Lake Oswego Junior High Newsletter
Important Messages and Events for the Community
Principal Message
LOJ Families,
We need you! Please consider applying for our school or district advisory committee for terms starting next school year. There is one application for all committees -- please mark the committee that is of interest to you. Only committees with vacancies -- School Advisory Committees and Long Range Facility Planning -- are listed in the application for this period. See the charters posted on the School Board Advisory Committees web page for more information about each committee.
Applications are due Friday, April7 at 5 p.m. Recommendations and selections will be made in April. All applicants will be notified by May 1. Thank you!
Important Dates
Spring Choir Concert: March 15, 7:00 -8:30, at LOHS
Northside Band Festival: March 21, 7:00-8:30, at LOHS
All District Orchestra Festival: March 22, 7:00-8:30, at LOHS
No School: March 27-31, Spring Break
LOJ Parent Club Bingo Night: April 5, 5:00-8:00, at LOJ Cafeteria
Fine Arts Night: April 6, 6:00-8:00, at LOJ
Outdoor School: April 11-14
Yearbook 8th Grade Ad
Dear Parents & Guardians of 8th graders at LOJ,
Now is the time to celebrate your 8th graders accomplishments at LOJ with an 8th grade Ad!
The price is $30 for a photo and personalized message of your 8th grader to be added to the yearbook. You can pay with cash or check, but we are currently unable to accept electronic payments.
Complete the Order Form (paper copies are available in the LOJ lobby) and send the photo as an attachment or a Drive/Dropbox link. The message must be 25 words or less, and you may electronically submit pictures by emailing them to LOJYearbook@loswego.k12.or.us.
All orders with money and pictures must be received by Friday, March 24th. We suggest that you purchase as soon as possible, as we have limited space for 8th grade ads. If we are unable to fulfill your order, all items and money will be returned promptly to you.
Youth Truth Survey - Parents
YouthTruth Survey OPEN NOW! Please participate today.
YouthTruth surveys are now open. We encourage you to participate in the survey as it is an incredibly valuable way to help us improve students’ experiences in our school. Please take the survey before it closes at midnight on March 24 by clicking this link: ytsurvey.org/losdfamily23
Please note:
The survey needs to be completed in one sitting; about 15 minutes to complete.
We ask that one member of each household fill out the survey.
If you have more than one child who attends the same school, you may respond to the survey multiple times - one time per child.
If you write any comments, please do not include your name or anything else that might identify you. Your responses are anonymous, and they will be combined with the responses of other parents and guardians before being shared back with school and district leadership.
We sincerely thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. Your response is incredibly valuable to us.
Students will be conducting the Survey on March 14th in their advisory class. This survey is voluntary for students and if you would like to opt them out please fill out this Form. If you have questions about what is on the survey, please visit this link to gather information. http://youthtruthsurvey.org
Student Shout Outs
OBOB News
Pictured: Riya Kansal, Yatee Budhiraja, Riya Pai, Emma Curt
Speech and Debate News
On Saturday, March 11, eighth intrepid LOJ students competed against 71 other middle schoolers from the region in the Thammana Middle School Speech and Debate Tournament. Sophia Lu placed FIRST in Parliamentary Debate, winning all four of her rounds! The Parli team Vedant Ramakrishnan and Saarang Shaikh ranked 5th of 17 teams. Sophia and Yatee Budhiraja also ranked highly in After Dinner Speaking. Congratulations to all of LOJs participants!
Pictured: Back row: Ms. Cochran, Yatee Budhiraja, Mia Jensen, Nitya Kamidi, Vanshika Sharma, Fatima Rizvi, Sophia Lu. Front row: Saarang Shaikh, Jimmy Prasad, Vedant Ramakrishnan, and high school coaches Lauren Zhang, Albert Wang, and Alice Thomas.
Spelling Bee Update
Remember how last month Rohan Sekar became the LOJ school Spelling Bee champion? Since then, he competed against all other regional school winners on an online test and secured one of ten spots for the regional oral Spelling Bee that will occur this Saturday! The winner of Saturday’s competition goes to the National Scripps Spelling Bee. We are all rooting for you, Rohan!
“If I Were Mayor…” Contest
What would you do if you were the mayor of Lake Oswego?
Submit a 500-1,000-word essay explaining your creative and inspirational ideas about what you would do as mayor of LO by March 24, 2023 and be in the running for amazing prizes:
First place = $250 gift card to a Lake Oswego business of your choice
Second place = $150 gift card to a Lake Oswego business of your choice
Third place = $100 gift card to a Lake Oswego business of your choice
You might be wondering about the extent of a mayor's power. You might also be wondering what services Oregon cities provide residents. Satisfy your curiosity about those wonderings and get more details about how to enter the contest: https://www.ci.oswego.or.us/citymanager/if-i-were-mayor
The Rotary 4-Way Test Contest
Rotarians created a 4-Way Test so that when faced with a moral or ethical dilemma, one can apply the test and arrive at an ethical solution. The 4-Way test asks us to evaluate the proposed solution’s truthfulness and fairness. It asks us to consider if it will build goodwill and be beneficial to all concerned.
Eighth-graders can either give a speech or create a video.
Seventh-graders can either write a creative story or create a video.
Sixth-graders can create a video.
Our school’s winner in each category (speech, writing, or video) will win $200!
Our school’s runner-up in each category (speech, writing, or video) will win $100!
Learn more by clicking HERE for a flier. The due date is March 16, 2023.
Author Visit:
April Henry will be visiting Lakeridge Middle School and Lake Oswego Junior High on April 10th, 2023, and you can order her books here!
Please place your order before March 28th and we will see to it that your order is delivered at the event.
When you place your order, please mention in the checkout notes: The name of the the school and the student's name for personalization. If you don't want the book personalized, please specify "Just signature".
Art Lit for 8th Grade THIS week! Did you miss the Art Lit training for 8th grade? Do not despair! You can watch the training video here (passcode: 05^ZHc.u). 8th grade Art Lit happens this week and we are (kind of) desperate for volunteers. Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0e4aa8ad2da4fa7-8thgrade2
Mo's Chowder. Were you wise and pre-purchased some frozen clam chowder for your family? We have good news! You can pick them up on Wednesday, 3/15 after school. We will email those who made pre-orders this week.
Flower Power! For LOJ's new gardening science elective, we are partnering up with Flower Power fundraising! Starting now through May 15th, you can order your seeds and bulbs here or scan the QR code on the flyer below. LOJ will get 50% of all purchases! Happy Planting!
Laughing Planet on 4/4. Join us for our next dining fundraiser at Laughing Planet (address: 91 S. State St. #180f, Lake O). They are open from 11am-8pm. No promo code or flyer needed. Laughing Planet will donate 10% of all sales that day.
Save-the-Date for LOJ's Bingo Night on Wednesday, April 5th from 5-8pm. NEW this year...a dessert auction! Stay tuned for more details.
State Testing Opt Out Forms
Each school year, Oregon students take assessments to meet federal requirements. The purpose of these assessments is to provide data that schools can use to ensure that every child is on track and achieving learning goals.
State law requires us to inform you that a form is available from the State Department of Education that allows you to opt your child out of the Math and English Language Arts assessments for the current school year. Should you wish to opt out your child, fill out the form and submit it to the main office at your child’s school.
Click here for the opt-out form for Math and English Language Arts
If you wish your child not to participate in the Science assessment for grades 5, 8, and 11, submit this request in writing to the main office at your student’s school or by email our Testing Coordinator: Emily Summers, summerse@loswego.k12.or.us.
Please submit your requests ASAP, at least a week before your student’s test dates as this helps us with planning and preparation.
If you have questions or want more information about state assessments, please contact your child’s principal or teacher(s).
Nurse Notes
Is your child up to date? Check here and be sure to update school records before you leave for Winter Break.
WHEN TO KEEP YOUR STUDENT HOME FROM SCHOOL
Please follow this link to see when and for how long to keep your student home due to various symptoms.
School Clubs
Are you curious about what after-school clubs are offered at LOJ?
Check out the CLUB LIST.
Parent Vue Directions
If you have not accessed ParentVue in the past please contact the office for your access code to set up your account. It is best to use a laptop or desktop computer to do this.
Always use our school webpage to access ParentVue. Do a search for Lake Oswego Junior High School. Once you open the LOJ website, look for the circle icon with the A+ in the middle. (If you just do a web search for synergy or parentvue, you will be taken to another district's server and your user name and password will not work).
SafeOregon/Incident Reporting
Parents-guardians who have concerns about a student’s well-being are encouraged to reach out to their principal and to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.
SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools.
(Students should also be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.)
In addition, Our district has additional reporting forms. These are for parents or students to use to report issues related to racism, bias, or harassment incidents. These forms are on the district website and school websites:
Set up Meal Accounts
The universal free meals waiver with USDA expired on June 30, 2022. That means starting this school year LOSD will be serving meals under the free, reduced, and paid categories.
Please be sure to set up your student's meal account or apply for free/reduced meals. Look for Meals under Find it Fast on district and school website homepages for account setup and application information, and more.
Please have students memorize or write down their student id numbers to expedite the lunch line.
Important Links
Lake Oswego Middle School
We are a dedicated group of educators who have a relentless focus on learning for all. We value building strong relationships and working side by side with all stakeholders in creating an environment that is inclusive and safe.