strong relationships with
students, parents and colleagues.
Esther’s schedule will generally be Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings.
-------------------------------------------
Message from School Counselor Stephanie Cox
Greetings Odyssey Community,
I am so thrilled to be your school counselor. It is an absolute
pleasure getting to know the magnificent students here. The kids are learning
who I am as well. We chat in the cafeteria and hang-out on the
playground. Right now I am teaching community-building lessons in the
classrooms and sitting-in on classroom learning groups.
Dr. Berg and I are facilitating a regular Student
Leadership group and hosting an LGBTQ+ Alliance luncheon every Thursday in
the library.
I am encouraging students to write me a letter or draw me a
picture and place it in my hallway mailbox. I will write or draw back to
them.
I look forward to meeting each of you personally.
Much more to follow,
Stephanie Cox, scox@pps.net
School Counselor
Monday - Afternoons
Tuesday - All Day
Thursday - All Day
-------------------------------------------
Free/Reduced Lunch Applications Due October 9
In order to prevent gaps in benefits, applications for
free/reduced meals must be filed every year. Families need
to submit an application by October 9, 2019. Follow this
link to apply online: https://www.schoolcafe.com/pps
Important tips for families:
- Include all students on the
application.
- Include all members in the
household. Some families do not list other family members on the
application, such as a grandparent, who may be living in the
household. This can make a difference in whether they are eligible
for meal benefits.
- Even if your student(s) are not
choosing to eat school meals, being eligible for free or reduced price
meals can also make you eligible to receive many fee reductions or waivers
in other areas both in the district and in the community.
Thank you,
Angela Hoffart
Principal’s
Secretary
Odyssey
Program @ East Sylvan
P:
503-916-6310
F:
503-916-2124
-------------------------------------------
Oregon Battle of the Books Parent Meeting
I'm so happy to see that there's interest in OBOB here at
Odyssey! A green OBOB form went home with kids who expressed an interest
and I've been collecting those. If your child (in 3-4-5 or 6-7-8) is
interested, but you haven't filled out a form please let me know and I'll get
one to you.
To get us started I'd like to host an informational meeting for
the grown-ups only (possible team coaches or parents of participants) so I can
show you what the battles look like and answer any questions. There will
be two meeting times (you can attend either one):
Tuesday, October 8th
8:15am in the library
5:30pm in the library
The meeting isn't mandatory and we'll still have time for teams to
practice after school beginning in November, but this will be a chance without
the kids present to get your questions answered. Each team needs an adult
team coach so we can go over what's involved in that role.
Please let me know if you have any questions ahead of the parent
meeting or if you need a form sent home. I look forward to getting OBOB
up and running soon!
Thank you,
Laura Jones
Odyssey Library Assistant
ljones2@pps.net
-------------------------------------------
TAG/2e/Neurodiversity
Parent-Student Meetups
Is your student:
• Bright/intellectually gifted?
• Dyslexic, ADD, on the spectrum, and/or otherwise neurodiverse?
•
Curious, creative, intense, or just … extra?
• Any or all of the above?
Introducing a monthly evening meetup and discussion
for
students and parents/guardians seeking connection,
support,
and resources, hosted by parent advocate Lisa
Stonestreet
and Odyssey 8th grader Truman Stonestreet.
• One Tuesday a month at Odyssey, 7-9 PM (dates below)
• Topics from advocacy to testing, perfectionism to asynchrony
• Brief presentation + kid-only and adult-only discussions
• Kids will also enjoy board/card game time
Want to find out more? Got a topic you’d like to see coverd?
Want
to drink tea and eat snacks with parents who get it while
your
kid enjoys a rousing game of Munchkin? Come to one or all.
Interested? Email lisa@ampedit.com with
your name, email,
and
any topics you’d like to see the group cover.
Dates: 10/22, 11/12, 12/17,
1/14, 2/18, 3/17, 4/21, 5/12
Lisa
Stonestreet
lisa@ampedit.com
415-987-6759
-------------------------------------------
Trails
Club of Oregon
Dear
Odyssey families,
I’m on the board of the Trails Club of Oregon, an
organization that has been around since 1915. We have two lodges, one in
the Gorge above Multnomah Falls (Nesika) and one that I caretaker in Government
Camp (Tyee) next to The Mazama Lodge.
Check out the website: trailsclub.org
TCO membership is declining as most members are
aging out and the lodges are getting very little use. We need new
members to join and use the lodges. This could be a unique opportunity for the
Odyssey community to create memorable outdoor experiences. If we could
get several families to become members, we will have access, although not
exclusive, to both lodges on a continual basis. All that is required is to submit
an application with initiation fee of $15 + $50 annual dues, and visit one of
the lodges. Once a member, the lodge usage is $15/night for an adult,
$10/night for a child, or $40/ per family (cap)
I’m coordinating a volunteer work weekend at Tyee
October 11, 12. This is a free event. No school Friday, so come up and
check out the lodge, stay night, and help prepare Tyee for winter and I can get
you signed up to become a member.
Please call, text or email me if you are
interested in becoming a member of TCO or have any questions.
Cheers!
Aaron Bech
971-227-3771
aaronbech@yahoo.com
Father of Annika (5th) and Colin (2nd)
--
Terri Preeg Riggsby
Communications Coordinator
