Principal's Newsletter 12.8.2023

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – December 8, 2023

Greetings Sellwood Community,

It’s been a great week at school and we are getting back into the swing of things.  Thank you for your responses to our survey regarding preferences for parent/teacher conference dates and students’ planned attendance for the week of December 18th to the 22nd

We are still discussing the final dates and times for conferences and will send you that information early next week.

Have a great weekend,

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

PTA NEWS

Many Thanks to Fire Eats!

Thank you to Fire Eats! owners, Lynn and Erik, who generously donated 20% of sales earlier this week!  We are grateful for your support!

January 23rd PTA meeting; Cleveland High School Principal will attend

Join us January 23rd at 7:00 pm for our next PTA meeting.  CHS Principal Jo Ann Wadkins will be joining us to talk about CHS and answer questions from parents. 

Important links:

SELLWOOD MS FOUNDATION

Dear Sellwood Families,

Community support in past year's Annual Giving Campaigns made an incredible impact on Sellwood Middle School. Your contributions have made a real difference, enabling us to provide:

1. Smaller Classes: Your support allowed us to create smaller class sizes, providing better learning environments for our students.

2. Expanded Courses: Exciting new courses, including Culinary, Technology, and French, have been introduced, giving our students more options to explore their interests.

3. Teacher Support: We've funded two teacher's aides, crucial in enhancing the learning experience for our students.

Please consider contributing to our 2023 Annual Giving Campaign to help us maintain and build upon the progress we've made. Your support is an investment in the success and growth of Sellwood Middle School.

To donate or learn more, visit https://www.sellwoodmiddlefoundation.org/donate. Every contribution, regardless of size, brings us closer to our goals. Your donation will be matched- doubling your impact!

Thank you for being a vital part of Sellwood Middle School. Together, we can shape an even brighter future.

Gratefully,

The Sellwood Middle School Foundation Board

READ THE WORLD INFO FROM LIBRARIAN TINI MAIER

Please follow the link to read about Sellwood’s Read the World Passport Program 2023/24.


Read the World PASSPORT program 2023-2024

NAMI MULTNOMAH COUNTY (CLASS FOR PARENTS)

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Multnomah County is excited to share about our upcoming NAMI Basics class beginning in January.

Class space is limited, so those who are interested are encouraged to register soon to hold their spot. Here are the details:

NAMI Basics 
A free, peer-led educational course for parents and caregivers of youth up to age 21 experiencing mental health barriers and/or behavioral challenges. This class meets weekly for six weeks.
Dates: January 9th-February 13th, 2024
Schedule: Tuesdays, 5:00-7:30 PM

Format: Online via Zoom

See a flyer here. Register online here.

Parents and caregivers may also be interested in our drop-in Parent Support Group:

Parent Support Group

For parents and caregivers of children/adolescents experiencing symptoms of a mental health condition and/or behavioral challenges.

Schedule: First & third Wednesdays of every month

Time: 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Format: Online via Zoom

Join our notification list here to receive group reminders and meeting links. 

CLEVELAND HIGH SCHOOL INFO NIGHT FOR 8TH GRADERS

Cleveland High School Open House “Bridging the Gap” event, will be in-person the evening of THURSDAY, DEC. 14 at 6:30 p.m.

2024-25 High School Lottery window is open from November 15, 2023 - December 15, 2023. 

Students from across Portland Public Schools can apply to lottery slots at our three focus options high schools:

  • Benson Polytechnic High School
  • Jefferson High School-Middle College for Advanced Studies
  • Metropolitan Learning Center

OREGON BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

Oregon Battle of the Books is coming back to Sellwood Middle School and will be organized by parent volunteers for the 2023/24 school year.   Now is the time to start organizing a team.  Once you have a team, you can register them here.  If your student would like help finding a team or an additional team member, fill out this form.  If you have questions, email OBOBatSellwood@gmail.com

OBOB is a program where teams of students read an amazing selection of books and then compete with other teams in Battles to recall details from the stories.  Battles will be organized at the school level in February 2024.  Teams are usually made up of two to four members, with one optional alternate, for a total of no more than five members. 

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 

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

  • December 12: Art Show & Band Winter Concert
  • December 18-22: Make up days (previously week 1 of winter break)
  • December 25-January 1: Winter Break
  • January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – NO SCHOOL
  • January 26: Make-up Day (previously not a school day for students)
  • February 19: Make-up day (President’s Day – previously not a school day)
  • Spring Break: March 25 to March 29
  • April 8: Make-up Day (Previously not a school day for students)
  • May 27: Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL
  • June 12-14: Make-up Days
  • June 14: Last Day of School

 

, ; (Last Modified about a minute ago)