Hello Whitford families,

I must admit that this is not how I saw the end of the year back in February. I thought we might miss one week before Spring Break, which then turned into some of April, and finally the remainder of the year. As I said hello to many students last Friday during locker pick up, I quickly realized that this might be the last time I might see the 8th graders at Whitford Middle School. As I said goodbye, there was a stare we gave each other indicating that this is it, and it wasn’t at all how it was supposed to end.

To all my 8th graders and their families, I wish it was different and we somehow could have had some type of celebration back on March 13th, which was the last day we held classes. I will say that I have been talking to High School Administrators and we would like to have some sort of goodbye to middle school and hello to high school as soon as we can somewhat return to normal life. I miss you all and hope you are surviving. I understand you are all doing the very best you can under these conditions.

Whitford held our first and hopefully last curbside locker pick up last Friday. I want to thank the Whitford staff who emptied lockers, threw away garbage, returned library books, textbooks, combined PE clothes to student lockers, and carried out each bag so students could pick them up. If you were unable to pick up the contents of your locker, there are still over 100 bags in the cafeteria, please reach out to Mr. Peerenboom, Ms. Giacchi, Ms. Ashdown, or Ms. Allen and we will organize a time for you to pick up your items.

Whitford will be able to continue to assess work on a 1-4 scale then making summary judgements on each target at the end of the semester. The only caveat to how we normally grade is that in accordance with The Oregon Department of Education, we must follow the “no harm” grading practices. This means that no student can earn a lower mark than what they had on March 13th. I will be addressing all students this Thursday (May 7, 2020) in a Zoom meeting to explain to them how grading will work. Counselors will be sending out an email through Canvas letting students know the Zoom meeting ID and password.

Thursday May 7th

1:30 - 8th grade

2:00 - 7th grade

2:30 - 6th grade

The other item I want to meet with students about is overall participation. I understand students and families are doing their best, but I want to add a little competition to hopefully increase participation. I will be holding a grade level contest. The grade level which has the best participation percentage during the month of May will have a say in how I will shave my beard and moustache. If it gets more students to participate, I feel it was well worth it.

Finally, I want to give a heartfelt appreciation to the entire staff at Whitford. Believe it or not, this week was supposed to be Teacher Appreciation Week. Ms. Giacchi has emailed students to get them to send in kind words, a little video, or any other way the students can say thank you to our amazing staff. The Whitford staff has done an outstanding job of transitioning to distance learning. We are working out several bugs, but for the most part, it shows how much they care about your children. We miss the students too. If there is a teacher, teaching team, or other adult who made a difference in your child’s life, please reach out and email them, call them, or be creative and let them know in your own way. We are lonely too and human interaction really goes a long way.

Be well,

Brian Peerenboom

Principal, Whitford Middle School

A few weeks ago the district hosted a CANVAS webinar in English. If you missed it, the notes from the meeting can be found here. https://www.facebook.com/BeavertonSchoolDistrict/videos/889722298210374/.

This week the district will host a CANVAS webinar in Spanish. See information below.

May 4-8 is teacher appreciation week. We normally spoil our teachers all week with lunches, daily gift card drawings, free massages, and random acts of kindness. This year looks very different. Please let the staff at Whitford know of your appreciation. Whitford is still receiving USPS mail. If you want to mail a note to a teacher, we will make sure they get it.

Parents-- We thank you this week as well. You have stepped up to help us do our jobs. Thank you for encouraging your students to do classwork. One thing this pandemic has taught us is that we need each other.

Can't find a pencil sharpener, need paper, pens, pencils? Please let us know. Reach out to the office or a counselor and we can arrange for some supplies.

We still have some medication that needs to be returned to you. Please email the office and we can arrange a time to get that back to you.

Dear Whitford Parents and Guardians,

It’s data collection time again for Beaverton’s Safe Routes to School program. The purpose of this program is to make walking and biking to school safe, convenient and fun.

Parent’s and guardian’s input into how students travel to and from schools and their impression of the safety of the route is valuable as the city and county prioritize needed improvements for our roads.

The following link was generated from the National Safe Routes to School Center and will be used to give us a good picture of how students are getting to and from schools throughout the district.

The school’s survey will be open for responses until May 31.

We appreciate your help in giving us information to make our program effective for all Beaverton School District students.

Thank you,

Leah Biado-Luis

Beaverton Safe Routes to School Coordinator

1270 NW 167th Place

Beaverton, OR 97006

Email: bsdsaferoutes@gmail.com

Website: www.beaverton.k12.or.us/safe-routes

Follow us on Facebook! @BeavertonSafeRoutes

Survey Link

http://www.saferoutesdata.org/surveyformparent.cfm?key=1596588

Estimados padres y tutores de Whitford:

Es hora de recopilar información nuevamente para el programa de Beaverton de Rutas Seguras a la escuela. El propósito de este programa es ir caminando y en bicicleta a la escuela de manera segura, conveniente y divertida.

El aporte de los padres y tutores acerca de cómo los estudiantes viajan de ida a la escuela y de regreso a la casa y su impresión de la seguridad de la ruta, es valioso, ya que la ciudad y el condado priorizan las mejoras necesarias para nuestras carreteras.

El siguiente enlace link fue generado por el Centro Nacional de Rutas Seguras a la Escuela y se utilizará para darnos una buena idea de cómo los estudiantes viajan de ida a la escuela y de regreso a casa, en todo el Distrito.

La encuesta de la escuela estará abierta hasta el 31 de mayo para recibir sus respuestas.

Agradecemos su ayuda al brindarnos información para que nuestro programa sea efectivo para todos los estudiantes del Distrito Escolar de Beaverton.

Gracias,

Leah Biado-Luis

Coordinador de Rutas Seguras a la Escuela de Beaverton

1270 NW 167th Place

Beaverton, OR 97006

Email: bsdsaferoutes@gmail.com

Website: www.beaverton.k12.or.us/safe-routes

Follow us on Facebook! @BeavertonSafeRoutes

Enlace de la encuesta

http://www.saferoutesdata.org/surveyformparent.cfm?key=1596588