Congratulations to Lincoln High School students Richard Deng and Coral Platt! Both were awarded National Merit Scholarships of $2,500 toward their college studies.

They were chosen from more than 15,000 finalists nationwide. Richard plans to pursue a career in politics and Coral is looking at a future in the legal sector.

Two exceptional PPS educators, Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones, were recently named OnPoint Educators of the Year for 2025.

As part of this prestigious honor, both teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year, and their schools also receive a $2,500 donation. 

Ricardo Barber teaches third grade at Faubion, and Hang Jones serves as a social worker at Marysville Elementary. 

The OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education celebrates educators who embrace innovative teaching techniques that ignite enthusiasm in their students. 

Congratulations to Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones! And thank you both for everything you do to make a difference in the lives our students.

The assignment their teacher gave them was simple – make a short film that begins with a phone call and ends with someone hanging up. Benson first-year students Dylan Martinez-Torres and Dariel Soriano Zamora ran it all the way to a small city populated by two very big and rather iconic monsters – Godzilla and Hedora.

The result, Sorry, Wrong Number, is one of the more than 90 films entered into the annual Best of PPS Film Festival. The festival is a celebration of exceptional student filmmaking that includes a showcase at the historic Hollywood Theatre. 

The fourth annual installment of the festival took place on May 21 and included a screening of 13 standout films. The films came from all over PPS and ran the gamut from Dylan and Dariel’s monster short to documentaries, film noir, and broadcast journalism. 

If you are a passionate student or community member that wants to make a difference at PPS, apply to join the Climate Crisis Response Committee! This is a committee that reports to the PPS Board of Education.

On the committee you will learn about how PPS is making progress towards our climate justice and sustainability policies, provide input and recommendations to the PPS Board on how to better support PPS staff as we advance these policy goals, and connect with other passionate members of our PPS community from diverse backgrounds, knowledge areas, and lived experiences.

No previous professional experience in climate change or sustainability required! Students can apply via this form. Community members can apply here.

Deadline to apply: June 6. 

What a Fall Festival! One of our 235 adorable children asked me last Friday evening, as they gestured from the annex hallway into the cafeteria: “Did you really do all this?” Thank you, amazing parent volunteers, for doing all that! (I explained where the credit goes!) Thank you to everyone who was able to attend, for making it so much fun!

Teachers are planning and writing report cards today and tomorrow. The academic skills and competencies you’ll receive on report cards represents the major learning that students are expected to master in each content area over the course of the year, which come from our Oregon State Standards. Teachers are reviewing the assessment data they’ve gathered so far this year and writing their reports over the coming week, then will share them with you via ParentVue on Friday, Nov. 7.

Then come Fall Conferences, Monday and Tuesday, November 24th and 25th. Conferences are a time for sharing children’s learning strengths and planning next steps, including setting just-right goals and actions. Goal: a joyful, meaningful year of learning and growth for each and every child. Attending this short conference really makes a difference in children’s feelings about school! When they know their family and teachers are talking and sharing how they’re doing, they do better.

• In person, 25-minutes: 8 a.m.- 7:30 p.m. (the last conference ends at 7:55 p.m.)

• Our staff will be at Arleta, but we can provide a virtual link if that’s better for your family.

  • Interpreters, where scheduled, will join virtually.

  • Families with more than one household: we ask you to schedule one conference per child.

  • Students are welcome, and individual teachers will share their structures via their individual classroom newsletters.

  • Tomorrow, Friday October 31st at 8am, families can begin signing up for fall conferences at MyConFerenceTime.com/dolphin.

  • Please also feel welcome to sign up for a time to meet with our Music, Art, Library and PE/Wellness specialists.

  • Students won’t have school that whole week of Nov. 24-28 (Nov. 26-28 is Fall Break).

Please also mark your calendars to join us for our Honoring Native Peoples Mural Celebration the Friday before conferences begin, Nov. 21st at 5 p.m. Each child in our school will have their radial basket weaving on display, forming the border for our mural. Malcolm Pascua-O’Neill, our Plains Tribe Indigenous Artist, will be present, as will Lisa Jackson, Spotted Elk Oceti Ŝakowiŋ and Sheryl Moren, both former Arleta parents whose visions and efforts over the past four years created the possibility for the prominent indigenous art installation now hanging in our main hallway. There will be drumming on the stage, and a casual Community Connect in the hallway to view and appreciate the mural. Malcolm will give a short overview of his process and the mural’s meaning. Our mural was also made possible through the contributions by Arleta Families to our Dolphin Dash which takes place each spring (same funding sourced our Gaga Ball Pit, and soon to come- a rock wall installation in the gym!). Thank you Arleta Families and Caregivers.

Thank you also, for your wonderful children! Thank you for all your care and your partnership with us, and thank you to our Arleta Staff for such care for children and such commitment to and engagement in learning… our own and your children’s. Please be in touch with any questions or anything you want us to understand as we strive to best serve your child: we benefit so much from learning what you know works well for your child.

Warmly,

Lisa

Yesterday, our second Early Release Wednesday, was our first “cross-age buddies” experience for students schoolwide followed by our second All School Assembly. These two special events, cross-age buddies and All School Assemblies, will take place every Early Release Wednesday.

Students were so excited to meet their older or younger buddies Wednesday! Students were abuzz about it during breakfast and adorable in action. Kindergarten classes are paired with 3rd grade classes, 1st grade with 4th, 2nd with 5th. Ask your child who their cross age buddy is, and what they learned about them! Here’s a letter for families that explains the program (same one you may have received from your child’s teacher). Teachers have been intentionally helping students plan and prepare to listen to and learn about each other which built anticipation and led to so many meaningful connections: I asked a 2nd grader what she’d been talking about with her buddy and she knew his favorite color, food and what he likes to do for fun. 5th grade teachers had their students prepare a slide to share information with their buddies. One of our 3rd grade teachers who is currently hosting an exchange student from Spain, set up the experience as 3rd graders “hosting” their kindergarten buddies when they arrived. On Early Release Wednesdays, specialists visit classrooms and support students and one of them who was in that 3rd grade class said it felt like every 3rd grader truly graciously welcomed and “hosted” their kindergarten buddy.

Our schoolwide assembly focus was to showcase our new “Honoring Native Peoples” mural and learn its purpose: to honor native people, their tribes, and the land on which our school was built. Here are the slides for you to see what students saw, only you have to imagine the content is being presented by five amazing 5th graders who presented the slides on stage: each read a part of the script you see on slide 5. (Thank you to our art specialist, Ms. Meyer, who prepared these slides for us!). Malcolm Pascua-O’Neill, our Plains Tribe Indigenous Artist, was able to come to our assembly and talk with students! He shared such a beautiful message with our students: “Be true to yourself, proud of who you are and where you came from. It’s better to stand out, than to fit in.” He taught that his identity as native or indigenous means being proud of who you are and where you come from. “Don’t be afraid to represent who you are as a person.”

We’ve noticed a dip in attendance on Early Release Wednesdays and know childcare is challenging for some of our families (YMCA does provide care from dismissal on, and please reach out if you have special circumstances we might be able to try to support.). Early Release Wednesdays are an important day to be present because (every day is!) and also, we include these three community-building elements into our day (Cross-age buddies, Schoolwide assemblies, and our specialists joining classes to build relationships with students and support their academic learning.)

Two important special requests related to funding: 1. For our school specifically: Please contribute to our Dolphin Drive! Every dollar in any increment helps our PTA support programs for our students and community such as our awesome Fall Festival coming up tomorrow night! And for PPS schools comprehensively: Medicaid Administrative Claiming, which, through your signature of consent, brings revenue to the district for administrative services our staff already provide to students with IEPs at our school. Here is an explanatory letter and Notice & Consent to Bill Medicaid. The ask is for every family to read and sign the consent form even if to say “My child does not qualify” or “No” because PPS does not know which of our GenEd students are Medicaid-enrolled and cannot claim reimbursement until a signed affirmative Consent is in place. Thank you!

Warmly,

Lisa

Dear Arleta Parents, Caregivers and Community,

Thank you for your support and partnership as we’ve navigated the reported threat* to Arleta over the past week. It’s an important time to talk with your child about staying safe while playing or chatting online. While I know we all have various opinions about screen time, Roblox seems to be particularly problematic.

Please see the following links shared with me by a current Arleta parent for details as to why. We’re still both reading all these articles but felt it was important to share them with you so you can use your own critical lenses as our shared learning as a community continues to work to keep our children safe.

• Associated Press – Kentucky lawsuit says Roblox fails to protect children on its popular online gaming platform
  Read Article ›

• Bloomberg – Roblox: The Gaming Platform With a Predator Problem
  Read Article ›

• People – Roblox Facing Mounting Lawsuits as Parents Across U.S. Allege Company Enables Child Predators
  Read Article ›

• CBS News – Lawsuit against Roblox alleges sexploitation of 10-year-old
  Read Article ›

• WIRED – Is Roblox Getting Worse?
  Read Article ›

It’s challenging to know how to highlight the concerns coming forward about Roblox specifically enough. Roblox is problematic because apparently ill-intentioned people are flocking to Roblox because it is so easy to abuse kids through this particular game.

I know we don’t need more worries but it’s important to know that just a month ago on September 9th it came to light through whistleblower testimony in front of the US Senate, that children are very likely to experience harm using newer technologies like VR (Virtual Reality). Cayce Savage, in dialogue with Josh Hawley (R-MO), estimated that any child that is in a social space in VR will come into contact with or be directly exposed to something very inappropriate.

Some ways to take action-

1. Our upcoming Arleta Community book study of The Anxious Generation. Our Arleta Site Council will soon be sending an inquiry for interest in joining, and every family that participates will receive a free copy of the book! Once we know the amount of interest our Site Council will set dates accordingly and we’ll launch!

2. Common Sense Media - this is a great resource for parents trying to navigate how to create boundaries and allow children to participate.

3. Recommendations for caregivers

1. Keep an eye on your child's playtime

• Ideally, sit near them and closely monitor what they’re doing.

• This isn’t always possible; consider checking in regularly (at least checking how it's going every 10-15 minutes);

2. If someone unknown joins a chat, children should leave then change their username.

3. Talk with your child about internet safety:

• Don’t play or chat with anyone they don't know.

• Don't share their username with anyone, even their friends.

• Don’t accept anyone they don't know as friends.

• DO tell you or another trusted adult immediately if anyone asks them for a photo or if someone is asking for any personal or identifying information about them.

I’m sorry for such a dark message. Here’s something much brighter! Our beautiful mural honoring Native Peoples created for our community by Indigenous artist Malcohm O’Neill is hanging in our main hall. We are so grateful to Arleta parent Arley Ann Laman and former Arleta parents / always Arleta Family, Sheryl Moren and Melissa Sircy for their work to make this project happen. Please mark your calendars for a special community celebration on November 21st, the afternoon before Fall Break. Mural to honor Native Peoples

*Message I sent with PPS Security Services last Thursday evening: Threat Towards Arleta 10/13 After investigation the threat was deemed not credible by PPS Security Services and Portland Police Bureau.

Warmly,

Lisa

Hello Arleta Parents and Caregivers,

Here it is almost a month into our school year! It’s been very inspiring to hear about and see all the learning your children are experiencing! And, to get to see, hear and support all the brilliant ways our staff are leading that learning. Two great ways for families and children to meet and connect are coming up this Friday: Arleta Movie Night! Then on Monday: Popsicles on the Playground.

A wonderful opportunity to honor our Native students and families approaches this coming Tuesday, September 30: “Orange Shirt Day”. 🧡 What is Orange Shirt Day? This day serves as a reminder of the impact of residential and boarding schools on Native peoples. All staff, students and community are encouraged to wear an orange shirt to school next Tuesday as a visible sign of support and solidarity. Related….

Arleta Honoring Native Land Mural- Our Indigenous Muralist is almost finished painting the below special design onto plywood and will soon deliver our mural in the making to school. Then, in the coming weeks each student will learn about and make individual weavings to create a border. Our mural will be hung above the lockers in our main hall (just past the Tribal Flags). Our goal is for our Native students and families to feel recognized and valued in our school environment.

PPS and Arleta have successfully transitioned over to ParentSquare from Remind. Here’s to learning ParentSquare Tips together! And an important tip. To receive text messages, you must enter your phone number into your ParentSquare account. The default is email only. Here’s a quick explainer video. And a one-pager we hope you find helpful: Forms of Communication used at Arleta 2025-26

See you soon at Movie Night then Popsicles on the Playground.

Warmly,

Lisa