Buckman Arts Focus Elementary School

Buckman Community Partnership (BCP) committee needs your involvement!!

If you are concerned with social services, family success, community building, and political involvement, BCP is the perfect place for you to express your advocacy. BCP primarily provides oversight council and review of our SUN (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) program at Buckman.

In addition to this, BCP has also worked closely with other community partners such as Portland Impact to provide social services to Buckman, Stand for Children to assist in organizing political advocacy around school funding and academic issues, and other local county and city representatives around issues that affect the community and families at Buckman.

Our first meeting will be held in the Buckman library on September 18th at 6:30 p.m. Childcare will be provided. BCP meets on a quarterly basis. For more information, please contact Jill Bennett at edjill (at) hevanet (dot) com

Download the inaugural 07-08 CHEER newsletter here.

The Buckman Cheer is a bi-weekly clearinghouse of news from Buckman

I got inspired by the stunning clean-up done to Buckman's grounds on Saturday (thanks to those who labored), and started a spruce-up of the Buckman website to match!

There'll be many more updates to come as we get closer to September 5th, but here are a few changes to check out:

* We have a new electronic calendar that you can view or add to your existing iCal-formatted calendar. Want to know when PTA meetings are? Picture day? Run for the Arts? It's all in there!

* Need to know who this year's PTA officers are? Want to reach them via email? Drop by the PTA page

* SUN class registration starts September 6th - get the details here.

* Finally, we have a brand new page for the Buckman Foundation - drop by to download a letter with more information, pledge forms, and a list of employers offering matching grants.

And if you have suggestions or resources to share, feel free to email me - Betsy Richter - at bdrichter*at*gmail*dot*com. (replace the placeholders with symbols, please.)

SUN classes for Fall 2007 will begin on September 10th and run through December 21, 2007. Registration forms are now available at Buckman.

Registration:

• Grades 3-5: Thursday, 9/6 from 8:30-9:30 am and 2-4:00 pm
• Grades K-2: Friday, 9/7 from 8:30-9:30 am and 2-4:00 pm

Some important facts to know:

• Parents with children in both age groups can choose their registration day, but their child will not be entered until the proper timeslot (eg. younger children on Friday after those standing in line.)
• Completed registration forms, payment, and income documentation for scholarships are all due at registration. Please have all paperwork ready!
• You may also leave completed registration forms in the SUN mailbox in the main office
• Partial scholarships (up to 50% for free lunch students) are available for SUN classes (free and reduced lunch letter or documented family income required.)

Our PTA Officers for 2006-2007 are:

President: Joyce Koenig
VP: Jill Bennett
Secretary: Kim O'Neill
Treasurer: Jerome Faulkner

You can email them as a group at buckmanarts *at* yahoo.com (replace *at* with @ and you'll be set!)

Please come out to Buckman School this coming Saturday morning!

Portland Public Schools and SOLV are enlisting volunteers to do grounds work at 65 schools across the city as part of Community Care Day on Saturday, Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to noon. We hope to get a large group out at Buckman.

The volunteers will weed, prune, mow and spread bark chips to prepare for students' return to school Sept. 5.

Following the cleanup, all volunteers are invited to Roseway Heights School, 7334 N.E. Siskiyou St., for a barbecue, music and the dedication of a new playground structure.

Last year, more than 1,800 people participated in Community Care Day, enhancing the grounds of dozens of schools. Such efforts are vital to Portland Public Schools: Because of tight budgets, the district employs the equivalent of only four full-time groundskeepers to maintain its 750 acres of property.

We hope to see you there!

By now, parents and families should have received a welcome letter from Buckman's new principal, Claudia Mason. Her note contains a list of upcoming dates to put in your calendar (see the right sidebar for details), a list of needed school supplies, and of course - the news about your child(ren)'s assigned teacher!

From her letter:

Please introduce yourselves to me when you see me! I'm delighted to begin this exciting new school year with you, and have high hopes for a remarkable year of learning - for all. I encourage you to participate in classroom and school activities. Buckman will continue to be an outstanding school with your active involvement.

And you'll have a chance to meet her yourself at Cafe Thursday on September 13th from 7:30 -8:45 am - come by and have tea or coffee with our new principal!

See you all in September!