Gilbert Park Elementary Newsletter
November 24, 2021
Principal's Message
I hope that you enjoyed conferences and getting to connect with your child's teacher, hear information about how they are doing, and get any questions or concerns you may have had answered!
The Scholastic Book Fair last week was a big success! Students loved browsing and shopping at the book fair! The book fair also supports our school. I am pleased to announce that our school earned $2,981 in Scholastic Dollars. We are able to use this money to purchase items for our school that benefit students. This includes new books for the library and other resources for classrooms.
We have just three weeks until Winter Break! Please make school attendance a priority so we can make the most of this time! Let's finish 2021 strong!
Stacie Moncrief
Principal, Gilbert Park
Upcoming Dates
November 29th - Fifth Grade Swimming Begins
November 30th - PTA Meeting 6:30-8:00 pm - use this link to join
December 20th-December 31st - Winter Break, no school
Lost and Found Coats and Sweatshirts
Site Council Updates
The Gilbert Park Site Council met on Friday, November 19th. Third Grade submitted a Profession Growth Application for texts to be used for a book study to support their professional goal of learning more about teaching explicit systematic phonics. Their request was approved. We shared committee updates and actions. It was suggested to we could potentially use Zenger Farms to host community events since we have not been able to host any at the school building, which has had an impact on school pride and culture. No safety input forms were submitted this month.
Our next meeting is scheduled for 12/17.
We have five subcommittees at Gilbert Park each focused on an important improvement and goal area for our school:
Teaching and Learning - Accelerating learning and academic achievement of our students.
Family Engagement - Promote a positive school atmosphere by creating a welcoming environment for families, providing families with opportunities for engagement with the school program, and venues for input, decision-making, and two-way communication.
Equity - Utilize an equity lens when making important decisions. Provide staff training on self-identity, how to talk about race and how to be an anti-racist.
Social-Emotional Learning and Wellness - Promote the wellness of staff and students through wellness activities, SEL curriculum (Toolbox), and professional learning experiences.
PBIS - Promote a positive school atmosphere by supporting staff to maintain a strong green zone for behavior across all school settings.
Senate Bill 13: Tribal History/Shared History
Senate Bill 13: Tribal History/Shared History is Oregon’s first-ever state-wide curriculum.
For years Oregon has been missing a critical opportunity to fully leverage the strengths, assets, and contributions our Native American students bring to their communities.
Native Americans lived in this state long before it became Oregon. How can we teach youth about Oregon history without including the voice of Oregon’s Native American peoples – both past and present? This general lack of knowledge about Native American people extends to curricula - thus SB 13: Tribal History / Shared History.
In 2017, the Oregon Legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 13, now known as Tribal History/Shared History. This law directed the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to create K-12 Native American Curriculum for inclusion in Oregon public schools and provide professional development to educators.
The first phase of implementation was the crafting of Essential Understandings of Native Americans in Oregon. These 9 EUs were agreed upon by the Essential Understandings Advisory Committee which centered Native voices and included members from each of the federally recognized tribes.
The essential understandings were then used to write Oregon’s first statewide lessons in
-English Language Arts
-Math
-Science
-Social Science
-PE/Health
While there are long-term plans for a full K-12 curriculum, the teams creating the lessons focused first on 4th grade, 8th grade, and 10th grade which are all now published and being tried out by teachers in our district.
This curriculum initiative supports ODE’s work towards equity for all students and is a result of the holistic, collaborative effort of many in our state who knew the value and importance of our students learning about Oregon’s tribes and history.
No Toys and No Pokemon Cards at School
Covid Vaccination Information
Children age 5 and older across Oregon are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
- The vaccine has proven to be safe and effective for children. The CDC recommends children 5 and over be vaccinated for COVID-19
- The vaccine is free. You do not need health insurance to get a vaccine.
- Proof of eligibility, identification or social security number is not required
- Vaccines help keep children healthy, safe and engaged in doing the things they love.
Vaccinated students do not quarantine or get excluded from school when they have been exposed to COVID-19 unless they are showing symptoms.
Once your child is vaccinated, they can safely return to more of their normal life – school, sports, social time, and other activities that are so important to a child’s health and well-being.
Please check out this flyer for days, times, and locations of pediatric COVID-19 vaccine clinics for ages 5-11.
Visit https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov/ to find out additional options of where and how to get a vaccine
Need more information about the vaccines for children and teens?
Self-Screening: When to Stay Home from school
Please self-screen daily for symptoms of illness before coming to school each day. If a student has any of the following symptoms, or COVID-19 exposure, the student should stay home and the parent/guardian is to contact the school and their healthcare provider as necessary.
COVID-19 Diagnosis / Close Contact / Potential Exposure
Student, or someone in their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19
Student has had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 cumulative minutes) with a person diagnosed with COVID-19
Primary Symptoms of COVID-19
Fever (temperature of 100.4ºF or higher)
A new cough that has not been diagnosed or cleared by a healthcare provider
Unexplained shortness of breath
New loss of taste or smell
Chills
Difficulty breathing
Additional Excludable Symptoms of Illness: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Undiagnosed rash or sores
Call the office if your child will be out of school due to symptoms and/or COVID diagnosis or exposure.
Gilbert Park Contact Information
Email: stacie_moncrief@ddsd40.org
Website: gp.ddouglas.k12.or.us
Location: 13132 Southeast Ramona Street, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: 503-256-6531