Thurston Colt Round-Up
Bi-monthly Student and Family Newsletter
From the Principal
November 4, 2022
Hello Colts and Colt Families,
It was a pleasure to see many of you at our first in-person parent teacher conferences in three years! More than 1400 appointments were completed with parents and teachers. Thank you for partnering with us to support your student’s success.
Over the past two weeks, both our choir and music had fall performances. It was great to see students performing on stage. Our Halloween carnival welcomed many young families and younger siblings to campus - and our student leaders had a great time painting pumpkins, fishing for candy, and driving robots on campus. Our haunted hallways served over 400 guests and was a spooky good time. Thanks to everyone who came out to support these events and our students.
All students will have the chance during this Thursday’s Sources of Strength advisory lesson to express appreciation for important people in their lives. For us, we know we have many of our Colt families who are members of the military. With Veteran’s Day on Thursday, we wanted to recognize you and thank you for your service.
Go Colts!
Principal Pelster
In this Newsletter:
Pick-up Your School Pictures in the Main Office
Athletics Season Updates - see Women’s Soccer and Football in the playoffs!
Passes and Breaks - Encouraging Students to Use Class Time Wisely
Progress Grades - Improve with Retakes, Academic Support, and Tutoring
Late Work Deadline: December 9th
Canned Food Drive: November 14th - 18th
Class of 2023 - Grad Night Party Planning Kick-Off - Monday, 11/14 @6:30 p.m. at Papa’s Pizza.
Para hispanohablantes: una noche de información sobre la universidad y la carrera: el 9 de noviembre a las 6:30 p.m. en la biblioteca
Month at-a Glance
11/4 Football Play Off
11/10 Peter and Star Catcher Opens
11/11 Veterans Day - No School
11/14 Earthquake Drill
11/14 Canned Food Drive
11/15 Fire Drill
11/24 Thanksgiving- No School
11/25 No School
Newsletter
School Photos
Student photos have arrived and are in the main office for student pick up!
Athletics Season Updates
Our fall sports teams are wrapping up their regular seasons and gearing up for the playoffs.
Football finished first in the leagues and are matched up against West Albany in the first round of the playoffs tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Thurston HS stadium. If successful, we’ll get the chance to play again on November 11th.
Women’s Soccer won 0-4 in the Round 1 of the playoffs. They play in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, 11/5 at 1:00 p.m. at Hamlin against Wilsonville.
Volleyball finished 3rd in the league, competed in the first round of playoff, losing in the 5th set against West Albany.
Boys Soccer finished 6th in the league overall, and increased participation to field a JV team. We’re excited to see this program grow.
Cross Country competed at districts and one runner qualified for State.
Winter sports practices begin on Monday, November 14th.
Passes and Breaks - Encouraging Students to Use Class Time Wisely
Our students are doing a great job of arriving to class on time. More than 90% of students have 0 tardies each week. You can always check your student’s attendance on ParentVue by selecting a day
We are focusing on helping students use class time wisely. Our expectations are for all students to use our passing periods effectively, so that students can be in class during class time. We have two schoolwide expectations that help support kids to be present in class. (1) Students are expected to remain in class during the first and last 10 minutes of class. No passes, except in emergencies or related to a health plan, are issued during this time. (2) All students who do leave class must have a pass. Students who do not have a pass will be escorted back to class, and may be assigned a consequence. Thank you for helping reinforce the importance of class time with your student.
Progress Reports - Improve with Retakes, Academic Support and Tutoring
Progress report cards are in the mail and en-route to you. This grading period is the midpoint of the semester. The grades students’ receive are only a progress indicator. No credit is awarded for the 9-week grades. Here at THS, credits are only awarded at the semester, which for us is February 2nd.
Some teachers will give a first 9-week grade, followed by a second 9-week grade. These two 9-week grades are averaged together to determine the semester grade for the class. Others may determine grades on a rolling basis. The gradebook will continue uninterrupted until the end of the semester in February.
There is still time to retake/redo tests and assignments. Students can and should work with teachers to bring those grades up using academic support on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, or by checking in with our tutoring center in the library open daily until 4:00 p.m.
In all classes, students are able to continue to work to revise and resubmit previously attempted assignments to improve their grades. All first attempts (late work) must be completed by the late-work deadline.
The next late-work deadline is December 9th.
Canned Food Drive
Thurston High School will be hosting its annual canned food drive from November 14th - November 18th. All food collected will go towards food baskets for Thurston families this holiday season. Any left over food will be donated to Springfield School District or Food for Lane County. Students will be receiving more information in their advisory classes this upcoming Monday, November 7th.
If you’re a family who needs a little boost this holiday season and would like to receive a Thanksgiving Food Basket, please reach out to our Family Resource Coordinator, Angie Roser, to learn more about it. Email: Angie.Roser@springfield.k12.or.us Phone Number: 541-744-500.
Class of 2023 - Grad Night Party Planning Kick-Off
Traditionally, the parents of THS graduates plan a graduation night party. Tina DeHaven (Corren Hester’s mom) is helping to convene the FIRST planning meeting. Come on Monday, November 14th at 6:30 p.m. to Papa’s Pizza to learn about how you can help bring this parent sponsored event together for our Class of 2023. Contact Tina at mommy44kiddos@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
Para hispanohablantes: Preguntas sobre la Universidad y la Carrera
Una noche de información sobre la universidad y la carrera: el 9 de noviembre a las 6:30 p.m. en la biblioteca. Our College and Career Center is hosting a question and answer night specifically for our families who are Spanish speaking. If you, or someone you know, would benefit from getting some of their questions answered we will be in the Library at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 9th.
From the Student Services Office
Thurston Student Services - Attendance Hotline (541-744-5027)
Attendance 101 - Do I need to call? Yes!
Student attendance matters. Students who attend regularly (no more than 1 absence per month) have the best chance of academic success. This year, automatic calls will be made when students are absent. Families are encouraged to proactively communicate with the school attendance office at 541-744-5027.
From the Counseling Department
Counseling Department (541-744-5193)
Last Names A-De - Moria Golub moria.golub@springfield.k12.or.us
Last Names Df-K - Stacy Tindall stacy.tindall@springfield.k12.or.us
Last Names L-Re - Jordan Magill jordan.magill@springfield.k12.or.us
Last Names Rf-Z - Amy Stranieri amy.stranieri@springfield.k12.or.us
From the Family Resource Center
Our resource center is working to prepare boxes for the holidays. If you’re a family who needs a little boost this holiday season and would like to receive a Thanksgiving Food Basket, please reach out to our Family Resource Coordinator, Angie Roser, to learn more about it. Email: Angie.Roser@springfield.k12.or.us Phone Number: 541-744-500.
If you have any questions regarding donations or ways to donate, contact Angie Roser, The Family Resource Coordinator, at 541-744-5145 or angie.roser@springfield.k12.or.us
Thurston High School
Thurston Office (541-744-5000)
Kimberlee Pelster, Principal - kimberlee.pelster@springfield.k12.or.us
Jerami Campbell, Assistant Principal - jerami.campbell@springfield.k12.or.us
Jeffrey Thompson, Assistant Principal - jeffrey.thompson@springfield.k12.or.us
Leslie Watson, Assistant Principal - leslie.watson@springfield.k12.or.us
Jared Taylor, Dean of Students - jared.taylor@springfield.k12.or.us
Email: kimberlee.pelster@springfield.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.springfield.k12.or.us/ths
Location: 58th Street, Springfield, OR, USA
Phone: 541-744-5000
Facebook: facebook.com/ThurstonHighColts
Twitter: @THSColts