Friday, June 2 

Riverdale School District News

Climate & Culture School Survey

As the school year comes to a close, we'd like to hear how it went and how we can improve going forward. Please take a couple minutes to complete this anonymous Climate and Culture District Survey. We ask that you please respond to the best of your ability. Thank you!

Equity & Inclusion Corner

Holidays and Celebrations

June is Pride Month, a month-long celebration of LGBTQIA+ identity. Learn more below.

Happy Pentecost and All Saints’ Day to our Eastern Orthodox Christian Community.

World Environment Day is on June 5th. This year’s theme is #BeatPlasticPollution. Learn more at the United Nations’ website.

We hope our Bahá’í community has a wonderful Race Unity Day.

June 12th is Anne Frank Day, which honors the life and legacy of the young girl and reminds us to never forget the Holocaust.

June 12th is Loving Day, which celebrates the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loving vs. Virginia. The court ruled that miscegenation laws (laws which forbade interracial marriage) were illegal.  

June 14th is Flag Day, which celebrates the U.S. flag being adopted by Congress in 1777.

We wish a lovely Fathers’s Day to all fathers and father figures. We recognize that this can be a special day for many and a hard day for others.  

June 19th is Juneteenth, which celebrates the day the state of Texas abolished enslavement. Learn more below.

June 20th is World Refugee Day, which brings awareness to the struggles faced by refugees.

Pride Month

On June 28th, 1969, the Stonewall uprising took place in New York City, which is considered the start of the modern movement for gay rights.  On June 26th, 2015, the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. This month is a great time to learn more about this history and LGBTQIA+ identity. I have shared some resources and events below.

ODE Resources:

To learn more about recommendations and requirements in public schools in the state of Oregon, dive into these documents from the Oregon Department of Education:

LGBTQIA2SIA+ Student Success Plan, June 2020

Supporting Gender Expansive Students, January 2023

Book Lists:

Great LGBTQ Inclusive Picture and Middle Grade Books: these are organized by category and have summaries and age level, also includes a comprehensive list of picture books and another one of middle grade books

Transgender Reading List for Children from PFLAG, includes book summaries

The GLSEN Companion to NEA’s Read Across America: GLSEN has books and accompanying lesson plans for books about gender roles and gender identity in grades K-5

From Family Equality: Young Adult LGBTQ Family-Friendly Books

From Book Riot: 20 Books for Parents of LGBTQ Kids, A Plethora of Pride - 25+ LGBTQ Books for Teens

Local Events:

Check out Pride Portland for their list of official events - there are family friendly events as well as adult only events.

Head downtown for the Portland Pride Waterfront Festival on Saturday, July 15th, 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM and Sunday, July 16th, 11:30 AM - 6:00 PM.

The official Portland Pride Parade is on Sunday, July 16th, starting at 11:00 AM.

Juneteenth

The name Juneteenth comes from a blending of the words June and nineteenth referring to June 19th, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas. Although the Civil War had technically ended two months prior, in Galveston, life proceeded much as it had in the 100 years prior. About 250,000 Black people were still enslaved in the state of Texas. These enslaved people were unaware of their freedom until the Union troops told them that the war was over and President Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Juneteenth, also referred to as “Freedom Day” and “Emancipation Day,” celebrates this last group of southern slaves becoming free.

Want to learn more? I encourage you to dive into the Juneteenth Digital Toolkit from the National Museum of African American History and Culture. 

The flier below shares information about the official Juneteenth Oregon Parade and Festival, with more events listed on the website.

- Abby Rotwein (she/her), Director of Equity & Inclusion

Sports Scores

RGS Track 

8th graders Justin M. and Kaiji A. competed at the Meet of Champions statewide competition on May 24. Justin finished in 11th place in the 3000m race (new school record), and in the 1500m race Kaiji finished 23rd and Justin 25th. 

Thursday, May 25

High School State Track & Field Meet

Lily Z. (High Jump) - 4th Place *School Record*

Sylas C. (3000m) - 10th Place

Friday, May 26

State Track & Field Meet

Abby Z. (800m) - 4th Place *School Record*

Abby Z. (Triple Jump) - 7th Place

Caitlin M., Abby Z., Nial D., Lily Z. (4x400 Relay) - 7th Place *School Record*

Academic All-State

Boys Golf - 3rd Place

Girls Golf - 2nd Place

Boys Tennis - 9th Place

Girls Tennis - 2nd Place

Boys Track & Field - 1st Place

Girls Track & Field - 1st Place

All-League/All-District Awards

1st Team

Lily Z. (TF)

Abby Z. (TF)

2nd Team

Anders N. (BGF)

Sylas C. (TF)

Caitlin M. (TF)

Nial D. (TF)

School Board Meeting Monday

The Riverdale School Board will hold a School Board Meeting on Monday, June 5 in person in the grade school library at 6 p.m. The meeting will also be available virtually via GoToWebinar.

Public Comment Process

Community members who would like to speak on agenda topics will be given an opportunity to do so after the board discusses that particular topic. There is also an opportunity to speak to non-agenda topics. In either case, community members may use the “raise hand” feature to then be unmuted to speak to the board.

For members of the public who wish to submit written public comment:

• Submit an email to Chrisie Hessel before 12 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
• IMPORTANT: Please type “Written Public Comment” in the subject line.
• Include your full name in the body of the email.
• Names of patrons providing input will be read during the meeting and their written public comment will be posted online via the Board agenda.

NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET

A proposed supplemental budget for the Riverdale School District (Multnomah County, State of Oregon) for the fiscal year July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, will be considered by the Riverdale School District Board of Directors, at the next regular board meeting which will be held on Monday June 12, 2023 at 6pm. The meeting will be held at the Riverdale Grade School library, 11733 S Breyman Ave, Portland, OR, 97219, and will also be available virtually.

REMINDER

Preschool Survey

Riverdale is exploring the option of starting a preschool (not to be confused with a daycare) for the 24-25 School Year. By filling out this survey, you would be helping us define level of interest and any potential program design elements. Even if you do not have a child of preschool age, we would appreciate your input. Thank you. 

REMINDER

Communications Survey

Please take this survey to help us improve how we communicate with RSD families. Questions are related to communications during the 2022-23 School Year.

As a reminder, the district does not send the weekly Friday morning enews from the Parent Teacher Club. Please complete before June 9.

Important Dates

• Monday, June 5 - School Board Meeting at 6 p.m. 
• Friday, June 9 - Last Day of School 
• Monday, June 12 - School Board Meeting at 6 p.m.

View the 2023-24 School Year Calendar PDF on our website.