In this week's PPS Pulse: Flag-raising at Grant honors Native Americans; tips for flu and cold season

Students at Grant High School were invited to attend a flag-raising ceremony during lunch Thursday to recognize Native American Heritage Month, and school officials weren’t sure how many students would go outside on a chilly day. What they saw was a huge throng of students filing through the front door at the Marshall campus (Grant’s temporary home) to watch.

Sen. Ron Wyden wanted to hear questions from students, and he went to the right place last week when he held a forum in the Franklin High School auditorium.

Matthew Bacon-Brenes, a teacher mentor and a leading advocate for dual language immersion in Portland Public Schools, has been awarded a Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence for 2019 from the NEA Foundation and Horace Mann.

In this week's PPS Pulse: REAHL initiative tackles addiction; free wi-fi for high school students

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 2017-18 flu season was the first on record to be rated as “severe” across all age groups. To help your family get cold-and-flu season ready, Kristin Case, lead Nurse Practitioner at Multnomah County Student Health Centers, has pulled together her top five tips:

Portland Public Schools launched an initiative aimed at providing a full spectrum of care for students who are experiencing addiction and mental health issues. The initiative, announced at a news conference at the district office Thursday, comes in response to the increasing numbers of our students and families affected by the national opioid crisis, as well as other drug and mental health crises.

For high school students, access to the internet can play a crucial role in a multitude of crucial tasks, including homework and researching and applying to colleges and careers. High school students in Portland Public Schools who need it can get free internet access at home, thanks to a program that started this year.

The School Choice Lottery will be open from Nov. 8 to 30. Students interested in attending a school other than their neighborhood high school must apply to attend a focus option or alternative school. Those schools include Benson Polytechnic High School, Jefferson High School-Middle College for Advanced Studies, and the Metropolitan Learning Center. 

ACCESS Academy eighth-grader Soren Cowell-Shah was awarded a prestigious, nationally competitive scholarship from the Institute of Educational Advancement. Soren was one of 30 students from around the country awarded a Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, a merit-based award that covers the cost of attending four years of high school.