Hello Woodstock Families,
Happy Friday! These last two days have really been lovely. Hopefully, you and your family have been able to take advantage of the nice weather and spend some time outside. With February usually being cold and wet, it has been nice to see some blue skies and some decent temperatures.
February is also a time of year schools at PPS begin to start planning for staffing for the upcoming school year. Right now, we are in the middle of working through our staffing allocations and identifying ways to best serve students in the coming years. At our upcoming Site Council Meeting (February 15) and Community Coffee Conversation (March 1), I’ll be sharing an early draft of Woodstock’s staffing projections for the 2023-2024 school year. Both meetings are open to all.
I’d also like to highlight a conflict resolution strategy from this Morning’s Meeting: “Stop, Walk, and Talk.” Students can use this strategy when they are in a situation where a peer makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe. If a student finds themself in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation, they are first encouraged to, clearly, tell the peer “STOP.” They should say it in a non-joking/non-playful way to communicate they want the peer to stop. Next, they should WALK away from the peer and uncomfortable/unsafe situation. Then, they should TALK to an adult. This adult can be their teacher, a recess supervisor, or another trusted adult or staff member.
At the bottom of this newsletter, please read “why” and “when” we use this strategy at our school. If you have any questions about this approach or how to help your child in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation, please reach out to us.
Have a good weekend and we’ll see you next week.
Seth Johnson, Principal
Woodstock Elementary
See the Woodstock Newsletter Archive for past editions.
PICCs of the Week
Please join us in recognizing the PICCs of the Week who are being celebrated for how they have shown Perseverance, Integrity, Curiosity, and Compassion. Congratulations to this week’s PICCs!
Upcoming Events
TOMORROW: February 11 - Mini Makers Market 11-2 PM
February 13 - PTA Funding Proposal Meeting, 7:00-8:00 PM
February 15 - Vaccine Exclusion Day
February 15, 2:45 PM - Site Council
February 17 - NO SCHOOL - Optional Staff Professional Development
February 20 - NO SCHOOL - Holiday
February 28 - Successful Schools Survey Closes
March 1, 8:20 AM - Coffee Conversation
Woodstock Online Calendar (with iCal Directions for adding to your own calendar.)
Successful School Survey
PPS has officially kicked-off the 2023 Successful Schools Survey. All families should have received an email with an invitation to the Family Survey Link.
Our district values your feedback! In the coming weeks, we will be asking you to take a brief survey to tell us about your experience with Woodstock and Portland Public Schools. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.
The survey will begin on January 23 and close on February 28. You will be able to take the survey online.
We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact us at WoodstockAttend@pps.net.
School Exclusion Day is February 15
Don't let your child miss school! If your student is missing vaccines, now is the time to catch them up. February 15, 2023 is school exclusion day. On this date, PPS students who are not up to date on vaccinations will be unable to attend school. PPS partners with the Multnomah County Health Department to provide comprehensive preventative, primary and mental healthcare services for all Multnomah county school-age youth regardless of ability to pay.
Student Health Centers are located in the following Portland Public School High Schools: Cleveland, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison (at Marshall), and Roosevelt.
Please see the info about upcoming school exclusion clinics.
Mini Makers Market
The Woodstock PTA invites you to their first annual Mini Makers Market on Saturday, February 11th from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm. This inaugural event will showcase the work of young artisans from all across the Portland Metro area. Find more information online at woodstock-pta.org/news.
Middle School Updates
Lane Middle School Visit
Lane is excited to invite our feeder school 5th grade students and families to an open house hosted by our Parent-Teacher Organization on Thursday, 2/23 from 6 to 7 PM. This visit will give students an opportunity to learn about classes, practice opening lockers, and explore the building. Please email atruhlar@pps.net with any questions
Harrison Park Middle School Visit
Harrison Park is excited to invite our feeder school 5th grade students and families to an open house on Tuesday, 3/7 from 6 to 7:30 PM. This visit will give students an opportunity to tour the building, meet the staff, and learn about renovations and programs. Please call (503) 916-5700 with any questions.
Lane Middle School Name Change SurveyThe Lane Name Change Committee is working on changing the school’s name and would love to hear from you. They created a survey to hear the thoughts of all community members. Use this link to complete the survey.
Stop, Walk, Talk
WHY should I do it:
To teach students how to stand up to behavior that they feel is offensive or not wanted
To Empower students
To promote self-advocacy and self-determination
To decrease bullying and bullying related issues in school
To promote a more self-reliant, responsible, and safe climate and atmosphere
To remove barriers that interfere with positive peer interactions and academics
To create a positive school climate
WHEN should I do it:
This strategy is best utilized and taught school-wide as part of the regular rules and procedures
Teach this strategy to students several times throughout the year
When you witness or are informed of any situations that students feel bullied, annoyed, offended or
When a student seems to react to others teasing or instigation
When an awkward or odd student seems to attract a lot of criticism
When students seem to have poor interactions and frequent conflicts
When students do not know how to handle conflicts well
When students complain about bullying, being picked on, teased, etc
