West Sylvan Middle School
January 26, 2024
Greetings, West Sylvan families!
We are so happy to have avoided any large scale damage to our building during last week’s storm. Our custodial team, led by Mr. Joshua Sevier, has been working around the clock to help with repairs, and we are thankful for the larger PPS Facilities and Maintenance team support as they have deployed contractors to our building to help with remediation of water damage and repairs (see images below). Teams have been working on the two rooms with major damage all week, and we are looking forward to having those classes available in the coming weeks. In the meantime, our two Educators who had to move classes, Gwen Campbell and Valerie Crosby, have done an impeccable job in transitioning quickly to their new spaces and resuming instruction.
Remember that Educators will have a planning day to finalize grades for the first semester, on Monday, January 29th, and there is NO SCHOOL for students. The third quarter begins on Tuesday, January 30th. If you have concerns or questions about your student’s grades, please contact our Educators directly. Report cards will be mailed out later next week, and you can expect the hard copy of the report card in the mail by next weekend. Some electives also change at the third quarter shift. Classes that were only one semester long will switch, along with any quarter-long classes. Students can see their schedule in StudentVue to prepare for any room shifts next Tuesday. Our students have done an amazing job in a year full of transitions and interruptions to their learning schedule. We couldn’t be more proud of this group of students!
We hope you have a wonderful long weekend!
Jill Hunt, Principal
Ben Keller, Assistant Principal
UPCOMING DATES
JANUARY
- Mon, JAN 8th ~ Fri, FEB 2nd: MAP Winter testing in English and Math classes
- Fri, JAN 26th: End of Quarter 2 / Semester 1
- Mon, JAN 29th: NO SCHOOL for Students due to Teacher Planning Day
- Tue, JAN 30th: Quarter 3 / Semester 2 begins
FEBRUARY
Black History Month
- Thu, FEB 1st: Lincoln HS Counselors meet with 8th Graders at WSMS
- Fri, FEB 9th: Lunar New Year
- Fri, FEB 9th: Seventh Grade Pack Party *sponsored by FoWS / 7-9PM in WSMS Gym
- Fri, FEB 9th: Afternoon Assembly Bell Schedule
- Mon, FEB 19th: INSTRUCTIONAL DAY (Classes in session) *added makeup day from missed school during the PAT strike
SEEKING SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEMBERS
We are still trying to build our family membership for our School Site Council. The SSC would meet at least quarterly to review our schoolwide plans and major school initiatives. If you are interested in contributing to this Council, please indicate your interest here.
All Seventh Grade students are invited to the FREE Pack Party on Friday, February 9th from 7 - 9 PM at WSMS in the Gym. No outside guests are allowed to attend, and the party is only for WSMS Seventh Graders. There will not be food served at the event, so students should eat dinner prior to coming.
We have communicated that all students are eligible to attend, unless any the following apply:
- Parent/Guardian has NOT completed the registration and family consent form by the day of the event
- Student has received Stage 2/3 referrals between next week and the event
- Student has a formal suspension from class between next week and the event
- Student has any other safety violation which will make their attendance unsafe
- Student has been home absent from school or skipped any classes on the day of the event
REQUIRED DISTRICT MAP TESTING
District MAP testing (Measures of Academic Progress) for the Winter test will occur between January 8th - February 2nd and is REQUIRED for all students - NO opting out. Students are completing their testing in ELA and Math classes again for comparative data between the Fall scores and their Winter scores to measure any growth they have shown. Students who are absent during testing will be expected to complete makeup testing upon return. These are internal District benchmark assessments, and are not considered state tests.
Tests typically take 2-3 class periods per subject. Students should take these tests seriously as MAP testing data is also a crucial piece for any TAG referrals/requests, math acceleration requests, for placement in High School courses, and possible interventions if needed. Students can prepare at home through the following portal. If you would like to help your student prepare for District MAP testing while at home, links are here.
FREE TUTORING FOR ALL
PPS has created a tutoring option for all students to access! The information is here for how students may access tutoring support through the new PPS partnership with VarsityTutors through their school Chromebooks.
Congratulations to Mr. Arce’s Band Students and Mr. Hellman’s Choir Students!
Both groups held their rescheduled winter concerts this week, and our students continue to shine and impress with their talents! These groups persevered through many interruptions with their previously scheduled concerts, and all of our groups rose to the occasion list week! We thank all of our families for your support in helping to build these programs (which were non-existent three years ago), and to encourage our students to explore the performing arts!
Congratulations to Mr. Arce's following Band students who were selected to participate in this year's PPS Honor Band Festival:
Stella Cafiso
Ashe Kittle
Trinity Ashton
Students from all PPS band programs are chosen to represent their school based on their musicianship and commitment to music excellence.
EIGHTH GRADE CORNER
- Lincoln High School is sending their Counselors and presenters to campus on Thursday, February 1st. They will meet with all Eighth Grade students through an assembly and explain the forecasting process and important items for High School.
Calling all Future Cards!
- FLOCK PARTY 2024
LINCOLN HIGH
ONE NIGHT ONLY ~ SATURDAY, FEB 3RD
Join us to celebrate our caring and talented Cardinal community at our annual in-person party of the year. PLUS! An online auction. Last year's sold-out theme was Rock the Flock. This year, get ready for FLOCK ZTV!
4:30 PM Pre-Funk
6 PM Festival Fun, Food + Libations
7:15 PM Main Stage Event + Afterparty
PLUS! Online auction 1/26 – 2/5.
All parents, guardians, alum, and other adult friends are welcome.
Get tickets and more details at https://friendsoflhs.com.
STAFFING UPDATES
YEARBOOK ORDERING 2023-24
Our Leadership class, with Ms. Lacaden, is hard at work creating this year’s Yearbook for WSMS. All sales of yearbooks will be pre-ordered directly through an outside company, and will not be purchased through the school. To pre-order this year’s book, go to: yearbookordercenter.com and enter the code 6339. Pre-order cost is $30. The price will increase as we get closer to the deadline. PRE-ORDER TODAY to get the early pricing!
FEBRUARY IB MYP LEARNER PROFILE TRAIT
KNOWLEDGEABLE
We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
TRANSPORTATION UPDATES
Throughout the year, we have still had patterns of late buses to/from WSMS. If you need to contact Transportation in the afternoon because a route is taking longer than expected, please call this hotline to get real-time status on your child’s bus route:
Child Missing Line
503-916-6901
Press '2' when prompted
FRIENDS OF WEST SYLVAN is parent/family organization that supports Scholars and Staff and fosters community connection through fundraising and volunteer opportunities. Join the mailing list and stay connected with other families!
COUNSELING SUPPORTS
Counselors are best reached and contacted via email. Please refer to the following list for your School Counselor by grade.
HIRING OPENINGS
Our staffing outlook is improving substantially, and we are almost fully staffed! We now need just two more Paraeducators to complete our staffing for the remainder of the school year. To apply for these Paraeducator openings, the link is below.
We still have two open Paraeducator positions, one that is in our SPED Intensive Skills Classroom. The other position will be to support a student in all classes and around campus. These are full-time positions from 8:30AM - 4:00PM, Monday - Friday. Interested applicants can apply here.
We are always looking for Substitutes who like working in our building! To become a substitute, the information is here.
VOLUNTEERS
Interested in Volunteering and Being More Involved?
Become an approved PPS volunteer by following the information here. Once your application is approved, please contact the Main Office to see how and when you can be of service. Our Friends of West Sylvan organization also regularly shares ways to get involved on campus, specifically to volunteer in the Library, monitor hallways, help in the Main Office, help in classrooms, and do recess duty.
EARLY STUDENT PICK-UP
Please make every effort to pick up students before or after their grade-specific Lunch period (see below). Once students are scattered around the field playing at recess, picking up during Lunch recess becomes more timely for all involved. Please do not call or text your student to tell them you are here or to tell them to come to the Office. If a student uses their device to check a text and/or answer a phone call, their phone will be confiscated.
6th Grade LUNCH: 11:37 AM ~ 12:07 PM
7th Grade LUNCH: 12:31 PM ~ 1:01 PM
8th Grade LUNCH: 1:25 PM ~ 1:55 PM
~ SCHOOL DOORS OPEN AT 9:00AM DAILY ~
Breakfast is available in the hot lunch room at that time. With the colder weather, we are having students who are dropped off early sit in the hot lunch room until 9 a.m. so that they are not sitting in the cold outdoors. Students with Choir before school (appears as period 0 on StudentVue), start school at 8:00 AM each day. Students should ring the bell upon arrival.
CHROMEBOOK REPAIRS
Ms. Crombie accepts Chromebooks for repairs between 10:00AM - 3:00PM each day. Damaged devices are picked up for repair each Friday, and are usually returned the following Friday. A loaner Chromebook can be issued to students in the meantime. Remind and encourage your student to take care of their Chromebook, and keep them in protective cases. If they don’t have a protective case, the school can provide one. Chromebooks are used for class assignments daily. Students will need to charge their device each night and bring their charged Chromebook to school each day. We do not have enough loaners to give to students who forget their chromebooks. Students and families will be responsible for paying for replacements for lost chargers throughout the 2023-24 school year. They will be ordered through PPS OTIS, and cost $12/each.
CHROMEBOOK ACCESS UPDATE
The district IT office has removed access to any non-US based web pages. This is to project student privacy. In addition, students will not be able to access my.pps.net outside of the United States from now on. If this provides a hardship, please contact Ms. Crombie and she will help you ask for an exception.
STUDENT ID CARDS
Please remind your students to bring and wear their school ID daily. We’ve shared out many ways that our students can be safe by displaying their IDs throughout the day through our Advisory videos. IDs are used on campus for quickly identifying students (this is especially helpful for Substitutes). Students use them to check out library books and to buy hot lunch. Bus drivers also look for student IDs to be sure that students are on the correct route.
FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES
We do NOT allow students to order items directly from delivery services throughout the day, as they are inviting strangers to our campus, and we have no way of monitoring what they are delivering. There is an unfortunate option where students can order illegal items, such as VAPE devices through delivery services. Students are reminded of this school policy regarding food delivery services when it is violated, and items are held in the office for end-of-day pickup. Family members are also notified when this occurs.
MONTORING SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY
ELECTRONICS POLICY
WSMS is a cell phone free zone from 9:00 AM - 3:45 PM daily. We request and advise all families to keep scholars’ cell phones at home during the school day. If a scholar brings a cell phone to school, they will be expected to store their turned-off phone in their locker throughout the entire school day (including lunch periods). Important messages can be sent to our main office via email (westsylvanoffice@pps.net) or phone, and will be forwarded to your scholars. Please do not call or text your student. If your scholar chooses to use their cell phone, smart watch, air pods, tablet, et al, the device will be confiscated. If your scholar uses their device to check a text from and/or answer the phone from you, their phone will be confiscated. Not only will their phone be confiscated, it shows you do not find this school rule important. This sets a bad precedent.
POLICIES - HANDBOOKS - GUIDELINES
CONTACT US
MAIN OFFICE
(503) 916-5690
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY
[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]
Jerda Solonche
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ SCHOOL SECRETARY
[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]
Kirsten Crombie
West Sylvan Middle School
Website: www.pps.net/westsylvan
Location: 8111 Southwest West Slope Drive, Portland, OR, USA