Bulldog Bulletin

If your family is anything like mine, you are still working on getting back into regular school routines and arriving on time in the mornings. The after school hustle to get to extracurricular activities and appointments can also feel very rushed (I'm typing this from my car at my son's soccer practice 🙃).

Despite the sense of urgency we may be feeling as parents when dropping off and picking up our students, it is important to remind ourselves that being late is much better than injuring someone in an accident.

This is a friendly reminder to use extreme caution on the roads surrounding our school campus, especially during arrival and dismissal times. We have buses, cars, bikers and walkers who commute daily to Richmond, and keeping our students safe on the roads should be our top priority.

Schools will be closed in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 19th.

• Click here to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. This kid-friendly video is a great way to start conversations at home about racial equity and the important message that civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. shared with the world.

• Click here for a read aloud video of A Kids Book About Racism by Jelani Memory. This is a great way to introduce the word "racism" to younger students.
• Click here for the "PBS Kids Talk About Race, Racism & Identity" video. The children and parents in this video model what it looks like to have authentic and age appropriate talks at home about race, racism and identity.

Schools will be closed on Monday, January 26th & Tuesday, January 27th for our teacher grading and planning days.

Quarter 2 report cards will be available to JDLI Richmond families on ParentVUE on 2/13. DLI teachers require additional time to complete report cards due to the dual language grades and additional students that many of our teachers have.

NEW! "Richmond's Questions & Connections" section of the Bulldog Bulletin will include questions, concerns, and personal stories from our own Richmond families and students.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR FEEDBACK FOR NEXT WEEK'S BULLDOG BULLETIN. The google form is very short (2 questions) and you can choose to share as little or as much as you'd like.

Here is this week's question...

How much time do students spend on a screen at school at various grade levels, and how does Richmond feel that screens improve learning and retention over traditional paper work?

The school district's recommendations for screen time are as follows:

• i-Ready MyPath (up to 45 min/week)
• FunHub Practice (30 min/week)
• In addition, some of our assessments are administered digitally

Richmond follows the same PPS guidelines as other K-5 schools. These academic programs offered on the Chromebook allow students to practice their skills at an independent pace, which helps to reinforce their classroom learning.

In the older grades we also use Seesaw to further support Japanese learning. This program offers immediate feedback for teachers so they know which students may benefit from additional support in small groups. This cycle of learning and informally assessing student learning allows our teachers to regularly provide assistance to our students as their Japanese learning advances.

Although there are various struggles to having Chromebooks in the classroom (e.g. troubleshooting tech issues and supervising students online), we have found that overall our students are positively engaging with the academic programs offered, and they spend a very high majority of their day learning off screens.

Please continue to select your student's Homeroom Teacher when filling out their After School Plan form. The Homeroom Teacher is the teacher your child had in the morning during Quarters 1 & 2. If your child is in a class where the teachers switch this can be confusing, so just a reminder that the homeroom teacher stays the same throughout the year! Thank you for continuing to submit After School Plan forms by 10AM when you have a one day change from your child's permanent plan.

Community reminders about all the good hygiene practices that keep us healthy during this respiratory virus season:

Proper hand washing

Staying hydrated

Stay safe, Stay positive

Toby, Health Room Official

Come join the Grant High School Cheerleading team for a day of fun!

On January 27th from 10am to 1pm we will be hosting a youth cheerleading clinic for ages 5 - 13. This is a great opportunity to meet the team as well as learn the fundamentals of cheerleading. We will be teaching basic motions, jumps, a cheer, and a dance. You will also have the choice to perform at halftime with the varsity team on January 29th!

This clinic is perfect for all kids in this age range as they will be split into small groups when learning material. If you are thinking about trying out for Grant Cheer, this is the perfect opportunity to learn the basics and meet your potential teammates before coming to tryouts!

To get registered, please fill out the information in the link below!

https://schoolpay.com/pay/for/Grant-Youth-Cheerleading-Clinic-/ScZfITl

Please reach out if you have any questions and don't hesitate to forward this email to anyone else you think may be interested!

See you soon and Go Generals!

Caprietta Willingham

cwillingham@pps.net

Our annual Japanese New Year’s Festival is coming on Jan 31st, 2pm-5pm, at Richmond!

Save the date and come join us to enjoy the feeling of the Japanese new year!

Questions? Please contact Cultural Committee at ptaculturalcommittee@gmail.com

Purpose: Help us welcome prospective families and showcase our thriving Japanese Dual Language Program! This open house is essential for recruiting our incoming kindergarten class. Filling all seats ensures we maintain our school’s FTE and continue offering this unique program in our city. Click HERE to volunteer.

Volunteer Requirements

• Must have an active background check completed prior to the event.

• Friendly, welcoming attitude—our volunteers are the first impression for new families!

Why Volunteer?

Your support helps families feel welcome and informed, ensuring the success of our program and the future of our school community. Together, we can keep this incredible Japanese Dual Language Program thriving!

Schedule & Duties

1. 7:45 AM Arrive and sign in at the office

2. 7:50–8:05 AM Assist with setting up 100 chairs in the cafeteria (11 volunteers).

Receive assigned duty and instructions.

1. 8:10–8:30 AM A variety of tasks:

1. Guest Check-In

2. Greeters at the main entrance, main floor stairwell, bottom of stairwell/breezeway and in the cafeteria

2. 9:30–10:00 AM Lead a group of approximately 10 guests to classroom observations (11 volunteers).

The first (virtual!) round of this year's Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) reading competition is coming up in just a few weeks: Sunday, February 1st.

Volunteer sign-up: https://forms.gle/BZYvS5oLYqqaz4tM7

OBOB depends on family/community volunteers to fill the many volunteer roles necessary to run the online battles. Please take a look at the volunteer roles and reach out with questions.

Here are a few quick FAQs - and there’s tons more information on the website!

• TRAINING is provided. Volunteer orientation via recording available on the website, along with extensive printed guidance; plus optional live training Wednesday 1/28 @ 6:30pm.

• SHIFTS are 2.5-2.75 hours long and take place on Sunday afternoon, 2/1. If you can only take a portion of a shift, let us know - we can probably slot you in!

VOLUNTEER ROLES:

• Moderator: Reads the questions, determines acceptability of responses per OBOB rules, documents answers given

• Scorekeeper/Zoom Facilitator: Scores the battle, manages Zoom logistics (needs to be on a laptop or desktop computer); troubleshoots answers with Moderator

• Backup volunteer: Troubleshoots, steps into other roles as needed.

We are also looking for support from anyone in the community who has a professional Zoom account that might be willing to let us use it to host one of our competition rooms.

Got a kid participating?

• You CAN be a Scorekeeper/Zoom facilitator for your students' battles.

• You WILL NOT be placed as a Moderator for your students' battles.

Volunteers will need to be on their own device if their student is in the battle.

• Check out more on the website:

https://sites.google.com/view/richmond-obob/volunteer

• Sign up form link:

https://forms.gle/BZYvS5oLYqqaz4tM7

Thank you!!

If you are interested in volunteering before, during, or after the event, please complete this form.