Dear Families,

Thank you for your continued support during such unprecedented times. Our students are doing an amazing job adapting to our new version of school and they continue to amaze us each day with their positivity and resilience. Recently, we surveyed students about their experience at school and they overwhelmingly report that they really enjoy the in-person days, they feel like they are learning a lot, and they of course miss seeing their friends every day. One of our top priorities is to ensure that all students see themselves, hear themselves, and see their experiences valued in curriculum, classrooms, and interactions at school. Today students participated in a "Raise Your Voice" activity in which they created a visual representation of their current thoughts and feelings. All images will be combined to create a school-wide mural.

This is a reminder that progress reports are coming home with students this week. Please review with your child and reach out to their Crew teacher with any questions or concerns.

As the weather begins to change and we get closer to winter we will have an increased need for warm weather gear. If you have new or gently used winter jackets, mittens/gloves, hats, and boots for children we would welcome any donations. Please call the office to make donation arrangements.

Thanks to everyone who has participated in our auction to date. Bidding ends tomorrow, November 5! www.32auctions.com/KingMiddleSchool

Have a great week!

Caitlin

Foundation for Portland Public Schools
Teacher Equity and Innovation Grants

We are excited that the King BIPOC Empowerment Project received funding from the Foundation for Portland Public Schools. King staff and students will collaborate with three community organizations to develop supportive programming for our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students. We are looking forward to working with representatives from Acts of Change, Maine Youth Network and Nilotic, whose individual and collective experience with young people of color is impressive. Stay tuned for more information as this programming is developed and implemented.

The Foundation also provided funding for Matinicus students to (virtually) attend a Portland Ovations performance called Living Voices: Hear My Voice. The dramatization of a young White woman's experience as a suffragette during World War I fits beautifully into the Four Freedoms expedition. The performance is bookended by an introduction and post-performance talk that provides more context and historical footage. Each student will also receive a copy of the book, Roses and Radicals: The Epic Story of How American Women Won the Right to Vote.

Say My Name - Graffiti art

In Ms. Maloney-Hawkins arts class, students have been engaged in a unit on graffiti. They have looked at the work and message of different graffiti artists, discussed whether graffiti is vandalism or art, and created a tag for their own name Students included multiple types of lines, and either a warm or cool color scheme in their artwork. Check it out!