The Mt. Tabor Tribune

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• August 17: Community Care day, 10-12pm.
• August 27: 6th grade only for orientation.
• August 28: First day of school for all students.
• September 6: MTMS Family Picnic, 5-7pm.
• September 19: Fall Picture Day
• September 25: Early release at 1:45pm

Good afternoon, MTMS Staff and Families,

It's hard to believe that our summer is almost at a close and that another school year is upon us. The start of the school year brings up for all of us a host of emotions. There is excitement about reconnection and the beginning of something new, fear about the unknown and worry about the changes that will inevitably come. There is the busyness that comes with outfitting your learners for the year to come, but also the impending movement into predictability and routine. I want to hold space for all of you--for your children, for our staff, for our families--to feel whatever it is that you are feeling seeing this newsletter hit your inbox for the first time this new school year.

I know that the coming school year has brought up these emotions for me as well. There is a great deal of comfort in coming home to this job and this community that I love so well, even if only after a couple of weeks away. It is hard to believe that this fall marks my fifth at Mt. Tabor Middle School, and also the year when I get to welcome my third child to be part of our school community. While the work of running a school can sometimes feel daunting, the start of every year is so fresh with opportunities that I cannot help but feel excited at all the possibilities.

This year will be packed with occasions for all of us to connect and continue to build this amazing community of ours, and I hope you take me up on the offer to become more connected, to help us to shape the experiences of our children. Whether that is something as simple as attending a PTA meeting or school event or participating in our Site Council, School Climate Team, or mission/vision work, I hope you find your way to stay connected to our collective work of educating our young people during this time of their lives.

As you can image, the coming newsletters will be packed with information about the coming school year. And I know there is a lot to take it. Rest assured that there is no quiz at the end of this edition, but a lot of thanks for taking the time to read and engage.

But what I am saying? You all still have two weeks before your students come back to us. Enjoy these remaining days of unstructured bliss. And know that we will be ready for you when the time is right.

Much love and gratitude

Ms. Tonya Longo

Principal, Mt. Tabor Middle School

Come join members of the MTMS community as we work to ready our beautiful outdoor green spaces for our returning students and staff. Our work this year is limited to 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on Saturday, August 17. Participants should meet at the main entry to sign in and sign liability wavers. If you have weeding/pruning tools to weed beds and prune shrubs; or rakes/shovels/wheelbarrows for scooping, transporting, and spreading bark mulch, please bring them with you and your work gloves. With many hands, we can make a substantial difference in just a few short hours.

Hello Families,

As we begin this new year, please be sure to go into ParentVue and review and update the information we have on file for your student. Once logged in, you will see a tab at the top of the screen saying "Online Registration/Yearly Verification/Transfer Application". Click here and follow the prompts for the yearly student verification process. If you do not have a ParentVue account set up yet, please contact me, Ann Pinzelik, at apinzeli@pps.net, and I will be happy to do that for you.

Thank you!

On Friday, August 16, student schedules will become viewable to students and families via StudentVUE and ParentVUE.

It is often the case that once schedules are released that our offices receive requests for class changes. We want to take the opportunity to remind families of our class change policies to cut down on the number of requests that are made. This information is also in the Parent-Student Handbook (located below):

We are not able to make changes to student schedules after the master schedule has been built except in case of an error (duplicate class, wrong grade level class, student doesn’t have prerequisites for class). This schedule is finalized prior to July 1 every year.

Students are not guaranteed elective selections. Elective forecasting is a tool for students to express preferences, which we try to incorporate in individual student schedules as we build the master schedule. We work hard to ensure the best possible schedule for all students, including honoring student choice and preference; we also know that it is beneficial for students to have the chance to try new things that they may not yet know are of interest.

We are unable to honor requests for specific teachers in order to keep scheduling fair for all students. We have many caring and talented educators and look forward to helping you reach your potential.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation and understanding. If you believe an error has been made on the schedule, please fill out this Google Form prior to Friday, August 22 so that our team has time to make adjustment prior to the first day of school. Requests made after August 22 will be handled as soon as possible within the first two weeks of school.

You can find this year's school supply list at the link below. Also, please make your contribution to our community supplies fund. We keep our student lists small by asking familes to make a monetary contribution so that we can keep our classroom supplies up and reduce the number of items students have to carry from class to class. We thank you in advance for your support.

Students will start bringing all of their supplies to school after Wednesday, August 28. Until then, writing utensils are all that are needed.

The school day for middle school students across PPS will look a bit different this fall, with the regular school day starting at 9:15 and ending at 4:00 pm. We are excited that this additional time will allow us to expand our advisory programming AND lengthen our normal class periods.

Additionally, there are two other "special" days in the district calendar that will impact our start and stop times:

• On Staff Meeting Days (held monthly), doors will open at 9:20 am and classes will start at 9:30.
• On Early Release Days (held monthly except in January and June), classes will end at 1:45 pm

It is important for parents to note that on these dates, all staff members will be in required meetings and unable to provide additional supervision. It is important to ensure that your student has a clear transportation plan either to or from school on these special days. The full list of these dates can be found on the 2024-25 PPS District Calendar (look for the Tuesdays with the ** for staff meeting days and the clock icon for early release days).

All of the MTMS Bell Schedules are up to date on our website and in the Parent-Student Handbook.

Those returning to district middle and high schools may remember the push last fall to have all students on campus wear their student photo ID during the school day. Unfortunately, given the disrupted school year, many of these identification efforts faced difficulty getting off the ground.

Principals received word today that this fall, the expectation for all students to wear their school-issued photo ID will resume in the fall. We will be issuing each student a new lanyard and badge holder. Students who still have their ID from last year will be encouraged to continue using it until new photos and cards are issued on September 19. For those new students or those who have lost or misplaced their prior-year ID, we will be making one to practice wearing. The expectation is that students wear these during the entirety of their school day on campus as a means to promote school pride and enhance situational safety.

We really thank our families for their support in helping our students understand the importance of keeping track of their ID and the role it plays in making sure the folks on our campus should be on our campus.

Updated bus routes are available on the transportation webpage. Families can access the Mt. Tabor specific routes by clicking on this link. Mt. Tabor will be asking parents to return information in their welcome back packet to help us track which buses students will be riding this school year.

Just as a reminder: if you student is taking a bus that is not their regular bus or riding home with a friend, families need to provide a note for their student to give to the bus driver. Drivers will not accept riders without parent permission who are not on their regular routes.

Those of you that are returning to MTMS know that during pick up and drop off, things can get congested and difficult around our school campus. Our faculty is out at the busiest traffic locations to direct drivers and help ensure student safety. We ask for the help of everyone to help limit traffic around the school and, when pick up and drop offs are necessary, that we do so in ways that ensure a smooth flow of traffic around the school (from 8:55-9:15 am and from 3:55-4:10 pm).

Here's how you can help:

• Consider alternate forms of transportation to get your student to school. Whether you walk, bike, scooter, or skateboard, reducing vehicular traffic around the building helps. We have skateboard racks in the office to store boards and lots of bike racks--just make sure to invest is a solid U-lock.
• If you need to drive your child to school, use the Drop and Go Parking Lot loop off of Stark, or park/drop students along Ash, Pine, and Oak Streets between 55th and 57th Ave.
• Keep all traffic moving from South to North along 57th Ave. Cars traveling north on 57th during drop off time often delay traffic exiting the area, reduce visibility of pedestrians, and narrow the streets, making them impassable. While it might add a little bit of time to go around the block, keeping our kids safe is priority #1.
• Ash Street between 57th and 60th is the bus zone. Please avoid driving on this stretch of road during the 8:55-9:15 and 3:55-4:10 time frames. There is absolutely no parking allowed along Ash Street on the school side at ANY TIME.
• Be kind to our staff that are out directing traffic. They are the kind humans wearing high visibility vests and holding stop and slow signs. They may signal you to talk with you if you are going against the traffic flow.
• Please slow down! This is a school zone from 7:00am-5:00pm. Please make sure that you adjust your speed! PBOT will be installing additional signage along 57th to alert drivers of the school zone requirements.
• Remind your students to use the official crosswalk at 57th and Ash to cross the street! PBOT will be out to paint an new crosswalk before the start of school year, and we hope that this added visibility will provide students with a clear path of entrance and exit to the building and increase driver awareness.

Please see the graphic below for more details on all of the routes to school!

• Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services is happy to announce all students will be able to enjoy breakfast and lunch at no charge for the 2024-25 school year. This opportunity is made possible in part by the expansion of federal eligibility and additional funds allocated by the state’s Student Success Act.

  
  

  Breakfast includes an entrée, choice of fruit, and milk. Lunch includes a choice of entrée, milk, and unlimited fruits and vegetables. Students must choose at least three foods, with one food being at least a 1/2 cup of fruit and/or a vegetable.

  
  

  Due to this change in services, our kitchen teams will no longer be able to take cash or check payments. If students bring their lunch from home and want milk, they must may choose two other foods – such as a fruit and vegetable – at no charge. Milk can no longer be purchased separately.

  
  

  A few more clarifications:

  • Families do not need to submit a free and reduced-price meal application. All PPS students are automatically enrolled in this program.

  • If you have questions about your student’s meal account, please visit our webpage for more information or contact our department for further support.

  • This change has no impact on Title I funding.

  
  

  Access to nutritious meals is a crucial component of student success and well-being, and we are thrilled to be able to take advantage of this opportunity on behalf of our students.

Serving on the board is a great way to give back to the JDLI community and to help ensure strong leadership for our programs and opportunities. We are especially looking for help in these areas:

• Human resources/personnel management
• Communications (especially social media and/or website management)
• Grant writing and/or development

Japanese-speaking, Japanese, and Japanese-American parents are especially encouraged to join the Board.

For more information, contact info@oyanokai.org

Not ready to commit to the Board? We are hoping to fill several other volunteer roles:

• Annual Benefit co-leader
• Accountant/tax preparer
• Volunteer recruitment
• Event volunteers
• Fundraising help

Do you have skills or interests that you think might benefit the community? Please email info@oyanokai.org!

Home of the Eagles. Be sure to follow us on Instagram at mttabormiddleschool

Email: tlongo@pps.net
Website: https://www.pps.net/Domain/143
Location: 5800 Southeast Ash Street, Portland, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 916-5646
X: @Tonya_A_Longo