The Current

Message from the Superintendent

Celebrating Lunar New Year

Elementary Immersion Info Night Jan. 25

Read-A-Thon Exceeds Expectations

2023-24 School Year Registration Now Open

Volunteer Policy Updates

Help Support Lake Oswego School Levy

Budget Committee Seeking New Members

New River Grove Construction Progress

New School Calendar Recommended

School Board Meeting

Save the Date: First Annual Foundation Gala

Health Information:

• LOSD COVID-19 Dashboard
  
• Community Level: Low

After-School Programs

• Loch Ness Codeathon
  
• Pacer Dance Team Junior Clinic

Community Reminders:

• Lunar New Year Festival
• Calling Teen Artists: Outside the Art Room
  

Regular Reminders:

• What's New at Community School
  
• Hunger Fighters Oregon
• Safe Oregon
  
• School Incident Reporting
  
• Get Social with LOSD

It has been a wonderful week hosting open houses at each of our neighborhood elementary schools for parents/guardians of incoming kindergartners. Feeling the excitement, curiosity, and anticipation of our newest families is highly motivating as we look to welcome them into our schools and begin an educational journey together.

Registration is now open for all students who will be new to LOSD next school year. That means, if you have a student who is brand new to our district or is returning after any time away, please register online. If you have a current LOSD student who is rising up to middle or high school next year, you do NOT need to register them because they are already in our system. You will receive information about forecasting for classes, open houses, and school tours coming soon.

New for next year is our Mandarin Chinese Immersion program, which will be joining our Spanish Immersion program at Palisades World Language School. If you are interested in applying for our immersion program, first register your student with your neighborhood school. Then complete an immersion program application, which will be available next week in conjunction with the open house at Palisades on January 25.

So many new students to welcome, families to meet, and joy filling our schools!

Lunar New Year, which officially begins on January 22, celebrates the beginning of a lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar whose months are moon cycles. It is observed by numerous cultures around the world. Often times it is referred to as Chinese New Year but LOSD has adopted Lunar New Year as it is more inclusive of all cultures celebrating this day.

Palisades World Language School recognized Lunar New Year with performances and activities that are traditionally part of Lunar New Year festivities. Palisades will be home to our new Mandarin Chinese Immersion program starting next school year. Applications for the program open next Wednesday, Jan. 25.

All are invited to the Elementary Immersion Program Information Night and attend both or either session of interest.

Wednesday, January. 25

Chinese Mandarin Immersion Information 6-6:45 p.m.

Spanish Immersion Information 7-7:45 p.m.

Palisades World Language School

First, register your student with your neighborhood elementary school before applying for the immersion program. Immersion program applications will open on January 25. For the fall of 2023, Spanish Immersion is accepting applications for students entering kindergarten and Chinese Mandarin Immersion is accepting applications for students entering either kindergarten or first grade.

Thank you to all who participated in and supported the Winter Break Read-a-Thon. The high school student-led DECA project inspired our students to read more than 3,000 books and raised more than $18,000 for the City of Lake Oswego Library and SMART Reading, an Oregon-based organization whose goal is to provide access to books and reading sessions to students in need.

With 725 books tracked, Lake Grove Elementary won top honors for the most books read by one school. Lake Grove students were recognized at an assembly with a presentation of "Read-a-Thon Champions" banner that will hang in the school library. Watch the fun video created by the student organizers to announce the results before handing out the awards in person. Other top recognitions will be presented to Forest Hills, Oak Creek, and Westridge for the most money raised, and to each student who read the most books overall and in their grade level across the district.

Registration for the 2023-24 school year is now open for new students who have never enrolled in Lake Oswego before and returning students who are not currently enrolled but will re-enroll for next year. LOSD is pleased to offer online registration through its parent portal, ParentVUE (contact your resident school for help with logging in). See the Registration & Verification page of the LOSD website for guidance. Parents/guardians do not need to register students for 2023-24 who are currently attending during the 2022-23 school year.

The Lake Oswego School Board has updated its policies to help clarify requirements for our volunteers regarding background checks and criminal records checks through fingerprinting. Updated policy IICC and policy and administrative rule GCDA are available in the LOSD Policy Manual on our website under School Board.

Find information about the updates and answers to frequently asked questions on the district and school website under Volunteer Application in Find it Fast, Resources.

The Renew Lake Oswego School Levy campaign team is looking for volunteers to help support the upcoming Lake Oswego Schools Levy, which is up for renewal in the May 2023 election. If approved by voters, the levy would protect educational excellence in Lake Oswego without increasing local taxes. Without it, we would be forced to make cuts critical to educational programs. It would also lead to shorter school years and class sizes increases. There are many ways you can contribute to the campaign efforts. If you are interested in getting involved, please email loschoolslevy2023@gmail.com.

LOSD is currently accepting applications for an open position on the Legal Budget Committee. The Legal Budget Committee consists of members of the LO School Board and five citizen members who are charged with reviewing and approving the budget for the upcoming school year. Citizen members are appointed to three-year terms and typically meet three to four times in the spring.

Click here for an application or visit the district website, Business Services Department. Applications are due Feb. 2, by 4 p.m.

Check out the latest drone footage of the River Grove Elementary School construction program. The new school building will support best practices in education, relieve overcrowded classrooms and common areas, implement sustainable and highly efficient building construction and building operations, provide immediate occupancy standards in case of a seismic event, and make right-of-way improvements to parking lots, sidewalks, and neighborhood traffic patterns. Construction is slated to be completed for the school to open in the fall of 2024. Thank you Lake Oswego voters for supporting our schools and building our future together.

A new calendar starting for the 2023-24 school year, developed by the Superintendent's Ad Hoc Calendar Committee, has been recommended to the School Board. Find the complete recommendation made at the school board meeting Tuesday, Jan. 10 on the website under School Board / Archived Meetings. Look for the video, and in the work session, part of the agenda click on item 3.0 to watch the presentation and listen to the discussion for more information.

Our learning community is encouraged to review the recommendation and provide feedback to the board. The final calendar will be decided at the board meeting on Monday, Feb. 6.

Monday, Jan. 23

Robotics Programs Tour 5 p.m.

Regular Session following tour, approximately 6:00 p.m.

Agenda posted on the district website

LOSD Central Office, Boardroom

The Lake Oswego School Board meetings are being held in person and are open to the public. In-person attendance is limited to those who occupy available seating first and observe meeting guidelines for conduct. Doors will open approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the public session. All may observe the public session remotely by clicking here.

Board members take both written and in-person testimony. Click here for instructions for members of the public who wish to provide in-person testimony. Submit an email to the Board Secretary kelli.cranston@loswego.k12.or.us by 12 p.m. day of the meeting. IMPORTANT: Type “In-Person Testimony” in the subject line.

The LOSD COVID-19 Dashboard is updated. The dashboard shows the number of staff and students who have reported testing positive for COVID-19, regardless of school exposure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine the COVID-19 community levels. Using this data, the COVID-19 community level is classified as low, medium, or high. Clackamas County is currently in low (green).

It’s Time To Dance! All youth grades PreK-8 are welcome to participate in the Lakeridge Pacer Dance Team (PBT) Jr. Dance Clinic.

Saturday, Feb. 18

10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Lakeridge High School

Participants will learn a routine and perform together at the varsity boys' basketball game on Feb 21. Registration and details: www.lakeridgedance.com

Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit at the Lunar New Year Festival, Lake Oswego Public Library, Saturday, Jan. 28, 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

• 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: Stop by the Children’s Library (lower level) to make red envelopes and hanging lanterns. Listen to a children’s story read in Chinese or Vietnamese, and learn the traditional way to fold a dumpling.
• 1:15-1:30 p.m.: On the main floor, children from Heart Strings Mandarin will offer a special performance of songs, dance, and poetry.
• 2:00-2:15 p.m.: Enjoy a spectacular lion dance performance by members of The White Lotus Dragon and Lion Dance.
• 2:25_4:00 p.m.: Head to the second floor for a Chinese ink painting demonstration by local artist Yanan Dai.

This festival was organized in collaboration with LO for LOve and is sponsored by the Friends of the Lake Oswego Public Library. Admission is free. The Lake Oswego Public Library is located at 706 Fourth Street, Lake Oswego.

The Outside the Art Room, Teen Art Showcase + Auction is back for its 6th year, and applications for artists are open! Any youth in grades 6-12 can apply to showcase and/or sell their artwork at the event on Friday, Feb. 24, 6-8 p.m. Pre-requisites: Artists must be in grades 6-12, be available to attend the event, and must donate one piece of artwork to the silent auction.

Find more information and apply to participate by Friday, Feb. 7. The program is hosted by the City of Lake Oswego Parks & Recreation department.

The LOSD Community School is offering virtual enrichment programs and activities for students of all ages including culinary, STEM, arts, language, and athletics. Check out this week's edition.

Visit the food pantry at 4 Monroe Parkway, Suite A. Deliveries are available on Mondays.

Shop in hours:

• Wednesdays 5-7 p.m.
• Friday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Sundays 3-5 p.m.

Learn more at hungerfightersoregon.org.

Reach out to your principal with concerns to maintain strong lines of communication and partnership between students, families, staff, and other resources.

SafeOregon is also an effective way to report a tip regarding safety threats or potential acts of violence to our students or schools. https://www.safeoregon.com/ Be aware that intentionally providing a false report is a serious offense.

LOSD Incident Reports are for students and adults to report incidents that occur in school. Incidents may be microaggressions, harassment or discrimination related to race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other aspect of identity. Find incident reports on each school's website under Find It Fast / Report an Incident.

Incidents may also be reported to an administrator, a trusted staff member, or anonymously to SafeOregon.com.

LOSD has ramped up its social media presence. Please join us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @weareLOSD

Email: info@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org
Location: 2455 Country Club Road, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: (503) 534-2000
Facebook: facebook.com/weareLOSD
Twitter: @weareLOSD

You are receiving this message because you are the parent or guardian of a student in the Lake Oswego School District. We hope you will assist us in our efforts to communicate efficiently and economically by continuing to receive these messages. If you need to change your parent email address, please contact your school.