Whitford Newsletter

February 6, 2020

Principal Message

Hello Whitford Families,

We just completed our 2nd annual Career Day on January 31, 2020. We had over 80 speakers with a wide variety of professions from doctors to carpenters to engineers to journalists. Our diverse student population matched the diversity of our speakers. I would like to personally thank everyone who gave up their personal time to come in and speak. Our students were buzzing all day about their different speakers. I also want to thank Robyn Giacchi who organized this tremendous event. As part of our college and career culture, we are planning to do this again next year. If you are interested, please contact Robyn Giacchi at robyn_giacchi@beaverton.k12.or.us. It would be wonderful to increase the number of speakers for next year and continue to have many different vocations from the trades to those with doctorates.

Report cards were released last week. They are no longer being sent home, but rather available on StudentVue or ParentVue. If you have any questions, you may contact anyone in the office, your student’s counselor, or any administrator and we can get you to the correct screen to view the academic and behavior marks.

Parent conferences are right around the corner. They will be held on Wednesday, February 26th from 5-8 and Thursday, February 27th from 8:10-8:10. Your child’s teaching team will be in contact with you soon to set up a conference time. There will be no school for students on Thursday February 27 and Friday February 28.

BREAKING NEWS…… Whitford has been approved to show the documentary Screenagers during our conferences. It is 67 minutes in length and will be played on a loop during conference times. The topic is centered around social and emotional health in a digital world. I encourage both you and your child to spend an hour with us learning about this topic. Translations will also be in Spanish. To view the trailer, https://www.screenagersmovie.com/trailer Screenagers Trailer

Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing will begin in February 2020 for some of our students. Please click on the following link for the State information (click here).

Students must meet their Essential Skills in Mathematics, Reading and Writing in order to graduate high school. The Smarter Balanced Assessment will be the best opportunity for students to meet this Essential Skill. Scheduled testing will take place in the classroom.

Districts are rated on their SBAC participation levels, as well as student performance on this exam. Our results on these exams help us to determine the extensions and interventions needed for our students. Decisions around class offerings and hiring of staff are based partially on data that is gathered from this test. However, if you are interested in opting out of the state test, here are the links in both English and Spanish. (The form is found on page 2 of this document.)

English Opt Out Form

Spanish Opt Out Form

Sincerely,

Brian Peerenboom - Principal

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Whitford Geography Bee

Congratulations to Dexter Eiler this year's Whitford Geography Bee Champion.

Dexter will go on to take the state bee qualifying test for a chance to compete in the Oregon Geography Bee at Pacific University this spring.

Additional kudos to our second and third place winners: Elizabeth Eggert and Davis Witman.

Thank you to all this year's bee participants their hard work and excellent sportsmanship!

Common Middle School Experience

Family Listening & Learning Session

Family listening and learning sessions will take place at all comprehensive middle schools on Thursday, February 6, 2020 from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Whitford will host a session in the library.

What you do at Night, on the Weekends, and on Vacation Can Make a World of Difference to Your Child's Academic Success: Practical Advice for Families from a Leading Literacy Expert Grades K-8

Join Dr. Mary Ehrenworth on Wednesday, February 12th at Springville K-8to find out how parents can make a tremendous difference in their children's academic success, now, and as they mature. You'll learn about what you can do to help your children become more powerful readers, which helps them be more powerful students in every class. You'll find out more about what kinds of 'work' outside of school make a tremendous difference. You'll learn about different kinds of reading aloud and reading experiences that can add to your children's language acquisition and knowledge. And you'll learn about use of time, including the kinds of commitments, trips and family projects that can help students do better not only with reading but in science and social studies.

Dr. Ehrenworth is Senior Deputy Director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, a global literacy think tank at Columbia University. She has been an admissions officer at an Ivy League university. Dr. Ehrenworth is the author of dozens of books, including The Power of Grammar and the best-selling Pathways to the Common Core, and most recently, Essential Research Skills for Teens, Critical Literacy, and, forthcoming, The Civically-Engaged Classroom:Teaching in Times of Strife and Discord. Among her more recent articles in Educational Leadership are: Revisiting Reading Workshop: Autonomy,Liberation, and Love; Growing Extraordinary Writers; Why Argue? and Unlocking the Secrets of Complex Texts. She is also a parent of two children who are widely diverse learners.

Dr. Ehrenworth will be speaking at Springville K-8, starting at 6:30. There will be light refreshments and time to answer questions at the end. If you are interested in attending, please register here. If you have any questions, please call Susan Ouellette at 503-356-4431

Whitford Students Win DreamBox Challenge

During the contest = 15,613 lessons

6 week period before contest = 11,728 lessons

The amount of standards students were showing proficient at doubled from before to after the contest.

There were 1,301 hours spent outside of school on DB during the contest. That's 78,060 minutes which means DB collected 62,448,000 data points from your school during that time for individualized learning experiences.

High School Open House

Beaverton, Southridge and Mountainside will hold their incoming freshman open house on Feb. 20th. 8th grade students will get their forecasting sheets before the open house. Attending the open house will answer lots of questions about class options and course sequences.

Immunization Exclusion Day February 19, 2020

State law requires that all children in public and private schools, preschools, Head Start and certified child care facilities have up-to-date immunizations, or have a medical or nonmedical exemption.

Parents or guardians will receive a letter in early February if their child’s immunization record shows that he or she has not received the required vaccinations. Children will not be able to attend school or childcare starting February 19, 2020, if their records on file show missing immunizations.

The Beaverton School-Based Health Center and the Merlo School-Based Health Center are both resources for families in the Beaverton School District to get immunizations.

Aloha High School Auto Tech Open House

Annual Asbestos Notification

Environmental Management - Beaverton School District

Annual Asbestos Notification. The Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) of 1986 requires that the District notify parents annually concerning asbestos-containing building materials in the school building that their child attends, and that the management plan for that building is available for their review.

Notice in English

Notice in Spanish