West Sylvan Middle School

Thank you to all of the families who contributed to the First Friday luncheon items yesterday! It was wonderful seeing family members back in the building in community with our staff! Happy Hanukkah!

We are moving into the second Quarter, and District leaders have updated the PPS district calendar, which is here for your planning and any adjustments. Class changes for Quarter Two electives should be completed at this point, and report cards were mailed out earlier this week. District leaders also recently communicated updates that there will be a “vacation” attendance code that will be available during December only. If your family plans to be on vacation, please excuse absences in advance, as we’re trying to get a gauge on attendance during the week of the 18th. Excused absences will allow students to make up work upon return from the absence, without penalty to a student’s grade. Also, we would like your feedback as we start to arrange our plans for making up the missed Fall conferences here. Thank you, in advance, for any feedback.

We hope you have a wonderful weekend! Go Wolfpack!

Jill Hunt, Principal
Ben Keller, Assistant Principal

Our Eighth Graders went to visit Lincoln High School yesterday, and were able to get a glimpse of what’s to come in High School! We thank the LHS team for hosting this experience!

DECEMBER

• Thu, DEC 14th: Lincoln HS Family Information session for current Eighth Graders *Open House format at LHS 5:00PM - 7:00PM
  
  
• Mon, DEC 25th ~ Mon, JAN 1st: NO SCHOOL / Winter Break

JANUARY

• Mon, JAN 1st: NO SCHOOL / New Year's Day Holiday

Thank you to our School Health Assistant from MESD, Bridget Lien, who was with us through the strike period. Bridget has moved to another school assignment. Joining us from MESD as our new School Health Assistant is Debra Giannini. Debra joined us last Monday, and we welcome her to the WSMS community!

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!

While the majority of our WSMS students will attend Lincoln HS, based on current address, some students’ addresses are within the Ida B. Wells catchment area for High School. Please note, LHS has moved their information night back to a new date, December 14th. Please review the flyer below for more information. To determine which High School your address belongs to, visit this website. If your address is not within a certain High School boundaries, and you would like your Eighth Grader to attend another school, apply for that lottery petition through the linked website. The Transfer Cycle opened on November 15, 2023.

The PPS Middle and High School transfer cycle opened November 15. Lottery applications close December 22. Students who apply for a transfer during this time will be notified of the decision mid-to-late January. All transfer requests are handled at the main PPS offices, not at the school level. Please contact the PPS Enrollment and Transfer Center at 503-916-3205, or email your questions to enrollment-office@pps.net. More details are available at this website: https://www.pps.net/Page/2343.

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:

Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Bus 2024 has gone live for enrollment!

• Follow this link for Sundays in Jan: https://www.skihood.com/store/116325
  Dates for the Jan bus are Jan 7, 14, 21, 28

• Follow this link for Sundays in Feb: https://www.skihood.com/store/2223966
  Dates for the Feb bus are Feb 4, 11, 18, 25

• A March bus has been added this year and enrollment code will be provided soon

• We will meet each Sunday at 6:15am and return by 5:30pm(ish) at 5319 SW Westgate Dr
  

• Great opportunity for West Sylvan Wolves to have fun together on the mountain! All ski/board levels welcome. All ages welcome.

• Parents are welcome to ride up with us on a space available basis or you can secure a seat for all 4 weeks through enrolling

• Need more information? Please email or call me <westsylvanskibus@gmail.com> or 503-810-9126.
  

Counselors are best reached and contacted via email. Please refer to the following list for your School Counselor by grade.

• We are still working to hire a permanent Educator for Ms. Ashcraft’s vacant 8th Grade Spanish Immersion position. We have offered the position to a candidate who lives abroad, and we are waiting on TSPC to issue a U.S. teaching license. For questions about the grades in Canvas, please email jihunt@pps.net directly, as I have taken over the grading of assignments for this class while there is a sub.
  
  
• We are close to hiring for both a Math and Science position to take over some classes through the end of this school year, which is great news! We will send more information as those hiring processes are finalized.
  
  

• We still have an open Paraeducator position in our SPED Intensive Skills Classroom. This is a full-time position 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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

In response to Google Workspace security breaches experienced by school districts across the country, OTIS is restricting access to PPS student accounts to U.S. IP addresses.

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.

Girls on the Run is an afterschool youth development program designed for girls in 3rd-5th or 6th-8th grade. Our research-based curriculum weaves physical activity that is accessible to all girls, non-binary, and gender non-conforming youth into thought-provoking, dynamic, and FUN lessons. Throughout a 10-week season, participants will explore life skills such as nurturing self-confidence, sympathizing and empathizing with others, making friendships, and intentional decision making; while working towards completing a 5K together as a team at the end of the season.

Our next season will run for 10 weeks from the week of March 18th to May 27th. To offer our program, schools simply need to:

• Offer a safe, accessible outdoor place with a restroom and a designated indoor space for inclement weather
• Accommodate a regular practice schedule (90 minutes twice weekly during the 10-week season)
• Identify a site liaison such as a staff member or parent who can help us coordinate logistics and recruit 2-3 coaches from your school community

Girls on the Run is committed to ensuring finances are never a barrier to participation. We offer partial to full participation scholarships to any interested participants requesting financial assistance.

MAIN OFFICE

westsylvanoffice@pps.net

(503) 916-5690

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ PRINCIPAL'S SECRETARY

[Staff / Substitutes / Financial]

Jerda Solonche

jsolonche@pps.net

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT/ SCHOOL SECRETARY

[Students / Attendance / Enrollment]

Kirsten Crombie

kcrombie@pps.net

Website: www.pps.net/westsylvan
Location: 8111 Southwest West Slope Drive, Portland, OR, USA