Panther News
April 2022
Tracy Junk, Attendance Secretary; Amoreana Collins, Head Secretary; Thelina O'Daniel, Principal 503-661-1510
Check out Powell Valley’s Website: https://www.gresham.k12.or.us/pves, or Twitter @Panthers_PVES
Message from the Principal
Dear Powell Valley Panther Families,
I hope that you all had a restful spring break! All of the staff at Powell Valley are ready to jump right into spring and jump right back into learning!
Our first PTC in person meeting will be held on April 4, 2022 at Powell Valley in the library at 6:30pm.
OSAS State testing will begin on April 11, 2022 for grades 3-5. If you would like to opt out your child please click on the link and fill out the form.
Opt out in English:
https://forms.gle/He4Dxdq6y2bzLaK38
Opt out in Spanish:
https://forms.gle/V1AaJpGxG6RGXBPJ8
Opt out in Russian:
https://forms.gle/7APTmj1TCkXd2dMz5
TAG (Talented and Gifted) Screener will begin on April 14, 2022 for grades 2, 3, and 4.
Powell Valley Elementary Connect to Kindergarten is on April 19, 2022 if you have a kindergarten aged child who will be registering with us for the school year 2022-2023 please join us here at Powell Valley from 5:00-6:30pm to meet the Kindergarten teachers and tour our building.
Counselor Corner
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
I hope your time with your children during spring break was relaxing and you had some time to enjoy the sunshine.
We are almost done with lessons on ways to stay safe, to recognize when something is unsafe, to report anything unsafe to a trusted adult, and to refuse to participate. I urge students to talk to you as their parents/guardians to give them three contacts (information with phone numbers) of trusted adults who they can call when an emergency arises and they are without you. You play the most important role in helping your child stay safe.
Remember to contact 2-1-1 if you are in need of food, utility or housing assistance or check out their website https://www.211info.org/ to find out the latest information. Additional resources can be found here: GBSD Food Resources. If you receive SNAP benefits, please contact your local self-sufficiency office to inquire about assistance.
Warmly,
Nelia Collins
School Counselor
Connect to Kindergarten
Kindergarten Registration Opened March 1st
If you have a child that will be 5 on or before September 1st please register now! If you have friends, family or neighbors in the Powell Valley district with upcoming fall kindergarteners please let them know registration is open! Please visit our website, click here http://powellvalley.gresham.k12.or.us
You will need access to your ParentVUE account and an email address to complete the registration process.
Lost and Found
Hello Powell Valley Panther Families,
We have managed to collect quite a bit of; jackets, hats, scarves and other student items in our lost and found. Parents are encouraged to come into the building after school and take a look at the items. We will put the items out during our connect to kindergarten night, and at our music night. We donate all items to Snow-Cap at the end of the year.
Please contact your students teacher or the office 503-661-1510 if you see anything that looks familiar.
SPL Services Update
Hello Parents and Students,
Our speech-language pathologist will be out on maternity leave through the end of the school year. Students will continue to be offered services from a licensed tele-therapist during her absence. Mrs. Bihler looks forward to joining us again in the fall!
Our contact person is Amanda Kittell akittell@dotcomtherapy
State testing opt out forms
Dear Parent/Guardian
With the 2021-22 school year well under way, I wanted to take a moment to provide some important information about this year’s state tests.
Powell Valley Elementary School will give Smarter Balanced tests in English Language Arts, and Math. Additionally grade 5 only will be taking an assessment in Science. This will begin on April 11, 2022 through May 3, 2022. These tests measure more complex, real-world skills such as critical-thinking, writing, and problem solving so that your child can successfully transition from grade to grade and be prepared for his or her next steps after high school. We know that an end-of-the-year test cannot possibly tell us everything about your child’s academic progress.
However, the results do act as a snapshot of your child’s strengths and areas for improvement and can be used as a way to ensure they are getting the support they need. Additionally, the tests help Gresham Barlow School District’s efforts to equitably distribute resources and support student learning. When fewer students take the test, we are left with an incomplete and inaccurate picture of how our students are performing, and this limits our ability to address issues, better serve students, and continue to improve our educational system.
ORS 329.479 establishes a Student Assessment Bill of Rights permitting parents or adult students to annually opt-out of statewide summative assessments in English language arts and Mathematics. The opt-out forms are linked in this parent newsletter.
In the Gresham Barlow School District, we are deeply committed to inspiring and empowering each student and ensuring that every student in our schools has the support they need to achieve at high levels and graduate prepared for their next steps. If you have general questions or want more information about the end-of-year tests, please see http://www.smarterbalanced.org/parents/.
I encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher(s) with any questions you may have about your student’s progress.
2021-22 State Test Opt-Out Form - English
PTC Corner
Powell Valley Elementary Penny War!!!!
March 28-April 8
Put your spare change toward a great cause. All proceeds from our penny war fundraiser will go to support classroom funds and community events.
Pennies are “Positive.” Here’s how it works
Containers are located in the classrooms
Each penny counts as one positive point for YOUR grade
Each silver coin counts as negative points for OTHER grades. In other words, dropping a quarter in another classroom’s bucket takes 25 points from their total.
At the end of the day on April 8, all change.points will be tallied and the classroom with the most points will win a pizza party for their whole grade!!
Start saving your change - it can make a big difference!!
****Pennies count FOR your grade. Silver counts AGAINST another grade. Winning grade gets a pizza party. The war concludes Friday, April 8th.
*Adults* If you could help us pre count large bags of money and strategize which grade they want to put their silver coins in, we would be immensely grateful We are still looking for morning volunteers as well.
Welcome back Volunteers!!!
- Every person with a desire to volunteer for the Gresham-Barlow School District is required to fill out a Volunteer Background Check Form and undergo a Volunteer Background Check.
SCHOOL START & END TIMES
Start/End times on Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri
8:30-3:05 the tardy bell will ring at 8:35.
Start/End times on Wednesdays
9:30-3:05 the tardy bell will ring at 9:35
Upcoming events
March 2022
March 28th-April 8th - PTC Penny War Fundraiser
April 2022
4th - PTC Meeting - 6:30pm (in person @ PV library)
19th - Connect to Kindergarten - 5:00pm-6:30pm
22nd - No School
May 2022
2nd - PTC Meeting - 6:30pm
2nd-6th - Teacher Appreciation Week
6th - Powell Valley PTC Carnival - 5:30-8:30
13th - No School
24th - Music Concert - 2nd & 4th Grade - 6:30-7:30
30th - No School - Memorial Day
Please contact your teacher if you have any questions:
Amy Galloway - galloway3@gresham.k12.or.us
Ashley Kelley - kelley23@gresham.k12.or.us
Colleen Kai - kai@gresham.k12.or.us
Daniel Saffer - saffer@gresham.k12.or.us
Doug Robertson - robertson24@gresham.k12.or.us
Greg Kirkelie - kirkelie@gresham.k12.or.us
Janelle Drelleshak - drelleshak@gresham.k12.or.us
Jennifer Cano - cano4@gresham.k12.or.us
Joanna Bihler - bihler@gresham.k12.or.us
Julie Poetsch - poetsch@gresham.k12.or.us
Katie Hanson - hanson45@gresham.k12.or.us
Kimberly McCaffrey - mccaffrey@gresham.k12.or.us
Kimberly Schilling - schilling@gresham.k12.or.us
Marinela Ionescu - ionescu3@gresham.k12.or.us
Melissa Castellanos - castellanos@gresham.k12.or.us
Michael Stephens - stephens10@gresham.k12.or.us
Molly Edeline - edeline2@gresham.k12.or.us
Nelia Collins - collins25@gresham.k12.or.us
Robyn Glove - glove@gresham.k12.or.us
Shane Park - park2@gresham.k12.or.us
Traci Stout - stout@gresham.k12.or.us