Irvington Weekly Newsletter

Three days left...can you believe it?

With gratitude for this great year,

Mr. G.

PS: This is not the last newsletter for the year. I will send one final newsletter next Friday, June 16. You can expect little communication for the rest of June and July, but I will pick the newsletters back up in August.

June is Pride Month, another time for us to celebrate the diversity of our school community. We have many students and families who identify as LGBTQ+, and we had an opportunity today to showcase our support for them. Our fifth grade GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) has spent the past few weeks preparing for Irvington's first annual Pride Parade, which we had at the end of the day today. All of our students had the chance to watch our fifth graders walk in handmade floats during the parade, and afterwards students could make their own buttons, take part in the creation of a large pride banner, or dance to the music playing outside. (Any student who did not want to participate had the option to play on the playground.)

Typically, this is the kind of event we would want the wider Irvington community to attend, and we would have let families know well in advance. This year, however, the political climate has led to conflicts between adults that have put students in the middle. In fact, even in Portland, Atkinson Elementary School had to cancel their pride events after protesters threatened to come down to the school. We did not want any possible outside conflict to overshadow our students' work, so we felt obligated to advertise the event to students only.

We stand with our LGBTQ+ students, and we are proud to show them the kind of support we did today. We hope that in the future we are able to invite others to join us in our enthusiasm.

Mark your calendars for several summer happenings on the Irvington School Grounds:

• Tuesday, June 20, 5:30-6:30pm: Kindergarten Popsicle Party – Bring along your incoming kindergartener and the rest of your family to come meet and play with other kids coming to Irvington next fall!

• Wednesday, August 16, 12-1pm: Kindergarten Popsicle Party – Bring along your incoming kindergartener and the rest of your family to come meet and play with other kids coming to Irvington next fall!

• Saturday, August 19, 9am-12pm: Community Cares Day – Bring your garden gloves, rakes and shovel and come down to the Irvington playground to help spread mulch, weed and get the grounds ready for the upcoming school year. Plus, an awesome chance to see your classmates and friends during the summer! The more the merrier!

• Sunday, August 27, 1-4pm: Back to School Kickoff – Thanks to those of you who completed the survey. The majority of you can meet on Sunday, so let’s do this! Come back to the school grounds with the whole family and get reacquainted with your friends and classmates just a few dates before school starts back up. Keep your eyes peeled for more details over the summer and for ways you can help (we will need volunteers!).

To conclude our year of restaurant nights, head to Eb & Bean next week for our neighborhood's tastiest treat! Take a stroll down to 1425 NE Broadway after school (or after dinner perhaps?) to enjoy organic dairy and plant-based frozen yogurt, creative toppings, and craveable sauces. What a way to celebrate the end of the school year! 10% of sales will be generously donated to our school! Find out more at https://www.ebandbean.com/, and thank you, Eagles, for the restaurant night support all year long!

Thanks to fundraising through the PTA, every student at Irvington receives a free yearbook, and they were passed out to students today!

Click on this link to learn about a free summer arts camp at da Vinci Middle School for students in grades K-5.

We have seen an increase in off-leash dog activity outside of school hours. (One of our students was bitten one evening earlier this week by an off-leash dog!) Please remember that dogs are required to be on-leash at all hours.

If you want to report an off-leash dog, you can call (503) 988-7387. I am also working with the district to update our signage about pets so that the expectations are more visible.

Irvington grounds update: The school's riding lawn mower has died. Do you have a connection to a new or used riding mower and/or a shed nearby for storage? If so, please get in touch with Laura Westwood (lbwestwood@gmail.com). Let's keep our grounds looking good all year. Thank you!

The Irvington office will be closing for the summer on June 23. While families are able to register online anytime, it can be helpful to be able to ask us questions about the registration process before we shut down. If you have an incoming kindergartener, please complete the registration process prior to June 23!

Monday, June 12: Field Day

Tuesday, June 13: Eb and Bean restaurant night, 12-10pm

Wednesday, June 14: 5th grade promotion, 1:20-2:45pm

Wednesday, June 14: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

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