Community Transitional School

"For our students, school is a refuge from the trauma and hardships of poverty and uncertainty—a place where they feel a sense of community and belonging. This is a place where they have room to learn, laugh with friends and build hope."
—Cheryl M. Bickle, Principal and Teacher

August 12, 2008
The new school year's coming...

We hope you are enjoying the end of summer. We are. But the recent quiet at 6601 N.E. Killingsworth will soon be over. Can you believe it? School starts on August 26. We enjoy summer as much as anyone, but we are really excited about starting our 19th year of teaching and our first in our own lovely building.

Of course, it wasn't quiet around here for the whole summer. During our 5-week summer session, which ended July 17, there was plenty going on, including volleyball, a trip to the Historical Races and plenty of reading and math. Thanks to all who volunteered and contributed! But it's been a while since the end of summer school, and we know that our students will be happy to come back to school. And we look forward to enrolling new students, many of whom may have had dreary summers with no school at all and nothing much to do.

So, we're getting ready. We're getting the floors waxed. We're watching the completion of our long-awaited track-and-playground. We're fueling up our school buses (OUCH! Anyone out there have an oil well?) And we're taking inventory of our supplies. So, thanks to all of those who have been calling about donating school supplies. Thanks for holding off until we got our Wish List ready. It is now on this site. It includes personal hygiene items for the kids and office supplies, as well as school supplies. Anything on the list will be appreciated!

Here's something else we need: cans of pop for the kids. We know, we know. Juice is a healthier choice. But we have a ceremony each Friday afternoon called the "I Can" awards. We hand out a can of pop (wrapped in decorative paper) to selected students who deserve a treat for being particularly good during the week. The award might be for working hard on a class project or for showing qualities we stress like perseverance or just being polite. Somehow, handing out a can of juice at the end of the school week just isn't as festive! And the "I Juice" award has no ring to it at all. (We do give them juice and other healthy foods with their breakfast and lunch). So, yes, bring on the pop cans. It won't be long...!

June 11, 2008
Hail to our graduates!

Community Transitional School held its first graduation ceremony at its new and permanent building on June 5. We had two students complete the 8th grade this year, and both of them are bound for high school.

Jamie has been here since she was in second grade. Jesse has been here three years. Teachers and staff have watched Jesse and Jamie make great academic and personal progress despite difficult family situations. We are very proud of them.

Jesse is going to go to public school, and Jamie is going to De LaSalle North Catholic High School. You can read about their determination to succeed and their hopes for success, in their own words, from excerpts of their graduation speeches:

Jesse:
"I've been here three years. I've learned so many things, like geography, geometry, and I'm a better reader. I want to be an electrical engineer, also known as a Double E, when I get older. Until then, I will go to high school and work as hard as I can. My grades will be A's and B's. Then I will go to engineering college and become a Double E. My dad never got a chance to reach his dream. But I will reach mine because I am determined. This school has helped me reach the realization that anything is possible if and only if you put your mind to it. This is a quote that has been in my family since the beginning, “Never give up, never surrender.” This school has helped me in more ways than they even realize. So I give thanks to everyone who helped me in CTS, both staff and volunteers. This school has changed my life for the better. I could never fully show my appreciation.

Jamie:
"When I first came to Community Transitional School I was in second grade... I lived with my mom, brothers and sister. I kind of didn't have a stable place. This school has helped me a lot... My Dream is to graduate from high school and go straight to college. Then I think I want to get a degree in business. I'm really not sure what I want to be but I'm mostly thinking about a real estate agent. But I really want to be successful in life... I am ready for high school and I am not that afraid of what work gets put in front of me. I hope my little sister and brothers will make a good choice for themselves, too."

May 19, 2008
A couple of photos from our open house
Here are just a few shots from Friday, May 9, when many of our supporters came to see the new school. The kids gave tours, 2 kids gave a magic show, and 5 of Marna's students performed a dance that they choreographed themselves!

May 5, 2008
We're here! We're here! We're really here!

The first day at
the new school, and
the first lunch
being unloaded!
It's been a long time coming, friends, but CTS is now in our own permanent -- and beautiful -- school building. After 18 years of leasing and moving and leasing again, we are walking on air. It is cheerful, sunny and OURS. We actually moved Thursday, April 24, and spent the weekend unpacking and getting ready for the arrival of the children on Monday morning. Here are some notes from that first day of school:

It rained, of course, which was appropriate, because it also rained at our July groundbreaking ceremony, and because, well, of course, it's Portland. It rains. Some of the 5th-8th grade students in the After School Program wanted us to have our own ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first day. So, when all of the buses arrived, staff and kids gathered at the main entrance, where Marna had strung a long ribbon with a big bow.

Cheryl reminded the children that when you get a present, it is usually wrapped with a ribbon and bow. She said that this building is a present for all of us. Then, she cut the ribbon, and we all went in. (More than one staff member's eyes filled up. As noted above, this has been a long time coming.) The staff worked all weekend to get the place ready. So, the classrooms were all set up, the books were on the shelves, the bulletin boards in the hall were papered with brightly colored borders. And it was worth the work to watch the wide eyes and big grins as the kids stepped into THEIR roomy, sunny classrooms. Then they went to THEIR roomy, sunny lunchroom for breakfast.

After breakfast, the architect and builders spoke to the kids about how they planned and built their school. The kids asked good questions, like "how much concrete did it take?" and "how many days did it take?" One brave boy asked what all the rest were wondering: "How do those automatic flush toilets work, anyway?"

The rest of the day went really well. The kids got tours and had lunch. At recess, they played in the parking lot, which is their track and playground until our real track/playground (donated by Jamba Juice) is built this summer. All day, of course, we asked kids how they liked the new school. One of the best answers: "It's sure yellow." Indeed it is (the wall color is "Rutabaga").

At the end of the day, we all had ice cream cones. And as Cheryl said, any day that includes ice cream has to be a good one. And it was. We hope all of you will come to see our very yellow walls very soon. And remember the opening party is at 1:30 p.m. May 9. Thanks so much to all of you who have helped us in our capital campaign and over the years. Thank you all so much again for this wonderful "present."

April 2, 2008

We are moving!
We’re back from spring break, charged up and ready to pack! Yes, our long-anticipated moving day is almost here. On April 24, CTS will move to its brand new and permanent school in northeast Portland. For those keeping track, we started raising money for the school in May 2006. We broke ground on July 18, 2007. We expected the school to be ready for us this summer, in time to start the 2009-2009 school year, but our wonderful builders, Schommer & Sons, have finished in record time! So, we are on the move sooner than we thought. The kids are excited, too. Especially the 8th-graders. They thought they would never get to go to the new school. Now, they get to be our first graduates from the new school. Thanks to so many of our great friends who donated to the capital campaign during the past two years, and to all of our longtime supporters!

Of course, we’ll need drier weather to complete some of the outside work Our new track and playground, paid for by Jamba Juice Inc., will be installed in June. And there’s a little outside painting to do and some more landscaping. But the inside is just great. Sunny, roomy and all on one floor!

Our new address starting April 28 will be:

Community Transitional School
6601 NE Killingsworth St.
Portland, OR 97218
(Our phone and email will be the same).

Meanwhile, back in the classrooms...
Marna’s book group of middle school-aged students is really excited about reading "The Diary of Anne Frank". They chose the book themselves after they saw the movie "Freedom Writers," which is about another group of students learning about the holocaust and the famous diary. The Wednesday After School kids have been reading lots of books by the award-winning children’s author Lois Lowry. They read "The Stars" and "The Giver," and then they went to the Multnomah County Library to see Lowry speak. They liked her so much, they asked if they could read the sequel, so we ordered copies of "Messenger" for them.

Cheryl’s class has been learning about our solar system. Their favorite planet is Saturn. Cheryl says it’s because they just love those rings. Cheryl’s class also has been studying Native Americans. Each child wrote a report about a different tribe. Now each student is making a woven tribal "blanket" out of construction paper, using the colors and symbols that match that tribe.

Jennipher’s K through 1st grade students all learned their own birth dates and had a great group birthday party, with balloons, cupcakes, presents and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Jennipher’s kids also just finished their unit on eggs. They learned what animals come from eggs and they learned about the amazing strength of an eggshell. (Do you think you can hold an egg in your hand and break it? Try this at home at your own risk.)

More to come
We pledge to be better about updating our friends on this website. So check back here for more news after the move. Meanwhile, there’s packing to do. We hope you are all enjoying spring’s late but great arrival as much as we are.

August 29, 2007
The new school year has just begun! Lots of new and returning students arrived for school on Tuesday. We have an updated wishlist to get the year going.

It will be exciting to watch our new permanent building being built through the year. On July 18, we broke ground at our future location in northeast Portland, and hope to move in for the 2008 school year. Here are a couple of scenes from the big day:

April 5, 2007
Some of our students wrote essays about a barrier that they've had to overcome in their life. You can read some of them here.

We are very proud that one of our students, Terri Boshell, was one of the winners of an essay contest called Breaking Barriers, organized by Major League Baseball and Sharon Robinson, daughter of baseball great Jackie Robinson! Sharon visited our school to personally give Terri her award, waded past all the camera crews, and shared with us her own story of hard times she has been through. You can read an Oregonian story about it here.

"I decided skipping school was not a good idea. I decided to go for excellence in my school work. I just ignored the kids who made fun of me. I would try to mind my own business. This trimester I am in grade level 5 and I turned out to be a good student. I'm determined to succeed so if I have my own kids they won't have to be homeless and feel ashamed of themselves."
—Terri, grade 5. Read the whole essay here.