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Chief Joseph Elementary
A strong, diverse and respectful community
where we make learning creative and fun

2409 N. Saratoga St.•Portland, OR 97217•Ph (503) 916-6255•Fx (503) 916-2618

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Chief Joseph
School News

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  • Will your student be 5 by Sept. 1? Register for Kindergarten NOW!

    3/1/2024

    Register for Kindergarten Online!
    If you have a child who will be 5 years old on or before September 1st, please register for kindergarten right away! To register click here. The process takes 20-30 minutes and can be done entirely online. If you prefer a paper registration, please contact our front office at 503-916-6255 or call Enrollment & Transfer at 503-916-3205. 

  • Virtual School Tour

    8/31/2022

    Please click here for a tour of our school!

Principal's Message

  • Dear Families,

     

    Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! As a staff, we are excited for the upcoming school year and are eagerly looking forward to building memories and relationships, as well as developing the skills and knowledge to be critical thinkers and change agents in our community.

     

    School doors will open at 8:37, and school will begin at 8:45, dismissing at 3:00 pm. Students in grades 1-2 will enter through the doors near the library.  Students in grades 3-5 will enter the doors near the gym.  Fifth grade students will go directly to the classroom on the first day of school.  Following that, they will drop off items in the classroom, and proceed to their 1st period specials class.

     

    The school day begins with a community circle, and we are making it our goal to start the school day when the bell rings at 8:45.  Please try to arrive in time for students to get to class and put away belongings, so they are ready to join the community circle at 8:45.

     

    Again this year, both 4th and 5th grades will be departmentalizing, with one teacher focusing on the math, science and health portions of the content and the other teacher focusing on reading, writing and social studies. This change allows teachers to strengthen their expertise by narrowing the content bands they are required to teach. It will also allow students diversity in their teachers and begin preparing them for middle school.  

     

    We have had a few shifts in positions; staffing for the 2023-24 school year is as follows:

    Kindergarten:  Ms. Cooper, Ms. Larsen

    1st Grade:  Ms. Peake, Ms. Pepper

    2nd Grade:  Ms. Ferguson, Ms. Pearson

    3rd Grade:  Ms. Michels, Mr. Wolfe

    4th Grade:  Mr. Ibrahim, Ms. Ferguson

    5th Grade:  Ms. Brislin, Mr. Brown

    PE: Ms. Mazur

    Music: Ms. Ray

    Media: Ms. Hall (½ time)

    Art: Mr. Gostovich 

    Counselor: Ms. Weed

    Reading Intervention: (½ time)

    Ms. Hall & Jennifer Pettit

    ELL: Ms. Routtenberg

    Social Worker: TBD

    School Climate Coach: Ms. Whitaker

    Learning Center: Ms. Lopez

    Speech Pathologist: Ms. LeMeune

    Paraeducator: Ms. Thompson, Ms. Filko

    School Psychologist: Mr. Backner

    Instructional Specialist: Ms.Fogg

    Educational Assistant: Ms. Newton

    Library Assistant: Ms. Woodward

    School Secretary: Ashley Gale

    Principal’s Secretary: Michelle Rowley 

    Custodian: Ms. DeWeese, Walter Bennett

     

     

    I am extremely excited for the upcoming year and look forward to continuing to build community, advance social justice issues and improve learning.

     

    Sincerely,

    Amber Gerber

    Principal, Chief Joseph Elementary School

    agerber@pps.net

    971.284.7108

District News

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  • Earthstock Brings the Joy to the Crystal Ballroom

    6/7/2024
    Two students dance at Earthstock 2024.

    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.”

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  • Glencoe Elementary School Counselor and GSA Coordinator Pens a Book About Chosen Family

    6/4/2024
    This is a photo of Madi Bourdon's book, A Kid's Book About Chosen Family.

    Madi Bourdon’s first book practically wrote itself. 

    According to the Glencoe Elementary School counselor and Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) coordinator, it only took them an hour and a half to finish A Kid’s Book About Chosen Family, which came out this March with A Kid’s Co. publishing.

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  • Mission Accomplished: Roosevelt Senior Helps Green Card Holders Obtain U.S. Citizenship

    5/31/2024
    Alondra in the Classroom

    For the past three years, Alondra Nieves Barajas has been both student and teacher.

    Most days, the senior from Roosevelt High School attends class, does her homework, and spends time with her friends just like any other 18-year-old. But on Wednesday nights, you can find her at the front desk, teaching adults – often much older than herself – the ins and outs of the United States naturalization test.

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  • PPS Senior Program Manager of Energy & Sustainability Invited to White House Summit

    5/17/2024

    When Aaron Presberg first got the email from the White House, he thought it was some sort of prank. 

    Then he shared the message with a few colleagues who assured him that it was no joke, and the exciting reality that he had been invited to Washington, D.C. to present at the White House’s first-ever Summit for Sustainable and Healthy K–12 School Buildings and Grounds started to sink in.

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