The first day of school for grades 1-5 is Tuesday, August 30! It was wonderful to see many of you at our ice cream social on Friday, and we are looking forward to seeing everyone else on Tuesday! We do anticipate some warm temperatures Tuesday and Wednesday, so we recommend sending your child with a refillable water bottle so that they can stay hydrated throughout the day.

In order to ensure that the first day goes smoothly, we wanted to share some new routines for arrival and dismissal with you.

School starts at 8:45.

School doors open for breakfast at 8:30. We have staff on supervision duty starting at 8:15, but we ask that you drop your children off as close to 8:30 as possible to ensure that they are safe in the morning. If you know that your child is not planning to eat breakfast and are flexible with your dropoff time, please drop them off closer to 8:45.

We are excited to announce that we are once again able to welcome families into the building in the mornings! You are welcome to come inside with your child, as well as to sit with them in the cafeteria during breakfast. On the first day of school you are also invited to walk with them to their classroom! Starting on Wednesday 8/31, we ask that family members say goodbye to their child when they leave the cafeteria at 8:45. Any families who stay in the building for an appointment after 8:45 will need to sign in at the office and get a visitor pass.

School dismisses at 3:00.

All students will be dismissed from the front entrance to the school. You may pick up your child from the front of the school, or enter the parking lot and use our pass-through to pick up your child and then re-enter Flavel street. If you are on foot, please wait on the sidewalk in order to leave the dismissal line-up area open for students.

If you plan to remain in the car, please drop off and pick up your child on the south side of Flavel St, immediately adjacent to the front entrance. You may also pull into the parking lot and use our pass through to drop off your child and then re-enter Flavel street.

If coming on foot from the north side of the street, please use the marked crosswalk and pedestrian crossing signal to cross the street. Please do not cross the street outside of the marked crosswalk, as this creates a dangerous situation both for you and for oncoming traffic.

Please do not park in the marked bus zone, as our bus drivers need sufficient space to load and unload passengers.

The Whitman bus routes for this year are below. If you are unsure whether your child qualifies for transportation, you can find out on the district transportation page, https://www.pps.net/Page/179. If you need assistance, please reach out to us and we can support you!

Portland Public Schools participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. School breakfasts and lunches are provided at NO CHARGE to ALL active students enrolled at CEP schools. All students enrolled in the CEP schools below may receive 1 daily breakfast and lunch during the 2022-23 school year: Alliance High School, Applegate, Arleta, Astor, Beach, Beaumont, Benson, Boise-Eliot Humboldt, Bridger, Buckman, Cesar Chavez, Chapman, Chief Joseph, Clarendon, Creston, Community Transition Program, DART, Faubion, George, Grout, Harrison Park, Hayhurst, James John, Jefferson, Kellogg, Kelly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lane, Lee, Lent, Markham, Marysville, McDaniel, Ockley Green, Peninsula, Pioneer Programs, PISA, Rigler, Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Rose City Park, Roseway Heights, Sacajawea, Scott, Sitton, Tubman, Vernon, Vestal, Whitman, Woodlawn, Woodmere and Youth Progress

1. Families Benefit — We use our funds for

events for students and families to take part

in shared experiences together.

2. The School Benefits — We also provide

Teacher Grants and donate to SUN.

3. Make Connections — Let your voice be

heard as we decide how to best provide

resources for the Whitman Community!

Please join us at our first PTA Meeting of the year

next week: Thursday, September 8th from 6-7pm in

the library of Whitman Elementary.

You can find this information and more about the

organization at http://facebook.com/ftwpta or email

us at: president@ptawhitman.org

9/5 Labor day– No School

9/7 First PTA Meeting, 6:00 - 7:00 in the Whitman Library

9/23 Teacher Professional Development Day– No School