Roseway Heights School

This Saturday, July 4, at 11am we’ll have our annual (10th annual, as a matter of fact!) Rose City Park 4th of July Parade! Bring the kids, dogs, bikes, wagons, in-laws, neighbors – you name it. The more festooned in holiday regalia the better J. We’ll gather at 11am in the parking lot of the Rose City Park United Methodist Church (58th and Alameda) and march up Alameda to 70th, then back down Sacramento and end at Rose City Park School. And if your shy and don’t want to be in the parade, that’s fine too! What is a parade without someone to watch it?! Bring a chair and stake yourself out on the parade route. Folks have even been known to watch on Alameda and then get a repeat performance when the parade returns down Sacramento. If you have questions, contact Karen Miller at rcpmiller@msn.com
Note – Karen has faithfully spearheaded this parade effort the last 10 years and with her daughter soon to graduate high school is ready to pass the torch. If you are willing to be the point person for this fabulous neighborhood event, contact Karen.

July 2nd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

The Northside and Southside Family Support Center, as well as ETC are open all summer to register ALL students (including ESL students) to help families avoid the rush in September. In addition to registration, we also have other services to help support families. Last year, over 40 students received health care, 50 families received food stamp, 25 students received transportation assistance as well as referrals to district departments and outside social services.
Parents can call us at the Northside at (503) 916-5875 to make an appointment.

July 2nd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

Blueberry season is coming up!! As with the strawberry sale, please ask your friends and neighbors to support our fundraiser. The money raised will go toward the edible schoolyard program at Roseway Heights.
*Orders can come in at any time between now and July 21.
*Orders need to be delivered or mailed to our house: 2104 NE 59th Ave, 97213
*Pick up day will be July 24 between 4 and 6 pm at our house.
*Each blueberry ?at contains 8 full pint boxes of berries. Please note that this is a very large amount of berries as many stores sell half or three quarter boxes in their ?ats.
*One ?at of berries will cost $25.
*Please make checks out to RWH PTA.
*Include in your order: your name, phone number, e-mail address and payment by check for the berries.
*I will communicate by e-mail with updates and reminders.
Thank you for supporting Roseway Heights!! Laurie Webber
lwebberlmt@hotmail.com 503-891-0148
____________________________________________________
Name:
Phone number:
E-mail address:
Number of blueberry ?ats ordered:

July 2nd, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of beloved dance teacher Keith V. Goodman, who worked extensively in the district, most recently at Buckman Elementary School. Keith lost consciousness immediately following a performance outside the Beaverton library Saturday afternoon June 27 and died soon after. He was 54.

Keith was a celebrated figure in the Portland arts community and beyond but to many Portland Public Schools students, he was the man who opened the world of dance to them. He was especially known for inspiring boys.

“He was really quite masterful at taking shuffling, I-don’t-want-to-do-it boys and helping them become more comfortable and confident with their bodies and their movement,” said Tom Breuckman, director of student services and a friend of Keith’s.

Keith taught dance at Jefferson High School from 1986 to 1993 and at Mt. Tabor Middle School for the 1993-94 school year. He returned to the district in 1997 and taught at Buckman until his untimely death.

Keith had just finished performing at the Beaverton Farmer’s Market Saturday with four students – two from DaVinci Middle School , one from Mt. Tabor Middle School and one former Buckman student – when he suffered an apparent heart attack on stage. Many students from Buckman and other schools were in the audience after completion of a week-long dance camp with Keith.

The PPS crisis team and staff from the Dougy Center will meet Wednesday July 1 at Buckman, 320 S.E. 16th Ave., from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. with students and parents who were present when Keith died.

Also on Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., students, families, colleagues and community members can commune at Buckman with each other and with counselors on hand to help. The dance studio will be open with the opportunity for writing memorial messages.

On Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a memorial service for the PPS community to remember Keith will be held in the Buckman cafeteria.

Information about a Portland-wide memorial service Thursday at Gerding Theater and a fund to further Keith’s legacy can be found on the Dance Gatherer Web site, the dance company Keith formed and directed. We will post a story about Keith on the PPS Web site. The Oregonian has also written about his death.

Keith is survived by his partner, Bill Flood, daughter Anahelena of Portland and his mother and brother in Atlanta.

Our thoughts are with Keith’s family, colleagues, students and friends.

July 1st, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

On Saturday, July 4 at 11am we’ll have our annual (10th annual, as a matter of fact!) Rose City Park Neighborhood 4th of July Parade! Bring the kids, dogs, bikes, wagons, in-laws, neighbors – you name it. The more festooned in holiday regalia the better J. We’ll gather at 11am in the parking lot of the Rose City Park United Methodist Church (58th and Alameda) and march up Alameda to 70th, then back down Sacramento and end at Rose City Park School. And if your shy and don’t want to be in the parade, that’s fine too! What is a parade without someone to watch it?! Bring a chair and stake yourself out on the parade route. Folks have even been known to watch on Alameda and then get a repeat performance when the parade returns down Sacramento. If you have questions, contact Karen Miller at rcpmiller@msn.com
Note – Karen has faithfully spearheaded this parade effort the last 10 years and with her daughter soon to graduate high school is ready to pass the torch. If you are willing to be the point person for this fabulous neighborhood event, contact Karen.

June 25th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

Except in the front of our school!! We have a little bit of grant money to play with, and I thought I’d just make a call, offer up our pittance of funds and BAM! It would be done. WOW – signs are spendy!
So Plan B…….. Calling all Artisans! If you have sign making talent, please contact me and let me know! I’m open to all brainstorming ideas and advice. The same thing goes for any ideas and talent for a mural on the south side of our building. There were plans for the SMILE program to create a lovely mural, but alas, they lost their funding and are no more. I need ideas! So give me a shout – hmarmen@pps.k12.or.us I am blessedly working throughout the summer, so you can find me here all summer long! Be Well my Roseway Friends!

June 25th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

Tuesday, June 30, 2009 St. Charles Church 5310 NE 42nd Ave.
7:00-8:30pm (Doors open at 6:30 to enjoy free refreshments)
How did this economic mess happen? What can we do about it? Come hear about green solutions happening in our neighborhood. Come participate in small group discussions on Jobs, Health Care, Housing and more! There will be community resource information tables and we will discuss action steps for positive change! Endorsers include Jobs with Justice, Central NE Neighbors, ACORN, and St. Charles Church. For more information, contact Jobs with Justice at 503-236-5573.

June 25th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

As many of you are aware Save NE 82nd, in cooperation with the Madison South Neighborhood Association, has been monitoring the environmental situation at Siskiyou Square (aka the Lavelle Landfill) for some time now. DEQ has recently ruled unilaterally that the landowner of this site must conduct an environmental study into the landfill’s current gas emissions and upgrade his gas collection system to current DEQ standards. The owner has completed the initial environmental study, which concluded that the Lavelle Landfill currently has high methane gas levels in the southern side of the property. More details of this investigation can be found in the DEQ factsheet shown below: DEQ Factsheet:
http://www.deq.state.or.us/Webdocs/Controls/Output/PdfHandler.ashx?p=970e921a-aab9-4e4f-9429-4acf2e27fa67.pdf
Since this is a significant public health concern for the neighborhood, we have invited Tim Spencer and Bob Schwartz to speak at
the July Madison South Neighborhood Association General Assembly
meeting. This meeting will take place Thursday, July 2nd at 7pm at
the Banfield Pet Hospital Glenhaven corporate headquarters (located at 8000 N.E. Tillamook St.). Questions, Azmat Hussain, Madison South Neighborhood Association, Vice-Chair and Save NE 82nd Coalition, President (503) 332-9930

June 25th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized

Dear PPS Friends and Families,
This morning I endorsed a new model for our high school system – one that I believe will help us increase our graduation rate, eliminate the disparity in academic achievement, better engage all students in their learning and ensure that every school and program is in high demand. (Watch videos of the announcement on the PPS Video Gallery.)
Thousands of teachers, principals, students, parents and community members have shared their thoughts about our high schools this year. Their voices – your voices – are reflected in this design, which is also backed by research and proven methods. Most of all, the model allows us to build on our current system’s strengths, while not backing down on our commitment to equity of opportunity for all students.
Our future high school system
We will move toward a system with three major components:
Community high schools of 1,100 to 1,400 students, with a consistent array of programs at every school, including advanced and support courses. Students are guaranteed access to the school in their attendance area. While they may choose to transfer to a magnet school or to attend an alternative school, they may not transfer to another community school. We envision six or seven community high schools.
Magnet schools will offer students other educational approaches or the chance to go deep in key interest areas such as the arts and career technical education. Magnets, with 300 to 1,100 students, will be open to all district students, through the school choice process.
Alternative and charter schools will provide additional options for students by referral or charter lottery, as now. We will explore allowing dual enrollment for students best served by coursework in more than one setting as well as online learning and other innovative options.
At all schools, we will create a personalized approach to ninth grade, whether through academies or other strategies to help students find their place during this critical transition time.
This redesign is intended to set students up for success by delivering greater equity and consistency in our educational program, new opportunities for students with different interests or learning styles, and environments that foster strong relationships between teachers and students.
Changes to come
While this model builds on strengths of our current high schools, it also will require changes at every campus. I have asked the High School System Design Team to work on an implementation plan over the summer, laying out how we should approach the changes and phase in the recommendations.
These are some of the key streams of work:
Site location – We will examine existing campuses for the best locations for future community schools and magnet schools. Some existing neighborhood campuses may become magnet sites.
Enrollment and transfer – Staff will develop a plan for how and when to adjust attendance boundaries as PPS moves toward having six or seven community schools. Changes to the transfer policy and to boundaries will be phased in. The school choice policies around magnet school admissions also will be defined.
Magnet schools – We will work to define which magnet programs to offer – possibly building on existing programs or starting up new ones. Student interest, community support and employer partnerships all will be factors.
Defining the community school program – To ensure that every student has equal access to a wide array of programs, PPS will ensure that every community school has advanced and support classes, a range of electives and other offerings.
Funding and staffing – We will examine opportunities to leverage existing budgets and staff to support the new model, including assigning additional staff based on the level of incoming students’ needs.
Facilities and partnership – At community schools and magnets, the model envisions rebuilt schools that invite community partners – whether nonprofit groups, employers or other government agencies – to share the space and enrich students’ education. We hope to include two to four high school buildings in a capital bond on the May 2010 ballot to pay for desperately needed school building improvements.
More information about the model, the reasoning behind it and the steps needed for implementation are posted online.
Moving forward
We will move thoughtfully and openly toward implementation, with the first decisions coming this fall to take effect in the 2010-11 school year. Full phase-in will occur over the next six years, including the first of our building improvements.
We will take each recommended change step by step, inviting further staff and community input along the way. We have seen in the past that PPS actions undertaken with the best of intentions can nonetheless provoke unintended and unforeseen consequences. We must act in ways to cause the least disruption possible to students and staff, even as we move strongly toward a more equitable and effective high school structure.
Our challenges may seem daunting, and clearly there are many questions and issues to work through. But I believe the hardest part was recognizing the need for change and gathering the courage to go after it. I hope you will join in the effort to shape the next steps, because the success of this work is about the success of our future.
Sincerely,
Carole

June 25th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized