CSS Community Newsletter
February 11th, 2022
Upcoming Event Dates
- SAVE THE DATES
- Feb. 16th K-5 Lottery for 22/23 OPENS
- Feb. 17th SEGC Meeting 6pm
- Feb. 21st No School - President's Day
- Feb. 22nd School Spirit Day! TWOs day on Tuesday, 2/22/22
Assistant Principal's Message
Dear CSS Families,
I hope that you've been enjoying the dry and beautiful sunny weather. My family and I always enjoy Winter in Oregon. It's a chance for my wife and son to go skiing, while I do some snowshoeing. After a long day of snowshoeing, I always enjoy sitting in front of our fireplace. It's hard to believe we are moving into the month of February, and already starting to plan for next year. Part of our planning involves looking at a variety of different data, reflecting, and thinking about how we can best serve all students.
CSS School Climate Handbook: As a school, we provide a holistic approach to educating your child. A key component of your child's education is creating a positive climate where students learn to take care of themselves, take care of others, and take care of their community. Our School Climate Handbook provides students, staff, and families with an overview of our practices, which create a positive, culturally responsive environment. The CSS School Climate Handbook is posted on our CSS website. If you have questions or feedback about any component of the handbook, please feel free to call or email me.
School Counselor Week February 7-11: School Counselor week is February 7-11. Students had an opportunity to sign a giant thank you card for our fabulous counselors: Kate Bennett K-5 & Casey Milan 6-8. We are very grateful for all of the work they do with CSS students. They are positive, caring, and thoughtful and are an important part of our building. Please feel free to send them a positive email to celebrate their work with our students! Kate's email: kbennett@pps.net Casey's email: cmillan@pps.net
Thank you again for all your support for our school. Great schools are made through the process of collaboration and communication. I look forward to seeing all of you on Monday.
Yours in education,
Andrew Dauch, Assistant Principal
K-5 Survey for 22-23 School Year
Thank You!!
Annual Anti-Racism Lessons at CSS
Hello CSS Families:
Our annual anti-racism lessons have begun! Across PPS, every K-12 classroom participates in 4 developmentally appropriate antiracism lessons. These lessons were designed by the district and, at our school this year, are delivered by our school counseling team.
Students may come home to share thoughts or ask questions that come up during these lessons, so here are the topics of the lessons and one resource (linked) we use to guide our conversation about that topic.
Please reach out to Kate Bennett (K-5) or Casey Millan (6-8) with any questions. Thank you.
Affinity BIPOC Group
Student Store is on Fridays!
SEGC Meeting Summary 2/3/22
Black History Month
Hello Creative Science School Community,
In celebration of Black History Month, the CSS Equity Team has curated and created lessons and resources for all grade levels that promote learning and conversation about the Black Lives Matter Movement for the BLM Week of Action (1/31-2/4). The lessons include classroom norms, essential questions and prompts for conversations. All classrooms are invited to participate in a culminating classroom door decorating activity that celebrates and uplifts a Black life. The goal of the BLM Week of Action is to spark critical reflection and honest conversation in our school and community.
I have a collection of K-8th Grades Black History Month books that showcase Black Beauty, Black Brilliance and Black Joy in the staff lounge for teacher and classroom use. If and when possible keeping the books personal, local and immediate to Oregon. I have also created the Celebrating Black Beauty, Brilliance and Joy display with the assistance of Educational Assistant Sarah Peters and student Amay Geradot. As always if there are items you have that augment the display I would love to include them. Or if you decorate your own door and send a picture I will print it and add it to the display.
Kind regards,
Laura Axon she/her
Siblings for 2022/23 School Year
CSS Kindergarten Explore Event (for interested 22/23 families and those who need application support)
- Get support with the application (interpreters on-site)
- Peek in classroom windows
- Meet teachers
- Ask questions
This is an outdoor event with masks and physical distancing. Information also posted on our website www.pps.net/creativescience
Thanks!
Spirit Day!
- Wear a tutu or a tie
- Clothing with a #2 on it
- Dress up with a twin
- Wear TWO different shoes
- Wear something fun that comes in a PAIR like socks
- Wear TWO of something- bow, layered shirts
Late Start Schedule
If it is a late start date school will begin 2 hours later:
10:40 am (late bell 10:45 am) for ML
10:55 am (late bell 11am) for K-5
Bell schedules are posted on our website here: https://www.pps.net/domain/1285
Inclement Weather
Order Your CSS Yearbook Now!
Our school ID number is: 12440422 or search for Creative Science School.
Yearbooks are being created by our students and will be delivered in 2022 before the end of the school year!
Please Keep the Yellow Zone Clear
McDaniel Info Session for Students
FREE NBA MATH HOOPS GAMES
Hello NBA Math Hoops families,
We are so excited for this offer for your school families.
Learn Fresh continues to support learning in all environments! We are pleased to offer the physical NBA Math Hoops board game for distribution at no cost to families in the U.S. Please complete the form to request a copy of the NBA Math Hoops board game for the young learners in your household (best for grades 4-8). Games are available on a limited basis, and families with a demonstrated need for at-home learning resources will receive priority.
You will receive an email confirmation when your game request has been processed.
While waiting for your NBA Math Hoops board game to process and deliver, download the NBA Math Hoops App and NBA Math Hoops: Skills & Drills App on both iOS and Android. Visit nbamathhoops.org/app to download!
Please Help Us Plan and Respond by Registering Your Child’s COVID-19 Vaccinations
Please note that if your child received a vaccine at a district-sponsored event on a PPS campus, that information is not automatically conveyed to ParentVUE. If your student was vaccinated at one of those events, please take a few moments to update your child’s status.
To update your children’s COVID-19 vaccine status, you will need their vaccine card. You can upload an image of the card into ParentVUE by following these simple instructions.
Garden
Hello CSS community! From February thru May this year, I have the new privilege of teaching monthly garden lessons to our K-5 students on Thursdays. We are SO excited to get our garden program back in action and make use of our beautiful outdoor spaces! We will be talking about the environment, weather, seeds, insects, flowers and more! I hope to help them develop a better understanding of where food comes from and how its grown, an appreciation for the natural world and being outdoors, and even some nutrition lessons which may expand on what they like to eat.
In the coming months, I may put out some asks for volunteering to establish some new crops in our gardens. If anyone has the space and time to help us with starting seeds, we would sure appreciate it! I will put such asks out on Konstella, so keep an eye out if this interests you. I’m so looking forward to getting to know all your kids and get them some extra fresh air time as the weather improves, and the earth wakes up. See you all around the school and in the garden!
Sable Kellison
Garden Educator
Principal Coffee Chat
Friday, Mar 18, 2022, 09:15 AM
Berrydale Park, Southeast Taylor Street, Portland, OR, USA
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
CSS Wishlist
Donations for walkie/radios: For communication and safety we use specific Kenwood ProTalk radios that are serviced by PPS. Not any radio will work. The district gives us an allotted amount but if we would like more radios they need to be purchased using CSS funds. One radio is $256 and must be purchased and programmed through a communications company to be able to tune into our private channel. We currently have 33 radios and our hope is to one day have 45. This would cover every classroom, specialist, office, and essential support staff. If you would like to donate to purchase CSS radios/walkies we would greatly appreciate it! Donations can be dropped off in the office with a note that it is for “walkies/radios”. Thank you!
Donations for outdoor lunch seating: We began the year using district-provided yoga mats and buckets as our COVID outdoor lunch seating. Over the seasons the yoga mats have become ruined with food, rain, and mud and are no longer the best option for students to sit on. We need donations of 5-gallon buckets for ML students to use during lunch. To keep them easily accessible we need buckets that stack together. Donations of these buckets or cash/check with a note labeled “covid lunches” can be dropped off in the office. Thank you!
Lunch Volunteers!! Still Needed!
Hello CSS community - With the special set-up for lunch during Covid times, we need extra help. You would be supervising lunch and/or recess which we need support with during covid lunches. This includes: If it is outdoor lunch helping set up mats and other equipment. Helping kids space appropriately in line, wiping down mats when we sit outside and tables when we eat inside, and general supervision at recess.
Depending on the weather, you would be inside or outside. Please dress for the possibility of rain.
Time: 11:20-1pm
Each volunteer must have completed the PPS background check: https://www.pps.net/volunteer and bring proof of vaccination to show in the office on your first shift.
Thank you!
Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f49a4a62aa2f4c34-lunch
OHSU Screening
If you do not receive results from the screening testing, you should verify that your primary email and phone number are up to date via PVUE. OHSU is only emailing the primary email provided to the school.
If that doesn't work, please call OHSU: 833-376-1027
Families can also visit: https://www.ohsu.edu/health/k-12-covid-19-screening-program.
Creative Science School Weekly Screening Schedule
We have begun to receive OHSU labels. We have also been notified that due to the volume of schools/students signing up for the screening OHSU is behind on creating labels. Thank you for your patience. Please note: Not all students who signed up have received labels yet from OHSU. When these are delivered they will go home on Fridays.
Please keep these labels at home to attach to your student's sample. There are detailed directions linked here and attached to your labels. You will not get a test kit until you get labels.
If you get a test kit on Monday. Perform the spit test on Tuesday morning and then bring the sample to school that morning.
On Tuesday mornings, a district representative will be in the front of the school with a sign and a cooler for families to collect the samples during drop-off from 8:30-9am.
You can find sample collection instructions here.
Test kits go home on Mondays.
Please do the spit test on Tuesday morning and bring it to school for drop off on Tuesdays between 8:30 am and 9 am. We cannot take test kits after this time.
Keep your labels and please label your own student’s tube. Thank you.
OHSU expects to provide families with results within 48 hours of the specimen being dropped off at the school. You will receive a secure email with your child's results. Please be sure the primary email addresses are updated and you have the correct email address noted that you wish results to go to.
If it is a positive result, you will need to call the CSS nurse’s office and inform them immediately and follow the guidance provided to you. You will be asked to keep your child home from school. 503-916-6431 ext. 73339