King SchoolIB Authorization
King School Auction
Save the Date:
"I Have a Dream"
Auction, May 4th
The first annual King School PTA auction will take place May 4th, 6:00-10:00pm at the North Star Ballroom. Our theme is "I Have a Dream" circa 1963. Get your tickets for a night to remember! Go to kingpta.org for all the info.
To raise funds toward the expenses of putting on the auction, we are having a series of fundraisers in the months leading up to the event. Click here to see how you can help.
School News & Announcements
King School February 2012 Newsletter
Dear King Families:
February is a busy month and we have a series of exciting happenings at our school. A visitor from the President’s Council on the Arts and Humanities in Washington D.C. will be visiting us on February 22nd in consideration for grant monies in relation to our use of the arts to inspire achievement.
Our entire school staff has begun rich discussions about race using Glenn Singleton’s curriculum Courageous Conversations as one more way for us to improve our school and increase achievement for all students. In April and May, parents will have an opportunity to begin Courageous Conversations of their own about race as a King School Community. It is exciting to see the energy amongst our parents to discuss race and the impact of racism in our community and as it impacts students.
Our dance teacher, Derrell Walker, will offer three fun family African dance nights on Thursdays, February 16th, 23rd, and March 1st, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. to offer parents a chance to explore movement with their students. Please join us and Sekou and his wonderful drummers for three nights of exciting family fun. Registration forms are available in the SUN office and on the P.T.A. table; please join the fun!
Parents/Guardians will receive grades for your students in the mail later this week, please talk about school achievement with your student. Discuss your goals for your student(s) and areas where of success and concern. Research shows that parents who stress the importance of education and the seriousness of education have higher performing students. We appreciate your constant support of your student as a learner. On, Wednesday, March 21st, each teacher will offer opportunities for parents to have brief mid-year parent conferences. You will receive specifics early in the month of March. Please check-in with your student’s teacher about any specific needs you have for your child as a learner. It takes a team!
If you have a neighbor or friend who will have a kindergartner next year, please encourage then to attend the King School Kindergarten Round-up on Thursday, February 16th in our Library from 1:30-2:30 p.m.\. We also always encourage prospective parents and guardians to come visit our P.T.A. meetings and all school assemblies on the last Friday of each month. These are good opportunities to sample our parent and student culture. We welcome guests to our school!
Finally, King School continues to focus on individual and group safety for our students. Please make sure that younger students are picked up from school, or SUN/SEI activities, on time by an approved contact. You can update adults or responsible older siblings approved for pick-up with the SUN and SEI coordinators for after-school activities; always update school pick-ups in our main office with Claudia and Karen.
Ms. Patterson
Calendar Events for February:
Friday, February 3rd Planning Day No School for Students
Tuesday, February 7th Site Council 3:30-5:00 Principal’s Office
Thursday, February 9th P.T.A. 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the Library
Wednesday, February 15th Planning Day No School for Students
Thursday, February 16th Kindergarten Round-Up 1:30 p.m. in the Library
Monday, February 20th President’s Day No School
Friday, February 24th All School Monthly Assembly 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the Cafetorium
PTA News
First Annual King PTA Auction—May 4th
Heather Dugas, Auction Chair, is challenging all of us to step up and make some asks for more support and items for the auction. Kenny is working with artists to help pre-k and kindergarten create projects for the auction. The event will be held Friday May 4th from 6-10 pm at the North Star Ballroom.
If you would like to help with the auction in any way, email Heather at heatherdugas@gmail.com or come by the PTA office/Parent Room.
Our next pre-auction fundraiser is Wednesday, February 8th, from 5:30-8:30 at the Radio Room at 11th and Alberta.
Lease Renewal at the King Neighborhood Facility
Last Fall the King School Site Council and PTA notified PPS of their opposition to leasing the King Facility to Multnomah County Probation, Parole, and Gang Outreach programs on the grounds that these are necessary programs but should not be located at any school serving children as young as 4. PPS promised to look into the issue but has not acted. There is a petition to gather signatures from those opposed to this policy that was enacted without input from the school or community.
Boundary, Enrollment Changes for King, other schools
Judy Brennan, Enrollment and Transfer Director for PPS, spoke to the PTA about the enrollment changes facing the Jefferson Cluster. PPS just completed a set of work to relieve enrollment issues for the Grant cluster. She is ready to move into the next round which is us (Jefferson Cluster). Judy gave out the Enrollment Data Analysis for the enrollment concerns affecting PPS.
The main goal of PPS is to have enough attendance area to provide enough students for enough staff for great programs without overcrowded classrooms. We have 7 schools well below the adequate enrollment - King, Ockley Green, Humboldt are a few. King neighborhood doesn’t have enough school age children to fill the school and many students transfer out which keeps the school small. We are now in a place to have a Jefferson Cluster conversation. Among the questions we need to answer are:
· Should King remain a PK-8 or merge with another school and become PK-5 again?
· If grades 6-8 remain at King, how can we get enough enrollment?
· If a school closes in N/NE, which one should it be?
Process/Timeline for the Jefferson Cluster discussions: · Spring 2012 – introductory conversations
· Fall 2012 – taking proposals and reviewing, questions
· November 2012– solid proposals for Superintendent and Board approval
· September 2013 – when the changes would take happen
The King community must think about what we want from this process and how to ensure that it benefits our schools in N/NE that have the fewest resources. Let’s not wait for PPS to hand King their proposal—let’s tell PPS what King needs to flourish. Courageous Conversations about Race PPS’s Parent Academy, at the request of the PTA, is bringing the workshop series Courageous Conversations to King School. There will be four evening sessions on Thursday nights. More information will be coming your way soon. April 26th - 6-8 pm May 3rd - 6-8 pm May 17th - 6-8pm May 24th - 6-8 pm Open Gym for MYP Students (grades 6-8) from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Friday, February 17th. From the office: Lately, we've had a number of students come to the office after school to use the phone to find out what they are supposed to do/where they are supposed to go. It would be most helpful if those arrangements are made with your child before they leave for school each morning. If your child is signed up for one of the after school activities, i.e., SUN, Boys and Girls Club, SEI, or other, please know that unless we receive a note from you or receive a phone call before 3pm, your child will be sent to their activity. Please contact Mary Evans in the SUN office at 503-916-6156 if you have SUN questions or changes in your child's schedule. Thank you ~ Karen Brooks and Claudia Egan SUN Parents/guardians, This letter is to re-iterate the King SUN pick-up policy. To ensure safety of all students, we must stress to all staff, students and parents/guardians the importance of everyone abiding by the same pick-up/sign-out policy. The guidelines/procedures are as follows… 1. All persons who are authorized to pick up a student MUST come into the building and sign the student out. The sign-out table will be located directly inside the main entrance. 2. All students waiting to be picked up will be in the school cafeteria. After signing a student out please inform a SUN employee of the student who you would like to pick up, the student will be taken from the cafeteria and brought to the sign out table where you can meet them. 3. Please note a change in the pick-up policy; NO STUDENT UNDER THE AGE OF 12 WILL BE ALOWED TO SIGN THEMSELVES OUT. A PARENT/GAURDIAN/AUTHORIZED PERSON MUST ENTER THE BUILDING AND SIGN STUDENTS UNDER AGE 12 OUT. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. We feel that by abiding by this policy we will effectively ensure the safety of all students. If you have any questions please call the SUN office and we will be glad to answer any questions. Mary Evans King SUN Coordinator
