Our 2020 auction, “Hang Out in the Rumpus Room” will be held on March 14 in Goodman Hall, Congregation Beth Israel. Join us for a night of nostalgic fun with retro video games, 80s & 90s music videos & cartoons on the big screen, foosball & other games, live & silent auction, raffles, and all capped off with an 80s/90s video dance party. Tickets are on sale now! We are offering them at a sliding scale from $5 – 50. 

We are also offering a limited, special sponsorship level for MLC families and alumni! You will receive two tickets to the 2020 auction, an MLC "Swag Bag" with fun MLC items, and your name on our website, our auction Facebook page, and in the event program. There are only 24 available, so snap up your tax-deductible sponsor package today! 

Thanks for being such an amazing, generous community!
The 2020 Auction Team

I have to tell you an amazing thing that happened today at MLC: Joelle and I were in the Clothing Center & Food Pantry and a high school student came down and asked if it was true that there was free food. He said that he didn't have money for lunch that day. We helped him put together a lunch from our pantry and he also grabbed some peanut butter to take home. He was thankful and not hungry today.

As I've talked to parents at MLC about the CCFP, many--if not all--are surprised that we have students with food insecurity, hunger, and even students experiencing homelessness. After speaking to our counselors, Jeanette and Genie, I learned that the problem of hunger in our school is widespread, especially in the high school. I learned that teachers are purchasing food with their own funds to stock their classrooms with snacks and meals for hungry students.

Here's my philosophy: to the extent that we can help families in our community, we can and should. 

The PTSA could not have launched the CCFP without the help of so many generous families that have donated time, clothing, food, and money to kickstart this program. I'm thankful to my co-pilot, Joelle Graff who listens to my crazy ideas and responds, "When do we start?" I am in awe of Cel Jarvis, fearlessly scaling ladders to paint and transform a formerly drab and lonely book room into a cozy space.  Also, my high school interns: Noah, Dani, and Chase who come armed with great ideas and enthusiasm, thank you! 

Of course the fearless MLC staff has been overwhelmingly supportive, in particular I want to give a shout out to: Bill, Margarita, Susan, Liz, Brian, and Mark. Thanks for saying YES! 

We build community by sharing what we can and looking around for ways that we can be helpful. I hope to see you all on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 from 8:30-9:30 AM for our grand opening.  xx, Alisa

Greetings and Salutations!
Thank you to folks who donated and purchased books at our first annual Used Book Sale. So far we've raised over $1,600 for the MLC library to purchase new books! We fulfilled our two goals of getting books into the hands of eager readers and raising money for our library. Opportunity alert: We still have boxes of books to sell at Powell's with credit going to the MLC library. Email me if you are interested in taking a box or three. ;)

We also had a wonderful Fall Craft fair with both community artists and MLC students selling their crafty wares. Thank you to Jenn Halvorson for another amazing event!  

NEWS! We're excited to open MLC's Clothing Center and Food Pantry on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 from 8:30-9:30 AM in the old book room, near the gym. Anyone in the MLC community is welcome! Please contact Genie or Jeanette, our school counselors for access during other times. 

Opportunity alert: Sorting and clothing cleaning assistance needed! Email me if you're interested. 

In order to fill our new Center with clothing and food, our food and clothing drive is on now! Drop off food items and new and very gently used clothing for MLC children and teens in the red bins outside the library. If you would like to make a financial donation so that we can purchase new items, please use our website.

If you've been at MLC for a while, you might know that in years past, volunteers created amazing holiday gift baskets for staff filled with handcrafted and specialty items. Absent a dedicated volunteer this year, the gift baskets will not be happening. Please show your appreciation for our wonderful staff in whatever way you feel is appropriate. (I hear they love heart-felt notes and coffee gift cards!)   

Information will be coming soon about our Giving Tree with gift ideas for MLC students. If you need food or other assistance this year, please fill out our confidential form here: 

Important December dates:

PTSA Meeting: Wednesday, December 18 @ 6PM. Dinner and childcare provided.

Solstice: Thursday, December 19 @ noon. Limited seating for parents in the auditorium but there will be a live feed in the cafeteria. Fire pit and drum circle immediately after Solstice program on the blacktop. 

Thank you for all that you do for MLC! See you soon. --Alisa
​

Dear MLC Community: 
Happy fall! Here's your monthly PTSA update.

Thanks to all who came out for our Family Dance Party. We were overwhelmed with the attendance AND the dance moves of our students! Also, big thanks to parents and teachers who made our Halloween celebration a truly special event for our kiddos to express themselves. 

The PTSA is working to address the basic needs of our school community. Starting this month, the PTSA will gather new and used coats, shoes, and clothing as well as food and essentials to stock our *NEW* MLC Clothing Center and Food Pantry. This awkwardly-titled new resource--CCFP--will be housed in MLC's former book room. All MLC families and students will have access to the clothing and food in the CCFP.

We've also set up an AmazonSmile wishlist so that community members can purchase specific items such as nutritious snacks for high school classrooms. Thank you to our counselors, Genie and Jeanette for their guidance on how the PTSA can assist our students and families. The link for this list is at MLCPTSA.org

Please email Alisa if you are interested in helping launch the CCFP!

NOVEMBER EVENTS:

Used Book Sale
MLC Library
Monday-Friday, November 4-6, 8 AM – 3:30 PM 

Fall Social and PTSA Meeting—ALL ARE WELCOME!
McMenamins Kennedy School 
Wednesday, November 13, 6-7:30 PM 

SPED Parent Affinity Group
Commons
Friday, November 15, 8:45-10 AM 

Fall Craft Fair
Auditorium
Thursday, November 21, 3:30-5:30 PM

Dear MLC Families: 
Thanks to all who came to our first meeting of the year! We had a great turn-out--even with the Climate Strike! (Sorry we had to miss it!) Many teachers and parents mentioned they appreciated the noon meeting time, and of course the delicious Escape From New York pizza. There are some super exciting initiatives starting at MLC including a new SPED parent support group chaired by parent Jamie Wilkinson, partnerships with Feed the Mass, EcoSchools Network, and renewed energy for our electives program.

Here's more PTSA news for October:

Green Team: Members of the HS Green Team are taking over BottleDrop for the month of October. With funds from returning beverage containers, they will purchase more metal utensils for the cafeteria. Hopefully this will lead to school-wide systems to reduce waste in the cafeteria, including reusable trays, metal utensils, recycling and composting food waste.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Bring your beverage containers to school. There is a barrel outside the office to drop them in!

Field Trip Scholarship Fund: Imperfect Produce is a grocery delivery company on a mission to eliminate food waste and create a more accessible food system for everyone. For every person that signs up using our special promo code, our PTA will receive a $10 donation from Imperfect Foods.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Go to imperfectproduce.com/join and enter promo code MLC10 to support our school. **They have discounts for low-income members as well.**

Used Book Sale: Replacing the twice-yearly Scholastic Book fair was a dream of both Kiva and Tini's. Wish granted! PTSA is heading up a used book sale November 4-8 that more closely follows our school values. In other words, more focus on reading and less on plastic toys and movie tie-ins. All profits will benefit the MLC Library.


HOW YOU CAN HELP: Donate quality used books that we can sell at the sale. Look for bins in the hallways coming soon!

COMING UP!
PTSA Meeting, Wednesday, October 16 @ 6PM
All-School Dance Party! Friday, October 18 @ 5-7 PM

Cheers!!
Alisa*MLCPTSAPresident@gmail.com

As MLC's Parents Talk Racial Equity group finalizes meeting dates for the school year, MLC parent Erica suggests some reading to get you thinking: "How to Be an Antiracist" by Ibram X. Kendi and the website EmbraceRace ​https://www.embracerace.org/talking-race--kids.html 

I just ordered Kendi's book and am looking forward to discussing it with other parents. 

If you are interested in helping with MLC's PTRE programming, please email Alisa: mlcptsapresident@gmail.com

If you're new to MLC, you might be a bit overwhelmed by the parking lot madness at drop-off and pick-up. It might be of little comfort to you that there's never been an physical injury reported in our lot. There have been plenty of bumps and scratches to cars, however. To make the lot a bit less frenzied, check out our flyer on MLC parking etiquette and tips:

Everyone, please welcome our new principal, Mark Van Hoomissen! Here's what he wrote to the community last week. "A big ’thank you’ to all of the students, families, faculty and staff for warm welcome as I’m transitioning into the MLC Principal position. Thursday afternoon and Friday morning I had the opportunity to visit several classrooms and introduce myself to many students, families, faculty and staff. Students asked me about my favorite color, food, and sports. Green, pizza, soccer. One of the older students asked if I had any pets. Bandit, a dog. The student asked if I could bring the dog into school. Not sure if I can bring pets into school, but I’ll be sure to bring a photo. I had the opportunity to learn about the importance of the right kind of voting system in a sixth grade classroom. I got some overall advice from stu-dents in terms of making sure I knew that everybody goes by first names. That sounds good to me. I also heard about some of important questions that come up for kindergartners when they are losing more than one tooth at a time. Will share more later..."

Dear MLC Families,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying warm summer days and savoring each delicious moment of this time with your children. My family just returned from a special trip to Norway to visit dear friends and spend time together as a family before my oldest goes to college. This time as a family was especially important as this spring one of my children experienced a significant mental health crisis. Although my family is doing well now, this event caused me to reflect on my ability to balance being a principal and a mom. I spent most of June and July reflecting on what it means to be a building administrator.

I have always led my life by looking for signs and listening to my heart, and during this time of reflection, I was contacted by the Oregon Department of Education about a Director position in the area of Teaching and Learning. At first I did not imagine myself leaving a school district for a state agency; however, with all that is happening in the national landscape right now, I realized that I have an opportunity to influence education on a whole different level. The job was offered to me while we were in Norway and we had a long family discussion about this transition and opportunity, and ultimately I accepted the position. Honestly, this is a frightening leap for me because I have always felt most myself in a school building; however, I also know that Oregon needs leaders who will prioritize equity, social emotional learning, and relevant, authentic learning experiences. I have learned so much from MLC’s model and what happens when we tend to both the hearts and minds of young people, and engage them in meaningful work. This model is what all children deserve and I will bring this perspective to my new role. 

I realize my departure may take many of you by surprise. I planned to be at MLC for many years as I truly adore the staff, students, and families at MLC. It is such a unique and special program. MLC is a strong community with an outstanding staff that will continue to put students first. I will genuinely miss working with the children and families at MLC. It has been a true honor to serve as your principal. Your dedication to an alternative educational experience for your children and your engagement in our community made the decision to leave incredibly challenging, yet it is the best decision for my family at this time.

I feel very fortunate that Margarita Wilson will continue to serve as the AP for MLC. Margarita will enter her fourth year at MLC and she has a deep understanding of the uniqueness of MLC as well as the goals for 2019-2020. I feel confident that the school will be in good hands and that the opening of school will be successful.

The process for selecting a new principal will begin immediately. The first step will be a community meeting. Staff, parents, and the community are invited to meet with Korinna Wolfe, the senior director of MLC, who want to hear about the characteristics and challenges that make MLC unique. She will also be prepared to explain the full hiring process in more detail and to gather input on the desired characteristics of the new principal.
​
The MLC community meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, August 6th from 5:00 - 6:00 pm in the MLC auditorium. The information from the input session is used throughout the process and will be shared with the selected candidate to provide them a sense of the community’s priorities and values. If you are unable to attend, you will still be able to provide feedback through a survey that we will be sending out through School Messenger following the meeting. 
Thank you for all of your support and for the honor of serving as your principal. I look forward to hearing about all the amazing and innovative things happening at MLC. I am still a PPS parent, so I hope to see you in the community.
With gratitude and respect,
Alexa