Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – October 15, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

Thank you to all of you who have enrolled in our voluntary weekly COVID-19 screening program.  We have a had a great response and will have a substantial cohort of students participating.  Right now, OSHU is processing the enrollment forms and so we are waiting for them to send labels and tests so we can begin. This is new for all of us, so we appreciate your patience.

As you know, Outdoor School has been disrupted by the pandemic the past two years.  This year, the current plan for Outdoor School for 6^th-graders all schools is to have three days in the fall at school (walking field trip to Sellwood Park on October 20^th & 21^st), and a three-day overnight Outdoor School experience in the spring (Sellwood is scheduled for May 18th to May 20th).  See below for the overview and also complete the Walking Field Trip Permission form if you haven’t done so yet. 

Have a great weekend,

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – October 8, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

Many of you have been making generous offers to volunteer during lunch.  That is wonderful.  Even one day a week helps a lot!  We are all in this together, and the Sellwood community pulling together is what is going to build back our school better than ever.

The lunch/recess schedule is as follows:

6^th-grade

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

• 11:10 to 11:45

Wednesday

• 11:30 to 12:05

7^th/8^th grade

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

• 12:10 to 12:45

Wednesday

• 12:25 to 1:00

Here is the PPS Volunteer Webpage with all of the information you need if you are interested in volunteering.

If you complete all of the steps to register as a volunteer, please let me know which days/times you are interested and available for lunch/recess supervision.  We will buy you a whistle.

Enjoy the three day weekend,

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – October 1, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

As you may have heard, PPS is partnering with OSHU in the roll out of a new asymptomatic weekly COVID testing program.  The program is voluntary, and will be an early warning system for our community.  Elementary schools have already started the program, and middle schools will be next.  Please read about the initiative below, and if you would like your child to participate, submit the linked forms.

I also wanted to say a few words about bus cancellations due to the bus driver shortage.  First, I want to say I am sorry.  Bus cancellations are making life nearly impossible for students and parents.  Some of you have reached out to inquire as to why the transportation department does not notify parents about bus cancellations until the morning of. I am not sure what their process is, as we have a difficult time being able to communicate with them. We hear about buses being cancelled in the morning, at the same time as parents.  I have heard the Superintendent is requesting the Governor deploy the National Guard to drive school buses, and PPS is offering new hires signing bonuses.  I apologize that the school cannot do more to help.

We are changing our process for parents picking their student up for early dismissal.  We had been having parents buzz and then wait at the door while we call the student to the office to sign out.  However, we have realized that we can expedite the process if we have the parent buzz, come up to the office, sign in/out, and wait for the student to arrive at the office.  As long as the parent is not in the office for more than 15 minutes it is allowable under current COVID restrictions.  So, just ring the bell and we will buzz you in.  Please remember that early dismissal should be reserved for situations where it is absolutely necessary.  Also, please do not pick up your child for early dismissal within the last 10 minutes of the school day, unless your child is ill or there is an emergency.

Finally, many of you have been inquiring about tents to support outdoor lunch.  The district has recently reversed its position on tents and will now allow larger semi-permanent structures.  I requested 3 tents, based on the requirement that tents be affixed to blacktop, and in an area that can be reasonably secured.  However, I have been told that K-5 schools, schools targeted for improvement, and Title 1 schools are being prioritized.  You can read district information about tents below.

Reminder: Next week is a four-day week, with no school on Friday.

Have a great weekend,

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – September 24, 2021

Greetings Sellwood Community,

I was nice to see many of you last night at our 2^nd Virtual Back-to-School Night.  If you missed it, no need to worry.  The presentation and all the videos are below, and in some ways, the materials are more helpful and easier to understand asynchronously than in real time during a virtual meeting.  Here’s to having an in person Back-to-School Night next year, I hope.

As you know, we had our first COVID-19 positive case this week.  Fortunately, we were able to minimize the number of students needing to quarantine, and appear to have avoided a school-based outbreak.  I attribute this to many of the increased safety measures (masking, improved ventilation, eating outside, etc.) but mostly I attribute it to high levels of vaccination in both our staff and student populations.  Even though most 6^th-graders are not eligible for vaccination, having a high percentage of our 7^th and 8^th-graders vaccinated has a preventative effect for those students not yet vaccinated.

In fact, in Multnomah County, the percentage of vaccinated individuals between 12-17 is far greater than the 18-19 and even higher than the 20-29 age group, with 66% fully vaccinated and 75% partially vaccinated. 

PPS wants to hear from you to weigh the impacts of requiring all students 12 years and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We heard that Saturday is a better day for Spanish-speaking families to attend this session. This session will be conducted via Zoom.  

The state of Oregon’s requirement that all school employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 will have a minimal impact in Portland Public Schools classrooms and campuses. As of the state deadline of Monday, October 18, more than 96% of the district’s employees were fully vaccinated.

Dear PPS Families,

As the PPS Board of Education considers a requirement that students (ages 12 and older) be vaccinated against COVID-19, we are providing you a quick summary on the timeline for a possible decision:

The PPS Board of Education, at its meeting on Tuesday, October 26, will consider making Friday, November 12 into a professional development day for teachers, with no classes for students. Because November 11 is a federal holiday, Veterans Day, students would have a four-day weekend.