West Sylvan Middle School
2026 ~ 2027
OCTOBER
- Wed, OCT 21st: EARLY RELEASE for Scholars at 1:45PM due to monthly district-scheduled Staff Professional Development
- Thu, OCT 22nd: Makeup Picture Day *(during 1st-2nd-3rd periods -- only for those Scholars who enrolled after the initial Picture Day in September, or who were absent on that date)
- Thu, OCT 22nd: Future Wolfpack Family Information Night *(current 5th grade and any younger grades are all welcome to attend!) / 6:00-7:30pm at WSMS
- Wed, OCT 28th: End of Quarter 1 and first Quarter classes *(first reporting period for report cards)
- Thu, OCT 29th: NO SCHOOL for Scholars due to grading day for Educators
- Fri, OCT 30th: NO SCHOOL for Scholars due to planning day for Educators
- Mon, NOV 2nd: Start of Quarter 2 *(new classes begin for Quarter-long classes - PE, Health, Dance, 6th Gr World Language)
ATTENDANCE COUNTS!
Our schoolwide positive attendance rate is currently still at 94% of Scholars attending school over the last five school days! We would sure love to see that percentage get even higher! Please make every effort to schedule appointments and vacations around school days so that our Scholars are present every day! Early Release Day afternoons, occurring once per month, are a wonderful opportunity to squeeze in those orthodontist/dentist/doctor appointments, whenever possible, and there are two days off at the end of October when our Educators grade and plan for the new quarter when appointments could be scheduled so that no school is missed. The yearly calendar is here for pre-planning and scheduling.
NEW WSMS SPIRIT WEAR WEBSITE
Introducing West Sylvan Middle School’s new Spirit Wear website!
Our WSMS spirit wear is back! As holidays approach, now is a perfect time to get some WSMS spirit wear! Visit our new shop at: wolfpackspirit.com where you’ll find something for everyone in your pack.
To celebrate the launch, use code WOLFPACK15 at checkout for 15% off your order
NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC AT PICKUP
Requests for safe pickup from WSMS:
Encourage your Scholar to use the bus for transportation whenever possible. The fewer vehicles picking up, the better for our entire community and for the environment.
Park in the school parking lot if you arrive on campus prior to 4:00pm, not in the surrounding neighborhood.
Follow rules of the road, speed limits, and parking rules. BPD may cite you if you violate these rules. BPD officers have started issuing citations for our visitors who continue to ignore these requests.
Do not block neighbors’ driveways, or idle in front of their homes, to wait for Scholars.
Take your time! Students may be picked up from 4:10-4:30pm, and you’ll avoid most traffic. That is a far better plan!
EARLY STUDENT PICK-UP
Picking up your Scholar from school early? If a Scholar needs to leave school before 4:00 p.m., we do need you to please come into the office, show ID, and physically sign out your Scholar. We want our Scholars to be in school for the entire school day, but if you need to pick up early, please make every effort to pick up prior to 3:30 p.m. so that our team can attend to your request with ample time before the school day concludes.
Does your Scholar need to ride a different bus after school?
A bus change that will be a regular occurrence can be requested through a “hitcher” pass on the PPS Transportation website. For changes that are sporadic or less consistent, please send a note providing permission for your Scholar to ride that alternate bus at westsylvanoffice@pps.net. Scholars who are assigned to those buses for their home routes have priority over Scholars who are trying to ride alternate routes (i.e. going to the MAC, Lincoln HS, or to a park for sports). Requests for your scholar to ride an alternate bus must be received prior to 3:30pm on the day of the change in order to communicate properly.
ABSENCE REPORTING THROUGH PARENTVUE
Families are now able to submit both full day and partial day absences (such as late arrivals to school, or early student pick-ups) through ParentVUE!
Log in to the ParentVUE website on your computer or download and open the phone application.
(Note: You are not able to use your browser on your phone to report an absence in ParentVUE).
- Look for the blue "Report Absence" button to the right of your student's photograph in the app or click Attendance when on the website to find the blue button.
- Select whether the absence is All Day, Arrive Late, or Leave Early.
- Select start date, end date (only if more than one day) and a reason from a drop-down list.
- Add a note if needed.
- Remember to click SAVE and you should receive a popup confirmation.
For more detailed instructions with screenshots, please see the
PARENTSQUARE (for messaging)
Portland Public Schools uses ParentSquare for communication with families. An introductory video is here to familiarize yourself with this application. This means text messages, emails, and calls from the school and from your child’s Teachers will be delivered via ParentSquare to the contact information currently in our system. If you set a time on the application for message delivery, some messages may be delayed until the time that you have determined.
PARENTVUE (for viewing Student attendance, grades, etc.)
Update your contact information in ParentVUE or through westsylvanoffice@pps.net throughout the year if your email, address, emergency contacts, or cell phone number changes, as all school communications are connected to your information in ParentVUE.
New versions of the ParentVUE and StudentVUE apps must be downloaded to continue using the apps to access student information. When asked to select your district, Parents and Students will need to find Portland Public Schools (NOT West Sylvan) using the 97227 zip code and then it is important that Parents select "Already Activated" when prompted. You will use your same ParentVUE User ID and password to log in.
Please click the following links for detailed instructions on downloading the newest version of the ParentVUE app for Android users and iPhone users. Be sure to select the app with (New) in the title, which you can download from the Google Play Store or App Store for iPhone.
FALL PIE FUNDRAISER FOR CHOIR (NOW until October 23rd)
For the third year, our choir program is partnering with The Willamette Valley Pie Company to raise money to help fund our program. Proceeds go to sheet music, classroom materials, concert attire, field trips, and more! All funds that go to our choir program go directly to the students.
All choir students have order forms with menus and prices. If anyone is interested in ordering a pie or cheesecake, you need to pay with cash or check upfront. Then the order is submitted at the conclusion of the fundraiser on Friday October 23rd.
All pies are delivered to the school on Friday, November 13th and are available for pickup from 3pm to 7:30pm. If you have a pie to pick up, make sure you know the name of the student who sold you the pie as that is how order sheets are tracked.
Please contact Mr. Hellman at khellman@pps.net if you have any questions.
6th GRADE
COUNSELOR
7th GRADE
COUNSELOR
8th GRADE
*by student last name:
Ricky Almeida (student last names A - F)
Rebecca Cohen (student last names G - Z)
WSMS continues to be a NO cell phone zone from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM daily. This is a policy that we have had at WSMS for the last four years, and the state legislation and PPS School District board policy also align with our expectations. We request and advise all families to keep Scholars’ cell phones at home during the school day. If you must send your Scholar with a device, please use the parent control features to turn off access to all social media. Our school team assumes no responsibility for devices sent to school. We will not exhaust resources searching for lost or misplaced phones, as we have asked that they not be at school or used during the school day.
If a Scholar brings a cell phone to school, they will be asked to store their turned-off phone in their locker and have it out of sight throughout the entire school day (including lunches). Important messages can be sent to our main office via email (westsylvanoffice@pps.net), and will be forwarded to your Scholars through classroom phone calls. District policies related to electronic devices and other Administrative Directives can be found on the PPS website.
VOLUNTEERS
Interested in volunteering and being more involved?
Become an approved PPS volunteer by following the information here. Once your application is approved, please contact the Main Office to see how and when you can be of service or just come to campus, and we’ll show you how you can be of service. If you would like to work in a classroom, please arrange that directly with the Educator(s) prior to arriving on campus. We can always use extra help in our School Library, in our Main Office on Wednesday mornings, and during school recesses. Family members may also volunteer to run clubs with students during Advisory time.
FRIENDS OF WEST SYLVAN is a dedicated group of parents building community, supporting staff, and creating meaningful experiences for our scholars. The FoWS website is the place to go for most information, but if you ever have questions or are interested in lending a hand with our all volunteer crew, please email us at: hi@friendsofwestsylvan.org
TO CREATE YOUR FoWS ACCOUNT:
- In order to take advantage of our activities over the school year, please be sure to login to www.friendsofwestsylvan.org and get your account set up. All events will be run through this system.
- If you previously had an account, you'll be prompted to update your information upon logging in. If you are new to West Sylvan or didn't set up an account before, you'll be asked to create one. Just use your email that you provided to PPS and that will link to your family information.
- Once logged in you can determine whether you would like to be included in our family directory and what information you would like to share. Our directory requires login to access, so it's not available to the public. Any questions? Email us at hi@friendsofwestsylvan.org
PORTLAND INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE (PIL) SPORTS
Youth sports programs are run entirely through the Portland Interscholastic League (PIL). Check the PIL website at https://www.pilsports.org/ for upcoming sports seasons! West Sylvan is not involved in registration or management of the teams. All information to register Scholars for the Lincoln Cluster of PIL Youth Sports is located here.
WEDNESDAY PRE-SEASON PRACTICES
JOIN US FOR PRE-SEASON PRACTICES ON WEDNESDAYS
IN OCTOBER FROM 7:15PM TO 8:30PM AT LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL
Player placement date/time:
Sunday, November 8th from 10:00AM - 12:00PM
at Lincoln High School
*Parent meeting at 12pm following player placement
Please send questions to anniedusher@gmail.com
6th GRADE
Administrators
7th GRADE
Administrator
8th GRADE
Administrator
West Sylvan Middle School
Website: westsylvan.pps.net
Location: 8111 Southwest West Slope Drive, Portland, OR, USA