Friday, September 4, 2020

Dear Stephenson Families,

We are off to a great start!  I hope the beginning of the year is going well and that the first few days of the school year have gone smoothly in your homes.  Clearly, the start to this school year is like no other, filled with uncertainty, challenges, and many unanswered questions.  While at times it does feel daunting, we are an incredibly capable community and each day as we continue to work together and support one another will bring success.  Stephenson families our a critical piece to the relationship between students and teachers by providing the best support you can.  We are grateful to you and look forward to the partnership.

Music Teacher Update:

Welcome Mark Anderson, our newest staff member to join Stephenson. Mr. Anderson will be a great addition to our staff for Quarter 1 while Mrs. K Jacobs is on leave.  Mr. Anderson has an extensive music background and most recently taught in the Hillsboro School District.  Mr. Anderson will be formally introduced at our next all staff meeting.  At this time, Mr. Anderson does not have a PPS email address, but he should get one soon.  The enrichment staff is working on a Lunch Time Meet and Greet for next week so all the students can meet their enrichment teachers before they begin.

Fall 2020: What Students and Families Need to Know about Attendance:

We are very excited to see your student back at school this year. While we cannot see them in person, we will connect with them virtually through online distance learning. It is very important that students attend and participate in classes. We want to provide multiple ways for our teachers to account for your child’s attendance in school. You can find several ways listed below. Please review them with your student and please stress the importance of their participation and engagement in school this year. Thank you in advance for your partnership with us during online learning.   

Students will have 24 hours (from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m.) to participate in one of the following ways:

• Participating in a video class.
• Communication from the student to the teacher via chat, text message, communication app, or email.
• A phone call between the teacher or EA/Paraprofessional with the student, or, for younger students, with the parent.
• Posting completed coursework to a learning management system or web-based platform or via email.
• Turning incomplete coursework on a given day.

Please note that students in grades 6-12 must attend in one of the above mentioned ways for every scheduled class on a particular day.

To understand the difference between synchronous and asynchronous learning, please check out our Instructional Delivery model document. For the most current information about the beginning of the school year, visit the Fall 2020 website.

K-5 Daily Schedules:

By now, all Stephenson 1^st-5^th teachers have sent their classroom daily schedules to families.  The Kindergarten team will send their daily schedule on Tuesday, September 8^th the first day of school for our youngest students. For now, all K-5^th grade families have received the “Soft Start” schedule that continues until September 11, 2020. Hearing from several of the staff they have appreciated meeting students and families during this time. Thank you families and students for your participation during our school’s “Soft Start”. You will notice each child will have four enrichments throughout the week. Mr. Pierson, Ms. Johnson, Mr. Rocha and Mr. Anderson, our current long term Music substitute will be teaching synchronous lessons to our students weekly starting the week of September 14, 2020.

Student Enrollment at Stephenson as of 9-4-2020:

Our total enrollment as of today is 328 students present and current classroom enrollment numbers are K-2 CB: 10; K: 53; 1^st grade: 52; 2^nd grade: 63; 3^rd grade: 45; 4^th grade: 52 and 5^th grade: 55. I also want you to know our enrollment dropped by 55 students this Fall 2020 due to homeschooling, private schools and transferred out of PPS.

Parent Facing Page on ATLAS:

All PPS families have the opportunity to view PPS curriculum in Atlas by visiting https://pps-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Public/View/Default Please reach out to Diana Kruger, Humanities Program Administrator, K-5 Literacy - dkruger@pps.net with any questions.

PPS and State Assessments:

Fall K-2 DIBELS/IDEL SUSPENDED:

Fall DIBELS/IDEL assessments are suspended at this time. Teachers will not remote assess students and will not schedule any individual face-to-face assessments at other events outside the school building. As we receive additional assessment guidance from ODE we will be exploring options to afford in-person assessment opportunities.

3^rd-5^th FALL MAP Testing:

MAP testing will be conducted remotely this fall with a delayed window. The fall window will be open September 28 through October 23. All 3^rd-5^th staff administering a remote MAP assessment this year are required to take the supplemental Pepper course PA1014 MAP Remote Test Administration.  Additional resources available for supporting remote MAP testing include: Parent Guide (will be sent by Communications Dept. to parents third week of September).

SW Boones Ferry Bridge & Restoration Project Update September 3, 2020:

Between September 3 and September 25, crews will continue to install water control measures for the stream enhancement, excavate the wetland area, and place stream stabilization measures. Once the water control measures are in place, crews will resume building the pedestrian access under the bridge. This pedestrian access will provide a safe connection to the Tryon Creek State Natural Area North Creek Trailhead for people using the trail once construction of the bridge is complete. The schedule may change due to a variety of factors, including weather, conditions underground, availability of materials and labor, and other factors. Work hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturdays as needed.

News from our School Counselors:

We hope everyone had a great first week of school during our “Soft Start”.  Thanks for being a part of the wonderful Stephenson Community. As we get started, we wanted to send you some local resources that are helpful this fall.

• Neighborhood House is committed to offering innovative and high-quality education, anti-poverty and senior support services  https://nhpdx.org/

• 211 is a vital service that connects millions of people to help every year. To get expert, caring help, simply call 211 today or search for your local 211 below. Find your local 211 or https://www.211.org/ 

• COVID Emergency Relief Document for Portland, complied by congressmen Earl Blumenauer:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_vxTr5ze9Po3noASrmc3075x9EMsKZQczUe-QHsWADQ/edit#gid=0
• PPS Multilingual Family Line: The PPS Multilingual Family Line is a service for parents or guardians (in all PPS-supported languages) to communicate with schools regarding meals, tech help for online classes, special instruction, talking to your teacher, COVID resources and information, etc.

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

Please lets us know of any support your child needs to help start the school year off successfully. Thanks and let us know any support your need to help get your child off to a successful start to the school year!

Erik, eseavey@pps.net and Nicole, ngekov@pps.net

In closing, please reach out to your teachers or me if any questions or concerns arise as we are here to provide our families and students support.  I enjoyed my breakfast with students on Wednesday morning. It was therapeutic for me to see smiling faces and excitement from students on the first day of school. 

A special WELCOME to our Kindergarten students who will start on Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Be well,

Carlos Galindo, Principal

Stephenson Elementary

Go Lions!