Whitford Newsletter

Hello Whitford families,

We had a great turnout for our Back To School Night on September 17th. We are always looking for topics of interest that will help the development of your middle school student. Our topics ranged from internet safety to navigating Canvas to ParentVue and simply how to keep your middle schooler organized. A big thank you to our great teaching staff who went above the call of duty to host sessions outside their content area.

Now that we have entered October, parent conferences are the next item on the calendar. By now you should have received information from your student’s teaching team to schedule a conference. This is a great way to see how your student is doing both academically and behaviorally. Our teachers spend a great deal of time providing you the best feedback to help your student be successful.

Our first dance of the year will be on Friday, October 25th. It will go from 6:30-8:30. We are always looking for parent volunteers to help chaperone. I ask that if you plan to help chaperone, please make sure you have completed a current background check in our volunteer system. This can be done online https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/communications-community-involvement/volunteer This dance is PTO’s largest money maker of the year and very well attended by students. The cost is $5.00 per student. Students will enter at the end of corridor II in the front of the school where I will be checking bags. There is no outside food or drink and if your student wears their costume, please have them leave their masks, props, and make-up at home. This event is only for Whitford students. Besides dancing, there will be lots of fun activities put on by our PTO and Whitford Student Council.

Finally, all teachers should have their calendars up to date through Canvas. Please ask your student to show you Canvas and how they navigate this learning management system. We are creating a one stop shopping for students and parents as to improve our communication with families about what is going on in each classroom.

Have a safe and healthy October.

Brian Peerenboom - Principal

Every year students are considered for Talented and Gifted services in Beaverton School District. These services are provided by your child's classroom teacher(s). If you think your child might qualify, you may wish to complete the Parent Information Form that is available in our school’s office. Completing this form gives our school TAG committee more information about your child, but it is not required. All qualified students will be considered regardless of its completion.

Oregon law and District policy define gifted students as those who score at or above the 97th percentile on a standardized, nationally normed test of mental ability and/or academic achievement. Behavioral, learning, and/or performance information is also considered before a student is identified for TAG services.

The Parent Information Form must be completed and returned to our school’s TAG facilitator, Dawn Morgan, or the school’s office.

Hi, my name is Nkechi Okeafor and I am a grant funded therapist that works with students struggling with academic performance, behavioral issues, or family conflict. I have an office at Whitford Middle School.

Services I provide are:

*Youth and Family Counseling

*Group Counseling

*Mental Health Assessments

*Connecting students and families to resources

*Classroom presentations

Parents can contact me by calling Whitford or through my email at nokeafor@youthcontact.org

Mr. Rooke-Ley was Oregon's recipient for the Extra Yard for Teachers Award. Whitford will receive $10,000.

https://pac-12.com/videos/extra-yard-teachers-oregon-celebrates-math-teacher-beaverton

At Back to School night last month, Whitford hosted a class to familiarize parents with CANVAS, a calendaring and homework tool for parents and students. If you missed this class the link below is a great tutorial on how to use Canvas effectively.

http://bit.ly/30mUDyc

The 21st Beaverton Education Foundation Phone-a-thon takes place October 9-17, 2019. This annual dialing tradition provides critical funds that support innovative educational programs for students in the Beaverton community. During the five-fun-filled nights, more than 350 student volunteers make over 30,000 phone calls, dedicating their time, energy and enthusiasm to supporting BEF programs.

Last year, BEF served over 27,000 Beaverton students in grades K-12, funding 124 academic programs or projects. Through this funding from our supporters and community engagement, $390,603 was invested back into our schools.

This year our goal is to fund 130 projects impacting 30,000 students. Together, we will make it happen.

The Phone campaign and the associated mailings are the Foundations largest fundraising activity of the year. Funds raised are reinvested in a wide variety of after and summer school programs for students at all of Beaverton public schools. Please Answer the Call for our students!

October 14-19th is National Digital Citizenship Week. Broadly defined, digital citizenship is using technology safely, responsibly, and appropriately. In advisory classes, students learned about being upstanding digital citizens and how they can control what they post online, send to friends, and protect their digital footprint.

Our School Resource Officer Dave VanCleve will be presenting to our students about digital safety, cyberbullying, and online privacy. As educators, parents, and community members, we know that technology can be a controversial topic and has a wide range of positive and negative effects.

Our goal is to come together as a community to teach the skills our kids need to be responsible, proficient, and honorable digital citizens. Below are 4 tips for parents to help kids interact safely and positively online. For more resources on how to continue the conversation at home about digital citizenship, go to commonsensemedia.org.

AVID Volunteer Tutors are needed in all the Middle Schools, Options schools and High schools (all levels please promote to your school community)

And now, just added a new Paid College Student Tutor Position! Information regarding this position can be viewed below

AVID=Advancement Via Individual Determination

The Beaverton AVID Program teaches students the skills and behaviors necessary for academic success in high school, college and beyond.

• AVID tutors work with small groups of middle school students under the supervision of a teacher.

• Tutors are trained to use specific strategies that help develop students’ critical thinking, literacy, and math skills.

• Tutoring is held mainly on Tuesday & Thursday, and times vary depending on the school and volunteer availability.

• Training and ongoing support provided.

Contact: Danica Jensen Weiner 503-356-4478

10/14 District wide earthquake DRILL

10/16 Parent Teacher Conferences 5-8pm

10/17 Parent Teacher Conferences 8AM-8PM

10/17 No School for Students

10/18 No School for Students

10/22 Picture Retakes –AM only

10/25 Fall Dance Sponsored by PTO 6-8:30PM $5 for Admission

10/30 Lights out for conservation

10/31 Last day for Cross Country

11/1 Grading Day – No School for Students

11/5 6th grade AVID FT to Pacific

11/7 8th grade AVID FT to OSU

11/11 Veteran’s Day – No School for Students

https://fundrazr.com/WMS.HMS_Collaboration_2019?ref=ab_66j6Qb

My name is Benjamin Lloyd and I work at Whitford and Highland Park Middle Schools as the Library and Instructional Technology Teacher. This project seeks to create a collaborative project between the two neighboring schools. Students will work at each site to build a robotic arm. Progress, insight, and troubleshooting will be shared collaboratively between the two groups in an effort to get an arm up and running in each school. Afterwards, we will display the arms in a unique way that allows students to control the arm at the neighboring site. Students will learn about engineering, electronics, and local and distance collaboration with an emphasis on how collaboration works in the research and business world.