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Kyle Holbrook, founder of Moving Lives of Kids (MLK Mural Project), has created over 150 Murals in Miami, nearly 400 murals in the Pittsburgh area, murals in every Borough of New York City, several in Phoenix, San Fransisco, London, Tokyo as well as in 43 countries and 49 states. His collaborative work focuses on galvanizing people through the power of art, with a specialty in working with adults and youth with special needs. Holbrook aims to show the true power of art to unite communities, champion causes, and beautify neighborhoods, thereby reducing criminal activity through the broken windows theory. He has also collaborated with police departments to improve community relations and created memorials and works for veterans, in addition to contributing to major events like the US Open, the World Cup, and the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

This Fall, Kyle Holbrook will be at Sitton painting a mural in celebration of our the work of our students, families and staff as Portland's First Neighborhood School! We are so excited and honored to work with Kyle. You can find more information about his other works at:

All September long you can "round up" your bill at St. John's Ace Hardware in support of Sitton students. 100% of proceeds from this fundraiser will go to support hands-on learning experiences, field trips and guest speakers. We are so grateful for the community support. Please tell your friends, family, and neighbors about this awesome opportunity. Thanks again to the Broadway Ace Hardware Group for their support in fostering engaging and joyful learning in our community. Go Falcons!  

Welcome to the 2024-2025 School Year!

I hope you and your family have each had a fabulous summer with just the right amount of rest and adventure. We are so excited to welcome you and your family back to school in just a few short weeks! To get ready, we hope you will join us on Saturday, August 17th for our Community Cares Day, from 10:00am to 12:00pm. This is our annual campus clean up and is always so fun! Wear work clothes and if you can, bring any gardening tools you have! We also have Popsicles in the Park on Friday, August 23rd from 2:30-3:30 near the Pier Park Playground. Meet your teachers, classmates and enjoy a cool treat before the start of the school year. 

Classroom & Teacher Assignments: Class assignments are now live in ParentVue. You can login to find your child's teacher and room number. This information can be found by clicking the "current schedule" icon. Also, in ParentVue, you can update your emergency contact information and view your child's assessment results from prior years. Teachers return to school on August 21st and will reach out at that time to connect with you and welcome your child and family to their classroom community!  

Kindergarten Information:

• Kindergarten Ramp Up Days: On 8/21 your child's Kindergarten teacher will reach out to set up a 1:1 connection time to meet you and your child! This can happen via a home visit, park play date, meeting at school, virtual meeting, or phone call! Whichever you prefer! You will also hear in this communication which ramp-up day your child is slated to attend (8/29 or 8/30).
• Kindergarten First Day of School is September 3. Please join us after drop off this day for our kindergarten welcome breakfast in the cafeteria! Enter through the courtyard doors near room 1 and 2 (Teacher Tania and Ms. Siddiqui’s classrooms) to meet school staff and other kindergarten families.

Start/End of the School Day:

• Arrival & Dismissal: Breakfast is eaten in the classrooms at 7:53 when the doors open. Classroom instruction begins at 8:00 and students are marked tardy at 8:05 School ends at 2:30 this year. Kindergarten students can be dropped off and picked up at their external classroom door. All other students can enter through the two sets of double doors in front of the school. Students in grades 1-5th are dismissed on the back playground.
• Go Home Plan: Please make sure to communicate with your teacher what the typical “go-home” plan will be. If that plan changes, please call the main office. Because of the time it takes to get kids packed up and out the door, we cannot guarantee  early dismissals after 2pm.  
• School Bus Information: You can find out about our two bus routes by visiting the PPS transportation website. 

Lunch: All Sitton students have access to a nutritious lunch provided free of charge as part of our community eligibility program! No paperwork is required, students just get in the lunch line during their lunchtime. You may also choose to send a cold packed lunch with your child! (we do not have student-accessible microwaves)

School Supplies: Most supplies will be provided in the classroom. Your child needs a backpack and a water bottle. We very much appreciate financial school supply donations so that we can continue to offer school supplies to all Sitton students! If you would like to donate to your child’s classroom you can send the donation in an envelope, give it directly to your child’s teacher or the front office. You can also use school pay found under the "dontae" tab on our website. These donations are funneled into the classroom account and used for supplies, field trips, etc at the teacher’s discretion. Thank you for considering this!

Lost and Found: Please label student backpacks and outerwear with first and last name. Our lost and found is located in front of the main office and can be accessed everyday!

Absence Notification: If your child will be absent from school, please email your child's teacher and the school secretary, Rosa Montoya, at rmontoya@pps.net or call to the main office and speak with Rosa at (503) 916-6277. If you need to leave a voicemail, please indicate the student’s first and last name with all notes or messages.

We can’t wait to see you in a few short weeks! The best way to prepare is to practice going to bed by 8pm and reading together everyday. Please feel free to reach out via phone or email the main office between 8:00am-4:00pm if you have any questions! 

It is going to be a fabulous school year!

Sincerely,

Becky Berry

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.”