The Guardian Gazette

Please scroll down to find more specific information about each of these events. If there is no information, stay tuned, it's coming soon but mark your calendars!

March 17 - Spring Sports Contests Underway
March 18 - Dragon Boat Team Information Meeting
March 18 - Trivia Night Fundraiser for Model United Nations
March 18-20 Semi Finals and Finals - Wells Madness at Lunch

March 23-27 Spring Break
March 30 - FOR SENIORS - 60 day rule begins
April 1 - FOR SENIORS - Mandatory Class Meeting during Flex
April 3 - Wine and Purse Fundraiser for Grad Night
April 4 - Campus Clean-Up
April 10 - FOR SENIORS Deadline to apply for IBWHS Scholarships
April 18 - IBW Auction

See more dates/information on the:

Looking Ahead to the 2026-2027 School Year, the 2026-27 District Calendar has been approved.

Mark these dates on your calendar, Times TBD
Monday, August 17th - First Day of Fall Sports

Friday, August 21st - Back to School Business Days for Juniors and Seniors

Monday, August 24th - Back to School Business Days for Sophomores and Freshman

Tuesday, August 25th - Back to School Business Day - All Grades Make-Up Day

Wednesday, August 26th - Jump Start Day for Freshman Only

Thursday, August 27th - First Day of School for all Grades

Monday, August 31st - Make-Up Photo/ID Day

Congratulations to Senior, Sophie Lafrenz, who was named IBWHS Rose Festival Queen this afternoon! Here is more about Sophie!

"Hi, my name is Sophie Lafrenz, and I'm a senior! Through the position of Rose Court Princess, I hope to continue to promote inclusivity and support students at Wells. Throughout my four years, I have worked to foster these ideals in many different ways. I’m a captain of the varsity women’s lacrosse and swim teams, co-president of the Positive Charge Club and the Rising Educators Club, a member of the band, and a part of several other clubs including Model UN, Birdwatching Club, Athletic Leadership Council, and National Honor Society. I also have the privilege of volunteering twice a week as an intern at Stephenson Elementary School through the IBW Education Pathway, alongside helping to organize many fundraisers, projects, and events through Positive Charge to make a direct impact on the lives of teens in our community.

Outside of school, I work part-time as a swim instructor, lifeguard, and youth lacrosse coach. Some of my favorite hobbies include spending time with friends and family, playing Just Dance, and any activity where I can be outside.

After high school, I will be attending and playing lacrosse at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington with hopes of becoming a teacher. Being selected as a member of the Rose Court would allow me to proudly represent the Ida B. Wells community and our core values of engagement, advocacy, and kindness. It will also be an opportunity to promote the experiences of Guardians and our peers across Portland as we continue to work together to build a welcoming community."

In addition, congratulations are in order for IBW Band Director, Nick Caldwell, who has been selected as a honorary Rose Festival Royal Rosarian. He will be knighted on June 5th!

You can watch the event here Live Stream of Event, March 17

ADDENDUM
For the whole community, please do not park in handicap spots unless you have a handicap placard. We have community members who need these spots to be open for them!

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Hey Seniors and Juniors,

Quick reminder about parking! Starting THIS week, cars parked in the wrong spots or without a visible parking pass will get stickers, and repeated violations could lead to towing ($425 to get your car out of impound).

Here’s what you need to know:

• Parking Pass: Hang it from your rearview mirror! Even if your car is registered, you must have the tag visible.

• Senior Spots: 118 spots on campus (north side, Pickleball Courts → Food Park). First come, first served.

• Rieke Spots: 30 IBW-marked spots. Juniors and Seniors only with a pass. Do not park in other Rieke spots – those are for staff and families.

• Staff Parking: All Ida B. Wells staff members have assigned spaces. If you park in a staff spot, they report it to the school, and your car will be added to our student parking infractions spreadsheet.

• Safety: Drive slowly (10 mph max) in all parking lots. Rieke's parents have reported fast driving. Watch out for students walking!

• No-Go Zones: Staff parking, loading zones, and no-parking areas = towing risk.

Important: Parking on campus is a privilege, not a right. Students who cannot follow the rules may lose their parking pass or not be issued one for the 2026–2027 school year.

See someone breaking the rules?

• Tell a Campus Security Associate (CSA): Katie Parnell, Garrett Norman, or Tony Phipps, or stop by Room 139 or the Main Office.

• License plate number helps, but a car description works too.

Remember, parking is first come, first served. If there’s no space, you’ll need to park in the neighborhood.

Thanks for helping keep our parking safe and fair!

— Ida B. Wells High School

Last week we hosted our first Ida B Wellness Fair! The event felt like a HUGE success. While there is, of course, always room for improvement (surveys coming to staff and students soon), the positive feedback has been immense. It was so fun to walk around and see lots of smiling faces. I want to give a HUGE shout out to every parent and community member that came in and hosted a breakout session. Whether the session was attended by 2 students or 30, it made a huge impact. Even this week, I am having students pop by my office and give thanks for the Wellness Fair. It absolutely would not have been possible without all of you. I truly cannot put into words the gratitude that I feel toward every person that helped, big or small. Thank you so much! If you would like to host something next year, please reach out. We will definitely be doing it again!

Thanks!

Britni Locke, LCSW, LSSW

she/her

School Social Worker

Weekly GNN https://youtu.be/kO8hrOf4_Yw

Congratulations to Junior Brennen Robb for an outstanding achievement! Brennen placed 2nd in the district for Solo Trumpet and has earned the position of First Alternate for the State Solo Competition. We are proud of Brennen’s hard work, dedication, and musicianship. Way to represent our program!

Creativity was in full swing in ASL 5–6 on Monday as students showcased their artistic talents by blending ASL signs & visual art. Here are some pictures of some of the fun!

The Dragon Boat season begins right after Spring Break on Monday, March 30th with practices being on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4:00-5:30 at the south Waterfront Dock (Near the Hawthorn Bridge) all culminating in June with Dragon Boat races during the Rose Festival.

Team members come to this important meeting on Wednesday, March 18 during lunch in Room 245 to get the needed paperwork and waivers. We are still looking for more team members so come to the meeting to find out more!

IBW Geology swept the medals for the Rocks and Minerals event in the Oregon State Science Olympiad! So proud of my rock stars!

Please come to Trivia Night at The Record Pub in Sellwood on Wednesday, March 18th. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Ida B Wells Model UN Club. With this fundraiser, we are hoping to raise money to help alleviate some of the costs for our students to go to the Model UN Conference at the University of Oregon in April.

The Record Pub

6034 SE Milwaukie Ave

Portland, OR

Seniors, don't miss your opportunity to apply for 6 unique IBW Scholarships.
APPLY HERE Deadline is April 10th!

Watch for our Spring Preview Coming Soon!

Check out the Weekly Schedule here: https://www.ibwathletics.com/this-week

Get Your IBW Sports Button! Show your school spirit by purchasing a IBW sports button for just $5-- add up the amount of buttons needed and pay that x5 ! Once your button is ready, we’ll deliver it directly to your student to bring home or you can email ecaldwell@pps.net if you prefer to pick it up from our school. Purchase on SchoolPay Today https://www.schoolpay.com/pay/for/Photo-Buttons-w-IBW-Athlete-Photo/SeywSvE

The Ida B. Wells Snowboard Team had an incredible performance at the Oregon Interscholastic Snowboard Association (OISA) State Championships, bringing home the State Title for the Boys Team!

Our riders competed at the highest level across multiple events and delivered outstanding individual and team results despite the weather last week and this season..

Halfpipe – Girls
• Olivia Freeman – 5th Place

Halfpipe – Boys
🥇 Kenny Ruckers – 1st Place
• Milo Baxter-Neal – 6th Place
• Renton Craighill – 11th Place

Slopestyle – Boys
🥈 Kenny Ruckers – 2nd Place
• Ronan Allison – 8th Place

Banked Slalom – Boys
• Weston Callough – 12th Place
• Renton Craighill – 15th Place
• Ronan Allison – 16th Place

Team Result:

🥇 Ida B. Wells Boys Snowboard Team – 2026 OISA State Champions 🥇

This achievement reflects the hard work, dedication, and talent of our riders and coaches all season long. We’re incredibly proud of these riders.

Go Guardians!

The Ida B Wells Ski Race Team ended the season with more great results. Four team members made it to the State Championships. Leila took first place in the Three Rivers League for Slalom (SL), Giant Slalom (GS) and the Combined award. Anya took 9th place in SL & GS. Lauren took 8th place in SL. Julian took 3rd place in SL and 14th in GS.

At the State competition Leila was also a big winner taking 4th place in SL. Now all 4 athletes are heading to the Western States High School Championships as part of Team Oregon, March 15-18th.

Julian Loriaux, Lauren Leet, Anya Tallman, Kaden Bertell (Wilsonville HS, training partner), Leila Loriaux.

Hello Ida B. Wells Community,

The Ida B. Wells Booster Club is excited to invite you to the 2026 annual School Auction. Our auction will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. We hope you will join us to support our student community!

For those not familiar, the purpose of the Ida B. Wells Booster Club is to help student programs advance, foster community spirit and raise funds to complement the Ida B. Wells High School student body. Our Booster Club supports Athletics Teams, Organizations and Student Clubs by providing grant funds for critical needs not covered by the PPS budget. (Here’s a video of recent grants we have provided.) Booster Club Grants have paid for needs such as camps, conferences, specialized training, equipment, student scholarships, tournaments fees and much more. The auction is an avenue for IBW groups to raise funds thereby enriching the overall experience for Ida B. Wells students.

Our Booster Club is very excited to take it back to the Awesome 80s with the goal of raising at least $80,000 for groups and programs at IBW! We are looking forward to a successful auction with all of your support! On April 18, Let’s Go Crazy supporting student programs at Ida B Wells!

Tickets are now available to purchase for $75 per person or $150 per couple. You may also sponsor an IBWHS Teacher/Staff member by purchasing a staff ticket for $75. This is an adult-only event and includes dinner and drinks. Tickets can be purchased here. Get out your Aquanet and parachute pants, and be ready to raise some dough to help fund enrichment opportunities for IBW students!

Below is a FAQ to answer all questions you may have about this year’s event! It’s going to be a fantastic evening celebrating and raising funds for our community.

When and where is the auction? It is this Saturday April 18 at 530PM at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.

How do I buy tickets? Tickets can be purchased here.

What are we raising money for? The Booster Club is hosting the auction and will have items in the auction to raise money for the club. All IBW athletics, clubs, programs and organizations are able to donate items to the auction, and the money goes directly to that group (less a small fee). So this event is your chance to support the groups that are important to you!

Will there be a paddle raise? Yes, we have a planned Paddle Raise for the Booster Club general fund. Our general fund will allow Boosters to continue funding grants for our groups - student clubs, sports teams, sports clubs and organizations.

What can I expect at this year’s auction? There will be a silent auction, a Buy Now board that you can buy gift cards for face value, a wine wall hosted by the PTA, a Wheel of Fortune game, Heads or Tails to support IBW Athletics and dancing!

What do I wear? We want you to be comfortable and have fun so there is no dress code however lots of people will be dressed in 1980s costumes. Think parachute pants, neon, big hair and leg warmers. No matter what you choose to wear, we just want to see you there supporting and raising money for our school!

Where will I sit? What if I don’t know anyone? This year there won’t be assigned table seating unless you prearrange a group with us. Come grab a drink, eat some great food, and mingle with other parents. I have a group of friends and want to sit with them! If your group buys 10 tickets, we are happy to reserve a table for you. Email auction@ibwboosterclub.org with the people you want at your table.

Will there be food and drinks? There will be light hors d'oeuvres, a dinner buffet and hosted bar included with the ticket price.

What is the parking situation? The MJCC has tons of free parking.

Can I sponsor a teacher, coach or staff to attend? Yes! We have a fund for teacher, staff and coaches to attend. Click here to support.

How can I get real time updates about the auction? Follow: Facebook and Instagram to get real time auctions updates!

If I can’t go to the auction, can I still donate to the fund? You can donate here.

Will there be an online auction this year? Yes! There will be an online auction after the auction open to everyone in our community.

Can I still donate something to the auction? Yes! We are accepting donations until April 1. Click here to donate.

Can students attend the auction? Unfortunately, no. Our annual Auction is intended to be an event for adult supporters of IBW.

Let’s go crazy raising money for IBW! Please email auction@ibwboosterclub.org if you have any questions.

Sara Gray, Realtor

Sarah Pitzman

City Thai

Garfinkle Orthodontics

Grant Announcement

Bingo

Don't miss Monday bingo every week at the Old Barn at 6:30 PM! Bring cash to purchase your cards and not only are you supporting the IBW teams and clubs, but you could win big! Follow our Instagram or Facebook for weekly updates.

Booster Membership: http://www.schoolpay.com/link/joinibw

The number of booster members and volunteer hours from a team or group is evaluated in the grant application process, so joining boosters helps your team or club!

IBW Merch

Support Booster Club by shopping online here. Guardians merch is available for sale at ComeUnity PDX. This is an Ida B. Wells family-owned shop located in Multnomah Village at 3536 SW Troy St B, Portland, OR 97219. Get the perfect gift by giving a gift card for IBW Booster Merch!

Stay up to date in real time! Instagram Facebook Favorite Links - Linktree

FaithBridge Portland invites you to save the date for the 2nd annual Black Girl LIVE! suicide awareness and prevention event for Black and Brown girls ages 12 to 17 and the adults who support them. Last year’s event hosted approximately 100 girls from Portland and beyond for education and celebration in an intentionally created space. The event is supported by OHA and intended to raise awareness, promote healing and offer access to culturally relevant resources and strategies.

Save the date: May 15, 2026

Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Location: 2800 NE Liberty Street, Portland (University of Oregon Portland campus)