Copy
February 10, 2020
     View this email in your browser
Some email programs cut off the end of the Mailer.  Check at the bottom of the mailer to be sure you're getting the whole thing!

Introducing Black Lives Matter to Your Kids

Last week, Portland Association of Teachers, with the endorsement of PPS, kicked off Black History Month by celebrating Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action and invited all educators to participate. Black Lives Matter, in response to disproportionate violence from law enforcement towards African Americans, seeks to provide equal treatment under the laws fought so hard for by those in the Civil Rights’ era.  
The focus continues throughout the month of February.  Black History Month is a chance for us to acknowledge the systemic oppression of Black Americans that continues to this day as evidenced in most every system, from education to health care to housing, just to name a few.  It is also an invitation to go deeper than the one or two days normally devoted to Rosa Parks and MLK, to learn alongside our children the breadth and depth of Black excellence.   Exploring Black History is vital to fully appreciating the United States as we seek to tell the whole story of the history of our nation.  As we at school take the next step forward, we hope you will use this opportunity to build upon your own understanding of Black History and share those new learnings with your child.  This could only enrich the conversations we are having in the classroom, and model the idea of “lifelong learners” that we want to instill in our students.
Laurelhurst parent Amy Potter, who is a parent-school liaison for the Laurelhurst Parenting Towards Human Rights and Equity group (laurelhurstpthre.org), fielded a question from a parent looking for resources introducing the Black Lives Matter movement to kids and adults. She’s given us permission to share her response and helpful resources! 
Here’s what Amy had to say:

I am sure that you have been talking with your kids, at least sometimes, about racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, etc. You'll be able to put BLM into this context. The
 three most important things to keep in mind when talking about any issues like this are to make sure that: 

1) You share more than a "single story." As in 
Chimimanda Adichie's Danger of the Single Story. Introducing factually accurate, whole stories, or counter narratives to stereotypes, is critical. It's also the foundation of teaching critical thinking skills and perspective taking (which, of course, makes our kids better students from an academic skills perspective as well).  
2) Emphasize agency and resistance of people being oppressed/marginalized. If we're talking about black people in the US, for example, black people were not "given" their freedom. Lincoln was obviously important, but black people actively resisted slavery and oppression in every way possible, in both the North and the South. 
It's really important for all kids to understand that. So putting that into context, the BLM movement is yet one more example of black people demanding respect, integrity and inclusion, and this has been the case for the entire duration of this country's history.  AND their work - black people's resistance - has directly resulted in the USA becoming more democratic and fair country for everyone, including for white people. 

3) Allies have always been critical for different groups to gain more rights. White women couldn't have gotten the vote if men hadn't supported women's suffrage as well, for example. 
It's important to show all kids - especially white kids - how white people have a long history of partnering and collaborating with and following the lead of people of color. (It's ALSO important for white kids to understand that "collaborating" does not mean being a white savior).
But it's really important for them to learn about models of white allies in our country's past, and I don't think we do a good enough job of that in PPS. Patricia Polacco books often do a decent job of this (January's Sparrow, for example).

So given the above, some ideas include the following:

1) I think I'd start by having your kids 
listen to this podcast episode from the Uncivil podcast The Ring
It's about the civil war. The entire series is so incredibly fascinating, but this episode is an example of everything above (black/white collaboration, black resistance, counter narratives), and it's also a really good story. Our entire family listened to this podcast series together in the car over winter break and all three kids loved them, so they are definitely accessible for a wide age range.
2) Then, I highly recommend reading the book Something Happened in Our Town with your kids. It's about police shooting black people.
It says it's for kids 4-8, but I actually think it's also great for older kids and adults as well. It helps us to learn how to talk about this stuff - gives us language to use. (I sure wasn't taught how to have any of these conversations when I was a kid - we're all learning how to do this together, which is what I love about reading kids’ books).
It's written by three psychologists, and takes the perspectives of two families - a white family and a black family. One of the things I love about this book is that it's the first one for kids that I have ever read that introduces the idea of systems to young children.

3) Then show this
 3-minute PBS video on BLM and explain how BLM is another step in our history, another example of black and white people coming together in the next chapter of civil rights. It's an example of how white people can follow the lead of black people as allies. Which is an important equity and inclusion skill to learn.
4) For your own general knowledge about BLM as a parent - This is a great article from Teaching Tolerance about teaching BLM in school and I recommend starting here for a good overview. Teaching Tolerance is always a good place to start to get information and ideas about how to approach some of these issues. (Although they seriously need to change their name).

Thanks for the question! This was fun!
Best,
Amy
List of links:
1. Three most important things:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_TFaS3KW6s
2. Danger of the Single Story: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en
3. Black people were not “given” their freedom: https://www.tolerance.org/podcasts/teaching-hard-history/american-slavery
4. USA becoming more democratic: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/black-history-american-democracy.html
5. Long history of partnering and collaborating: https://kids.jamespatterson.com/read-kiddo-read/januarys-sparrow/
6. Podcast The Ring: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/uncivil/39hw6e/the-ring
7. Something Happened in our Town: https://www.apa.org/pubs/magination/441B228
8. Article on why BLM matters: https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2017/why-teaching-black-lives-matter-matters-part-i

Inside This Week's Mailer

 

        CALENDAR

2/13


 
Oregon Battle of the Books
2/17

 
Presidents Day - NO SCHOOL!
2/19
 
Immunization Exclusion Day  
2/20  
Connect to Kindergarten
2/20   PTA Community Meeting

2/27
 
OBOB Celebration
2/28  
Spirit Day Hat Day!

        LUNCH MENU

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

Tuesday - Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup
Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday Pizzeria Day - Cheese/ Pepperoni / Tomatoes, Peppers, Olives, and Onions
Friday - Sustainably Sourced Wild Alaskan Cod
Tuesday - Orange Chicken with Brown Rice / Sesame Green Beans
PB&J and yogurt everyday. Lunch includes one entrée, milk, unlimited fruits & vegetables.

Volunteers Needed for Auction

Abernethy Auction & Night Market 2020 is almost upon us (Feb 29th!) and 
we are looking for a few folks to volunteer during the day and during 
the Gala. You can volunteer all day, for a few hours in the morning, or 
even a 30-minute slot during the Gala which will still allow you to 
enjoy all of the evening's activities. Any amount of time you can spare 
the day-of will be a valuable contribution to another successful (and 
fun) auction! 
To sign up, go to AbernethyAuction.com/volunteer OR send 
us a note if you have questions, 
PTAauction@supportabernethy.org

Parenting Boys Workshop - Feb 25

Brought to you by PTA Mini Grants!

Volunteers for Literacy at Creston Elementary

Looking for a volunteer opportunity? Check out this message from our PTA Neighbors at Creston K-8 School:

Creston SUN and PTA have successfully launched our after-school tutoring program focused on literacy! We currently have seven children coming every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, for a total of 11 students that want one-on-one literacy tutoring. This volunteer-led effort is exactly what our school needs to help our students of color, improve the disparity in our testing results, and ensure our school is providing equitable education for all. We have an amazing 6 parents step up and volunteer to work with these great kids 1-2x’s a week.
Bad news time: There is still a gap which means kids aren’t getting tutored! We NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS!
We need 5 volunteers on Tuesday, 3 volunteers on Wednesday and a whopping 6 volunteers on Thursday. The time commitment is minimal - from 3:30-4:40. No experience required as you would get a teacher-led, two-hour training in the Barton method of teaching.

If you or anyone you know can help ONE HOUR A WEEK, please do! Thanks for your support of ALL of our children. Any questions, just ask.

membership@crestonschoolpta.org.

Connect to Kindergarten - 4th/5th Graders Needed for Tours!

Connect to Kindergarten is Thursday, February 20th and the committee is hoping to recruit 4 to 5 5th graders to offer tours of the school to the attendees. Each 5th grader will need an adult chaperone.   

Details:
Date: Thursday February 20th
Time: 5-7pm
Activity: provide small group tours of the school, talking points provided

If your student is interested in volunteering, please reach out to Jami Haaning at 
jamileehaaning@gmail.com.

Thanks for your support!
Jami Haaning, New Family Connections Co-chair

Tai Harden-Moore: Oregonians and the State's Racist Past, Present and Future

On Thursday night we had over 50 participants--a wonderful mix of educators, parents, students and community members-- at our first event as hosts of the Oregon Humanities Conversation Project.
We made the biggest circle of chairs I've ever seen at Abernethy!
Tai Harden-Moore gracefully presented and facilitated a multi-faceted conversation about the importance of how we as a community, city and state recognize the role of racism in our history and our present day reality. 

The evening exploration began with grown ups sharing times when they have felt unwelcome, including a handful of examples at Abernethy.
The following conversation explored the ramifications of the state's racist history including facts like our state constitution's use of racist terminology which was finally removed in 2002--not a typo! We ended with the important question of how do we move forward from here--acknowledging that there aren't easy or simple solutions to advancing racial equity, but knowing that it is vital that we keep asking and keep trying to do better even if we make mistakes along the way. 
A heartfelt thank you to Tai Harden-Moore for bringing her presentation to Abernethy and to Oregon Humanities for creating the Conversation Project. 
If you weren't able to join us for the evening conversation, here are some resources shared by Tai Harden-Moore:

The Tale of Two Portlands: The Whitest and Arguably Most Racist City in America
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-tale-of-two-portlands-progressive-portland-the_b_592da912e4b07c4c731385c8

A Hidden History (Oregon Humanities/Walidah Imarisha)
https://oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine/skin-summer-2013/a-hidden-history/

PTA Grounds Update

Hello from your PTA Grounds Co-Coordinators!

We on the Grounds committee work with volunteers, the PPS Grounds team and our amazing  custodians to keep Abernethy’s fields, fence lines and gardens maintained and cared for. Our goal is to make the grounds easier to maintain each year.
Thank you to all who help tend the grounds! All this hard work is appreciated.

One thing we wanted to let you all know about in detail is that Abernethy Elementary School’s field is due for re-seeding and repair. 

PPS Grounds will bring in equipment to do a hard rake, aerate and re-seed the field in early March 2020. The majority of the far field will be closed for 2 months starting March to the end of May/Early June. This gives the grass seed some chance to take hold before the spring season and summer dry period. We will need to keep people and pets off the field during this time. It will be an inconvenience, but it should improve the condition of the field.

NOTE: The small grassy area by the baseball diamond on the Elliott Ave side will remain open, as will the rest of the playground. 

PPS will give us fencing to close the majority of the field, but we need to get the word out to all who use the field.
Please spread the word to neighbors.

We will post signs on the field as well. We will add a gentle reminder for all dog owners who use the grounds to pick up after their pets. 

Thanks for your help spreading the work and letting the grass grow!

Thanks and all the best, 

Alex and Jess- PTA Grounds Co-Coordinators
Dave and Allie- PTA Garden Maintenance Co-Coordinators

Questions? Want to help? 

Email: PTAgrounds@supportabernethy.org


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 20th 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

National Counseling Week

This past week, February 3rd-7th, was National Counseling Week! It was an opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the work that our school counselors do at Abernethy.
I’d like to thank and appreciate both Jenny Morgan and Shannon Nicholas for the tremendous impact they have on Abernethy every day. Our work would be significantly less impactful and meaningful without them! Feel free to write notes or have your student write them life giving words of affirmation to say thank you too. ATTA WAY, Jenny & Shannon!

Dr. Christie M. Petersen
Principal
503-916-6190

cpetersen@pps.net
 

Abernethy Google Group To Soon Replace Yahoo Listserv

Coming soon! Our PTA web guru, Lisa Delaney, is hard at work migrating our school listserv over from Yahoo to a Google Group. Keep your eyes peeled for future invitations or announcements so you don't miss a single community message. Thanks for all your hard work updating us, Lisa!

Kids and Screens Presentation - April 14

Yshai Boussi, LPC will be presenting on April 14th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Kids and Screens.

Join us for an informative and eye opening workshop about how to help our kids grow into healthy and responsible digital citizens with Yshai Boussi, LPC.
Yshai is a family therapist with 20 years of experience helping kids and families. Yshai will talk with us about how to work with technology and screens in a balanced way along with practical strategies to help your family manage this increasingly complex issue. Whether your child has lots of screen time or none at all, you'll find this workshop non judgmental and supportive.

Brought to you by PTA Mini Grants!

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 officeAll 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 Elementary Website
Abernethy Homeroom Abernethy Homeroom

Copyright © 2020 Abernethy Elementary Monday Mailer, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp