~ MARK YOUR CALENDARS ~

JUNE

• Thursday, June 8th ~ West Sylvan Dance Recital *at WSMS - 7:00PM  
  
  
• Saturday, June 10th ~ Eighth Grade Grad Party *7:00PM-9:30PM at WSMS, hosted by The West Sylvan Foundation  
  
  
• Monday, June 12th ~ Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony *at Lincoln HS - 6:30PM
  
  
• Tuesday, June 13th ~ Eighth Grade Field Trip to Oaks Park (*optional early dismissal for 8th Grade only, upon return at 2:30pm; Students may stay until 3:45pm if they choose, or if they need to ride the bus home)
  
  
• Wednesday, June 14th ~ Last day of instruction (*if not attending - especially 8th Graders - please enter the absence in ParentVue) 

~ View next school year's full 2023-24 District Calendar here ~

June 2, 2023

Dear West Sylvan Families,

We are enjoying the final performances of the school year with our Band/Music and our newly re-established Choir performing last night! We hope that your family was able to enjoy the talent of our musicians and vocalists as they showcased all of their hard work and talent! Next week, the Dance classes will be performing on Thursday, June 8th at 7 p.m. at WSMS in the Lower Gym. They would love community support at their performance, also! We’re happy to have found some very creative ways to bring back as many of the performing arts as possible in the last two years, and we are grateful for all of the families who have donated to help our performing arts return! In the last two years, we have created a full-time position for our Band and Music offerings and created both Drama and Choir morning clubs to give students more opportunities to grow their interests and talents. These are not positions that our school gets any additional funding to continue, and we are happy to have the support of our community members through fundraising to continue these offerings! If we receive more donations, we can bring in a Choir teacher next year, at least part-time.

Please read the full Family Communication here.

Go Wolfpack!

Jill and Ben

Statewide Testing Notice and Opt-Out Form

December 6, 2022

PPS families,

As required by the Oregon Department of Education, we are providing you the 30 Day Notice and Opt Out Form. The notice is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian and Somali on the PPS Research, Assessment, and Accountability website.

Statewide testing is part of our balanced assessment system that offers all students, especially historically underserved students, opportunities to demonstrate their progress. Information provided by student assessments is critical in helping us determine district and school priorities for improving student learning.

If you have questions, please contact your school office.

Thank you,

PPS Research, Assessment, and Accountability Department

Portland Public Schools recognizes the diversity and worth of all individuals and groups and their roles in society. It is the policy of the Portland Public Schools Board of Education that there will be no discrimination or harassment of individuals or groups on the grounds of age, color, creed, disability, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation in any educational programs, activities or employment.

 Quick Reference:

Portland Public Schools celebrated Earth Day 2023 with some climate-friendly additions to its transportation fleet: three electric-powered buses from GreenPower Motor Company.

When Mike Nolan of Ida B. Wells High School was named Athletic Director of the Year by the Oregon Athletic Directors Association (OADA), no one was more excited than his co-workers.

Dear PPS Community,

Saturday night, gunshots were fired outside of a district-wide basketball tournament held at Franklin High School. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured and the suspect is now in custody, but if you have any information about the incident please call 503-823-3333 or utilize the SafeOregon tipline.

Dear PPS Families, 

As we prepare for the winter sports season, we want to share a few reminders for our spectators.  

Forecasting for next year 2023-24 has been extended through to MAY 12th.  Please carefully review all resources below before forecasting in StudentVue.  Thank you!

General Resource Links:

• Information about MYP (Middle Years Program) - Programming and course requirements
• Example Daily Class Schedules 
• AVID Information - Fill out this FORM if you are interested or want more information about AVID.
• Talented and Gifted information 
• Virtual Tour

Forecasting Process for Electives:

       STEP 1.  Resources and elective descriptions to review before completing forecasting: 

• Uprising 5th Graders review the following information:

  • General 6th Grade 

  • Spanish Immersion 6th Grade

• Current 6th Graders review the following information:

  • General 7th Grade

  • Spanish Immersion 7th Grade

• Current 7th Graders review the following information:

  • General 8th Grade

  • Spanish Immersion 8th Grade

• WATCH - "How to Forecast" Video

• 6th Grade Elective Video Descriptions   - (Please be aware that we do not have a current video, and this video may not represent all of our updated course options.  Please refer to the electives list for the most current elective choices.)

       STEP 2. Understand how many electives to choose:

6th graders will choose:

• 1 PE experience 

• 2 Priority Electives

• 2 Alternative Electives

7th graders will choose:

• 1 PE experience 

• 1 World Language experience

• 2 Priority Electives

• 2 Alternative Electives

8th graders will choose:

• 1 PE experience 
• 1 World Language experience*
• 1 Priority Elective
• 2 Alternative Electives

• *(8th grade students who would like full year band or dance as an elective may opt out of the second half of their world language course, but will not be able to receive HS credit for W.L.  W.L. will be taken during the first semester.)
• STEP 3: Choosing Electives in StudentVue 

1. Watch Forecasting Video to see HOW to enter electives in StudentVue

2. Log into Student Vue.

3. Use the Course Request Tab on the left menu of choices to open elective options.

4. Make primary elective selections.

5. Make alternate elective choices.

6. Lock your selections.

• If you have completed your forecasting and have made a mistake, please complete the following form and we will reach out to you to make adjustments, if necessary. 
• I MADE A MISTAKE!!! link
• OUT of District/New Student Surveys   (Open next week - March 14-18)              

• Non-Feeder School 6th Grade Survey

• Non-Feeder School 7th Grade Survey

• Non-Feeder School 8th Grade Survey 

• Questions and Support 
• If you have specific questions about this process, or need technical support, please contact:
•  

• West Sylvan Main Office westsylvanoffice@pps.net

  • 503-916-5690

• Ben Keller  bkeller@pps.net

• Kandice Abney-8th Grade Counselor: kaabney@pps.net

• Rebecca Cohen-6th Grade Counselor: rcohen@pps.net

• Ricky Almeida-7th Grade Counselor: ralmeida@pps.net