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PPS Pulse, Nov. 7, 2017
11/7/2017In this week's Pulse: Instructional reorganization, Wilson runner wins big and a timetable for drinking fountain replacement.
PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS | NOVEMBER 7, 2017 Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Русский | Soomaali November 6, 2017: Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero talks to students at Stephenson Elementary School as part of a 5 school tour of the Wilson cluster.
Superintendent Guerrero reorganizes staff for new focus on instruction
A call for a new focus on instruction and a related change in Portland Public Schools organizational structure highlighted a recent staff meeting with Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero.
“The time to make an exponential difference in kids’ lives has never been better,” Guerrero said, addressing more than 100 District employees in the main foyer and board room in the administration building.
Guerrero noted that he has completed his first 30 days on the job and has determined that the District needs to put more attention and resources into what happens in the classroom.
Alex Slenning, pictured winning the PIL championship, became the first runner from Wilson to win a state cross country title. Photograph by Mike Tokito.
Sports update: Wilson’s Alex Slenning wins state in cross country; all-PIL awards announced
Alex Slenning became the first runner from Wilson High School to win a state cross country title after he outran the 140-runner field in the Class 6A boys championship in Eugene on Saturday.
Program lets PPS seventh-graders explore tech careers
About 15 students crouch over laptops, putting the final touches on video games they’d designed on paper two days earlier with Pixel Arts. Across town, sparks fly in a Daimler Trucks North America warehouse, where 48 Ockley Green students draped in heavy leather aprons, thick work gloves and weighty protective helmets weld and grind steel for lamps and art projects.
Cleveland High School’s Brenda Gordon (left) accepts her award from Cheryl Hollinger of the National Association of Biology Teachers. Photograph by Ariel Harmon of the Cleveland Clarion.
Cleveland’s Brenda Gordon honored with Outstanding Biology Teacher award
Cleveland High School’s Brenda Gordon was named this year’s recipient of the Oregon Outstanding Biology Teacher of the Year Award.
The award is presented by the National Association of Biology Teachers, which since 1961 has honored the top teacher in each state.
Contest: design a logo for PPS Story Slam
Current PPS students and community members are invited to enter a contest to create an innovative and professional logo for the PPS Interscholastic Story Slam.
The logo should be recognizable and promote the Story Slam, a live storytelling competition with entrants from throughout the district. This year’s competition, which will be held Mar. 1 at Franklin High School, has a theme of “Truth Be Told.”
Students enjoying a snow day, Grant High School, February, 2014.
PPS preparing for inclement weather
If last year’s multi-pronged and repeated winter weather blasts were any harbinger of things to come, it’s a good idea to get prepared for the winter season now.
PPS has been preparing for the season on several fronts, beginning with checking and double-checking building heating systems. “It’s no secret that most of our schools are in very old buildings with old boilers, vents and pipes. We are pre-checking as much equipment as possible to make sure they’re ready,” says Jere High, PPS Director of Maintenance and Operations.
Guerrero noted that he has completed his first 30 days on the job and has determined that the District needs to put more attention and resources into what happens in the classroom.
Grant High demolition photos are on Flickr. Click the image above for more.
Demolition, construction continue at Grant High School
With its students on a two-year relocation, Grant High School is undergoing a major rebuild. Paid for by the 2012 School Building Improvement Bond, the work started this summer and will continue until fall 2019. That’s when Grant students will return from their stay at the Marshall High campus to a fully modernized Grant. How’s the work going? See photos shot last week by David Mayne, PPS’s manager of Bond Communications.
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 8-9
MOST schools: Parent/Teacher conferences, no school for studentsFriday, November 10
Schools and offices closed in observance of Veteran's DayMonday, November 13
Start of winter sports high school practicesTuesday, November 14
Board meeting
Franklin, Madison and MLC 8th grade info nightsNovember 14 & 15
PPS Job Fair, BESC
See detailsWednesday, November 15
Jefferson 8th grade info nightThursday, November 16
Grant @ Marshall 8th grade info nightSaturday, November 18
Refugee Adjustment Day, Read moreMOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED: BEVERLY CLEARY, GRANT HIGH SCHOOL, 1934
The author of 38 books that have been translated into 14 languages, Beverly Cleary helped children to develop a love of reading through her relatable stories about school-aged characters: Ramona, Henry, Beezus and Ribsy and others who live along Northeast Klickitat Street. She has won numerous awards, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and the Newberry Medal, and has been named a Library of Congress Living Legend, an honor for those who make “significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage.”
In 2008, PPS renamed a K-8 school in her honor. At 101, she is still considered one of America’s greatest living authors.
SCHOOL WATER QUALITY TIMETABLE
Work continues to turn water fountains back on in PPS. The first 15 schools slated for final lead tests are expected to be finished this month. Where they stand:
= Water on
= PendingApplegate Astor 10/25 Atkinson Beverly Cleary, Fernwood Chapman 11/2 Chief Joseph Hayhurst Lewis Meek Richmond Rose City Park Sacajawea Skyline West Sylvan 11/7 Woodstock NO PPS PULSE ON NOVEMBER 14 & 28
Due to parent-teacher conferences and holidays, the PPS Pulse newsletter will not be published on Nov. 14 and Nov. 28. Be sure to look for the Nov. 21 and Dec. 5 editions to stay informed.
WE WANT YOUR IDEAS
Please feel free to submit story suggestions, links to the best stories on your school web site or newsletter, photos, videos and other items you think would have district wide interest. Email story ideas, images and documents to: ltrapp@pps.net.
PULSE CONTACTS
Coordinator
Lindsay Trapp
ltrapp@pps.netEditor
Mike Tokito
mtokito@pps.netStaff writer
Laura Hanson
lhanson1@pps.netStaff writer
Pam Jordan
pjordan1@pps.netDesigner
Richard Martin
rmartin1@pps.netThe District is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in all its educational and employment activities. The District prohibits discrimination based on race; national or ethnic origin; color; sex; religion; age; sexual orientation; gender expression or identity; pregnancy; marital status; familial status; economic status or source of income; mental or physical disability or perceived disability; or military service.
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