Black Bear Bits
April 21, 2023
Important Dates
4/22: Garden Work Party 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
4/24: Club K Virtual Meeting 6:30 PM
4/24-28: Spring Book Fair
4/24-28: Dental3 Sealant Program @ Tualatin Elementary
4/26: Make up School Day for Snow Day
4/26: Administrative Professional's Day
4/28: Dia de los niños / STREAM Night 5:30-8:00 PM
5/1: Principal Appreciation Day
5/1: Substitute Appreciation Day
5/3: Walk + Roll to School
5/3: 4th Grade Field Trip
5/5: School Lunch Hero Day
5/8-12: Teacher Appreciation Week
5/8-12: 4th Grade State Testing - Math
5/10: School Nurse Day
In this Edition
- Message from the Principal
- Earth Day Garden Work Party
- Traffic Concern at Dismissal
- Club K Registration and Zoom Link
- Dental3 Sealant Visit to Tualatin
- Dia de los niños / STREAM Night
- Spring Book Fair
- Walk+Roll to School Poster Contest Winners
- Walk+Roll to School
- Pre-K Registration
- Kindergarten Registration
- Kinder Summer Jumpstart
- Volunteering at Tualatin Elementary
- Important Links
Message from the Principal
Black Bear Families,
Somehow, winter has returned to our area with cold temperatures and rain! As I drove to school on Thursday, we had frost on our roof. With every cold day we have, it just means one day closer to sunshine and warmer temperatures!
Coming up, we have some fun events for our community to participate in:
This Saturday, we are having a garden party to celebrate Earth Day! Please come to the garden from 9-11 to help out, rain or shine. Our own Aggi will be providing some tasty treats for the volunteers.
Monday evening, we are having an online informational session from Club K about their daycare program that will be offered here next year at Tualatin Elementary. Please register to attend. More information below.
Next Friday, from 5:30-8:00, our beloved “Day of the Child Stream Night” returns to school. More information about this event is below.
A parent alerted me to a traffic concern that happened at our school last week involving dismissal, so please take a moment to read up on the situation.
Finally, I am constantly impressed with the community spirit we have here at Tualatin Elementary. A couple weeks ago, a new student joined us from Mexico, and Mr. Michael’s class went all out to welcome him! See below for a picture of the decorations they made for him.
I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.
Working with you for our students,
Jim
Earth Day Garden Work Party
Did you know that our garden is 13 years old? Flowers are blooming, and Spring is in the air! Come celebrate Earth Day at our garden work party this Saturday, April 22 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. Tools and refreshments provided. We will be prepping the garden for planting, possibly planting some starts, weeding, and spreading bark chips over the walking areas for weed suppression.
We have received numerous donations from area businesses. Please use these vendors and let them know you are from Tualatin Elementary and appreciate their support!
Pro Grow Mixes --- for compost
Portland Nursery --- plant starts
J & F Tree service --- bark chips
Our May garden work party will be the annual OSU Day of Service, Saturday, May 20 from 9:00-noon. This is when OSU alumni will be here to help our school community. Signup for that work party and join the fun!
See you in the garden!
Pam Soderquist, garden committee chair
Paul Taylor, resident gardener
Traffic Concern at Dismissal
During dismissal, parents picking up their children in their cars park along 95th street waiting to enter the front parking lot. There is a fire hydrant along the street, just at the entrance to the staff parking lot. You may have seen Mr. Hiller standing there this week to monitor this situation.
Some parents waiting in line don’t park next to the fire hydrant to leave room in case we have an emergency, so they’ll wait and leave it as an open space.
A couple weeks ago, one of our parents did that. While waiting, another car came to cut in line and parked next to the hydrant. Then, a second car came and pulled in front of that car, also cutting the line.
We ask for everyone to please respect the rules while patiently waiting to pick up your student. Please remember that adults are the role models for students, and we always want to set the best example for our kids. Our school rules--safe, kind, and responsible--are especially important during arrival and dismissal, by adults and students.
Additionally, we are still having getting picked up in the back parking lot. This is not allowed because we do not have any staff on duty in the back parking lot to watch the students and there is no safe way to turn around in that parking lot.
Thank you to everyone for helping keep our Tualatin community safe for all of our students.
Club K Survey and Zoom Meeting
We are excited to have on-site daycare at Tualatin Elementary beginning in the Fall! Our new provider will be Club K, who currently provides extended-day care at several of the TTSD elementary schools. Club K is able to provide before and after school care, full days on non-school days, and also has options for 2023 Summer care. They accept DHS childcare subsidies and have a staff member who can help parents navigate the paperwork for the subsidy.
Club K will be hosting a virtual information night on Apr 24, 2023 at 6:30 PM to share their model with families and to answer any questions you might have.
When: Apr 24, 2023 6:30 PM Pacific Time
Topic: Club K Child Care @ Tualatin Elementary - Virtual Open House
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xQAu4LrWQJ2bWd0CClYKOQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
To learn more, look at their annual report and their fees for 2022-23.
Dental3 Screening
Dental3 will be providing free dental screenings, sealants, and fluoride at Tualatin Elementary for grades K-5 during the week of April 24th. A dental screening is a quick look inside your child’s mouth to check the overall health of their teeth. Dental sealants are protective coatings put on the back teeth to prevent cavities and fluoride is vitamin that is brushed on the teeth to make teeth stronger and prevent cavities.
Click this link to sign the permission form for your child online. Permission slips have also been sent home. Please return them as soon as possible so we have an accurate number.
Dia de los Niños/STREAM celebration April 28th from 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Dia de los Niños/STREAM celebration
For our Dia de los Ninos/Stream event on April 28th from 5:30-8:00 pm PaLa (Latino Parent group) is still in need of donations of individually wrapped candy and small trinkets (to fill our pinatas), and new toys and games (to give away as prizes). Clearance Easter baskets and candy are a cheap and easy donation! Unused birthday and holiday gifts can be generously donated as well! All donations are tax-deductible.
For more information on this day click here.
Book Fair Volunteer's Needed
To make our book fair successful we will need a lot of volunteers. If you are available to help please
click here. We cant do this without you! Thank you.
Spring Book Fair- April 24-28th
Reading is Amazing
Spring Scholastic Book Fair!
April 24th - April 28th, 2023
Book Fair Hours for Everyone:
April 24th (Monday) 8:00am - 4:00pm
April 26th (Wednesday) 8:00am - 4:00pm
April 28th (Friday) 8:00am to 8:30pm
Students will visit the book fair during school hours with their classes.
All money raised from this book fair will go towards buying books for the library!
Check out our E-Wallet option this year on our website
Walk+Roll Poster Contest
Hendrik Broekelschen from the City of Tigard made the final selection from the artwork submitted by students at Tualatin Elementary School. Here is the list of grade level winners and their artwork. The artwork created by these students captured the feeling and image that Walk + Roll to School conveys.
- Kindergarten: Emily, Mrs. Mann
- First Grade: No entries submitted
- Second Grade: Seorin, Mrs. Barnes - OVERALL WINNER
- Third Grade: Audrey, Mrs. McConnell
- Fourth Grade: April, Mrs. Hole
- Fifth Grade: Karmella, Mr. Michaud
There were two Honorable Mentions who were also recognized as their artwork showed considerable talent and connection to the topic.
- Duke, Ms. Lepore’s 3rd grade class
- Jaz, Ms. Perry’s Kindergarten class
The students were presented with a goodie bag from the City of Tigard and a copy of their poster to hang up in the classroom and one to take home. The students were also presented with a gift bag of art supplies from the TTSD Art Literacy program. The winning poster will be on display around Tigard and Tualatin, and in each of the TTSD schools. The Walk + Roll to School event will be held on May 3rd.
Be Bright! Dress in colorful + reflective clothing. Drivers watch out for pedestrians and cyclists!
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for 2023-24 is open! A child must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2023, to enter Kindergarten for the 2023-2024 School year.
Online registration and more information about Kindergarten can be found
here. We also have staff at the building who can help with registration. Please contact the office (503-431-4800) or Ana Uriostegui (503-431-4767) for assistance.
There will be a Kindergarten Kick off on May 25th, where families can meet teachers, tour the school, take a bus ride, and more! Information will be sent to families in May.
KINDER SUMMER JUMPSTART
Parents of Incoming Kindergarteners! We invite you to apply for Kinder Jumpstart here at Tualatin Elementary.
- Learn routines taught by real life Tualatin Elementary kindergarten teachers!
- Meet future classmates and make new friends!
- Become familiar with our school, playground and buses so that you’re ready for the first day!
Dates:
August 7 - August 10: Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m
August 14 - August 17: Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m
Forms will be emailed to all parents who have already registered their child for Kindergarten next year. They are also available from Teacher Adam, the school office, in the attachments, or fill out the form online. If you complete a paper registration please return it to the front office or email a photo of both pages to tualatinoffice@ttsd.k12.or.us by June 9, 2023 to have your child be considered. Students who have no/limited pre-school experience receive priority placement in this program.
If you have questions, please contact: Lindsay Edison (503) 431-4794 or send us an email at: ledison@ttsd.k12.or.us
Volunteering at Tualatin Elementary
We love our volunteers and are excited to welcome you back into the building this year! To volunteer at Tualatin, please follow the steps below. When your application is completed, you'll receive an email from the front office and you'll be able to schedule volunteer time at the school.
All volunteers must complete the checklist below to volunteer
Masks will be optional in the building for volunteers that are vaccinated. We ask that if you are sick or have any symptoms, that you postpone your volunteering until you are well.
Volunteers with a vaccine exception on file will be required to:
Please contact Emili Powers (epowers@ttsd.k12.or.us or 503-431-4800) with any questions.
Tualatin Elementary School
