April 14, 2020

Dear VDLI Families,

The HPH board of directors hopes this note finds you and your loved ones healthy and well.  It has been four weeks since our students have stayed home away from school.  Parents have taken on the responsibilities of schooling their own child/ren, and the stress is mounting.  Learning new technology, keeping up with all the lessons, contacting teachers, navigating the systems, and at the same time facing many personal challenges have created a very challenging learning environment.

As you are aware, Hoi Phu Huynh has stepped up to be the connection between the teachers, students and parents to bridge the gap of extended Spring break and online learning.  We are learning a lot each day on how to connect with parents.  We need your help in spreading the message to other Vietnamese DLI parents about our HPH2 program by forwarding our weekly newsletters to them or by asking them to email or connect with us for support.  Here are the parent volunteers information for each grade level:

• Kindergarten – Huynh Pool (huynh.pool@hphpdx.org) and Melissa Cooper (mc@cooperjackson.com)
• 1^st Grade – Anh Le (anh.le@hphpdx.org) and Phu Dao (phu.dao@hphpdx.org)
• 2^nd Grade – Mytien Kent (mytien.kent@hphpdx.org) and Tina Semko (tina.semko@hphpdx.org)
• 3^rd Grade – Bret Provost (bret.provost@hphpdx.org)
• 4^th Grade – Quyen Huynh (quyen.huynh@hphpdx.org)
• 5^th Grade – Quyen Huynh (quyen.huynh@hphpdx.org) and April Luu (April.luu@hphpdx.org)

You can also find our previous newsletters on our website (www.hphpdx.org) or on our Facebook page (facebook.com/HoiPhuHuynh.VDLI). 

Again, we are a VDLI family, and we stand by and support each other during this challenging unprecedented time.  Last but not least, we would like to thank RCP administrator team, Mr. Cohen and Ms. Nguyen-Johnson for supporting our effort.  We’d also like to give special gratitude to the teachers who participate in Google Meet with our children.

---

Student Support

• HPH2 Report:
  • We continue to host Social & Emotional Student Support Sessions through Google Hangout time for students
  • We met with PPS administrators, Dr. Kathleen Ellwood and Ms. Nguyen-Johnson during last week’s HPH board meeting to share direct updates and information. We also shared our parent concerns with online learning curriculum, technology, Chromebook distribution process and inequity of access for information to our Vietnamese speaking parents.

• Curriculum Corner:  Since online learning could be overwhelming for the students right now, we have some suggestions for additional simple activities that you can support your student(s) or the student can engage on his/her own:
  • Choose a Vietnamese book from the appropriate level from https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/  
    • They offer Vietnamese books read aloud by a Vietnamese speaker.  Make sure to select Vietnamese/Tiếng Việt as the narration language in the upper left corner.  The importance here is to introduce the students to a lot of literature.
  • Make sure that the student(s) get at least 60 minutes of physical activity (brain boost) and also encourage them to listen to music. 
  • Mindfully step away from the digital devices for short breaks of at least 10 minutes each time.  It allows all of us to feel more focused and centered when we get back on.  Start with small technology sessions, even with just one if that’s all the student(s) or you feel comfortable doing.

---

Parents Support

We understand that parents have many questions and we are including some important information that may help to provide some answers.

• Reminder that PPS has a program to assist families in needs in the form of gift certificates.  Since this is confidential parent information, you need to contact our principals, Mr. Cohen at Jcohen@pps.net or Ms. Nguyen-Johnson at anguyenj@pps.net in order for them to send off your request to central office.  If you need help with the request and would like help from HPH, you can email us and we will support you with translation/enterpretation, or you can ask a friend/family member to make the request. 

• PPS has posted a Q&A list to help answer some of your questions on online learning!  IMPORTANT
  • https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/4/HD_FAQs-04.02.20_Web-English.pdf
  • https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/4/HD_FAQs-04.02.20-Vietnamese.pdf

• Free internet
  • https://www.pps.net/cms/lib/OR01913224/Centricity/Domain/57/Free_Internet_During_School_Closure_2020-03-23_Vietnamese.pdf

Again, we thank you for your support.  As always, we would like to hear feedback from you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at HoiPhuHuynh.VDLI@gmail.com.

Board of Directors,
Hội Phụ Huynh