West Sylvan Family Communication

June 20, 2023

2023-24 PPS DISTRICT CALENDAR

PPS has shared out the approved calendar for NEXT school year for your planning purposes.

Dear West Sylvan Families,

We hope that your family enjoys the Summer Break and all of the opportunities that the free time together will bring! Our Eighth Graders had their last moments together last week as Middle School students, and the Promotion at LHS was a fun event to culminate their experience.


Enjoy your Summer Break,

Jill & Ben

Big picture

SUMMER BUILDING CLOSURE

Our school building is closed as of Friday, June 16th to all people (including our Staff and Administrators), due to the construction occurring on half of the roof. The logistical challenge with construction is that our Administrative Assistants, Jerda Solonche and Kirsten Crombie, will not be able to answer phone calls that come in after Friday, June 16th. However, they can check emails and voicemails remotely until their final day of work on June 23rd. We also won’t be able to access the building after Friday, June 16th, for any items forgotten or left behind.


Over Summer our Administrative team (the only people who work some of the days in July and early August) will check emails and that will be the most efficient way to communicate, given the construction constraints. Thank you for your patience and understanding with delays as we work through the construction over Summer.

STUDENT CLASS SCHEDULES

Student class schedules for next school year will be available just prior to the start of the school year. There is much work to be done administratively over the summer to finalize the classes and students’ schedules and to program students into classes. While we do our best to get students into their chosen electives, class size limits dictate how many students may take various classes. Students’ schedules will not be visible until late August once all programming is complete.

2023-24 BELL SCHEDULE

All Middle Schools will have time built into their schedule for Advisory next year, to continue building community and relationships between students and to address the Social Emotional Learning and Counseling topics that all students need. We will be on the Morning Advisory Schedule (see below) next school year.
Big picture
DEPARTING EDUCATORS

DEPARTING EDUCATORS

Thank You to Educators Who are Departing! We understand that family needs, retirement, and professional goals may take Educators in different paths over time, and we are grateful for the time that these Educators have devoted to our school community. We are sorry to see them go, and we wish them success in their future endeavors!


Mr. Azuma Bearden, PE/Health Teacher

Ms. Lauren Carmichael, ISC Paraeducator

Mr. Matthew Gilley, Media/Tech Educator

Ms. Rachael Jones, Speech Therapist

Ms. Genevieve Ma’yet, ELA/SS Teacher

Ms. Heather Straube, ELA/SS Teacher

Mrs. Dorothy Wierth, Math Educator

Mx. Riley Wolff, ISC Teacher

DEPARTING EDUCATORS

SIXTH GRADE OUTDOOR SCHOOL

We are working to schedule the Outdoor School week during October for next school year. We will be able to confirm dates closer to August, for your planning. We are planning around religious holidays that are listed on the PPS calendar.
Notes of Appreciation

If you would like to send a final note of appreciation to any Staff member, please share here. The kind notes go a long way in making our Staff members feel seen and thanked!

REPORT CARDS

Final report cards for 2022-23 will be mailed by the conclusion of this week. Also, once Educators finalize grades by Wednesday, June 21st, families can view those grades through ParentVue.
SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING

Summer time may lead to extra time on phones and social media. We encourage you to continue to actively monitor your student’s social media presence to help them make responsible decisions.


Some recommended 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.

  • Shut down cell access during specific times of the day so that your child may use their phone before and after school for safety reasons and is not tempted to engage in harmful activities during the school day.

  • 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.

SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING
BLACK EXCELLENCE GROUP

BLACK EXCELLENCE GROUP

You belong. You are valued.

You are loved. You are able.

You are excellent.


The Center for Black Student Excellence (CBSE) Vision has been released. View it here. The Center for Black Student Excellence is A Place, An Approach, and a Redesign of the System. Learn more about the vision.


Mashari Tyson, Founder

mashari@blackexcellencegroup.org

503-936-2192

BLACK EXCELLENCE GROUP
Accessing CANVAS for families

Click here for directions for Parents/Guardians to access CANVAS and view Student course information.

INFORMATION FOR EIGHTH GRADE FAMILIES

  • Your Eighth graders are now on their way to High School, so please contact your new High School Counselor and Administration team for any help with the transition to High School. Ms. Rebecca Cohen can also help coordinate connections and supports with the new team, as needed.

  • If your Eighth Grader accepted the High School credit for their advanced Math or their World Language course, and you change your mind, you need to notify your High School Counselor of this change once the new school year begins.

PIL ATHLETICS

Get your young people involved in sports to keep them active and connected to other students!

SUMMER LEARNING

  • Khan Academy will help students continue their math education over the Summer months.

  • Encourage your student to read! Set goals for the number of chapter books per week/month to read!

SCHOLAR SUPPORTS

All-Grade School Climate Specialist: Shawn McVicar [smcvicar@pps.net]

SCHOLAR SUPPORTS

Counselors’ last day of work is 6/23/23.
If you try to contact them after that date,
they will not respond until the new school year begins for them.

CONTACT US

MAIN OFFICE

westsylvanoffice@pps.net

(503) 916-5690


ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY

[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]

Jerda Solonche

jsolonche@pps.net


ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/SCHOOL SECRETARY

[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]

Kirsten Crombie

kcrombie@pps.net