Principal's Newsletter 5.3.24
Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – May 3, 2024
Greetings Sellwood Community,
We are heading into the final six weeks of school, and many exciting events are coming up. Please review the information about the two field trips happening next Tuesday, May 7th, for all 7th and 8th graders. Although the deadline for field trip permission forms was today, we really do want all 7th-graders and 8th-graders to participate. So, if you turn in the field trip form on Monday, we will still make room. Keep in mind that all 7th and 8th grade teachers will be chaperoning these trips, so 7th and 8th grade classes will not be taking place on Tuesday.
Also, as the weather gets warmer and we head into the final months of the year, we want to maintain our focus on academics and learning. We would love to have parents help with Chromebook charging. Chromebooks are an important daily tool in our classrooms and uncharged Chromebooks mean interrupted work time! Please help ensure that your students are coming to school with a fully charged Chromebook. Teachers will really appreciate your help!
Thanks for all you do. Have a lovely weekend.
Sincerely,
Jeandré Carbone
Sellwood MS Principal
ANNUAL SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL SURVEY
Our district values your feedback! On Monday, you should receive an email from Panorama asking you to take a brief survey to tell us about your experience with PPS and Sellwood Middle. To ensure we continue to provide high quality, rigorous learning experiences that meet the needs of our learners and prepare them for college and career, we need your feedback. We want to know what you think.
The survey window will begin on May 6th and close on May 31st. Your family will be able to take the survey online at home at your earliest convenience. If you do not receive an email with a link to the survey , you can go to the following link to take the survey:
surveys.panoramaed.com/
Staff and students will take the survey on May 14th and 16th during the school day.
For more information, please refer to the attached SLIDES.
We thank you in advance for your thoughtful responses. If you have any questions about the survey administration, please don’t hesitate to contact the School Climate Specialist at mmortensen@pps.net.
PTA NEWS
Sellwood Garden Tour 2024 - May 19 - Volunteers Needed
We have many volunteer opportunities open for the Garden Tour on Konstella - this is a great opportunity to support the school and connect with members of the SMS community.
We will have 2 shifts open that day, 10:45am-1:30pm and 1:30-4:15pm. Volunteers will be assigned to each of our 6 gardens as hosts, directing traffic, answering questions, and representing the school. Please check Konstella for all volunteer openings and reach out if you have questions. We appreciate your support!
8th Grade Graduation Sign Orders & Volunteers Needed
If you have a graduating 8th grader and would like to purchase a yard sign to celebrate them, please visit the following link: https://spirithero.com/
We are also looking for volunteer support for our 8th Grade Promotion on June 14. Please check Konstella for opportunities to help with set up & decorations, refreshments, handing out certificates, and clean up. This is a special day for our 8th graders and we need your support to make it happen!
SMS PTA Board opportunities - 2024-2025
We are looking for new PTA Board members for the 2024-2025 school year. We will have several member-at-large vacancies on the board and want to ensure all feeder schools are represented. Please consider joining us to and helping with important committees like Sellwood Dines Out, Staff Appreciation, PEAK programs and other important events throughout the year. Reach out to sellwoodpta@gmail.com with any questions.
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 NEWS
Hey there!
We're on the lookout for some awesome people to join our Sellwood Middle School Foundation Board 2024-2025, and help us fundraise for some important programs at our school. We want to make sure we have the resources to pay for things like resource teachers, French classes, and other electives that will give our students a well-rounded education.
As an SMS Foundation Board member, you'll be in charge of organizing fundraising campaigns, reaching out to potential donors, and building relationships with our community. We're looking for people who care about education and are excited about making a difference in the lives of our students. While experience in fundraising or nonprofit work is a plus, it's not required. We want a diverse group of people from all backgrounds to join us!
If you're interested in getting involved and helping us out, shoot a message Ashley Schmidt ashleyrschmidt@yahoo.
Thanks for considering this opportunity!
Sellwood Middle School Foundation
May 7 - 7TH GRADE PURE SEED FIELD TRIP
All 7th grade students will attend a field trip to Pure Seed farm and headquarters to learn about careers in agriculture on May 7th from 9:30 to 2pm. Permission slips have been distributed and are due May 3rd. We are looking for chaperones! If you are interested, please email mmortensen@pps.net
May 7 - 8TH GRADE FIELD TRIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
As part of college and career learning, all PPS 8th-graders will be visiting a college or university this spring. Sellwood 8th graders will attend a field trip to the University of Oregon on May 7th. Buses will be departing first thing in the morning, and returning at approximately 5PM. Students will visit the Student Welcome Center, tour the campus, visit the Athletics Facilities and the Museum. Field trip permission slips have been distributed and are due, Friday, May 3rd. We are looking for chaperones! If you are interested, please email mmortensen@pps.net
STUDENT LEADERSHIP CLASS NEWS
Let's honor Earth Month by reducing our plastic impact!
Did you know that only 9% of plastic is currently recycled? Do you have a “bag of bags” under a sink somewhere? Leadership students are spearheading a plastic film recycling drive through Ridwell. We can accept clean, dry plastic bags and film May 6 through May 20. Students and caregivers can drop off plastics inside, near the main office. ***To distinguish plastic *film* from some other kind, try to push your finger through the plastic. If it gives easily and you can make a hole in it, bring it to school!***
This is a one-time collection, but Ridwell is also offering one year of FREE monthly plastic film pickups for Sellwood Middle School for the entire 2024-2025 school year if we get 10 new members to join (purchase a Ridwell subscription for your home) using this link by May 31, 2024: get.ridwell.com/Sellwood
Imagine the impact of a whole school recycling plastic film, bags, and packing materials. Our textbooks and Chromebooks alone result in a LOT of plastic packaging waste which could be avoided!
LOST OR INTENTIONALLY DAMAGED CHROMEBOOKS
As we are nearing the end of the 2023-24 school year, questions are surfacing about students who have lost or intentionally damaged their Chromebook or their charger/adapter. In October, the School Board updated the board policy on instructional materials, 6.40.010-P, to include charging students for lost or damaged equipment. Parents/guardians will pay the school and the school will purchase replacement Chromebook using the PPS IT Purchasing process. Chromebook replacements are $515 and lost chargers are $11.50.
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
- May 7: All 8th-grade Field Trip to University of Oregon in Eugene
- May 7: All 7th-grade Field Trip to Pure Seed Farms
- May 9 & 10: Sellwood School Play “Roshambo”
- May 17th: All 8th-grade trip to Cleveland HS
- May 19: PTA Garden Tour
- May 22: Spring Band Concert
- May 27: Memorial Day – NO SCHOOL
- May 28: PTA Meeting 7PM
- 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 10:30 AM
- June 14: Last Day of School – Half Day