Tuesday, June 10, 2025

• 8:45-3:30 Normal school day
• 6-7:15 PM Promotion Ceremony at Grant High School
• 5:30 PM- doors open; guests please arrive earlyas the the ceremony can start promptly at 6PM. Enter Grant High School through the main doors facing 36th Avenue.
• 7:30-10:15 PM 8th Grade Promotion Party at PSU

8th Grade Promotion Party at PSU (volunteer opportunity click HERE)

• 7:30 PM- Students load busses at Grant High School (transportation to PSU Game Room)

• 8-10 PM- Students have access to bowling, billiards, gaming, music, pizza, soda, popcorn and dessert while hanging out with friends

• 10:15 PM- Students arrive on busses to Beverly Cleary for pick up

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

• 9:30AM- Donuts/Yearbook Signing (volunteer opportunity click HERE)
• 10:15-12:15 PM Grant Park Picnic/Games (volunteer opportunity click HERE)
• 12:30-1:00 PM Locker Clean Out
• 1:10 PM 8th Grade v. BCS Staff Volleyball game
• 3 PM 8th Grade Clap Out

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We need more chaperones for the PSU party, picnic blankets, tables and help with set up/clean up. Volunteer HERE.

Please be sure you have a current PPS volunteer screening on file:

http://www.pps.net/volunteer. If you are unsure if your volunteer screening is current, please reach out to Ali or Carrie in the front office.

DONATIONS

Our goal is to raise $1500 by June 5th to cover the costs of the festivities! Every dollar counts!

Donations can be made here:

https://schoolpay.com/pay/for/8th-Grade-Promotion-Donation/Sb5WNAX

Thank you to all who have generously donated to the funds needed to celebrate our 8th graders!

NEW and IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Please note that Grant High School does not allow: helium balloons, glitter, food, or pets

• Be sure that your student has a signed permission form in order to attend the PSU event: PSU Party Permission Form

• If you ordered yard signs by May 14, your 8th grader will be bringing it home on MONDAY, JUNE 2.

Please follow these additional steps for SPED report cards:

Two exceptional PPS educators, Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones, were recently named OnPoint Educators of the Year for 2025.

As part of this prestigious honor, both teachers will have their rent or mortgage paid for an entire year, and their schools also receive a $2,500 donation. 

Ricardo Barber teaches third grade at Faubion, and Hang Jones serves as a social worker at Marysville Elementary. 

The OnPoint Prize for Excellence in Education celebrates educators who embrace innovative teaching techniques that ignite enthusiasm in their students. 

Congratulations to Ricardo Barber and Hang Jones! And thank you both for everything you do to make a difference in the lives our students.

The assignment their teacher gave them was simple – make a short film that begins with a phone call and ends with someone hanging up. Benson first-year students Dylan Martinez-Torres and Dariel Soriano Zamora ran it all the way to a small city populated by two very big and rather iconic monsters – Godzilla and Hedora.

The result, Sorry, Wrong Number, is one of the more than 90 films entered into the annual Best of PPS Film Festival. The festival is a celebration of exceptional student filmmaking that includes a showcase at the historic Hollywood Theatre. 

The fourth annual installment of the festival took place on May 21 and included a screening of 13 standout films. The films came from all over PPS and ran the gamut from Dylan and Dariel’s monster short to documentaries, film noir, and broadcast journalism. 

If you are a passionate student or community member that wants to make a difference at PPS, apply to join the Climate Crisis Response Committee! This is a committee that reports to the PPS Board of Education.

On the committee you will learn about how PPS is making progress towards our climate justice and sustainability policies, provide input and recommendations to the PPS Board on how to better support PPS staff as we advance these policy goals, and connect with other passionate members of our PPS community from diverse backgrounds, knowledge areas, and lived experiences.

No previous professional experience in climate change or sustainability required! Students can apply via this form. Community members can apply here.

Deadline to apply: June 6. 

Earthstock 2025 was a huge success!

Each year, special education students from across the region gather at Portland's Crystal Ballroom for a truly unique and uniquely joyful high school dance. 

Earthstock began in 1992 at the request of a young student who was confined to a wheelchair and was disappointed he couldn’t attend the high school dances because of transportation issues. There were 60 kids at the first event. Earthstock now entertains more than 700 students, staff and volunteers, and is rapidly becoming one the largest events of its kind in the country.