Maverick Express - November 2017
MESSAGE FROM PRINCIPAL TODD CORSETTI
As our fall sports and activities wind down, I want to thank all of our students, coaches/advisors, and parents for getting Mountainside off to a great start. We have a tremendous amount of momentum right now, and it’s a credit to the hard work and amount of time that everyone has put into our fall events and activities. Erik Reinholt and the leadership students created a fantastic spirit week culminating in one of the best pep assemblies and dances I’ve ever been a part of…and, I’ve been a part of many! Thank you to our students and parents who donated time and materials for decorations for the dance. We had 800 students attend the dance, and by all measures, they seemed to have a great time. I’m excited to see where this momentum takes us in the months and years to come!
Thank you to everyone who attended Back to School Night on October 23rd. We had an awesome turnout, and have had excellent feedback about how the night went and the quality of our teaching staff.
That said, inevitably questions or concerns arise over the course of a year regarding grading, playing time, etc. Now is a good time to talk about how students and parents might address those questions or concerns with teachers or coaches/advisors. We would like our community to follow the district protocol in addressing any concerns or questions. This protocol allows our teachers and coaches to respond to your concerns first and enables them to clarify any misunderstandings or concerns.
Steps to take:
1. Have your student address his/her concerns with his/her teacher or coach first.
2. If your student’s concerns are not addressed in the way you would like, then we would ask that the parent contact the teacher or coach to discuss those concerns directly.
3. In most cases, the questions and/or concerns are taken care of at this point. In the event they are not addressed, however, then it is appropriate to contact the department assistant principal or athletic director. A list of departments that Mr. Barraclough and Mrs. Russell oversee are on our website.
Advocacy is a life-long skill that we want our students to obtain before they move onto life after high school. Together, we want to problem solve and have an open line of communication with everyone in the Mountainside community.
We also want to continually highlight the great students and staff at Mountainside High School. To that end, each week I ask four teachers to give me the names of three students they would like me to call home and recognize. Quite simply, these phone calls are one of the favorite aspects of my job. To date I have called home on 50 students this school year. In addition to highlighting students, I also like to highlight staff each week in my weekly email under a section I call, “Staff Kudos.” If there are MHS staff members that you would like me to recognize, please email me with a short write up and I will make sure to highlight them in my weekly email. You can remain anonymous if you like, just let me know your preference. Staff love the recognition in front of their peers and it helps to promote a positive and supportive school-wide culture.
We had a great turn out for my second Principal’s Coffee. The Principal’s Coffee occurs the third Friday of each month at 9:00AM in the community room. This is an informal opportunity to find out what’s new at Mountainside and to ask general questions. Our next Principal’s Coffee is Friday, November 17th.
If you have questions, you can reach me via email at: todd_corsetti@beaverton.k12.or.us
Sue Neeway is my amazing principal’s secretary, and she can be reached through the Mountainside Main Line at 503-356-3500 or by email at sue_neeway@beaverton.k12.or.us
The best way to obtain information currently is to follow us on
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/mountainsidehs/
Twitter: @mountainsidehs
#MavUP!
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITY BUSSES ARE HERE!
· Available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
· Two departure times: 4:30 PM and 5:30 PM
· 8 – 10 stops per route
· Riders may use any stop on activity routes
· Routes run through June 19, 2018
· No registration is required
See bus stops and route info located on the BSD Transportation web pageCOUNSELING
As the weather turns colder, families may find themselves suddenly in need of certain items such as food and clothing. Year-round there is also a need for more personal items such as hygiene or personal care supplies. The counseling office maintains a pantry of these items for families. Students and families can confidentially reach out to counselors by phone, email or in person if they find themselves in need. We can also support families with connections to community-based resources and services.
Here's how to contact us:
9th Gr Counselor - Jacy Jukkala, jacy_jukkala@beaverton.k12.or.us, 503-356-3539
10th Gr Counselor - Megan Schmidt, megan_schmidt@beaverton.k12.or.us,503-356-3541
College & Career - Emily O'Quinn, emily_o'quinn@beaverton.k12.or.us, 503-356-3538
If you would like to donate items to help keep our pantry full, we are always ready to accept them! Contact a counselor to find out about our current needs and how to drop off items.
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAM
Preparations for completing Mountainside’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program authorization are well underway. This is the part of the IB Continuum that serves juniors and seniors as they prepare for post high school education and training. We will be hosting a team from the IB Organization this winter to complete this process. We will be offering IB Diploma Program courses starting in the fall of 2018 to our first class of juniors.
MHS students will have the option of participating in our Diploma Program to the extent that they choose. Some students may want to try one class, while others will take several. Some students will be highly motivated and will choose to pursue the full IB Diploma which involves six IB courses plus IB Core work involving a Theory of Knowledge class, additional community service, and writing an Extended Essay on a subject of their choosing.
We believe that the IB Program and its mission and philosophy align very well with our mission of Connect, Explore, Pursue. For that reason, the MHS staff are in discussions about whether we are going to be an IB for All school. IB for All does NOT mean that all students will be required to pursue the full IB Diploma. It means that we would require all students to take one IB course during their high school career. We feel that the IB curriculum is intended for ALL students, not just an elite group of highly academic students, and we aim to present the program so that all students can benefit.
Do you have more questions about the program? Come to our IB Night on Monday, November 6 at 7PM. The focus will be on the Diploma Program and what it will look like at Mountainside High School. Feel free to direct questions about the IB Diploma Program to me, Rebecca Bair, at rebecca_bair@beaverton.k12.or.us.
The SAT® and ACT® tests can have a significant impact on which colleges or universities accept a student. Here’s what all of the adults in students’ academic lives—including parents, teachers, and school administrators—can do to support success on these important exams.
THE MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAM (MYP) AND THE BSD GRADE CONVERSION SCALE
Teachers at Mountainside have been learning how to best implement the MYP 1-8 grading scale, which we use to score all major assessments. All MYP schools in the Beaverton School District use the 1-8 scale. To that end, our educators come from a variety of backgrounds and have used many approaches to grading – from the 1-4 system common in the Beaverton School District, to a traditional 100-point system and many other systems that fall somewhere in between. This diversity of experience and practice has led to some great conversations about assessment and student learning.
So far, the teachers’ response to the 1-8 scale has been positive. This scale allows us to give more finely grained scores and specific feedback. It also helps us to incorporate the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program rubrics into our everyday practice and gives students common language and understanding around assessment.
In general, we believe that having clear and common expectations and policies is ideal. But as teachers have discussed how to ultimately convert the four MYP objectives assessed in every class to a final letter grade, different approaches have emerged, which are captured below. In each case, subject areas have met, discussed the pros and cons of each approach, and ultimately determined which conversion scale was the best fit for students in their department. Some of the considerations that went into the choice include the language of the rubrics, the number of opportunities students would have on assessments, the expectations that come with ensuing courses, and the professional observations that have been made about student performance thus far. As it turns out, there is nice symmetry, as each of the two scales was selected by 4 of the school’s 8 departments. We are taking a pragmatic approach that we believe will best serve the students we teach.
We know that opening a new school brings with it a variety of decisions, and a lot of work. We appreciate the patience the community has shown thus far as we develop policies based on our best professional judgment, and we hope this clarifies things for all interested stakeholders.
Mountainside High School Overall Grades
AVID, Health/PE, Math,
Individuals and Societies,
Language Acquisition
A 5.5 ≤x≤ 8.0
B 4.2 ≤x< 5.5
C 2.8 ≤x< 4.2
D 2.0 ≤x< 2.8
F 1.0 ≤x< 2.0
The Arts, Design, Science,
Language & Literature
A 6.5 ≤x≤ 8.0
B 4.5 ≤x< 6.5
C 2.8 ≤x< 4.5
D 1.3 ≤x< 2.8
F 1.0 ≤x< 1.3
Where x is the average of your summary judgements for criterion/learning targets
IMPACT
LAST CHANCE TO ORDER MHS SPIRIT GEAR FOR THE HOLIDAYS!
Our online store will close on Sunday, November 12th!
Distribution will be on Friday December 8th!
DRAMA
Mountainside High School Drama presents its inaugural play, The Odd Couple, by Neil Simon. The Male Version will run November 9-11 and the Female Version will run Nov. 16-18. Shows begin at 7 pm. Ticket prices are $7 for General Admission, $5 for Students/Staff/Seniors. Space is limited, so please show up early!
LEADERSHIP
October 16th through the 21st was Mountainside's first ever Spirit and Pink Week! The assembly included our band, cheer, Spirit Committee, with staff members participating as well. It culminated with a dance party on the gym floor, with a ton of kids pouring out of the stands to participate. This enthusiasm carried over to our very successful first dance, where 797 students danced the night away at Fright Night, a Spooky Spooky Semi-Formal! We loved the school spirit that our Mavericks showed all week long!
Later this month Leadership will be sponsoring an Adopt-a-Family program through our Advisory classes, and a Giving Tree program, both of which will help families in need during this holiday season. Specific details will be distributed through your student’s Advisory class.
ATHLETICS
FALL SEASON COMES TO AN END
The fall season is in the books and our teams had some great success!! A big thank you goes out to our coaching staff for their tremendous effort getting this off the ground. The support for our programs has been incredible. Our community is fantastic, so thank you as well for making our fall season one to remember.
WINTER SPORTS
The official first day for winter sports starts Monday, Nov 13. All athletes that plan to participate need to register in the athletic office and make sure they have a current physical and participation form on file. Participation fee is $225.
The Winter sports information meeting for interested students is Thursday, Nov 2, 10:08am, MHS main gym. This is a meeting for students that wish to get more information regarding basketball, wrestling, and/or swimming. Coaches will be present to answer any questions and explain the tryout process.
NO PETS
We have had many pets on the campus. Unfortunately they are not allowed. We are hoping to have signs up soon to help make people aware of our district policy. True service dogs are the exception. Please help monitor our facility so we keep it clean and new.
November Dates to Remember
Nov. 9th - 11th - The Odd Couple (Male Version)
Nov. 10th - Holiday (No School)
Nov. 17th - Principal's Coffee, 9:00 AM
Nov. 16th - 18th - The Odd Couple (Female Version)
Nov. 22nd - 24th - Thanksgiving Break (No School)
Mountainside High School
Website: beaverton.k12.or.us/schools/mountainside
Location: 12500 SW 175th Ave, Beaverton, OR, United States
Phone: 503-356-3500
Facebook: facebook.com/mountainsidehs
Twitter: @mountainsidehs