Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

We are officially halfway through the school year, so this is an excellent time to communicate some information that will impact you for the second semester. Additional reminders will arrive through ParentSquare as we approach various events, but here is the overview:

• Construction on Scholls Ferry Road will continue until…who knows when! Whitford Middle School has zero control over the traffic, and we know buses will continue to arrive late for the foreseeable future. You are welcome to share any frustration you may have directly with the construction company (as the office secretaries can only share your frustration). We have attached the original information flyer below with more detailed information.
  

• Cell phone/airpod expectations haven’t changed. We are "AWAY FOR THE DAY". Be prepared to come to school to collect technology on your child’s second infraction. PLEASE do not attempt to call or text your student during the school day. If there is a need to communicate immediately with your child, call the school and we will be happy to help!

• Allergy season is on its way. If you need to bring antihistamine to school to be held in the office, we are happy to administer it as needed.

• Don’t forget to add money to your student's school lunch account, if necessary.

• School supplies are generally running short this time of the year. Stock up on paper, pencils, pens, and other supplies for your student.

• Course selection/Forecasting for next year will be happening starting next week for 8th graders and later this month for everyone else.

• State testing is another fun event of the spring. The ELPA test will begin the end of February for all students who are currently learning the English language, and the rest of the tests will begin right after Spring Break.

• STAMP testing for 8th grade Dual Language students will take place in the Spring as well. We will update you on dates when they have been confirmed.
  
• 5th Grade Fly-ups for our new students will happen on February 27 and February 28th.
  

Beaverton School District is still looking to hire bus drivers, substitute teachers and instructional assistants, food service personnel, and custodians. Spread the word to friends and family who might be interested and check out the district’s new HR webpage.

All students at Whitford will participate in state testing for Language Arts and math this spring (and 8th graders will also take the state science test). Our tentative dates for testing are April 5-7 and possibly April 11. We will test in the first two hours of each day when students are fresh! As much as possible, please schedule appointments outside of these dates so we can complete testing as efficiently as possible.

8th grade families!

Believe it or not we are getting ready for next year! On February 15th, high school counselors from Southridge, Beaverton, and Mountainside will be here to help our students begin requesting classes for next year! This will happen in the morning from 9:30am-10:45am. Please make sure your 8th grade student is here in the morning to get a chance to hear about their high school and start selecting their classes. If you have any specific questions about what will be covered, please contact your high school.

Please come to our next PTO meeting Wednesday February 22 at 7pm. We will begin to plan the 8th grade Celebration. Please join us to help with this fun event.

Whitford loves their counselors. Students gave each counselor a "heart attack". Tiny notes filled with love and appreciation.

Ms. Leibowitz class worked hard this past semester to create amazing artwork. Great work students!

Ms. Cavarino's students are learning color theory by painting still life apples. They created deep shadows and bright highlights for a chiaroscuro effect. Featured student work: Mia, Kyle, Wyatt, and Emily

A big thank you to those that donated to our Maker Space. We are still working on getting things up and going. This is our progress so far. Thank you to Mr. Livingston and Ms. Wood for all your hard work.

We are getting ready to set up a reality station. The desktop Macs are now loaded with Adobe Cloud for all design apps so students can create professional level products. We are working on getting more supplies for screen printing. Finally, we are looking at purchasing a new set of robots for coding experiences both in the Maker Space and in classrooms.

We cannot thank our Community and BEF enough for the generous support!

Here are some Whiford students who did a "design with emapthy" unit in Language Arts. They researched animals with injuries or birth defects and designed prosthetics for them in a 3D CAD program, then I printed them. The kids were able to attach the prosthetics to toy animals, and gave speeches about the animals, and how technology can help them 🙂.

Whitford’s leadership group W.E.B. (Where Everybody Belongs) has had an amazing first semester of welcoming 6th graders, building relationships, and leading fun activities in our building. We are looking ahead to opportunities we can offer in the spring semester. You can help by contributing to our fundraising campaign! Read more about our plans here: Whitford WEB: Where Everybody Belongs

Last week, Whitford's after-school soccer team played in a soccer tournament at Highland Park Middle School.

Our 6th grade AVID students spent a wonderful and engaging day at Western Oregon University. The students took a tour of campus, did some shopping at the bookstore and listened in and asked questions from a panel of WOU students, including former AVID students!

Whitford had two Science Bowl teams compete in Regionals at the University of Portland. Out of 39 teams that competed, Whitford's Team 1 was ranked 11th after the first 4 games, and they went on to the double elimination rounds. Both teams did an awesome job, and it was exciting to watch!

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Science Bowl® is a nationwide academic competition that tests students’ knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. These teams face-off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format, being tested on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy, and math.

First Picture -- our amazing team with staff Leaders: Ms. Stein, Mr. Kuykendall

Second Picture -- Team 1: Eric Cheng, Abner Campbell (Captain), Jeesoo Suh, Yunah Kim

Third Picture --Team 2: Ethan Welter, Preston Casteel (Captain), Reggie Zhao, Abraham Eom

Did you know, you can use your student library card to unlock…books in over 20 languages?

Books in various languages

Check out up to 5 books at a time from any library in Washington County, including books in languages such as Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and more! And there are no overdue fees!

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

Whether you walk or bike a few blocks to school or close to a mile, your active commute is good for your heart, your whole body and it’s invigorating and fun! With colder winter weather, children spend less time playing outside, but a nice brisk walk or bike ride to school will help achieve their recommended 60 minutes of moderate exercise every day. This will help prevent childhood obesity and support healthy bones.

Walking and biking to school is also a great way for kids to get the physical activity needed for healthy minds. Kids who are more physically active have better academic performance. Studies are beginning to show that exposure to nature and free outdoor play can reduce stress and relieve ADHD symptoms.

If that isn’t enough to get you out of your car, think about the air quality around a school when dozens of parents sit in idling cars while their children jump out. Air pollution has contributed to childhood asthma rates doubling between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Asthma rates remain at historically high levels and cause 14 million missed school days every year. Walking and biking to school is healthy for kids, healthy for communities, and healthy for the planet.

2/15 Immunization--Exclusion Day

2/15 8th Grade Forecasting -- High Schools visiting Whitford 9:30AM

2/15 Parent Teacher Conferences -- 5:40PM-8:10PM

2/15 Dual Language High School Forecasting Night 6PM

2/16 Parent Teacher Conferences -- 8:10AM - 8:10PM No School for students

2/17 No School for students

2/20 No School for students -- President's Day

2/21 No School for students -- Staff Development Day

2/22 PTO Meeting 7PM --- Library

2/27 5th Grade Fly-ups Vose, Montclair

2/28 5th Grade Fly-ups McKay, Raleigh Hills, Raleigh Park

3/1 Incoming 5th grade night 6:30-8PM

3/9 Summa Science Fair 6-8PM

3/13 Dental Sealants