Save the Dates!
Fri. 11/6: Grading Day, NO SCHOOL
Wed. 11/11: Veteran’s Day, NO SCHOOL
Fri. 11/13 8:30-9:30 am: Principal/PTA Virtual Coffee – join HERE
Hello Creston Families! We are finishing up Quarter 1 today, and looking forward to beginning Quarter 2 when we return to school on Monday, 11/9. Remember that there is NO SCHOOL this Friday, 11/6, as teachers have a grading day to prepare for Quarter 2.
Middle School Quarter 2 Electives: Middle school parents, please make sure your child has completed the MS Elective survey that they received in their email on Monday. If they do NOT complete the survey, they will be assigned to whichever elective classes have space after all other students have been placed.
Yearbooks: Creston community! Our yearbook crew has been working behind the scenes and is hoping you will contribute to the Creston 2020-21 Yearbook and help us make it AWESOME! With the uncertainty of when we may be returning to campus, we are hoping to make the 2020-21 yearbook extra unique and special. We are currently launching a Yearbook Cover Design Contest, and are requesting photos of Creston students (the first of many requests for photos!) Click here to read the announcement. Questions? Please email Jackie Hellis at jhellis@pps.net
Message from the Counseling Team
K-5 Counseling Resources:
Here is the third video in our series from Edutopia. This two minute video teaches you the science behind how taking a quick mindful walk outside can calm nerves, and get your child’s thinking brains back and ready to learn. Try it together with your student and see how you feel! If you need more support for your student around the stress of distance learning, please contact me: Claudia Sterry, Creston School Counselor Grades K-5, csterry@pps.net, call (971)245-3315, or text/call on the Remind App- C.Sterry
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grFYCzYn8G0)
Message from the Library
OBOB! (Oregon Battle of the Books!): Hello 3rd-8th grade families! The Oregon Battle of the Books is officially ON! 3rd-5th grade students have received information in their Library Seesaw classrooms, and 6th-8th grade students will have received an email from their amazing ELA teachers providing information.
For quick reference:
Both slideshows contain links for an OBOB informational meeting on Monday 11/9, as well as a link to a Google form to sign up to participate. Please email Jackie Hellis if you have any questions at jhellis@pps.net and happy reading!
Creston’s Online Book Fair!: Thanks to everyone who has already ordered books!
When: Monday, October 26 – Monday, November 16
Where: Shop from home at our Follett Book eFair website (our fair code is ZD6EK)
How: Click the link above to browse and order books online. Creston Library will earn 25% of all purchases back in rewards! ***When shopping, note that there is a drop down menu at the top where you can navigate to Picture Books, Beginning Readers, Chapter Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Fiction, YA Fiction, Nonfiction, Spanish and Complete Your Series categories.
Videos: Title Highlights (click on “Fair Type K-8”)
Shipping: All purchases will be shipped free of charge to Creston after the Book eFair has ended. Once books have arrived, families will be notified about pick up times. Books will arrive before Winter Break with plenty of time for pick up.
Teacher Wish Lists: Teachers may choose to create a wish list for books they would love to add to their classroom collection. If you are interested in purchasing books for your child’s teacher, once you’ve clicked on our eFair link above, look for an icon with 4 stars & lines on the left hand side. Click on that and you should see a drop down menu with teacher’s names and wish lists.
Staff Spotlight
Ben Needham, 3rd Grade Teacher: Ben Needham graduated from Oregon State University in Elementary Education. He began his teaching career at Tualatin Elementary and then was recruited to the Creative Science School (C.S.S.). After 16 years at C.S.S. Ben became the School Climate Specialist at Hosford Middle School. He joined the Creston staff in 2017. Ben’s been on a year-long teacher exchange to Toowoomba, Australia and later was awarded a year-long Fulbright Teacher Exchange to Bristol, England. In addition to being a classroom teacher, P.E. teacher, Technology Specialist, and School Climate Specialist, he has been a Vice-Principal and a Principal for PPS summer programs. Ben’s wife Jennifer is a social worker for Kaiser. They have two grown sons, Gabe and Elijah. Ben and Jennifer live in the Woodstock neighborhood with Elsa, their demanding cat. Ben enjoys staying fit, racing his bikes, and golfing.
Important Reminders
School Supplies: Please fill out this quick survey if you need assistance purchasing any or all of the GREEN highlighted items from the school supply lists below. Classroom teachers will let you know when you can pick these supplies up once they are ordered.
FREE Meals for all children in PPS ages 1-18: Meals are served at no cost to children ages 1-18 at several Portland Public School sites through December, including at Creston! Even though they are free right now, there are several benefits for eligible families to still submit a meal application this school year.
- To ensure eligible students who qualify for free and reduced-price meals continue to receive meals at no cost for the entire school year (past December)
- Families approved for free and reduced-price meals may be eligible to receive future potential government assistance such as Pandemic EBT benefits.
- Families may be eligible for other benefits such as school related fee reduction or waivers, low cost internet and health coverage.
Families have the following options to submit a meal application:
- Online at www.schoolcafe.com/pps.
- Print, complete and mail back a paper meal application (https://www.pps.net/Page/2464) to PPS Nutrition Services, 501 N. Dixon St., Portland, OR 97227.
- Request a paper meal application be mailed home from mealbenefits@pps.net or call 503.916.3402.
Families do not need to submit a meal application if any of the following apply:
- A meal application has been submitted and approved for the 2020-21 school year.
- The household received a 2020-21 Direct Certification Approval letter.
- All students in the household attend a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school (list located online: https://www.pps.net/Page/2088) where students eat meals at no cost.
- The household does not meet the Oregon Expanded Income Guidelines
For meal benefits related questions, please call 503.916.3402 or email mealbenefits@pps.net
Community News
FREE Groceries: Creston PTA and SUN have moved all grocery distributions to Wednesday afternoons from 3:00 to 5:00pm at Creston. We will no longer be in front of Creston on Fridays. Every Wednesday, Urban Gleaners is delivering a variety of fresh, healthy foods to Creston. Our PTA will also be giving out bags of groceries from Blessings in a Backpack; and we will be putting out a variety of other donated items from Impact Northwest, Creston PTA and other sources — all free. Please stop by from 3:00 to 5:00pm on Wednesdays! Don’t let this food go to waste! Please wear a mask, bring your own bag if you can and follow the posted guidelines for picking up the groceries. Thank you.
*If you cannot make it on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 5:00pm, but could use some extra groceries, please call, text or email us, and we can coordinate a delivery of groceries to your residence. Portland Public Schools is still also handing out meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00 to 5:00pm. The PTA and SUN’s programs are in addition to that. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
New Creston Park Playground Open for Play!!: Check out pics and information here.
Creston Run Club: Creston PTA invites you to join the Creston Run Club! The PTA health and safety has purchased a program for tracking our students’ progress toward various running (or other cardiovascular) goals and they are offering incentives once those goals are met. If you are interested in joining, or learning more, please email healthandsafety@crestonschoolpta.org with your child’s name(s), grade and teacher. – Kerri Babin, Creston PTA Health and Safety Coordinator