Greetings Whitford Families –

It is crazy to look at a calendar and see that we are in March already. I think we are all ready for Mother Nature to wake things up and add some spring color to our world. It will be nice to have Spring started up again.

Speaking of Spring…. March is the month for course selection for next year.. some call it forecasting! Last week we had 5th grade Fly-ups where our soon-to-be 6th graders came to Whitford for a visit. Whitford's counselors will be heading to elementary schools this week to talk a bit more about Whitford's Elective classes for next year. Similarly, in the next few weeks, we will be asking our current 6th and 7th graders to select their Electives classes for next year.

We would encourage you to connect with your students to make sure you are on the same page when it comes to selecting next year’s Electives. The options for next year as they stand now are: Art, Band, Choir, Drama, Technology, and Spanish. Students will be identifying their “top three” choices and we will work to schedule two of the three. For 7th and 8th graders, these courses will be year-long and once selected will not be adjusted next fall once school starts.

Lastly, in regard to scheduling courses, our current 8th graders have completed their forecasting work as well. Parents of 8th graders: If you have any questions about forecasting for high school, please check with High School that you child will be attending next year.

We are grateful to you for your support for affording us the opportunity to work with your awesome kids.

Respectfully,

Zan Hess

Each year, Whitford welcomes the incoming 6th grade students. The students met with counselors, administrators, and our Web leaders to tour Whitford and find out about our elective classes and clubs. There is always excitement in the air when they come for a visit.

Students will be doing State Testing April 5, April 6, and April 7 from 9:15-11:15. Please make sure your student is at school on time, and has a charge Chromebook. Additionally, 8th grade students will take the science test April 24-28th

Congratulations to Dark Matter for winning the school OBOB championship this year. They will move on to compete in the Regional Championship with the goal of moving on to the State Championships.

Dark Matter team members:

Akshara A.

Evelyn B.

Abner C.

Yunah K.

Luna S.

The Special Education Department is hosting its 5th Annual Parent Resource Fair at the District Administrative Office from 5-8pm on March 14th and March 21st.

For more information: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/teaching-learning/special-education/parent-resource-fair

To register: https://www.beaverton.k12.or.us/departments/teaching-learning/special-education/parent-resource-fair/registration

Please come to our next PTO meeting Wednesday March 8th at 7pm. We will begin to plan the 8th grade Celebration. Please join us to help with this fun event.

Additionally we need to start recruiting help for Next Year's PTO.

AVID is beginning to accept applications for AVID elective class for 2023/2024 school year. If you are interested in joining AVID, fill out the Google form, get a teacher or counselor to fill out a recommendation form, and you will be considered for an interview for AVID in 2023-2024. If your student is currently in AVID, you don't need to apply.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScI7SjrK3Hb00QOMXrQGw45M-w86uyhMyLgDGWCdbEOu4nILQ/viewform

The AVID Elective course is intended to accelerate student skills in multiple areas (writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading) and not appropriate for students in need of intense remediation. AVID prepares students for the rigors of college prep classes by providing a curriculum in writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading, personal exploration of strengths, college/career knowledge and research, study and organizational skills as well as a student-led Socratic Tutorial process with adult/college/high school mentors 1-2 days a week.

General profile of an AVID student:

Student consistently performs near or above grade level proficiency, 2.0-3.5 GPA or an average of summary judgments on standards based report card (academically in the middle).

Other qualifications considered: first in the family to attend college, identifies from a group traditionally underserved in four-year colleges, qualifies as economically underserved, and/or has a special circumstance or situations.

Exhibits the desire and determination to attend college and needs support to reach potential.

What AVID is Not:

AVID is not an “at-risk” program. It is a program designed to support students who would otherwise not attend and graduate from a four-year university

AVID is not for students who do not do any of their work in and outside of school

AVID is not for students who consistently receive grades of “D” or “N”

AVID is not a program for unmotivated students. They must have the individual determination or at least the potential and desire to improve

AVID is not a college preparation program or ACT/SAT prep course for those who already have access to a support system to be college ready

If you have questions about AVID, please contact Mr. Jody Reeg at jody_reeg@beaverton.k12.or.us

Jill Otermat and her wonderful 6th grade technology classes have been exploring coding with Edison robots. The robots were supplied by a generous grant from Beaverton Education Foundation for use in all BSD schools. Whitford is the first school to use these fantastic new learning tools. Ms. Otermat has been working with our Library and Instructional Technology Teacher, Mr. Livingston to incorporate this new technology into her lessons. Students have been very engaged and having so much fun while using the robots- especially the latest activity “Sumo wrestling” where robots compete against each other in a head to head tournament to determine the “Sumo” champion by pushing the opposing robot out of the ring!

In 7th & 8th Grade Technology class with Ms. Otermat students have been learning coding and building robots using Lego Robotics EV3. They had to devise a plan to code the robot to carry out various missions while also engineering attachments to help them fulfill those missions. For example, they had to program their robot to start from one side of the Lego board to pick up a Lego astronaut and move it to base while returning home.

Students last semester had to reflect on the skills we learned and how they applied them to different missions during the Lego Robotics unit.

Tchedre Ali-Napo - 7th Grade Student

"In technology class, coding not only teaches problem-solving and critical thinking skills but also perseverance. With the EV3’s especially, critical thinking was essential to completing the missions. As a software developer myself, problem-solving and perseverance are very critical parts of programming because of the arts nature. This reason could be applied to almost anything in life, as these skills are very important."

Michael Manny - 7th Grade Student

"We had to problem solve during Lego Robotics when our idea wasn't working, so we tried something else, and that didn't work, and again and again until we finally got it working, and with the Mars Missions, we had to use critical thinking skills in order to find the best or easiest way to finish each mission. "

Estelle Lee - 7th Grade student

"Coding is a safe place for students to take risks and fail because when we are doing anything in tech you are going to fail in order to succeed and win. Also, it's a safe place to fail because you have a supported by everyone and you have lots of help from everyone around you."

Every year a small number of 6th and 7th grade students request Math Placement Testing to determine whether an adjustment to their math placement is appropriate for next year. If you would like your student evaluated to determine whether further acceleration is appropriate, please see the BSD Math Placement Testing site to request testing by May 5th. (The google form is located in the yellow box, please click the language you need for the form)

All testing will take place in May at your student’s school during their school day. There will be no testing for current students after May.

6th graders learned about conditional formatting to create pixel art using a Google spreadsheet.

A group of 8th graders learn about patching, repairing, and painting walls using the "Honey-Do" trainer.

Working in Unity to design video game characters, items, and levels.

8th grade student use the electricity trainer to learn about circuits, resistors, and all things electricity.

After learning about 5 different rhythms in art, our Students created an installation project with all their hearts.

Our next sealant day will be on 3/13/2023.

Each 6th and 7th grade student must return a consent form even if the answer is NO. Students have been given copies of this consent several times this year. There is a digital link below and then PDF copies are at the bottom of the newsletter. Please fill out the digital form or have your student return the form by March 13, 2023

Digital Dental Sealant Form

https://rb.gy/l6cqkd

Strengthening Families
A free Zoom class for parents/caregivers and children 10-14
When: Every Tuesday, 6:30-8:30pm, April 11th - May 23rd
Parents/Caregivers will learn strategies to effectively parent young teens, including:
• How to help them reach their goals.
• How to better understand and communicate with their children.
• How to protect against substance abuse and risky behaviors.
• How to discipline and guide youth effectively.
Youth will learn the skills they need to be independent, including:
• How to visualize their goals and dreams for the future.
• How to identify stressful situations and learn healthy coping strategies.
• How to resist peer pressure and take pride in their responsibilities to others.

• And more

To register or request more information, please contact: Kelsey Gibbs 503-901-7488.
This program is coordinated by LifeWorks NW & funded by Parenting Together Washington County.

We will have another round of sales next month. You can purchase the Yearbook anytime online through the parent online payment system with a ParentVue account.

https://or-beaverton.intouchreceipting.com/

March 2023

Wed. 3/6 Understanding Anxiety -- SOUTHRIDGE HS 6:30-7:30PM

Wed 3/8 • Stamp Testing

Wed 3/8, 7:00p • PTO Meeting

Thu 3/9 • Stamp Testing

Thu 3/9, 6:00p • SUMMA Science Fair

Sunday 3/12 DAYLIGHT savings time starts -- turn clocks ahead one hour

Mon 3/13 • Free Dental Sealants

Thu 3/16, 7:00p • Spring Choir Concert

Thu 3/23, 7:00p - 8:30p • Spring Band Concert

Mon 3/27 - Fri 3/31 • Spring Break - Schools Closed

April 2023

Wed 4/5, 9:15a - 11:15a • STATE TESTING

Thu 4/6, 9:15a - 11:15a • STATE TESTING

Fri 4/7, 9:15a - 11:15a • STATE TESTING

Thu 4/13 • Staff Development/Workday - No Student