Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – February 23, 2024
Greetings Sellwood Community,
It’s been a busy week. The days are getting longer and it was wonderful to see the sunshine to day when we went outside for our monthly fire drill.
I would like to give a shout out to our amazing Sellwood Stars Dance Team. At their February 17th competition in Milwaukie, and they placed 2nd in both the Middle School Jazz and Contemporary divisions. They also took home 4 drill down awards. Congratulations, Sellwood Stars!
Enjoy the weekend,
Jeandré Carbone
Sellwood MS Principal
PTA NEWS
Sellwood Dines Out; Reverend’s BBQ Wednesday 2/28
Please join us Wednesday, February 28th and enjoy some amazing BBQ. Thank you to Reverend’s for supporting our middle school! The PTA Board will be there from 6-8pm; come say hi!
Funds from Sellwood Dines Out support educational programs, student scholarships, and teacher/staff classroom projects at SMS.
Spring See’s Candy Sale
Easy way to support SMS! See’s will mail orders directly to you.
https://www.yumraising.com/
Sellwood Garden Tour 2024
We are happy to announce that we are working to host the Sellwood Garden Tour again this year. This event raises funds for Sellwood as well as provides a wonderful community event.
We are looking for gardens to showcase this year. Please let us know if you have any leads on beautiful outdoor spaces!
If you would like to help on the Garden Tour committee or if you know of a local business who may want to sponsor the event please reach out!
We need our school community's support to make this year's event a success again. Thank you!
Sellwood Dines Out; Reverend’s BBQ 2/28
Please join us Wednesday, February 28th and enjoy some amazing BBQ. Thank you to Reverend’s for supporting our middle school!
Funds from Sellwood Dines Out support educational programs, student scholarships, and teacher/staff classroom projects at SMS.
Important links:
- PTA email: sellwoodpta@gmail.com
- Join the PTA: www.schoolpay.com/link/
sellwoodpta - Join Konstella: https://www.konstella.com/cd/
AXC2Z9 - Instagram: @sellwoodmiddlePTA
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
SellwoodMiddleSchoolPTA/
SELLWOOD FOUNDATION
Hello SMS Families and Sellwood Staff,
DONATE WINE FOR DRAG QUEEN BINGO AND WIN TWO NIGHTS AT A SUNRIVER CONDO!!!!
Anyone who donates a bottle of wine will get a free ticket to the Sunriver raffle!! One bottle = One raffle ticket, so donate generously! Please drop wine donations with your name on the bottle to one of the addresses listed below.
Donation locations:
7408 SE 46th Ave.
6924 SE 19th Ave.
3704 SE Ogden St.
With Gratitude,
Sellwood Middle School Foundation
OUTDOOR SCHOOL FOR 6TH GRADERS
6th grade students will be attending Outdoor School (ODS) Sunday, March 17th - Friday, March 22nd. 6th grade students' 4th period teachers should have already communicated details via email to parents. Be on the lookout for those emails as they have important information for you about this. Click here to learn more about Outdoor School.
MESD Outdoor School Gear Library is open if you need gear for the camp (sleeping bag, rain jackets, coats, hats, fleeces, warm clothing, rain boots, toiletries); located at 12027 NE Sumner St.
LEWIS SCIENCE CAMP FUNDRAISER – “LEWIS ROCKS”
On Saturday, March 2nd, from 4-7PM, Lewis Elementary School will host a benefit concert raising funds for their 5th Grade Science Camp. Please see the flyer for more details.
GIRLS INC PNW
I'm Emily Ehlers, the STEAM program coordinator for Girls Inc. PNW. I'm reaching out because Girls Inc. PNW is currently recruiting for our Summer STEAM program, Eureka! We are reaching out to educators and families across the Portland Metro area to make sure they know about our programs and the empowering opportunities we offer our youth.
Program Overview:
- Open to current in 7th, 8th or 10th grade youth
- Free for youth and families
- 4-week long STEAM Summer camp with daily guest speakers, weekly field trips, and engaging STEAM activities at local college sites Portland State University, and Mount Hood Community College
- Paid internship opportunities
- College and career readiness support
More information about Eureka! and Girls Inc. of the PNW:
- Girls Inc PNW: https://girlsincpnw.org/
- Eureka! Overview: https://girlsincpnw.
org/what-we-do/programs/ eureka/ - Eureka Application: https://
girlsincpnw.org/apply-for- eureka/
PROGRAMS, EVENTS & RESOURCES
Camps, Classes, & After School Programs:
- VIBE of Portland Music & Digital Art Classes for Kids
- Cognizart 360 Arts Camp (July 8-12, 15-19, & 22-26)
- OSU Summer Reading Program
- VIBE of Portland Art Camps & Classes
- AFS-USA Student Exchange Programs (Flier 1) (Flier 2)
Preschool Programs:
- Portland Parks Preschool 2024-25
“Portland Parks & Recreation is holding a registration lottery for our Educational Preschool program for the 2024-25 school year. Interested families can apply now through February 21 to be included in the lottery.” - Multnomah Early Childhood Program Free Preschool Classes
(Spanish) (Vietnamese)
Community Events & Information:
- Oregon State University Summer Dog-training Research Program for Children with Developmental Differences
- City of Portland 311 Non-Emergency Hotline
(Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali)
Vaccinations, Health & Wellness:
- Multnomah County Free Community Vaccination Clinic (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays)
(English) (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Chinese) (Russian) (Somali) - Multnomah County Student Health Centers (fliers in English, Russian, Chinese, and Vietnamese):
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
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
- March 12: 5th-grade Parent Info Night
- March 17-22: Outdoor School for 6th-graders
- March 25 to March 29: Spring Break
- April 5: No School for Students – Teacher Planning Day
- April 8: Make-up Day (Previously not a school day for students)
- May 9 & 10: Sellwood School Play “Roshambo”
- May 15: All 8th grade Field Trip to the University of Portland
- May 22: Band Concert & Art Show
- May 27: Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL
- June 6: Showcase Night
- June 10: OAKS Park – 8th Grade
- June 11: OAKS Park – 6th and 7th Grades
- June 12-14: Make-up Days
- June 14: 8th Grade Promotion
- June 14: Last Day of School – Half Day
