Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Principal's Newsletter August 11, 2009

It's five o'clock on Tuesday and Betsy and I just spent the day beginning the unpacking process at Smith Elementary. We are thrilled to be as ready as we are. Surely, there will be glitches along the way, but we feel very confident about the state of Smith and the prospects for a dynamic year.

It's time to share a whole bunch of information with our students and parents about the logistics of starting up for our transitional year.


We have a new fourth grade teacher, Tod Johnston. In the last week we completed an interview process that saw 340+ applicants, a screening process, and three rounds of interviews. I would like to thank Betsy Biss, Sharon Whitehill, and Brian Black for donating their time to the cause. Sharon, in particular, had a vested interest in finding a teaching partner for the year -- they will be sharing a classroom. As well, Nicole Grayson and Lisa Handley provided a parent perspective to our process; their contribution was invaluable.

In the end, Tod's experience and his professional skill-set proved a very strong fit for our community. I'll list a few highlights:

He grew up in Lake Oswego and so attended high school with many Riverdale kids, this being prior to the development of RHS. Tod studied environmental studies at Stanford University, and then earned his Master's degree at UC Santa Cruz. (So he's either a tree/color or a banana slug -- admittedly, mascots may not be the strongest part of his resume.) Tod and his future wife began their teaching careers in China, teaching in two different international schools, including two years in fourth grade. More recently, Tod's been teaching in Northern California as a science specialist and a GATE (TAG) coordinator. They've just relocated to the Portland area to be closer to family, and, in related news, are celebrating the one-month anniversary of their first child. We are ecstatic to be welcoming Tod to the Riverdale team!


Bus routes are posted on the school website. Follow this link to see the routes. Please pay particular attention to the fact that, because we added a bus line, the route designation numbers do not necessarily correspond with previous route numbers.

In reviewing responses to the transportation survey we learned that folks are overwhelmingly interested in taking the bus, with carpooling coming up as the second-most favored option. This is good news as we have an obligation to the Ash Creek Neighborhood Association to limit traffic impact. I recently met with that group, and their response to our presence was especially gracious and warm. Their interests are to see the school live again, to have the school grounds cared for in a responsible way, and to continue to use the playground and fields when they are not occupied by our students. Ours is simple: we need a safe place for our kids to learn and play for a year. Overall, I think it is a partnership that will benefit both their community and ours. I want to be diligent in my efforts to maintain that relationship, and so may be asking for your help throughout the year in terms of complying with our transportation plan.

The Smith address is 8935 SW 52nd Ave. A Google Maps search shows the neighborhood quite well. The routes designated by PDOT for our conditional use permit are these:

  • Parents will enter via Taylor's Ferry, turning right on 5oth Ave., Left on Marigold, and Left on 52nd Ave. (This makes a loop, ensuring a right-hand-side drop-off.)
  • Buses will enter from Garden Home, turning Left on 52nd.
  • All vehicles will exit the neighborhood by turning left from 52nd onto Orchid; Orchid ends at 45th, and a Left at the T takes you to the intersection with Multnomah.

In addition, an activities bus (or more likely, two) will leave RGS at 5:00 for the neighborhood, carrying students practicing a sport or attending a Community Schools class or Extended Care.

Extended Care will take place in both the am and pm, going until 6:00 pm.

Jazz Band will take place at RHS, which will then be a bus stop for those kids in the morning. It is probable that the same will be true for Community Schools Chinese classes.

First Student is amenable to providing a bus to the MAC after school, on a separate fee basis. The roughly estimated cost for this would be $60/day, which would be split amongst interested families.

Volleyball practice for middle school girls will be held at Smith, as will home games. The girls will be able to take the activities bus home.

Boys' and girls' soccer practices will be held at Smith after school. The games, as well as most RHS games, will be held at the Grade School field, enough of which has been preserved to allow for a field. It goes without saying that parking will be a major concern, and we are asking that all involved do everything possible to ameliorate parking and safety issues. Students will be bused to the Breyman site. Please carpool or walk, if at all possible.


Students and families are welcome to drop by the school for a "sneak preview" on Friday, August 21, from 11:00-3:00. This is intended to be a simple walk-through. It is important to note that the school will not yet be ready for operations. (Teachers will not yet have been contracted to come in.) Nonetheless, we believe this opportunity will allow many students to feel more settled about what the year holds.

We are aware that many families have difficulty attending day-time events like these due to work commitments, but cannot hold an evening event of this magnitude per the stipulations of our conditional use permit. Each classroom will be planning an orientation for the first days of school, with many of the same goals in mind -- making students feel comfortable and safe being paramount.


We experienced a glitch in our "7-8 elective" email. I owe an apology to those 7-8 families whose email bounced back to us in our initial request for elective choices. We are uncertain as to why somewhere on the order of 20 email addresses kicked back to us when we sent out this email; it does not appear to be a data-entry error. Nonetheless, the result was that some folks understandably felt slighted. We tracked each of these emails, though, and will assign electives based upon an appropriately modified order.


PTC generously ordered planners for grades 4-8. These items appear on supply lists but have already been ordered. Thank you PTC!


If you get a chance, these folks deserve a "thank you." This summer has been, and continues to be, the summer of logistics. A few notable individuals are responsible for the amazingly coherent state of our school.
  • Betsy Biss -- her patience and organizational skills kept us in shape through two intense moves.
  • Dennis Wiley -- knows Smith inside and out by now, and has taken charge of the organization of the on-site logistics.
  • Steve Montague -- he's worked with teachers to ready each room, moving furniture and thoughtfully planning each space.
  • Kathy Jacobsen -- Kathy works "four tens" during the summer, except that this summer she's worked "five elevens."
  • Riverdale High School -- they patiently housed us in our holding pattern, and have selflessly helped us with custodial set-up at Smith.
  • Dale Petersen -- we knew he knows technology, but that's been only the tip of the iceberg for Dale this summer.