Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Harvest Fair. We loved celebrating autumn with you and hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of our school.
¿Por Qué No? fundraiser
¿Por Qué No?’s Hawthorne location has kindly agreed to donate 10% of its November 6th sales to the SES PTSA! This money will be used to support SES’s garden, music, and field studies programs. ¿Por Qué No? was recently chosen as both the Best Taco and Best Mexican restaurant in Willamette Week’s 2024 Reader’s Poll, and I can personally attest to how good their food is. For anyone like me who can’t eat gluten, they have a large number of gluten-free options, their staff is very knowledgeable about cross-contamination, and they will take a variety of safety precautions if you tell them your meal can’t have any contact with gluten. Swing by for some delicious Mexican food on November 6th to support!
Alice in Wonderland
Come support our young thespians! Please join us for SES’s musical production of Alice in Wonderland on November 15th and 16th. Under the direction of the Portland Drama Club, a cast of SES 5th-8th graders have been rehearsing after school for three months to put on a show you won’t forget. Each performance is 60 minutes and includes singing and dancing with lovely costumes and sets. All performances will be held at SES’s auditorium, which may be accessed from the front of the school at 3421 SE Salmon St. Shows are at 6:30 p.m. on November 15th and 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on November 16th. To buy tickets ($10), go to our Facebook page (SES PTSA) or our Instagram profile (@ses_ptsa.)
Fruit Box and Pie Pickups
If you bought a fruit box or a pie for one of our fundraisers, please remember to pick them up at school on November 8th between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. (fruit) and November 13th between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. (pies).
What is a focus option school?
A reader asked to learn more about what it means to be a focus option school. In the Portland Public School District (“PPS” or “District”), focus option schools are those that provide separate district-recognized programs structured around a unique curriculum or particular theme. SES’s theme is its environmental curriculum. One of the things that makes it possible for SES to provide these unique educational opportunities is the curriculum waiver it receives from the District. PPS has a standard “base” curriculum that includes benchmarks for students at each grade level, as well as standard materials for teachers to use to help students reach those benchmarks. Focus option schools must meet those same benchmarks, but they are allowed to use different methods for doing so than non-focus option schools. So instead of using a district-adopted textbook to teach about natural science, SES may, for example, teach about ecology by bringing students to different natural environments to learn about ecological systems in person. These experiences provide a canvas upon which elements of history, environmental education, scientific and biological relationships, culture, mathematics, economy, literature, and art are used to help children authentically make meaning of the world around them.
Donations needed
As an underfunded public school, we find ourselves perpetually in need of a variety of things. If you happen to have any of these items to donate, we would greatly appreciate it! Please reach out to [email protected].
• Nutrition Services is looking for regular dining spoons.
• A Special Education teacher could use a computer monitor for her office.
• Our fourth graders need an aquarium suitable for salmon eggs.
• All grades need noise-blocking headphones as well as fidget toys (that
don’t make sound.)
Have questions about SES? Email [email protected] and maybe I’ll answer them in a future column!
