January 28, 2020

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Professional Development for Our Teachers

Did you know our PTA has supported our teachers receiving supplementary Professional Development for the last three years?

Talking, planning, and creating with other teachers is the way to keep teachers inspired, creative, and up to date with new standards, expectations, and best practices for teaching our children.

Thank you, thank you, Abernethy community, for making this possible!
Here, a few of the incredible programs we’ve helped fund:

What is the Beaverton Project?
The Beaverton School District implemented the Lucy Calkins reading and writing curriculum several years before PPS and Beaverton is also funded to allow teachers to receive a full week of training for both the reading and writing components. When PPS implemented the curriculum, it was only able to offer our teachers an optional one day summer training on the new reading and writing strategies.

Our PTA, Site Council, and former Principal Hull created and implemented a partnership with one Beaverton teacher at each grade level, and our PTA has generously funded stipends for the Beaverton teachers as well as substitutes for our Abernethy teachers. This has allowed our teachers to observe the Beaverton teachers using the curriculum in a classroom as well as a planning day for our Beaverton teachers to coach the Abernethy teachers. This mentoring, so common in many other industries, is difficult to engineer in education.

Fourth grade teacher Sean Day says, “It’s a great opportunity to learn from teachers who have had several years of experience using the new curriculum. Not only do we get the chance to see the curriculum in action, but we also get the chance to plan with our mentors. It’s fantastic!” and First/Second grade teacher Candi Bielman writes "The Beaverton ‘training’ is a clear lesson plan, with some tips and tricks about what works, any extras that are helpful to add to the curriculum to enrich it, and eye opening conversations from people who have taught the lessons before and have a beautiful way of implementation."

Now in it’s second year, and with the strong support of our new Principal Dr. Petersen, we’ve been able to expand the program to include our former district literacy coach, who can now share the learnings with neighbor teachers at Buckman and Grout Elementary Schools.

Abernethy Teachers Take New York?
That’s right! Our first grade team wrote and received a PTA Mini Grant to fund their travel to the Columbia University Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, founded by Lucy Calkins. They spent a week of their summer break in New York and even inspired our third grade team to write (and receive!) a Mini Grant for a similar trip this summer. First grade teacher Rose Hurner says "We just wanted to thank the PTA again for the financial support with the writing institute. We are excited, energized and eager to implement what we have learned this week. It was truly an amazing training and we are already talking about ways we can return for the reading and phonics training. We feel so supported by Abernethy families and are truly grateful."

Wait, there’s more?
Finally, last fall, our teachers worked hard to align their instruction to the PPS Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC). Teachers have been meeting in grade level teams to analyze student work and plan instruction based on the PPS GVC Scope and Sequence. Several teams were able to take Professional Development days to dig deeper into their GVC units and “unpack” these with our district literacy coach. Dr. Petersen has been instrumental in advocating for our teachers to have time for this Professional Development. Just last week, our PTA Board approved reallocating $1K in funds from an unspent expense to help Dr. Petersen close a gap and allow all of our teachers this time.

This critical work happens with a committed Principal, engaged teachers and an extremely supportive PTA. Many, many heartfelt thanks for all who make this possible,

- Carolyn Duran + Hanna Nesper Newell
Co-PTA Presidents

Inside This Week's Mailer

Professional Development for Our Teachers
Conversations about Race Event - February 6
School Colors Spirit Day this Friday
Successful Schools Survey
PTA Recruitment Committee Volunteers Needed
Connect to Kindergarten - February 20
Trailhead Credit Union Donation
Purchasing School Meals
Help Paying for Lunch
Bus Schedule

CALENDAR

1/30		OBOB
1/31		Spirit Day - School Colors (blue/gray)
2/6		Conversations About Race Event
2/17		Presidents Day - NO SCHOOL!
2/19		Immunization Exclusion Day
2/20		Connect to Kindergarten / PTA Community Meeting

LUNCH MENU

Get the full month's lunch schedule on the school website

Tuesday - Teriyaki Meatballs with Brown Rice / Cucumber Salad

Wednesday - Homemade Lasagna

Thursday - Pizzeria Day - Cheese/ Pepperoni / Basil, Garlic and Chicken

Friday - Chicken Filet Sandwich / Roasted Potatoes / Coleslaw

Monday - Three Bean Chili with Tortilla Chips / Hummus and Pretzels / Apple and Celery Salad

PB&J and yogurt everyday. Lunch includes one entrée, milk, unlimited fruits & vegetables.

Conversations about Race Event - February 6

Oregonians and the State's Racist Past, Present and Future
Thu, Feb 6 6:30-8pm Abernethy Auditorium

Abernethy Conversations About Race is hosting a free conversation with Tai Harden-Moore and sponsored by Oregon Humanities. Oregon has a long history of racism that continues to influence the sate today. While we often look at how the state's racist history affects policies and institutions, we talk less about how it affects people's personal understanding of racism and racist experiences. What does Oregon's racist past mean for Oregonians? How does the state's history affect how bias shows up for individuals?

More information about the Oregon Humanities Project can be found here.

School Colors Spirit Day this Friday

Our next Spirit Day is this Friday, January 31! The Abernethy school colors are blue and gray, so send your students to school decked out in gray and blue to show their school pride!

Successful Schools Survey

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the phrase “successful schools?” We believe that successful schools are safe, healthy and welcoming learning spaces that are inclusive for all students. But we want to hear your thoughts.

In 2019-20, Portland Public Schools is again partnering with Panorama Education to gather information students and families that will help us improve student experiences across the district. We will survey students in grades 4, 5, 7-10 on their experiences in their classrooms and schools, and families about their perception of the school their child attends.

The survey will cover topics on sense of belonging, school safety, school climate, barriers to family engagement, as well as how students are thinking and feeling about diversity, equity, and inclusion in school.

The current launch date is set for January 27th. The student window is scheduled to be open until February 14th. The family survey until February 28th. Stay tuned for further information!

Please be honest and thoughtful, we value your feedback!

PTA Recruitment Committee Volunteers Needed

Attention PTA Members!
It’s time to assemble this year’s PTA Recruitment Committee: 3 to 5 PTA members who can help us get the word out about next year’s open PTA board positions!

Here’s what you need to know:

Anyone who is a PTA member can be on the Recruitment Committee
Limited time commitment: the responsibilities wrap up when PTA elections are held in May.
Most of the job is outreach to the community, which can often be done from home.
There are resources to get you started, but also plenty of room for new ideas!
The job is to make sure members of our community know about opportunities to get involved with the PTA board, and that we are inviting representation from various perspectives in our community.
Last year’s committee is ready to help get you going!

The earlier this committee gets started, the easier it is to have an impact. We’d love to elect the Recruitment Committee at the February 20^th PTA meeting, so please reach out if this sounds like something you can help with!

Contact the PTA presidents, Carolyn Duran and Hanna Nesper Newell, at ptapresident@supportabernethy.org to get more information or to volunteer.
Also, feel free to contact last year’s Recruitment Committee chair to get your questions answered: Beth Cavanaugh at ptaequityandinclusion@supportabernethy.org.

Connect to Kindergarten - February 20

Help spread the word throughout our community! Connect to Kindergarten will be Thursday, February 20 - 6:00 p.m.

5:30 - Sign-in begins
6:00 - Presentation
6:15 - Classroom visits

ABOUT THE EVENT
Connect to Kindergarten is a great opportunity for you to learn about Abernethy and its kindergarten program. At the event you will tour the kindergarten rooms, meet the kindergarten and administrative staff and register your child for school. With parent volunteers on hand, it is a great chance to ask questions about daily routines, parent involvement, school events, and before/after school care. It is also the perfect time to meet other parents of incoming Abernethy kindergarten students. The more you learn, the more confident you and your child will feel on the first day of school! For more general kindergarten information go to www.pps.net/kindergarten

WHAT YOU NEED TO REGISTER

Proof of age for your child. A birth certificate or similar document will work.
Two documents showing proof of home address. Examples include utility bills, cell phone bills or other recent bills sent to the home address and in the name of a parent/guardian of the student.
Immunization records. For more information visit www.mesd.k12.or.us/Page/166

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION:
Contact the school with any kindergarten questions. Registration packets are available in the main office.
For more information about enrollment and registration, visit www.pps.net/Page/2899
Get a head start and fill out your registration form before your school visit – www.pps.net/Page/2381

QUESTIONS

PTANewFamilies@supportabernethy.org

Trailhead Credit Union Donation

Trailhead Credit Union generously donated $370 to the Abernethy PTA as a result of community engagement in the Bright Lights Warm Hearts 2019 holiday promotion. Thank you to all who participated!

Purchasing School Meals

PPS uses SchoolCafe for families to purchase school lunches or milk.

Help Paying for Lunch

Apply for free or reduced priced meals here, or download the pdf and return it to the office.

Bus Schedule

You can find the PPS bus schedule online at: http://www.pps.net/Page/141

Link your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to help Abernethy earn a donation! (non-profit number 94049).

GET YOUR PASS! All 4th graders and their families get a year long pass to National Parks for FREE!

Need Childcare?

If you need of childcare for your student, please contact Child Resources:
503-548-4400 x 9

Do You Have News for the Monday Mailer?

Email your content here by Friday noon for it to be included in the next Monday Mailer.

Support Abernethy

Amazon Smile will give the PTA 0.5% of each purchase. Sign up here.

Lost and Found

The Lost & Found is located outside of the office. All clearly labeled items will be returned. Items not collected by the end of the month will be donated to the PPS Closet.

Abernethy Elementary Website

Abernethy Homeroom