Family Demo Memo

Jefferson Community;

As we wrap up the final week of the calendar year, I want to take a moment to reflect on what has been an AMAZING school year so far. Our staff consistently shares how privileged we feel to work at Jefferson High School and to support such incredible students. It's been a year full of growth, challenges, and success—and we couldn’t be more proud of the community we’ve built together.

Please take a moment to review this newsletter to stay informed about what’s ahead for the week and what to expect when we return on January 6th. Your continued support is invaluable, and we’re excited for the second half of the school year once our students return!

Thank you for all that you do. Here's to an even stronger finish to the year!

Warm regards,
Drake

If your student needs to leave class for an appointment, they must receive a yellow pass from their teacher and go directly to the main office to sign out. Teachers will temporarily mark the student as SKP (skipped), and the main office will update their attendance once they have signed out. If the student does not sign out at the office, their attendance will remain marked as SKP.

To Excuse an Absence:

As a parent or guardian only, you have several options to excuse your student's attendance:

Call 503-916-5180 Option 2 (please leave a message if it goes to voicemail); The office checks voicemail until 4:00 pm daily

Email: JeffersonAttend@pps.net

Send a note with your student, your signature, and contact information.

An absence may be excused if the absence is caused by:

* Sickness/ ILL

*An emergency

* Pre Arranged Appointment

*If your student has a medical appointment, have reception print them out an attendance note

* Or other urgent emergencies

*Students are not excused for non-urgent matters

If you have any questions please call Jefferson High School Attendance Office.

Just a reminder that PPS Chromebooks are the only acceptable devices to use at school. Students should not be using their own devices during class.

Quarter 2 Progress Reports have been processed and are available in ParentVue.

• Monday, Dec. 16th- A Day

• Tuesday, Dec. 17th- B Day

• Wednesday, Dec. 18th- A Day *Flex

• Thursday, Dec. 19th- B day *Flex

• Friday, Dec. 20th- All 8 Day- Last day before Winter Break

December 23rd- January 3rd -No School

• Monday, Jan 6th- A Day

• Tuesday, Jan. 7th- B Day

• Wednesday, Jan. 8th- A Day *Flex

• Thursday, Jan. 9th- B day *Flex

• Friday, Jan. 10th- All 8 Day

The JHS Attendance Support Intervention Ladder

The Attendance Ladder is our school’s structured approach to addressing unexcused attendance codes, such as LAT (Late after Tardy) and SKP (Skipping). When students have unexcused absences without a valid, documented excuse, they will meet with the Student Attendance Coach and be placed on the Attendance Ladder.

Starting January 6, 2025, after Winter Break, the Attendance Ladder will merge with our Discipline Intervention Ladder to provide a more cohesive support system for students.

For questions, please contact La’Mar Winston Jr., Student Attendance Coach, or a member of our Administrative Team.

lamwinston@pps.net

District Policy:

Leaving Campus without permission: Failing to remain on school grounds, at any point after arrival, without authorization which also includes school-sponsored activities such as field trips.

Please remind your student to remain on campus during the school day, except during lunchtime. Leaving campus outside of lunch unexcused is considered a Type 3 violation. This will include a phone call home and the assignment of after-school detention.

Below are the attendance percentages for our entire student body, based on data pulled on ________:

- Green: Students with 90% to 100% attendance

- Yellow: Students with 80% to 89.9% attendance

- Red: Students with attendance below 79.9%

iUrban Teen tutoring continues in the library after school. Come get help with homework & studying in Math, English, & Science. Monday-Wednesday from 3:30-5:30 PM with Seyla, Zavier and Christina. We also provide guidance through the college application process. Don’t hesitate to ask us for support!

Leadership in the Community:

This past Sunday, our leadership students proudly volunteered at the Holiday Half Marathon and 5K in North Portland, organized by Foot Traffic, a local business dedicated to community engagement. Starting their day at 6:15am… students handed out medals to half-marathon finishers, cheered runners on at the 5K water station, and embraced the spirit of service. Being able to participate in this event- highlighted the power of community connection and gave students a chance to further practice leadership through action!! Thank you Georgie for setting leadership up with this opporunity!

NEXT WEEK IS A WINTER SPIRIT WEEK!

Monday: Pajama Day! (See Trivory for rules and reminders)

Tuesday: Ugly Sweater Day

Wednesday: Hitting the Ski Slopes

Thursday: Ghost of Decades Past

Friday: Candy Cane Day

Interested in Spoken Word Poetry? La Toya A. Hampton, known artistically as The Poet Lady Rose is coming to Jefferson to teach a two-day poetry workshop on January 14th and 16th during 2nd period. See Ms. Morlock in the library to sign up.

Our Successful School Surveys are coming in! Keep them coming!

Giving Tree:

S.H.A.C. club brought up a fantastic idea of creating a tree where students can share what they are thankful for at Jefferson. Leaves were passed out to students and staff to add on to the tree. Some parents filled out leaves at conferences to shout out teachers. If you want a message of appreciation added to the Giving Tree then send Susan Elliott a message at selliott@pps.net.

Rose Festival Applications:

If your student is interested in applying for the Rose Festival Court please encourage them to apply. If they have any questions they can email me at selliott@pps.net. On January 8th we will be hosting an information tea with past Rose Festival Princesses and Queens during Flex.

Our goal is for Seniors to be mostly done with college applications by next Friday 12/20. That will leave students with enough time to focus on applying for scholarships and financial aid over winter break and when we get back to school in January.

*We know that many students have official deadlines later than next Friday. This is just a school-wide goal to help students get moving*

Click here to review some important College Application Reminders.

Jefferson Athletics Information:

Week of December 15th - December 21st

It is a great time to become a DEMO! We are currently accepting athletic participation registration for the following Winter Sports: Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Men’s Wrestling, Women’s Wrestling, Men’s Swimming, and Women’s Swimming. Please go to FamilyID.com and create an account and sign up to participate. Jefferson High School FamilyID or type in www.familyid.com/organizations/jefferson-high-school-portland

Student-athletes must complete registration, have a valid physical on file, and be cleared by the Jefferson Athletic Office in order to participate in Winter Sports.

Men’s Basketball Coach: Robert Smaller - rsmaller@pps.net

Women’s BasketballCoach: Andre Lawrence - alawrenc@pps.net

Wrestling Coach: Montral Brazile - mbrazile@pps.net

Swimming Coach: Janice Lucas - jlucas@pps.net

________________________________________________________________________________

ADMISSION: The PIL will be charging admission in the following sports across the district. Boys and Girls Basketball and Wrestling. You can purchase tickets at the door or can pre-purchase online prior to the event.

Jefferson HS - Buy Tickets Online

PIL Single Game Ticket Prices -

• Adults - $7.00

• Students/Senior Citizens - $5.00

• Elementary students - Free

All TEAM SPORTS - Closed Period until 12/30/24

Just a reminder Optional conditioning is the only activity allowed between out of season coaches and students from their high school.

no sport specific activities permitted

no open facilities allowed.

Name: Piper Bott

Grade: 11

Activity: Dance

Favorite meal before a performance?

I like to eat something simple and easy to digest right before a big performance. Usually I have something small like peanut butter crackers or oatmeal.

How long have you been participating in this activity?

I’ve been dancing since the 6th grade. This is my 5th year dancing.

What famous artist inspires you?

I love listening to Willow Smith and Jimi Hendrix, and whenever I do, I always get inspired to go and choreograph a dance!

Best performance moment of the year?

So far, my favorite and most memorable performance has been when we got to travel to France and perform all around the city of Aix! It was such an amazing opportunity, and I’m so grateful I was able to experience it.

Best part about being a DEMO?

The community here is probably one of my favorite parts of being a Demo!

Basketball 3:45 PM - 6 PM Gyms

Wrestling 3:45 PM- 6 PM Wrestling Room

Swim Contact Coach Lucas Matt Dishman Pool

December 13th

• W. JV Basketball @ McMinnville 4:15 PM ER 1:30 BL 1:45

• W. Varsity Basketball @ McMinnville 5:45 PM ER 1:30 BL 1:45

• M. JV Basketball vs Parkrose @ Oregon City 5:30 PM BL 3:45

• M. Varsity Basketball vs Parkrose @ Oregon City 5:30 PM BL 3:45

December 14th

• Wrestling @ Lincoln 9:00 AM ER BL 6:45am

• M. JV Basketball vs TBD @ Oregon City 11:30 AM or 1 PM

• M. Varsity Basketball vs TBD @ Oregon City 11:30 AM or 1 PM

December 17th

• W. JV Basketball vs Jesuit 5:00 PM

• W. Varsity Basketball vs Jesuit 6:30 PM

December 18th

• Wrestling vs McDaniel and Franklin 5:00 PM

• Swim Meet @ Dishman Pool 6:00 PM

December 19th

• M. Varsity Basketball vs N. Nashville @ Willamette U. 5:30PM ER 3:00 BL 3:15

December 20th

• M. Varsity Basketball vs TBD @ Willamette U. 11:30 AM or 4PM

December 21st

• M. Varsity Basketball vs TBD @ Willamette U. TBD

• M. Frosh Basketball @ Valley Catholic 3:30pm BL 2:15pm

December 23rd

• M. Varsity Basketball vs TBD @ Willamette U. TBD

__________________________________________________________________

Academic requirements are as follows and students who fail to meet any of these requirements are not eligible to participate in sports. 1) student must have passed five classes the previous semester; 2) student must be enrolled and be passing five classes in the current semester; 3) student must be making satisfactory progress toward graduation by earning the minimum number of credits: 4.5 credits by the start of 10th grade, 10 credits by the start of 11th grade, 17 credits by the start of 12th grade. In addition, students must have earned the following GPA the previous quarter: 2.0 with no F's or 2.5 with one F. Students who do not meet this requirement may register and participate but will be placed on academic probation for the current quarter and must attend study sessions.

Attendance Process and Expectations

Attendance Process:

1) Attendance reports are sent at 2:30pm to all coaches.

2) Coaches will share with players their attendance.

3) Coaches will follow attendance policy (policy below).

4) If a student questions the validity of the attendance - The Coach will contact the AD.

5) The AD will then investigate and make a determination.

6) The AD will share with the Coach the determination.

*It is expected that the player or other players will not reach out to the teacher of record about the attendance concern after a determination has been made.

Attendance/Athletic Eligibility

A Student/Athlete must attend school for the entire day of that practice/game day.

Day of:

1 or more Unexcused classes: LAT, CUT, or ABSENT - Student/Athlete will not be allowed to participate that day.

>2 Excused classes - Student/Athlete will not be allowed to participate that day and will be directed to the Athletic Director.

Prearranged Absences will be addressed on a case by case basis.

How to Excuse an Absence

As a parent or guardian, you have several options to excuse your student's attendance:

• Call 503-916-5180 Option 2 (please leave a message if it goes to voicemail); The office checks voicemail for the last time at 3:30 daily

• Email JeffersonAttend@pps.net

• Send a note with your student

• An absence may be excused if the absence is caused by:

(A) The pupil’s sickness, including the mental or behavioral health of the pupil;

(B) The sickness of some member of the pupil’s family

(C) An emergency

(D) Pre Arranged Appointment

• If you student has a medical appointment, have reception print them out an attendance note

• Excuse all day absences on ParentVue

As a student:

• Check your attendance in StudentVue often during the day, if you believe your attendance is incorrect, check with your classroom teachers first and have them email the office if you need a correction.

• If you are going to an appointment, have the desk reception folks at the appointment print you out an attendance note and turn it into the office.

• Ask your parent/guardian to call the office and leave a message to excuse qualifying absences

• Students may not excuse their own attendance, even if the student is 18 years old