Westridge Elementary

Dear Wildcat Families,

I hope you are all enjoying the summer and are getting an opportunity to relax and recharge! While it is always hard to say goodbye to our Wildcats, this year ended like no other. In this newsletter you will find links to ideas you can use to support continued learning at home and a reading challenge for all our Wildcats. In addition to playing in the sun, reading every day is one of the most impactful things we can do with our children.

This time of year always brings about announcements of staffing changes and I wanted to take a moment to share a few staff departures and some of their messages with our Westridge community.

A warm congratulations to Mrs. Swyter and Mrs. Liss as they leave Westridge to enjoy retirement. Mrs. Swyter has been an incredible support to our students and staff as our TAG coordinator, and Mrs. Liss has served Westridge students and teachers as an educational assistant as well as our students who are emerging bilinguals.

Our PE teacher, Mrs. Della Paolera will not be returning to Westridge next year as she and her husband are off to Arizona on a new adventure. We also say goodbye to Mrs. McKinney, one of our dedicated educational assistants and Mrs. Phelps, one of our energetic and passionate fourth grade teachers who are both leaving Westridge next year to pursue other opportunities.

We wish fourth grade teacher Ms. Schoen the best in her new role at a different elementary in Lake Oswego schools, and Mrs. White, one of our Delta teachers, has also accepted a new position within the district. We will miss you both.

As we say goodbye, we also welcome new faces to our Wildcat team. Please join me in welcoming the following teachers and staff:

Mrs. Kelly Dehning ~ Mrs. Dehning comes to us from Forest Hills Elementary and will be joining the fourth grade team.

Ms. Mai Tran ~ Ms. Tran comes to us from Hawaii where she previously taught fourth grade and is also joining our fourth grade team at Westridge.

Mrs. Monique Jacobs ~ Mrs. Jacobs comes to Westridge from Oak Creek Elementary and will be teaching PE next year.

Mr. Corey Murphy ~ Mr. Murphy comes to us from Lakeridge High School and joins Westridge as our evening custodian.

Any additional announcements regarding staffing will be shared when we return in August. As LOSD continues to develop our plans for reopening schools, I encourage you to review the messaging that was sent out in the July 10th Summer Current. There, you will see information regarding the developing LOSD Roadmap to Reopening schools and notification of an upcoming school board work session scheduled for today Monday, July 13th at 5:30pm.

Until we can be together again, stay safe and healthy.

In partnership,

Principal Montgomery

Hi Wildcats,

My husband has a wonderful career opportunity and it is taking us to Phoenix, Arizona. We are very excited, but it is so bittersweet. As I finish my 15th year in our district, I am looking forward to experiencing a new area of our country that we have enjoyed visiting over the years. We are already learning so much! Like, they don't know what moss is... and all about avoiding scorpions.

I have truly loved my time at Westridge and will miss our students, staff, and families. I treasure the memories we have made together; we have worked hard, learned new skills, and had wonderful dance parties.

As you find ways to be healthy that bring you joy, please keep encouraging each other, remember to breathe, use the power of a smile and a kind word, keep counting all the people and things you are thankful for, and remember that "rock, paper, scissors" can solve a lot of problems!

Dear Wildcat Families,

It’s been an amazing and wonderful journey with all of you! Thank you for your support and collaboration, and students for the wonderful moments you blessed me with during our times together. I will surely miss you, and look forward to hearing all about your future successes. Remember, the best thing you can learn is to think outside the box. No problem in life is big enough as long as you have that ability.

Best wishes always for happiness, health, and peace,

Mrs. Swyter

Dear Wildcats,

My journey in education began 40 years ago! I taught elementary, and special education, for 27 years in Dallas, Texas. I retired early and moved to Oregon where a very cherished part of my journey continued. I substitute taught, and then for the last 10 years have been an educational assistant here at Westridge. These last 10 years have been busy and happy! Westridge is a wonderful community! I am going to miss the kids and the kind families as well as the fabulous teachers and staff that I have been privileged to work with. It’s time to retire and start another journey, an exciting new chapter! Thanks to all for the wonderful memories! You will be missed!

Mrs. Liss

Thank you to the students, staff, and families for the many wonderful memories created in our partnership and collaboration. As a parent and member of the Lake Oswego community, it is heartening to know that there are such creative and earnestly compassionate minds at work throughout our neighborhoods. Have a great summer!

Board of Directors Meeting

Monday, July 13

5:30 p.m.

See the agenda and supporting materials here.

All board members and administrators will be participating in the meeting remotely. There will not be a public gathering in the LOSD Administration Board Room.

You can observe the meeting and listen to the discussion remotely in the same way you can with other board meetings. Simply click on the "View Live" link on losdschools.org. You can watch the meeting live or a recording afterwards.

If you wish to comment on an agenda item or another item not on the agenda, please submit your comments by Monday, July 13 at 12 p.m. to losdschoolboard@loswego.k12.or.us. IMPORTANT: Please type “7/13/20 Testimony” in the subject line and include your name in the body of the email. Names of patrons providing input will be read during the meeting and their written testimony will be posted online under the agenda item for which their testimony pertains to. Testimony will be posted online at the conclusion of the meeting.

Posted on the LOSD Roadmap to Reopening homepage is a calendar of key dates as we make progress toward reopening our schools. Included are board meeting dates for presenting, discussing and approving the framework and plans. Also included are dates for the LOSD Online Academy information sessions and registration opening and closing dates.

Have questions? Please see the Roadmap for Reopening FAQ, which is posted on our website.The FAQ addresses more than 40 questions ranging from schedule considerations and facility usage to budget and decision-making.

All members of our community are committed to providing a safe and inclusive learning environment that cultivates empathy, creates challenging opportunities, and fosters lifelong learning.

Email: kari.montgomery@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/wr
Location: 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2371