Dear Whitford Students and families,

We hope all is well in your world! We continue to come to school daily with the commitment to meet the learning needs of our students. I am amazed at the dedication that is shown daily by our fantastic staff including those that work in the office, the library, the cafeteria, and elsewhere in our school. The best part of my day is greeting kids as they arrive to school. Their smiles and their seemingly limitless energy are infectious.

We wanted to make you aware of a few things coming soon. These are in no particular order:

• This week, Whitford staff will be completing Progress Reports on 11/10. On this day, our teachers will be providing indicators to you and your students about how they are progressing toward the mastery of the learning targets that have been taught and assessed so far this year. Once those are finalized, Progress Reports will be emailed to families directly. As a reminder, students are still working on and learning specific components of our learning targets. We are ultimately looking for progress toward mastery not mastery at this point.
  
  
• We had our first choir and band concerts. For many students, this was their first performance in front of other people. Some of our choir stars were beyond nervous but performed beautifully. Please consider supporting our music programs in the coming weeks and months as more performances are scheduled. Coming in January will be our first Theatre production as well.
  
  
• November is a month when we look to celebrate family, express gratitude, and begin to reflect on the past year. As a part of that reflection, we encourage students and families alike to recognize the good in their lives and acknowledge those who have helped make that possible including family, friends, neighbors, and others who have impacted our lives for good.
  
  

To you, as members of our community, we express our appreciation and gratitude for your continued support of your students and our school. Coming to school each day is a treat and a huge part of that is the opportunity to connect with and learn from our students.

Respectfully,

Zan Hess

Whitford has a very interesting parking lot. It is great for parking but for picking up and dropping off students, it could use some help. We have a few tweaks and reminders that we believe will help as we move forward this year.

1. Buses are always the best option for students both in the morning and afternoon.
   
   
2. For Parent Pick up at the end of the day:
   If you need to pick up or drop off in front of the school in the parking aisles, please fill one complete parking aisle in a single line BEFORE creating a second double-wide line. This will allow cars to move out of the single line and create more space for other cars that are just arriving or parked cars that need to leave.
   
   
3. After drop off and/or pick up, some families are attempting to perform a “u-turn” in the entry of our parking lot just off of Scholls Ferry. Please do not. This creates delays and car alignment issues for both incoming and outgoing cars.
   
   

We thank you for your patience and support as we try to improve our parking, arriving, and exiting processes each day.

The 6th graders enjoyed 4 days at the coast participating in outdoor school.

Our 7th and 8th Grade Technology students in Ms. Otermat's class celebrated their engineering feats by showcasing their carnival games at our first Technology Carnival held in the library on 10/31 and 11/1. Students designed and engineered recycled materials to create a carnival game that can be played by multiple users. They learned how to block program and created a unique code for their micro:bit (a pocket sized computer) to enhance their carnival game.

It is inspiring to see them use their problem-solving skills, science skills (forces, weight distribution) technical skills (coding and basic machines) creativity, craftsmanship, and ingenuity to create these games. Students had a great time playing the games during the carnival and reflecting on their project as well as providing feedback to the creators. Thank you for all the parent volunteers and teachers that were able to help us by serving popcorn and monitoring the games!

Did you know that you can get free live tutoring online or in-person homework help from the Beaverton City Library? Login to Brainfuse using your library card for live online tutoring between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. Stop by the Teen Room at the main Beaverton City Library Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, 4-6 p.m. for free homework help. Call 503-350-4001 before heading to the library to check on availability.

Option School Application Process Begins October 17, 2022.

All applicants must reside within the Beaverton School District boundaries or attend a Beaverton school on an approved Inter-District Transfer. Completing the Applications online is the easiest and most efficient way to apply. Resident students not currently attending a Beaverton school have a separate online application. Paper applications are also available online.

Students may only select one Learning Option school on their application. They should give careful consideration to their choice of school. Once an application has been submitted, no changes will be allowed.

Applications must be received online or in the Learning Options office no later than Friday, December 9 at 4:00 p.m. Visit the Learning Options web page for more information.

See the TV news link below to learn about some of our amazing Whitford Scientists!

https://www.kptv.com/video/2022/10/03/kids-beaverton-sd-part-top-middle-school-scientist-country/

All 8th grade student will take the PreACT on Nov 16 and 17. There will be no makeup test so it is important to do everything possible to have 8th graders at school on these two days.

Students in Ms. Cavarino's Art Class share their work from last week.

Whitford 8th graders in our AVID program participate in tutorials every Tuesday and Thursday. They collaborate with their AVID peers and tutors on current academic content.

Help Whitford Middle School’s 800+ students learn modern engineering with an updated Maker Space. The space is ready, we just need the materials to make it come to life!

Whitford is a very diverse and wonderful school! We are enthusiastic learners who are craving an updated maker space in our library. Currently we have two broken 3D printers, and limited materials for crafting.

Whitford Library staff, Kristen Wood and Tim Livingston, can’t wait to supplement existing curriculum with hands-on maker space activities including 3D printing, Direct to Film (DTF) printing, duct tape crafts, various circuit board engineering projects and more.

New maker space items will help students gain design and production skills through opportunities to create original 3D printed items, graphics for t-shirts and other apparel and experience with ardunino-type circuit boards and processors.

Click on this link to donate: https://fundrazr.com/WMS_MakerSpace_2022?ref=ab_3qcSekKOGMJ3qcSekKOGMJ

The upcoming days off from school and Winter Break are great times make appointments to get your students up-to-date on their immunizations.

February 15, 2023 - Exclusion day. All children who are not up-to-date or complete on their immunizations will be excluded from their school or child care facility.

Last Tuesday, advisory classes picked their own theme to wear for Spirit Week. We love the creativity and participation from our students! If your student has photos from Spirit Week they would like to include in our yearbook, please email to alexandra_wakeham@beaverton.k12.or.us and mary_dietrich@beaverton.k12.or.us

Spirit Week: Advisory Theme Photos

December 12th is our next date for sealants for 6th and 7th grade students. PDF copies of the form are attached. If you would like to sign up online, please click the link below.

Dental Sealant Form ENGLISH

Dental Sealant From SPANISH

Dorian has two upcoming dates that they will do picture retakes at their studio in Portland.
11/22 and 12/19

Visit www.dorianstudio.com -- click on the help icon and ask to set up an appointment or call 1-800-826-3535

11/10 -- Grading Day -- no school for students

11/11 -- Veteran's Day -- no school for students

11/16 & 17 ACT for 8th grade students

11/23-25 -- Thanksgiving Break -- no school for students

11/28 -- Staff Development Day -- no school for students

12/8 -- Winter Choir Concert 7pm

12/12 -- Sealants for 6 & 7 grade students

12/15 -- Breaking Barriers (Spanish Parent Meeting)

Every year thousands of people are injured due to daylight savings time changes and the changing of the seasons. Autumn means all road users should be extra alert.

• Wear bright reflective clothing when walking or rolling.

• Don’t assume people driving will see you. Make eye contact before crossing in front of vehicles.

• Be alert! Keep eyes and ears open, especially while crossing the street.

• Cyclists should make sure to have lights and wear helmets – it is the law.

• Driving or biking? Use extra caution and slow down in the dark and rain. And remember, do not text and drive!

Thank you for working with us to keep our students safe and healthy!