Fall Newsletter 21-22

October 1, 2021

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Happy Fall! We have had a great start to the 21-22 school year! It is wonderful to have all students back full days, five days a week. Students are settling into the routines and procedures that are part of building a classroom community, and are doing a good job following our health and safety guidelines. Just a reminder that Portland Public Schools requires all staff and students to wear a mask at school. Please make sure that your child has an extra mask or two in their backpacks in case they forget to bring one or if one gets dirty.

POOLED TESTING

If you have not yet signed your child up for pooled testing, you still can! Please call the school nurse for more information at 874-8210. We are happy to report that all the classroom and staff pools at Talbot have tested negative for COVID over the past two weeks.

SAFETY FIRST

Keeping our students safe is our number one priority, especially during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up times. Our student drop-off/pick-up location is in the LOWER parking area, near the Community Center/Playground entrance. Please note: the playground is closed before school. Students should not be dropped off in the morning before 7:25 and must be picked up promptly by 2:10, and 1:10 on Wednesdays, unless attending Rec, Learning Works or other after school programs.

SAFEARRIVAL

Please call the office at 874-8210 if your child is absent. In the coming weeks, Talbot School will be introducing a new, easier way to report your child's absence from school. The program is called SafeArrival and will make it quick and easy to report an Absence by using a Mobile App, Website, or Phone Number. Watch for more information coming soon!

FALL ASSESSMENTS

Starting next week, our third, fourth and fifth grade students will be taking the Fall NWEA assessment. This computerized test in reading and math takes about an hour per subject and is generally not anxiety producing for students. The NWEA has three very important features:

1. The tests are computerized and adjust to each child’s performance. When a student answers a question correctly, the computer chooses a hard question; when the student answers incorrectly, the computer selects an easier question. Each child should have just a bit of challenge, but nothing too difficult or way too easy.

2. The results of the test are immediate. Teachers receive a class report the next day and use the results to guide planning for the next several months.

3. The information from the test is very detailed and identifies student’s strengths and weaknesses in both reading and math.

Also, between now and November, all students in grades 1-5 will be taking the district’s reading test, which is called the Fountas and Pinnell (F & P) Reading Benchmark. For this assessment, students meet individually with their teacher to read a short story and respond to comprehension questions. Teachers use the data gathered by the assessment to set reading goals with the students and to plan further instruction. Please let me know if you have any questions about the NWEA or F & P assessments.

SNACK CUPBOARD

Thank you to those of you who have donated healthy snacks to our Snack Cupboard. Our Snack Cupboard has been a great resource for when students have forgotten to bring a snack from home. Please feel free to continue to drop off healthy snacks for the cupboard at any time. Thank you!

BULLY PREVENTION

Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month? At Talbot School, we are focused on creating a bully-free environment where everyone feels safe and empowered to teach and to learn. We reinforce this message by teaching students to use the PBIS bully prevention program called Stop, Walk and Talk to address bullying or mean behaviors. It helps students know how to stand up to behavior they feel is offensive or not wanted, and empowers students to be self-advocates. The Stop, Walk and Talk strategy consists of three simple and progressive steps: indicating through words and gestures to stop, walking away if the problem continues, and finally talking to an adult if the problem is still not resolved. The overall impact of this bully prevention program is to decrease bullying issues at school in order to create a more positive school climate.

On Friday, October 22 Talbot School will be showing support for Unity Day 2021. This is a day the Talbot School community will come together and send one large ORANGE message of support, hope and unity to show that we are together against bullying and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. We invite all students to wear the color orange and we will be starting the day by taking a school wide walk around the building first thing that day.

Pumpkin Fest!

Bringing children and parents together at school is one of the goals of Talbot’s PTO. Pumpkinfest is a great school tradition that helps us to meet this goal. Be sure to mark your calendar for our PTO Pumpkin Fest, which is Saturday, October 2 here at Talbot School.

Upcoming dates:

October 2 - Pumpkinfest! From 10am - 2pm. Come paint a pumpkin, play a game, and enjoy this community event

October 4, 5, 6 - NWEA testing in grades 3, 4 and 5. Please help your child be successful on their test by encouraging a good night’s sleep, and a good breakfast (at home or school).

October 6 - PTO meeting 5pm – all welcome!

October 8 and 11 - No school due to Indigenous Peoples Day

October 18 - Picture day. It is back! Picture envelopes and information on how to buy online will be coming home soon.

Please feel free to reach out to me at school at 874-8210 or email me at hannaan@portlandschools.org if you have any questions or concerns about Talbot School.

Sincerely,

Ann Hanna

Principal