The Current
LOSD News • Feb. 5, 2021
In this Message:
Message from the Superintendent
Celebrating Our School Counselors
QPR Suicide Prevention Training for Parents
Your Input Needed: Allocating SIA Grant Funds
Last Call: Budget Committee Applications Due
Grab & Go Meal Schedule Update
Every Month is Black History Month @ LOSD
YouthTruth Surveys in Progress
Getting Students Ready for In-Person School
Emergency Child Care
Forming Bond Development Committee
School Board Meeting
DEI Advisory Committee Meeting
New Student Registration Open
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration Opens Feb. 24
Community Reminders:
- LO Reads Calls for Student Art
- Rotary's SASEE Award Nominations
- Pacer Baseball Registration
- LO Little League Registration
- LO Softball Registration
Regular Reminders:
- Get Social: Follow, Share, Engage @wearelosd
- What's New at Community School
- Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App
- 3 Ws: Watch Distance, Wear Mask, Wash Hands
- Safe Oregon
Message from the Superintendent
This week, while continuing to support comprehensive distance learning we worked on several aspects of reopening our schools. A continued update will be provided at the School Board meeting this coming Monday.
A primary focus is on teacher and class assignments. In order to prepare for the start of in-person learning later this month, per ODE requirements LOSD recently asked our elementary families if they would like to make a change to their learning model (hybrid to online or vice versa). While not all families requested a change, accommodating all learning model requests necessitates that some teachers will be reassigned. Principals will be communicating with families whose child has a new teacher on Friday, February 12, and teachers will be introducing themselves to any new students on or before Wednesday, February 17.
While 194 families requested a change, our priority has been to limit the impact on other students to the greatest extent possible. As a result of the shifts and reassignments to LO Online, some students who did not request a change may also have a new teacher.
In early March, we will be asking our middle and high school families if they would like to make a change to their learning model for students’ fourth quarter. Please note these changes may result in class changes in their schedule. We are letting our secondary-level families know now so that you may start contemplating your choice.
We know the possibility of changes may be difficult to hear but we are confident students will be in good hands with LOSD teachers. Our learning community is dedicated to providing a warm and welcoming environment for all of our students.
Celebrating Our School Counselors
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of our district and schools. Our community is better for you.
QPR Suicide Prevention Training for Parents
Parents and guardians of middle and high school students are invited to join Counselor and QPR Trainer, Marcy Watts, for a suicide prevention training called QPR. Suicide prevention training is one prong of LOSD's comprehensive suicide prevention policy. Our Wellness Team is always looking for new ways to reach out to our students and their families to support their mental health and provide resources. If you have other concerns that are unique from this topic, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your school counselor and/or social worker.
March 2, 2021
Two session times (only attend one session)
Morning 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Evening 6:00pm to 7:30 pm
What does QPR mean?
As someone who may be in the best possible position to prevent a suicide, you will find that QPR is designed to help you save a life. QPR consists of these three skills:
Question...a person about suicide
Persuade....someone to get help and,
Refer....someone to the appropriate resource.
QPR is not a form of counseling or treatment. Rather it is intended to offer hope through positive action. By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warning signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble, and gain skills to act vigorously to prevent a possible tragedy.
Registration for this class is limited to 60 people and is designed for parents and guardians of middle and high school students. If there is more interest we will set a date for a second training. Click here to register.
Important Note: QPR requires that all participants have their cameras on at all times during this training. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic, we need to ensure the safety and well being of all attendees. Feel free to reach out to Marcy Watts if you have any questions or concerns about this at wattsm@loswego.k12.or.us
Your Input Needed: Allocating SIA Grant Funds
We need your input on how LOSD should allocate Student Investment Account (SIA) grant funds to make the greatest impact for our students in the 2021-22 school year. To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued.
In the ThoughtExchange, you'll be asked to respond to one open-ended question where you can share your ideas. You will also be asked to consider and rate ideas shared by others by assigning stars to them (20 to 30 is ideal). In the process, you will learn what's important to our learning community. You can rate as many thoughts as you’d like before moving on to Discover, where you can see all the thoughts sorted by the average star rating.
Your thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to starring new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on when putting to use our SIA grant funds from the state.
Click here to participate: https://my.thoughtexchange.com/524920448
Participation will be open until Thursday, Feb. 18, at midnight.
For reference, LOSD received $1.65 million in SIA grant funds for the 2020-21 school year: $1.1 million was allocated to fund teaching positions to reduce class sizes; $400,000 was allocated to fund educational assistant positions to provide more academic support; $100,000 was allocated to fund professional development to support culturally responsive teaching, restorative practices, and instructional strategies that advance equitable outcomes; and $50,000 was allocated to fund the new social emotional learning curriculum adoption.
Last Call: Budget Committee Applications Due
LOSD is currently accepting applications for two open positions on the Legal Budget Committee. The Legal Budget Committee consists of members of the LO School Board and five citizen members who are charged with reviewing and approving the budget for the upcoming school year. Citizen members are appointed to three-year terms and typically meet three to four times in the spring.
Click here for an application or visit the district website, Business & Finance Department. Applications are due Feb. 5, by 5 p.m.
Forming Bond Development Committee
If interested, complete this interest form by Tuesday, Feb. 16, 10 a.m.
Grab & Go Meal Schedule Update
Due to the upcoming Presidents Day Holiday, LOSD will be providing a seven-day Grab & Go Meal Kit with breakfasts and lunches, distributed on Thursday, Feb. 11, at all four locations.
On Monday, Feb. 15, there is no school in honor of Presidents Day Holiday and there is no grab-and-go-meal distribution.
On Thursday, Feb. 18, LOSD's regular grab-and-go meal distribution will continue.
Every Month is Black History Month @ LOSD
This month is Black History Month. LOSD has been working hard to, not only recognize and celebrate Black lives during the month of February, but to do it all year long. Our goal is to include Black, Indigenous and People of Color voices, perspectives and history into our everyday.
This week we are sharing resources from FACT Oregon, a non-profit organization that empowers families experiencing disability in their pursuit of a whole life by expanding awareness, growing community, and equipping families. In its February newsletter, FACT Oregon celebrates Black History Month with a focus on education equity for students of color. We are sharing two resources that may be of interest to our learning community:
The Intersection of Race and Disability. Click here for a link to a series of conversations with parents about raising Black children with disabilities.
Amanda Gorman, the 22 year old National Youth Poet Laureate, opens up about her speech and auditory processing disorders in this article by Understood. “My challenges were always, just for me, something that was reality,” she says. “But I knew I had strengths, too, especially with words and writing.”
YouthTruth Surveys in Progress
LOSD has partnered with national nonprofit, YouthTruth, to help us hear from you about what we are doing well, and how we can improve your student's experience in school. This year YouthTruth surveys are being administered through each school. Please see your principal's newsletter to complete the survey.
Getting Students Ready for In-Person School
There are several things families can do at home to help prepare students for in-person school. On the district website under Roadmap to Reopening Health & Safety Protocols and listed below, are a number of guidelines, reminders and daily practices, including:
Preparing Your Student to Return to School
Daily Homescreening for Students During COVID-19
Please Keep Ill Students Out of School
This information has been used by our families participating in limited in-person instruction with great success. Thank you for using it, too.
Emergency Child Care
For now, the LOSD Extended Care program is limited to Emergency Child Care as directed by the state’s Early Learning Division. Capacity is limited and registration is required. Per the state, families must meet certain requirements to qualify for enrollment. The Emergency Child Care is provided at Palisades for enrolled students, and transportation is provided.
If you are in need of the service, please contact loemergencychildcare@loswego.k12.or.us to find out more information and specific requirements to qualify for enrollment.
School Board Meeting
All are welcome to observe the public sessions remotely.
Monday, Feb. 8
Contract Review Board 6 p.m.
Regular Session approximately 6:10 p.m.
Click here for the agenda posted on district website
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.
Procedures for providing public testimony: The Board of Education values public input. If you wish to comment on an agenda item or another item not on the agenda, please submit your comments by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 by emailing losdschoolboard@loswego.k12.or.us. IMPORTANT: Please type “2/8/21 Testimony” in the subject line and include your full 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. For testimony received after the 12 p.m. deadline, names of patrons will not be read during the meeting, however, their testimony will be posted online at the conclusion of the meeting in accordance with the aforementioned procedures.
DEI Advisory Committee Meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 9
4:30-6:30 p.m.
Please visit the district calendar for the Zoom link to access the meeting.
New Student Registration Opens
Registration for the 2021-22 school year is now open.
- January 20, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into grades 1–12 who have never enrolled in Lake Oswego before and returning students enrolling into grades 1–12 who are not currently enrolled but will re-enroll for next year.
- February 24, 2021 for registering new students enrolling into kindergarten for the 2021-22 school year.
- Students who are currently attending LOSD during the 2020-21 school year do not need to register for the 2021-22 school year.
LOSD is pleased to offer online registration through its parent portal, ParentVUE (contact your resident school for help with logging in). See the Registration & Verification page of the LOSD website for guidance.
Spanish Immersion Kindergarten Registration Opens Feb. 24
- Application available on the District website: February 24, 2021
- Application Deadline: March 12, 2021, 3:30 p.m.
- Lottery Date: March 17, 2021, 3:00 p.m.*
- Lottery Notification: March 19, 2021
*Should the district receive more applications than spaces available, a lottery will be held. Those wishing to participate in the lottery must submit their application to the District Administration Office no later than 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 12, 2021.
*Younger siblings of students currently in kindergarten through 4th grade of the Spanish Immersion program have priority for enrollment only at the kindergarten level. Sibling priority does not apply to current siblings on the waitlist. If you currently have a child enrolled in LOSD’s kindergarten through 4th grade Spanish immersion program, you will have the first choice for enrollment in the kindergarten program. You will not be entered into the lottery, but you must submit an application to the program prior to the March 12, 2021 (3:30 p.m.) lottery deadline to be assured a slot. Slots not filled from sibling applications will be available in the general lottery.
Visit the LOSD Spanish Immersion Website for more details.
LO Reads Calls for Student Art
The Lake Oswego Public Library has selected Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson as the 2021 book for its award-winning citywide reading program, at the recommendation of the Lake Oswego Reads Steering Committee.
Rotary's SASEE Award Nominations Open
Lake Oswego Rotary Club is seeking nominees for this year's SASEE Awards, which honor service above self in educational excellence.
Do you know an educator, support staff member, student or citizen who demonstrates a commitment to education through work, projects and activities that emphasize "service above self?" LO Rotary Club wants to recognize and support the people who make education in Lake Oswego exceptional.
Please click here to learn more and nominate someone.
LO Rotary Club awards thousands of dollars in cash and scholarships in several SASEE categories. In each case, SASEE Award recipients have the opportunity to “pay it forward” by passing their monetary award on to their school or project.
- Teachers, administrators and support staff: $1,000 for their school or project
- Students: $1,000 for their school or project
- Citizens: $2,500 scholarships awarded in their names to students who also demonstrate "service above self"
Pacer Youth Baseball Registration
Registration is open for the Pacer Youth Baseball 2021 spring baseball season. T-Ball through 6th graders are welcome to register. Please visit www.paceryouthbaseball.org for more information.
Register by Monday, Feb. 15 to take advantage of the Early Bird Registration discount!
LO Little League Baseball Registration
Registration is open for the Lake Oswego Little League 2021 spring baseball season. Pre-k through 6th graders are welcome to register. Please visit www.lolittleleague.org/registration for more information.
LO Softball Registration
Lake Oswego Softball registration is open for the Spring 2021 Little League season (open to girls ages 4-14). Visit www.lakeoswegosoftball.org for more information. Final registration deadline is Monday, Feb. 15.
Get Social: Follow, Share, Engage @wearelosd
What's New at Community School?
The LOSD Community School is offering virtual enrichment programs and activities for students of all ages including culinary, STEM, arts, language, and athletics.
Subscribe to Lake Oswego Schools App
3 Ws: Watch Distance, Wear Mask, Wash Hands
SafeOregon
Parents who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal, and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.
SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.
(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)
Lake Oswego School District
Email: info@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org
Location: 2455 Country Club Road, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2000
Facebook: facebook.com/LOSDProud
Twitter: @LOSD_Proud