January 31, 2024

The Owl 1/31/2024

Thank you for a wonderful Global Gala!

We took major “Footsteps to the Future” at this past weekend’s gala and with our online silent auction. We are so excited to report that in addition to having a wonderful night and a fun time, we raised $312,000 to support our school, our teachers, and our students. This includes an $85,000 match from Don and Ione Spear for the Teachers Fund. What a great success!

THANK YOU to each and every one of you who attended, encouraged others to attend, bid on items, purchased from the wine wall, sponsored a teacher, and celebrated our school community with us!

A special shout out to Amanda R, and Dani T once more with extreme gratitude for all their hard work. More thanks as well to our auction volunteers and Student Art Project Coordinators! The classroom art projects raised over $5,000 as part of the Silent Auction.

And huge congratulations to the winner of the Golden Ticket raffle, Paula, who elected for the trip to Bali! Happy Travels!

 

Where’s Bodo?

You might have wondered, “Where’s Bodo?” Well, we are excited to share that Bodo is currently in New York City, participating in n a two-week fellowship for independent and international school heads at the Klingenstein Center, Teachers College, Columbia University. Bodo has joined 14 other leaders from around the world, including South Carolina, New Jersey, Norway, Virginia, Korea, St. Louis, Michigan, India, Egypt, Connecticut, Tennessee, and South Africa in this prestigious program.

Bodo is discussing current educational issues, diving into educational philosophy and ethics, and immersing himself in reflective-practice. Throughout the two-week fellowship, the 15-member cohort is tackling all areas of independent school leadership through collaboration, dialogue, and ideation while problem solving and dreaming about what education can and should be like.

“I love learning and I love thinking about the future of ISP. For everyone back in Portland, when I share our educational model with my peers, they are blown away by the mission of our school to bring language and cultural immersion together through an inquiry-based model. It’s truly joyful to represent ISP” Bodo said.

Have a fascinating time, Bodo! We look forward to your return next week and hearing all about your experience!

 

Congrats to our 2024 OBOB Winners!

ISP hosted its Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) tournament last week! Eager teams from Grades 3, 4, and 5 competed. After a hard-fought battle with many rounds of tiebreakers, we had a 4th Grade Team emerge victorious! Congrats to “Da Gamers!”

Special thanks to ISP Librarian Amy Wyckoff and the OBOB parent leaders, Jesse M and Christina S. Thanks to all of our parent volunteers who coached team, moderated the competition, and help make OBOB 2024 a success!

It isn’t too late to starting thinking about next year!! The 2024-25 OBOB preliminary book titles have been released.

Honorable Mention goes to our second place team, “The Female Phoenixes!”

 

Head of Elementary Coffees

Come chat with Head of Elementary Jason Johnston! He will discuss pertinent issues, as well as answer any parent questions.

Head of Elementary Coffee for 1st and 2nd Grade Parents
Monday, February 12th
8:30-9:30am
Learners’ Hall

Head of Elementary Coffee for 3rd-5th Grade Families
Tuesday, February 13th
8:30-9:30am
Learners’ Hall

We hope to see you there!

 

ISP Parent Network Meeting this Friday

The ISP Parent Network’s mission is to strengthen, enhance and encourage the educational and community environment at the International School of Portland. It serves to identify and organize volunteer support at ISP. Just as importantly, it aims to strengthen relationships, communication, and collaboration between parents, faculty, and administrators.

Join us Friday morning to learn more about Parent Network happenings and how to get more involved now or in the future. If you are a current parent at the school, you are already a member of the Parent Network! 🙂

Parent Network Monthly Meeting
Friday, February 2nd, 8:15am
ISP Arthur Administration Building
122 S Arthur Ave (just up the street from the main campus)
Can’t make it in person? Zoom in! https://zoom.us/my/ispparentnetwork

MEETING AGENDA: Feb 2, 2024

  • Welcome, Introductions
  • New Requests
  • Debrief of Past Events
  • Upcoming Events:
    Family Bingo Night-February 2nd (Mike D)
    International Festival- February 9 (ISP and Board)
    Lunar New Year-February 15th
    Alumni Panel-Preferred Date (Dev/Marketing) February 29
    Earth Day-April 20th (Green Team)
    Walk & Roll to School Month-May (Green Team)
    Teacher Appreciation-May 6-10
    Kodomo No Hi-May 3-(Stephanie K)
    Moving for Music and Art-May 29 & 30 (Dev Team)
    Last Day of School Social-June 13th
  • Updates from Sub-Committees and Liaisons:
    EDI Community Committee
    Green Team-Reid T
    New Parent/EC Liaison-Ed P
    Room Parents-Kristen S
    Community Events-Mike D and Dani T
    Lost and Found-Melissa K
  • Open Discussion, Questions, New Items

 

PSU Center for Japanese Studies Presents…

PSU Center for Japanese Studies Presents

Professor Takatoshi Ito
Columbia University

CHEAP JAPAN: MONETARY POLICY, EXCHANGE RATE POLICY, AND PRODUCTIVITY

February 8th 2024
05:30 PM – 07:00 PM
PSU Smith Memorial Student Union, room 327/8/9

For more information:
https://www.pdx.edu/japanese-studies/events/cheap-japan-monetary-policy-exchange-rate-policy-and-productivity