Do you have an incoming kindergartener to Clark Elementary for the 2024-25 school year? If so please attend our virtual/online Connect to Kindergarten event today, April 10th from 6-7pm.
Please use this Google Meeting Link:
We will be hosting an in-person Connect to Kindergarten event at Clark Elementary on May 7, 2024 from 6-7pm. At this event, you can meet Clark teachers and staff in person and tour our school.
?The CSS Clark Arboretum Welcome Event will be on May 19th in the Arboretum! This event is co-sponsored with The Montavilla Neighborhood Association and 国产真实迷奸 Parks. There will be refreshments, a map/legend of the 50 trees, a tree bingo game, possible items for sale to raise money to replace some of the trees and more! Join 国产真实迷奸 Parks Tree Steward Lisa Wilcke and the Montavilla Neighborhood Association Parks & Garden Committee to have a fun day in the sun and learn about our Arboretum! Below is a map of the original trees and . We hope to see you there. Meet us in the Arboretum off SE 89th Avenue ?
If you have any questions or need support please reach out to our School Secretary/Registrar Kelly McKnight at kmcknight@pps.net or call 503-916-6561
2024-25 Elementary School and ACCESS Academy Lottery
OPEN
DATES
Start: February 15, 2024 at 8:00 AM
End: March 15, 2024 at 5:00 PM (Lottery ONLY)
MORE INFORMATION
Dual Language Immersion, Focus Option and Alternative Programs are available through the 2024-25 Lottery. All other schools will go through 2024-25 Hardship Petition. Applications are available via ParentVUE.
The ACCESS lottery application deadline is March 15th. Please contact Talented and Gifted with questions regarding eligibility.
Plan to attend an information session to learn about the lottery schools and/or browse their school's website. A list of schools can be found at /Page/17285. Information sessions and the Connect to Kinder events are scheduled by the school.
How to Create a ParentVUE Account Instructions If you have questions, please contact your school counselor or the PPS Enrollment and Transfer Center via email at enrollment-office@pps.net or call 503-916-3205.
April 12th - Principal's Coffee, 9 am in the cafeteria
April 25th - Lockdown Drill
May 4th - Clark Garden Work Party, 10am to 12 pm
May 7th - Kindergarten Connect at Clark 6 pm
May 17th - Principal's Coffee, 9 am in the cafeteria
May 19th - CSS Clark Arboretum Welcome Event, 2 pm - 3 pm in the Arboretum
May 27th - No School
Clark Families,
April showers bring May flowers! Wow, time is flying by this school year. I can’t believe it’s already April 2nd. I hope you all had a restful spring break. I was able to go to the east coast and visit a family member in Massachusetts and ski in Vermont. I had a fun and relaxing time but I am excited to be back at school with students and staff.
This week on Wednesday and Thursday we will be conducting rules reviews with students. We will be reviewing our school rules and expectations for respecting our school and each other and what that looks and sounds like in various areas around our school. We are working hard as a staff and school to create a positive, safe, and inclusive school environment where everyone feels like they belong. We are working with our students to teach them non-violent communication and collaborative problem solving techniques instead of using physical aggression and abusive language to communicate. Please ask your child/ren about our school rules and expectations for positive communication.
If you would like to bring store bought treats or food for your child’s class, please make arrangements with your child’s teacher ahead of time. At Clark, we maximize instructional time and although celebrating birthdays and other special events are important to us, teachers have tight schedules and any treats brought from home that could disrupt teaching and learning time need to be pre-arranged so that teachers can account for the time in their day. Thank you for understanding.
Our second lockdown drill of the school year will be on Friday, April 25th, 2024. Please refer to this Parent Letter from for more information on our lockdown drill procedures in PPS. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to myself or our school office. Enjoy the beautiful sunshine!
Thank you,
Tara
DearClarkFamilies,
Kids Heart Challengehas officially kicked off, and we are so excited to learn how to keep our hearts healthy & happy! Check out ourto learn more.In honor of the AHA’s 100thbirthday, we are asking all families to follow these steps to join our team:
Sign up TODAYator by downloading thefreeAHA Schools Appforor
Give or Get a Donation!SEND 10 emails/texts to friends & family in your HQ asking for a donation!
SPECIAL INCENTIVES:
Everyone who signs up will be put into a drawing to get to ICE BUCKET Mrs. Flores & Mr. J!!
Everyone who learns Hands only CPR through KHC website will get an extra ticket into the drawing to get to ICE BUCKET Mrs. Flores & Mr. J!
The class with the most participation (K-1, 2-3, 4-5) will earn a Glow party in PE!!
WHY PARTICIPATE?To help us save lives! Students have the opportunity to raise donations and awareness for the American Heart Association, which helps us provide education in our community, fund research and development, all in an effort to lower the risks of America’s #1 and #4 killers, heart disease and stroke.THANK YOU
Principal's Coffee!
Join our Principal Tara Bourland in the cafeteria for coffee and treats! We will discuss current happenings at Clark Elementary. We look forward to seeing you!
Friday, Apr 12, 2024, 09:00 AM
Clark Elementary School, Southeast 92nd Avenue, 国产真实迷奸, OR, USA
REMINDER: If you would like to bring store bought treats for your child or their class, please make arrangements with your child’s teacher ahead of time. All staff emails can be found on our website At Clark, we maximize instructional time and although celebrating birthdays and other special events are important to us, teachers have tight schedules and any treats brought from home that could disrupt teaching and learning time need to be pre-arranged so that teachers can account for the time in their day. If you bring treats during the day and have not checked with your child's teacher, the office will hold on to the treats and deliver them to the class at the end of the day after instruction. Please feel free to reach out to the Clark office. Thank you for understanding.
Clark Garden Work Party
Come spend time in our lovely garden and help our Garden Educator Max Krieger
with some tasks! Everyone is welcome ?
Saturday, May 4, 2024, 10:00 AM
Clark Elementary School, Southeast 92nd Avenue, 国产真实迷奸, OR, USA
Hello Clark Community,
Happy almost spring! I know it’s been a while since our last newsletter– so much has happened, including some wild weather and also the teachers’ strike. I hope you are all well and settling back into a routine.
In January we learned all about the importance of birds in our garden ecosystems and how they help with seed dispersal, pest management, and pollination! Kids especially loved going on a bird walk, making bird nests, spreading birdseed around the garden, and playing an active game of ‘Hawk’s & Sparrows’.
In February students learned about food systems and all classes made a small winter garden-inspired snack (dried berries, Nettle/herbal tea, and cauliflower popcorn) before choosing spring crops and prepping the gardens for planting. In March we are excited to study seeds- their beauty, diversity, and powerful force in the garden as we start our first plantings of the year.
In early January, we had a garden full of prosperous winter crops. While we were sad that the ice storm killed many of these, we received a lesson in resilience from Bok Choi, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, and many herbs that were strong enough to survive the week-long freeze.
And, we have replanted the garden with spring crops such as Spinach, Radishes, Peas, Kale, Carrots, and started many Chinese vegetables indoors such as Bitter Melon.
Also, we recently received a donation of greenhouse plastic for making low tunnels to extend the growing season. With this improvement, we’re hoping to be able to send more food to the cafeteria this spring. Thanks to GK Machine, in Donald, Oregon, for this generous donation!
Please be on the lookout for a spring work party to be announced shortly! And, we are still looking for more parents to get involved with the garden program. If you are interested in helping in any way–big or small–please reach out to me.
Lastly, Are you passionate about getting kids outside and learning about food and Nature! We’re expanding our board at Grow 国产真实迷奸 and looking for folks from our schools who can help move our work forward- no experience necessary! If interested, please complete this . Thanks for your interest!
Warmly,
Max Krieger-
CSS Clark Arboretum Welcome Event
?The CSS Clark Arboretum Welcome Event will be on May 19th in the Arboretum! This event is co-sponsored with The Montavilla Neighborhood Association and 国产真实迷奸 Parks. There will be refreshments, a map/legend of the 50 trees, a tree bingo game, possible items for sale to raise money to replace some of the trees and more! Join 国产真实迷奸 Parks Tree Steward Lisa Wilcke and the Montavilla Neighborhood Association Parks & Garden Committee to have a fun day in the sun and learn about our Arboretum! Below is a map of the original trees and . We hope to see you there. Meet us in the Arboretum off SE 89th Avenue ?
Sunday, May 19, 2024, 02:00 PM
Southeast 89th Avenue, 国产真实迷奸, OR, USA
The Clark community will be selecting a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum for next school year. The choices are Wayfinder and Caring School Communities. Please check out the websites forand.
We would love to hear from you if you have a preference for either curriculum. Please completewith your preference.
Counseling lessons for Quarter 4 will start with executive functioning skills and finish with career cluster information. Spring is a great time to review and strengthen skills like organization, flexible thinking, time management, and planning. We will finish the year strong with lessons about community helpers, career paths, and education options. In 5th grade, we'll focus on the transition to middle school.
As always, I love to partner with families so please reach out to me anytime at.
Please note that last month PPS released this message about the change to bell schedules for next year.
Next year’s bell schedules will change for many students.
Beginning next school year, we added 15 instructional minutes for elementary and middle school students and provided all middle school students with a seven-period day. Accommodating these changes while supporting 410 minutes per week of teacher planning time and aligning our transportation systems requires us to adopt common start and stop times:
At K-5 schools, students will now start at 8:00 AM and end at 2:30 PM
At K-8 schools, all students will start at 8:45 AM.
K-5 students will end at 3:15 PM.
6-8 students will end at 3:30 PM
At middle schools, students will now start at 9:15 AM and end at 4:00 PM
At high schools, students will now start at 8:26 AM and end at 3:30 PM
More particular variations of these schedules (e.g. early-dismissal or late-arrival) will be available in the coming weeks on your school’s website. Multiple Pathway to Graduation schools (alternative, charter and treatment schools) develop their own schedules and will be sharing those later.
School Starts at 8:45 am Please make sure to arrive on time for school. This helps our classrooms get started on time for the day to not miss instruction and fun activities.
School Ends at 3:00 pm Please make sure to pick up your students promptly at 3pm. The Clark Office will begin calling guardians and emergency contacts at 3:10 pm for students. Our office closes at 3:30 pm.
Find Clark bus schedules here:
Clark Elementary
Office Hours: 8:38 am to 3:30 pm
School Hours: 8:45 am to 3 pm
Doors Open for Students: 8:38 am
Please do not drop off your students prior to school opening unless they are supervised by a parent/guardian. We have no student supervision until 8:38 am. Thank you!
Email: Website: Location: Phone:
Lacy McKinney
Lacy is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters
March 15th - Principal's Coffee with Special Guests, The Royal Rosarians! 9am
March 25th - 29th - No School, Spring Break
April 5th - No School, Teacher Planning Day
April 12th - Principal's Coffee, 9am
Clark Families,
Happy March! This school year is flying by and spring, one of my favorite seasons is around the corner. As a matter of fact, this Sunday, March 10th, 2024 is daylight saving time or ‘Spring Forward.’ Please remember to move your clocks forward one hour. I am not looking forward to losing an hour of sleep this weekend but I am personally looking forward to the added daylight and enjoying the beautiful springtime in our city.
We have several grade levels that will be going on field trips this spring. Field trips are an exciting learning opportunity for our students outside of our school. We currently do not have a school PTA to help fundraise to pay for field trips, so we will ask families to give donations to help offset the cost of the field trips in order to pay for entrance fees and bussing to and from the destination.
The next Principal Coffee Hour is Friday, March 15th from 9-10 am. At this coffee hour, the Royal Rosarians will be coming to present our school with a monetary donation to support our school.
I look forward to seeing you there!
-Tara
Coffee with Principal Bourland!
Please join us for some coffee with Principal Bourland in the cafeteria at 9 am. Please check in at the office. This month the Royal Rosarians will be joining us for an announcement benefiting Clark Elementary! The Royal Rosarians are the "official greeters and ambassadors" of 国产真实迷奸, Oregon. The group was founded in 1912. Its members are most visible during the 国产真实迷奸 Rose Festival.
Friday, Mar 15, 2024, 09:00 AM
Clark Elementary School, Southeast 92nd Avenue, 国产真实迷奸, OR, USA
Program Description:
Girls on the Run Grades 3-5 Girls on the Run inspires individuals of all abilities to recognize their unique strengths, while building a sense of connection in a team setting. Volunteer coaches facilitate lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development to enable team members to adapt to whatever comes their way. At the end of the season, the team completes a 5K together, which provides a tangible sense of accomplishment and sets a confident mindset into motion.
Adult volunteers can register here: (they would register as assistant or substitute coach)
Season: March 18th-June 1st
Practices are Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:15-4:45pm
Volunteers can also reach out to Coach Danelle or Ms.Vane
Hello Clark Families!
We continue to have our Social Emotional Learning lessons about positive friendships, conflict resolution, and anti-bullying. Please check in with your student about what they've been learning.
KG: What makes a good friend
1st: Empathy, inclusion, fair sportsmanship
2nd: Tattling vs telling (getting help), fair sportsmanship
3rd: Being a bystander or an upstander, relational aggression
4th: Relational aggression, bystander vs upstander, communication styles
5th: Cyberbullying, communication styles
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Our 4th quarter SEL lessons will focus on community helpers and career paths.
Quarter 3 is all about anti-bullying, conflict resolution, and how to be a good friend. K-2 lessons will focus on defining positive and healthy friendships, and how to solve conflicts that might come up between friends. 3-5 lessons will define bullying, how and why to stand up to a bully, conflict resolution, and meaningful apologies.
Learning these skills is lifelong work, and it doesn't just happen when I'm in classrooms. Teachers and school staff are constantly teaching these skills, as are families at home. Together, we can ensure that all students know they deserve positive friendships and that everyone is a valued member of our school community.
Please make sure to pick up your student on time at 3:00 pm every day. We are having quite a lot of students not being picked up on time. This throws off staff schedules who are then late for after school meetings and activities. Thank you!
, we presented the proposed draft 2024-2025 school year calendar. Our new contract with the 国产真实迷奸 Association of Teachers led to several shifts between this year's calendar and next year's calendar. We wanted to make you aware of that and share the proposed calendar. If you have questions or comments regarding our proposed calendar, we invite you to share them with us by visiting
- Dr. Jon Franco
Dogs off-leash are not allowed on PPS school grounds at any time.All visitors need to check into the office and are not allowed inside the fence and on school grounds without a visitor or volunteer badge.
Our custodial team has been cleaning up a lot of pet waste lately. Please clean up after your dogs.
We are hopeful that the school communities will help to inform visitors of these rules as we continue to work toward keeping our schools clean and safe for our students and the community.
School Starts at 8:45 am Please make sure to arrive on time for school. This helps our classrooms get started on time for the day to not miss instruction and fun activities.
School Ends at 3:00 pm Please make sure to pick up your students promptly at 3pm. The Clark Office will begin calling guardians and emergency contacts at 3:10 pm for students. Our office closes at 3:30 pm.
Find Clark bus schedules here:
Clark Elementary
Office Hours: 8 am to 3:30 pm
School Hours: 8:45 am to 3 pm
Doors Open for Students: 8:38 am
Please do not drop off your students prior to school opening unless they are supervised by a parent/guardian. We have no student supervision until 8:38 am. Thank you!
Email: Website: Location: Phone:
Lacy McKinney
Lacy is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters
she/her Principal's Administrative Assistant Creative Science School
Even as a small child, Miranda Yesser possessed a keen understanding of the mercenary nature of the publishing industry.
According to her one-page, tongue-in-cheek author bio, which hangs on a clothesline in English teacher Dr. Holly Graham’s colorful classroom, “Yesser began writing books at a young age, then trying to sell them to her family for 5 dollars a copy.”
It might be time to scoop those copies up. Miranda recently received honorable mention in the annual for her short story, “.”
Students who took their first steps into PPS kindergarten classrooms in 2014 – the year 国产真实迷奸’s first-ever arts education tax went into effect – are now thriving sophomores.
Evan Sampson is one of those sophomores, and he will have a chance to share his story at this year’s HeART of 国产真实迷奸, a showcase spotlighting the artistic accomplishments of some PPS’s most talented students.
The two-week celebration of creativity will take place from April 16-28 at the 国产真实迷奸 Art Museum. All exhibits and performances are free and open to the public.
This weekend, the Lincoln and Grant high school constitution teams will compete in the annual We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution National Finals in Washington, D.C.
Now in its fifth decade, the event brings together students from all 50 states for a series of mock congressional hearings on everything from the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to the separation of powers and the future of democracy.
The Lincoln and Grant constitution teams, under the instruction of Patrick Magee-Jenks and Angela DiPasquale respectively, have long histories of taking home trophies on both the state and national level.