Dear Alameda Families,

Alameda students are continuing to work hard, grow and excel! As I enter classrooms, I am continually impressed with the teachers' high expectations for students, their ability to meet the needs of all learners, and the dedicated support that we receive from our wonderful parent community!

As we being a new year, I am always reminded of how much we have to celebrate at Alameda. We recently received a 3-year history of our 4th Grade State Writing Test Results. The testing requirements have been recalibrated to reflect the requirements of our challenging state standards, and Alameda students continue to show great academic growth. Over a three-year period, Alameda students have shown growth in all areas. To support our growth in Writing, teachers are working on writing curriculum maps at all grade levels. Curriculum maps are a research-based instructional practice that supports strong instruction with identifying gaps, identifying repetitions, and developing a continuum between all grade levels.

The staff and I thank all of you for your support, dedication and everything that you do for our staff and students! We are very grateful for your support and wish you a happy new year!

Important TAG Information:

Testing Dates for TAG Nominated Students

If you child has been nominated for TAG this year, your child will be assessed on January 26 and 27. We will not have any assemblies, field trips or classroom parties on this date. Testing will take place in the form of games, puzzles and activities. Please support your child by making sure that he or she is here for both days. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Resources for Parents and Teachers

• Prufrock Press: http://www.prufrock.com/showproducts.cfm? WPCID=1059
• Hoagies Gifted Education Page: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
• SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted): http://www.sengifted.org/

Safer Routes Program

Alameda students in grades 2 and 5 will have the opportunity to participate in the Safer Routes Program from the City of Portland Transportation Services. This program provides information to students and families about safe biking, walking and driving routes both to and from your neighborhood school. Second and Fifth Grade families will receive more information in the mail soon. Students will have the opportunity to purchase a goodie bag full of fun items. Our school will receive a $5 donation for each Alameda student who chooses to participate.

We are also looking for parent volunteers who are interested. Please contact Andrew Dauch at adauch@pps.k12.or.us if you are interested in participating or have any questions.

OAKS 4th Grade Writing Performance Assessment

The testing window for our 4th Grade students will be from January 12 to February 27. Please see Andrew Dauch if you have any questions.

Andrew Dauch, Assistant Principal

FRI 9 --- Auction ticket sales commence

SUN 11 --- Fiesta! Auction Committee Meeting and Work Party (3:30 PM, Spa La La)

TUE 20 --- Auction Donation Deadline

TUE 20 --- Auction Sponsorship Deadline

TUE 20 --- Auction Advertising Deadline

TUE 20 --- Auction Poetry and Writing Contribution Deadline

TUE 20 --- Class Project Descriptions Due

WED 21 --- Transfer process informational meeting (7 PM, Beaumont School library)

THURS 22 - FRI 23 --- Used Book Sale, Cafeteria

THURS 22 --- Alameda Green Team general interest meeting (6:30 PM, library)

FRI 23 --- Deadline for winter clothing donations

FRI 23 --- Deadline for Auction Volunteer Sign-up for Night-Of Positions

MON 26 - TUES 27 --- TAG Testing

TUE 17 --- Auction Preview Night (6:30 PM, Alameda cafeteria)

SUN 22 --- Beaumont Middle School Move-Up Event (7 - 8:30 PM, Beaumont cafeteria)

Judy Brennan from the PPS enrollment and transfer center will make a presentation about the transfer process for 5th grade and 8th grade parents and students interested in learning more about how the system works. The meeting is scheduled during the next Beaumont PTA meeting, on January 21 at 7 PM in the Beaumont School library, located at 4043 NE Fremont.

The Beaumont Site Council is planning a "Beaumont Middle School Move-Up Event" for Sunday, February 22, in the cafeteria at Beaumont from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. The purpose of the event is to bring together teachers, counselors, administrators and parents from both the Beaumont and Alameda school communities, to get to know each other and to share information about Beaumont's educational programs and social development goals. It is also for parents who do not have kids at Alameda, but who may be weighing their option to transfer to Beaumont. Please let people know who might be interested.

The event will be a pot-luck; an opportunity to ask questions and receive information about Beaumont, but also an opportunity to build a greater community and strengthen the continuity between Alameda, Beaumont and Grant in terms of student education, parent involvement, and fundraising.

If you'd like to volunteer to help out in any way, there will be a planning meeting on Wednesday, January 14th, in the Beaumont library between 7:00 and 8:30 PM. For further information, contact Charles Kelley at 503-267-0183.

Scrip is back and better than ever! Check out these usual suspects now available in additional denominations plus one brand new culprit.

• Safeway $100 (and $50)
• iTunes $15 (and $25)
• Starbucks $10 (and $25)
• Plus, Amazon.com is now available every week in $25 denominations!

Download an order form at www.alamedaschool.org, click on Fundraising, click on Scrip, and click on order form. Or pick one up outside the office. Orders may be turned into the office at any time but are due Mondays at 9 AM.

There's never been a better time to scrip it.

Questions?

scrip@alamedaschool.org

"La Bodega" aka "The Wine Cellar" Returns! You can be a part of this successful auction item which, when completed, will be a diverse and incredible collection of wine. The wine cellar will be auctioned off at Carnaval Mazatlan on March 7. The Carnaval "Bodega" is built simply with numerous individual donations of a bottle or bottles of wine. Just drop off a bottle or bottles of your favorite wine ($10 - $15 price range) in the front office by February 15th. Please attach your name, telephone number and email to the donation. Salud!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20th is the deadline for:

• SPONSORSHIP - We are looking for eight more sponsors at a variety of levels.
• DONATIONS - We are looking for group events and dinners, professional service donations, recreational activities, urban overnights, wine and golf- oriented events.
• ADVERTISING - Professional and Personal ad space is still available in our auction catalog.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 23rd is the deadline for:

• NIGHT-OF VOLUNTEER SIGN UP

Please visit the auction website at www.alamedaschool.org/auction for all the necessary tools to sponsor, donate, advertise and volunteer!

The PTA has established an Alameda Green Team and needs your input and participation. Are you interested in reducing waste, increasing recycling throughout the school, composting cafeteria waste, planting a schoolyard garden? We would love to hear your ideas and put your enthusiasm for sustainability to good use. Please come to a general interest meeting on Thursday, January 22 at 6:30 PM in the Library. Please call 503-493-4252 or email jaylen123@comcast.net to RSVP.

Jaylen Schmitt

The Winter Clothing Drive is still in full swing. Frosty will be in the Alameda front lobby until Friday, January 23rd. The PTA Clothing Center is seeking donations of coats, fleece jackets, jeans, hats and gloves (sizes 4T to 4X). Frosty also accepts checks with 100% of proceeds going toward the purchase of new socks, underwear and jeans (please take checks to the school office). Donated items should be new or gently used. The PTA Clothing Center is located at Marshall High School and serves Portland Public School students in need of clothing and other school related items. The Clothing Center's demand is up sharply this year and they need our support. All donations are tax deductible. If you wish to receive a tax receipt, please attach a request to your item including your name, address, list of items donated and donation dollar amount. Questions? Contact Andrea Weinman at andhow@sterling.net.

Alameda desperately needs a better bed for sick kids to rest on; the current one is not hygenic. We would love to have a new or gently used Varsity Recovery Couch, pediatric size. Are there any Alameda parent doctors or nurses who could donate one from a medical practice that no longer needs it?? If so, please contact the office. The PTA doesn't have the budgetary resources to buy one.

Diane Ford, school secretary, has a box of lost items in the office, which includes keys, glasses, a baby shoe, and many other items which may be valuable to someone! Please check with her if you are missing something.

Wilshire-Riverside Little League Baseball & Softball: Sign-Up Now for the 2009 Season. Online registration is open and in-person sign-ups will be held at Alameda School on Thursday, January 22 and Wednesday, January 28 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Visit our website at www.wilshirelittleleague.org to get the latest information about registration.

Alameda News Notes is a mostly weekly publication of the PTA to keep you informed about what is going on in the school community. Please e-mail articles appropriate for this publication to me, David Peyerwold, at: peyerwold@comcast.net. Some items may need to be cleared by the District before publication. Submissions that don't arrive in my mailbox by Wednesday morning at about 9:30 a.m. will not make it into the hard copy version that is distributed at school. If your item is too late for this week's issue, it will be included in next week's. If something simply can't wait until next week, the News Notes staff has proven to be pretty flexible about sending out special notices. Please note: Information, flyers, etc., from unaffiliated school groups or general community groups announcing class offerings and other activities may be picked up from the magazine racks outside the main office.