Dragon News - 09.28.20
Principal's Message
The school year is well underway, as we begin our third week of classes. It has been rewarding to chat with students and hear how excited they are to be reunited with teachers and classmates and how ready they are to engage in learning new skills and content. Although I've only been able to "visit" a few virtual classrooms so far, it is clear that students and teachers are finding ways to positively navigate Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) together. ISB teachers and support staff appreciate students' commitment to engage in learning every day and families' efforts to ensure their children have the tools they need to be successful. Together, we got this!
Warmly,
Jill O'Neill
Week of October 5 A/B Days
Friday, October 9th is a Staff Development Day, so there are no classes for students. Since it is a 4-day student week, there is also a change in the class meeting schedule. Monday and Wednesday will be A Days. Tuesday and Thursday will be B Days.
Student Recognition
Congratulations to ISB Seniors Annabelle Hauss, Alexander Ma, Vrishank Shivaprakash, and Megan Thomas for being named Commended Students in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students are being recognized for the exceptional academic promise demonstrated by their outstanding performance on the qualifying test used for program entry. They were among the 50,000 highest scorers out of the 1.5 million students who took the 2019 PSAT last October. We are incredibly proud of these Dragons!
Materials Pick Up
Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and patience as the air quality caused us to reschedule several Curbside Pick Up events. 97% of our students were able to receive their class materials and textbooks. If you still need to pick up materials or have been contacted about books that we now have available for you, you can pick them up Monday-Friday from 8 am - 2:30 pm. Please call the school office when you arrive and we will do a socially distanced delivery to you outside. If you have materials to drop off, there is a book cart out in front of the school during the same times.
We are still trying to reunite students with their belongings left at school last March. If you recognize any of your belongings in this Lost and Found slide deck, please email margaret_lusk@beaverton.k12.or.us identifying your belonging by number. We'll prepare it for you to pick up.
Art Kits
Every student enrolled in Art 6, Art 7, Art 1, and IB Art Year 1 received an Art Kit. We believed it was important for every art student to have the same basic tools to be successful and created 286 art kits. If your child received an art kit and you are financially able to do so, please visit the Online Payment System through ParentVue to pay for the kit. We are selling the kits at our cost and seeking donations for those students who are unable to pay. The 6th Grade Kit is $18 and the 7th-11th Grade Kits are $23. Whether your student is an art student or not, you can sponsor a student's kit by donating through the Online Payment System. Thank you for your generosity - your gift will help ensure every student has the art tools they need to fully engage in class.
New to ISB High School Parent/Guardian Meeting - Save the Date Oct. 7
Our parent-teacher organization, Friends of ISB (FRISB) invites parents/guardians of high school students new to ISB to get acquainted during a virtual social gathering. FRISB is hosting the event on Wednesday, October 7th from 5:30-6:30 pm. Links to the Zoom meeting will be sent through email to families of new high school students next week.
Senior Family Meeting - Save the Date Oct. 14
12th Grade Students and their parents/guardians are invited to virtually attend a DP Family Information Night on Wednesday, October 14th at 7:00 pm. IB Diploma Program Coordinator Amy Schuff and Counselors Kathryn Hirsch and Tracy Muilenburg will share information about registering for IB Courses, IB Assessments, College Applications, and Financial Aid. We'll be sharing information on Canvas and through direct emails about how to join this virtual gathering.
Bandwidth Issues
With family members working and learning from home, some students are experiencing bandwidth issues making it difficult for them to maintain their connections during Zoom class meetings. Here are a few troubleshooting strategies to try at home:
- Restart the Chromebook by completing shutting down (not just closing the cover). This should be done every evening to allow overnight updates.
- Use an ethernet cable to plug into the router.
- Check your wifi connection - be sure you're connected to your home wifi rather than a general connection like "xfinity wi-fi."
- Turn off any other programs or applications running in the background (especially video games).
- Turn off your video when it is not needed.
- Shrink your view to "speaker only" so multiple video streams do not appear.
- Turn off any other programs or applications running in the background. This is especially true for any other streaming applications, like video games.
Turn off other smart devices running in the background such as smart speakers, thermostats, doorbells etc.
Put phone and other smart devices on airplane mode.
CONTACT AND FOLLOW US
International School of Beaverton
Jill O'Neill, Principal
Email: isb_communications@beaverton.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/schools/isb/
Location: 17770 SW Blanton St, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: (503) 356-3690
Facebook: facebook.com/isbdragons
Twitter: @isb_dragons
The Beaverton School District prohibits discrimination and harassment based on any basis protected by law, including but not limited to, an individual's actual or perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national or ethnic origin, marital status, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, familial status, economic status, veteran status, or because of a perceived or actual association with any other persons within these protected classes.