Gilbert Park Elementary Newsletter
May 11, 2022
Principal's Message
Dear Families,
We are so excited about our Gilbert Park Community Fair tomorrow, May 12th from 5:00-7:00. We build strong communities by learning about each other, sharing about ourselves, and having fun together! Come join us to celebrate the Gilbert Park community and the official launch of our new mascot!
There is a lot of great information in this week's newsletter! Please be sure to mark important dates coming up, including the last day of this school year.
As always, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Stacie Moncrief
Principal, Gilbert Park
Upcoming Dates
May 12th - GP Community Fair 5:00-7:00 pm
May 25th - PTA Meeting 6:30-8:00 pm - note date change
May 26th-June 3rd - Scholastic BOGO Book Fair
May 30th - Memorial Day - No School
June 3rd - Site Council Meeting 7:45-8:30 am
June 10th - No School
June 15th - 5th Grade Party (1:30-2:30) and Kindergarten Celebration (2:30-3:00)
June 16th - Student's Last Day/Field Day, Dismissal at 11:30 am
Class Placement Parent Input
We have begun the process of creating classrooms for the 2022-23 school year. There are many considerations required to form equitable and cohesive classes of children. In order to make sure that all children are in the best possible learning environment, the following points are considered for class formation:
- Equal distribution of top, middle and low academic ability.
- Careful distribution and selection of peers for those children with behavioral, social, emotional, or learning difficulties.
- All children should have at least one friend or person they know from their list in the same class.
- Gender distribution to be as equitable as possible.
- Independent workers of high average academic ability to be chosen for composite grades.
- Equitable distribution of children new to the school.
Gilbert Park will place all these considerations into a piece of software (Class Creator) that will help us generate classes before the final formation is done by our teaching teams.
Please click on THIS LINK to access the online form to provide your insights and input. This is an optional form. Please fill out one form per child. Parent input is needed no later than May 20th
Please note that every effort will be made to consider any requests you may have, however it is not possible to guarantee that all requests can be met.
Save the Date - Native American Cultural Night 2022
Mark your calendars and join us for a celebration of Native American culture and community!
When: Friday, May 20th, 2022, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Where: David Douglas High School - South Cafeteria
(close to the Performing Arts Center)
1500 SE 130th Avenue - Portland, OR
We are excited to announce that our DDHS Indigenous Student Club and our DDSD Native American Parent Advisory Council (NAPAC) along with our Community Partners are hosting a Native American Cultural Night open to the public on May 20th! Our free event will include music and dance, traditional foods, and workshops for all ages.
Here is a 1:30 minute video from our inaugural 2019 Native American Cultural Night at Fir Ridge.
School Focus Area and Action Steps
As you know, last November and December, we launched our fourth annual YouthTruth survey in partnership with YouthTruth, a national nonprofit that helps districts improve their school climate and culture. We heard from you, our students, and families, about how we’re doing and how we can improve. I wanted to sincerely thank you again for your participation. We have explored the data and are working to strategically use the feedback to improve our school. We gathered anonymous feedback from nearly 380 members of our community, including 125 family members and 255 students. I want to let you know what we are currently planning to do with your feedback.
Based on this data, one of the areas we are focusing on is Equity and School Culture. We are looking to improve our school by:
Providing our staff with the curriculum and ongoing professional development that they need to provide an equitable, predictable, safe, and trauma-informed school environment.
Using proactive and preventative strategies to help students problem solve and regulate their emotions.
Together, we are ensuring that all students at Gilbert Park are inspired and challenged to learn, grow and thrive to their fullest potential. I truly believe that our ability to be effective is only as great as our ability to give and receive feedback. Thank you for engaging in this feedback process with us. We will continue to let you know of another focus area we are planning for next year and the action steps we are taking for improvement.
How Are We Doing?
We love to hear your feedback!
We have created a short (2 question) form you can use throughout the year to tell us how we are doing.
https://forms.gle/Uc2eYwc3ijBGTL8F8
You can use this form anytime you think of something you would like us to know. We appreciate both hearing about what we are doing well and areas we can improve.
Register now for fall kindergarten!
If your child will be five years old by September 1st, it's time to register for kindergarten!
Families can register online here: https://www.ddouglas.k12.or.us/parents/registration-enrollment/
Contact our office if you have any questions.
GP Intercambio
Intercambio is a language exchange meeting space for Spanish and English-speaking people to practice another language in a conversational, informal setting.
Our mission is to implement Intercambio for school and community members to develop relationships, and foster communication between diverse groups.
We meet every other Wednesday after school (3:45-4:30) here at Gilbert Park in room 22. You are welcome anytime!
Food Pantry
Looking for Past Newsletters?
Did you miss any of our past newsletters? Maybe there was something you wanted to revisit?
You can find our previous issues here:
April 27, April 13, March 30, March 16, 2022, March 2, 2022, February 16, 2022, February 2, 2022, January 5, 2022, December 8, 2021, November 24, 2021, November 10, 2021
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