HP Press

Where has time gone? Our goal was to get a newsletter out twice a month and the last one came out back in January. In this case I will say no news is good news. It has been BUSY at HP. A good busy. There has been a lot going on and we hope to catch you up. We know the rest of the year will fly by. Thank you for being on this journey with us.

On February 19th Portland Public School's Interim Superintendent Dr. Sandy Husk visited Harrison Park. Dr.Husk went on a tour of our building and checked out the construction projects. She also visited a few classrooms and spoke with students and staff. She is excited to learn about our district and is working to get to know about how she can support schools until a permanent Superintendent is identified.

On February 8th we kicked off Lunar New Year. It was a busy day! Some of our 7th grade Mandarin Immersion students performed at Clark Elementary. We also had 6th and 7th graders perform at our assembly as well. It was exciting to see dragons walking down the hall and kids practicing for their performances.

On Friday the 9th our 8th grade Mandarin Immersion students performed at Woodstock and also volunteered to help support their upcoming trip to Taiwan in late March, early April. We can't wait to share details from their trip.

Friday March 1st our WEB students put on a Spring Fling. This event was free for Harrison Park students. All student received a goodie bag upon entering and additional treats were available for purchase. A few students danced. There was limbo, paper airplane contests, karaoke, bracelet making, bingo, cookie decorating and just plan old fun. It was great to see students laughing and enjoying themselves.

As enrollment shrinks and costs increase, PPS needs to make significant budget cuts for next school year.

Unlike most schools, at Harrison Park we anticipate continued growth next year, and the year after, as we fully take on students through the middle school conversion process.

Fortunately, because of our growth we did not sustain as many cuts as other schools in the district. There will be some reductions at Harrison Park, but our hope is they will have limited impact on our scholars. Sadly, we were unable to continue funding a half time dance teacher. Our hope is if we receive additional funding we can again offer dance. The rest of our elective programs will remain in tact at this time.

Another shift for next year at all PPS middle schools is PE requirements. Over the past several years we have not met the state requirement for Physical Education. Next year, all students will be required to take three terms of PE and one term of health. This shift will impact students schedules as well. Currently, students take half a year of PE/Health. With this shift students will now lose one semester of elective options.

Our current plan is for 6th graders to follow the elective wheel. This gives them exposure to several of the elective options they have at Harrison Park in 7th and 8th grade. Here is what a typical 6th grade schedule will look like:

• Language Arts
• Social Studies
• Math
• Science
• PE/Health
• Elective Wheel (Art, Music, AVID, STEAM)
• Elective and/or Intervention

We will continue work towards providing additional academic support to students who may have learning gaps in math and reading. We were funded with a math and reading intervention teacher next year to support this work.

We will begin forecasting in late March and early April for next year. We will ensure families know of these dates.

If you want to stay up-to-date with your student's grades and classwork, the following links will be very helpful. They show you how to sign up for Canvas, Synergy and Securly, as well as show you how to navigate Canvas.

• Family Resources for Technology Tools (slides)
• Tech How-To Videos Playlist (Youtube)

If you have any requests for how-to videos that you would like to see, email Dr. Brenda Carpenter (bcarpenter@pps.net) and she will add them to the above list. Thanks for supporting your student and Harrison Park Middle School!

We wanted to take a few minutes to remind parents of traffic safety and student drop off/pick-up. These guidelines are to ensure students are safe and our traffic flows as smoothly as possible in front of the school.

• Students should not arrive at school before 9:00 in the morning. We do not have supervision and coverage available until this time. We are seeing some students arriving before staff. We have reached out to parents of these students to remind them, but want to reiterate there is not supervision until close to 9:00 a.m.
• After school we are seeing a lineup in the front parking lot drive thru. We ask people not to line up in the main parking lot until dismissal at 3:45. When people arrive at 3:30 to sit wait in the pick-up line it blocks other cars from entering and exiting. Please also remain in your vehicle while parked in any pick-up area. In order to free up additional curb parking we have asked staff members to avoid parking directly in front of this school to free up additional parking for this purpose. Please be aware of parking in the bus zone (area to the south of the main entrance).
• A reminder that if you are picking up, or dropping off, your student please pull up to the curb (facing the direction of traffic) so your student can safely enter and exit the vehicle. We ask everyone to avoid having scholars enter the car if you are in the middle of the street. This is not only unsafe for your scholar, it also blocks other cars causing a traffic backup. Please pull up to the curb so your student can safely enter the vehicle.
• Please do not use the handicap parking spots unless you have a permit.
• Please be aware of blocking driveways during drop off and pick-up times. We want to be respectful of our neighbors.
• School gets out at 3:45. Buses leave at 3:52 and at this time we expect all walkers to leave campus. Unless students are staying after school for programming (SUN/Community Partners) or with a specific teacher they should not be on campus as there is not supervision. Students are expected to leave and go home. The office closes at 4:15 and all students should be picked up no later than 4:00. We appreciate your support in ensuring all of our students remain safe.

• March 15th- Principal Coffee @ 9:30
• March 21st- International Down Syndrome Day (part of Trisomy Awareness Month) is a day of inclusion. We will recognize it with many others by wearing mismatched or crazy socks, representing the mismatched chromosomes.
• March 25th-29th- Spring Break (No School)
• April 1st-4th- Dead Week
• April 4th- Last Day of 3rd Quarter
• April 5th- No School Grading Day
• April 11th- Harrison Park Talent Show
• April 13th- Spring Garden Clean Up @ HP (11:00-1:00)

Encouraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways you can prepare your student for success—both in school and in life. When you make school attendance a priority, you help your child get better grades, develop healthy life habits, avoid dangerous behavior and have a better chance of graduating from high school.

Students who have consistent attendance are more likely to have school success.

• Students are more likely to stay out of trouble

• Students are learning important social and problem solving skills that they will use throughout their lives.

• Students with regular attendance, even in elementary school, are much more likely to graduate from high school.

• High school graduates make, on average, a million dollars more than someone who does not complete high school, throughout their work life.

Don’t let absences add up!

In our continuous efforts to encourage and celebrate excellent attendance habits, we have introduced a friendly competition between grades.

Here's how it works: Each month, we track attendance data, and the grade that shows the most improvement from the previous month will be rewarded with a class party! It's a wonderful opportunity for our students to come together, celebrate their dedication, and enjoy some well-deserved fun.

For those who consistently demonstrate outstanding attendance with an attendance rate of 95% or higher for the month will automatically be entered into a raffle. These lucky students will have their names added to a random drawing for some seriously cool prizes.

We believe that fostering a positive and supportive environment is essential for our students' success, and initiatives like these are just one way we aim to make learning enjoyable and rewarding.

Thank you for your continued support in promoting excellent attendance habits among our students.

There is a request for volunteers and/or entrances into the 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade that takes place on April 27th. Here is some information:

We need a great number of “Minders” who watch at every cross street between SE Holgate and SE Yamhill on 82nd Avenue. Volunteers receive t-shirts, entry to the Vintage Car show and much love and appreciation from the community! If there is interest we can organize a Harrison Park "team"

Check out Team Volunteering on our Field Day site here: Field Day 82 Roses Community Enrichment or simply email: 82RosesParadeVolunteer@gmail.com

18th Annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Roses in the Heart of Portland

The 18th Annual 82nd Avenue of Roses Parade is organized by the 82 Roses Community Enrichment Coalition for the 18th time in 2024. Our goal is to intentionally builds spirit and public involvement in support of the community around 82nd Avenue. We couldn't do it without your help.

Online Volunteer Registration: https://bit.ly/82Roses (Volunteers may pick their choice of location to volunteer if desired). The Parade steps off at 9:30 AM.