Skyline School

February 11 -- Styrofoam recycling event at Skyline

February 15 -- late opening

February 20 -- No School, President's Day

February 21 -- PTA Meeting, 6:00

February 22 -- Kindergarten Roundup, 6:00-7:30 (for parents and students entering Skyline in Fall, 2012)

February 28 -- Kindergarten Classroom visit (for students entering Skyline in Fall, 2012) 1-2pm

February 28 -- Middle School Information Night  6-7 pm

February 29 -- Concert 2/3 graders, 4/5 students on recorders, 6-8 guitar students

March 3 -- Auction

March 5 -- Family Night Out at Fresh Thyme Soup

March 21 -- Night of the Notables (7th Grade students and families)

Dear Skyline community - 

On January 23 the PPS School Board unanimously adopted the Superintendent's recommendation to end Skyline students' guaranteed enrollment at East/West Sylvan Middle School.  (Likewise, the Board ended Sabin K-8 students' guaranteed enrollment at Beaumont Middle School, and approved several boundary and configuration changes to four Northeast Portland schools.)  You can see the full text of the Board's decisions here:  http://www.pps.k12.or.us/news/6939.htm.  The implications for Skyline are as follows:

• Skyline-area students currently enrolled at East/West Sylvan can remain there until they have completed 8th-grade.  For these students, the Board directed "phasing out" bus transportation from the Skyline attendance area to Sylvan, "utilizing the most efficient centralized routing system possible."  I await additional information from Transportation about the proposed timeline for this "phase-out," and about opportunities for Skyline families to have input on this process.  I will let you know as soon as I hear more.

• Skyline-area students currently at Skyline (including this year's 5th-graders) who wish to attend East/West Sylvan in Fall 2012, will need to enter the PPS School Choice lottery on the same basis as other PPS students.  Information about the School Choice lottery can be found here:  http://www.pps.k12.or.us/departments/enrollment-transfer/schoolchoice.htm  Interested students must apply between February 10 and March 9.  The specific number of "slots" available at East/West Sylvan is currently being finalized.

• The Skyline Middle Grades team and I will lead a Skyline Middle School Information Night in February -- at which we will highlight our IB Middle Years Programme, our commitment to community service, and the rich opportunities for community-building and interdisciplinary planning that come with a K-8 model.  We will notify you of the date within the week.

I will provide additional updates to the Site Council on February 1st about our planning for this change.  I welcome your input on this decision, and look forward to sharing with this community our plans for a strong, adaptable, internationally-minded Middle Grades program at Skyline.

David Wood