
West Sylvan Family Communication
May 19, 2023
UPCOMING DATES
MAY
- Fri, MAY 19th and Sat, MAY 20th at 7pm
and Sun, MAY 21st at 2pm:
West Sylvan Drama presents The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon on the Lower Gym Stage - Tue, MAY 23rd: Beyond Borders Cultural Event at 4pm in the Lower Gym
- Mon, MAY 29th: NO SCHOOL / Memorial Day holiday
JUNE
- Thur, JUN 8th: West Sylvan Dance Recital at 7pm in the Lower Gym
- Sat, JUN 10th: Eighth Grade Grad Party
(*hosted by The West Sylvan Foundation - tickets on sale now!) - Mon, JUN 12th: Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony (at Lincoln HS - 6:30PM)
- Wed, JUN 14th: Last Day of instruction
Dear West Sylvan Families,
It’s feeling a lot like summer! Please send your Scholars to school with a reusable water bottle, and encourage them to dress for the warmer weather. A number of students were experiencing heat-related illness symptoms this week and were asking to go home early. Also, many students are reporting that they are hungry mid-afternoon, as they are burning lots of energy during recess. Please send extra snacks for your Scholars if they are typically hungry in the afternoons.
With less than twenty days left in the semester, grades should be a top priority for students. Our Eighth Graders who are seeking High School credit for their Math and World Language should be sure those grades are optimal. The final report card grades in June will go on the permanent transcript, and we want those grades to be representative of students’ abilities.
Enjoy your weekend,
Jill & Ben
Thank you to all of the families who made the Seventh Grade dance a success!
WEST SYLVAN DRAMA SPRING PRODUCTION
This weekend, we have the first production of a drama play since prior to Distance Learning! If families and friends would like to take in a show, please buy tickets! All proceeds will help us continue to build for future years of supporting drama and productions at WSMS! Thank you to Louis Kruse and all of the families who have contributed to preparing for the play!
ELECTIVES FORECASTING FOR 2023-24
OSAS TESTING
OSAS testing is occurring throughout the upcoming weeks, with the schedule below. We ask that you help your Scholar remember to bring their charged Chromebook to school each day. Too many scholars are forgetting their devices and are not prepared for their testing. We have a finite number of loaner devices, and it’s imperative that all Scholars come to school with their charged Chromebooks, please.
- 8th Science: 6/5 - 6/8
A reminder to get plenty of sleep and have a healthy breakfast. Chromebooks will need to be charged and brought to school every day.
Why take these tests seriously?
These results are a key factor in how WSMS is ranked academically as a Middle School for the state of Oregon and nationally by U.S. News and World report. See our last posted ranking at the link.
Results are only comparable to other schools in Oregon if 95% of our students complete the testing.
OSAS testing is one school indicator of potential academic ability when future schools are making placement decisions in honors, AP and advanced courses.
OSAS data is also the main data that the PPS School Board uses when determining and prioritizing goals for schools and the District, including funding and staffing.
STUDENT CHROMEBOOK/CHARGER RETURNS
ALL chromebooks AND chromebook chargers will be returned to the school at the end of the year. This allows for necessary repairs and any maintenance over summer. If students are involved in the Summer Acceleration Academy, Chromebooks will be provided through the Summer School.
Wednesday, 6/7: SIXTH Grade return
Thursday, 6/8: SEVENTH Grade return
Friday, 6/9: EIGHTH Grade return
DONATIONS TO SUPPORT WSMS?
If you or family members are interested in donating to grow and help expand programs, you are invited to send any donations directly to the Main Office via check. If you would like your donation to be directed toward specific areas (i.e. the Performing Arts, a specific World Language offering that we don’t offer, Visual Arts, Music, Band, Reading intervention for students, tutoring for students, Math intervention for students, etc.), please specify the targeted use along with the donation.
MYP EIGHTH GRADE COMMUNITY PROJECT
BLACK EXCELLENCE GROUP
You belong. You are valued.
You are loved. You are able.
You are excellent.
Thank you to our Black Excellence families that came out last night for part two of our listening session conversation. We really appreciate all of you and your time. Your students are amazing and we are grateful to be part of the collective team serving them at West Sylvan. Thank you for coming to connect with our BE community of families!
Mashari Tyson, Founder
mashari@blackexcellencegroup.org
503-936-2192
COMMUNITY EVENTS AND RESOURCES
Get connected in community this spring, explore these upcoming community events and resources…
African American SIG Digs Into Finding Aids Saturday May 20, 2023 / 12:00PM – 2:00PM at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, 2505 Southeast 11th Avenue, Suite B-18. Topic: "Digging into Finding Aids: The Road Map to Any Manuscript Collection" by Melissa Barker, the Archive Lady Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and public historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives. Focus: Researching African American ancestry. Meetings: Monthly on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 12 p.m. If you know of any other people interested in African American genealogy, tell them about the group. You do not have to be a GFO member to participate! To receive a link for this meeting contact leader Janice Sellers at african_american@gfo.org.
NIKE Green Book Signing Saturday May 20, 2023 / 11:00AM – 2:00PM at 16126 SE Stark St.
Join a book signing brunch hour. This event is public with heavy emphasis on topics and discussion around trauma and healing.
Black Marketplace Sunday May 21 / 11:00AM - 4:00PM – The Center Powered by Y.O.U.T.H. 16126 SE Stark St.
(If interested in being a vendor or a panelist or have questions contact Ania Warren at 971-430-1628 or ania.warren@thebpi.org)
Black Baccalaureate Sunday May 21, 2023 / 4:00PM - 6:00PM 5000 N Willamette Blvd. The link below has information on how to register & more details. https://www.dropbox.com/s/hvlcufevk3e393s/Final%20Blk%20Bacc%202023%20Flyer.jpg?dl=0
The Black Rodeo – Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo Saturday June 17, 2023 / 3:00PM – 10:00PM at the Portland Expo Center 2060 Marine Dr. W.
Visit the link for further information expocenter.org/events/8-seconds-juneteenth-rodeo.
Indigenous Marketplace Event 2023 - PSU/Native American Student Center – 710 SW Jackson Ave. 97201 (Link to flyer with more information)
MET Rental Assistance for Washington & Multnomah County now available call 503-579-6621 (you must live in either of these two counties.)
Portland State University FARMER’S MARKET from April – October Saturdays / 8:30AM – 2:00PM at SW Park Ave & SW Montgomery
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
Many of our families have allowed their young Scholars to have their own cell phones, and they use those phones to access various social media sites while away from school. We are asking that you please help to actively monitor your Scholar’s social media presence and interactions. For example, there are reports of a Sixth Grade chat where many students may engage in name-calling and also share concerning items amongst each other. While cell phones are not allowed during the school day, and therefore, social media engagement during school hours should not be occurring, there are still Scholars who regularly sneak access and are posting inappropriate content. PPS District leaders also sent out this toolkit to all families.
If you are concerned about your Scholar and social media, some suggested tips are below:
Get online family protection. Programs that provide parental controls can block websites, enforce time limits, monitor the websites that your child visits, and their online conversations.
Follow your child's online accounts, and tell them that you are monitoring their online activity to help keep them safe.
Interrupt any chats or conversations that are harmful. Tell your child to disengage from chats and harmful groups that do not support your family values.
Block social media apps using your parental controls.
Enforce screen times, limiting time online on such apps or video games where there are also active chats that are often full of concerning content.
Use a GPS parental control device that your child carries to help you monitor their location throughout the school day.
Only allow children to sign up for apps if you have a joint log-on with them so that you can help monitor their interactions for safety.
MYP NEWS FOR EIGHTH GRADERS
Eighth Graders will be presenting their culminating MYP Community Projects in the next weeks. If your Eighth Grader has yet to complete their group project, this is due soon! Block classes and Eighth Grade Advisory classes have talked about how to complete the project, and it is a major part of the Eighth Grade Social Science final grade.
FAMILY RESOURCES FOR EDUCATION
INFORMATION FOR EIGHTH GRADE FAMILIES
- Our Eighth Grade Grad Party tickets and Promotion week activities are on sale now! In order to provide our scholars with a wonderful promotion celebration, including lunch and other activities, we ask each family to please contribute $15.
- The Eighth Grade Grad Party will be Saturday, June 10th, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at WSMS and tickets are $25. Donated tickets are available so everyone can attend these fun events. Please contact Ms. Cohen [rcohen@pps.net] for assistance. Find all the details and make your payments through The West Sylvan Foundation website.
- Eighth Grade Promotion will be at Lincoln High School in their Gym on the evening of Monday, June 12th. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. The LHS Gym seats 2000 people in the bleachers. With 258 Eighth Graders, we don’t see a need to issue family tickets for seating. We thank all of the families who are volunteering with the WSMS Foundation to plan that evening and to assist with set-up and take-down of items that night!
- Eighth Graders will have a final field trip to Oaks Park together on Tuesday, June 13th. We want all Eighth Graders to take part in this fun final day together. If you are interested in helping to chaperone the event (which includes riding the bus to and from the park), please let us know by sending an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net. If an Eighth Grader has major disciplinary issues (suspensions from school between April and June), they will not be allowed to join the outing. We have reviewed behavioral expectations with all Scholars through Advisory.
RESOURCES FOR FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
- How to get involved?
Join The West Sylvan Foundation! This is the group that also embodies what would have been a PTA at other schools. The group welcomes new adult support, and you can find the link here. This is also a way to share your voice about how WSMS fundraising is used for school needs. - Volunteer! We appreciate all family members who have been volunteering in our Main Office, in our Library, and joining us for school lunch periods and recess to help with supervision. The additional adults around campus really help with these busier spaces and the busiest times of the school day! If you are already an approved PPS volunteer, you are welcome to come to campus any day of the week when your schedule permits, and we will find a way that you can help on campus! Classroom volunteer sign-ups and In-School Volunteer sign-ups can be accessed at these links.
EXTENDED UNEXCUSED ABSENCES
"NO CELL PHONE" POLICY
If a Scholar has a phone out in class or around campus during the school day, it is confiscated and held in the Office. If a Scholar has three or more violations already this year, we will ask a Parent/Guardian to pick up the phone to help reinforce expectations.
Please remember that Scholars do not have access to their phones during the day, and refrain from calling and/or texting them. If you need to get an urgent message to your Scholar, you may call the Office at 503-916-5690 or send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net.
ATTENDANCE
Families are able to record future absences for their Students directly in ParentVUE without needing to contact the Main Office. Please remember, if a student is going to miss multiple days, it is up to the Student and/or Parent/Guardian to communicate absences with each Teacher and make a plan for missing work and assignments.
- If your Student is going to be Absent for a FULL DAY:
Log in to the ParentVUE website or download and open the phone application. In either case, look for the ‘Report Absence’ button to the right of your Student’s photograph. Select start date, end date, and a reason from the drop-down list. Remember to click SAVE, and you should receive a popup confirmation.
- If your Student is Absent for a PARTIAL DAY:
Send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net with the date, times, and reason.
No internet access? Call West Sylvan’s main line at 503-916-5690 and select the Attendance option.
SCHOLAR SUPPORTS
All-Grade School Climate Specialist: Shawn McVicar [smcvicar@pps.net]
CONTACT US
MAIN OFFICE
(503) 916-5690
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY
[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]
Jerda Solonche
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/SCHOOL SECRETARY
[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]
Kirsten Crombie