Dear PPS Families and Staff,

This week, Superintendent Guerrero and senior leaders presented a COVID-19 school reopening update to the Board of Education. The update largely focused on the district’s plan to offer hybrid instruction to middle and high school grades by mid-April. This follows a similar announcement two weeks ago regarding kindergarten through 5th grades.

Dear PPS Families,

We are excited to offer student-athletes in Portland Public Schools an opportunity to participate in the Portland Interscholastic League’s first athletic competitions in over a year starting next week.

Dear PPS Families,

For those who were not able to attend the Explore Your K-5 Options event on February 18, we are offering the event again on Monday, March 8, from 6-8 p.m.

Dear PPS Families,

As we shared last week, we are continuing to offer increased in-person learning opportunities for students, with a goal of launching hybrid instruction to kindergarten to fifth grade students in April. We have a few updates for you this week:

Dear Rieke Rocket community,

It was great seeing many families at our kindergarten picture day yesterday! It was such a pleasure for staff to see kids and families again. Just having a little time to play guitar and greet people and talk to these great young people did wonders for my spirit! Thank you to Lynda Gordon for all her work to organize this and make it happen and thank you to the PTA for the snacks and sweet cards! Please join the PTA and sign up to receive the PTA Rapper, their informational newsletter. https://www.riekepta.org/rieke-rapper-signup

Family Distance Learning Survey:

If you can take a few minutes and fill out this google form https://forms.gle/rF7GcBhF5GkZom2M8 we are looking for your feedback on Distance Learning at Rieke thus far this year. This information really helps as we continue at PPS and Rieke to adapt our methods.

Rieke Student Video News

Our latest episode is up and ready to view. It is really amazing, featuring an interesting segment by Mr. Sturges’s 4^th grade class about Indigenous People’s Day, dancing kindergarteners, and a fantastic video by one of our 5^th graders. Plus our new Video news room! Our newest Rieke Video News episode is up on our website, www.pps.net/rieke. You can also see it on our new 2020-21 Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtz33pibHegKxZKsWHotgkJWdJqJbP2Os  Subscribe to our channel and share with loved ones. If your child has a welcoming message or any message of hope for this year or submissions for RATS (Rieke Artistic Talent Show), send or share a landscape (horizontal) video or picture to riekenews@gmail.com. You can also email them to me at jjeans@pps.net.

TAG information night: Next Wednesday 10/21/20 night 6:00-6:45.

Our esteemed TAG coordinator Jeff Sturges and I will lead a presentation about TAG next Wednesday night over Zoom. I will send the link next week. This presentation is for anybody who is interested in TAG services at PPS and Rieke, whether your child is currently in TAG or not. We will go over the new process for families if they are interested in having their child nominated for TAG.

Childcare opportunity:

My name is Sierra Warren, I support Nancy Hauth as the Child Care Coordinator for the district. Last month we sent child care information through Admin. Connection and in some cases, directly to school administrators. One of our contracted child care providers, Camp Fire, has reopened at Hayhurst E.S. (and James John) with slots still available. Because child care is a much needed resource for our PPS families, it is crucial that we spread the word about availability.

I have provided a message on behalf of Jon Myers, the Director of Camp Fire below. He can be reached in the following ways below.

Camp Fire Columbia is supporting PPS students with their Comprehensive Distance Learning! Currently, they are holding a program at Hayhurst and spaces are open to students ages 5-12 years old. If your family is interested in learning more, please email or call the Department Director Jon Myers at jmyers@campfirecolumbia.org<mailto:jmyers@campfirecolumbia.org> or 503-784-4093. He will address any questions and help you apply for tuition subsidies that could save your family up to 85% in monthly tuition costs!

Have a great day!

Jon Jeans-Principal

If you or your student is still struggling with any of the aspects of learning technology, we hope you will call the PPS Technology Help Desk, which is open from 7:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on school days. We will answer your questions and share information and helpful tips about anything related to distance learning technology. The Technology Help Desk is available in all PPS-supported languages. Email support@pps.net or call us: 

• English: 503-916-3375
• Español: 503-916-3582
• 中文：503-916-3585
• Tiếng Việt: 503-916-3584
• Soomaali: 503-916-3586
• Русский: 503-916-3583