Dear West Sylvan Families,

The sun has been out, and our Scholars are feeling the energy of the change in weather this week! We have had a couple of Team Responses lately, which I want to be sure that all families understand. I know a Team Response can be scary for many students, and we always try to give an explanation to Teachers afterward so that they may immediately update students. A “Team Response” means that someone in our building is having a hard time, most often medically, and sometimes emotionally. Calling a Team Response signals all Educators to keep Scholars in the classrooms and not release them into the hallways where they may encounter the students who need Staff assistance. If we have a student who is injured on a playground, we call a Team Response to avoid having recess start while the student is being attended to on the playground. If we call a Team Response for a student who is in a hallway, we want the hallways clear so that we can safely move the student to another area where there will not be so much foot traffic. Ultimately, the goal is safety for the student who needs assistance. As soon as they are in a safe space out of the traffic of the larger school building hallways, we signal, the “Team Response has ended.”

As fast as this may feel, we are also nearing the end of the Third Quarter. Right after Scholars return from Spring Break, the Quarter ends on Thursday, April 3rd. Please encourage your Scholars to attend to missing assignments and get their grades up by this date for the Quarter report. Friday, April 4th and Monday, April 7th are grading/planning days for Educators, and the Fourth Quarter then begins on Tuesday, April 8th, with Quarter-long elective classes changing. For our 8th Graders who want their grades to count for High School transcript credit, this semester is particularly critical for their grades in World Language and in Math.

Please continue to join in the community advocacy to fully fund public schools so that our budget outlook may improve in coming years! PPS has created a toolkit linked here for how to help and speak up!

Communications related to the upcoming school year will continue to come from both our West Sylvan and PPS district team with regular updates, weekly or bi-weekly.

Jill Hunt, Principal
Ben Keller, Assistant Principal

Many of our Scholars are part of our Speech & Debate Team, led by Lincoln HS students. The team held a tournament at WSMS on Thursday, and lots of fun was had by all. Thank you to Mr. Phillips for helping with the tournament!

MARCH

• Wed, MAR 19th: EARLY RELEASE for Students at 1:45 PM due to Staff PD from 2:00-5:00 PM
• Mon, MAR 24th through Fri, MAR 28th: NO SCHOOL for Spring Break week

APRIL

• Thu, APR 3rd: End of Third Quarter
• Fri, APR 4th: NO SCHOOL for Students due to Grading Day
• Mon, APR 7th: NO SCHOOL for Students due to Teacher Planning Day
• Tue, APR 8th: Late Start for Students due to Staff Meeting (building opens at 9:20AM)

Some Scholars who are taking Common Core Math 6 currently, may have the opportunity to qualify for Math acceleration in 7th grade. Our Math teachers have been in contact with all families of 6th Graders to share their anticipated Math class for 7th grade, based on scores so far this year. Questions should be directed to your Scholar’s Math teacher.

Our District criteria is below. All of the items below must be satisfied for a Scholar to be eligible for Math acceleration in 7th grade.

2024-26 Criteria for 6-8 Grade Math Options:

School starts at 9:15 AM and ends at 4:00 PM every day, with this bell schedule:

The exceptions to these start times are on the following Staff Meeting days,

when students have a 15-minute later start at 9:30AM (with building opening at 9:20AM)

due to monthly Staff meetings *(only affecting PPS Middle Schools).
Buses should pick up 15 minutes later than the typical pickup time.

NO LATE START DATES IN MARCH

April 8th - May 6th - June 3rd

Please calendar the Early Release days this year, which are listed below. All Scholars are released at 1:45 PM, and Staff are in meetings beginning at 2:00PM, meaning we will not be available to supervise any students who are not picked up on time. Buses will drop students off two hours earlier than usual.

FRIENDS OF WEST SYLVAN is parent/family organization that supports Scholars and Staff and fosters community connection through fundraising and volunteer opportunities. Join the mailing list and stay connected with other families!

TO CREATE YOUR FoWS ACCOUNT:

• Exciting plans are ahead for WSMS and Friends of West Sylvan. In order to take advantage of our activities this year, please be sure to login to www.friendsofwestsylvan.org and get your account set up. All events will be run through this system.
• If you previously had an account, you'll be prompted to update your information upon logging in. If you are new to West Sylvan or didn't set up an account before, you'll be asked to create one. Just use your email that you provided to PPS and that will link to your family information.
• Once logged in you can determine whether you would like to be included in our family directory and what information you would like to share. Our directory requires login to access, so it's not available to the public. Any questions? Email us at hi@friendsofwestsylvan.org

Portland Interscholastic League Youth Sports Program
https://pilathletics.sportsengine-prelive.com/page/show/2351756-pilysp-registration

Registration - FamilyID
We are excited to be using online registration through FamilyID (www.familyid.com). FamilyID is a secure registration platform that provides you with an easy, user-friendly way to register for PIL Youth Sports Programs, while allowing us to be more administratively efficient and environmentally responsible. If you need assistance registering, please contact your Cluster Coordinator.

All students must also submit the following paperwork to the Coordinator prior to participation:

• Proof of payment
• Copy of student physical: Sports Physical
• Proof of Residency: All students must participate in the High School Cluster in which they reside, and residency is based on the address you have on file with the school your child is attending. If you reside in the Dual Boundary (Grant/Jefferson, Madison/Jefferson, or Roosevelt/Jefferson) you must participate with the Jefferson Cluster. If you are unsure of which Cluster you reside in, please click here and type in your address. Proof of residency may be presented in the form of a student report card, or enrollment documentation which may be provided through your school.

Cluster Coordinator: Julie Abrams lincolnyouthcrosscountry@gmail.com

https://lincolnyouthtrackandfield.weebly.com/

For additional information, please contact the PIL District Office at 503-916-3223

MAIN OFFICE

westsylvanoffice@pps.net

(503) 916-5690

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY

[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]

Jerda Solonche

jsolonche@pps.net

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ SCHOOL SECRETARY

[Students / Attendance / Enrollment-Registration]

Kirsten Crombie

kcrombie@pps.net

Website: www.pps.net/westsylvan
Location: 8111 Southwest West Slope Drive, Portland, OR, USA