Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – October 6, 2023
Greetings Sellwood Community,
On Monday of next week, in science classes, Sellwood will be handing out student IDs and lanyards. As part of the district’s efforts to increase safety across our schools’ campuses, all PPS middle and high school students will be required to display their school IDs while at school, in the same way that all staff members do. In addition to improved safety, students wearing IDs will provide additional benefits such as quick scanning in the hot lunch line, which will speed up the line and allow more time for lunch/recess, as well as faster checking out of library books.
The lanyards are color coded by grade.
- 6th grade – yellow
- 7th grade – light blue
- 8th grade – dark blue
We understand that wearing student IDs on lanyards is new for students, and it will take time and patience to make this new requirement a habit and incorporate the practice into our routine. We are planning some fun incentives and class competitions to encourage students to wear their IDs!
I hope you all enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend,
Sincerely,
Jeandré Carbone
Sellwood MS Principal
PTA NEWS
Mark your October calendar!
- PTA Fruit Fundraiser
Calling all Sellwood PTA supporters and apple and pear fans! We are hosting a fruit fundraiser and selling freshly picked and amazing tasting boxes of apples and pears from Kiyokawa Family Orchards. This local orchard from Parkdale, Oregon is known for its excellent quality fruit and a reputation for supporting local nonprofits, like the PTA. Last year the PTA raised more than $4,500 and we ask for your support. Order now at: https://www.schoolpay.com/
- Sellwood Dines Outs; October 17th.
Our first Sellwood Dines Out will be with Portland Bottle Shop! Great day for lunch or dinner, grab a gift, or stock up for the holidays!
- Thank You Thursday for Teachers and Staff; October 19th.
Treat our teachers and staff to a delicious lunch to show our appreciation for all they do. Sign up at this link on Konstella for October 19...seeking soups, salads, bread and desserts. Thank you for helping to make Thank You Thursdays a success!
- Next PTA meeting; October 24th; 7pm.
We are excited to welcome a guest speaker at our October meeting.
‘Navigating social media for the middle school parent’
Dr. Craigan Usher
Professor of Child Psychiatry, OHSU
This will be an interactive session for parents to give practical advice to support your child to a safe and supportive use of social media.
- Important links
Join the PTA: www.schoolpay.com/link/
Join Konstella: https://www.konstella.com/cd/
Instagram: @sellwoodmiddlePTA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
PEAK AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM
SELLWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL FOUNDATION UPDATES
Last year, our Blue Bag program generated an astonishing $6,000 for our school, all thanks to your incredible support. With your help, we hope to beat that number this year!
What's Blue Bags? Blue Bags is an easy and impactful way to contribute to our school's success. Simply fill the bags with cans, bottles, or any deposit-marked containers. These versatile bags can be used at home, in the office, at sports events, or any gathering where beverages are served.
Effortless Drop-Offs Forget about waiting in long lines for payment slips. Drop off your filled Blue Bags hassle-free at numerous local BottleDrop locations, including convenient spots like New Seasons, Trader Joe's, and QFC.
Grab Your Blue Bag You can pick up your Blue Bags at the Main Office or from select neighborhood locations.
Let's make this year's Blue Bags program an even bigger success! Your continued support means the world to us and enables us to provide enriching experiences for our students.
SOCK-TOBER!!
Leadership, taught by Ms. Souther, is collecting sock donations for Blanchet House, which is a non-profit organization that distributes meals and clothes to the un-housed. October 1-27, please donate new (in the packaging) adult socks, one of the most requested items on their website. Warm, plain socks are great!
Donate near the office or in the cafeteria. Wear fun socks on Fridays through October!
We’ll also incorporate Fun Sock Fridays! Each Friday (and one Thursday) in October, students will be challenged to wear their most FUN socks.
CLEVELAND YOUTH BASKETBALL CLINICS
Please see the linked flyer for information about Cleveland Youth Basketball Clinics.
MAIN OFFICE NEWS
Parents/Guardians: It's that time of year again to update your child's emergency contact information in ParentVue. This is very important and helpful for your child. This provides us with up-to-date information in case of an emergency. Please use ParentVue for updating. The deadline for parents to submit Yearly Verification before being locked out of ParentVue is October 31st.
PIL YOUTH SPORTS
PIL sports registration, schedules and calendar found HERE. Sellwood falls under the "Cleveland Cluster". If your student is playing a sport or any extracurricular activity outside of the PIL, we would love to support them as well. Send an email to Mr. KB (akennybrew@pps.net) including the schedule, including playoff information, and team pictures. Thank you
LEWIS ELEMENTARY PIE SALE IS BACK!
Lewis is partnering with Willamette Valley Pie Company to sell their delicious pies. Proceeds go towards sending Lewis fifth graders to overnight science camp. Prepare for the holidays (or anytime), buy some pie, and support Lewis Elementary students. Orders due October 9th. Pick up pies at Lewis School on October 25th. Lewis Elementary Pie Fundraiser. Questions? Email Lee Pritchard at lee_pritch@yahoo.com.
THE MASKED VILLAIN OF SELLWOOD
Randy Sean Schulman, writer/director/
The short silent film THE MASKED VILLAIN OF SELLWOOD is inspired by poems and stories told from teens in Oregon Youth Authority custody. The film was shot entirely in Sellwood.
Its world premiere sold out at the Moreland Theater, and because of its initial success they're having another screening at Moreland Theater on Sunday, October 15 @ 12PM.
Here's the trailer: https://www.facebook.
Info. on next screening: https://www.
Rogue Pack: https://www.roguepack.
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 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 will go down. We envision the last day of school when 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 all. Thank you for your support.
Here's the link to SchoolPay. If you need assistance with SchoolPay, the SchoolPay parent help
phone number is 833-731-2600.
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
- October 13: No School – State In-service Day
- October 25: Cleveland Arts Assembly
- November 2: End of Quarter 2
- November 3: No School for Students
- November 8: Picture Retakes
- November 10: No School – Veteran’s Day
- November 20-21: Parent Teacher Conferences
- November 22-24: Fall Break
- December 12: Band Winter Concert
- December 18-22: Winter Break
