Wildcat Newsletter

It was an exciting week last week. We tried out our winning indoor recess activities, the Lionel Clegg Boys & Girls Club had its ribbon cutting event, and many of us traveled to Keller Auditorium to watch the Hip Hop Nutcracker.

Last year, the Boys & Girls Club Director came to Woodlawn to make a surprise announcement during one of our whole school assemblies. Mr. Clegg had been selected by the children, who participate in the Boys & Girls Club programs in Portland, as the person they most admired and wanted to be the honorary namesake for the renamed SE center. The unveiling of the center name and the ribbon cutting ceremony were last Thursday evening at the center on SE 92nd Ave. Congratulations to Mr. Clegg for this honor!

In late October, the Wildcats had an opportunity to participate in voting to determine a new indoor recess activity. There were four options and we used the rank choice format. We identified the top two choices for each grade. Below is an example of how the votes worked out in third and fourth grade..

It was an exciting week last week. We tried out our winning indoor recess activities, the Lionel Clegg Boys & Girls Club had its ribbon cutting event, and many of us traveled to Keller Auditorium to watch the Hip Hop Nutcracker.

Last year, the Boys & Girls Club Director came to Woodlawn to make a surprise announcement during one of our whole school assemblies. Mr. Clegg had been selected by the children, who participate in the Boys & Girls Club programs in Portland, as the person they most admired and wanted to be the honorary namesake for the renamed SE center. The unveiling of the center name and the ribbon cutting ceremony were last Thursday evening at the center on SE 92nd Ave. Congratulations to Mr. Clegg for this honor!

In late October, the Wildcats had an opportunity to participate in voting to determine a new indoor recess activity. There were four options and we used the rank choice format. We identified the top two choices for each grade. Below is an example of how the votes worked out in third and fourth grade..

Join us for donuts, juice, coffee, and a few minutes to connect with other families in the Woodlawn community on the morning of Friday, December 6th from 7:30 to 8am. See you there!

I mentioned last week that we received nine tribal flags to display during Native American Heritage Month. You’ll see the tribal flags in our main hallway. We will temporarily display the flags in our main hallway until we determine a permanent place for them.

Through lessons about the flags, students explore the colors and symbols. Additionally, they are introduced to a land acknowledgement that names the tribes that were on the land we now call Portland.

This is the Land Acknowledgement:

We acknowledge the land that we now call Portland are the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Cowlitz Band of the Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, Tumwater and many more. They thrived for thousands of generations, long before colonial settlement and the forced removal and attempted genocide that was put upon them. We honor them and recognize the resistance and how they are still deeply connected to this land and how they are still here.

We are on Indigenous Land.

Parent Teacher Conferences are a great time to share more about your student; your concerns and questions about their academic and social development. You received your child's report card last week and the teacher can review it and answer questions you have. It may be helpful to prepare for the conference by writing down a few questions or things you’d like to address.

Two things you can do while at the building: check the lost and found and complete the family survey for the Successful Schools Survey

Winter registration will be December 9th-13th, and confirmations will go out December 18th.

If you have an email listed in Synergy you received an invitation to complete the survey. You may need to check your spam folder. This year, you’ll need to select Woodlawn from the drop down menu. Double check that you select Woodlawn as there are other “Wood-” schools in PPS.

We use the data from the Successful Schools Survey to make Woodlawn even better! Help us be the school that you are proud of and want your children and neighbors to attend. We want to hear from you!

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/fall24family

PPS has provided a presentation for 5th grade families regarding the lottery system and middle school options for next year. Every 5th grader received a handout with important dates for school information sessions. You can view the presentation slides here.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ANGrXap0nnKo2fk2-rpGziVPXcedhLUJo8FVquh4ywQ/edit?usp=sharing

If you feel called to help a family this holiday season, Ms. Paige is coordinating a gift drive and is asking for gift donations. If you would like to purchase a gift for a child, please sign up here.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0949A9AE22A4F4CF8-53114165-holiday#/

Please note that Holiday Giving is closed for requests, and is only taking donations at this time. Thanks, Ms. Paige

We are celebrating Ms. Escovedo’s 3rd grade class this week for perfect attendance for 5 days. We are upping the ante a bit for this grading period for classes that have earned 2 or more parties already, and students will now complete 10 days of 100% attendance to earn their parties. Yay!

Teacher Conferences Potluck Dinner - Monday, Nov. 24th

Let's show our gratitude to Woodlawn teachers and staff by providing a potluck dinner for them during conferences! We would love your help in supplying yummy soups, salads and bread for them to enjoy.

Drop-off: Sarah will be at Woodlawn on Monday, Nov. 25, at 4 pm. To learn more and sign up to contribute a potluck item, click here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040D4AABAD2BA3FA7-53100802-staff

Last Chance Hoodies and Long sleeves pre-order only until November 20.

Go to Woodlawn PTA website to shop or follow the QR code link on the image: https://woodlawn-806881.square.site/

We Need Help Planning Jazz Night on 2/28/25!

We are beginning to plan Jazz Night 2025 and we need some more helpers on our planning committee! Jazz Night is Woodlawn PTA's biggest annual fundraiser, an adults-only celebration of Portland's jazz legacy with live music, history speakers, a silent auction, food, drinks and more. This year's event will be on Friday, February 28 from 5:30-9pm at Village Ballroom on NE Dekum. We're looking for new volunteers to join our dedicated team in the following roles:

• Catering Liaison

• Marketing & social media coordinator

• Co-coordinator for decor

• Co-coordinator for volunteer management

• Fundraising team members

Our Jazz Night Committee is meeting on Mondays from 4-5pm on Zoom, with our next meeting on Monday, December 2. Please email Andy at andyfurgeson@gmail.com if you would like to attend, or join the Zoom meeting here.