Richmond Elementary School

Dear Richmond Families, 

There is a lot of energy in the building as students and staff enjoy the last few days together before summer break.  At this time each year schools often have students and staff who are transitioning to new opportunities. This year we are saying our ‘goodbyes’ to some of our community members.  Of course we are celebrating and sending off our fifth grade students.  This is often a bittersweet moment as these students have spent the past six years as a part of the Richmond community, yet fifth graders are so ready to make the transition to middle school.  We wish them well and know they are ready to take on the challenges of middle school.  We will be celebrating our rising sixth graders at Promotion on June 9th.

We also want to honor our dear second grade teacher, Martha Gross who is retiring after 22 years with PPS, 10 of those years at Richmond. She will be greatly missed!  She has been a strong member of our instructional team and has served her many students well over the years.

Jami Symons will be our new 2G English teacher, filling Martha Gross' position. Please welcome Ms. Symons to our Richmond community this fall. 

We are also saying “Goodbye” to Anne Mulligan-Brinson our wonderful social worker who is moving to Central Oregon to continue her career there.  We are so grateful for the support she provided to our students and staff during this difficult year.  We wish you well in your move!

We are also going to miss greatly Lisa Tam who has been an amazing support in Jill Iverson’s kindergarten class.  Our kinder students have benefited greatly from her calm and steady service to our students.

Please be sure to check the school calendar and the information below about all of the upcoming events in these next two weeks. There is lots going on!

As mentioned earlier, our PTA will be hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Celebration event on the basketball court in the afternoon of TODAY, from 2:30 to 4 PM. While we have tried to get back to normalcy as much as possible this year, one thing we did miss having was the large number of parent and community volunteers helping out in our classrooms and around the school. However, a huge shout out goes to all the 400 hundred of you who volunteered to help at lunch, either assisting students and/or washing mats. AMAZING!! You being here made a significant difference - THANK YOU! Thank you as well to all the volunteers who helped collect the spit test samples every Tuesday. Without your assistance it would have taken up three times as long to collect them all.

Have a great final week,
Jill Bailey, Interim Principal and Sarah Lewins, Interim Principal

Update on Instructional Staff for the 2022-2023 School Year

Kindergarten
Jill Iverson, Yoshiko Kamata
Reiko Yoshida, Melissa Wenger

First Grade
Sarah Gaynor, Toshiko Rivera
Angie Pineo, Sumiko Uchida

Second Grade
Katia Fleischman, Eriko Mogi
Jami Symons, Michiko Hirahara

Third Grade
Wakana McCollister
Anne Scheiman
Adelyn Fujiwara

Fourth Grade
Rumi Bibb (Maehara)
Yukiko Meyden (Ishida)
Gori Kawasaki

Fifth Grade
Bill Aubrecht, Ritsuko Fujiwara
Kaoru Biornstad (Kitazawa), Jaina Kapranos

CLASS PLACEMENTS
As we enter the final week of the school year, we wanted to let you know that our teaching teams have begun the class placement process for the 2022 - 2023 school year. Class placements are consequential decisions made by our highly-qualified teams of professional educators. 

All class placements will be finalized in August; we’ll notify families in mid-August with assignments. Once these determinations have been made, there are few instances where we may make changes, especially as moving students between classes can often cause imbalances to the entire grade level.

PPS CALENDAR SITE 

Richmond Items of Note - see below areas for any event meeting links/detail

✩ 6/8 Wed. PTA, ONK & Foundation Volunteer Celebration 2:30-4 PM (blacktop)
✩ 6/9 Thu. 5G Promotion Ceremony 12:45 PM 
✩ 6/10 Fri. Last Day of School
✩ 6/15 Wed. Last Day Office open for Drop-Ins
✩ 6/17 Fri. Report cards mailed home
✩ 6/18-8/21 Building Closed for Summer (PPS Calendar); Office will respond to email/phone messages starting August 15.

SCHOOL NEWS & NOTES

YEARBOOKS go on sale this week! Yearbooks will be available to order this week from Picaboo. It is an all online process that offers a print version to be mailed directly to the address families supply to them, or you can order a digital version. Please check your inboxes for a link to the yearbook purchase page before the end of the week!

BACKPACK / At Home Check: 2 Silver Pokemon Pikachu Stuffies are missing - pls send in to Alicia sensei in the Office ; )

LOST&FOUND items want to come home! We plan to have the Lost & Found out in front of the school today (Wednesday) and Friday (last day - come help) at Dismissal & hope the stacks & racks of stuffs make their way home. Check out our Student Council’s Picture Gallery Slides for a snapshot of what’s what. Not Every Item is pictured, so please check in person if possible!
IF YOU SEE an Item in the Gallery, you can:  
- Remind your kiddos to pick-up the item from the L&F Location listed on the Slide OR
- Pick Up out front of school After-School on the last Wednesdays (6/1 & 6/8), OR 
- Fill out this GForm & Student Council will try to get items back to kiddos before Friday.

We already have 3 volunteers who can wash & donate since our building is closing on the 17th for the summer, but many hands make for lighter loads, so if you are able to help with this, please email amcmillen@pps.net your contact info & awesome L&F Volunteer CS will be in touch - Thank You, ありがとうございます, Arigatōgozaimasu!

FINAL MEDICATIONS REMINDER from our HEALTH ROOM If your student has medication in the health room, please come pick it up by 2:15 Dismissal on Friday (and hopefully earlier as things will be BUSY). Per policy, medication that is not picked up by the last day of the school year will be disposed of. Please contact the health staff, Toby Barrow (health assistant) tbarrow@mesd.k12.or.us or Erika Wallin (nurse) ewallin@mesd.k12.or.us if you have any questions. Thank you!

REMINDER From our LIBRARY Students & Families - It’s time to Bring Back the Books to the Richmond Library! Do you have library books at home? Please check your shelves, under the bed, behind the couch, everywhere! for books to return to the library. If found next week, please bring into the office by Wednesday. Help us keep our library materials available for all to use and enjoy.

NOT RETURNING TO RICHMOND NEXT YEAR?  Please email Kirstin at kyamakawa@pps.net if you do not plan to return to Richmond next year. This is important information for grade-level enrollment numbers that may affect our PPS staffing allocations. 

**NEW OHSU COVID Screening INFO AS OF 6/1/22*

• If you receive a digital consent form from OHSU, please go ahead and submit it.  OHSU is doing some data cleanup and may be sending out more.  If you have questions, please contact OHSU directly at 833-376-1027 or k12covidtesting@ohsuhealthmarketing.com.
• OHSU Screening testing will be supported for PPS students July 11th through August 5th. Samples will be collected at Summer Acceleration Academy sites on Wednesdays while Summer Acceleration Academy is in session. Please ensure that your students’ sample is in the office of your identified Summer Acceleration Academy site between 9 am and 11:30 am.
• Your student is still enrolled in the OHSU Screener program even if we took them off of the distribution list temporarily.  If you are unsure about your student’s enrollment status, please contact OHSU directly at 833-376-1027 or k12covidtesting@ohsuhealthmarketing.com.
• As soon as we receive new information about OHSU testing for the fall, we will share it.
• OHSU is no longer accepting NEW enrollments for this school year.

Looking for a different Bulletin reminder? Click HERE for the Bulletin Archive on our school website. We’re trying to not repeat ourselves so much : )  Covid - Binax - 5 day - masks - uptick - sub rates

Foundation　ファウンデーション

One Teacher & One EA Funded! 
Thank you to all who generously contributed to our fundraising efforts. We did it! Together, our community has raised an awe inspiring $178,900 of the $220,000 goal... meaning we FULLY funded one full-time teaching position and ONE of the half-time Kindergarten Educational Assistant (EA) positions! While our Spring Drive is ended, donations continue to come in. Funds received by June 30 can be applied to next year’s staffing, so we may well be able to fund the other half-time EA position by the end of the month!

Once again, our community has come together to bridge the funding gap between the State’s and PPS Staffing Allocations because that’s what we believe our children deserve. Thank you to each and every family for helping us meeting these fundraising goals! 

If you haven’t already, please contribute to the nearly 400 donations we’ve received in the last two months from our fellow JDLI community members. Donations will continue to be accepted by the Fund for Portland Public Schools until JUNE 30th for 2022-23 staff. Go to  www.richmondschoolfoundation.org for more info and click on the 'Donate 寄付はこちら' button.

Thank you for your continued support and generosity. Together, we can do it!

PTA

Volunteer Appreciation Celebration TODAY!
What: The three Richmond Parent groups, PTA, Oya No Kai and Foundation are in awe, and deeply grateful to all the Volunteers who have held up our school during these last two pandemic years, engaging our community and helping our students thrive. Please join us in celebrating YOU! Light refreshments by a local bakery will be available. Hope to see you there!
When: Wednesday June 8th, 2:30-4pm
Where: Richmond Grounds: on the basketball courts.
Who: Check out this list of nearly 400 volunteers!

ボランティア感謝会！
コロナ禍でもリッチモンド小学校で先生方、生徒達のサポートを継続できたのはボランティアの皆様のご協力によるところも多く、その感謝の気持ちを込めて、リッチモンド小学校PTA、親の会、リッチモンド小学校基金の三団体により、下記日程でお祝いをする予定です。地元ベーカリーの軽食も用意しますので是非、放課後お立ち寄りください！
日時：6月8日水曜日　2:30-4:00pm
場所：リッチモンド小学校　校庭バスケットコート

An incredible opportunity awaits you! We are still urgently looking for a PTA co-President.
This amazing community has stepped up and filled two of our required board positions, Secretary and Treasurer. We also have a candidate for co-President and need just one more co-President in order to ensure the PTA can run next year. Wondering what the position entails? Check out the details in this document, or email us at richmondptapdx@gmail.com. We’d love to get the position filled by the end of the school year (this week!)

PTA Super Green Team
Thanks to the parent volunteers who came out Sunday to weed and plant! The garden is ready to grow abundantly this summer! Irrigation is set up but we'll need volunteers to check in. Sign up for a day this summer, harvest what’s ripe, have a picnic and play! 

Open invitation to continue weeding the Richmond grounds all summer. Particular invasive weeds include thistle, evergreen bugloss, ivy and grass on the nature path. 

Please get in touch with any questions/concerns! greenteamrichmond@gmail.com

PTA Focuses on Equity
Last chance to participate in this short survey to help the Equity Group learn more about our Richmond community

Equity Term of the SUMMER: 

Ally  Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, etc.) and work in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit. Allies commit to reducing their own complicity in oppression and invest in strengthening their own knowledge and awareness of oppression. Source: Racial Equity Tools, with editing for brevity by Richmond PTA

味方 自分の持つ特権（性別、階級、人種、性同一性などに基づく）を認識し、抑圧されたグループと連帯して正義のために闘うことに取り組み、奮闘する人を指す。味方である人々は、あらゆる形態の抑圧（自分が恩恵を受ける可能性のあるものも含む）を終わらせることが、彼ら自身のためになるということを理解している。味方は、抑圧に対する自分の加担を減らし、抑圧に関する自分自身の知識と認識を深めることに取り組む。出典：Racial Equity Tools、リッチモンドPTAによる編集あり (Translation：Mami Kikuchi)

Learn More/もっと詳しく:
Watch this 4-minute video
Read this post
Visit this webpage for links to two articles and a 1-hour video focusing on how white people can be an ally

Oya No Kai　おやのかい

5th Grade Families! Join us for a picnic on Thursday!
We’re looking forward to celebrating the end of our time at Richmond together with this great group of families and kids. Hope to see you there!
What: 5th Grade Picnic
When: 5 p.m. Thursday, June 9
Where: Mt. Tabor Park in the covered picnic area near the playground,  (There is parking at the Mt. Tabor Visitor Center.)
Bring: Your own picnic for your family, if you have not already placed an order for noodles. (Sorry, noodle orders are closed.) 
Questions? Please email hollytelerant@gmail.com. 

5th Grade Virtual Summer Cultural Exchange with Fukuno Elementary
Attention, 5th graders! Your 5th grade interns, Watanabe-sensei and Matsumura-sensei, along with Fukuno Elementary PTA and Oya No Kai, are hosting a virtual cultural event at 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 30th!!! We are accepting 30 students from each school. Sign up here.

Kurabu is almost here! Sign up now! 
We’re so excited to welcome students to Kurabu, Oya No Kai’s Japanese summer camp, in less than three weeks! Sessions are filling up fast, so register now!
LOCATION: Mt. Tabor Middle School, 5800 SE Ash St. Portland, OR 97215
TIME: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday 6/27-7/29 (except July 4).
COST: $275/week for 5-day week, $220/week for 4th of July week. 
LEARN MORE

Help wanted: ONK Assistant Treasurer 
We are looking for a new Assistant Treasurer for 2022-23 with the eventual goal of stepping into the Treasurer position. Please contact ONK Treasurer Tricia Waineo (tricia.waineo@oyanokai.org) if you are interested. We always need more help on the board. If you’re interested in joining the board in a different role, please contact info@oyanokai.org.  

Interns available for Japanese tutoring 
Richmond’s 12 new Japanese interns have settled into their classrooms and are available for one-on-one tutoring. Tutoring is $10 for 30 minutes for elementary students. Summer tutoring is available, but each family and intern has to arrange a time and place, because we can’t use the Richmond building. Please email the interns directly to request tutoring. 

Kirine Nishiya sensei (kindergarten), knishiya@pps.net
Airi Uemoto sensei (kindergarten), auemoto@pps.net
Nonoka Kuroda sensei (1st grade), nkuroda@pps.net
Akiho Maeda sensei (1st grade), amaeda@pps.net
Taeka Abe sensei (2nd grade), tabe@pps.net
Ayano Abe sensei (2nd grade), aabe@pps.net
Arisa Matsuki sensei (3rd grade), amatsuki@pps.net
Mirei Nakano sensei (3rd grade), mnakano@pps.net
Mai Noda sensei (4th grade), manoda@pps.net
Kaori Oura sensei (4th grade), koura@pps.net
Takeru Matsumura sensei (5th grade), tmatsumura@pps.net
Mai Watanabe (5th grade), mawatanabe@pps.net