Week of September 23
Week of September 23rd
Message from Principal Wadkins
Dear Cleveland Families,
It is officially fall and many activities are in full swing. Thank you all for coming to Back to School Night. It was wonderful to see you there. If you could not make it or you missed a teacher, you can always reach out to teachers via email. Many of them use Canvas to post assignments, syllabi and grading policies.
Our first progress reports will be going out soon which is the first check in point of the semester. Some teachers may report letter grades while others may use P/NP (Pass/No Pass) to indicate progress. You can always check ParentVue to check on your student’s progress in a class. At this point in the semester, you can see if your student is on track to meet course standards and to see what is working or not working for your student. The cycle of progress reports will include a Quarter 1 grade half way through the semester, another progress report after that before the Semester 1 grade which will be entered on your student’s transcript. The semester grade is the only grade that is recorded on the transcript and used to calculate grade point averages. Do not hesitate to reach out to teachers or your student’s counselor to talk about strategies for your student to find academic success.
After three weeks of implementation of our new cell phone policy, students know the expectations. Cell phones, bluetooth devices such as earbuds and smartwatches are locked in the Yondr pouch during the school day. We will take phones and lock them in the office when we see them out of the pouches. Some students will say, “But I wasn’t using it.” The policy is that if the devices are on campus during the school day, they must be locked in the pouches. At this point, we will require parents or guardians to come get phones that we have taken during the school day. I continue to hear concerns about the phones being locked up at lunch and the need for emergency communication if the student is off campus. The phones can be used to make phone calls by using the voice activation feature on the smartphone. This feature works even if the phone is locked. Finally, I want to correct an assertion I made about contacting your student using Google chat. You can email your student using a non-PPS email address, but the Google chat feature on their Chromebooks only works with PPS addresses. Thank you for your feedback as we implement this policy that has already had positive impacts on student engagement in school.
School Schedule for This Week
Week of September 23-27
Monday - B Day
Tuesday - A Day
Wednesday - B Day
Thursday - A "Assembly" Day
Friday - B Flex Day
Check the CHS website or Trivory for updates
Sept 24 - IB Info & Registration
Sept 27 - Band Playathon Fundraiser
Oct 3 - Student Club Fair
Oct 7 -10 - Homecoming Week
Oct 10 - Homecoming Dance
Oct 11 - No School - Inservice Day
OUR SCHOOL
Be a Campus Greeter
Parent Volunteer Opportunity - Sign-up Today!
We're recruiting Campus Greeters. We need help each school day between 8:45-10:15. This is a great way to get involved with our school. This role is easy, but important. You're there to welcome students and visitors arriving at the building after the school day begins.
Please pick a day that works best for you and sign up here. A current PPS volunteer background check is required. To apply, go to: https://www.pps.net/volunteer
Attendance Procedures
Mid-Day Check-Out / Early Dismissal
If your student is leaving during the school day, a parent or guardian must notify the Attendance Office via email or voicemail. When the student is leaving, all students need to sign-out in the Attendance Office and meet the parent/guardian outside. If your student is returning to school, students need to sign back in at the Attendance Office.
We will not release students in the last 15 minutes of the school day, between 3:15-3:30pm. If your student needs to leave during this time, please make arrangements ahead of time so your student is aware and can follow the mid-day checkout procedures.
On days when we have Flex, we are not able to locate students during Flex hours, 2:45-3:30pm. This is non-scheduled, extra help or special event time and students are not required to be in a specific location. If you need to have your student dismissed during Flex, please make arrangements ahead of Flex time.
Reporting a Student's Absence
An email, most preferred, (Clevelandattend@pps.net ) or phone call (503-916-5126) is required to be sent by a parent or guardian for any tardiness or absence within three (3) days (Per district policy it is the parent’s responsibility to clear unexcused absences within three school days or 72 hours of the absence or the absences(s) will remain unexcused). When you notify the school regarding the absence, please indicate the following information:
- Date
- Student full name
- Reason for the absence
- Date(s) of the absence
ACADEMICS
IB Registration for Spring 2025 opens Tuesday, September 24th
IB Registration Meeting
Is your student a Junior or Senior who is planning to register for IB subject exams this year? If not, are you wondering if you should? If you answered 'yes' to either question, you are invited to join Cleveland's IB Coordinator, Jamie Incorvia for an informational meeting. The meeting will be hosted virtually via Google Meet on Tuesday September 24th at 7:00pm. It will be recorded for families that are unavailable to attend at this time.
Ms. Incorvia will share an overview of the IB exam process, including student eligibility, potential benefits, and directions of how to register. There will be time for a Q&A at the conclusion of the presentation.
Find links to register and more information on the IB Exam Registration page.
Oct 16th - PreACT for Sophomores has been postponed
There is a delay with the state's ability to hold the PreACT for sophomores beginning in October. PPS is canceling the PPS PreACT test date of October 16th and will work on scheduling an alternate date later in the school year, probably in the spring of 2025.
New for 2024-25 School Year
Paperless Report Cards in ParentVUE
PPS is moving to paperless report cards for all grade levels and school sites via ParentVue, the parent portal for gaining access to student information. Starting this school year, report cards will be visible in ParentVue, the parent portal and StudentVue, the student portal. Reports cards will no longer be mailed home by default. Parents and guardians will have the option to request a printed report card from their school(s) if they do not have a means to access ParentVue.
COUNSELING
Class of 2025 Graduation Information
New venue for graduation scheduled for June 4, 2025 @ 4:30pm
This year, Portland Public Schools has shifted to a new venue for the graduation ceremonies of ten of its eleven in-district high schools. This is a change from the last four years, where graduations were celebrated at Providence Park. We will now be using the Portland State University Viking Pavilion, 930 SW Hall Street, Portland, OR 97201.
There were many reasons for this change. First and foremost, with the easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, we are no longer required to hold large events in outdoor settings. Being able to move indoors at PSU gives us fewer potential problems with rain or heat. It also allows us to hold rehearsals for students, provides better and cheaper parking options, and allows us to seat our students in front of the stage during the graduation ceremonies, which was not an option at Providence Park. Finally, the cost savings for the district are substantial.
The only drawback with the PSU venue is that the capacity for the guests of students is more limited than that of Providence Park. PSU will work with each school to determine their seating needs. For schools with large graduating classes, PSU has agreed to open the nearby Smith Hall auditorium for overflow. Those not able to get tickets for the pavilion can watch graduation live from Smith Hall and then meet up with their graduates in the Park Blocks immediately following the ceremony.
Our new contract with PSU is for three years, so we will be planning to be there for the graduation ceremonies of the Classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027. Given that we already partner with the university in many other ways, we believe that this new arrangement will add positively to our collaborative work.
We will be sharing many more updates about graduation throughout the school year, so please stay tuned for those.
Jo Ann Wadkins
Class of 2025 - Senior Photos
Senior Photos/Quotes
Senior photos/quotes are due by Friday, December 20, 2024. Go to this link for all the details for how to submit your seniors photo.
Evening Scholars Registration is now OPEN!
Registration for Evening Scholars in now open. Make an appointment with your Counselor ASAP to sign up. If you failed core classes or earned a D and you want to improve your GPA, this is the way to do it. Classes are at Franklin or Benson High School.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
CHS Band PLAY-A-THON is On!
The GoFundMe link for our 2024 Cleveland HS Bands Play-a-thon is live and we are taking donations now! When people donate, it is important that they mention the student's name in the comments section. We track who the donations come through and give a couple $50 gift cards as prizes.
On Friday, September 27 from 4-9:45pm this will be a live performance so everyone is encouraged to attend. Anyone who loves music, music education, band and/or your child will enjoy this. We will also live-stream the event for those that are living a distance away, but have donated and want to see the program in action.
Yearbooks are available now to order!
Buy a 2024-25 Yearbook
We are excited to announce that the 2024-2025 yearbook is now for sale! You can purchase your copy of The Legend for $60 online at yearbookforever.com.
Welcome Carnival
Exciting news! Next Friday on September 27th the leadership class will be hosting Cleveland's very first school Carnival at the Track and Field beginning at FLEX until 4pm. Ticket sales start on Monday September 23rd and continue through the week at just $3. Then at the carnival tickets will be sold for $4. Tickets are sold in the front hall before and after school and at lunch. The ticket includes a free slice of pizza, free cotton candy and lemonade. There will also be an assortment of fun games and activities hosted by clubs, affinity groups, and sports teams. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get involved at Cleveland High School and simply have a good time with their friends. Our hope with this event is to bring together our Cleveland community with a fun time. We hope to see you there!
ATHLETICS
CHS Fall Sports Schedule
Check out Cleveland's fall sports schedules. Come out and cheer on the teams!
Homecoming is next week on Thursday
FAMILIES & COMMUNITY
CHS Parent Groups
Click any of the group names below for a link to the web page to learn about these great community groups!
DISTRICT NEWS
Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook
The 2024-2025 Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook is live on the PPS and MTSS (Student Conduct & Discipline) website. We are shifting from printing hard copies to electronic versions of the SRRH beginning this 24-25 school year. Every school office will receive one hard copy in the six supported languages. Upon request, we will be able to make additional copies if needed. The Copies for the building should arrive this week.