a day at the beach

انقر فوق الزر "ترجمة" أعلاه لقراءة هذا باللغة العربية

ይህንን በአማርኛ ለማንበብ ከላይ ያለውን ተርጉም ይጫኑ

Haga clic en el botón TRADUCIR de arriba para leer esto en español

Cliquez sur le bouton TRADUIRE ci-dessus pour lire ceci en français

To honor the beginning of National American Indian Heritage Month, Beach will be recognizing Orange Shirt Day on Tuesday, November 5th to recognize the 150,000 Indigenous children who endured residential schooling and its lasting trauma. Students in Beach's Native Student Union designed a shirt for kids that identify as Native on their school registration and for teachers. Please consider encouraging your child to wear orange to school tomorrow.

You are invited to our Math and Literacy Night on Thursday, November 21st from 5:00-7:00. Pizza will be provided!

Our interventionist team is putting together and evening that will include information about our math and literacy program as well as fun activities for kids to choose from that can be done with us and with you. Students will leave with goodie bags that will keep the fun going at home. We hope to see you there!

November 11-15 is School Psychologist Appreciation Week. Here at Beach, we are lucky to have Sarah Muska as our school psych. School psychologists do so many things, including helping identify and address learning and behavioral issues early on, which can prevent problems from becoming more significant later. Sarah is a great thought partner when creating plans of support for students and works to make sure that students get what they need here at school. Thank you, Sarah!

Each year, students, staff and families are invited to take the Successful Schools Survey. The results are used to change our practice here at Beach. In fact, one of our improvement goals this year is to increase the percentage of students overall, including students of color, who report a feeling of sense of belonging from 50% to 75% this year.

We have used the family feedback to make some changes. For example, 47% of the 118 parents/caregivers that filled out last year's survey shared that they don't feel the school values their opinion. This year we will begin implementing principal chats and listening sessions to hear directly from you more often.

Please take time to complete the survey linked here. (It is a long survey - 15-30 minutes - but it's sooooooo helpful.) This survey link will be open through December 6. But why wait? Feel free to fill it out now!

The survey is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese.

For more information about the Successful Schools Survey, click here.

Thank you to the eight of you that completed the principal chat survey in last month's newsletter. As a result of that feedback, I'm glad to offer six principal chats this year! (These sessions do not meet the needs of one of the people who gave feedback. I'm sorry I wasn't able to accommodate everyone.)

• Tuesday, December 10 from 6:00-6:45pm (virtual)
• Friday, December 13 from 8:00-8:45 (in-person at Beach)
• Monday, February 24 from 6:00-6:45pm (virtual)
• Wednesday, February 26 from 8:00-8:45 (in-person at Beach)
• Monday, April 14 from 6:00-6:45pm (virtual)
• Friday, April 18 from 8:00-8:45 (in-person at Beach)

These sessions will be informal opportunities for me to hear about your priorities, respond to questions and to share information about what's happening at school.

We are making a change to our pick up procedure to eliminate some confusion and complication from the end of our day. Beginning on Wednesday we will ask that early pickups occur no later than 2:10pm. This will help us connect students and parents who are leaving early and then pivot to preparing for our regular dismissal. Unless it is an emergency, please do not ask for early pick ups after 2:10pm.

Caregiver/Teacher conferences are getting closer and closer. If you haven't chosen a time yet, here are the links again for your reference. If you would prefer a virtual conference, please let your child's teacher know!

Hello 5th Grade Beach Families!

Exciting news—our crossing guard program is gearing up! On October 24th, I sent applications home with students, with a November 5th deadline for submissions so I can start reviewing and getting an early sense of our roster.

This Thursday, we’ll be finalizing spots and sending home the official district permission form for those who’ve applied. Once we’re set, we’ll start training sessions, held every Thursday at lunch, to learn everything needed for a safe and successful year of helping our school community. Look for schedules coming home on Friday!

Please feel free to reach out anytime with questions tmyers2@pps.net. I’ll be sharing more details via email as soon as our roster is confirmed.

Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. Let’s make this a fantastic year for our 5th-grade crossing guards!

Beach Free Clothing Store

Our Beach Free Clothing Store is up and running this school year! We have a large variety of clothing available, including limited amounts of infant/toddler clothing. If you would like your student to be brought to the store to “shop”, or if you would like to check it out yourself after school, reach out to Rhys at rnearyhills@pps.net / 503-679-8350.

There are some items that the Beach Free Clothing Store is actively seeking donations for:

Shoes sizes 11-3, socks of all sizes, pants in sizes 8, 10, and 12, medium coats, girls’ underwear sizes 8, 10, and 12, and boys’ boxer briefs of all sizes (though we are well-stocked in boys’ regular-style briefs).

Anti-LGBTQ2S+ Language on the Rise

We are hearing a rise in anti-LGBTQ2S+ rhetoric from our students across all grade levels, largely driven by viral online videos on TikTok and YouTube. Some of this includes “games” that involve telling others that they are gay, and some of it involves hate speech and slurs. All of it is creating the implication that people’s identities are inherently bad. We are working hard to combat this, but we know we cannot do it alone. If your child is engaged in TikTok, YouTube, or plays video games online with others, please check in with them around what they might have heard. If you need help navigating this conversation, let Rhys or Katrina know– we are happy to be your thought partners!

Fall Break Food Boxes
We will have a small number of food boxes available for families to pick up the Friday before Fall Break, the 22nd. If you are interested in picking up a food box, please register by reaching out to Rhys-- rnearyhills@pps.net / 503-679-8350.

Community Needs Survey

Now that we have a full-time Social Worker at Beach School, we are working to better understand what our community’s needs are, and learn how we can better support our Beach community. Please take a few minutes to fill out our Beach Community Needs Check In, located here in English and here in Spanish. Any information you can give us is so helpful as we work to prioritize our school-based resources.

Hello 5th grade students and families!

While it may be hard to believe, middle school will be here before we know it. As your child’s school counselor, one of my responsibilities is to help 5th graders get ready for middle school and answer any questions students and families may have. One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, “Can I go to any middle school I want to?” The short answer to this question is, “no.” Students are assigned to a neighborhood middle school based on their primary address in Synergy. This is regardless of what elementary school the student attends or which middle school that elementary school feeds into. If a student wants to look into attending a middle school other than their neighborhood school, students/families can apply online during the open enrollment timeframe. This includes focus option schools like da Vinci and the Metropolitan Learning Center. Charter schools have their own applications/lotteries and timelines. Please visit PPS Moving to MS Info Website for more information including dates and times of 6th grade information nights for 5th grade families.

If your child is in the Spanish immersion program at Beach, they will automatically be enrolled at Ockley Green. If you want your child to attend a Spanish immersion program at a different school, you will need to apply for a hardship transfer to that school.

TIMELINE

Fall 2024 - PPS will send each 5th grade family a letter indicating assigned school for 6th grade, transfer options and timelines.

November 13-December 16- Application window for lottery options and hardship transfers.

Please feel free to reach out anytime with questions, especially regarding transitioning to middle school. I can be reached via email at kdeboer@pps.net or you can call or text me at 971-231-4960.

Thank you,

Katrina de Boer

School Counselor

pronouns: she/her

This month's emergency drill's are secure the perimeter and evacuate (fire drill). Our last evacuate drill was approximately 30 seconds faster - and more organized - than our first one. Well done, Bobcats!

Secure is activated when there is an unsafe situation outside the school building. Designated personnel are assigned to secure the exterior doors to the building.

Students

• Return and remain inside the school building
• Business as usual inside the classroom

Teachers

• Bring everyone indoors
• Ensure exterior doors are locked
• Increase situational awareness
• Take attendance
• Business as usual inside the classroom

The documents below have been shared by our Emergency Management team in case you would like to use them to make family emergency plans.

• English

• Spanish

Nov. 8th and 9th: 2nd Annual Rise Above Community Dinner (Nov. 8th) and K-12 Basketball Clinic (Nov. 9th)

Sign up here!

Nov. 16th: 3rd Annual OMSI Native American Community Science Night

Sign up here! (Indian Education families only)

In-Service/Break Camp

The YMCA is offering care for in-service days, Fall break, and Winter Break. Anyone can sign up: You do not need to be a current participant to enroll for these full-day programs! Program will operate from 7:30-5:30 at Alameda, Faubion, Laurelhurst, or Llewellyn. If you are interested, follow the link below to learn more, or email: tpavelka@ymcacw.org.

In-Service

Winter Break

Space in programs:

We have a few spaces available in program! Join our YMCA Before & After School Programs for a safe, supportive, and enriching experience right at your school. From engaging activities to homework help, we're here to foster your child's growth academically, socially, and emotionally. Hours: 6:30am until school starts & school release until 6:00pm. We offer full-time or part-time care. The YMCA accepts ERDC and other subsidy payments. If interested, please follow the link below or reach out to: tpavelka@ymcacw.org.

Beach Before and After Care

November Breakfast Menu

November K-5 Lunch Menu

You can also get to these from the quick links on our website for future reference.

We heard you! Caregiver feedback collected in August highlighted that you are interested in having more fun evening events throughout the year. We have added four new opportunities this year (Beach Connects is a returning favorite). We hope you will join us for all of these events!

• Math & Literacy Night - 11/21

• Music & Art 1/23

• Black Excellence - 2/27

• Beach Connects - 5/1, BCU is a big part of this!

• Spanish Language Celebration - TBD, likely March/April

• Monday, November 11 - Veterans Day, No School
• Wednesday, November 20 @ 11:50 - Early Release
• Wednesday, November 20 - Restaurant Night @ Miss Delta
• Thursday, November 21 from 5:00-7:00 - Math & Literacy Night
• Monday/Tuesday, November 25/26 - Conferences, No School
• Wednesday,-Friday November 27-29 - Fall Break, No School
• Tuesday, December 10 from 6:00-6:45pm (virtual) - Principal Chat
• Friday, December 13 from 8:00-8:45am (in-person at Beach) - Principal Chat
• Wednesday, December 18 @ 11:50 - Early Release
• Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 3 - Winter Break