Sauvie Island School News

photograph of cherry blossom trees blooming and a fountain in a Portland park

April 10th, 2025

From the Director's Desk

On the Horizon

  • Talent Show permission slips due: April 16th, show at the end of the school day April 30th

  • Work Day, No Students: April 25th

  • Parent Teacher Conferences, no school : May 1st & 2nd

  • Remember to return permission slips for Oaks Park and yearbook order forms!

Kindergarten Updates with Mrs. V

Spring is a fun time in Kindergarten! Every day is full of adventures and learning. In Phonics, students are learning about digraphs (wh, ch, sh, th, ck) and underlining them whenever they see one in a word! In Language Arts, we just finished a module called "America Then and Now". The focus was to practice informational writing after reading books about how transportation, school, home, and communication have changed over time. The students are enjoying the rotary dial telephone in our class kitchen! Our Force in Motion unit in Science has the kids learning about push and pull forces. They enjoyed pushing various objects by blowing through a straw. The class has also been out in the garden with Ms. Susan, observing, tasting, and planning what to plant when the time comes. 

Elliott working on a phonics project
Riley on an old school phone
Amos works on math problems
Kindergarteners in the garden with Ms. Susan

5th Grade Updates with Mrs. Schwartz

It's time for our annual egg lunch in fifth grade! The fifth graders are working in pairs to design and build a prototype of a space vessel that can safely "land on Mars." Each student will receive an egg and complete a test launch to see what went well, and what changes need to be made to their boxes. Then, next week on Friday, April 18, they'll officially launch their prototypes off of the gymnasium balcony! 

Flyer advertising 5th grade egg launch project

Middle School Updates with Mrs. Horn

To enhance our astronomy unit, 6th grade went on a solar system walk at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview, WA. We learned about how vast distances are in space (and the rain held off until we were back on the bus!) If you want to mark your calendars, there will be a solstice lantern walk on Saturday, Dec. 20th from 4:30-6:30.

6th graders at the solar system walk
6th grader read about planets on the solar system walk
Outside with 6th grade learning about the distance between planets.
Schoolwide Paper Drive flyer

Photograph of a yellow school bus

Attention all SIS Parents and Guardians,

Please be aware that Sauvie Island School has a transportation agreement with the Scappoose School District, which permits us to share the Middle School parking lots as our transportation hub in the AM and PM.

Sauvie Island School has committed that all of our parents and guardians who drop off or pick up their students at the middle school bus hub will drive slowly, park in a designated parking spot, and walk with their student(s) through the parking lot. We can not have students going through the parking lot unattended. This is extremely dangerous.

All children must be closely supervised at all times when on school district property. Children cannot be left unattended in vehicles, on the tennis court, or in the grass field area.

Our parents and guardians must also abide by all rules and expectations of the transportation agreement for it to continue. Any parents and guardians who do not abide by all rules and expectations will no longer be able to utilize the bus hub. Please remember this agreement is to ensure the safety of all students.

We appreciate your help in ensuring that we meet all of the expectations in the agreement with the school district!

SIS Administration

Volunteer Corner

Hello Volunteer Community!  Would you like to know how to support the students, teachers and staff at Sauvie Island School?  Below are the current and ongoing volunteer needs:  

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week 5/5-5/9:  We invite you to help us celebrate our wonderful staff by signing up to contribute a food item.  Please see the sign up sheet here for more details. 

Annual SIS Auction:  Support ranges from asking for donations and sponsorships to helping with planning the event. 

Please email ptcauction@sauvieislandschool.org if you are interested in being involved in this important event. 

Auction Weekend Setup/Cleanup:  Many hands are needed to help with setting up the auction and cleaning up after the event.  If you are available and would like to lend a hand during Auction Weekend, 5/16-5/18, please see the sign up for details.  

Silent Auction Desserts Needed:  Calling all bakers!! Desserts are needed for the Silent Auction Dessert portion. Please sign up here if you are able to make a delicious dessert to contribute to this year's auction. Details are included in the sign up.   

Volunteer 1:1 Readers for K-5:  Slots are still available to volunteer to read with students. Sign up here. 

Ongoing volunteer opportunities can be found in the newsletter and on the SIS and SIS PTC Facebook pages!  Check them frequently to stay up to date on any volunteer needs we may have.

A reminder that all volunteers need to have an up to date background check on file with the school office.  Please reach out if you are unsure if yours is up to date and we can verify for you.  These need to be renewed every two years.  As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns or if you would like to be added to the email list for ongoing volunteer opportunities at volunteers@sauvieislandschool.org.

Best,

Kelli Magnia and Mashell Pastorino 

SIS Volunteer Coordinators

PTC Updates

Save the Date flyer with UPC code

Flyer asking for auction volunteers

Wine drop off flyer for the PTC auction

Bottle Drop flyer

Oregon Ballet Theater tickets for auction flyer

State Testing

Each year, schools are required to participate in administering the Oregon Statewide Assessments. These include measures in Math and English Language Arts for grades 3-8 and Science for grades 5-8. This link provides information on those assessments and participation options (Spanish translation available here). You may also contact the school for more information or with any questions you might have.

Community

Community Notice Disclaimer:

Sauvie Island School offers community organizations the opportunity to post information that may be of interest to students and families.  Sauvie Island School does not endorse or recommend any of these organizations, services or products.  The responsibility is on families to evaluate the organization and its services and products.  Sauvie Island School will not be held responsible for any actions or inactions connected to these organizations.  

a photograph of colorful dyed Easter eggs

Easter Celebration at the Sauvie Island Community Church!

Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 19th at 10:00AM
Free family event. Ages 1-12. Bring your own basket. Rain or shine.

Easter Service
Sunday, April 20th at 10:00AM
Children’s Sunday School and Nursery provided during worship service.
Coffee served afterwards.

Summer music camp flyer

OHP flyer for sign up

Odds and Ends

  • Busses, Arrivals and Departures: Please arrive at the bus hub by 7:45am. Halls open at 8:20, school begins at 8:25. Please do not leave students in the parking lot unattended!

  • School dismissal is at 3pm, 2pm on Wednesdays. Any changes to your child's pick-up routine must be made with Ann at the front desk at least one hour prior to dismissal.

  • Please check Lost & Found for any missing treasures! All items left over the winter break will be donated as we do not have the room to keep lost items indefinitely.

  • Ask about our monthly giving Mug Club! It's a great way to give back to the school on a regular basis and enjoy perks like free coffee days and receive an insulated Sauvie Island School travel coffee mug.

    You can access old newsletters by going to Documents-->About Us-->SIS newsletter in your SIS App

    or by clicking here in your browser or phone.

Grange Hall Rentals

The Sauvie Island Grange is available to all as a rental space for private parties, meetings and gatherings. You can rent the building by the hour or half-day. The hall space can be rented separately from the kitchen or together based on need. Grange members thoroughly sanitize the hall and kitchen before scheduled use. Please visit this link for more specifics on rentals or contact Katherine Topaz at 503-708-0008. 

Be in the Know!

  • Download the new Sauvie Island app today! Visit the iOS App Store or Android Play and enable notifications.

  • Visit Facebook and Instagram for important updates and photos of activities! Visit our website to see what's going on! 

  • Add our school calendar directly to your Google Calendar. Our calendar link is here.

    • This article gives you more instructions on how to do this.