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Good Information for Families:

• Great and in depth resource for creating action and change in our community. (interactive resource - click on an area to think about how to take action)
• By Dr. Candice Nicole
• by Rachel Miller for Vice

When Beckham Weatherby picks up his tuba, the rest of the world falls away. 

“I don’t get that nervous and I don’t get stage fright at all,” he said. “I guess I got lucky with how my body reacts to performing in front of crowds.”

Which is something the McDaniel High School junior has done quite a bit of lately. Not only is he a member of the prestigious Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) and the PYP conservatory orchestra, but he recently earned first prize in the tuba solo performance category at the Oregon State Solo Music Championships.

The first things you notice when you walk into Ellie Jensen’s classroom at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School are peace and warmth. Then you hear the laughter of children. Then you just might see two posters hanging on the walls that tell you a great deal about the kind of teacher she has been for the past 50 years. The posters simply say, “Leave a little sparkle wherever you go” and “Be a friend.”

Jensen, known as “Miss Ellie” to the hundreds of students she has taught in her half a century as a Portland Public Schools educator, can’t help but light up a room. And she is a friend to all children. 

We dare you to drive by the Mainspring Food Pantry on the corner of 82nd Avenue and Fremont and not do a double take. Or a triple take. 

Students from McDaniel High School’s art-focused Career Technical Education (CTE) class have spent the last four weeks turning the exterior walls of the pantry into one, huge, joyful mural as part of the course’s exploration of climate justice and community engagement.

A little over 30 years ago, a Madison High School student named Joseph Janson had a simple wish. He wanted to go to a dance. But nothing was simple for Joseph, who was born with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. 

He confided his wish to Tony Nitz, who at that time was an educational assistant at Madison (now Leodis V. McDaniel High School). Tony had been working one-on-one with Joseph for months and he immediately went about making the young man’s dream come true.

“The truth is, I would have done anything for Joseph,” Nitz said. “He was a unique person, and we had a very special bond.”

From the school counselor: 

I know today we have come to school with a heavy heart after the traumatic and devastating news from the school shooting in Texas. The school counselor department and student success and health is working on compiling resources for educators and students.

 I do not want to overwhelm but also want to provide a few resources that might be of help throughout the week. If you, students, or families need support please reach out as I am happy to hold space for anyone who might need an outlet. 

• Try and keep routines as normal as possible. Kids gain security from the predictability of routine, including attending school.

• Limit exposure to television and the news.

• Be honest with kids and share with them as much information as they are developmentally able to handle.

• Listen to kids’ fears and concerns.

• Reassure kids that the world is a good place to be, but that there are people who do bad things.

• Parents and adults need to first deal with and assess their own responses to crisis and stress.

• Rebuild and reaffirm attachments and relationships.