The Guardian Gazette
Family Edition, February 22, 2024
Message from Principal Coning
Dear IBW Families,
Happy Leap Day! I have been at an all-day Principal's meeting today and will have more to share next week about what's happening around IBWHS. Junior and Senior parents, I am including the letter that was sent to you yesterday in the event you haven't had a chance to read it. Please ensure your students read the letter and understand the intent of our attendance policy for prom. Thanks and have a great weekend!
Juniors and Seniors,
I want to share with you the intention of the 85% attendance benchmark in order to go to prom. The intention of this attendance pilot is to ensure that our students, who are not attending school and who are struggling academically, are receiving the support and the understanding they need to be successful. The goal with this pilot is that EVERY student who wants to go to prom attends and that they are attending prom knowing that they have a plan in place to earn credit and graduate from high school.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT:
We are running a report on March 1st to see how many juniors and seniors are attending less than 85% of the time beginning with 2nd semester. I will prioritize our students who have unexcused absences and begin meeting with them in March.
THIS ATTENDANCE PILOT IS NOT MEANT TO BE:
A punishment
A way to shame, embarrass, or exclude our students
An intervention for the student with excused absences, on track to graduate, and who has a plan for after high school.
THIS ATTENDANCE PILOT IS:
A way to hold both my students and myself capable of working together to ensure that each student is having a positive school experience.
A means by which I, as the principal, will touch base with each senior who has significant unexcused absences and it is impacting their learning.
An intervention for the student who has unexcused absences and may not have a plan for after high school.
THE GOAL:
This pilot program is intended to help the students who are chronically and severely missing school and, as a result, it is impacting their ability to learn and be successful.
Bottom line, PLEASE do your best to be at school when you have class, do not be late, and do not skip class once you are here. We care about you and want you to finish high school strong!
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES
Mark your calendar for these upcoming dates:
February 29 - Final Day to Dine Out at Zinc for the PTA
February 29 - Dine Out for Women's Basketball Program
March 6 - Community Equity Council Meeting
March 6 - PTA Meeting
March 6 - Choir Fundraiser at Chipotle
March 11 - Boosters Monthly Meeting
March 14 - Foundation/Auction Planning Meeting
March 20 - Special Schedule for ALL Students
March 20 - Dine out for PTA Scholarships at Burgerville
Please see this week's Guardian Gazette, Student Newsletter for more important dates: https://www.smore.com/n/p2k83
The Trivory Calendar has been updated with new 2nd semester dates and the A/B/Flex schedule.
NEWS FROM OUR PARENT GROUPS
PTA
The mission of the Ida B. Wells PTA is to keep parents informed, support teachers, advocate for the Ida B. Wells community, and fund teacher grants and academic programs.
PTA Meeting
Reminder! We have a PTA meeting next week! Please join us to talk about how fundraising went in February and upcoming events. - March 6, 6:30 pm in the library.
Mark Your Calendar For A Night Off From Making Dinner!
On the evening of Wednesday, March 20th, the PTA is having a fundraiser at the Burgerville in L.O. for the PTA Scholarship Fund. From 5-8PM, they will be donating a percentage of sales to us if you mention that you are there for the IBW PTA. (Carmen Drive location only.) It’ll be a great night to celebrate being done with SATs, or get dinner after the track meet, or just take a night off from cooking for a good cause. The PTA will use the money raised for the $1,000 scholarships we give to the Senior Class. Mark your calendar now!
FB: https://www.facebook.com/zincpdx/
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/zincpdx/?hl=en
Sustainably and locally sourced wherever possible and sustainable practices in our operations.
Booster Club
Seeking a Volunteer to Lead the Senior BBQ
We need a volunteer to lead the spring BBQ this year. The BBQ will be on Friday, May 31. We will tell you what to do and lots of people already want to help on the day of the BBQ, we just need a leader to coordinate. You do not need to be a senior parent to coordinate. Please contact social@ibwboosterclub.org if you can assist in leading this fun event.
Join!
You can join IBW Booster Club using school pay - http://www.schoolpay.com/link/JoinIBW
Follow Us!
Foundation
The Glow Up Auction is April 19. It’s the IBW Foundation’s biggest fundraiser of the year and we hope to see you there. Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/Ibwauction
Volunteers needed:
We currently have the following needs for these key roles:
- Volunteer coordinator: This role will recruit and manage volunteers and manage the sign up spot. We will give guidance on what is needed and aside from the day of the event itself, this is 100% online.
- Procurement coordinator: This role will organize incoming donations using our auction software including managing the auction catalog. You will manage the collection of the donations from the organization. Additional volunteers will help but we need someone organized to lead the effort.
- Committee Member: Help with ad hoc tasks for the auction
Please email angcorman@outlook.com if you can assist.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get real time auctions updates!
See all the details here: https://www.smore.com/pe6mc
Please join us for our next Foundation/Auction Planning Meeting
March 14, 2024, 6:30 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/4022248883?omn=87665758817
Meeting ID: 402 224 8883
NEWS FROM AROUND THE SCHOOL
From PPS - Free School Meals for ALL IBWHS Students
Portland Public Schools participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program. School breakfasts and lunches are provided at NO CHARGE to ALL active students enrolled at CEP schools. All students enrolled in a CEP school may receive 1 daily breakfast and lunch. We are happy to inform you that we were able to expand our CEP this month to include Ida B Wells High School.
When will this change take effect?
This took effect on February 1, but ODE (Oregon Department of Education) allowed us to apply this retroactively back to January 1, 2024. We will work to change all of the prior meals served to reflect this change and update meal accounts appropriately.
How will this change meal services?
The feel of the meal services will remain the same with students using their IDs and/or student cards, the only difference being that families will not need to provide money on their students’ meal accounts and we will also not be processing meal applications for free/reduced price meals.
For additional information go to: www.pps.net/nutrition or for meal benefit questions, call 503.916.3402 or email: mealbenefits@pps.net.
IBWHS to support SW Hope Food Drive for Neighborhood House
IBWHS is once again a Partner in Hope for the Neighborhood House annual SW Hope Community Food Drive. See their website for more information regarding the entire event that runs through April 6: https://nhpdx.org/sw-hope/
Our IBW PositiveCharge Club is taking the lead this year but will be partnering with other school clubs to help make the 2024 drive very successful. We have set our 2024 goal at 10,000 lbs of food (or the equivalent in dollars; $1 = 4 cans of food). We think 10,000lbs is very attainable with the help from the IBWHS Community!
Our collection will run from February 23 - March 22 with:
- General collection of canned food and non perishable goods at IBWHS. Collection bins are located
at the front entrance of the school and in front of the gym
- Collection at our Home Track and Field Meet on 3/20.
- Collection of $ through a special account in SchoolPay https://pps.schoolpay.com/pay/for/SW-Hope-Food-Drive-for-Neighborhood-Hous/Sc6nTaD or use the QR code above.
Plus stay tuned for more...
Seeking Parent Volunteers
On March 6th and 7th, we need up to 4 parent volunteers each day from 9:30-10:30am. Volunteers will be handing out code information to the Juniors who will be coming to do their digital readiness. This will take place in the cafeteria. Email Amenashe@pps.net or bsmall@pps.net if available or you have any questions.
From PPS - 2024-2025 School Year Calendar
The 24-25 School Calendar was approved by the School Board at their meeting on Tuesday, February 22nd. Please stay tuned for some specific IBW dates for the Summer and Fall.
PPS 2024-2025 School Year Calendar
ISO Cameras for Photojournalism Course
Dear IBW and Hillsdale families,
Next year, we're starting a photojournalism course at our school and are in desperate need of any available cameras that you may have! We unfortunately do not have any cameras in the building that we can dedicate to the course, so our hope is that some members of our community may have used (but working) DSLR cameras that they no longer have use for and are willing to part with.
Our students are going to be learning how to capture and tell a news story through their camera and have a strong emphasis on sports, while there may be assignments where they will use their phones, they will absolutely need access to professional-level cameras.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me (hkaplanminer@pps.net).
Thank you so much for your time and consideration and I look forward to working with many of you to make this course as meaningful and relevant as possible for our wonderful students!
Best wishes,
Haven Kaplan-Miner
Journalism Advisor at IBW
Absence Reporting Through ParentVUE
For current or future all-day absences, we encourage you to use ParentVUE. It is a little more streamlined than our Absence Reporting Form. In case you're having trouble finding the information, here are some instructions. How to Record an Absence on ParentVue
For past absences (within 3 school days) or partial days, please continue to use the Absence Reporting Form: Absence Reporting Form
March 20 - Special Schedule for All Students
Upcoming on March 20 is a special schedule day for all students. According to the District:
All 11th graders will take the SAT exam starting at 8:30am. SAT specific information was sent to 11th grade students and parents on 2/29. Testing rooms will be posted by 3/18. Following lunch 11th graders will proceed to their regular periods 5-8.
All 9th, 10th and 12th graders will follow their regular 8 period day schedule. Students class will be displaced If:
- a student’s teacher is proctoring (and therefore not available) they will go to the cafeteria to complete a Career Related Learning Experience (CRLE).
- a student’s regular classroom is being used for testing but their teacher is not an exam proctor then students will go to an alternate classroom.
There will be signs telling displaced students where to go. There will be no bells on this day so it is up to you to regulate the time.
Important Information for Juniors - Upcoming Testing this Spring (UPDATED 2/29)
Juniors - SAT Exam Preparation
This years' SAT exam is an all digital exam on your PPS Chromebook. All Juniors must complete a Digital Readiness Check on March 6 (students A-L) or March 7 (students M-Z) during flex in the cafeteria. Students must bring their PPS Chromebook to the Digital Readiness Check. This will give you access to the Bluebook app used for the exam and allow you access to SAT practice tests.
For more information on the SAT exam day schedule see the March 20 Special Schedule above.
SAT Testing Day - March 20, 2024
SAT Day: March 20 (a full day for everyone)
On Wednesday March 20th Juniors will be given the SAT exam, free of charge, during the school day. The students should be at their exam room by 8:30am.
PPS Chromebook Needed
This is the first time that the exam is entirely digital and must be done using the student’s PPS issued Chromebook. If you do not have a working PPS Chromebook, please go to the Library to check one out before March 5th.
Testing Rooms and ID
We will post students testing rooms in the main hall by Monday 3/18 at the latest. All students need to be in their testing room, with their student ID or Studentvue by 8:30am on 3/20.
Details for the day
Students must test with their PPS Chromebook and need to bring it fully charged. While a fully charged Chromebook should have enough battery, please bring your charger as well.
The digital format does have a calculator in the computer program available however you can bring your own if you prefer. It must be an SAT approved calculator.
Cell phones must be turned off and placed in the teacher designated area until the exam is over and students dismissed.
Students can bring sealed beverage and snack but it can only be consumed during designated breaks and in area designated by the room proctor. The school will not be providing snacks.
The exam will be completed before the all-student lunch. After lunch students will go to periods 5-8 with school ending at 3:30pm.
If you know they you/your student will not be at school on 3/20 then please report the absence in ParentVUE for a full-day absence or the Absence Reporting Form for a partial-day absence as soon as possible so we can plan for classrooms.
Students arriving late may not be able to take the exam. There will not be a makeup day for those missIng the exam.
Questions? Email sburns@pps.net or amenashe@pps.net or bsmall@pps.net
OSAS (Oregon Statewide Assessment System):
During testing window of 4/8-4/26 in ELA, Math, and Science classrooms
PPS CHROMEBOOK NEEDED
In the 2014-15 school year, Oregon joined twelve other states to use the Smarter Balanced Assessment tests for their mandatory state assessments. These standardized tests assess how well students are mastering content in key subject areas (ELA, Math, & Science) aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Beginning 2019, these assessments are referred to as OSAS (Oregon Statewide Assessment System) tests.
Why should students test?
Learning Progress: The OSAS act as a snapshot of your child’s progress that may be considered along with other pieces of information to determine your child’s academic success
Student and System Assessment: A balanced assessment system offers all students, especially historically underserved students, opportunities to demonstrate their progress. Ultimately, a balanced assessment system creates a shared understanding among educators and a more transparent process for parents to access and understand their student’s progress throughout their educational career. If OSAS results demonstrate that students are not meeting standards, PPS will explore why and explore potential solutions to make the necessary adjustments for improvements at a district-wide level.
State and Federal Accountability: Oregon Department of Education (ODE) rates all schools throughout the state. ODE will produce report cards of all schools based, in part, on OSAS participation rates. Lower participation can negatively affect school ratings and can present an inaccurate view of our student’s achievement at Ida B. Wells.
Classroom teachers will continue to test their student’s mastery of subjects throughout the school year in order to adjust their lessons and provide additional support to students where needed. These types of assessments are most useful for short-term instructional adjustments in the classroom. To learn more OSAS please visit PPS’ Assessment Main Page including opt-out information. We are requesting all OSAS opt out forms by February 29 to room 139.
Fundraiser TONIGHT (2/29) for Women's Basketball
Our IBW Women's Basketball Program will be fundraising with a Dining Out Night ... but this time it is nationwide! Out of town family and friends can help our players raise money for summer tournaments and team camp as well as other program activities and all they have to do is order from Panda Express online! Find more information here https://www.community-fundraiser.com/virtual-fundraiser/events/promotions/4f96a2b3-55f5-9790-c1d3-0915c92ddf05/en/landing
Choir Fundraiser
Calling all Burrito Lovers,
Foil your dinner plans and stop by the Chipotle at 9375 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy in Beaverton for our fundraiser on Wednesday, March 06 from 4:00pm - 8:00pm. We're raising money to support Ida B. Wells High School Choir Program, so just mention the fundraiser at checkout and they'll donate 33% of the proceeds to the cause! You can also order online. See the attached flyer below for the directions and Reminder — your online ordering code is: R4QD2TQ.
Can't wait to see you!
IBWHS Modernization - Future Listening Sessions
Join interactive Listening Sessions about the modernization of Ida B. Wells! If you would like to participate, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/ZY4Z4sytXk5LcbpRA and see more information in the attached document. You can also keep informed with the modernization progress on the PPS website https://www.pps.net/Page/21121
Become a Host Family
COUNSELING CORNER
Increasing Awareness about Cannabis Use Disorder in Youth
While scientists are still learning about the extent of the risks associated with using marijuana, we know that marijuana use can harm a teen’s health and wellbeing.
Fast Facts:
- In 2022, 30.7% of 12th graders reported using marijuana in the past year, and 6.3% reported using marijuana daily in the past 30 days.
- Compared to teens who do not use, teens who use marijuana are less likely to graduate from high school or college.
- Research shows that marijuana use during teen years can harm brain development.
How Does Marijuana Use Affect Teen Health? The teen brain is actively developing until around age 25. Marijuana use is associated with increased risk for the following issues:
- Harm to brain health. Marijuana use beginning in teen years or younger may affect brain development, which may impair thinking, memory, and learning.
- Mental health issues. Marijuana use has been linked to depression and social anxiety in adults. People that use marijuana are more likely to develop temporary psychosis, hallucinations, not knowing what is real and paranoia. As well as, long-lasting mental health disorders, including schizophrenia. The association between marijuana and schizophrenia is stronger in people who start using marijuana frequently at an early age.
- Impaired driving. Driving while impaired by marijuana is dangerous and illegal. Marijuana affects reaction time, coordination, and concentration—skills required for safe driving.
- Increased potential for marijuana use disorder. People who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are at increased risk of developing marijuana use disorder.
Marijuana is also the single most common substance use violation In Portland Public Schools. This month we are focusing on resources and information to support staff and families in supporting our students with this complex issue.
Resources for Teens and Marijuana Use
Videos: Articles: Cannabis (Marijuana) Drug Facts (website) (NIDA) Marijuana - The Risks Are Real (SAMHSA)
Grant HS Hosts Showing of Screenagers and Panel Discussion
Grant High School is hosting a FREE screening of the movie Screenagers Under the Influence
that is open to the community. The event will include dinner, a resource fair and a panel discussion after the movie. Flier linked here.
Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, the third feature documentary in the Screenagers trilogy, delves into how the tech revolution has reshaped adolescence and its effects on substance use. The film debunks myths and shares strategies parents and schools can use to encourage healthy decision-making, support teen mental health, set limits, and create healthy home environments. The film also includes many ways young people are using their wisdom, strength and voice to help each other and themselves through this complicated terrain around substance use.
COMMUNITY NEWS/RESOURCES
Who Qualifies for the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) As of July 1, 2023, people of all ages who meet income and other criteria qualify for full OHP benefits and other services and supports, no matter their immigration status. This is possible thanks to a law called Healthier Oregon. Once students and families have OHP, they can generally access mental health and substance use services free of charge - no deductibles or co-pays. If you have families who would benefit from having OHP all help is free and available in multiple languages. People can apply: Online at ONE.Oregon.gov. Through a local certified community partner. At an ODHS office near them. Or call 1-800-699-9075 (TTY 711) Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time. General resources for families who have OHP and need help:
Multnomah County Services
Start with 311 as your single point of access to help with any questions or local government service needs within Multnomah County.
7 days a week - 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. (excluding federal holidays)
Call: 311 / 503-823-4000
Email: 311@portlandoregon.gov
Translation services available