1. Message from Principal Galloway

2. Save the Date

3. January Mindfulness

4. Maplewood Reads

5. School News

TAG

6. News from Staff

Counseling // Library & Technology // PE // Art

7. Volunteer

Volunteer information

8. Home Engagement with Katie

9. Foundation

Foundation info

10. PTA

PTA Meetings & Info // Dine Outs

11. Reading Friends

12. Nutrition Services

information // January menu

13. Flyers

Yearbooks // After School Classes

Happy New Year!

We have had a smooth transition back into school this week and it is wonderful to see all the students eager to reconnect and re-engage.

You may have heard from your child’s teacher that in these next few weeks we will be doing some mid-year testing to monitor academic growth in reading and math. These tests are a great measure to help us know if students are on track and who may need extra support.

One way our K-2 teachers will begin to provide extra support to students is by sending home weekly reading baggies with a book that reviews the learning in class. Please look for these baggies to be sent next Friday the 13th. There will be a note in the bag about the science of reading, what has been taught in class and how to use the book with your child. Please do take the time to read this with them as your help from home is integral in helping your child succeed.

Another area of focus to help students meet academic goals is attendance. If a student isn’t at school, or is late to school, they miss critical content to help them learn. If attendance has been a challenge for your child this fall, now is a great time to make a new year’s attendance resolution to help your child get on track for success in school and life.

This year….

• I will talk to my child about how going to school every day will help them do well in school and achieve their hopes and dreams

• I will keep an attendance chart at home. At the end of the week, I will recognize my child for attending school every day with . (i.e. a visit to the park, a new book, a break from doing chores, a special treat)

• I will make sure my child is in bed by p.m. and the alarm clock is set for a.m.

• If my child complains of a stomach ache or headache, and medical concerns have been ruled out, I will send him/her to school anyway and call so that he/she can check in with my child during the day.

• If my child has a cold but no fever (less than 100 degrees), I will send him/her to school anyway. If I don’t have a thermometer, I will purchase or borrow one.

• I will find a relative, friend or neighbor who can take my child to school if I can’t make it.

• If my child is absent, I will contact his/her teacher to find out what he/she missed.

• I will set up medical and dental appointments for weekdays after school.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Kit

Every Tuesday
OHSU Covid Test Returned - Optional

January 16

No School MLK - Holiday

January 17

PTA Meeting 6:30

January 27

No School

January 27

Pancake Brinner 5:30 to 7:30 pm (open house style) in the cafeteria.

January Mindfulness Technique - Mindful Movement

Mindful moving, walking or running: When moving, try focusing on the feeling of your body moving. If you go for a mindful walk, you might notice the breeze against your skin, the feeling of your feet or hands against different textures on the ground or nearby surfaces, and the different smells around you.

Maplewood Reads - Is There Something Wrong With Me?

Is There Something Wrong With Me? provides concrete examples of micro-aggressions and discrimination--rooted in race, ethnicity, and gender--that children face. Designed to elicit empathy and conversation about identity and belonging, the book further suggests at-home and classroom activities to dismantle social bias.

TAG

Parent Office Hours with the TAG (Talented and Gifted) Department

Ask questions and receive information related to TAG identification, services, processes, etc.

We will meet on Zoom, 6:00-7:00 PM on 1/25/23, 2/22/23, 3/22/23, 4/26/23, and 5/31/23.

TAG OFFICE HOURS

NEW! Parent Office Hours with the TAG Department

The October focus will be the TAG referral process

Our next meeting will be January 25, 6:00-7:00 PM

Zoom link for Parent Office Hours with the TAG Department

A list of questions and answers from past meetings are in this FAQ document.

We look forward to seeing you!

Every Day Labs Attendance Communication Program for the 22-23 School Year

Attending school every day possible helps students learn and stay on track.

● This year, you may receive mailed letters and/or text messages from your school about your student’s attendance.

● To ensure you receive these updates, please contact your school to make sure your contact

information is up to date.

If you need attendance support or have questions about these communications, we’re here to help: call 503-868-6970 to connect to our Family Support Team.

Family Resources:

As Winter Break approaches, we are compiling resources for families. See below for a information::

• Here is a condensed list of resources compiled by Funded Programs, including Mental Health Resources, Food Pantries/Banks, Housing/Shelters, and Clothing Resources.

• Included this folder are fliers with information about specific Food Box resource options available over Fall Break and Winter Break from Sunshine Division.

• The PPS McKinney Vento Resource Page has more resources for families.

• We are also reaching out to our SUN partners to understand what other resources they have available over the next few months.

You can always reference the ppsfamilysupports.com for additional resources.

Between 2 Maples Podcast:
I am sure you are aware that I have started a podcast with the help of Robin Roemer, the father of Coralie and Thea. The first two episodes are about homework. I would love your feedback! You can listen to is here: https://sites.libsyn.com/449460

(and hopefully soon on iTunes, google or wherever you get your podcasts).

In these two episodes we talk about homework at Maplewood. Why did Maplewood move away from its “no homework policy”, why and how homework can be an important part of children’s learning process, how do homework and equity interact, I also answer questions under pressure in a lightning round and we discuss how families can support their children in their homework.

Our next episode(s) we will talk about "Reading" - how do kids learn to read and how can we help them?

We welcome any feedback and questions at Between2MaplesPodcast@gmail.com

Library & Technology:

Auto-Overdue Notices from PPS

Please know that PPS sends overdue, lost and other notices, automatically. Those emails do not come from me.

Never hesitate to email me for additional information (it seems the titles of items are missing, sometimes) at kordahl@pps.net.

Thank you for helping your child keep track of their Maplewood books, and for encouraging them to read even more in 2023!

Ms. Kordahl

PE News:

Happy New Year! I am excited to begin the year reviewing expectations for behavior, sportsmanship and routines! It's a good time for a refresher. We will begin with some team building games our first PE back. It's a great way to build new friendships and have fun working together with our peers. We will quickly move into a striking unit which means using long and short handled implements such as paddles, racquets, hockey sticks, etc. I define striking as "hitting with control" and we're controlling speed and direction. We'll start with pickleball and move into tennis adding badminton for the older grades. Activities are adapted to each grade level as there are different outcomes for each grade level. A plug for pickleball--it's a great game for adults and kids to play together. Using a paddle, wiffle ball and smaller court allows kids and adults to level their playing and it's SO FUN!

Ms. Weatherill

Art

Welcome Back!

The students and I kicked off the new year by indulging in snowmen. Kindergarten and first grades are practicing their cutting and gluing skills. Second and third grades are learning perspective: their snowman can not be looking straight ahead! And fourth and fifth grades are creating shadows given off by the moon. They are learning shading, blending, value and form. See examples below.

I hope your Winter Break found you peace and calm -

Happy New Year, c’mon 2023!

♥ Ms. Smith

Volunteer info

We are excited to welcome volunteers into the building and classrooms this year. All volunteers must show proof of vaccination, clear a background check (https://www.pps.net/volunteer), and sign-into the Raptor system located at the main office on arrival and sign-out when leaving campus.

We can’t wait to have you in school with us!

Lunch Volunteers

We need 2-3 parents to volunteer for lunch duty, to help keep kiddos on task eating and give our teachers a break. Here are the time slots - message Lauren at 541-968-9140 or Maplewoodvolcoord@gmail.com to sign up!

• K-1st: 11:20-11:45

• 2nd & 4th 11:50-12:15

• 3rd & 5th: 12:20-12:45

My name is Katie Unger and my husband and I have two boys at Maplewood - Theo is in 2nd grade and Sam is in kindergarten. Recently I joined Maplewood Site Council as a way to be engaged in our school community and better understand how I can support our school and teachers.

“Decades of research shows that family engagement matters for student success—students whose families are engaged are more likely to attend school, avoid discipline problems, achieve at higher levels and graduate. Family engagement also helps schools—research suggests it is equally as important as school leadership and a rigorous curriculum in predicting school improvement.” 1

… but how?! I am sure, like many of you, I asked the question at parent-teacher conferences, “Is there anything I can do at home to help my kid”.

My goal in writing this new segment in the Maplewood Memo will be to share simple ideas to support and engage in your child’s academic growth at home.

While the ideas I share may not be revolutionary, I hope it may spark your family’s curiosity and support fun conversations and/or activities that I promise will be easy to incorporate into our already busy lives ;)!

Activity 1: Write me a Letter.

Write letters back and forth to one another. This activity will help promote handwriting and spelling.

Want a challenge: Add 5-10 words at the bottom that the return letter MUST include, spelled correctly. Kids love trying to figure out where to put the words in, and they get great writing and spelling practice!

PK - 12 SCHOOL MEAL PAYMENTS AND ACCOUNT BALANCES

STUDENT MEAL ACCOUNT BALANCES AND PAYMENTS

The Nutrition Services team is so thankful to see and serve so many students this year. To help communicate meal account balances to families, the Nutrition Services department will start sending notifications and friendly reminders to families whose student’s meal account no longer has funds on it to purchase school meals. Remember, families may apply for free or reduced price meals at any time throughout the school year and must apply every year to maintain eligibility. We recommend that families continuously check their student account balances. All families can check their account balances online with SchoolCafe at any time (and there is no charge to view your accounts). The school kitchen teams and the NS central office is also happy to assist with checking account balances and status.

Families have the following options to pay for school meals:

1. Pay as you go: Bring cash or check (payable to Portland Public Schools) directly to the cafeteria or school office.

2. Prepay for meals with cash or check (payable to Portland Public Schools) in the cafeteria*. Funds will be deposited into the student meal account. Purchases will be deducted from the account balance.

3. Pay with a debit/credit card using SchoolCafe, a secure online meal payment system. NOTE: There is a minimum payment of $15 and a 5% fee per online transaction.

Whitney Ellersick, Senior Director, wellersick@pps.net

The PTA Reading Friends program is still looking for volunteers!

This is a once a week, 30 minute time commitment - starting the week of November 28th until the end of the school year.

You get to pick the time that works best for you out of many time slots. Help foster the love of reading by being a Reading Friend!

We welcome grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors...they just need to have filled out the PPS volunteer information: https://www.pps.net/volunteer.

If you are interested, please fill out this survey and the coordinators will be in touch with you: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3FR52BM

Any questions? Reach out to Kari Martin and Clémence Tiradon, our Reading Friends Coordinators, at maplewoodrf@gmail.com.

Happy New Year, Maplewood School Community! Your Maplewood Foundation Team has been busy working to plan this year's auction which will take place in April. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year and we have a goal to raise $60,000 to fund two Educational Assistant positions for next school year. This will also be our first time doing an in-person auction since 2019, so it will be a new experience for many!

Seeking Donations for the 2023 Spring Auction

Do you have a vacation home? We are looking for vacation rentals for the auction. Do you have a service or an item to donate? Can you help us connect with local businesses and vendors to gather donations for the auction? If so, or if you have any questions, please email us at maplewoodfoundation@gmail.com or call or text Jeannette Taylor at 503.901.9813.

Other Ways to Donate

• 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 the school or mailed to the school at 7452 SW 52nd Ave, Portland, OR 97219.
• 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.
• 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.

PTA Meetings

Join us at the PTA meeting every month to learn about upcoming projects, events, priorities, and to share your thoughts! PTA Meetings occur the third Tuesday of every month from 6:30 - 7:30 pm. Become an Oregon PTA Member; this supports our school and allows you to vote during meetings. (You don't have to be a member to attend meetings, just to vote.) https://www.oregonpta.org/membership

January PTA Meeting

January 17, 6:30pm

Full details and recaps of past meetings at maplewoodpta.com/meetings/

Maplewood PTA
The Maplewood PTA strives to serve our school’s community of teachers, staff, parents, and students. We have lots of amazing things planned this year to support our school!

Stay up to date on events and more

• Sign up for the Maplewood PTA email list

  • http://maplewoodpta.com/subscribe/

• Follow Maplewood PTA on Instagram

• https://www.instagram.com/maplewoodptaevents

Fundraising to Support Maplewood

Take this brief survey to let us know your preferences about which fundraisers you love (or don't) to help us plan out the 2022-2023 school year!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5XKDL66

Amazon Smile

Make sure you've selected "Maplewood Elem PTA" as your Amazon Smile donation recipient. Link: https://smile.amazon.com/charity/select/search?orig=&category=all&query=maplewood+elem+pta

Once selected, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Maplewood at no cost to you! Make sure you shop using smile.amazon.com. More information here: http://maplewoodpta.com/donate

Dine Outs

Yearbooks

We are excited to share that the 2022-23 yearbooks are now available for purchase! You can order yours now online at: https://buytheyearbook.com/ (school ID #709537), for the early bird price of $22 through January 31, 2023 ($25 thereafter).

Paper order forms will be sent home in the weeks ahead for cash and check orders.

If you have any questions, please reach out to the PTA's Yearbook Committee at maplewoodpdxyearbook@gmail.com