Principal's Newsletter 8.30.24

Sellwood Principal’s Newsletter – August 30, 2024

Greetings Sellwood Community,

The first week of school is always a whirlwind, and this year was no exception.

We are currently engaging in our annual battle with our aging and finicky lockers.  If your child is still on the list to have their locker issue resolved, we ask for everyone’s patience.  It may take a day or two, but we are working through our list and will get to each and every one.  In some cases, the lock is malfunctioning, in which case we will need to assign the student a new locker.  For some other case, the lock is set to a different combination, and we will need to reset those.  For many of the cases, the user needs more training & practice.  With a little time and persistence, they will soon be able to open their locker quickly and easily.

As a heads-up, we will be transitioning to using the Remind App for school communications.  Please make sure you have signed up for the Remind App.  Here is a link to the PPS information page which will help you get started.  https://www.pps.net/Page/15513

We look forward to seeing many of you at our annual PTA Ice-Cream Social next Tuesday, September 3rd, from 5:30-7:00PM.  It is a laid-back drop-in social event.  Most, if not all, of our teachers will be in attendance, and it is a great opportunity to meet them in an informal setting.  Many families bring a blanket and set up for a picnic dinner on the west side of the field.  Other families mill about, chatting in the courtyard.  The east side of the field will be coned off for a play area and we will have footballs, soccer balls, frisbees, and some basketballs available for students (and parents, if you like).  It’s too early in the year for a band performance, but we will have recorded music playing.  And of course, we will have ice cream, courtesy of Sellwood’s wonderful PTA.  The weather report is sunny and 80 degrees.  We hope to see you there!

In addition, Sellwood’s Back-to-School Night is scheduled for September 19th, 2024, from 6:15-7:45.  We will send more details about Back-to-School Night next week.

Enjoy the long weekend,

Sincerely,

Jeandré Carbone

Sellwood MS Principal

jcarbone@pps.net

PTA NEWS

The SMS PTA Board welcomes you and your student to the new school year!  We are excited to continue to support the SMS staff and our school community. 

 

Join 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 

Join 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!

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

Ice Cream Social - September 3

Join us for this SMS Back to School tradition! Come to the SMS field from 5:30-7:00 pm on Tuesday. We’ll have ice cream bars and popsicles to share. Feel free to bring chairs and/or blankets to hang out and enjoy some time with the kids and other SMS families. 

First PTA Meeting -  September 19

Please join us for our first PTA meeting of the year to learn more about the PTA and upcoming volunteer opportunities.  We will meet from 7:45-8:30 pm in the SMS library after Back to School Night events. We would love to see 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

MAIN OFFICE:

The best way to reach us is by email.  

The Office Phone Number

  • The office phone number is 503-916-5656.  
  • When prompted,
  • press 4 for Johanna (“Records/Registration”)
  • press 3 for Claire (Principal’s Secretary)
  • press 2 for any “Attendance” matter.  It’s a designated line just for attendance. 
  • press 5 for Records, Registration
  • press 0 for the front counter – answered by students; not a confidential line.

     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.

Picking up your student during the day:  

  • Early release is discouraged.  While we understand it is sometimes necessary to pick up your child from school, please try to limit your student’s daytime appointments.  It is disruptive to the teacher’s instruction time and to the other students in the classroom.  If necessary, please ring the bell at the main door and expect to wait while your child is located.  We may not be able to facilitate early pick-ups within the last 15 minutes of the school day as we will have only one staff member in the office and many end of the day tasks to accomplish.

Guides to Help you:

  • To correct your student’s attendance: Log into ParentVue. 
  • For changes to your student's registration profile in Synergy: ParentVue/StudentVue
  • Quick Links found on Sellwood’s website (pps.net/sellwood)

Please email Johanna (jmendizabalgomezi@pps.net) for:

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

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

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

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

  • September 3: PTA Ice-cream Social – 5:30-7PM
  • September 10: School Starts at 9:30
  • September 19: Back-to-School Night – 6:15-7:45
  • September 25:  Early Release at 1:45
  • Link to PPS Calendar for 2024 - 2025
  • December 12: Winter Band & Choir Concert @ Cleveland Auditorium

 

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