We hope that your family enjoys the longer weekend ahead! We held our final assembly with our sparrow, Soleil, through the Sparrow Clubs of Portland, (www.sparrowclubs.org). The Sparrow Club set a goal of 300 hours of community service for our school. We’re pleased to share that our devoted WSMS Scholars completed 594 hours of community service, equating to $4648.68 in donated funds to the family of Soleil! Thank you to all families who encouraged and supported this community service work throughout the school year!

Enjoy your weekend,

Jill & Ben

We are trying to add two new more electives next year, Arabic (taken in the morning at LHS, with families transporting to LHS for that first class), and Choir at WSMS. If your student would like to switch a previously chosen elective to one of the new offerings, please indicate that change here.

OSAS testing makeups are finishing for Math, and the last testing session is for our Eighth Graders in Science.

• 8th Science: 6/5 - 6/8
  

A reminder to get plenty of sleep and have a healthy breakfast. Chromebooks will need to be charged and brought to school every day.

Why take these tests seriously?

• These results are a key factor in how WSMS is ranked academically as a Middle School for the state of Oregon and nationally by U.S. News and World report. See our last posted ranking at the link.

• Results are only comparable to other schools in Oregon if 95% of our students complete the testing.
  

• OSAS testing is one school indicator of potential academic ability when future schools are making placement decisions in honors, AP and advanced courses.

• OSAS data is also the main data that the PPS School Board uses when determining and prioritizing goals for schools and the District, including funding and staffing.
  

Get connected in community this spring, explore these upcoming community events and resources…

• The Black Rodeo – Eight Seconds Juneteenth Rodeo Saturday June 17, 2023 / 3:00PM – 10:00PM at the Portland Expo Center 2060 Marine Dr. W.
  

• Visit the link for further information expocenter.org/events/8-seconds-juneteenth-rodeo.
  
  

• Indigenous Marketplace Event 2023 - PSU/Native American Student Center – 710 SW Jackson Ave. 97201 (Link to flyer with more information)
  
  

• MET Rental Assistance for Washington & Multnomah County now available call 503-579-6621 (you must live in either of these two counties.)
  
  

• Portland State University FARMER’S MARKET from April – October Saturdays / 8:30AM – 2:00PM at SW Park Ave & SW Montgomery

• West Sylvan Eighth Graders will engage in mock congressional hearings during ELA and U.S. Studies classes, Thursday, June 8th
  
  
• Our Eighth Grade Grad Party tickets and Promotion week activities are on sale now! In order to provide our scholars with a wonderful promotion celebration, including lunch and other activities, we ask each family to please contribute $15.
  
  
• The Eighth Grade Grad Party will be Saturday, June 10th, 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm at WSMS and tickets are $25. Donated tickets are available so everyone can attend these fun events. Please contact Ms. Cohen [rcohen@pps.net] for assistance. Find all the details and make your payments through The West Sylvan Foundation website.
  
  
• Eighth Grade Promotion will be at Lincoln High School in their Gym on the evening of Monday, June 12th. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. The LHS Gym seats 2000 people in the bleachers. With 258 Eighth Graders, we don’t see a need to issue family tickets for seating. We thank all of the families who are volunteering with the WSMS Foundation to plan that evening and to assist with set-up and take-down of items that night!
  
  
• Eighth Graders will have a final field trip to Oaks Park together on Tuesday, June 13th. We want all Eighth Graders to take part in this fun final day together. If you are interested in helping to chaperone the event (which includes riding the bus to and from the park), please let us know by sending an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net. If an Eighth Grader has major disciplinary issues (suspensions from school between April and June), they will not be allowed to join the outing. We have reviewed behavioral expectations with all Scholars through Advisory.

• How to get involved?
  Join The West Sylvan Foundation! This is the group that also embodies what would have been a PTA at other schools. The group welcomes new adult support, and you can find the link here. This is also a way to share your voice about how WSMS fundraising is used for school needs.
  
  
• Volunteer! We appreciate all family members who have been volunteering in our Main Office, in our Library, and joining us for school lunch periods and recess to help with supervision. The additional adults around campus really help with these busier spaces and the busiest times of the school day! If you are already an approved PPS volunteer, you are welcome to come to campus any day of the week when your schedule permits, and we will find a way that you can help on campus! Classroom volunteer sign-ups and In-School Volunteer sign-ups can be accessed at these links.
  

If a Scholar has a phone out in class or around campus during the school day, it is confiscated and held in the Office. If a Scholar has three or more violations already this year, we will ask a Parent/Guardian to pick up the phone to help reinforce expectations.

Please remember that Scholars do not have access to their phones during the day, and refrain from calling and/or texting them. If you need to get an urgent message to your Scholar, you may call the Office at 503-916-5690 or send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net.

Families are able to record future absences for their Students directly in ParentVUE without needing to contact the Main Office. Please remember, if a student is going to miss multiple days, it is up to the Student and/or Parent/Guardian to communicate absences with each Teacher and make a plan for missing work and assignments.

• If your Student is going to be Absent for a FULL DAY:
  Log in to the ParentVUE website or download and open the phone application. In either case, look for the ‘Report Absence’ button to the right of your Student’s photograph. Select start date, end date, and a reason from the drop-down list. Remember to click SAVE, and you should receive a popup confirmation.

• If your Student is Absent for a PARTIAL DAY:
  Send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net with the date, times, and reason.

No internet access? Call West Sylvan’s main line at 503-916-5690 and select the Attendance option.

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

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