Principal's Newsletter 4/29/2022

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – April 29, 2022

Greetings Sellwood Community,

It has been a while since I have written about COVID in this portion of the newsletter, but as you may have noted in the news, Multnomah County, and many other parts of the state and country are experiencing an increase in COVID cases.  The current COVID bump is not expected to be even close to the huge surge we lived through in January, but we should all be vigilant and alert to potential COVID symptoms in ourselves and children.  The primary symptoms of COVID are still officially listed as fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste and smell.  However, every single person I know who has had Omicron has experienced sore throat as the first symptom along with headache, tiredness, a runny nose, with a cough developing later. It is very difficult to distinguish from the common cold.  To make things more confusing, the common cold is also circulating in our community.  Please play it safe.  If your child has symptoms, please keep them home.  Also, in the first few days of a COVID infection, it is not unusual for at-home rapid tests to show false negatives when there is not enough viral load to show positive.  If you really suspect COVID and the rapid test is negative, a PCR test is very sensitive and can detect the smallest amount of the virus.  Let the school  know if your child tests positive. Please help us to curtail the spread.

This Oregon spring has been one of the rainiest on record, but Sunday is looking like a great day to get outside. 

I hope you enjoy the weekend, whatever you decide to do!

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

 

SELLWOOD BAND NEWS

Congratulations to Vano Monteverde, Elias Vasankari, and Leo McKillip who performed at the Portland Art Museum as part of the Heart of Portland event last Sunday, April 24. Their trio was featured as one of the small ensembles representing Portland Public Schools' Visual and Performing Arts programs.

PTA NEWS

PTA Elections 

PTA elections for next year will be held at our PTA meeting on May 11th.  Please join us as we vote in next year's PTA board.  Reach out to us if you are interested in joining the PTA next year!  sellwoodpta@gmail.com

Sellwood Garden Tour

Check out our website and buy tickets to the Garden Tour!  All proceeds go back to Sellwood.  5 homes will be opening their outdoor spaces to the community for a self guided tour on May 22nd from 11-4.  Great event to do with family and friends!

www.sellwoodgardentour.com

Staff Appreciation Week starts May 2nd! 

Next week (May 2-6) is Teacher Appreciation Week! Looking for ways to thank your teacher? Visit this Meet the Staff page to learn about a few of their favorite things.

Also, if you signed up to bring food for the teachers next week, thank you! You should receive an email reminder from Konstella about it one day in advance, but you can also double-check here: Meal Sign-Up

FOUNDATION NEWS

Please help carry on the important job of the Sellwood Foundation, by volunteering to be on the board next year.  The present board has been in service for two years, and we are all retiring.  We are looking for folks to carry on these very important jobs for the 2022-2023 school year.  Please email Amy Bourne with any questions about the roles.  ajbourne02@gmail.com.

VIRTUAL EVENT “FAKE AND FATAL” MAY 4

We are sharing an opportunity to attend a virtual event to educate students, parents and the community about the dangers of fake pills made from deadly fentanyl.  Beaverton School District has lost several students to fentanyl in the last few years. The parents of one of those students will be leading this discussion. They have a powerful story to tell and were instrumental in Beaverton’s district-wide fentanyl awareness campaign last year. 

“Fake & Fatal: What Parents & Teens Need to Know”

Presented by Oregon’s Vibrant Future Coalition

Wednesday, May 4 at 7-8:30pm PST

FB link: https://www.facebook.com/641640045902887/posts/5375996065800571/?d=n

Register and get the zoom link: tinyurl.com/fake-fatal

JUST JACO (Jake-o)

Hello from Jaco! 

Sellwood Middle School’s newest staff member. His whole job is to provide students and staff social/emotional support all day long!  He does this by shaking hands, wagging his tail and being genuinely happy to see every person who walks through the door of our school. 

Jaco is classified as a “facility dog” meaning that he has been specially certified to work in professional settings like schools, hospitals, courtrooms, etc.  He was carefully bred and expertly trained to do this job by Canine Companions. After just 2 weeks on the job we cannot imagine not having him on our team. 

If you are interested in following Jaco’s adventures at Sellwood Middle School his Instagram is @jaco.sellwood.panther.pup

 

WARRIOR TENNIS CAMP

Learn to play tennis, or improve your skills.  Open to current 7th and 8th-graders.  Starts July 1st.  See the FLYER for details.

CLEVELAND 2022-23 VARSITY DANCE TEAM TRYOUTS

Dance Team tryouts at Cleveland High School are coming up! 8th-graders who are interested Join us on May 10th and 12th from 5:30-7:30pm to try out for our 2022-2023 Varsity Dance Team! Tryout packets available in the school office, and the main office at Cleveland High School. Bring the completed packet to tryouts, signed by all of your teachers and counselors.  Interested in trying out but unable to make the dates? Email clevelandtenacitydance@gmail.com for alternative ways of trying out, or to have a tryout packet sent directly to you. All dance levels are welcome! See you there!

Ana Reiser

Cleveland Tenacity Dance Team Coach

OPPORTUNITIES, CAMPS, and CLASSES

YEARBOOK NEWS

Use Schoolpay to purchase the yearbook now. Students are working to capture our memories of this school year, and for $20, you can make sure you get a copy in June.

COUNSELING CORNER

The best way to schedule an appointment with us is by filling out the Counselor Check-In Request Form or emailing us directly.  Messages sent through Canvas are not always responded to promptly. 

Students with last names A-L: Mr. KB – akennybrew@pps.net

Students with last names M-Z:  Ms. Katie – kfrancis@pps.net

Working with a variety of students:  Ms. Susan – sucook@pps.net

RACE, RACISM, & RACIAL EQUITY RESOURCES 

MAIN OFFICE:

  • Open Monday to Friday, School Hours

The best way to reach us is by email.  

The Office Phone Number

  • The office phone number is 503-916-5656.  
  • When prompted, press 4 for Melissa or “Attendance”; press 3 for Claire.  
  • You can also press 0 for the front counter where often students help us answer the phone and direct communication.

Secured Building 

  • Sellwood is now a locked and secure building.  
  • Please ring the doorbell to the right of the main doors to reach the office.  We will guide you accordingly.

Parent/Student Requests:  

  • Arrangements can be made with the office staff for student pick up, a student arriving late, or any other matter that may require meeting a parent/guardian at the front door. If you know of such needs in advance, please email either Melissa or Claire. 

Guides to Help you:

  • For questions about your student’s absence: Log into ParentVue. 
  • To make changes to your student's registration in Synergy: ParentVue/StudentVue

Please email Melissa (mwhitesi@pps.net) for:

  • Attendance:  If you need to excuse your child's attendance. 
  • Passwords:  If you have forgotten your password, have been locked out of your account, or do not have login credentials.
  • Registration, Enrollment.
  • ParentVue (if your account has been disabled).   

Please email Claire (choward1@pps.net) for:

  • School Pay. 
  • Bookkeeping/accounting issues.
  • Administrative Support:  Messages or matters of support to the principal or assistant principals.  

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

  • May 2-6: Staff Appreciation Week
  • May 12 – Ambassador Awards
  • May 17 – Spring Band Concert
  • May 18 & 19 – Outdoor School (Day Trips returning at 5:30PM)
  • May 25 – Spring Marimba Concert
  • May 30 – Memorial Day – No School
  • June 2 – Showcase Night – 5:30-8:00 PM
  • June 7 – 8th-grade trip to OAKS Park
  • June 10 – Oaks Park – 6th & 7th graders 9:30 to 12:PM
  • June 10 – 8th-grade promotion 10:30 AM
  • June 10 – Last Day of School (half-day ending at 12:30)
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