Notes From The Principal...

1/4/21

Happy New Year Scouters Mountain Families!

Here we are the evening before the first school day of 2021, and I hope you are as excited as I am to get back into the school routine and think about all the positives that will be coming our way in the upcoming year, including an eventual return to in-person learning (more on that below). However, I have to admit that I will miss the slower-paced days with my family from the past two weeks. I hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful winter break and are ready for the new year!

As Monday looms closer and closer, here are some news and notes about the upcoming weeks at Scouters Mountain…

First off, the “elephant in the room”—When Will Students Return To In-Person Learning In The North Clackamas School District And At Scouters Mountain?

In case you weren’t aware, Governor Brown announced just as winter break began that school districts are now provided more authority to individually decide whether to open their schools to in-person learning opportunities. As I know you understand, these decisions are made at the district level—not by individual schools. Our superintendent has asked principals to inform communities that as of tomorrow, NCSD is maintaining current Distance Learning operations, reviewing and consulting on the latest guidance from the Governor and ODE, and planning to have a discussion with our School Board on January 14 regarding these changes.

Is There A New Round Of Supply Pick-Ups At Scouters This First Week Back To School?

YES! The assigned weeks alternate between different areas of our district, and this week is our week again. As in previous supply pick-up weeks, families are welcome to drive through the parent drop-off lane on Tuesday (1/5) and Thursday (1/7) from 6:30-9:30 a.m. or 4:00-6:00 p.m. to pick up supplies.

Since it’s the first week back after a break, this will be a little challenging for our teachers and support staff to have materials ready by Tuesday morning. Please check for email communication from your child’s teacher whether your student has supplies to pick up this week.

Is Your Student Participating In Mr. Long’s Reading Challenge?

If so, your time to read 1,000 minutes is almost up! Remember, please email Mr. Long all your documentation by this Thursday, January 7^th. After that, he’ll send you all the information you need to receive your very own poster featuring YOU and your favorite book!

Any Curriculum Updates As We Start 2021?

During January, your student will begin Unit 8 of our district’s Health curriculum, which is focused on Disease and Illness Prevention. Unit 8 has been identified as containing topics that may be sensitive for some families. Later this week, all Scouters families will receive an additional email from me with more detailed information, and 4th and 5th grade families will be provided information about opting out of an upcoming Google Classroom lesson. Here are the topics for upcoming Health lessons in January:

Kindergarten: Getting Sick

1st Grade: Get Well Soon

2nd Grade: Germs They Make You Sick

3rd Grade: Things You Might Catch

4th Grade: Puzzled About Germs (HIV/AIDS)

5th Grade: About Blood and HIV

Speaking Of Health Updates…

Oregon’s annual statewide immunization exclusion date is approaching! This means all students whose immunization status is incomplete or insufficient must be brought up to date to avoid being excluded from school February 17, 2021. Despite distance learning, Oregon will be enforcing this requirement.

Winter break and January are ideal opportunities to double check your child’s immunization status and to make an appointment with your provider to receive any needed immunizations. Health providers are continuing to provide wellness and immunization appointments during this time. Additional information about immunization requirements can be found on the Clackamas County Health Department website:

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/PreventionWellness/VaccinesImmunization/GettingImmunized/Pages/school.aspx

And on the North Clackamas School District Nursing Team website:

https://sites.google.com/nclack.k12.or.us/ncsd-nursing-team/home

Any Exciting Community Events Taking Place In The Next Couple Weeks?

Of course…especially if you’re a fan of spaghetti! Our friends at the Old Spaghetti Factory (across Sunnyside Road from the Clackamas Town Center) are generously providing us 10% of sales for a three-day period between January 13^th-15^th. Mark your calendar, and have your appetites ready for this wonderful offer!

Finally, Two Simple Words: THANK YOU…

With 2020 now officially in the rearview mirror, I want to make sure all of you in the Scouters Mountain community know how much you are appreciated during these challenging times. On behalf of the entire Scouters Mountain staff, THANK YOU for helping guide your children through these unique circumstances of Distance Learning. I know tomorrow morning, I’ll check in on classrooms full of smiling faces, excited to see their teachers and classmates and eager to learn. I’m so proud of our teachers and staff, and I’m so thankful for our Coyote community members who have persevered, juggled schedules, and rearranged lives to make this work. We couldn’t do this without YOU!

Thank you for your support of our school…and here’s to an exciting, fun-filled 2021!

Curtis

Curtis Long

Principal

Scouters Mountain Elementary

4/9/20

Dear Scouters Mountain Families…

If you’ve been watching the local news this afternoon, you probably already know the tough information I’m writing to share. Along with all of you, I just watched Oregon’s governor make the announcement that all Oregon public schools will remain closed for the remainder of this school year.

The Scouters Mountain staff and I are devastated not to have the opportunity to welcome your students back before the end of this current school year. I want to first say that above anything else, please know that your Scouters Mountain student is loved, is terribly missed, and we will be doing everything in our power to meet his/her educational needs to the best of our abilities for the remainder of the year. I am heartbroken to know that I won’t be seeing your kids each day for the upcoming months, but I am especially saddened for our fifth graders, who will not finish out their elementary school experience in the traditional way…and our kindergarten kids, who have had their first-ever experience in public school suddenly stopped short.

At this point, there are so many questions about what happens next…I hope you understand that I really don’t have a lot of answers for you right now. What I do know, is that our teachers are working as hard as they possibly can to learn skills they suddenly need to provide distance learning, which officially begins on Monday. This is new to all of us. I can promise that we will be empathetic to your needs as families doing their best to survive this new, “temporary normal”…and I ask that you please show us just as much grace. If things aren’t quite technically sound as we get started, please be patient. We’re learning right along with you.

Please continue to log into your students’ Google Classroom and check the school website for frequent updates from me. As teachers contact you to check in, you will notice that the call is coming from an “Unknown Number.” This is intentional and allows our district to protect staff members’ personal telephone numbers. I know it’s not always ideal, but please do not ignore these phone calls. It’s very likely us touching base with our favorite families!

More information to come, but Scouters Mountain families, we are all in this together.

Above all, we love you…we miss you…and we will get through this!

Sincerely,

Curtis

Curtis Long

Principal

Scouters Mountain Elementary