Maplewood Memo
May 21st, 2025
September 4th, 2025
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Families,
As we wrap up the second week of school, I am so proud of the way our students are settling in and growing together as a community. Each day, I see children practicing resilience, learning to bounce back from challenges, and showing perseverance when things feel difficult. Students are building important social skills, taking turns, problem solving, and working together as well as learning the routines that help our classrooms and school run smoothly. It has been wonderful to watch them embrace our three school expectations of being safe, kind, and responsible in their words and actions.
The energy and effort our students are bringing each day make me excited for the year ahead. Already, I see moments of kindness, safe choices on the playground, and responsible habits beginning to take root in the classroom. These are the foundations for a year full of growth, learning, and joyful experiences. Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your children as they develop these skills we are truly off to a strong and inspiring start!
Friday is our Back to School Community Picnic from 5:15-7:15pm, hope to see you there! As a reminder, next week is our first full week back, we are building stamina!
Sincerely,
Dr. Roberti
September 5th
Fall Family Picnic
5:15pm-7:15pm
September 17th
Early release
@11:50am
September 17th
Setup for Success Night
October 16th
Picture day!
(more details to come)
Current Events
Back to School, Set up for Success Night - Sept. 17th
This is an evening intended for adults to come to Maplewood to meet classroom teachers and learn about classroom routines, curriculum, school wide expectations, and how we will build an inclusive community this year.
5:00pm: TAG presentation in Gym
5:15pm: ESL presentation in Room 105
Whole Group
5:30p: Meet in the Gym (Welcome and Introductions by Dr. Roberti)
5:45-6:05pm: First Classroom Presentation
6:05-6:15pm: Passing time
6:15-6:35pm: Second Classroom Presentation
6:35-6:45pm: Finish and exit
6:45pm: Evening ends
MAPLEWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL
Mark your calendar for the Maplewood Music Festival on September 13 from 3:00-7:30pm. Enjoy this first time event by the Maplewood Neighborhood Assn.
This FREE event features a variety of music in outdoor venues scattered around the Maplewood neighborhood. Stay tuned for artist announcements, maps, and schedules. Types of music include: classic rock, bluegrass, folk and rock, vocals, Nuevo Flamenco.
For more information, visit https://www.maplewoodna.org/events/. Full list of bands and locations to be posted on the above link soon.
Safe Routes to School
Note: Some corners may already have “no parking” signage. For locations that have curbs, we will paint curbs yellow to indicate no parking. For locations that do not have curbs, we will install the signage. In some locations, where signs already exist, there may be both signage and yellow painted curbs.
Parent Square
After users are added to ParentSquare by the school or district, they will receive all messages from the school even if they have not registered their account. However, users need to register their account to participate in two-way communication features.
If you have not already, there are three ways a user can register their ParentSquare account:
- Click the activation link in an email or text (click here for notification examples.)
- Sign in to ParentSquare https://www.parentsquare.com/signin using the contact information (email or phone number) that matches the data in ParentSquare.
- Click the link in a post or message.
Users who did not register previously in response to an invitation, will be asked to register the first time they click on a link to sign in or sign up. For example, if an unregistered parent/guardian receives a post with parent-teacher conference sign ups, clicking the link to sign up for the conference will first lead them through the process of registering their ParentSquare account.
Buses
If you have questions your bus stop including:
- not seeing information on ParentVUE
- need to change students bus stop
- add a bus transportation for your student
Counseling
In the next few weeks, our K-3 school counselor will be delivering a lesson in K-2 classrooms called Sammy and Friends. This is a trauma-informed lesson to teach K-2 students about lockdowns in an age-appropriate and accessible way. Sammy the Sasquatch stays "out of sight" when there is an unknown person or animal around. Please reach out to Kendall Cunningham, school counselor, at kcunninghamparm@pps.net if you have any questions.
Kendall Cunningham
Maplewood K-3 School Counselor
(503) 916-6308
Monday to Friday 7:45-3:45
Dear Maplewood Community,
Welcome to the fall of 2025 at Maplewood!! I am Kendall Cunningham (Ms. Cunningham to students) and I am Maplewood’s full-time K-3 school counselor. This is my twelfth year serving the Maplewood community. Before going back to school to get licensed as a school counselor, I taught high school and middle school social studies. Being a school counselor allows me to participate in the lively school environment and build relationships with students while supporting their personal/social/academic needs. I live in the neighborhood and am a parent to a student in college at UCSB and a senior at Ida B. Wells. Go Guardians! When I am not working, I enjoy gardening, singing, hiking, spending time with family and friends, and trolling eBay for the perfect New Balance sneakers in fun colors. You might see me jogging around Gabriel Park or in the Village- feel free to say hello!
Our school theme for the year is “No one stands alone: be an upstander.” We will use this theme to build community and a sense of belonging at Maplewood. Our school continues to be a Caring Schools Community and will once again be using the Zones of Regulation and the Toolbox program (more at toolboxproject.com). Toolbox is designed to help develop student resilience by teaching kids tools/strategies that they can use in different situations. I lean heavily on Toolbox strategies in my K-3 lessons and reference these strategies frequently with the older students as well. Ask your student about their Toolbox tools and encourage them to use them with uncomfortable feelings and situations.
This year I am delighted to be once again working with Kate Knochel, a seasoned school counselor. Kate will be at Maplewood half-time and will be focusing on 4th and 5th grade. I will be focusing on K-3rd grade. Starting in a few weeks, I will be delivering weekly lessons with K-1 classrooms and will do 16 lessons with 2nd and 3rd grade.
What exactly does an elementary school counselor do? Very broadly, a school counselor supports students by working to remove barriers to school success. To this end, the school counselor collaborates with school staff, students, and families to help support all learners. In addition to doing classroom lessons that focus on emotional regulation and social emotional development, I work one-on-one with students and families, lead small groups, assist students with hard life transitions, help families connect with community resources, and mediate conflicts between students. These are just a few examples of the many things I do as a school counselor.
Finally, I want to acknowledge that parenting is one of the most challenging jobs out there. We hold hopes and dreams for our children and we also work, run a household, and try to meet our own needs. We carry a lot. I’d like to be part of your team to support your K-3 student. You can call me at 503-916-6308, email me at kcunninghamparm@pps.net, or fill out this google form. The form is also linked in my email signature and on the school counseling website connected to Maplewood’s mainpage. Once again, I am excited to be serving the Maplewood community.
Kate Knochel
Maplewood School Counselor
503-916-6308
Hours:
Monday 8:30-2:00
Tuesday 8:30-3:45
Wednesday 8:30-3:45
Hello Maplewood Community! My name is Kate Knochel (Ms. Kate to the students) and I am the part time counselor at Maplewood. I am thrilled to be working at Maplewood again this year.
This is my twelfth year as a school counselor and seventeenth year in education, prior to school counseling I taught high school and middle school language arts. I was the school counselor at Jackson Middle School for eight years and have been a .5 elementary counselor for the last three years. I am a PPS parent as well. I have a third grader and a kindergartener at Stephenson Elementary. I have always found it a blessing and an honor to serve the SW community where I live and am raising my own family. You may see me in the village, at Gabriel Park or anywhere else around SW with my husband, Brad, and my two kiddos. I am a parent just like all of you, doing the best I can to raise kind and thoughtful children.
One of my priorities as a school counselor, especially with the 4th and 5th graders is to build resiliency and leadership skills. The school's theme this year is “No one stands alone: be an upstander” . This aligns perfectly with my goals for the 4th and 5th graders. Being leaders, making smart decisions and building community are a big part of 4th and 5th grade.
I will be doing 12-14 lessons with each 4th and 5th grade class. Additionally, all 5th graders will participate in a 6 week Leadership group. This group will help with school wide activities, assemblies, school improvement and a variety of other tasks as needed for the good of the school. Another goal that Kendall and I have for this year is to run lunch groups for selected students. I will be doing the groups for grades 3-5. I am also available to work with students individually and collaborate with families as needed.
I look forward to supporting your 4th and 5th grade students. If your child is having any specific issues currently please reach out to me. You can call me at 503-916-6308 email me at kknochel@pps.net. , or fill out this google form. The form is also linked in my email signature and on the school counseling website connected to Maplewood’s mainpage. Let’s have a fabulous 2024-2025 school year!
Letters from the Library
Welcome back. It is wonderful to see students again and watch great books go home in their hands.
Never hesitate to contact me about missing or damaged books, helping to connect your child to books they will love, or drop in and select books for your family to use at home (pre-arrange with me)!
Please encourage your child to keep their books in their backpack when not reading them, so the books are ready for library day!
Elin Kordahl (kordahl@pps.net)
Calling all volunteers for the following classes:
Bokoske, Chou, Wagner and Thomas
You can sign up to volunteer here!
P.E.
PE ACTION ITEM! Action picture of your kid!
We're celebrating our community in PE this year by showcasing ways our students like to move their bodies outside of school. Does your child enjoy playing soccer, swinging at the park, walking the dog, gardening, or.....?? Take a pic of your kid moving and send it in or email to MWeatherill@pps.net and we'll hang it on our movement bulletin board in the gym. (We're not looking for vacation pics, just everyday ways we enjoy movement!)
As an extra, we all want our pets to be displayed too so I'm going to make a fun little space for our Maplewood pets. It's just for fun, but kids can bring in or email pics of their pets and we'll have a different bulletin board displaying those.
I'm excited for a fun year ahead of working and playing with our students improving our skills and sportsmanship!
Office
Teachers will be taking attendance at 8:00am. If your student will get to their classroom any time past 8:00am please have them stop by the office for a pass. The PPS district office has moved up the time that the robocalls go out for absences. We can adjust their attendance in the office and prevent a worrying automated call from the attendance office!
If you volunteer or are in the building for any reason, you must stop by the office and sign in to our RAPTOR system. Please ensure that your background checks have been completed and are not expired. Be sure to bring your ID's as we will be scanning them into our system. Please help us make Maplewood safe by all volunteers signing in, wearing a name badge with their name and signing out. Office staff are here to help you. THANK YOU!
If your child is enrolled in any after school activities or aftercare and they will be absent from them for any reason please reach out to your contact for that club, class or activity and let them know your child will be absent. This will save the office panicked calls from these organizations when they are missing a child!
If you need to notify the office about your child's dismissal or absence, please be sure to email both of the Office Admins or call the office. This will ensure that your child's teacher gets the message of the excused absence or after school plans.
Please be sure to call and not email dismissal changes, if after 12:00pm as the office gets busy at the end of the day and we may not see an email.
Alicia Drury - aldrury@pps.net. Ext. 72477, Monday through Friday, 7:30-3:30pm
Megan Swader - mswader@pps.net. Ext. 72485 , Monday through Friday 7:30-11:30am
Notes from the Kitchen
News from Nursing
Medications
- Must be in original packaging
- Must have dosage amount listed
- Cannot accept expired medication
Vaccines play a crucial role in protecting our students from serious illnesses and help keep our community safe.
Parents/ Guardians of students who are due to receive vaccines should receive a letter in the mail. Please check if your child’s vaccinations are current, including their recommended flu shot, and contact your medical provider or any of the resources listed below.
Multnomah County Student Health Centers
Multnomah County Vaccination Clinic (English)
Needing Free Health Care?
Student Health Centers (here and here) and Multnomah County Health Department's ongoing, free Immunization Clinic.
Julie Ries
School Health Assistant (SHA)
juries@pps.net
PTA
Want a voice in shaping PTA priorities and budget? 🌟Become a member of the Oregon PTA and directly support Maplewood! 💚 Maplewood School Community Meetings are the spot to learn about everything happening at our school—PTA updates, volunteering opportunities, site council, and more. Our first meeting is Tue, Sept 16 at 6:30 pm in the library (free childcare provided!). RSVP + details at maplewoodpta.com/meetings.
Volunteering is the best way you can support Maplewood -- and it’s also a great way to meet other families and stay connected to what’s happening at your child’s school. There are opportunities for everyone, big and small, whether you have an hour a month or a few hours a week. Our volunteers are what make Maplewood so uniquely special, and we’re looking for each of you to bring your skills, passions, and energy to help make our community even better. Visit maplewoodpta.com/volunteer to get started!
Student Rights and Responsibilities
PPS has created a Slide Deck with all parts of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
FLYERS
After School and Summer Programs
Did you know that Maplewood has two great after-school and summer childcare options? Champions is located at Maplewood and Zen Kids is located across the street.
https://www.discoverchampions.com/
https://zenkidsafterschool.wixsite.com/my-site
Strum, sing, and smile with The Ukulele Project’s afterschool Music Exploration class! Kids explore music and learn to play the ukulele through fun games, silly songs, and creative jam sessions — no experience needed. Our playful approach builds confidence, sparks creativity, and helps kids make music and friends. Every session brings new songs and surprises, so there’s always something fresh to play!
Spaces are limited — we expect this class to sell out. Sign up now to make sure you are guaranteed a spot.
Check out our youtube video: “What is the Ukulele Project?”
For more info and to register, visit: www.theukuleleproject.com
Grades: 2nd-5th (Exceptions can be made for 1st graders with experience – email robert@rosecitychess.com to ask)
When: Thursdays
Time: 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Where: Portable Classroom 1
Pick up location: We will walk students to the Main entrance after the club.
Class dates (14): 9/4, 9/11, 9/18, 9/25, 10/2, 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20, 12/4, 12/11, 12/18
Cost: $308
REGISTER HERE
STEM FUNdamentals using LEGO® Materials
Level up your engineering skills with Play-Well TEKnologies and tens of thousands of LEGO® parts! Apply real-world concepts in physics, engineering, and architecture through engineer-designed projects. Projects are rotated seasonally to ensure that even returning students get a new experience, so join us to design and build as never before and explore your craziest ideas.
$ 150.00
Dates Sep 22, 2025 - Oct 27, 2025 (Mondays)
6 meetings
Times 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Ages Grades K-3
Questions? Contact Jessica Wall at jessica@play-well.org
Register at our website: https://play-well-registration.com/registration/new/113540
Minecraft Engineering using LEGO® Materials
$ 125.00
Dates Nov 3, 2025 - Dec 8, 2025 (Mondays)
5 meetings
No classes: Nov 24, 2025
Times 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm Pacific Time
Ages Grades K-3
Questions? Contact Jessica Wall at jessica@play-well.org
Register at our website: https://play-well-registration.com/registration/new/113541
Cub Scout Pack 254
Join us for family fun and outdoor adventure! ALL kids K-5 are welcome! You’re invited to an informal gathering to learn about Cub Scouts and Pack 254. Many of our volunteer leaders and returning families will be there to answer your questions. Get to know us and see if we’re the right pack for your scout and family.
Visit www.Pack254.com or email Pack254Portland@gmail.com to learn more.
