As usual, last week was a busy one at BEH and the last day was particularly stacked. We recognized our students with the best attendance, hear from and vote for our student council, and we ended the day with some Family BINGO.

It was amazing to hear from all of our incredible 4th and 5th grade student council nominees. It was great to center these student leaders and have all of our students hear from them. We counted the votes and it was the closest election we have ever had. Additionally, there were multiple ties. As a result, we will have the largest student council we have ever had at BEH this year. We will have four fourth graders and five fifth graders representing our student council this year.

See below for specifics around who got elected to student council this year and learn more about upcoming events and info for the week(s) ahead:

Greetings from the PTA!

PTA Meeting

Please join us for the BEH PTA meeting this Wednesday, November 13th at 5:30. We meet online, you can access the meeting at https://tinyurl.com/BEH2526. We will be making plans for the Winter Food Drive and we would love your help.

Ruby Bridges Walk

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day honors the living legacy of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges. Every November 14th, Ruby's courageous and historic act is celebrated by encouraging students to walk to school and engaging in a day of dialogue about activism, anti-racism, and anti-bullying. The goal is to inspire kids to make positive changes in their school and community.

What: Ruby Bridges Walk

Where: We will meet at the Albina Library Russel Street Doors and walk to school

When: Gather at 7:00am and start walking around 7:15am

Route: Google Maps

Food Drive

We are starting the food drive next week. Each week we will focus on a different food item. We will send reminders in the Principal’s Message and in Tuesday Folders. Here is a list of what you can expect:

Week 1- November 17-21: Pasta, Pasta sauce and Ramen

Skip Thanksgiving week

Week 2- December 1-5: Canned Protein (Tuna, Chicken)

Week 3- December 8-12: Dried or Canned Beans and Rice

Week 4- December 15-19: Canned Soups and Canned Vegetables

Run for BEH

One last announcement for the RUN for BEH 2025. In spite of the rain and wind on October 24th seven grade levels ran for 30 minutes each, at least 20 volunteers came out to support runners and we raised $17,323 for field trips and other educational opportunities. Thank you, we are so grateful for all of your support.

Tomorrow there is no school and the building will be closed in observance of Veterans Day. We will be back in school with our normal schedule on Wednesday.

What's up, BEH Panther Families? THIS COMING THURSDAY at 5pm IN THE GYM, Mr. Todd is hosting another amazing BEH MUSIC NIGHT! There will be PIZZA for everyone (Thank you PTA) who joins us! We'll be listening to student pieces courtesy of Play It Forward and playing music games, singing some oldies, and rocking out together! Bring the whole family - you'll be happy you did!

For 5th grade families, from Ana Kennedy, BEH School Counselor:

It’s time for us to start talking about the transition to middle school!

PPS Enrollment & Transfer will email you a letter that states which middle school your student is scheduled to attend based on your address. Many students will attend their neighborhood middle school, but some students might choose to apply for a Focus Option middle school, like DaVinci Arts, Sunnyside Environmental, or Winterhaven STEAM.

If your family is interested in applying to a Focus Option Middle school, the lottery will be open November 12 - December 12, 2025. You can apply online through Parentvue, or get a paper application from Ms. Kennedy. If your student will attend their neighborhood school, you do not need to apply for the lottery.

PPS Enrollment and Transfer HERE

Middle School Options and info nights HERE.

We will talk about choosing classes for all schools in Spring 2026.

If you have any questions about your student’s options or which school they will attend, please contact Ana Kennedy at ankennedy@pps.net or 503-916-6171.

Information Nights:

DaVinci Arts Middle School

Wednesday, November 12, 2025. 5:30-7pm.

Bridger Creative Science

Thursday, November 13, 2025. 5:30-6:30pm.

Sunnyside Environmental School

November 18, 2025. 6-7pm.

Winterhaven STEAM

November 19, 2025. 5-6pm.

Dear Families,

The annual Successful Schools Survey is now open. This is an opportunity for students, staff, and families to provide important feedback on their school environments, learning experiences, and sense of well-being and safety at school. The survey is conducted once every school year to provide timely information to schools, district leadership, and the community, allowing us to make informed decisions about school climate and culture. This year, the survey window is open November 3 to December 8.

Portland Public Schools highly values the input and opinions of its families, and we welcome all PPS parents and guardians to complete this year’s survey. We use the data to help improve our schools, providing targeted feedback and training on how to create healthy school environments that are welcoming for all.

You can complete the Successful Schools Survey online using the link provided below. Please complete one survey per household. If you have more than one student at PPS, we ask that you complete the survey considering the experiences of your eldest child.

The survey will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete and is available in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese.

https://surveys.panoramaed.com/portlandor/fall25family

For more information about the Successful Schools Survey, please go to pps.net/successfulschools.

We had our second Site Council meeting of the school year last week. This is our team of staff and families that review our school wide goals and provides feedback around how we are doing and possible shifts in strategies. If you are interested in reviewing the meeting, here is the recording and here is the slide deck.

Please reach out if you have any input or thoughts based on these conversations.

Due to budget constraints, we will not be printing and sending home report cards this year. Instead we would like families to check their students report cards on ParentVue. Below are the directions for how to access ParentVue:

Here is a link that has instructions on how a parent will sign up for a ParentVue account:

https://portlandps.incidentiq.com/agent/kb/articles/be955ae3-9be9-4048-93f2-b3a8ac606f63

*If you have not ever created an account, you will need to call the office for the activation key.

Then, once account is activated, here is an overview of what they can see and how to access the report card:

https://portlandps.incidentiq.com/agent/kb/articles/528ee670-86f1-4a5b-89b7-591ed093a5e2

All BEH Report Cards for the first quarter are entered and available for families to access now.

We’ve had multiple field trips already this school year, and we are always looking for volunteers and chaperones to help with events and activities at BEH. We would love to get as many families involved as possible and in order to do this, we need you to make sure that you are cleared through the district background check. Here is the link to the volunteer process and here is a direct link to the background check steps.

This week our Food Pantry is open weekly from 2:15-2:45 in the first grade hall. Stop by if you need any food support for the upcoming weekend/week. If you have challenges getting here or have questions about the pantry, feel free to reach out to our School Social Worker; Heather Thompson-McCollough at hthompsonmccollough@pps.net

Black Art and Experiences Galleries

Debuting on November 20, the Black Art and Experiences Galleries transform an entire floor dedicated to celebrating the breadth, depth, and vitality of Black artistic expression. The central gallery is named after Portland artist Thelma Johnson Streat (1912–1959), a creative whose work paved the way for future generations.

Grand opening details (November 20–23, 2025)

• Grand opening day: Thursday, November 20, 2025
• Free admission: Offered for the entire four-day celebration
• Celebration activities: Include a ribbon ceremony, DJ music, food trucks, curator talks, artmaking activities, and live performances

New regular hours

• Tuesday–Sunday: 10 AM to 5 PM
• Free First Thursdays: 10 AM to 7 PM

The MESD has created this website to support our community that may be impacted by SNAP Benefit Loss and asked us to share it with our families.

November:

• Tuesday the 11th - Veterans Day (No School)
• Thursday the 14th - Music Night @ 5:00 PM
• The week of the 24th-28th - Conferences & Holiday (No School)

December:

• Wednesday the 3rd - Picture Retakes
• Friday the 5th - Principal Connect @ 8:00 AM