The Guardian Gazette

Mark your calendars and see below for further information

Now - December 16 - Take Successful Schools Survey
December 9 - Booster Club Meeting
December 16 - PTA Meeting
December 21 - January 5 Winter Break

If you haven't had a chance to look at the newsletters from earlier this week:
The Guardian Gazette, Student News, December 2 https://secure.smore.com/n/9y7dw

And always be sure and check the Trivory Calendar for more dates!

https://trivory.com/ibw/calendar

As we enter our winter sports season, the Booster Club is inviting families to join as a member. New members receive an IBW mascot decal which many families like to put on their car; the next mailing of decals will be at the end of November. Memberships range from only $15, up to $75 for a combined PTA/Boosters family membership. Please consider joining here: http://www.schoolpay.com/link/joinIBW

Tree Sale

The Ida B. Wells Booster Club annual tree sale will be Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, November 29 - December 15 at A- Boy on Barbur. Make your plan to get your tree with us and support the Booster Club!

Volunteer for concessions

We just posted our schedule for concessions for winter! Sign up here to volunteer.

Volunteer Leads

The Booster Club is seeking volunteer a lead for concessions. This person will manage purchasing and operations for our concessions. Do you love to shop and find a bargain? Do you love to organize? This role is for you! You don't have to do everything, we need an organizer! We also are seeking an auction lead and auction committee members. Please contact kirstenc@ibwboosterclub.org if you are interested in helping with either.

Merch

The Tree Sale will have a great selection of merch so do your holiday shopping with us! You can also support the Booster Club by shopping here. IBW Merch is also available for sale at ComeUnity PDX at 3536 SW Troy St B. Guardian gear makes a great holiday gift for loved ones!

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Follow us on the socials – Instagram and Facebook
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Ida B Wells PTA strives to keep parents informed, advocates for the entire parent community, and provides you with a way to make a difference. The PTA encourages parents to participate in activities and events designed to improve their child’s school and educational experience.

ATTEND

General PTA membership meetings are typically held the third Monday of each month, at 5:30 pm in the IBW Library. Our next meeting is December 16th

ACTION ALERT FOR IBW FAMILIES

The School Board needs to hear from Ida B. Wells Families. Please weigh in on what the May 2025 School Bond should pay for!

Take a minute to add your input about the May 2025 PPS School Bond in a short (5-minutes or less) survey – PPS Bond Survey. This bond was originally intended to help fund the completion of the high school modernization projects (finish Jefferson, start Cleveland and Ida B. Wells), but the PPS School Board is now considering including deferred maintenance across the district along with investing in other state-mandated programs and curriculum. Bond questions remain open about inclusions/exclusions, size and scope, and what priorities to fund. We need your feedback to advocate for the community.

Additionally, if you are interested in advocating directly for key bond accountabilities, please consider contacting the PPS School Board. Email template focused on three main areas of high-need bond inclusions – high school modernization, athletic hubs and expense reduction can be found on the IBW PTA site.

Please do not use the parking lot as a pick up and drop off area. Many of our staff are arriving to work and need to get to their parking space or they need to leave for an appointment only to find cars blocking their exit. Please pick up and drop off in the neighborhood or on Vermont Street. Thank you!

Vaccines play a crucial role in protecting our students from serious illnesses and help keep our community safe. Parents/ Guardians of students who are due to receive vaccines should receive a letter in the mail. Please check if your child’s vaccinations are current, including their recommended flu shot, and contact your medical provider or any of the resources listed below.

Multnomah County Student Health Centers

OHSU Wellness Center

Multnomah County Vaccination Clinic (English)

Clínica Comunitaria de Vacunación Gratuita (Spanish)

Dear Ida B. Wells High School Community --

It is hard to believe that we are in November and through our first quarter!

Each year myself and our counselors put together some pretty amazing winter gift baskets for our families in need of support. This is my 5th year at IBW and each year we've been able to provide baskets for around 50 families just before we head out for winter break in December. Last year we received around $10,000 in donations! This can only happen with the help from you - our amazing IBW families and community members. I am here again to ask for your support. We are asking for monetary donations or gift cards, which can be done a few different ways.

One way to contribute is via a monetary donation through school pay. Our PTA will then purchase gift cards using those funds. To contribute in this way, simply https://schoolpay.com/pay/for/Ida-B-Wells-High-School-Winter-Gift-Card/SegqNbA. Or, you can log into school pay, click "non profits" on the left hand side and then select the option that says "Ida B. Wells Winter Gift Card Drive." The Ida B. Wells PTA is a Non-Profit 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID #93-6039418. Therefore, your donation may be tax deductible.

Another way to donate is through the PTA scrip program. Here is the link https://docs.google.com/.../16MG7zgob.../edit! If you have any additional questions about this option, please feel free to reach out to Kirsten Carr at kirstenc@ibwboosterclub.org.

Lastly, if you would like to purchase gift cards yourself some suggested stores are Fred Meyer, Target, Walmart, Adidas and Nike. If you would like to drop off gift cards, please email me (blocke@pps.net) and we can coordinate a time for drop off at IBW and/or your student can drop them off to our bookkeeper, Ana Curtis, in the main office.

If you are a family in need of support during the winter break and holiday season, please submit your information via this form https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfZYl4WQlK4hG.../viewform . If you need food support please email me or refer to our IBW Resource Page (https://docs.google.com/.../1reiKrzugwV8zPDamXai3.../edit...) for a list of food resources in the community.

Warm Regards,

Britni Locke, LCSW, LSSW
she/her
School Social Worker
Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School
(971) 712-3621
blocke@pps.net

Thank you to everyone who has completed the survey. We are now up to 167 completed parent surveys but we still need to hear more voices!

Once every school year, Portland Public Schools collects input from students, families, and staff about school climate and culture. The data informs decisions at Ida B. Wells and district-wide, guiding us in creating a welcoming, healthy environment for every student.

Please take a few minutes to complete the Successful Schools Survey by December 16th. Your feedback is crucial in helping us set goals and improve our school environment for all students at IBWHS.

Why Your Feedback Matters:

• Shapes school goals and initiatives.
• Provides insights for targeted training and support for our staff & leadership.
• Ensures we are meeting the needs of our community.

The survey is anonymous and takes 15-30 minutes to complete. Use this link 2024-2025 Successful Schools Survey Link or the link in Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese. You can also use the QR Code to begin the survey.

More information is available in this PPS Letter in English, Spanish, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Chinese

Thank you, your voice makes a difference!

The PPS Board of Education is in the planning phase for the next Bond to be referred to voters in 2025. Construction funding for Ida B. Wells is proposed to be included in that bond.

On Dec. 2, at the School Facilities Improvement Oversight Committee, Superintendent Kimberlee Armstrong and the PPS Board acknowledged their desire to build our newest high schools within a target budget that meets the academic, social and extracurricular needs of students. Constructing the high schools at a budget that is more in line with other recent high school rebuilds will free up funds to address critical needs in many of our other schools.

The estimates to rebuild Ida B. Wells, Cleveland, and Jefferson High Schools are more than $450 million each. PPS leadership believes that the costs for the three new high schools should be scrutinized and made more manageable.

In order to achieve this goal, each school's design team is pausing current work on the projects and will focus on preparing options for design, schedule and budget which the Superintendent and Board of Education will review at a future board meeting. All community engagement meetings scheduled for the next several weeks will be postponed.

Therefore the IBW DAG meeting scheduled for this Thursday, Dec 5th will not take place. For more information about this development, please refer to the recording of the Board of Education’s School Facilities Improvement Oversight Committee meeting from December 2, 2024: https://youtu.be/hpR_gcyPy9A?si=IRHNcIkk2KxrYS6I

Some Upcoming Holiday Events and other resources passed on by our school psychologist, Emilee Refvem:

Annual Christmas Toy Giveaway: Saturday, December 21, 2024 at 10:00a.m.-2:00p.m. (flyer attached).

Black Santa PDX Events: Friday, November 29, 2024 - Monday, December 23, 2024 registration.

Fremont Holiday Fest Santa & Mrs. Claus: Friday, December 6, 2024 at 4:00p.m.-7:00p.m. registration.

Hermann Colas, Jr. Legacy Scholarship: Apply by February 23, 2025

Little Ones Playgroup at Friendly House: Saturdays, December 7, 14, 21, 2024 at 11:00a.m.-1:00p.m.

High School Students In Oregon Media Contest: Submission Deadline Friday, February 21, 2025 at 5:00p.m.

Livelihood Northwest: Business Development with a Purpose begins Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 4:00p.m.-5:00p.m.

Oregon Zoo Lights: Friday, November 22, 2024 - Sunday, January 5, 2025.

The Christmas Tree Project: Request a FREE decorated Christmas Tree

The Giving Trees: Delivering FREE Christmas trees, ornaments, lights and stands.

The Street Trust New Year's Ride: Wednesday, January, 1, 2025 at 12:00p.m. register.

University of Oregon Presents Good In the Hood: Save the Dates! June 28-29, 2025 For additional information, contact Joelle R Goodwin at jgoodwin@uoregon.edu

Walking Group: National Alliance on Mental Illness EVERY 1st & 3rd Wednesday's 6:00p.m.-8:00p.m. Peninsula Park.

The SW Portland Community Band has a winter concert coming up on Saturday, December 14 at 5 pm at the Multnomah Arts Center. They will play their usual program of holiday and traditional favorites. Food and beer available, and all proceeds benefit the Ida B. Wells High School band program.

Other great news for the SW Community Bank is that they finally bought and received a beautiful set of chimes for their percussion section. They have been raising funds for several years to purchase this expensive new instrument, long- and much-needed by both the Wells band and our band.

More information about the SW Portland Community Band here: https://www.swportland.band/.

Start with 311 as your single point of access to help with any questions or local government service needs within Multnomah County.
7 days a week - 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. (excluding federal holidays)
Call: 311 / 503-823-4000
Email: 311@portlandoregon.gov
Translation services available