
West Sylvan Family Communication
March 24, 2023
UPCOMING DATES
MARCH
*Women's History Month
*Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Mon, MAR 27th ~ Fri, MAR 31st: NO SCHOOL / Spring Break
APRIL
Tue, APR 4th: Eighth Grade Panoramic Photo (during the last half hour of the school day)
Fri, APR 7th: End of 3rd Quarter
Mon, APR 10th: NO SCHOOL / Planning Day
Tue, APR 11th: Start of 4th Quarter
MAY
Fri, MAY 5th: Sixth Grade Disco Party (at WSMS after school)
Fri, MAY 12th: Seventh Grade Glow Party (at WSMS after school)
JUNE
Sat, JUN 10th *(tentative): Eighth Grade Promotion Celebration (evening TBA)
Mon, JUN 12th: Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony (at Lincoln HS - 6:30PM)
Dear West Sylvan Families,
We hope that you and your family have a wonderful, healthy, and safe Spring Break week together! WSMS offices will be closed for the break, and we look forward to seeing our wonderful Wolves back together on Monday, April 3rd. After the break, there will be one week left in the 3rd Quarter, and quarter classes will shift for the final quarter rotation on Tuesday, April 11th (no school on Monday, April 10th). Upon return from break, we will work on forecasting for electives choices for the 2023-24 school year together. More details will be shared at that time.
Enjoy your Spring Break week,
Jill & Ben
Pictured below: light dusting of snow on this Friday in March!
CALENDAR CHANGE ~ LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
MYP NEWS
SCHOOL COUNSELING EDUCATION
INFORMATION FOR 8TH GRADE FAMILIES
- Promotion will be at Lincoln High School in their Gym on the evening of Monday, June 12th. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. The LHS Gym seats 2000 people in the bleachers. With 258 Eighth Graders, we don’t see a need to issue family tickets for seating. We thank all of the families who are volunteering with the WSMS Foundation to plan that evening and to assist with set-up and take-down of items that night!
- Eighth Graders will have a final field trip to Oaks Park together on Tuesday, June 13th. We want all Eighth Graders to take part in this fun final day together. If an Eighth Grader has major disciplinary issues (suspensions from school between April and June), they will not be allowed to join the outing.
SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAM
University of Portland has begun accepting applications for their annual Summer Learning Program! In this program, the learning focuses on the Oregon State Benchmarks appropriate for each child in Mathematics, Language Arts (reading, writing, and speaking), and any other subjects in which the student needs help. Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) candidates tutor/teach students according to their learning needs. There are usually 4-5 students per 2-3 MAT candidates.
- This year’s program will run July 5 - August 3, Monday-Thursday, 9:30am-11:30am, and they welcome students entering grades 2 through 11 in 2023-24. The cost of the program is $125, though scholarships are available.
- Online registration is now available here. To request a printable PDF or registration packet via postal mail, please contact Amy Kwong-Kwapisz at kwongkwa@up.edu or 503-943-7752.
RESOURCES FOR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
PPS Center for Black Student Excellence:
Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE) – Learning Journey
CBSE Project Timeline + FAQs- How to get involved? Join the West Sylvan Foundation. This is the group that also embodies what would have been a PTA at other schools. The group welcomes new adult support, and you can find the link here. This is also a way to share your voice about how WSMS fundraising is used for school needs.
- Volunteer! We appreciate all family members who have been volunteering in our Main Office, in our Library, and joining us for school lunch periods and recess to help with supervision. The additional adults around campus really help with these busier spaces and the busiest times of the school day! If you are already an approved PPS volunteer, you are welcome to come to campus any day of the week when your schedule permits, and we will find a way that you can help on campus! The periods from 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM and 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM are most needed for Lunch recess help and Office assistance.
- Initiate a parent group! Several families are interested in leading work sharing and educating each other for PPS. PPS District Committees for larger parent advocacy are here.
- PPS Parent and Student focus group for LGBTQIA+
- Help run an Advisory Club! Clubs meet on Fridays from 3:15pm-3:45pm.
STUDENT CHROMEBOOKS
Please encourage and remind your Scholar to bring their charged Chromebook to school each day. We have a very limited, and often depleted, number of loaner Chromebooks. Remembering to bring your PPS-issued Chromebook to school is crucial, as Chromebooks are needed for classes.
EXTENDED UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
"NO CELL PHONE" POLICY
ATTENDANCE
Families are now able to record future absences for their Students directly in ParentVUE without needing to contact the Main Office. Please remember, if a student is going to miss multiple days, it is up to the Student and/or Parent/Guardian to communicate absences with each Teacher and make a plan for missing work and assignments.
- If your Student is going to be Absent for a FULL DAY:
Log in to the ParentVUE website or download and open the phone application. In either case, look for the ‘Report Absence’ button to the right of your Student’s photograph. Select start date, end date, and a reason from the drop-down list. Remember to click SAVE, and you should receive a popup confirmation.
- If your Student is Absent for a PARTIAL DAY:
Send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net with the date, times, and reason.
No internet access? Call West Sylvan’s main line at 503-916-5690 and select the Attendance option.
SCHOLAR SUPPORTS
All-Grade School Climate Specialist: Shawn McVicar [smcvicar@pps.net]
IB / MYP (Middle Years Programme)
We have submitted the application for an authorization visit to become an Middle Years Programme (MYP) Middle School. This is the final step toward Authorization. Our MYP Learner Trait for April is “Risk-Takers.” Scholars are spending this month discussing and demonstrating that trait through inquiry. To find out more about the WSMS International Baccalaureate MYP authorization journey, please visit this website! LHS is an IB school, and Skyline is already an MYP school, so our authorization would be the last piece to the puzzle in alignment with LHS.
CONTACT US
MAIN OFFICE
(503) 916-5690
PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY
[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]
Jerda Solonche
SCHOOL SECRETARY
[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]
Kirsten Crombie