~ MARK YOUR CALENDARS ~

• Sunday, September 25th ~ Outdoor School Open House at 2:00PM - 4:00PM  *in-person at Camps Angelos, Kuratli, and Collins
• Thursday, October 13th ~ Tualatin Parks & Rec Community Event 4:00PM to 7:00PM on the WSMS field
• Sunday, October 23rd - 28th ~ Outdoor School for 6th Graders *overnight camp returns!

~ View the full 2022-23 District Calendar here ~

September 24, 2022

Dear West Sylvan Families,

We hope that you are enjoying a nice three-day weekend!  Thank you to all families for joining us during Back-To-School Night or for taking the time to view items virtually. We understand that many of our families have very limited time, and any time that you can devote to a night at our campus is wonderful for our Educator team!  If you missed the virtual version of the BTSN, it is also linked here.  We also want to thank our Counselors and our PackLeaders -- a group of dedicated Scholars, supported by our Counselors, who regularly volunteer their time to help lead events like Back-To-School Night!  Also, thank you to our families, Scholars, and Educators for taking time out of their Saturday last weekend to start to beautify our center garden space!  We appreciate your time and energy on a weekend! 

MAP testing has been underway for Math classes. English will begin next week. This is the Fall testing time when we get some baseline data on the skills of our Scholars so that Educators can plan instruction for the year to meet Scholars’ needs. The District will be mailing home copies of test scores from last school year in the coming weeks.

Visit our Counseling Corner here!

Please read the full Family Communication here.

Go Wolfpack!

Jill and Ben

9/16/22 Family Communication     [ Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Українська ]  

9/09/22 Family Communication     [ Español | Tiếng Việt | 中文 | Українська ]

9/06/22 Family Communication

8/11/22 Welcome Back Letter to Families

2021 - 2022 School Year:

6/10 Family Communication 

6/3 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

5/27 Family Communication   [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

5/20 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

5/13 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

5/6 Family Communication   [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

4/29 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

4/22 Family Communication [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

4/15 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

4/8 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

4/1 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

*3/25 Spring Break - no Family Communication sent out

3/18 Family Communication

3/11 Family Communication

3/4 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

2/25 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

2/18 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский

2/11 Family Communication   [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

2/4 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

1/28 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

1/21 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

1/14 Family Communication  [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

1/7 Family Communication   [Español| Tiếng Việt| 中文| Русский]

*12/24 + 12/31 Winter Break - no Family Communication sent out

12/17 Family Communication [Español]

12/10 Family Communication [Español]

12/3 Family Communication  [Español]

*11/26 Fall Break - no Family Communication sent out

11/19 Family Communication  [Español]

11/12 Family Communication

11/5 Family Communication

10/29 Family Communication

10/22 Family Communication

10/15 Family Communication

10/7 Family Communication

10/1 Family Communication

9/24 Family Communication

9/17 Family Communication

9/10 Family Communication

8/27 Family Communication

*REQUESTS for changes/corrections to CLASS SCHEDULES*

If there are errors in your Student's schedule,
please send an email to westsylvanoffice@pps.net

and your message will be forwarded to the appropriate Counselor/Administrator
who will support a conversation in making necessary changes.

*Be sure to include the Student's full legal name and PPS Student ID number.

July 11, 2022

Greetings West Sylvan Middle School Families,

We hope that you all are enjoying summer break!  Administratively, we are still doing a great deal of preparation and planning for the 22-23 school year, and we’d like to share a few key pieces of information for families to help with a successful start to next school year.  

• Updated Start of School Dates: A recent vote by our school board has allowed us to devote the first day of school, Tuesday, August 30th as a “Jump Start” day for 6th graders only. This devoted day will be targeted time for our educator team to welcome our newest members to West Sylvan Middle School and help them have one day together before the entire student body joins us on August 31st.  Only 6th graders will come to campus on August 30, 2022.  7th and 8th grade students will begin school the next day on Wednesday, August 31st.  
  
  
• Updated Electronics Items: 
  • All students are issued a PPS Chromebook to use for classwork.  For the newest scholars, these will be distributed within the first weeks of school.  

• CELL PHONES/ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT & DEVICES (New for 22-23 school year)
  • All personal devices, other than a school-issued chromebook, should be left at  home. Our policy is OFF and AWAY during the school DAY.  
  • Families can communicate through the office phone if there is a need to leave messages.
  •  If cell phones and electronic equipment,  including earphones and earbuds, are brought to school, they must remain off and be kept in the locker at all times between 9:15 AM and 3:45 PM. Cell phones &  electronic equipment are not to be kept on a scholar’s person (pocket, schoolbag,  binder, etc.) for the duration of the school day.  
  • Scholars who are using their cell phone or electronic device, or have their cell  phone/device outside of their locker, without permission from an educator or staff, will  have their phone/device taken away and turned into the office for pick-up at the end of the school day.  Families will be notified if this occurs.  
    
    
• School Supplies List for 22-23: Educators may update items with individual classes, and this is a general list to guide your planning.
  • General WSMS supply list
  • 8th grade specific list
    
• Family and Scholar Opportunities: 
  • Lunch monitors: Any adults who are approved as PPS volunteers, we would love your involvement in supporting lunch recesses.  If you are interested, please add information here about your availability, and we will be in contact with you.  
  • Sign language club: We will have a couple morning clubs offered with details about dates to come. Families would need to self-transport to campus by 8:15a.m. If you have an interested scholar, please complete the form here. Once more details are available, the leaders will be in contact.  
    
    
• Student Schedules:
  • Scholars' class schedules will be available for viewing in Synergy the week before school starts.  Placement issues will be addressed as first priorities for any schedule changes.

Enjoy July! Go Wolfpack!
Jill and Ben

 Quick Reference:

Dear PPS Community,

This morning, the Oregon Department of Education publicly released this past spring’s summative assessment data. I’m pleased to share that PPS avoided significant setbacks, but the data nonetheless shows the negative impact of the pandemic.

Dear PPS K-12 students and families,  

PPS is partnering with OHSU to offer free weekly COVID-19 testing for students. Participation in this program is completely optional but encouraged. PPS students may participate in the program regardless of vaccination status. Participating students will submit spit samples in pre-labeled test tubes to their school on a designated day each week, regardless as to whether they have symptoms. Schools will begin collecting spit samples starting September 27th-29th.

Dear Familias, Students and Colleagues,

One of my favorite experiences in my nearly thirty-year educational career was in my first year teaching. I was a Spanish bilingual teacher, and I was happy and proud to be “el maestro” – a role that carried esteem and respect in the predominantly-Latino neighborhood where I lived and worked.

Dear PPS students and families,

I want to share with you a very enthusiastic “Welcome Back!” I hope you enjoyed your summer break and are eager and energized for a fantastic school year.

Uprising 5th Grader Parent Visit Slideshow -

Presentation Slideshow. from May 2022.

Forecasting using Studentvue has now passed.  Please use the following information if you still need to communicate your elective choices with us: 
General Resource Links:

• Information about MYP (Middle Years Program) - Programming and course requirements
• Example Daily Class Schedule
• AVID information and Resources - Fill out this FORM if you are interested or want more information about AVID.

       STEP 1.  Resources for review BEFORE completing forecasting: 

• 6th Grade Electives Descriptions (PDF)
• 6th Grade Elective Video Descriptions   - (Please be aware that we do not have a current video and that this video may not represent all our updated course options.  Please refer to the electives list for the most current elective choices.)
• 7th Grade Elective Descriptions (PDF)
• 8th Grade Elective Descriptions  (PDF) 

*(8th Grade students who would like a full year band or dance, as an elective, may opt out of the second half of their world language course but will not be able to receive HS credit for W.L.  W.L. will be taken during the first semester and band second semester.

STEP 2: Sharing your elective choices with us:              

• Elective Survey for incoming 6th Graders
• Elective Survey for incoming 7th Graders
• Elective Survey for Incoming 8th Graders 

Questions and Support 

If you have specific questions about this process, or need technical support, please contact:

• Kirsten Crombie / Registrar: kcrombie@pps.net; 503-916-5690
• Ben Keller / Assistant Principal: bkeller@pps.net
• Ricky Almeida / 6th Grade Counselor: ralmeida@pps.net
• Kandice Abney / 7th Grade Counselor: kaabney@pps.net
• Rebecca Cohen / 8th Grade Counselor: rcohen@pps.net