The Current

Message from the Superintendent

Seeking Calendar Committee Applicants

Safety Symposium About Fentanyl and Firearms

Practicing Standard, Response Protocols

RSVP for Superintendent Listening Sessions

Last Call for Bond Committee Members

Open House to Review New LOJ Plans

Educational Data: 504, IEP, ACT and SAT

Veterans Day, No School Tomorrow

No School Days Coming Up

Celebration of Life for Tobi Webster

Inclement Weather Procedures

LOSD COVID-19 Information:

• LOSD COVID-19 Dashboard
  
• Community Level: Low

Community Reminders:

• Nominate an Unsung Hero
• Annual SASEE Awards: Call for Nominations
  
• Street Maintenance Fee City Council Session
  
• Lakewood Children's Theater Productions
  

Regular Reminders:

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

Active engagement is a signature of our learning community. It is what makes us stronger and better together. I am making the most of the opportunity to engage in person, and have been meeting with students, teachers, staff, and parents to hear from you what we can do to best serve your student in our schools. Feedback directly impacts students’ experience in our schools and shapes who we are as a district.

Recently we asked for your preferences about the school calendar start and end dates and a slight majority want us to consider a change. About 575 employees and 1,100 families provided input and more than 55 percent prefer to start school after Labor Day. To make sure we are considering calendar impacts from all perspectives, we are forming an Ad Hoc Calendar Committee with teachers, staff, parents/guardians, and students to review and weigh these considerations and make a recommendation. Our School Board votes on the school calendar and the goal is to have an approved calendar for the 2023-2024 school year by February. It may feel late, but it was in February of 2015 when we made the last major change to the calendar and moved the start of school before Labor Day. Thoughtfulness sometimes takes time.

Something else to look forward to is our new Mandarin Chinese Immersion program, which will begin with a kindergarten and first-grade cohort next school year. We hired two teachers with extensive experience in Mandarin Chinese Immersion programs to spearhead the planning and development of our new program. They are on staff this year, also serving as substitute teachers at Palisades. We are fortunate to have their full attention on developing the program while working closely with our immersion teachers and families to get to know our system. Mark your calendars for a parent information night Wednesday, Dec. 7, and the enrollment opening in January.

We are moving steadily on many initiatives, in step with our community to make sure it is who we are and want to be. Thank you for being an active and engaged member of our learning community.

We are seeking parents/guardians and students who are interested in serving on the Superintendent’s Ad Hoc Calendar Committee. The Calendar Committee is tasked with evaluating several considerations, including feedback from the recent community survey, to develop a recommendation for a new district calendar starting in the 2023-2024 school year. The recommendations will include the start and end dates for the school year, as well as conferences and professional development days.

Meetings will be held in person at the LOSD Administration Building on December 6, December 13, and January 4, 4:30-6 p.m. Please submit this application by November 27. Applicants will be notified of committee selection soon after.

LOSD is hosting the 2022 Fall Safety Symposium in partnership with Homeland Security, Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership (GOFRO), and BeSMART. All in our learning community are welcome to attend the in-person session.

Wednesday, Nov. 30

6-7 p.m.

Lake Oswego High School Library

Special guest speakers will give us the facts on critical safety issues in our schools and community, share life-saving information, and provide proactive strategies for families.

• Topic 1: Secure Storage of Firearms - BeSMART for Kids & Teens!
• Topic 2: The Fentanyl Crisis and the Role of Narcan

Several times a year our schools practice Standard Response Protocols, which is a set of research-based actions/drills designed to prepare students, staff, and parents/guardians for emergency situations.

By the end of next week, all 11 of our schools will have completed their first of two annual lockdown drills. A lockdown is a protocol for responding to a threat inside our buildings. We conduct these drills because, although the likelihood is low, incidents do happen. We need to be sharp and ready to ensure everyone's safety. Additionally, next Friday, Nov. 18, the third, fourth, and fifth-grade classes at Palisades World Language School will participate in a reunification drill.

We recommend parents/guardians review this SPR outline and scroll down to the "SRP K12 Parent Handout" for more detail.

We want to hear from you! Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Schiele is hosting listening sessions to talk with parents/guardians about what your student needs in school. Parents/guardians of students in all grade levels are invited to attend the most convenient session.

Monday, Nov. 14

6-7:30 p.m.

Lake Oswego High School Cafeteria

Thursday, Dec. 1

6-7:30 p.m.

Lakeridge High School Cafeteria

These sessions are also an opportunity to sample some of the offerings from LOSD Nutrition Services. Please RSVP here to help us plan for refreshments and any accommodations you made need.

The Bond Accountability Committee (BAC) and Long Range Facility Planning (LRFP) Committee are seeking parents/guardians and community residents to serve on the volunteer advisory committees.

BAC is charged with monitoring the planning and progress of the district’s capital bond projects relative to voter-approved work scope, schedule, and budget objectives. The committee needs citizens with experience in building design, construction, and construction financing, law, contracting, budgeting, and/or auditing.

LRFP works with district staff to analyze facility needs and make recommendations to the School Board. The committee needs citizens interested in conducting community outreach to parents/guardians, students, staff, and community members and developing recommendations that inform the capital bond program approved by Lake Oswego voters.

Find more information on the capital bond program on the district and bond websites.

Please submit an application by November 11 if interested in serving on one of these two committees.

All are invited to the open house to review the plans for the new Lake Oswego Middle School.

Saturday, Dec. 10

10-11 a.m.

Lake Oswego Junior High

We look forward to sharing the plans developed in collaboration with our design advisory team and feedback from students, staff, families, and neighbors. The new school will be built and open in the 2025-2026 school year. Construction of the new school building is funded by the bond measure approved by Lake Oswego voters. Thank you!

Integral to learning and improving is assessing data. In continued transparency, district staff shared at the LO School Board meeting an update on educational data related to 504 plans by demographic groups, students with disabilities by demographic group, and Advanced Placement (AP) scores. Also shared was information regarding the status of SAT and ACT testing for college admissions and scholarships. For the complete presentation, visit the School Board meeting agenda and video for November 7, 2022.

Schools and offices are closed in observance of Veterans Day tomorrow, November 11. Classes will resume Monday, Nov. 14.

Veteran's Day is a national holiday celebrating freedom, sacrifice, and honor for those who served in the military. It also is a day dedicated to giving thanks to people who served. May we never forget them and the sacrifices they made.

Middle school students are off of school next Friday, Nov. 18. Teachers will be preparing grades for the end of the trimester.

All students are off of school November 21-25 for Thanksgiving Break. LOSD is hosting its annual professional development session for all of our teachers that Monday and Tuesday.

All students, teachers and staff return to school Monday, Nov. 28.

All are invited to gather with family and friends to celebrate the life of former employee Tobi Webster.

Sunday, Nov. 20

1-4 pm

At The Garages in Lake Oswego

Please RSVP here to help the organizers plan.

It's time for a reminder about our inclement weather procedures. If severe weather is forecasted, in most circumstances, the decision to cancel classes or start school 2-hours late will not be made the night before but will be made before 6:20 a.m. on the day of the weather event.

You will be notified via voice message, text, email, and push notification via LOSD mobile app, as well as an alert on the school websites and local news channels. If you are unsure of a notification, double-check multiple communication channels to verify its validity.

In the event of inclement weather, schools will remain in session if the majority of our students and staff members can travel safely. Because of the varied topography in Lake Oswego, hazardous conditions occasionally may exist in a limited area while roads in the remainder of the district are safe for travel. If parents believe conditions in their area make it unsafe for students to travel to school, LOSD will support their decision to keep their children at home.

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).

Each year the City of Lake Oswego’s “Unsung Hero” Award honors an individual or a group who has worked quietly behind the scenes on behalf of the community without any expectation of recognition. If you know an unsung hero in our community, please submit Name an Unsung Hero ~ 2022 | City of Lake Oswego by Monday, Dec. 5, 9:00 AM. Contact Kim Vermillion with any questions.

Each year, the Rotary Club of Lake Oswego presents SASEE Awards to individuals in our community who exemplify Rotary's Service Above Self by an exceptional contribution in support of education. As in the past, SASEE Awards are presented in three categories: Students, Educators, and Community Citizens. To nominate a worthy individual, please visit rotarySASEE.org.

The Lake Oswego City Council will have a Study Session on November 15 and vote on the proposed Street Maintenance Fee increase on December 6, 2022. The proposed rate increases would take effect July 1, 2023.

Whether you are walking, running, riding, or rolling, we want pathways, sidewalks, and roadways to be safe and accessible for all. To do so, the City Council is proposing to increase the Street Maintenance Fee to provide additional funding for pedestrian safety improvements. Funds could be used for projects like pathways, sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps, and bicycle lanes for safer access and connectivity to neighborhoods, schools, business districts, and recreation areas.

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.