Black Bear Bits
April 1, 2022
Important Dates
4/1: First day of Arab American Heritage Month
4/4: Spirit Week - Black Bear Pride Day
4/5: Spirit Week - Cozy PJ and book day
4/6: Spirit Week - Wacky Hair Wednesday
4/7: Spirit Week - Story book Theme Day
4/8: No School - Teacher Work Day
4/4-10: Read-a-thon READ
4/4-7: Third Grade State Testing
4/11-14: Fourth Grade State Testing
4/14: Read-a-thon Reading Log and Money due
4/14: End of Third Quarter
4/15: No School - Teacher Work Day
4/18-21: Fifth Grade State Testing
4/19: PTA Meeting 7:00 p.m.
4/23: Garden Work Party 9:00-11:00 a.m.
In this edition...
- Letter from the Principal
- Teachers in Tutus!
- Read-a-thon Spirit Week
- Read-a-thon Timeline
- Black Bears for Equity Newsletter
- National Poetry Month Resources
- Allergy Season
- Kindergarten Registration
- Pre-K Registration
- Rental/Utilities Assistance
- Volunteering Requirements
- PTA Needs YOU!
- Updated Covid Information
- Updated Covid-19 Guidelines (3/12/22)
- Sign up for OHSU Covid Screening
- Reporting Covid-19 Vaccinations to the School
- Screen for Covid at home
- Packed with Pride Needs Our Help!
- Important Links
Letter from the Principal
Dear Tualatin Black Bear Families,
We have all been very grateful for the nice weather continuing this week and to see signs of spring popping up all around us. The third quarter will finish up on Thursday, April 14th, in just a couple of weeks. Please reach out to your child’s teacher for any information you need regarding your child’s progress. We were not able to have regularly scheduled spring conferences due to the changes in our school calendar; however, parents are still encouraged to reach out for any needs as we head into the 4th quarter soon.
READ-READ-READ
Our students are doing an amazing job supporting our read-a-thon fundraiser with reading, recording time and sharing about what they love to read. Thank you for all your support at home to make this year’s read-a-thon a great success so far. Keep reading, Black Bears!
ATTENDANCE REMINDER
Please continue to partner with your child’s teacher and our office to help have students at school on time every day by 8:00 AM. Classroom meetings start first thing in the morning. This is time for community building, peer connections, and providing adults an opportunity to check in with students to get the day started well. Being here on time every day at school helps to ensure that every child will be successful.
STUDENT IDEAS FOR SCHOOL COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Does your child have an idea for a school project? We have been fortunate to have students and their families contribute amazing ideas. One example is the little free library that we have near the entrance of our school garden (Thank you to a former Black Bear Cassidy and the Wilfong family!). Any ideas are welcome to be considered (book clubs, indoor or outdoor art projects, garden projects like bird houses or other fun ideas.) Please contact me through the office if your child has an idea for Tualatin Elementary.
With Gratitude,
Mr. Kingery
Principal
Teachers in Tutus!
Read-a-thon Spirit Week
Monday, April 4th
Black Bear Pride – Wear black and red or spirit wear items
Tuesday, April 5th
Cozy PJ and book day - Wear your favorite pajamas and take a break to enjoy some cozy reading
Wednesday, April 6th
Wacky Hair Wednesday - Let’s see your crazy hair. Be creative! Read a wacky, funny joke book and earn double reading time
Thursday, April 7th
Story book Theme Day - Dress as your favorite story book character and bring in your book to share with your class
2022 Read-a-thon Timeline
March 16- March 26:
Set up pledge star with students at https://pledgestar.com/tualatin/
Begin gathering sponsors!
March 28th - April 2:
Continue gathering pledges
Win prizes by completing read-a-thon worksheets in class
READ!
April 4th - April 7th:
Start turning in pledge sheets
Fill out the Reading Log!!
Read-a-thon spirit week!
April 11th - 14th:
Turn in your Read-a-thon sheets
Final week to turn in pledge forms
Class winners will begin to be tallied
Black Bears for Equity
This newsletter will have activities and resources for educators, families, and students centered around this topic.
April is National Poetry Month
H is for Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z by Sydell Rosenberg Poetree by Shauna LeVoy Reynolds: A young girl writes a poem to a tree, and then is amazed when the tree writes one back Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelou: A book that celebrates courage in big and small ways. Imagine by Juan Felipe Herrera: A beautiful book that retells the life of the author, who immigrated to America, taught himself English, and went on to become the United States Poet Laureate. Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Wheldon Johnson: A book chronicling the song that became known as the official African-American National Anthem. Shout! Little Poems That Roar by Brod Bagert This vibrant collection of twenty-one poems celebrates the joys (snack time!) and pitfalls (2 + 2 = 23?) of childhood. Brod Bagert’s often silly, always winsome poems cover everything from the seasons and the stars to finger paint and kids who quack. Science Verse by Jon Scieszka: What if a boring lesson about the food chain becomes a sing-aloud celebration about predators and prey? A twinkle-twinkle little star transforms into a twinkle-less, sunshine-eating-and rhyming Black Hole? What if amoebas, combustion, metamorphosis, viruses, the creation of the universe are all irresistible, laugh-out-loud poetry? Well, you’re thinking in science verse, that’s what. And if you can’t stop the rhymes . . . the atomic joke is on you. Soccerverse by Elizabeth Steinglass: A book that is all about how amazing soccer is through wonderful, fun, poems! The Roots of Rap: 16 Bars on the Pillars of Hip-Hop by Carol Boston Weatherford: Written in a fun lyrical format, this book takes readers through the history of hip-hop, and how it has influenced the entire world.
Allergy Season is Upon Us!
With Spring, sunshine, and pollen come allergies! If your student has allergies, please make sure allergy-sensitive students have proper allergy remedies taken at home prior to school. If your student has allergy medication they need to take at school, please contact the office. (503-431-4800)
Kindergarten and PreK Registration Update
If your PreK student is in one of Teacher Adam’s classes then you are already registered for this fall. Contact our office with questions.
Pre-K Registration
TTSD PRESCHOOL
Free Preschool for Children ages 3 to 5
The Tigard-Tualatin School District in partnership with Community Action offers free preschool classes for qualifying families.
Please fill out our electronic Preschool Interest Google Form online
OR
complete the Preschool Program Interest PDF and send the completed form to:
- preschoolinfo@ttsd.k12.or.us or
- deliver to your neighborhood Tigard-Tualatin Elementary School or
- mail to Early Learning Coordinator TTSD
6961 SW Sandburg St, Tigard, OR 97223
Rental/Utility Arrears Assistance for TTSD Families
Family Promise of Tualatin Valley has a prevention grant for the months of March and April, 2022. The prevention grant is designated to prevent families from losing their current housing. Due to limited funds, not all submitted applications will receive funding. Applications more than 2-3 months behind in rent will be referred to Community Action. All payments will be issued directly to the landlord or 3rd party company.
The assistance is a one-time assistance and can be used for:
- Rental Arrears
- Utility Arrears
- Additional Bill Payment Support (Must be reviewed and applicable to preventing loss of housing. **May NOT be used for Internet, Cable, or Phone)
Eligibility:
· Must be a family household with one minor
· Completed FPTV online assistance application including all required documents
· Applicants may access assistance from FPTV 1x in 12 month
The application can be found here, and is available in both English and Spanish. Application must be filled out completely with all requested information attached.
Volunteering Requirements
We are excited to welcome volunteers back into our school! Please note that the following must be completed prior to volunteering on site:
Note: All volunteers must complete the checklist below to volunteer
- Complete a background check at: www.helpcounter.net/ttsd. (This needs to be renewed every three years.) You will also need to complete the Child Abuse online training.
- Be vaccinated for COVID-19. Please provide vaccine documentation using the following link-TTSD Volunteer Vaccination Documentation or send a copy/photo of your card to the school office (athorderson@ttsd.k12.or.us)
- When the above has been completed, contact the school office (athorderson@ttsd.k12.or.us or 503-431-4800) and we will give you documents for the Volunteer COVID training through Tualatin Elementary.
Masks will be optional in the building for volunteers. We ask that if you are sick or have any symptoms, that you postpone your volunteering until you are well.
PTA Needs YOU!
The PTA is most immediately recruiting for the following:
- Read-a-thon Team: Volunteers are needed in April to pass out prizes
- Art Lit: Volunteers needed to teach Art Lit lessons in your child's classroom next year.
- Fun Run: This is the biggest yearly fundraiser we hold and the most fun for our families. Help coordinate or join the team as we plan for an in-person event!
- Join the PTA board! This is where all the fun and planning starts! We most urgently need a Secretary--we've been without one for 2 years now!
If you are interested in joining any of these committees or joining the board, please contact the PTA at tualatinpta@gmail.com You may also call the office for more information.
Updated Covid Information
Updated Covid-19 Guidelines
Please make note of the following updated Covid Exclusion guidelines,
effective March 14, 2022.
Primary Symptoms:
Fever greater than 100.4 or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
New loss of taste or smell
Non-Primary Symptoms:
Headache
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Fatigue (tiredness)
Sore throat
Muscle/body aches
Congestion or runny nose
If your child is COVID-19 positive, all of the following must apply before returning to school:
Your child must remain home for at least 5 days after the onset of symptoms or positive test result, AND
Be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, such as Tylenol or ibuprofen; and
Symptoms must be improving.
It is recommended that your student wear a mask on days 6-10.
If your child has any TWO of the above primary symptoms, the Tigard-Tualatin School District requires your child to stay home for 5 days after the onset of symptoms, unless:
You provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result OR A doctor’s note indicating a different diagnosis and that COVID-19 is not suspected; or proof of COVID-19 infection within the last 90 days, AND
Be fever-free for 24 hours without use of fever-reducing medications, such as Tylenol or ibuprofen;
Symptoms must be improving.
If your child has any ONE of the above primary symptoms, Tigard-Tualatin School District requires your child to stay home until:
Symptoms are improving
Fever must be resolved for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or ibuprofen.
If your child has any of the above non-primary symptoms that persist for more than one day, parents or guardians should consider evaluation by the child’s healthcare provider, who can determine if viral testing is advised. See attached flyers for guidance on when your child can return to school.
Please contact the office for testing resources, including on-site and at home tests kits, if needed.
OHSU Covid Screening--You can still sign up!
If you are interested in participating in the weekly OHSU screening, you can join at any time. Additionally, your student can participate whether they are vaccinated or unvaccinated. If you would like to sign up, contact your student's teacher and we'll send a packet home.
If you have any questions, please contact the office. (503-431-4800)
Reporting Covid-19 Vaccinations to the School
Screen for Covid Symptoms at Home
Every day before your child leaves for school, check for symptoms of Covid. If your child exhibits any of the following symptoms, keep them home. Please call the attendance line (503-431-4770) to let us know what symptoms the child has so we can help you determine how long the child will need to be out of school. Requirements can be found in the attachments to this newsletter.
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
Packed with Pride Needs Our Help
Volunteers are needed and appreciated. Opportunities include helping to:
* unload and stock food items
* pick up donations from our grocery store partners
* fill the food boxes
* help check-in station with your Spanish/English bilingual skills, every other Wednesday, 5:00-7:30p
* move and load boxes into cars at handout
* help with some schools needing to make home deliveries every other Wednesday evening
Email packedwithpridecommunity@gmail.com to be included in our weekly email about volunteer opportunities. Thank you in advance for your helping hands.
Tualatin Elementary School
Email: tualatinoffice@ttsd.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.ttsdschools.org/tualatin
Location: 20405 SW 95th Ave
Phone: 503-431-4800
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TualatinElementaryGarden/
Twitter: @TuES_BlackBears