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Atkinson Elementary School

5800 SE Division St

Portland, OR 97206

Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–3 p.m.

Office phone: 503-916-6333

Website: https://www.pps.net/atkinson

Debbie Armendariz

Principal

Atkinson Elementary School

darmenda@pps.net

All parents need to change to the new ParentVUE app at this time. Attached are instructions for parents using both Android and iPhone devices. If you have trouble, please contact the school office.

Class lists will be finalized by the end of the day on Friday, August 21. Families will then be able to view their student’s class assignment through ParentVUE. You can find information about accessing ParentVUE here.

FOURTH GRADE NEIGHBORHOOD FAMILIES: If your student's teacher comes up in ParentVUE as "Teacher, TBA6", your student's teacher is Diane Masini.

Teacher and staff contact emails are on our website.

The Atkinson PTA invites you to join us by the basketball courts on Sunday August 23 at 11 a.m. for a Kinder Connect event, followed by a school-wide back to school pizza party at 12 p.m., where several of the after school enrichment programs will be represented!

We’re looking for a caring, dependable English/Spanish bilingual speaker to join our Atkinson team as a Temporary Duty Support person. This role helps keep our students safe and supported during lunch and recess, while reinforcing positive behavior and building relationships with students.

The position is Monday–Friday, 10:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m., and is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working with children and being part of a school community. Experience working with children in a school, childcare, youth, sports, or community setting is required.

Spanish speakers are highly preferred! If you or someone you know would be interested in joining our team, please check out the job description details here. The job posting will soon be appearing on the PPS jobs website.

Atkinson's school hours are as follows (and the same as last year):

• Breakfast — 7:45 a.m.
• First Bell — 7:53 a.m. (teachers meet students outside, bring them inside, and start taking attendance)
• Second Bell — 8 a.m. (attendance is submitted; students are tardy after 8 a.m.)
• Dismissal — 2:30 p.m.

We will also have early release at 11:50 a.m. on the following Wednesdays: September 16, October 21, December 16, January 20, February 17, March 17, April 21, and May 19.

ARRIVAL

• When you arrive at school in the morning, classes will line up behind the school: K–2nd grade students on the upper playground (where the play structures are), and 3rd–5th grade students on the lower playground (by the basketball court); see the attached map.
• When the first bell rings at 7:53 a.m., students get in line and enter the building.
• Students that arrive after the second bell rings at 8 a.m. will need to sign in on the tardy sheet in the foyer.
• We kindly ask that parents do NOT come into the building during morning arrival. This is an especially vulnerable and important time when staff need to be focusing on student safety and preparing for the school day. If you have business you need to handle with the office staff, please try to wait until 8:05 a.m.

DISMISSAL

Student safety is our top priority. To that end, please observe the following:

• When picking up your K–2 child at the end of the school day, please wait in the upper playground until the dismissal bell rings at 2:30 p.m. Only legal parents/guardians and those listed as emergency contacts in our database will be allowed to pick up K–2 students. If you need to add emergency contacts, please contact Katie in the office (kcarriker@pps.net).

• Students in 3rd–5th grade will be released in the lower playground area. These students should meet their parent/guardian or immediately begin their walk home. We do not provide after school supervision, therefore students may not remain on school grounds without a parent/guardian who is providing line of sight supervision.

• Students riding buses or transitioning to after school programs will be escorted by school/program staff.

• Anyone with concerns about dismissal procedures, please contact the principal or your child’s homeroom teacher.

Atkinson will have two General Transportation (GT) routes this year: 247ATK and 279ATK. Route information is available HERE.

If you plan to have your child ride the bus to and/or from school, you must communicate that information to the office (kcarriker@pps.net) AND your child's teacher.

Any student is welcome to ride the bus at an existing stop. If your child has not been assigned a stop but you would like them to ride, please contact Katie in the office (kcarriker@pps.net). If you live further than 1 mile from the school and there are no existing stops near your home, we may be able to request a new stop. All students who ride the bus in the afternoon will be provided with a bus tag to clip on their backpack.

Please make sure to communicate about all bus riders to your child's teacher and to Katie in the office (kcarriker@pps.net).

• log into ParentVUE, click on Attendance, and then click Report Absence and follow the prompts
• call the school office (503-916-6333)
• email the school office (kcarriker@pps.net) AND your child's teacher

If you inform your child's teacher, but the message does not get passed along to the office, you will still receive an attendance phone call because teachers are only able to mark a student with "Unexcused Absence." Only the office has the capability to mark "Excused Absence," so the office MUST be informed about all attendance changes.

All students in PPS will be able to enjoy breakfast and lunch at no charge for this school year! One breakfast and one lunch will be provided to all enrolled students each day and families do not need to apply for meal benefits. In addition, milk can no longer be purchased separately — students bringing lunch from home and wanting milk will need to come through the service line and choose two other components (such as a fruit and a vegetable) to accompany their milk. Additional information, including menus and allergen information, can be found on the Nutrition Services website.

Staff and volunteer meals can still be purchased. They will need to have a SchoolCafe account set up with available funds.

Pets are not allowed on school grounds. See the PPS pet policy if you have questions or would like further details.

VISITORS entering our building must check in with the office. If you are staying for a meeting or for more than a few minutes, you'll need to sign in and get a printed visitor badge from our Raptor computer on the office counter. You must have a badge to be in the building.

VOLUNTEERS must first complete a district background check on the PPS volunteer website. Background checks are valid for 3 years. Once your background check is approved, you can volunteer at school. When you arrive at school to volunteer, you must check in at the office. You'll need to sign in on the Raptor computer on the office counter and get a printed volunteer badge. You must have a badge to be in the building.

Hello and welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful summer.

My name is Jenny Hefele, and I'm the school nurse here at Atkinson. I work alongside our school health assistant, Vanisha. I cover five schools in PPS, so I'm at Atkinson usually one day a week (Tuesday), but I'm always available by phone or email.

I'd love to offer families a brief phone consultation to discuss your child's health needs as we get ready for the school year. This isn't required for everyone, but it's especially helpful if:

• Your child is a new Kindergartener
• Your family is new to the state or country
• Your child has health conditions, medications, or an emergency action plan
• You have general health questions

To schedule a call please use the link below to choose a time that works for you. I'll call you at your scheduled time.

Schedule a phone meeting: https://calendar.app.google/oNF49foQhuprNDC88

Cell: 971-469-8942

Email: jhefele@mesd.k12.or.us

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is repaving SE Division Street from SE 39th Avenue to SE 50th Avenue. Be aware of how this might affect your travel to Atkinson. Schedule and closure information can be found on the PBOT website.

PBOT’s contractors also completed sidewalk infill on SE Woodward between 57–58th Ave on the south edge of Clinton Park in July (website). You may notice that the area around the sidewalk is dusty with erosion. PBOT is working with a contractor to address that by reseeding, watering, and protecting the area between September 1–October 31.

• Sunday, August 23 — PTA Kinder Meet-Up, 11 a.m.–12 p.m., basketball court and back lawn
• Sunday, August 23 — PTA Welcome Back Pizza Party, 12–2 p.m., basketball court and back lawn
• Wednesday, August 26 — First day of school for grades 1–5
• Wednesday-Friday, August 26–28 — Kinder Ramp Up
• Friday, August 28 — Principal's Coffee, 8:10 a.m., cafeteria
• Monday, August 31 — First official day of school for Kindergarten
• Monday, August 31 — Principal's Coffee with Kinder parents, 8:10 a.m., cafeteria
• Friday, September 4 — First Running Club at Lunch Recess
• Monday, September 7 — Labor Day, NO SCHOOL
• Thursday, September 10 — First PTA meeting, 6:30 p.m., Clinton Park playground
• Friday, September 11 — PTA Popsicles on the Playground, 2:30–3:30 p.m.
• Thursday, September 17 — Back to School Night, 6:30 p.m.

Access the full school calendar here.