Greetings Swift Families!
February may be the shortest month of the year, but we are packing it full with learning, fun and adventure! If you were able to join us for Round Up this morning then you heard the teaser about some of the fun that we’re about to have with one of our favorite past times--Reading! Portland Public Schools is starting up an Advancing Literacy Campaign that will run over the next two months, and we here at Chapman are starting to gear up for our annual Family Literacy Night, which will be in March. PPS will be sending a bookmobile out to 4 different sites on Saturday, February 15, and Chapman was chosen as one of the sites! The bookmobile will be here from 11:00-12:30. There will be books to take home and more. I’ll send out a message as soon as I learn all the details. We are also planning a fun reading game to encourage everyone--students, staff, and families, to read at home 15 minutes a day, so coming to the bookmobile to pick out a book to keep will be a great way to get ready.
We’re also celebrating Black History Month the entire month of February. We hope you’ll be able to join us for our Round Up on February 21st for a special Black History Month performance by our 2nd graders. In addition, classes will be decorating doors to showcase the achievements of Black Americans in ways that connect to their grade-level curriculum. I’ll be sharing pictures here in the Chimney Flyer as they are completed.
And of course I’m excited about our Small/Tall Dance coming up on Valentine’s Day. More details are below, but this is an opportunity for students to have a ball with their parents and guardians. Put on your dancing shoes and join us!
On a different note, we are having to implement increased security measures in our building. As a reminder, we ask all adults to remain outside until our office staff makes visual confirmation. They will determine if an adult can enter or if they need to wait outside to talk with a staff member. Please do not come in to walk your child to class or to talk with a teacher unless you have an appointment. If the door is open because someone else is walking in or out, we ask that you still ring the office bell at the front door instead of going straight to the office. I know this can be an inconvenience, but we are really trying to ensure that our building is as secure as possible by making sure that everyone follows our safety protocols. Thank you so much for helping us with this!
