Maplewood Memo
December 6, 2023
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Welcome back Maplewood families!
We all missed our students and community so much and are so glad to be back together again. The students fell right into step on the first day and we have had a great week so far.
I am aware there is concern about the added school days over winter break. I heard there is some discussion to reduce these days but nothing has formally changed at this point. Stay tuned...
Thank you for your patience and support for our teachers these last three weeks. They felt the love.
I hope you are enjoying these crisp sunny days. Recess duty has been cold, but so beautiful!
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or feedback.
Warmly,
Kit
SAVE THE DATE
December 4
Picture Re-Take Day
December 11
Yalla Dine-Out
December 25- January 1
Winter Break
January 2nd
1st day back after Winter Break
MAPLEWOOD AUCTION
Greetings, Maplewood! Your Foundation Team is so grateful to be back in community with you all! We are also grateful that our amazing teachers are better supported and are grateful for all the staff, especially our Educational Assistants, who provided learning support for students through the strike.
Ticket sales for our school auction on March 2nd to raise funds for Education Assistants will go on sale January 1, 2024. We will provide more detail in the coming weeks on ticket sales, special deals and packages for the auction.
As always, if you have any questions, feedback, would like to donate, or volunteer please email us at maplewoodfoundation@gmail.com.
We welcome (and greatly appreciate) donations for our annual spring auction. Please consider donating a service, item, beer, wine, spirits, experience, or a vacation property. Our team works very hard to procure amazing donations for the annual auction and welcomes your support.
STAFF NEWS
ART
I am so happy to be back with your student! And perhaps even better - your student seemed to be happy to be back, too!
I feel like we missed a season of art… so we’ve jumped into winter:
Kindergarten, first and second graders used watercolors to paint winter hats with the magic of crayon resist. Crayon resist means a portion of the surface is covered with a layer of crayon, or in our case - white oil pastels - that repels the watercolor away. Next week we will add mittens to go with it.
Third, fourth and fifth graders drew their favorite pie they may have eaten recently while learning about layering, shading and dimension. We then discussed artistic mediums (tools and methods artists use to create their works of art) We brainstormed with what we could use, from crayons to watercolors. Next week students will decide what they want to use - or perhaps which ones?
Ms. Smith
COUNSELING
Over the winter break, we offer food baskets to families. Please email Kate Knochel (4th-5th grade school counselor at kknochel@pps.net) or Kendall Cunningham (K-3 school counselor at kcunninghamparm@pps.net) if you'd like a food basket. Along with those food baskets, we include gift cards. We are in need of Fred Meyer gift cards in $25 denominations. If you can donate these, please drop off in the office for either Kate Knochel or Kendall Cunningham. Please let us know if you would like us to provide you with a tax receipt.
Thank you!
Kendall and Kate
OFFICE SCHEDULE
Maria Belgrave (mbelgrav@pps.net) works Monday through Thursday.
Shannon Riley (sriley@pps.net) works Tuesday through Friday.
Julie Ries (jries@mesd.k12.or.us) Health Aid- Monday through Friday 8:00am - 2:30pm
Chris Khodadadian (ckhodadad@mesd.k12.or.us) School Nurse - Thursday 8:00a-12:00p
Please be sure to include both Maria and Shannon in communications regarding your children.
SCHOOL NEWS
REPORT CARDS
New Report Cards:
Report cards will come home on December 8th in backpacks. Also, specialists will not be filling in grades this quarter per PPS decision.
YEARBOOKS
https://buytheyearbook.com or use the envelopes sent home in backpacks recently (more available in the school office).
This year’s book is $23 (early bird rate before January 31, 2024; $26 after). Books are distributed to students at the end of the school year.
PARENTVUE RACE UPDATE
As we look at our school assessment data, we noticed that there are many students whose race is not correctly recorded in our system. Please be sure to update this information asap so our data reflects our true demographics.
Click on “Yearly Verification”
Click “Verify Online”
Follow the prompts to update your information.
OBOB
Oregon Battle of the Books at Maplewood!
OBOB is a statewide reading competition spanning 3rd to 12th grade. Each year new book titles are chosen by the state OBOB committee and they are always amazing! Grades 3-5 can participate in elementary school (3rd has 8 books, 4 & 5 have 16 books). Students form teams, read books and compete game show style answering questions about the books. It's a great way for kids to be exposed to a variety of great books, practice reading comprehension and demonstrate their sportsmanship.
Maplewood students have already started forming teams and reading books! We hope to have the teams finalized by November 10th. Team forming will be facilitated by teachers and Ms. Kordahl when needed. We will hold battles during recess time starting in February with the goal of sending our winning 5th grade team to regionals!
The book list for this year is available in the library or on our new OBOB webpage. Below is the new official Maplewood OBOB website, as well as Ms. Kordahl's padlet page, both contain all sorts of great info. Teachers will be discussing OBOB in class and the kids will also learn about it during their library time.
If you or your student(s) have questions please reach out to Ms. Elin Kordahl or the parent mOBOB committee.
Your Parent mOBOB Team,
Heather J, Manda B, Darcie G, Lauren C and Christy W
MW OBOB site:
https://www.maplewoodpta.com/obob/
Ms. Kordahl’s Padlet:
ENROLL FOR 2024 HEALTH COVERAGE
Enroll your Family for 2024 Health Coverage by January 15, 2024
Individuals and families will have the opportunity to enroll in, renew, or change their health insurance plan for 2024 during the upcoming Marketplace health insurance open enrollment period, which is Nov. 1, 2023 through Jan. 15, 2024. Open enrollment is the only time when anyone who is not offered coverage from a job or a public program like the Oregon Health Plan or Medicare can enroll in health coverage through OregonHealthCare.gov, often with financial help.
Health insurance covers essential health benefits critical to maintaining individual health and treating illness and accidents. Health insurance helps to reduce medical and prescription drug costs, making health care more affordable and thus more accessible.
Health coverage also is important for students because:
Having health insurance is linked to better health (study here).
Health insurance coverage helps boost test scores among children from low-income households (study here).
Expanded health insurance coverage has led to historic reductions in racial disparities in access to health care (study here).
Trained community groups, Tribal health organizations and insurance agents are available to help Oregonians enroll in coverage through the Marketplace during open enrollment. There is no cost for their services. Many of them offer services in multiple languages. These “Enrollment Assisters” also can help people transition to private health coverage if they have experienced a qualifying life event. This includes people who are losing Oregon Health Plan benefits as the state works to renew each of its current members. Click this link to find an Enrollment Assister near you and who speaks your preferred language.
PTA
PTA Current & Upcoming Events
Oregon Battle of the Books PTA Book Fundraiser (3rd - 5th grade students) - The PTA has partnered with Annie Bloom's to make purchasing our Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) titles super easy! Books are available now to be ordered through our Maplewood Store and sent home in your child's backpack in early November. Want books as a gift? No worries, pickup options are available. Please email with any questions.
Please visit the PTA website and Maplewood Facebook page for all PTA events and information.
For any question, please contact Maplewood PTA at: maplewoodptareflections@gmail.com
FOUNDATION
Ways to Support Foundation
Monthly recurring donation
A monthly donation is the most convenient and effective way to give to Maplewood. Even small monthly donations make a big impact over time. Set up your monthly recurring donation here.
One-time contribution
This is a great option for grandparents, extended family, and loving neighbors to support your Maplewood student. Make a one-time contribution here.
By check
We are happy to receive donations by check made out to Maplewood Foundation and dropped off at or mailed to the school:
Maplewood Foundation
7452 SW 52nd Ave, Portland, OR 97219
Matching employer contribution
Ask your employer if they have a matching program for donations to non-profits. Click here for a list of already participating employers.
Fred Meyer Rewards Program Contribution
If you shop at Fred Meyer and are part of their rewards program, you may designate those reward savings to the Maplewood Foundation. It’s super easy and you can learn more here (sign in and search for Maplewood Foundation or IF500): https://www.fredmeyer.com/i/community/community-rewards.
BottleDrop Donations
Individuals can donate funds from their BottleDrop account balance to your Give account by logging into their account and using this link or connecting with the Foundation for bag tags.