The Guardian Gazette

Hi there students,

I hope you have had a great first couple of weeks and that your schedules are landing in a place that feels right for you.

Y’all are doing a great job of keeping your technology away during the school day. I see a huge difference in classrooms and hallways. We know that taking a break from technology is good for our minds and bodies, and it helps you to stay focused on your learning at school.

I’m looking forward to the club fair this Thursday! There are so many amazing clubs and I really want to encourage you to be involved with our school by joining a club.

Have a wonderful week and see you around school.

Principal Coning

Mark your calendars now for these 2024-25 School Year Dates

September 9-13 - Fall Musical Auditions

September 12 - Club Fair during AM Flex

September 17 - Back to School Night for Families, 6:00-8:30pm
October 11 - No School, Statewide Inservice Day
October 14-18 - Homecoming Week!

See more dates on the:

The Trivory Calendar: https://trivory.com/ibw/calendar
2024-2025 PPS School Year Calendar

Update as of September 9:

The process of adding and dropping classes is coming to a close. The class change deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 17. District policy states that if a class is dropped after the deadline, it results in a WF (Withdrawal Fail), which is added to the transcript. This will factor into a student's GPA as an F.

If any student needs school supplies, they should see their counselor. We have supplies and backpacks available for students with need.

Remember that you can drop in to see your counselor any day before school, at lunch or after school.

We have a number of items that should have been completed prior to the beginning of school. Please ensure all these steps get completed ASAP! This is the final week this will run in the Student News. Going forward, you will need to look in older versions of the newsletter or on the website for the information and links.
✅ Pay Fees and Make Contributions
✅ Pre-Order/Purchase Yearbook
✅ Complete Student Verification Form
✅ Register for Parking (Juniors and Seniors only)

Please take a look at classes and programs that are asking for contributions to support enriching our programs. No student will be denied access to Ida B. Wells HS classes based on inability to pay. Thank you for supporting our students and our programs at Ida B. Wells High School. You can make these payments on school pay in the Costs/Contribution section.

You can pre-order/purchase the 2024-2025 Yearbook on school pay in the Costs/Contribution section. We highly encourage you to pre-order the yearbook now so you won't forget later. Pre-order numbers are used when ordering the yearbooks and we don't want to sell out! The price will also increase later in the school year.

Each year parents and/or guardians are asked to review and update the information on file for their children (students). This information can be reviewed, edited and submitted online via PPS ParentVUE.

• Verify Online

  Benefits of verifying online via ParentVUE:

  • Complete yearly verification of your student's information
  • You can update your communication and language preferences
  • Ensures your school has the most up to date information
  • Saves paper and time

Attention Juniors and Seniors!
To secure a parking spot on the Ida B. Wells campus, you (the student) must register your vehicle via this Google form using your PPS email address. We have 118 spots on campus and 30 additional spaces at Rieke Elementary, available on a first-come, first-served basis. Having a permit doesn't guarantee a spot, so arriving early will improve your chances. Consider carpooling, busing, or biking to school.

Students can not park in staff parking, any loading zone, handicap or no parking areas. We will place a violation sticker on a car as a warning for the first infraction and for multiple offenders, our district has given us permission to tow vehicles.

Permits will be distributed at your Back to School Business Day and throughout the year as registrations come in.

Drive safely and see you at school!

If you requested to have your yearbook not shipped home at the end of the last school year, or if your yearbook was delivered to the wrong address, please see Ana Curtis in the bookkeeper’s office between 8:30 and 3:30 (Students must purchase during lunch).

We also have about 20 yearbooks available to purchase for $75 each on a first come first serve basis from Ana Curtis in person in the bookkeeper’s office between 8:30 and 3:30 (Students must purchase during lunch).

Don't forget to purchase the 2024-2025 yearbook on SchoolPay. It's only $65 if purchased by winter break. After that the price goes up to $75.

Finally, if you would like a copy of the spring supplement containing spring sports, the spring play and other events we weren’t able to cover in the yearbook, they are available for free outside the main office and Higbee’s room:142.

Our student-run IBW Printshop is excited to kick off a new season of designing and screen printing merchandise for school clubs, teachers, and athletics. Last year, we had a blast learning design and production skills in the printmaking business. We currently have openings for custom orders from our community. Contact us with your inquiries! All proceeds go directly back into our program to benefit the students.

Despite the heat last week, the Draw Paint Print and Printmaking students enjoyed taking blindfolded trust walks and drawing from observation. They were able to build community and develop ideas in their sketchbooks simultaneously.

See the Printmaking + Draw/Paint/Print newsletter here: https://secure.smore.com/n/gu153

On October 16th at IBW Juniors have the option to take the Digital PSAT.

Juniors wishing to take the Digital PSAT for the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying opportunity (NMSQT) or for SAT preparation can register now on SchoolPay to take the PSAT at their own expense ($18) by September 9th. Please complete this form from a PPS student account by September 9th as well. If financial assistance is needed to take the exam, email Abby Menashe, amenashe@pps.net, and she will email you the Financial Assistance Request Form to complete.

Taking the exam makes you eligible for National Merit Scholarships which may be available to the top 1% of all scores nationwide. For information to assist you in deciding whether to take this exam see our PSAT/NMSQT Testing Overview.

Have questions, please contact VP Scott Burns at sburns@pps.net or Admin. Asst. Abby Menashe at amenashe@pps.net.

All past communications regarding the PreACT/PSAT can be found here.

Each spring juniors across PPS participate in the Oregon Statewide Assessments in English, Math, and Science. Last year's results from the OSAS are available to families in ParentVue.

On October 16th, during the school day, PPS is providing PreACT for all Sophomores - There is no cost to sophomores and no registration needed. This will be given to all sophomores. The PreACT helps students prepare for college and careers. This is completely a practice. The scores will not go on your PPS record nor will they go out to any colleges. Have questions, please contact VP Scott Burns at sburns@pps.net or Admin. Asst. Abby Menashe at amenashe@pps.net.

All past communications regarding the PreACT/PSAT can be found here.

9/9-9/13@ 4:00pm - Auditions and Applications for the Fall Musical: Hadestown, Teen Edition

Auditions for the mega-smash Hadestown (Teen Edition) will begin on Monday, 9/9. Specific asks for the audition process and the specific agenda will post the week prior, but expect to be here each of those four days for a period of time to be determined. Applications for technical positions will also be available that week, as well as outlines for each. Super excited to get started, friends!

Questions? Contact Jamie Miller at mjamie@pps.net

Mark your calendar - Club Fair 2024 is during AM Flex on Thursday, September 12th.

Getting involved in clubs is a great way to meet people and be involved in our school community. We currently have over 50 student-led clubs and 7 different Affinity Groups. Clubs include everything from Mural Club to Meadow Club to Model UN.

Have questions or need more info? Reach out to our new Activities Director, Ms. Klein-Wolf, lkleinwolf@pps.net or see her in Room 143.

Dream about traveling the world? Would you love to experience beauty, history, and culture? Great news, IBW students! Join our virtual informational meeting on September 25th at 6:00 PM to learn more about our Spring 2025 student trip to Greece, primarily Athens and Argolida. Your family can RSVP to the meeting here: RSVP Here to Attend . I will then reach out to you to provide the Zoom link to the meeting. The meeting will run about 45 minutes and contain info about our upcoming trip! Note: the link is to RSVP; which you will need to do first. Then, we will send you the Zoom link to the actual meeting. Thank you! Ms. Wilkinson mwilkinson@pps.net.

September 11
Calling all beat makers, poetry slammers, visual artists and storytellers!

Want to level up your creative skills and gain professional guidance? Join the Bodecker Foundation during lunch in the College and Career Center to learn more about their FREE skill building cohorts for serious artists! Grab your lunch and join by noon for a short info session.

September 12

Hey Seniors...Need help getting started on your college essay? Come to an essay writing workshop at flex in the auditorium foyer.

Do you love the great outdoors and working with children? Learn how you can become a Student Leader at Outdoor School this Fall. Stop by the Outdoor School table at lunch in the cafeteria.

Read the September 9th edition of the Athletics Weekly here: https://secure.smore.com/n/g67r1

For a complete listing of the weekly athletic schedule, please visit the athletic dept. website:IBW Athletics/THIS WEEK. Links to team schedules can also be found on their team pages on the athletic website.

Official contests began last week and the required PIL Pay-to-Play Fee is now overdue. The required PIL Fee covers such things as coaches salaries, referee costs, transportation, etc, etc. The fee is $200 per sport, per season, with 2 seasons maximum. If you need financial assistance, please email our bookkeeper at acurtis@pps.net. The fee can be paid on SchoolPay under the multi-item bucket called Athletics. The item is called PIL: Fall Pay to Play Athletic Fee 2024

Coaches have the right to hold out student-athletes from contests who have not paid this fee.

Website:www.ibwathletics.com
Phone: 503-916-5280, ext 75318
Athletic Director, Mike Nolan,mnolan@pps.net
Athletic Assistant, Leanne Van Horn,lvanhorn@pps.net
Instagram: ibw_athletics
Facebook: Ida B Wells HS Athletics
Trivory App: Agreat way to see the daily Athletic Schedule
Mike's Weekly Athletic Newsletter. Be sure to watch for it here in the Student News each week! It includes a recap of the prior week, what's on tap and includes Student-Athletes of the week and more!

48% of the students in Sruthi Muralidharan's AP Physics C (with Calculus) class scored 5s on the exam last spring where the national average is only 29%. She also achieved this as only a second year teacher, and it's because of her that we are the ONLY PPS high school to offer AP Physics C. Congratulations!

Stay tuned for bios from all our new staff members!

IBW does not have an Equestrian Team so if you have interest, please reach out to the team at Lincoln High School.

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.