Family Welcome Back Letter 2024-2025

August 28, 2024

Dear Families,

Welcome back to another exciting school year at Hudson Park Elementary! I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing summer, filled with fun and cherished moments with family and friends.  This is my fourth year serving as elementary principal and my twentieth year working as an educator in Rainier School District #13.  Mr. Howell, our Vice Principal, is beginning his eleventh year as an educator and third year here at Hudson Park. As we prepare to embark on the 2024-2025 school year, I want to take a moment to share our enthusiasm for the upcoming year and the plans we have in store. We have been busy preparing for the new school year, and our dedicated team is eager to welcome each of our students back to school.

This year, we are focusing on creating a positive and engaging learning environment where every child can thrive. Our goals include:

1. Enhanced Learning Opportunities: This year, we are implementing a new science curriculum, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH), which is designed to support diverse learning styles and interests. Our curriculum will be enriched with hands-on activities and real-world applications to make learning science more interactive and enjoyable.

2. Social and Emotional Growth: We recognize the importance of supporting our students' social and emotional well-being. We continue to implement programs that foster resilience, empathy, and a positive school culture.  This year, in addition to our Character Strong curriculum, we are implementing a screener, Characteristics of a Successful Learner, in order to monitor students’ development of relationship skills, self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and social-awareness.  This screener helps promote the creation of a school culture that supports kindness, care, connection, equity, diversity and inclusion and aligns with the social emotional framework as presented in House Bill 2166.

3. Family and Community Engagement: We value the partnership between home and school. We will offer various events and activities throughout the year to keep you informed and involved in your student’s education.  Stay tuned for an upcoming reading night this fall as well as upcoming events sponsored by our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO).

4. Safety and Well-being: The safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our top priority. We have updated the Student/Family Handbook to ensure a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. Teachers will be reviewing the handbook in-depth with students the first few weeks of school. Please take the time to review the handbook at home with your student as well. Contact your student’s teacher if you would like a printed copy of the handbook. 

In other news, please check your email or ParentSquare this week for a letter or presentation from your student’s teacher, where you will have the opportunity to learn about the teacher’s educational background, educational philosophy, classroom management plan, classroom daily schedule, and the schools’ grading/report card policies.  If you have specific/individualized needs to discuss with your student’s teacher prior to the first day of school, please send the teacher an email or message via ParentSquare.    

New staff/assignments this year include: 

Superintendent: Chad Holloway

Student Services Director: Joelle Handley 

Second Grade Teacher: Carole Shockley

Third Grade Teacher: Meridee Lever

Fourth Grade Teacher: Sarah Cedar 

Fifth Grade Teacher: Kaylie Bergerson

Sixth Grade Teacher: Angelique Hisey

Special Education Instructional Assistant: Troy Caldwall

Special Education Instructional Assistant: Amber Cantrell

The Hudson Park Elementary staff webpage is currently under construction.  Please bear with us as we work to get our new website fully functional for families. 

Student Recognition

At Hudson Park Elementary, we recognize student success in many different ways.  As a staff, we review our student behavior data every month.  The purpose of this data review is to continually review and reflect on our success with teaching students expected behaviors and to determine areas of need for reteaching.  Clear and consistent behavioral expectations create an environment conducive to learning.  One way we encourage positive behavior is to celebrate students’ success throughout the year by recognizing expected behaviors (Be safe, kind, respectful, and responsible) with our monthly Cougar Credit drawings. In addition, we host awards assemblies throughout the year to celebrate students’ academic achievements in reading, math, and writing, as well as their success with being kind.  We will continue our Student of the Month program, which is in alignment with our social/emotional curriculum, Character Strong. Each month, we will recognize students who consistently exhibit the character trait that month, which include: Respect, responsibility, gratitude, empathy, perseverance, honesty, cooperation, courage, and creativity.  Ultimately, it is our goal that every student feels safe, welcome, and can experience personal growth as a learner at Hudson Park Elementary. 

Curriculum/Assessment

We are very excited about what is to come in this new school year. We are officially ready. All curriculum is in stock and ready for distribution to our students. There is nothing on backorder which is always a relief and so seldom accomplished at the beginning of each year. This includes our new science curriculum by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). There is so much to be excited about with the new science curriculum. The teachers and staff will be trained on how to navigate through this robust and amazing collection of materials by the time students arrive. With its hands-on experiments, various printed support materials, its visually stunning digital platform and videos, and its family engagement components, HMH is sure to be a hit with students, teachers and families.

We are verifying and cleaning up the OSAS (state testing) data from the 2023-2024 school year and the results should be published on the ODE website in late September. We will also be sending out individual student reports home to families shortly thereafter. We look forward to being able to share the results of our two years with a new ELA curriculum and our first year with a new math curriculum.

Finally, Mr. Howell is serving as the coordinator of Talented and Gifted Education (TAG). Please reach out to him with any questions about the process of identification for TAG, by emailing ken_howell@rsd.k12.or.us.

School Schedule/Calendar

Rainier Preschool Calendar-English

Rainier Preschool Calendar-Spanish

Rainier Head Start Calendar-English

Rainier Student Calendar-English

Rainier Student Calendar-Spanish

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.

Attendance

It is the intent of the Hudson Park Elementary staff to provide the best possible educational opportunity for all students.  To reap the benefits of such an opportunity, students and parents/guardians must take an active role in the learning process, beginning with regular attendance.

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).  Staff will monitor and report violations of the state compulsory attendance law.  *Please call the Hudson Park attendance line in the event your student must be absent from school. 

In addition, being on time for school ensures that your student has time to settle into their classroom and prepare themselves for a day of learning. The start of the day is when students eat breakfast and participate in morning meetings in the classroom, which is extremely helpful for students socially and academically. Missing even the first few minutes of class may impact their whole day and if missed regularly, can affect their whole year. Tardiness can lead to feeling rushed, stressed, or cause general disruptions as they enter the classroom. We know that things come up and sometimes being late is unavoidable and we want to make sure every child has the best start to their day as often as possible.  At Hudson Park Elementary, students are tardy at 8:15. If you or your child are feeling overwhelmed in the morning or are having a hard time making it to school on time, please reach out to us so we can see if there are ways we can help support your morning routine.

Staggered Start: PreK, K, 1st & 2nd 

This year, we are utilizing a staggered start schedule for all preschool, kindergarten, first, and second grade students to support students with the transition back to school and to provide time for staff to complete required assessments.  The staggered start will provide staff the opportunity to set each student up for success as they begin the 2024-2025 school year. Preschool families will sign up for a one-hour assessment/orientation appointment and one staggered start day, kindergarten families will sign up for a one-hour assessment appointment/classroom introduction and one staggered start day, and first and second grade families will sign up for one staggered start day. The first day of school for all first and second grade students is Monday, September 9.  Rainier preschool students begin school Wednesday, September 11.  Kindergarten students begin school Monday, September 16.  Please contact the Hudson Park Elementary office if your preschool, kindergarten, first, or second grade student is not yet registered for the relevant appointment and/or staggered start day. Click here for the staggered start schedule.

HPE Office Hours/Contact

The Hudson Park Elementary office is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Please stop by the Hudson Park 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 

Student Placement

A great deal of time, effort and thought has gone into the process of student placement for the 2024-2025 school year.  Careful consideration was given to input from staff and families as well as student learning styles. Classrooms have been balanced academically and socially. Our class lists are structured to provide equitable class sizes at each grade level.  Moving students is difficult without causing imbalances and inequities.

Thank you so much for being positive with your child and helping them understand that it is impossible to place all students with a preferred best friend or teacher. ALL of our staff work hard to make school a positive experience for ALL students. Hudson Park is eagerly looking forward to enriching your child’s life. Thank you for understanding that it can take a few weeks for a child to acclimate to a new grade, peer group and teacher.

Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)

Welcome back to the 2024-2025 school year! We cannot wait to work alongside you to make your student's school year the best it can be, and we won't waste any time getting started. In addition to monthly planning meetings, we have some fun events in the year's first half (stay tuned for more information on exact dates and times).

September: Kindergarten Parent/Guardian Coffee

October: Fun Run

November: Bingo Night

December: Used Book Sale

January: New Year Celebration and Movie Night

Email the leadership team at info@hpepto.org or visit hpepto.org to get involved.

Visitors/Volunteers

Parents/guardians and community members are encouraged and welcome to visit the school. To ensure the safety and welfare of students, that learning is not disrupted, and that visitors are properly directed to the areas in which they are interested or scheduled, all visitors to district facilities must report to the school office upon entering school property. A visitor’s pass will be issued, which must be visible at all times. Photo ID of visitors may be requested. In the absence of photo ID, a visitor may be denied access to the school. Unauthorized persons found on campus (trespassing) may be referred to the local sheriff’s office with a notice of trespass and may be charged.  Students will not be permitted to bring visitors to school without prior approval of the principal.  Any adult that would like to voluntarily contribute their time and talents to the improvement and enrichment of the schools’ instructional or other programs, will need to complete a volunteer application, which includes a background check.  

Transportation

Teresa Fox is the manager at MidCo Bus Company.  Please call 503.556.9140 with any transportation-related questions or concerns.  Click here for bus route information.

Students will be picked up and dropped off at their home address on file with the school.  For any permanent bus route changes, please contact the school office before the first day of school or as permanent changes arise.  Bus changes are not allowed.  The one exception is for childcare purposes only.  The student must have a bus note approved by the school office that specifies the student is to get off the bus at a different bus stop.  While we understand emergencies happen, please refrain from making last-minute changes to your student’s dismissal plan, if possible.  It is reassuring for students when they know their dismissal plan when they come to school in the morning.  No preschool, kindergarten, or first grade student will be released from the bus until the driver can see a responsible person at the bus stop.

If you will be transporting your student to and from school each day, please use the parent parking lot for drop-off and pick-up to keep the bus lanes clear during morning arrival and dismissal. Upon arriving at school, school staff will be present at the main entrance to transition K-6 students into the building.  The main entrance will be the place for families to say goodbye to their students.  Students will go straight to their classrooms upon arrival, where breakfast will be offered in classrooms to all students free of charge. For pick-up, you will be required to sign your student out each day at the HPE covered area near the playground.  Please be prepared to show personal identification (ID).  To ensure the safety of all students, children may not be taken out of class lines at dismissal.   

Preschool families transporting their students to school each day, will go directly to the classroom to sign-in/out their student each day.

Nutrition Services 

Breakfast and lunch is free for all students through the Community Eligibility Provision, which includes one breakfast and one lunch per student per day. If a student brings a lunch from home, they do not qualify for free milk. The student must take a complete meal to get a free milk. Students are required to take 3 of the 5 offered components which include fruits, vegetables, milk, grain, and meat/meat alternatives (Cheese and sunflower seeds are examples of meat alternatives) to qualify for a meal. You can get access to our online menu via the district's website and ParentSquare.

If your child had a negative balance prior to December 1, 2023, that balance remains until it is paid off.  Families will receive an automated phone call if they have a negative balance.  Payments can be made in person or online (check My Meal Time for online payments).  

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.)

If you have questions, please contact the Nutrition Services Assistant, Melissa Pratt or Nutrition Director, Debby Webster at 503-556-4215 ext. 412 or 407.

Lunch Schedule  

Students Services

The Student Services Department offers support to students based on their individual needs, talents, or interests.  These services include:  Nursing, English Language Learners, and Special Education.  If you have questions about these services, please feel free to reach out to Joelle Handley, Student Services Director, 503.556.9121, or email joelle_handley@rsd.k12.or.us.  If you have any questions about English Language services, please email EL coordinator Louise Johnson, louise_johnson@rsd.k12.or.us.

Care Team

Under the direction of school counselor, Sara Gray, we will continue to address student needs through our Care Team, which examines academic and social-emotional progress for students of concern.  The team uses a collaborative, problem-solving approach to propose tiered supports for students referred to the Care Team.  This team follows a data-based, decision making process. Care Team meetings are held weekly to staff students of concern.  The team usually consists of the teacher, an administrator, grade level teachers, and support personnel from the school.  If you have concerns about your student’s academic or social-emotional progress, please contact your student’s teacher to request a referral to the Care Team.

504 Plans

A student may qualify for a 504 plan if they have a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities which result in an educational impact, has a record or history of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.  If you have any questions about 504 plans, please contact your student’s teacher.  Sara Gray, our 504 Coordinator, will follow-up with you.

Counseling

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.  If you feel your student needs counseling support, please contact Sara Gray to arrange for services by emailing sara_gray@rsd.k12.or.us or calling the Hudson Park Elementary office.

Reading Incentives & Interventions

Questions about our reading incentive program or reading support?  Email reading specialist Louise Johnson, louise_johnson@rsd.k12.or.us.

Important Dates

We look forward to working together to make this school year a successful and memorable one for your student. Thank you for your continued support and partnership.  Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!

Educationally yours,  

Megan Keplinger

Principal

503.556.0196

megan_keplinger@rsd.k12.or.us

Under Oregon law, (ORS, Chapter 339), 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” means attendance which does not include more than eight unexcused one-half day absences, or the equivalent thereof, in any four-week period in which the school is in session. Oregon state law 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 and will have to re-enroll when they return.

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.