Hallinan Elementary
Hawk Squawk Newsletter 10/13/22
Principal's Message
Dear Hallinan Families,
It's Fall and the excitement in the air and on the field is for the Jog-a-Thon next week, on Wednesday, October 19! To kick off the big event, we held an all-school pep rally yesterday. Band members and cheerleaders from Lakeridge High School came over to help us. In addition, a few Hallinan alumni raced current Hallinan students in a relay around the track. We had a great time - please make sure to ask your child about it.
Another fun event, led by our fabulous PTO this week, was Walk and Roll to School Day. To celebrate the day, families were invited to walk, bike, skate or scoot safely and actively to school. We hope you enjoyed it and are encouraged to make it a habit in your routine when weather permits.
Yes, it was a busy week! Thank you to our amazing volunteers who helped make these events happen for our students. You too can volunteer (yes, I promise, this will be my last pitch), just fill out the online application here: Volunteer Application for LOSD All parents, guardians, grandparents & friends must complete if they want to volunteer at Hallinan this year - this includes field trips. We can't wait to see you on campus!
Looking forward this month, we have a lot of special days coming up: Unity Day, Spirit Week and Parent Teacher Conferences! Make sure to read all about them in the sections below. We are also allowing students to wear costumes to school on Monday, October 31, but they must abide by the rules listed in the section below.
I've included a few photos from the pep rally, Walk and Roll Day and Art Lit submissions at the Lake Oswego Art Festival, along with student drawn portraits (and pictures) of our 4th grade team. I hope you enjoy them and the upcoming long weekend.
Melissa Griffiths
Jog-a-Thon Pep Rally
Walk and Roll Day
Art Lit at the Lake Oswego Art Festival
Our 4th Grade Team!
STEM Lab with Mrs Doran
- Check out Mrs Doran's October newsletter - STEM and Blossom!
- Visit Mrs Doran's instagram account by focusing your phone camera on the STEM and Blossom QR code to the left or click HERE
Save These Dates
10/14 - No School - Statewide Professional Day
10/19 - Unity Day
10/19 - Jog-a-thon
10/20 - PTO Meeting at 8:30 am at Hallinan
10/21 - No School - Teacher Work Day
10/24-10/26 - Hallinan Spirit Week!
10/27-28 - No School - Elementary Conferences
10/31 - Harvest Fest
11/1 - Lost and Found Items Donated
October Spirit Week!
STOP! WALK! TALK!
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This is a month-long event to prevent bullying and promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion. School counselor, Ms. E, is introducing the STOP! WALK! TALK! strategy to our students. If students feel hurt by someone's words or actions they should:
- Tell them to STOP
- Then WALK away from the problem behavior
- If the behavior does not stop, TALK to an adult at Hallinan
How can you help? You can help by reinforcing this strategy. It is our sincere desire to have a school environment which is characterized by respect and caring.
Unity Day
In recognition of National Bully Prevention Month we will be celebrating Unity Day on October 19th! Mark your calendars to WEAR ORANGE on Wednesday 10/19 to come together in one giant message uniting our nation for kindness, acceptance and inclusion, and even the world, to visibly show that we believe no child should ever experience bullying.
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Parent/Teacher Conferences are on Thursday, October 27 & Friday, October 28. Families should expect to receive a Sign-up Genius from their child's teacher by the end of the day, today, Thursday, October 13. Families may choose to attend their conference in-person or via zoom at the time they sign up.
Reminder: No school for students on 10/27 & 10/28. Conferences are for parents only. We do not have childcare for students. If you don't have childcare, please sign up for a zoom conference.
We look forward to seeing you!
Monday, 10/31 - Dress Up Day!
While we do not celebrate Halloween at Hallinan, we know it's an exciting time and we allow students to wear costumes to school as long as they abide by the following rules:
Costumes must be worn to school and must stay on throughout the day. Teachers will not be responsible for putting on, taking off, or managing costumes.
Costumes should be appropriate for all regular school activities like quiet work times, recess, and P.E. (no inflatables)
Costumes cannot include accessories such as guns, knives, swords, pitchforks or other items that make them scary, gory, or violent.
Costume masks, make-up and face paint are not allowed.
These guidelines are in place to protect the safety of your children and their costumes. We want students to have a fun AND productive day at school!
Lost and Found
Do you recognize anything here? It's a jungle, a well organized jungle thanks to Shelby Setter! Please stop by Lost and Found. We want all these jackets, sweaters and water bottles to find their lost children. If you are here for conferences, jog-a-thon or the Harvest Fest, please stop by and look through our ever-growing collection of found items. Whatever is left on 11/1 will be donated to a worthy cause.
New Application for School Volunteers
For the safety of children, volunteers are required to have an approved background check when volunteering in schools. To help streamline compliance with state and school board policies, which require that all volunteers have background checks and knowledge of other board policies -- as well as state-mandated proof of vaccination (or a qualified exemption) -- we are introducing a new all-in-one volunteer application and approval process through ou Raptor Visitor Management System. Submitting an online application initiates the background check process. Once submitted, applicants will receive an email upon approval of your background check and you will be given access through the onsite Raptor System at all schools. Please allow up to three weeks to process your approval.
Volunteers need to submit only one application for volunteering in all LOSD schools. Applications need to be submitted annually to capture changes in background checks, policies, and/or vaccination requirements. Thank you for applying promptly, and for your service to our students and schools. We are grateful for our volunteers. Volunteer Application for LOSD
PTO Information
Hello Hallinan Families!
Slice of Gratitude
Can we all say thank you to Shannon Guirl? Shannon is mom to second-grade Amara and was our single lead for the first event of the school year, Walk & Roll. Kids were encouraged to walk or roll their way to school and were greeted under the basketball courts by our kind community resource officers, music, tangerines, stickers, and a chance to win a small gift card. Thank you Shannon for hosting this event! It was so much fun!
Upcoming PTO Meeting!
It's already time for our next PTO meeting! We are alternating between morning and evening, hoping one of those times matches your schedule. If you are a morning person, please join us at 8:30 am in the Hallinan library. We are going to be hearing from some of our volunteer chairs and *spoiler alert* about the opening of the school store! This will be a welcome surprise for our students!
You can find the agenda here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hrQknr5hQfnO_PhILBjtKqq2t2W_aZ_u1mBjs2XtOps/edit
We are playing this on repeat because the information is just that good!!!
You should read ALL of this!
Jog-A-Thon is a HUGE event and a HUGE fundraiser. We want to make sure you know what's going on!
More details on Jog-A-Thon!
- The jog-a-thon is coming up fast! Mark your calendars for Wed., October 19th!
- We also need volunteers - check your inboxes for a sign-up genius in the coming days!
- If you haven't already, make sure you visit Pledgestar to send out your pledge requests - kids will earn 1 raffle ticket for each $20 raised that they can put towards some fabulous raffle baskets. The baskets cover a range of interests and include some fabulous community donations including a family four-pack of kayak rentals from Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe and a class pass to Little Kitchen Academy in Bridgeport Village! The baskets are on display in the front vestibule so stop by and check them out.
- Jog-A-Thon Schedule:
8:45 to 9:15 - Kinder & 1st
9:30 to 10 - Pre-K
10:15 to 10:45 - 2nd & 3rd
11-11:30 - 4th & 5th
TECH-SAVVY??? - We need you!
We’d like to offer a Facebook live stream option again this year but need a tech-savvy volunteer to take it on! If you’re interested, please reach out to Erin Saylor at saylor.erin@gmail.com
New Specialist Position Coming Soon!
Interested in helping directly with classroom needs? More details to come, but we will be sending out a SUG to parents who want to help our beloved and hard-working specialist teachers. This will be a simple program most likely centered around a drop-box of projects that need an extra hand. With the potential for other in-person hours down the line. Please keep an eye out for the SUG or email us at hallinanpresident@gmail.com if interested in receiving more details when we have them.
OBOB Team Registration
Lots of info this week! If you want your kids to LOVE reading, please read about OBOB below!
OBOB Registration Forms will be coming home with all 3rd-5th graders this week. Alternatively, you can complete the online form HERE. Links with more information and a YouTube example of an OBOB "battle" are below and listed on the registration form. Return physical forms to the office, or email them to Hallinan OBOB Chairs - Stephanie Hengstler and Elise Klein by Friday 11/18.
Oregon Battle of the Books is a statewide program designed to promote a love of reading! Teams of two to five students compete to answer trivia questions drawn from 16 books in a quiz-show style format. If your child is looking for a team, please let us know by indicating it on the form and we'll help build teams. Students are welcome to listen to audiobooks if they prefer that format. We are looking forward to a great OBOB event!
Links to Additional information
OBOB Website: https://www.oregonbattleofthebooks.org/
Video of am OBOB battle: OBOB Elementary Quarter Final Battle, 2018
Stephanie and Elise - Your OBOB Co-Chair's
Tara Clasen and Shelby Setter
Hallinan PTO Co-Presidents 2022-23
District Information
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
What are the signs of Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language. It can be associated with trouble reading, but it also can affect writing, spelling and even speaking. Many children have one or two of these issues on occasion. But kids with dyslexia have several of these issues, and they don’t go away.
Here are some signs to look for:
Preschool, Kindergarten, & First Grade:
Difficulties:
Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet
Seems unable to recognize letters in his/her own name
Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
Trouble learning common nursery rhymes
Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat
A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties (dyslexia often runs in families)
Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page—will say “puppy” instead of the written word “dog” on a page with a picture of a dog
Does not understand that words come apart
Cannot sound out even simple words like cat, map, nap
Does not associate letters with sounds, such as the letter b with the “b” sound
Complains about how hard reading is; “disappears” when it is time to read
A history of reading problems in parents or siblings
Strengths:
Curiosity
Great imagination
Ability to figure things out; gets the gist of things
Eager embrace of new ideas
A good understanding of new concepts
Surprising maturity
A larger vocabulary than typical for age group
Enjoys solving puzzles
Talent for building models
Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to him
Second Grade through High School:
Reading:
Very slow in acquiring reading skills. Reading is slow and awkward
Trouble reading unfamiliar words, often making wild guesses because cannot sound out the word
Has a tough time sounding out unfamiliar words
Avoids reading out loud
Gets tripped up by word problems in math
School and Life:
Trouble remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists
Struggles to finish tests on time
Extreme difficulty learning a foreign language
Poor spelling
Messy handwriting
Low self-esteem that may not be immediately visible
Speaking:
Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language, such as “stuff” or “thing,” without naming the object
Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “um’s” when speaking
Confuses words that sound alike, such as saying “tornado” for “volcano,” substituting “lotion” for “ocean”
Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar or complicated words
Seems to need extra time to respond to questions
Strengths:
Excellent thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction
Learning that is accomplished best through meaning rather than rote memorization
Ability to get the “big picture”
A high level of understanding of what is read to him/her/they
The ability to read and to understand at a high level overlearned (or highly practiced) words in a special area of interest
Improvement as an area of interest becomes more specialized and focused—and a miniature vocabulary is developed that allows for reading in that subject area
A surprisingly sophisticated listening vocabulary
Excels in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers and visual arts, or in more conceptual (versus fact-driven) subjects, including philosophy, biology, social studies, neuroscience and creative writing
If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning, please contact the school principal and/or literacy specialist. Another great parent resource would be to contact your school’s Special Education Advisory Committee representative. Please see here to learn how to contact your school representative.
Breakfast at Hallinan
Just a reminder that school breakfast is available for purchase by students in the morning. Students may pick up breakfast at the kitchen door (located near the Music Room). You can find menus and more information at the Nutrition Services website.
Community Information
Parent Education: Collaborative Problem Solving
The Oregon Health Authority is funding 8-week Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) parenting classes with varying days and times available. Free to Oregon residents! https://sites.google.com/thechildcenter.org/cpsfororegonparents/home
Hallinan Contact Information
Office Phone: 503-534-2353
Principal Melissa Griffiths - griffitm@loswego.k12.or.us
Administrative Assistant Lee Gates - gatesl@loswego.k12.or.us
Administrative Assistant Linda Stevens - stevensl@loswego.k12.or.us
Click here to see the updated LOSD Elementary School Student and Family Handbook