School Policies
School Hours
The school day starts at 8:30 and ends at 2:30.
Aftercare
Aftercare runs from 2:30-5:00. There is no sign-up for aftercare. Please make sure that your child knows whether or not they are in aftercare each day.
From 2:30-3:15, the aftercare group will be at Johnson Creek Park. If your child will be picked up between 2:30 and 3:15, please let us know in advance. You can pick them up from the park, and we’ll ensure they bring their belongings.
Door
We always use the south door, except we use the north door for after-care pickup. During aftercare pickup, knock on the north door and wait for a few moments.
School Calendar
Our school calendar is at this link, and it can be found on the ‘school’ drop-down menu on our website.
No-Shoe Policy
We have a no-shoe policy at Activate for kids. Some kids wear socks, and some go barefoot. Parents don't need to remove their own shoes if they're coming inside momentarily.
Water Shoes
We have recess at Johnson Creek Park, which is a short walk from Activate. There is a creek in which kids can go wading in during the warm months. We require kids to wear water shoes (Crocs, sports sandals, slides, etc.) in the creek for safety reasons.
Boots
During the wet months, most kids leave boots at school.
Extra Clothes
On the first day, children will take home an empty canvas bag in which you should pack an extra set of clothes to keep at school. There should be socks, underpants, shirt, and shorts/pants. If a child's clothes become wet or muddy, they’ll change and take the whole bag home to be replenished.
Activate Shirts
Activate short-sleeve tees, long-sleeve tees, and hoodies are available for sale at this link or on the ‘merchandise’ link on our website. Unlike summer camps, we generally don’t require kids to wear their Activate shirts during school field trips unless we are going to a very crowded place.
What to Bring Daily
Lunch and Snacks
Water Bottle
Backpack
Indoor/Outdoor Recess
We virtually always have outdoor recess. In the event of lightning or unhealthy air quality from wildfire smoke, we’ll have indoor recess.
Transportation
We use a passenger van and a minivan for transportation.
Medication Administration
If your child requires medication during school or has an inhaler or EpiPen, please let us know.
Snow Day and Other Cancelations
We typically cancel school on the days that PPS cancels. We’ll send out a group text and email to notify parents. On the first snow day, we encourage kids to take the day off and play outside. On subsequent snow days, there will be one-hour-long literacy lessons on Zoom from 9:00-10:00. If there are more than three snow days, we’ll use Presidents’ Day as a makeup day.
Birthday Parties
Parents can send in store-bought treats for their child’s birthday. Please let us know in advance.
Sickness Guidance
Fever: Keep your child home if they have a temperature of 100 or higher. They can return to school when the fever is below 100 for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.
Diarrhea: Keep your child home if they have had three or more watery or loose stools in 24 hours or sudden onset of loose stools or student is unable to control bowel function. Students may return after 48 hours after the diarrhea resolves or after being seen and cleared by a healthcare provider.
Vomiting: Keep your child home if they have vomited, and it can’t be explained. They may return after 48 hours after the last episode of vomiting or after being seen and cleared by a healthcare provider.
Coughing: Keep your child home if they have a persistent cough that is not yet diagnosed and cleared by a healthcare provider OR any acute (non-chronic) cough illness that is frequent or severe enough to interfere with participation in usual school activities. They may return after their symptoms have improved for 24 hours.
COVID: Keep your child home if they test positive for COVID for 5 days. If the symptoms and fever subside, they can come back to school masked through day 10.
Head Lice: If a child has head-lice they can be in school provided that they have had an initial lice treatment. Staff should be notified.
Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye): Keep your child home for unexplained redness of one or both eyes and colored drainage from the eyes or eye irritation accompanied by vision changes or symptoms such as eye irritation, pain, redness, swelling, or excessive tear production that prevent active participation in usual school activities. Students may return after symptoms resolve or after being seen and cleared by a healthcare provider.
Contact
The staff contact information is on our contact page.
If you have a time-sensitive message to send during the school day, you can text Greg at 503-389-0153. Otherwise, please use email: greg@activateschool.pdx.com.
Greg receives many texts during the school day, and they can be a distraction. So please be mindful of how frequently you’re texting.
If you are running late, please don’t bother texting.
If your child will be absent from school, please send an email.
If you need to contact Brenna regarding aftercare on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, you can call or text her at 503-208-6083.