Irvington Weekly Newsletter

As you saw in an email from our district's central office, there is a possibility of a strike by the Portland Association of Teachers starting Wednesday, November 1. If there is a strike, I know it will cause a major distruption to our kids and families. We are so lucky to have a hard-working and dedicated staff, and we commit to support your children leading up to and after a possible strike. I will pass on logistics in subsequent newsletters, but please contact me with any questions that come up.

In case you missed today's Tea with Mr. G., I will summarize our conversation below. As you can imagine, most of the chat focused on the possible strike, and here are the answers to questions that came up:

• If there is a strike, the building will be closed to the public.
• There will be no online instruction during this time, though Portland Public Schools has created a website with optional instructional materials.
• We do not know if the school year will be extended or not.
• Despite the strike, we remain committed to providing your child a high-quality education!

This evening is the first Movie Night of the year! A free Community Event hosted by the PTA, this time, we’ll be showing Coco. See all the details below:

• Where: School Cafeteria

• When: Tonight, Friday, October 20. Doors open and disco party at 6pm, movie begins at 6:30pm. Use the cafeteria doors behind the school for entry/exit.

• Who: Irvington students and their families! Children MUST be accompanied by an adult.

• Food and Drink: Free popcorn provided! Please bring your own water bottles filled with water only. Picnic dinners are ok, too. Thank you in advance for cleaning up after yourselves.

• Seating: Bring a blanket or camp chair to sit on. Cafeteria tables are available, too.

• Disco: Enjoy some fun lights, music and dancing before the show and during a short intermission.

In order to be inclusive of families from all background, Irvington as a school does not celebrate Halloween. Please do not send your child in costume on October 31 or bring any candy on that day.

Traditionally, our fifth grade students have gone on an overnight trip to learn more about science in the field, and we are excited to announce that we have scheduled the dates: April 1-3! Fifth grade families, please mark your calendars! Our students will be heading to OMSI's camp at Hancock Station, outside Bend, and fifth grade teachers will be in touch with details as we get closer to spring.

Check out this video that the district office made about our art teacher, Ms Reed! Your child is making amazing art here at school!

Fifth grade families: More information will be coming in the next two weeks about the middle school transition, but I wanted to share a list of middle school info sessions since the first one is scheduled next week.

In case you missed it, the running results are in. Drumroll….. the Irvington Eagles averaged 7.75 laps per student, earning them an EXTRA RECESS! Collectively, the students ran over 400 miles - that’s like running Hood to Coast and back to Hood. We’re so proud of our students!

So far we’ve raised over $8,000 for field trips for all students! You still have until the end of next week to collect your pledges and any more donations. Cash and checks should be returned to school with pledge sheets attached no later than Friday, October 27, and the Pledgestar online site will close then, as well. https://pledgestar.com/irvington/

Thank you to everyone who helped support our runners and our school!

Just a reminder from our family handbook: students are not permitted to have cell phone or smart watches on their person during school hours. We understand that many students use them to communicate with their families before and after school, but they can be a distraction from learning during the school day. Their teachers will collect them and keep them safe during the day and return them to students at dismissal.

In an effort to reach as many of our community members as possible for our PTA General Meetings, please complete this survey regarding your preference for meeting time at our November 6th meeting.

Last week, Scholastic made the decision to give schools the option to exclude certain books from their fairs, specifically books that talk about race or that feature queer characters. Irvington School and our PTA are choosing to stand with many other schools to cancel our Scholastic Fair because we do not believe it is right to consider these books optional. We will explore other book fair options and report back to families about our next steps.

Join us Thursday, October 26, for a Pastini Pastathon Fundraiser! Dine in or take out from the 1426 NE Broadway location between 11:30am and 8:30pm and mention Irvington School, and 40% of participating sales will be donated to our school. Check out the menu and click here or call (503) 288-4300 to order. Let the staff know you’re a fundraiser participant when you pick up your food if you order take out, and using 3rd party delivery apps won’t count towards this fundraiser.

Start saving your multi-layer plastics for a recycling event hosted by the Green Team in two weeks! Multi-layer plastics include frozen food bags, crunchy plastic food bags, chip bags, thin wrappers with a shiny lining, candy wrappers, and more. Please shake or wipe out any crumbs, and if you need to wash something to get it clean, please make it sure it is completely dry. Plan to bring your multi-layer plastics to the blacktop at drop off or pick up on Thursday, November 2, (printed fliers in Friday Folders today mistakenly say November 3).

Thank you to everyone who has been able to help serve lunch in the cafeteria so far this school year! November sign ups are now open - CLICK HERE to sign up! Interested in helping out? Start by becoming a PPS-approved volunteer here.

The next Families of Students of Color meeting will be Monday, October 23, and it will be a potluck! No pressure to bring anything, but we hope to see you there! Childcare is included.

Monday, October 23: Families of Students of Color potluck, 5:30-7:00pm

Thursday, October 26: Pastini restaurant night, 11:30am-8:30pm

Friday, October 27: Fun Run donation period closes

Friday, November 3: NO SCHOOL

See it all at a glance here: https://www.irvingtonschool.com/