Westview Wildcat Weekly

Westview Students and Families,

We wish you all a happy, healthy ,and safe Winter Break! We hope the break provides time for our staff, students, and school community to unwind and return to school in 2021 refreshed and excited for a new year!

Please know we have encouraged our counselors, teachers, admin and support staff to take a true vacation and unplug from their work. They will most likely not be checking/answering emails until they return.

Thank you for supporting and partnering with us during these times.

Happy New Year!

Matt Pedersen

Principal

Community resource numbers if needed during the break:

If you are experiencing an emergency, please contact 211 or one of the following resources:

Police non-emergency for crisis assistance: 503-629-0111

Washington County Crisis Line: 503-291-9111

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Oregon YouthLine: 1-877-968-8491

Oregon YouthLine text: teen2teen to 839863

Oregon YouthLine: Chat via computer- www.oregonyouthline.org

Si tiene una emergencia, llame al 211 o a uno de los siguientes recursos:

Número de la policía para casos que no son de emergencia para asistencia de crisis: 503-629-0111

Línea de Crisis del Condado de Washington: 503-291-9111

Línea Nacional de Prevención del Suicidio: 1-800-273-8255

Oregon YouthLine: 1-877-968-8491

Oregon YouthLine texto a: teen2teen to 839863

Oregon YouthLine: Chat vía computadora- www.oregonyouthline.org

Spanish Language Career Month

Spanish Language Career Month is coming in January - Register now!

https://bit.ly/STC-events

School to Career is offering lots of opportunities for Spanish speaking students to connect with professionals from a wide variety of careers. More events are being added all the time!

See the current schedule on our calendar:

https://bit.ly/STC-calendar

One registration will get you access to everything and updates all month long!

THE WESTVIEW YEARBOOK NEEDS YOUR HELP!

This is a different year, and we are going to create a unique yearbook filled with content provided by our entire community.

Please click the links below to fill in a google form to upload pictures and answer a few short questions to add to your story to some of the topics we will cover in this year’s book.

We plan to come at you with different topics each week, so keep a lookout on how you can participate with this year’s book.

Watch out for us by following @westviewyearbook on Instagram, the school newsletter or your class Canvas page.

This week we are focusing on the following topics. Click the links below to add your photos and answer a few short questions.

COVID Life and Corona Regrets- https://forms.gle/iv5yNYqjYQa3iu7c6

Fall Activities- https://forms.gle/WoTH2h8bonhVXE7t7

Distance Learning- https://forms.gle/pvF6ATcVEJUNi2hv7

Pets- https://forms.gle/6MWaGT5DxCB6V7Bs6

Family at Westview/ Twins- https://forms.gle/UpbqUBA9Pd8DCNja6

We are excited to feature YOU in the yearbook. Thank you for helping us tell this year’s story.

-The Westview Yearbook Staff

Family Wellness

If your family needs support this winter, please reach out to Mitzy King, our school social worker. WHS is organizing food, jackets and other support for families before winter break. Mitzy King (503) 356-5054. Mitzy_king@beaverton.k12.or.us

An article on supporting children and teens this winter/holiday season:

https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/supporting_children_and_teens_during_this_holiday_season.pdf

Technology News and Updates

New this week on our WHS Technology for Parents and Students Site http://bit.ly/whsfuture:

Does your student need Tech Help?

Every Wednesday after Advisory I will be available in my Zoom room from 10:45-11:30 for any student that needs help. In the weeks to come, I am hoping to offer small model lessons on tools they can use in your class. Let me know if there is a tool you would like me to share! Here's the link. I have also been at our Westview Works homework help and tutoring sessions on Wednesday afternoons from 2-4p (Here is the link.)

Need wifi?

Apply here for a free wifi hotspot. We have a limited number, and they will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.

Canvas:

Have a student travelling outside of the country?

Be sure the teacher / Admin. completes a Help Desk to ask for exclusion for the student while traveling.
A teacher/Admin can fill out a help desk ticket to request that a student be placed on exclusion list so they can access Canvas outside of the US.

Signal to Noise

Exciting news! We will be holding our annual Signal to Noise Film Festival in May of 2021 (virtually, of course 😃). We have updated the guidelines on the website and important dates are as follows: Entries due - Monday, March 29, 2021, Online Awards Ceremony/Festival - Thursday, May 20, 2021. Please share out this information with students and parents and for the latest updates have them follow us on Facebook or Instagram (@s2nfestival).

Signal to Noise Website

Does your student have an upcoming project? Here are some apps they could try:

StoryBoardThat:

Need students to create a storyboard or cartoon? Storyboardthat requires no login but has many different templates for students to create a cartoon to share a story or describe a process here is the link.

Toontastic:

Available on all Chromebooks, this program allows students to create story videos using preloaded backgrounds and characters or draw their own. They record their voice over, and can download to share. Here is a quick overview.

BSD Student Help Desk

Is your student having any issues with their device? Is the stylus not working, the wifi glitchy? The BSD Student Help Desk is available to provide support:

Monday - Friday (8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.)

Phone: 503-356-4656

Email: shd@beaverton.k12.or.us

Seniors

Top Reasons to Complete a FAFSA:

1) You’ll get details on your financial aid award letter about your colleges’ options for paying for college

2) This is the gateway for federal student loans and parent loans. A reasonable amount of loan debt may be a positive option.

3) You may be eligible for scholarships and merit or need based aid from your college

4) You may be eligible for work study

5) You may be eligible for federal or state grants

6) There is not a down side to completing the FAFSA. Avoid assuming you won’t qualify for any aid. Even if your neighbor says they didn’t get anything from FAFSA, you may be surprised at your outcome. Don’t leave money sitting on the table.

It’s best to have the FAFSA completed and successfully submitted in January, must be US citizen or permanent resident.

Need help with FAFSA, ORSAA, Oregon Promise, Future Connect, PCC Foundation Scholarships, or OSAC? Attend the workshop Wed. Dec. 16th @ noon and get all of your questions answered!

Jana Daugherty of PCC will do a mini overview of the scholarships and spend time helping students with their questions, applications, and edit their essays. Our goal is to help you make progress on these applications and be ready to submit them ahead of deadlines!

https://portlandcc.zoom.us/j/4663890806 (Links to an external site.)

Top College & Financial Aid Tasks for Seniors to Work on Over Break

1) Complete and submit college admissions applications

2) Complete the FAFSA/ORSAA if eligible to do so https://studentaid.gov/ for US citizens or permanent residents, https://oregonstudentaid.gov/grants.aspx for DACA students. Best to complete by end of January

3) Complete Oregon Promise https://oregonstudentaid.gov/grants.aspx Due June 1st

4) Complete OSAC https://oregonstudentaid.gov/scholarships.aspx Due March 1st

5) If eligible, complete Future Connect for scholarship & coaching @ PCC https://www.pcc.edu/future-connect/ Due March 1st

6) Check Canvas College & Career page in Class 2021 page for other scholarship ideas

Yale Young Global Scholars https://globalscholars.yale.edu/about-yygs Informational Session- Beaverton, OR School District on Dec 16, 2020 11:00 AM PST Please register at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5296446878440863500

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

ASPIRE Volunteers Needed

Aspire is the state of Oregon's mentoring program to help students access education and training beyond high school. The program matches trained, supportive adult volunteer mentors with seniors to help them develop a post high school plan which meets their career and educational goals. To learn more, contact Ann Voorhees WHS College & Career Specialist. ann_voorhees@beaverton.k12.or.us

Senior Academies

Senior Academies are extended experiences offered by the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce. These offer opportunities for seniors to meet professionals in a variety of fields. Academies may include hands-on experiences, projects, or certifications. Current openings include Academies for Engineering and Business Entrepeneur. Upcoming include Medical, Computer Engineering with Intel, Construction. Law & Legal, Graphic Arts, Fine Arts, and more. To register and learn more go to the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce School to Career website. https://hillsborochamberor.com/stc/stcevents/

College Rep Visits

Over 200 College Rep Visits are coming to you virtually. Often these people are the first readers of admissions applications and it's a great way to learn facts about a college which are not on their website.
To see the full calendar and sign up for a presentation by a college rep, Juniors and Seniors go to your Grade Level Class or All Student page in Canvas and tap the College Career button for all the information.

WHS Scholarship List

Seniors have access to a weekly curated scholarship list. They access this through Canvas in their Senior Class by tapping the College Career button.

AP Exams Update

Thank you to everyone for your support as we navigate AP testing sign-ups during CDL. If your student is currently enrolled in an AP course, they should have registered for the course exam in their class. We did this because, for this year only, students will not be monetarily penalized should they choose not to test. If your student will not be enrolled in the class until Quarter 3 they will sign up and be billed at that time.

We are getting rosters organized in order to start applying fees for AP exams. All students will be billed for an exam this year. If your student wishes to test, you will need to pay that fee by March 1st. Paying for the fee tells us you intend to test. Leaving the fee on the account unpaid tells us you do not wish to test. Unpaid fees will be removed and exams cancelled after the March 1st deadline.

At this point, AP is still hoping exams will be in person. A final decision on this will be made by College Board in January. Because of this, some families may want to wait until January to make payments.

If a student is interested in signing up for an exam offered at Westview, but it is not taking the course at some point in the 2020-21 school year, please have them contact Kara Ferris, the Advanced Programs coordinator, about registering. The deadline for fall registration is November 15th.

Cap and Gown Orders for Graduation

Dear Senior Families
I know words like “virtual” and “hybrid” are not wording you normally associate with school, and certainly not your senior year. The challenges you and we have experienced have been both substantial and challenging. I do want to recognize and thank all of you for adjusting to this new normal. Our hope is that by year’s end things will have improved dramatically.
While many things have changed, one thing that has not changed is the tradition of graduation. Come June 13, you will be recognized, you will be rewarded, you will be celebrated. To secure that reality, you will be placing your graduation order for your Cap & Gown and other graduation materials in an event we are calling “Senior Graduation Order Week”.
Please visit this page: Jostens.com
If you have any questions, please let me know. We want to make this as simple and easy as possible.
dan.peters.office@jostens.com
2056 NE Aloclek Drive, #309
Hillsboro, OR 97124
503.660.8032

Grading and Reporting and 4x4 Schedule

With the district shift to a 4x4 schedule we would like to send out another reminder of what that does to our grading and academic calendar. Because year-long courses are compressed to 18 weeks and all semester long courses are compressed to 9 weeks, the 9-week grades (Nov. 13th) go on to the transcript as semester grades, part of the permanent record and GPA. Historically, students are in the mindset of having until the end of January to "get their grades up" but that is no longer the case. This is not new news, but we want all parents and students to be aware.

Here are the official grading dates for the remainder of the year:

November 13 (9 weeks)-End of Semester (Final Grades/Grading Day--Grades Updated)

January 8 (15 weeks)--Grades Updated

February 5 (18 weeks)--End of Semester (Final Grades/Grading Day--Grades Updated)

March 19 (6 weeks)-- Progress Report (Grades Updated)

April 16 (9 weeks)-- End of Semester (Final Grades/Grading Day--Grades Updated)

May 28 (15 weeks)-- Progress Report (Grades Updated)

June 21 (18 weeks)--End of Semester (Final Grades/Grading Day-Grades Updated)

Your Help Keeping Social Media Safe

Westview Community,

We have seen social media interactions that are harmful, harassing, and racist amongst some of our students. While some of these exchanges take place away from school, we expect our students to model the Wildcat Way all hours of the day.

We appreciate your help maintaining a safe community for all of our Westview students.

Thank you.

Health 1

Dear Health 1 Parents:

Welcome to Health 1! Health 1 Apex Overview.pdf is an overview of the lessons we will be covering in Apex this quarter, they are highlighted in yellow. The lessons are also listed in the parent Canvas course in the modules (along with the study guides). However, in order to view the lessons in their entirety, you will need to have your child log-in to Apex through their Canvas course. For this reason, you will not be able to view the full lessons until the quarter for Health 1 starts for your child. From there you can click on the lessons we will cover to view content. To join the parent Canvas course to preview curriculum you can join with this link: https://bsd.instructure.com/enroll/8KPRPE

Please note, the sexual health unit begins at the start of week 6 of the course, so you will have 5 weeks from the start of the quarter to review the lessons in that unit. Please click this link below for opt-out information including the form (“Exemption from Instruction” near the bottom of the page): https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/curriculum-instruction-assessment/health-secondary

All other lessons (not in Apex) are in the parent Canvas course and can be viewed by clicking on them in the modules.

Thank you,

The Health 1 Team

Opting Out

We are always welcome to work alongside our parents and guardians if you questions or concerns. Know that you can always contact your Health teacher.

Please click this link below for opt-out information including the form (“Exemption from Instruction” near the bottom of the page): https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/curriculum-instruction-assessment/health-secondary

Westview Zoom Norms and Expectations

Students - This is our virtual classroom. Let’s keep it a positive space that is conducive to learning. We’ve got this!

Be sure you are logged into your BSD student account.
Show up to class a couple of minutes early and wait to be admitted.
We will ask that you identify yourself with your preferred first and last name before your teacher welcomes you in from the waiting room.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts and joining conversations, but please keep your audio on mute until you want to speak. This will help limit background noise.
Whenever possible, find a quiet place free of distractions (siblings, parents, television, etc.)
You are welcome to keep your video off, but please stay present with us.
If you have a question, use the chat box, or raise your hand.
Respect others' privacy by not taking screenshots of participants or recording sessions.