Dear Sellwood staff,

I wanted to make sure you were aware that Sellwood has been denied permission for our student Community Service Club to conduct the clothing drive, due to restrictions around COVID-19.

Instead, the organization receiving the donations will provide a bin for drop off on Thursday, between 1-3PM.

Again, no clothing drop off Monday, Tuesday, or Friday.

On Thursday, you may drop off any articles of clothing between 1-3PM, near the covered bike rack.  

Thank you for your patience with these changes.

Jeandre Carbone

Sellwood Principal

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – January 8, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

I wish you a Happy New Year!  Welcome back from winter break.  I hope that your family had an opportunity to rest and recharge, hopefully engaging in some activities you enjoy.

I am sending this newsletter a day early, as I wanted to reach out about the events that occurred yesterday in our nation’s Capitol building.  We witnessed a stunning and upsetting insurrection when, following a Trump rally, a mob violently forced their way into and overran the Capitol. I was saddened to hear about the four people who lost their lives and the 14 police officers who were injured, two of them seriously.  Violence is never the solution and I denounce it, whether at the Capitol yesterday or here in Portland.  Ultimately, this insurrection and assault on our democracy ultimately failed. 

I also want you to know that with each traumatic experience we endure (and there have been too many in recent times) I always think about Sellwood students, their families, Sellwood teachers and staff, and the Sellwood community.  I think about about how the Capitol insurrection, on top of the pandemic and other recent events, continues to challenge and stress our community.

Finally, I worry about the impact on our young people, who are also trying to make sense of yesterday’s events.  Sellwood counselors are available to meet with students to talk individually or as a group, as needed.   Since students are distance-learning at home with family, I wanted to share a few resources that provide familial guidance when talking to children.  I especially like the article from Motherly, which uses the acronym PEARLS (prepare, explain, answer, reassure, listen and safeguard) to frame discussions, and can be used to respond to variety of challenging situations.  You may find them useful.

Article: How to Process A Scary Day for the Nation with your kids, from LAist

Article: How to Talk to Your Kids about the Breach at the U.S. Capitol, from Motherly

I remain hopeful and positive about our future. Our resiliency is astounding, and I truly believe we will get through this together and be stronger for it.

Wishing peace to us all,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – December 18, 2020

Greetings Sellwood Community,

Today is the last day before our two-week winter break.  I wish you all a joyous and safe time with family.

In just a few days the winter solstice will be here and the days will start getting longer.  Each year, I feel like solstice marks the turning of a corner, and I look forward to brighter days and more sunlight.  Yesterday, Governor Brown extended the pandemic state of emergency through March 3^rd.  However, with the Pfizer vaccine starting to be distributed around the country, and the Moderna vaccine soon to be authorized, I feel like we are turning another corner with this terrible pandemic.  I will be digging deep to summon the patience I need while waiting for this global emergency to end.  It’s going to take some time, but this too shall pass.

I know many of you are wondering about a timeline for the return to in-person school.  Yesterday, principals were told that there would be more concrete information available after the two-week break.  That being said, Multnomah County is still very far from meeting Oregon’s metrics for returning to hybrid or on-site instruction.  Here is a link to the latest version of Oregon’s requirements, published on December 4^th.  ODE Metrics for re-opening schools. As you can see from the document, when on-site instruction does begin, it will start with grades K-3, adding grades up to grade 6.  Middle and high schools would only transition to on-site instruction after elementary schools demonstrate the ability to limit COVID-19 transmission in the school environment.  We will await official word from the district office, but reviewing the state requirements indicate that we will remain in distance learning for some time yet.  Hang in there; I know how hard this is on everyone: teachers, families, and students.  We will all continue to do the best we can.

On a brighter note, I want to thank everyone who contributed to Sellwood’s annual Season of Giving fundraising campaign.  We set an ambitious goal of $5000, and we achieved our goal on Wednesday!  The Sellwood community has been very generous during this difficult year.  Due to the hardships brought on by the pandemic, this year has been especially difficult for many families. On Monday (due to a shipping delay), we will be delivering Season of Giving Gifts to 27 families, more families than in any previous year!  The generosity of the Sellwood community will make a big difference for them this holiday season.  A special thanks to our Sellwood counselors: Katie Francis, Susan Cook, and Cara Rutherford, for spearheading the fundraising campaign and making things happen.

Again, I wish you a restful break.

In gratitude,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – December 11, 2020

Greetings Sellwood Community,

Time is flying, and we are only one week from our two-week winter break.  I realize that during distance learning, it has been challenging to keep in touch with the school,  considering the building and main office are closed for the most part.  Email is fine and good, but sometimes you just want to talk to someone, darn-it!  I would like to announce that our two main-office secretaries, who are working remotely, now have work cell phones!  Instead of calling the phones in the building, please use the following:

New phone numbers for the main office!

971-201-6931 – work cell for Melissa Whiteside, Sellwood School Secretary – attendance, email passwords, registration, enrollment, and ParentVue

971-201-5880 – work cell for Claire Howard, Sellwood Principal’s Secretary – regarding issues for the principal or SchoolPay.

I hope that is helpful for us to keep in contact J

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Dear PPS Students, Families and Colleagues,

Today we celebrate and honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a hero of mine. As his influence is seen and felt in the ongoing movement for racial justice, I want to share this video created by the Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School community. They found a creative way to unify their voices to bring us a unique reading of Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech of 1963, originally delivered to a crowd of almost a quarter million people at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington D.C. I think you will enjoy this collaboratively produced presentation of Dr. King’s words brought to life by a new generation of change-makers for justice at PPS.

Dear PPS Families,

We are so grateful to our educators and our community who have continued to support our students through these times of transition this year. The presidential election and its fallout, especially the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, have been disturbing and unsettling for all of us, and the feeling of unease continues as next week’s inauguration of Joe Biden nears. We know it can be an especially difficult time for our students and we remain optimistic about the power of democracy and education as they try to make sense of the events and issues.

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has issued adapted versions of its annual reports for every school and school district, including Portland Public Schools. The 2019-20 reports do not include data on statewide assessments, class size or attendance. That data is typically included but was not gatherable because classes were conducted online starting in March during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear PPS Families,

I join all those in public education across the country who denounce the attack on the U.S. Capitol yesterday. The violent and ultimately failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was traumatic to witness for all of us, including our students, but I remain optimistic about their future and our country’s.