West Sylvan Middle School

We’ve enjoyed all of the energy of having our Wolfpack Scholars back in the building for the start of school this week! So many of our Scholars are already doing such an excellent job modeling our core expectations of being safe, being respectful and being responsible by wearing their school ID each day, doing their best to find their classes and get to classes on time, being kind and safe with their actions and words toward each other and by keeping their phones and other electronic devices in their lockers and out of sight throughout the entire school day! Thank you for sending your talented, inquisitive, smart and kind Scholars our way!

SCHOOL ID CARDS:
We reissued lanyards to all scholars so that they could make temporary ID badges until they take their new school pictures. School picture day is September 11th. There will be a future makeup day for any students who are absent on Picture Day. As a PPS District, we do expect that all Middle School and high school students are wearing ID badges throughout the school day, just like all adults. If your student did not receive a temporary lanyard to create their ID this week, they should ask their period 6 teacher. We also have extra lanyards in the Main Office for any who need them. Please help your Scholar by reminding them to grab their ID before leaving for the bus or getting in the car for school. We have temporary sticker IDs that we will start having students wear on Tuesday if they come to school without their ID badge. We are reinforcing safety by having our IDs visible throughout the day, and it’s also a great way to learn names so that we can personalize our greetings with each other throughout the school community!

There has been a lot of talk throughout the nation about students and cell phones in schools. Our school has had an expectation of “Off and Out of Sight” for the last three years. We have seen so much responsible behavior this week, and we appreciate your reinforcement of expectations at home, also! Of nearly 720 students, only four Scholars had phone confiscations this week for violating the policy. If a scholar brings a cell phone to school, they will be expected to store their turned-off phone in their locker and have it out of sight throughout the entire school day (including lunches/recess). Violation of these expectations results in confiscation and items being held in the office until the end of the day, and Parents/Guardians will be expected to pick them up. Important messages can be sent to our Main Office via email (westsylvanoffice@pps.net), and will be forwarded to your scholars’ PPS email account. Students may request use of the office phone to call out as well.

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. Enjoy your longer weekend!

Jill Hunt, Principal
Ben Keller, Assistant Principal

West Sylvan is a NO cell phone zone from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily. We request and advise all families to keep scholars’ cell phones at home during the school day. If you must send your scholar with a device, please use the parent control features to turn off access to all social media. You may also mark the device ‘lost’ during school hours, thus making the phone inoperable during specific hours. The number one cause of all school referrals and school fights are conflicts initially instigated through students’ cell phones. You should have a way to monitor your child’s devices regularly. Know who their friends are, and set up the settings on devices to view and monitor students' accounts for unsafe connections and harmful content.

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

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

when students have a 9:30AM start time (with building opening at 9:20AM)

due to monthly Staff meetings *(only affecting PPS Middle Schools):

Feb 4th - March 11th - April 8th - May 6th - June 3rd

SEPTEMBER

• Mon, SEP 2nd: NO SCHOOL - Labor Day Holiday
• Tue, SEP 10th: Delayed start due to Staff Meeting 8:15-9:15 AM *(Students start at 9:30 AM)
  
• Wed, SEP 11th: School Picture Day ~ Say CHEESE!
• Wed, SEP 25th: Early Release for Students at 1:45 PM due to Staff PD from 2:00-5:00 PM

OCTOBER

• Thu, OCT 10th: Back to School Night from 5:45-7:30 PM
• Sun, OCT 27th ~ Fri, NOV 1st: Sixth Graders at Overnight Outdoor School all week

Students may take a school bus to and from school, and you may drop off and pick up. Route information is here, and this is the only place to find out about the bus routes. If you are dropping off and picking up by car, be advised that there is significant traffic in and out of campus due to our limited access points and turnaround style parking lot. Please pull all the way forward to the front school doors to drop off; do not stop half way through the parking lot to drop off/pick up, as you then slow down all of the traffic behind you and risk your student's safety. If you are parking in the neighborhood around campus, please do not block any of our neighbors’ driveways, use their driveways as turnarounds, or leave your engines idling while waiting. Our school works in collaboration with the Beaverton Police Department, and the BPD team regularly patrols to be sure that we are respecting our neighbors and their property.

**BUS NOTES: If your scholar IS NOT riding their assigned bus and needs to take an alternate, we must have the request in writing. Please send an email to our Main Office at westsylvanoffice@pps.net and we will notify bus drivers of the change of transportation.

All visitors have to go through a check-in process when entering our building, which requires scanning your driver’s license/state ID. Please remember your ID if you are entering the school building to visit the office for any reason.

Any student may speak to their School Counselor, or any other adult staff member to request items from our clothing closet or for school supplies. We will make sure that students have what they need to successfully participate in their school day!

We’ve outlined some additional important information below, and we will make every effort to send weekly bulletins through the REMIND app, typically every Friday. This year, REMIND will be the main communication tool for all District and school notifications. If you have not signed up for Remind access, please read through the steps here, so that you receive all communications. Also, be sure to update your contact information through westsylvanoffice@pps.net throughout the year, if your email or cell phone number changes, as all Remind communications are connected to your information in ParentVue.

Portland Public Schools is now using Remind for school and class messaging and voice calls. This means text messages, emails, and calls from the school and from your student's Teachers will be delivered via Remind to the contact information currently in Synergy.

Please note: Installation of the mobile apps is not required to receive text/phone calls.

Learn more about the REMIND app and set your communication preferences at this link: Remind App for Students and Families

Students are welcome to bring their own sack lunch and are encouraged to bring a reusable water bottle daily to refill throughout the school day in our water fountains. Scholars will not have to pay for school lunch and/or breakfast items, and information about menus and resources are here.

We have two separate lunch times, with 6th Graders eating together first, and then a combined 7th/8th Graders’ lunchtime/recess.

All students are assigned a locker that is shared. There will be time during the first week of school to learn how to use lockers and explore the building. Backpacks and large bags must be stored in lockers throughout the day. Our hallways are small, and large backpacks only increase the crowding during travel from class to class. We advise the use of a tote bag or a handle folder in place of any backpacks. All PPS Middle Schools with lockers share the same expectations related to backpacks. The lockers negate the need to carry large backpacks around all day.

Every WSMS scholar will have access to a PPS Chromebook. However, unlike past years, students will not be issued a Chromebook to take home and keep with them throughout the year. Over the last several years, the amount of loss and damage to Chromebooks by Middle School students in PPS has been an extraordinary cost. To reduce the costs associated with damage and broken devices, and to limit overall screen time for our students, devices will remain stored and used on campus.

To continue the amount of time dedicated to building connections for our scholars with adults and to increase opportunities for academic and Social-Emotional learning, all Middle Schools in PPS have continued with having an Advisory within the school day. During this time our scholars engage in Social-Emotional work and community building. The updated bell schedule for 2024-25 is on our website, and Advisory content will occur during an extended period 6 for every student. For Social-Emotional learning activities, we use Wayfinder, a curriculum that can be viewed here for any wonderings.

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.

We have created a Slide Deck with all parts of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook to share with students and families; please use the QR code below to access the slides.

Interested in Volunteering and Being More Involved?

Become an approved PPS volunteer by following the information here. Once your application is approved, please contact the Main Office to see how and when you can be of service.

As we continue to plan for the upcoming school year, we are hopeful that we can have more families involved in regular school activities such as volunteering on campus, taking part in our Friends of West Sylvan (FOWS) organization, and serving on the school Site Council. If you are interested in having a voice in one or more of these school groups, please sign up here.

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!

A wonderful way to keep your student engaged and out of trouble is to get them involved in extracurricular activities, such as youth sports. Youth sports programs are run entirely through the Portland Interscholastic League (PIL). West Sylvan is not involved in registration or management of the teams. All information to register students for PIL Youth Sports is located here.

Next week, August 12-19, all Student Health Centers will be open for sports physicals by appointment. This exam is required for all 7th-12th-Graders participating in a school sport. Schedule an appointment at any center or call the one nearest you. Sorry, no drop-ins.

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]

Kirsten Crombie

kcrombie@pps.net

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