Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – August 20, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

I hope you are enjoying the last days of summer.  We will be welcoming teachers back this week on Thursday, August 26^th and we will all be hard at work getting ready to welcome students back on September 1^st.

A number of you have shared that, aside from any COVID related anxiety, your children are feeling some anxiety about navigating an unfamiliar school building.  Some parents have mentioned they are feeling a bit anxious due to having never been inside the building and not being familiar with the school and its staff.  This is very understandable, as schools have been closed to visitors for over 18 months now, and seem a bit mysterious.  Our wonderful Sellwood counselors are putting together a video tour for us to share with all of you.  We had planned to have it out early this week, but we would like to at least get some of the teachers in the video, so it will have to wait until Friday.  Right now the building is still very empty and won’t make for a very welcoming video without people in it!  Also, please reassure your children that we will be starting the year in a slow and gentle manner. We will have lots of helpful people in the hallways assisting our 6th, 7th, and even returning 8th graders to find their way around.  No one will be in trouble for being late!!!  If a student gets lost, it will only be for a few seconds, and someone will come along to guide them to where they are going.  If they are late getting to their destination, it is ok!  Before long, students will have it all down!

Also, as I mentioned last week, Sellwood will have two lunches this year, with 6^th-graders having the first lunch, and 7^th & 8^th graders for the second lunch.  In order to ensure 3 foot social distancing and to make contact tracing possible, we will have assigned tables at lunch. 

Finally, the PTA Back-to-School BBQ initially planned for September 9^th will have to be postponed, due to the restrictions around serving food.  Instead, we will hold an ice-cream social as a community event on the evening of September 9^th.  Families are invited to bring blankets, chairs, and a picnic style dinner to spread out the field.  We will have a PA system set up for a few words of welcome and dinner music, and we’ll hand out ice cream toward the end.  I am REALLY looking forward to the day when we can just organize a fun event without any restrictions.

Later this week, I will be sending out more detailed information about the first days of school.

I look forward to welcoming your students back to school in just over one week!

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – August 13, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

Sellwood admin and secretaries have officially returned from summer break and on Monday, the office will be open.  In less than a month, on September 1^st, we will welcome back all students for full-time in person school.  I look forward to seeing all returning students again, as well as meeting and welcoming new 6^th-graders to Sellwood.  There is considerable anxiety about the start of school, due to the shadow of the Delta COVID-19 variant, which we know to be highly contagious.  I know this is not the situation any of us were hoping for.   If you have not yet viewed the PPS Back to School 2021 site, please follow the link and read about the district’s “Swiss Cheese Model”: Layered Health and Safety Measures Against COVID-19.  Like all PPS schools, Sellwood will be following this layered approach.

As you know, masks will be required inside at all schools throughout the state.   Masks will not be required outside, but they may be worn if students and staff feel more comfortable.  Some parents have asked whether Sellwood’s large class sizes and small classrooms will be able to meet the three feet distance recommendation.  The answer is that most class sections will allow students to be seated three feet apart, but a handful will not.  We have changed from previously having one lunch periods to two lunch periods this year.  6^th-graders will be have a lunch/recess period separate from 7^th and 8^th-graders.  This will allow students to be seated three feet apart in the cafeteria.

Our bell schedule is linked here.  Please note that because we added lunch in as a numbered period, there are now 7 periods in the bell schedule.  Students’ schedules have not changed, so don’t worry.  The afternoon period numbers have simply shifted up one number.  All students will receive a freshly printed paper schedule on the first day of school.

As I reported at the end of the school year, we will not be able to have a separate day of orientation for 6^th and 7^th graders.  Instead, we will have two-hour orientation for 6^th and 7^th-graders on the first day of school, September 1^st.  6^th and 7^th-graders will start their day at 9:15. 8th-graders will begin school at 11:15 on the first day of school.  Buses will run their route twice, once for 6^th and 7^th-graders at the regular time, and again two-hours later for the 8^th-graders.

Sellwood families, I will be updating you each Friday (and sometimes more) with new information, which will become more detailed as we complete our school opening plans.

I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

All Students Will Need:

•   3-4 inch 3 ring binder
•    6 tab binder dividers
•    3-ring pencil pouch
•    Pencils
•    Highlighters
•    Ballpoint pens: black, blue, red
•    Small pencil sharpener
•    Big eraser
•    College-ruled notebook paper
•    Scissors
•    3 glue sticks
•    Colored pencils
•    100 sheet college-ruled composition book
•    Scotch tape
•    3X5 index cards
•    3 “Quad Rule” spirals (graph paper for math)
•    Ruler

Optional, but Appreciated:

•    Tissues
•    Clorox Wipes
•    Printer paper

Specific Teachers May Have a Few Additional Requirements

Jeandre Carbone

Principal

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – June 18, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

I wanted to wish you all a joyous and reflective Juneteenth. Tomorrow, we celebrate our newest Federal holiday, established to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.  Although President Lincoln delivered the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it was not until two years later on June 19^th when Union soldiers arrived in Texas, that the state’s Black Americans learned that slavery had been abolished.  The news sparked widespread celebration in Black communities.  Since 1865, in Texas, there have been annual Juneteenth celebrations, which over time have spread across the US.  Juneteenth both recognizes the end of slavery and celebrates the achievements and culture of Black Americans.  It is also an especially good day to reflect on how far we still need to go to achieve racial justice and equity. Happy Juneteenth National Independence Day!

I wanted to send a quick update to let you know of a few changes regarding the PPS Summer Academy and orientation/jump start for 6^th and 7^th graders.

Previously, Sellwood had been designated as a Summer Academy hub for students at several middle schools.  The Summer Academy hub has now moved to Lane Middle School and will not happen at Sellwood.  All Sellwood students who are registered for the summer program are being contacted regarding the change of location.

In addition, in my last newsletter I had announced that Sellwood, like all middle schools, would not be permitted to have a “jumpstart” or orientation for only 6^th and 7^th graders on the first day of school, as had been past practice.  As an alternative, we had planned to offer a special orientation for 6^th and 7^th graders during the summer.  That solution was problematic for many students and teachers who would not have been able to attend.  Fortunately, we have now been given permission to hold a two-hour orientation for 6^th and 7^th graders on September 1^st, the first day of school.  6^th and 7^th graders will start the first day of school at 9:15 and 8^th graders will start two hours later at 11:15.  8^th-graders will also receive an orientation, but it will be shorter.

Please note that our main office will be closed after Tuesday, June 22^nd, when our secretaries go on summer break, and will reopen on Monday, August 9^th.

Finally, we have mailed individual schedules home and you should receive them by Monday.  I will be sending additional details regarding the upcoming school year in early August.

Have a great summer, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

As part of reopening Portland Public Schools in the 2021-22 school year, the district must submit a plan to the Oregon Department of Education. As part of the requirement, PPS is asking for feedback on the plan.

Dear PPS Families,

The 2021-22 school year is fast approaching, and we continue to prepare to safely reopen our schools for in-person learning. We want to make sure you are aware of upcoming opportunities to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during registration at our nine comprehensive high schools.

Dear PPS Students, Families and Staff,

As we finalize our last Back to School FAQ sections, we wanted to share with you a couple of updates. First, the district’s Office of Internal Performance Audit recently presented to the Board of Education its audit of our health and safety practices for hybrid learning last spring. We are pleased and proud to say that auditors reported no findings. From last week’s presentation:

Dear Colleagues,

The public health guidance is clear--vaccines are the best way to prevent the spread and the severity of COVID. Today we are announcing a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all PPS staff.