My name is Becca Barlow and I am excited to teach Music at Skyline! I spent the last twenty two years at Bridlemile Elementary. I love to teach all types of music, singing, and instruments! I play the flute and the piano. I want to encourage a lifelong appreciation of Music. I can't wait to meet the students of Skyline!

I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and surrounding PNW. I’m a mom of twin teenagers that are my whole world. I’m an artist and photographer on the side, teacher by day. I enjoy being on the water and immersed in nature, taking photos of birds and other animals. I enjoy kayaking, sailing and I paddle on a dragon boat team in Portland, Oregon. I love listening to music and watching movies with my sons or exploring new places. I played the violin as a kid, I’m trying to learn guitar and piano with my sons, currently.

I’ve been working in education for 15 years. This is my 9th school year with Portland Public Schools. I began in group homes and in schools for students with emotional and behavioral needs. Then I worked in Special Education classrooms with Deaf/Hard of hearing students at PPS. After getting my Masters degree in teaching, I taught Art as K-5, specialist. Now I’ll be teaching 1st and 2nd grade at Skyline!

My Why: I struggled in school as a child due to disruptions at home and childhood trauma. Because of the teachers who stepped in and helped me, I was able to successfully get through school, go to college and become a teacher. I wanted to grow up and be a safe person for kids, I wanted to give back, the way the teachers did who supported me as a child.

Nora Brooks is a 22-year educator with a background in ELA and ELD, primarily in 6-12 but with instructional experience reaching from kindergarten through college and graduate level courses. She holds a M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from PSU and a MFA in Creative Writing from The New School, and is a published author. Most recently, she served as a PPS ELD TOSA. As a bicultural Jewish person, she is vested in working to increase racial and educational equity for all OUR students, including anti-racism education and rigorous instructional supports for all.

I am so excited to join this amazing community as the Restorative Justice Coach, a new position in most of the PPS Middle Schools. My background is in Special Education and Occupational Therapy. I am excited to support students as they build healthy relationships and a caring community. I was born and raised in Wisconsin (Go Badgers/Packers), but fell in love with the Pacific Northwest when I worked at Crater Lake and Olympic National Park during college. The most interesting thing I have done recently is donate a kidney! I do not know the recipient, but am hopeful their recovery went as smoothly as mine. I am confident that the 2023/24 school year will be truly amazing!

My name is Jay Ramos and I am going to be Skyline's new 5th grade teacher. This is my 7th year teaching in K-8 and my 3rd year as a 5th grade teacher. I am originally from Texas, but I have called the Pacific Northwest my home for the last 18 years. Before becoming a public school teacher, I was a music teacher and flamenco/classical guitarist. When I am not playing music you will probably find me out on a trail with my dog Telly, or working in my garden. I look forward to seeing all my new Skyline families and neighbors.

Hello everyone! My name is Audrey Zarrinkhat and I recently moved to Portland with my family from the Bay Area in California. I am a mom of two Scooby-Doo obsessed kiddos who are 8 and 3. This is my 12th year working in education as a counselor, but this will be my first year serving students in Oregon. To say that I am thrilled to be joining the Skyline community would be an understatement! I am so happy to be here and I’m looking forward to supporting you all this school year!

Nice to meet you, Skyline! This is "Mr. S"(-orensen), your new librarian. I'm excited about reading and our library space and I know it's going to be an interesting and fun year. I look forward to meeting and learning about all of you. Come by and say hi! Or, if you see a guy who has grown too much walking around, feel free to introduce yourself. I've been a teacher in various posts and at all grade levels for about eleven years, one of those as a full-time school librarian, and have lived in Japan, Ecuador, Guatemala and Spain. I'm excited about my career shift to the media center! I love riding my bicycle, board games, art of all kinds, the Blazers and Japanese food. Happy new school year...

If you plan to volunteer at Skyline this coming year, including chaperoning field trips, you must go through the PPS District volunteer application process, which takes 2-4 weeks to complete, so start the process early.

**NEW** The requirements to provide proof of COVID vaccination has been lifted for this coming school year.

Please use this link to check out your child's bus stop and the estimated time for pick up and drop off

We are looking for parents to serve on our School Site Council this school year!

Hoping for at least one parent with student(s) in each grade band of K-2, 3-5, 6-8. Please email smalone@pps.net if you are interested in being considered!

There are 4 meetings over the course of the year from 3:30-4:30pm

• Monday, September 18

• Monday, November 6

• Monday, March 18

• Monday, June 3

The purpose of SITE Council is to work together to meet our School Goals around Math, Literacy and Well Being for all our students.

Here’s the link to the website.

Counselor Kristi can also help navigate the application process to sign up for free & reduced school lunches. I encourage families to look into this option, criteria has changed over the years and more and more families are eligible for this benefit.

September 20, from 11 - 6pm! Any children from 6 months to age 18 in your family can come for vaccinations for free. Please share with community members that may not be at Skyline, they are welcome as well.

The school will provide all essential supplies except backpacks, lunch totes and the zipper binders often used by middle school students. Families do not need to shop for items such as: scissors, paper, pens, pencils, markers, pencils, etc. Only if that sounds like fun for the family.

If you would like support for buying items for your children, such as backpacks, lunch totes, binders, etc. please reach out to Counselor Kristi, we have funds available.

-Kristi Loupe: kloupe@pps.net

If you enjoy the convenience of not having to go back to school shopping and would like to contribute the funds to keep our school able to provide supplies throughout the year, you are welcome to donate here.