The Guardian Gazette

Mark your calendars and see below for further information

Now - December 16 - Take Successful Schools Survey

December 13-15 Final Weekend for Booster Club Tree Sale
December 16 - PTA Meeting
December 17 - 20 Attendance Desk Short Staffed
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 9 https://secure.smore.com/n/x1wjvf
IBW Athletics Weekly, Winter Preview https://secure.smore.com/n/gr1c8

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

https://trivory.com/ibw/calendar

Booster Club

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered and supported the tree sale. It's been wildly successful this year because of you!

Tree Sale

This is the last weekend for the Ida B. Wells Booster Club tree sale. We will be there this Friday (4pm to 530pm), Saturday and Sunday (10am to 530pm each day), at A- Boy on Barbur. Make your plan to get your tree with us and support the Booster Club! Come early for the best selection!

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!

Follow us

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.

Got gently used or designer purses that would appreciate a new home? You can donate them to our upcoming wine and purse sale to help raise money for the Class of 2025's Grad Night Party!

To learn more:

Email: jenc152@yahoo.com

Phone: 503-349-6368

The attendance office is going to be short staffed December 17 - 20. Kathy will be out the office as well as some of our office volunteers. Those filling in that week will do their best to keep up, but if you know now that your student will be out any of those days, the sooner you can let us know the better!

And, remember, all day current or future absences can be updated through ParentVUE.

There are lots of lost items (especially water bottles) outside room 139 that need to go back to their owners! Pick yours up before Winter Break or they will all be donated during the break.

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)

Parents and Students: We need YOU to be part of a new committee that will help lead the distribution of philanthropic dollars raised through The Fund for PPS.

We are excited to announce the formation of the PPS Board of Education’s new Parent Advisory Committee (PAC): Distribution of Donations for Staffing. There is just over $1 million to allocate for 2025-2026 school year, and we need representatives from all PPS clusters to serve on the committee plus two high school students.

Apply before Dec. 21: You can learn more and apply at https://www.pps.net/Page/22782. Thank you!

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.

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