èßäÊÓƵ

Hello Atomic Families,

• Wednesday, April 23, is an early release day—all èßäÊÓƵ will dismiss at 12:45 PM.

• All other days this week follow our regular start and dismissal times.

Middle School State Testing (Grades 6–8):
This week, ACCESS will administer OSAS state assessments in ELA, Math, and Science to èßäÊÓƵ in grades 6, 7, and 8.

• Wednesday, April 23: Students will follow a special testing schedule for the entire èßäÊÓƵ day.

• Thursday, April 24: Students will follow a special testing schedule during periods 1–4 and Atomic Time, then return to their normal schedule for periods 5–7 after lunch.

To be ready for testing, èßäÊÓƵ should bring:

• Their fully charged èßäÊÓƵ Chromebook

• Wired headphones with a 3.5mm audio jack (not Bluetooth)

• A physical (non-digital) book to read after completing their tests

If your student doesn’t have wired headphones, loaner pairs will be available at èßäÊÓƵ.

For èßäÊÓƵ opting out of testing:
They will spend testing periods in technology-free, supervised silent reading. Please remind them to bring a physical book to read.
If you are planning to opt your child out of testing, please submit the opt-out form by the morning of Tuesday, April 22. Last-minute opt-outs on testing days create significant logistical challenges—thank you for helping us plan accordingly!

2nd Grade Families:
Don’t forget to send your child with swimming gear on Tuesday for their swim lessons! If possible, have them wear their suit under their clothes and pack dry undergarments to change into after. This helps maximize their time in the water!

Big Congratulations to The ACCESS Academics!
Our middle èßäÊÓƵ OBOB team placed 2nd in the state last Saturday! We’re so proud—not just of their incredible competition performance, but of their growth, teamwork, and dedication throughout the season. Their journey has been inspiring, and they’ve made our entire community proud!

Celebrating Autism Awareness Month:
April is Autism Awareness Month, and we want to recognize and celebrate the positive contributions of all of our twice-exceptional and neurodiverse èßäÊÓƵ. At ACCESS, we believe that our diversity makes us stronger. We are committed to creating a èßäÊÓƵ community where every student feels welcomed, valued, and supported for exactly who they are. We are honored to learn with—and from—one another every day.

Thanks for reading this extra-long update. I hope you enjoyed the beautiful spring weather this weekend, and for those who celebrate, hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Warmly,

Principal Aaron

Good morning ACCESS families,

I hope you had a chance to enjoy the beautiful spring weather this weekend—and for those who celebrate, I hope your Passover celebrations are off to a joyful start!

We’re on a regular schedule this week with no early release days for staff meetings.

A reminder for our 2nd grade families: the Schools to Pools schedule has shifted. Swim lessons will now take place tomorrow (Tuesday, April 15th) and continue on Tuesdays for the remainder of the program. If possible, please send your child to èßäÊÓƵ wearing their swimsuit under their clothes, along with a set of dry undergarments to change into after. This helps us get them into the pool quickly and ensures they have more time with the instructor.

I also hope to see many of you at our ACCESS PTA meeting on Thursday evening!

Warmly,
Principal Aaron

Hi Everyone,

Welcome home to our 6th-grade èßäÊÓƵ! Your chaperones shared that you were absolutely inspiring in the way you embraced your time at Outdoor School. We’re so proud of you!

Here are a few things going on at ACCESS this week to keep on your radar:

• Tuesday: It’s a staff meeting day, so all èßäÊÓƵ (including middle èßäÊÓƵ) will be released at 3:15 PM. This means that buses should arrive at their afternoon stops a few minutes earlier than usual.

• Tuesday: Our 8th graders will be heading out on their field trip to the University of Oregon.

• Thursday: Our 2nd graders will begin the Schools to Pools program. If you have a 2nd grader, please remember to send them with their swimming gear.

• Friday: We will conduct our spring earthquake drill. As we practice earthquake safety at èßäÊÓƵ, it’s a great opportunity to as well.

• Middle School Dance Update: The dance originally scheduled for this Friday has been postponed to Friday, May 2nd.

• OSAS Exams: At our staff meeting tomorrow, we will finalize the plans for administering the OSAS exams. You can expect to receive the testing schedule soon.

Thank you for your continued support!

Best,

Principal Aaron

Good morning everyone! Hope everyone had a relaxing and joyful spring break! I’m excited to hear from your kiddos about the fun they had last week. We’ve got a short week as we dive back into things. Students will be out this Friday, April 4th, and next Monday, April 7th, for grading and planning.

We’ve got our Principal’s Coffee this Wednesday at 9:00 AM, which will be in-person this week (and streaming online as well) at ACCESS—with actual coffee provided!

Our 6th graders are out this week participating in that great Oregon tradition of Outdoor School! We wish them the best of luck and know they are learning important things about this land that we share and care for while building lifelong memories.

2nd grade families—please make sure to get your permission slips in for Schools to Pools! That program starts Thursday, April 10th. Remember to send your child with their swimming gear on Thursdays starting next week.

Our Spring Dance is also coming up! We will be looking for parent volunteers to help chaperone next Friday, April 11th.

I’ve had a couple of people asking about the calendar for next year and want to clarify that we are planning to do 6th Grade Jump Start again next year. That means èßäÊÓƵ who will be starting 7th or 8th grade in the fall will get one extra day of summer break and will start èßäÊÓƵ on August 27th.

Best,

Principal Aaron

You can find a recording on January's Principal Coffee virtual meeting ! 

Atomic Articles - June!

Here is the link to view the video of today's principal coffee, which had details about dates for the end of this èßäÊÓƵ year as well as previews of next year's schedules:

Here is the link to the powerpoint with the basic info:

Also note: If you know people interested in the lottery results for the 24-25 èßäÊÓƵ year, we anticipate the initial offers to go out early next week, May 13 or after. Thanks!

May Atomic Articles

Atomic Articles Volume 29

Happy March Atomic Families!

Atomic Articles - March!

HeART of Portland, the annual celebration of local student artists, is returning to the Portland Art Museum (PAM) beginning April 16.

The two-week fine arts showcase features work by èßäÊÓƵ from across èßäÊÓƵ and is made possible by the Arts Access Fund, which also supports elementary visual and performing arts educators.

kicks off with an opening reception at PAM on April 16 at 6:30 p.m. and concludes with the Miller Family Free Day on April 27. The opening reception will include musical and theatrical performances, as well as a set from the elementary èßäÊÓƵ honor choir – made up of two singers from each PPS elementary – and the debut of the honor dance collective. 

In addition, the showcase will feature more than 100 works of student visual art, handpicked by PPS arts educators, and a collaborative art project for K-12 èßäÊÓƵ that embraces the rebellious spirit of the current PAM exhibition,  

The reception and HeART of Portland exhibits are free and open to everyone. Please join us in lifting up our student artists!

èßäÊÓƵ is continuing to host a series of events aimed at starting productive conversations about what is possible in the systems we create for our children with disabilities.

As part of this series, we are excited to welcome you to a free screening of  on Thursday March 20 at . Doors open at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at 7:00.

The Ride Ahead is a film about adult life with disabilities by a man with disabilities. It is the debut of 21-year-old Samuel Habib who, struggling to find his place in the world, decides to make a film that charts how a group of disabled adults navigate challenges and forge their own unique paths. The film serves as a roadmap for himself and others and illustrates the compelling power of one person truly determined to live life on his own terms.

In documenting his journey, Samuel is following in the footsteps of his father, the filmmaker Dan Habib. You can learn more about their work .

Staff, families, and community members are all invited. Parking is free and McMenamins' full menu is available for ordering. We hope to see you there!

In meteorological terms, Portland’s first big weather event of 2024 was the definition of a perfect storm. Frigid temperatures and high winds combined with snow and ice to bring down tree limbs, close roads, scramble traffic, freeze pipes, and knock out power for tens of thousands of residents.

It was a metaphorical perfect storm for èßäÊÓƵ as well. Fallen trees cut power to multiple èßäÊÓƵs and others have suffered water damage from broken pipes. Lack of heat was also a problem, and impassable roads, paired with snowed-in and icy parking lots, made it impossible for buses to run safely. Those same conditions limited how the district’s facilities and operations teams can even assess the scope of the issues, let alone begin working on solutions. And icy sidewalks meant walkers have no safe route to èßäÊÓƵ.

This week could bring similar conditions to the Portland area, and PPS’s School Closure Team is ready to meet the challenge. The team convenes regularly during inclement weather to take all of the above into careful consideration. By now, families are quite familiar with how the district communicates these decisions. What’s perhaps less known is how district leaders arrive at such decisions in the first place.