Principal's Newsletter 9.8.2023

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – September 8, 2023

Greetings Sellwood Community,

We are very much looking forward to seeing you at our first Sellwood Middle School community event next Tuesday, September 12th @5PM.  Our PTA sponsors the Ice Cream Social, and it will be a fun and casual event.  Come and meet other Sellwood parents and students while enjoying some tasty ice-cream.  One half of the field will be reserved for families to set up picnic blankets and/or camp chairs.  You can even bring a picnic dinner if you desire.  The other half of the field will be reserved for students (and parents) who have the energy to run around. Soccer balls and other recess equipment will be available.  The weather forecast looks to be ideal for an end of summer community event. 

We hope to see you there!

Enjoy the weekend :-)

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

PTA NEWS

  1. Volunteers needed for PPS Clothing Closet

Thursday 9/28

We need 3 more volunteers to help on Sellwood’s assigned day at the PPS Clothing Closet.  Please help us with this important cause.  Sign ups are in Konstella.

  1. Don’t forget to sign up for the PTA!

Please join the PTA and contribute your voice to the conversation on making this a great school year for our kids and SMS community.  Here is the link to join! www.schoolpay.com/link/sellwoodpta 

  1. Are you on Konstella? 

The PTA uses the Konstella app to keep the parent community up to date with scheduled events, the school calendar, volunteer sign ups and PTA announcements. Here is the link to join!  Already on Konstella?  Please update your student’s grade.

https://www.konstella.com/cd/AXC2Z9

  1. First PTA Meeting Tuesday, 9/26 7pm

Please join us for our first PTA meeting of the year.  We will meet from 7-8:30pm in the SMS library after Back to School Night events.  We would love to see you!

  1. Volunteers need to support PEAK program

The PTA is looking for volunteers to help coordinate our after-school clubs and programs.  We have parents who have supported this program for the last couple years and laid the groundwork for future volunteers to keep the program running.  Please reach out if you are interested in learning more.  sellwoodpta@gmail.com

  1. Ice Cream Social Tuesday 9/12; 5:00-6:30 pm

This is a family event for Sellwood families. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, etc. and enjoy an informal evening at Sellwood.  The PTA will provide ice cream and popsicles to celebrate the start of the year!

  1. Find us on social media!

Instagram: @sellwoodmiddlePTA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SellwoodMiddleSchoolPTA/

SELLWOOD YEARBOOKS FOR ALL!

Who wants a yearbook at the end of the year?  It turns out, pretty much everybody wants one!  Each year, we set aside some time for students to commemorate the end of the school year with a yearbook signing ritual.  However, not everyone orders a yearbook, often because they are busy and don’t realize until after the ordering deadline.  Sometimes students don’t think they want a yearbook, but when they see them, they realize they really do want one.  The truth is, there are many reasons why families don’t order yearbooks, and we never have enough yearbooks one the last day for everyone who wants one.  We do not like to disappoint students and families!  So, what if we ordered yearbooks for every student?  In fact, if we order more yearbooks, the price per book goes down.  We envision the last day of school where every student has a yearbook to sign!  However, we will need your support in order to make this sustainable.  We are requesting a suggested $20 donation to our Sellwood Yearbook Donation account in School Pay (the price for a yearbook was $25 last year).  You can donate more, especially if you have more than one child at Sellwood.  We hope that our “Yearbooks for All” plan will make for a more enjoyable and equitable end of the year experience for everyone.  Thank you for your support.


Here's the link:  Sellwood Yearbook Donation

SELLWOOD FOUNDATION

Please check out the flyer for our Bottle Drop Fundraiser.

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL SERVICE DOG MONTH

Jaco is so excited to be back at work and in honor of September being National Service Dog Month. We wanted to share more about Jaco's life before joining the Sellwood staff. 

Jaco was raised by a volunteer puppy raiser for 18 months before going to "Doggie College" in Santa Rosa, CA to finish his professional training and getting matched with his handler Ms. Katie!  His puppy raiser is now raising her 5th puppy for Canine Companions, Jaco's cousin, Jib to become a working dog just like Jaco!  You can follow his journey on instagram @jibccpuppy. You can also see Jaco in action at Sellwood @jacothecounselingdog

The human-canine bond is powerful, and Canine Companions is leading the way to provide more service dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities.  If you are interested in learning more about the organization or are interested in volunteering to raise a future service dog like Jaco. Click here!

HOW PARENTS CAN LOG IN TO CANVAS

Parents, if you would like to support your student by logging into Canvas, here is a link and a step-by-step guide.

PARENTS/Guardians

  • You will need to create a Canvas account using a student pairing code. 
  • Accounts can be created by going to https://lms.pps.net/
  • Review this guide to learn more.

COUNSELING CORNER

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

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

MAIN OFFICE

The best way to reach us is by email.  

  • Melissa Whiteside (mwhitesi@pps.net) is our school secretary and registrar.  
  • Claire Howard (choward1@pps.net) is our principal’s secretary and bookkeeper.
  • Our Sellwood website (pps.net/sellwood) has many “Quick Links” to help you immediately.   

The Office Phone Number

The office phone number is 503-916-5656.  

When prompted:

  • press 4 for Melissa;
  • press 3 for Claire 
  • press 2 for all Attendance matters. 
  • press 5 for Records, Registration.
  • press 0 for the front counter; however, students may answer this line.  Do not discuss anything confidential or leave any confidential messages.  

Secured Building 

  • Sellwood is 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:  

  • Please email both Melissa and Claire for student pick up or if you must get a message to a student.  For student pickup, advance notice is strongly recommended to minimize classroom interruptions. No pickups/dismissals will be allowed after 3:30 pm.

Guides to Help you:

  • To access your student’s attendance in Synergy: Log into ParentVue. 
  • To make changes to your student’s registration in Synergy:  ParentVue/StudentVue

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

  • Passwords:  If you have forgotten your password, have been locked out of your account, or do not have login credentials
  • ParentVue (if your account has been disabled).   

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

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

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

  • September 4: Labor Day – No School
  • September 12: Ice Cream Social 5 – 6:30 PM
  • September 26: Back to School Night 5:30-7:00 PM
  • September 26: PTA Meeting 7PM

 

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