HPE Family News Letter June 2024

May 31, 2024                

June 2024 Newsletter

Dear Families, 

It’s hard to believe the end of the year has arrived! We will be mailing the fourth quarter report cards along with the end-year iReady reading and math assessment reports and the 2024-2025 school supply lists to all families the week of June 17. Class placements for next school year will be noted in the comments section of the final report card. In the fall, Oregon Statewide Assessment System (OSAS) reports will be sent home with fourth through sixth grade students. These assessments were given in the spring of 2024 to students in grades three through six.  

Summer Programs, August 2024

Our summer programs will be held August 5-8 and 12-15.  Sessions will be four days per week from 7:45-12:45.  Transportation, breakfast and lunch will be provided.  

Kindercamp: This program is intended for students transitioning to kindergarten in the fall of 2024.  Areas of focus include self-regulation, interpersonal skills, and classroom skills.  Only students enrolled in kindergarten at Hudson Park Elementary for the 2024-2025 school year will be eligible to register for Kindercamp.  Click here for more information and to register your student for Kindercamp.  Student capacity is based on staffing, so register early if you’d like your student to participate.   

Grades 1-3 Summer School: This program has been made possible with Early Literacy Success Grant funds and will focus on literacy and numeracy through a lens of STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities.  Participation is based on priority of need in reading.  Families of students selected for grades 1-3 summer school will be contacted before the end of June to confirm their student’s participation in summer school.

Grades 4-6 Summer School: This program will focus on reading and math through a lens of STEM/STEAM activities. Participation in grades 4-6 summer school is based on priority of need in reading and math.  Families of students selected for grades 4-6 summer school will be contacted before the end of June to confirm their student’s participation.

Lost and Found

As a reminder, PTO is working with the school to manage the lost and found this year.  Some ways to help keep items out of the lost and found are labeling your student’s belongings with their name and checking the lost and found rack periodically.  Unfortunately, the school does not have space to store lost items indefinitely, so the last day to claim items this school year will be the last day of school, June 13.  All remaining items in the lost and found will be donated.   

Summer Lunch Program

Free for all children ages 1-18 in the Commons at the school.  

Beginning June 24 and ending August 22, 2024 

Service will be Monday-Thursday

Breakfast 7:45-9:15

Lunch 12:00-12:30

Students attending summer school will eat lunch and breakfast at school Monday-Thursday and take home breakfast and lunch for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more information about picking up seven days worth of breakfasts and lunches for your child(ren) this summer.  We are currently waiting for special USDA approval for a location in the downtown Rainier area or closer to the school if USDA does not approve our requested site.

Kindergarten Registration

To enroll in kindergarten for the 2024-2025 school year, students must be 5 on or before September 1, 2024.  Any kindergarten age-eligible student currently enrolled in Rainier Preschool or Head Start has been automatically enrolled for kindergarten for next school year.  Some additional information may be needed for these students.  Any kindergarten age-eligible student new to Rainier School District will need to register online in order to enroll in kindergarten.  Online registration is now open.  

Curriculum 

We are excited to announce the school board has accepted our recommendation for the new science curriculum to be adopted for the 2024-2025 school year. It is a full K-12 curriculum created by HMH (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), a powerhouse in school curriculum. It is robust in a lot of areas including hands-on experiments, great educational videos, group work/learning, real-life connections and works well with our existing curriculum in math, reading and writing. The science curriculum is divided into areas of focus for middle School and high school and is well designed at the elementary level to be divided into smaller chunks of time while still staying relevant and interesting. All supplies and materials are part of the program for grades K-8 and will be automatically restocked every new school year. There will also be some great family connect materials so keep your eyes out for those next year. We are excited for our kids. They will love this new curriculum. 

Nutrition Services

One breakfast and lunch is currently free for all students.  To access the meal menus, click here.  Please note, there are two lunch choices daily for students in K-5.  The blue choice will be listed first on the menu and the red choice will be listed second. For the sixth grade lunch menu, use the same link to access the lunch menu, but click Rainier Jr./Sr. High, then click on Lunch 6-8.  Please be aware that due to supply chain issues, we may need to change menus with short notice. 

If your student has a negative balance on their lunch account, please use one of the following options to pay off the balance:

1. Contact us to set-up a payment plan

2. Payments will be accepted in the following ways:

   1. Payments will be accepted at all offices

   2. Go to https://www.mymealtime.com to register and pay on-line (small fee applied)

      1. You can set-up and schedule deposits

   3. Work with your bank's bill-pay system and set up an auto-payment until the balance is paid off.  (Fees would be based on your bank.)

Please email one of the following with questions:  Nutrition Services Director, Debby Webster, debby_webster@rsd.k12.or.us, or Nutrition Services Administrative Assistant, Melissa Pratt at melissa_pratt@rsd.k12.or.us.

Reading Incentives & Interventions

May was the final month for earning an entry in the Scooters for Readers drawing, which will be held June 10. Reading logs for the month of May will still be counted as long as they are returned by June 5.  The students who have participated in the Book Series Bookmark program will bring their photos home during the last week of school. Questions about reading support?  Email Louise Johnson, louise_johnson@rsd.k12.or.us.

English Learners

English Learners in grades K-6 completed the annual English Language Proficiency Assessment (ELPA Summative) in March.  ELPA scores determine the need for continued English language support, which is provided by Louise Johnson, the EL (English Learner) Coordinator for the Rainier School District.  Score reports and program notification letters will be sent home prior to the last day of school.  If you have questions, please email Louise Johnson, louise_johnson@rsd.k12.or.us.

HPE Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

In preparation for the 2024-2025 school year, please visit HPEPTO.org for more information about the Hudson Park PTO!  Please use the “Contact” link on the PTO website if you have any input or want to get involved.

Transportation

Please call Teresa Fox, MidCo Bus Company manager @ 503.556.9140 with any transportation-related questions or concerns, or email: teresa.fox@midcobus.com.  

A few important reminders about transportation:

• Bus changes are not allowed.  The one exception is students may change buses for childcare purposes only.  

• There is absolutely no food allowed on the buses due to safety. 

• PreK, K, & 1 students must have a responsible adult meeting them at the bus for drop-off.

• While we understand emergencies happen, please refrain from making last-minute changes to your student’s dismissal plan, if possible.

Click here for bus route information including the 2023-2024 snow routes.

Student Services

The Student Services Department offers support to students based on their individual needs, talents, or interests.  These services include:  Nursing, Native Voices Club, Talented and Gifted, English Learners, Special Education, and Behavior Analyst.  If you have questions about these services, please feel free to reach out to Shayne Ochoa, Student Services Director, 503.556.9121, or email shayne_ochoa@rsd.k12.or.us.

Counseling Services

Our school counselor, Sara Gray, provides individual and group counseling services for students with both short-term and long-term needs.  This includes conflict-resolution for any students struggling with peer issues.  Additionally, small group counseling/skill-building groups will continue this month. Groups typically run for 6 weeks at a time, and meet 1-2 days per week during enrichment time. If you feel your student needs counseling support, please contact Sara Gray by emailing sara_gray@rsd.k12.or.us, your student’s classroom teacher, or by calling the Hudson Park Elementary office. 

Nursing Services 

End of the year medication pick up: If you brought any medication into the school this year for your student, please remember to pick it up BEFORE the last day of school. All medications not picked up by 3:00pm on June 13, 2024 will be disposed of per district policy. Please feel free to come to the office anytime during school hours to pick up your medications. We still have some medications left over from Outdoor School, so please make arrangements for pick up if you would like to keep the meds. All medications must be picked up by a parent or guardian. Medications are not allowed to be transported by students.

Sixth Grade Families: As your student is preparing for middle school next year, please remember that all seventh grade students need a Tdap booster as one of the required immunizations per Oregon law for school attendance. Summer is a great time to get caught up on well-child visits and make sure all immunizations are up-to-date. Please plan on bringing updated records to the junior/senior high school office at the beginning of the school year. The Rainier Health Center has all of the vaccines available and you can make an appointment by calling 800-244-4870.

Health Plans: If your student has a medical condition that requires a health plan for school, summer is the perfect time to meet with your doctor about updating school orders. Life-threatening allergies, asthma, seizures, and diabetes are just a few of the conditions that will require a signed action plan and orders from an Oregon licensed provider. Please remember all orders and action plans need to be renewed each school year. For more information about our policies and for blank forms, please click here. Nurse Danielle is available for questions at 503-556-3777 ext. 415.

HPE Office

The Hudson Park Elementary office is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Please stop by the outside office window to conduct school business in-person.  To contact the office, please call: 503.556.0196.  You may also email the office secretaries:

Erin Knox, erin_knox@rsd.k12.or.us

Carrie Vawter, carrie_vawter@rsd.k12.or.us 

Attendance

At Hudson Park Elementary, students are tardy at 8:15.  Please ensure your students are arriving to school by 8:00 each day, so they are not missing crucial beginning-of-day routines.  In addition, under Oregon law (ORS 339.020), all students between the ages of 6 and 18, who have not completed grade 12, are required to attend school regularly, unless otherwise exempted by law.  All students, five years of age, who have been enrolled in a public school are also required to attend regularly.  Regular attendance is defined by Oregon law as attendance which does not include more than eight unexcused one-half day absences in any four-week period during which the school is in session (ORS 339.065). Oregon law also requires that we withdraw students who miss ten consecutive days of school. If a student is absent for any reason for ten consecutive days, they will be withdrawn from school after the tenth day and will have to re-enroll when they return (OAR 581-023-0006).  Please note, we send attendance letters home weekly for any student that is not attending school regularly as defined by Oregon law.  This includes excused, unexcused, and consecutive absences, as well as tardies.  If you need to excuse your student from school, please call the attendance line @ 503.556.0196 (Press 1) before 9:00 a.m.

Staff Webpage  

If you haven’t already, please be sure to visit our staff webpage where you’ll find access to the emails of teachers and a link to the Welcome Letters from teachers.  Click on each staff picture for more information about teachers’ educational background, educational philosophy, classroom management plan, classroom daily schedule, and grading/report card policies.  Click here for a complete staff directory.

School Schedule/Calendar

Rainier Preschool Calendar-English

Rainier Head Start Calendar

Rainier Preschool Calendar-español

District Calendar-English

District Calendar-español

Student Daily Schedule

8:00 a.m.-2:45 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

8:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Wednesdays *EARLY RELEASE

*Students may be dropped off no earlier than 7:45 a.m. each day.  Staff are unable to provide supervision for students prior to 7:45 a.m.

Student Recognition

May Student of the Month: One student per class was recognized for demonstrating the character trait, creativity.  Creativity is using your imagination to create something new or problem solve. Awards were given to the following students: 

PreK: Rosie B., Willow H., Groot T.

K: Griffin A., Ebin W., Carver W.

1st: Alyssa G., Ry’Leann M., Galilee P.

2nd: Eivin A., Ethan H., Wyatt L., Layla W.

3rd: Alannah H., Madalynn M., Lilly L. T.

4th: Anne G., Zyanna M., Steven R., Izzy T.

5th: Lillianna K., Jewels K., Draven W.

6th: Gracen C., Riley G., Isabelle M., Donna S.-H.

Cougar Credit Prize Drawing: Throughout the month, students are awarded Cougar Credits for following the 4 Be’s: Be responsible, be respectful, be safe, and be kind.  At the end of each month, students can enter into a drawing for prizes.  The following students’ names were drawn for prizes for the month of May:

K: Kacey J.

1st: Joanna B., Clancy S., Piper T., Harley V. 

2nd: Raegan D., Micah M., Brogan R.

3rd: Cameron J.

6th: Alex S.

Whole class prize winner for May (ice cream party): Lelia J. (St. John’s class) *The whole class prize 

will be scheduled for the winning class before school is out. 

Important Dates

Please reach out with any questions, concerns, or feedback.

Educationally yours,  

Megan Keplinger

Principal

503.556.0196

megan_keplinger@rsd.k12.or.us

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: Filing a Program Complaint as a USDA Customer webpage, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 Complaint form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email: program.intake@usda.gov                        

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.