School district boundary change process begins in West Salem

A community forum October 13 kicks off the planning process for new school attendance area boundaries in West Salem. With current elementary schools Chapman Hill, Harritt, and Myers, Walker MS, and West Salem HS all with student enrollments over capacity, new elementary and middle schools now under construction north of Orchard Heights Road NW will provide much-needed overcrowding relief throughout West Salem. The new elementary and middle schools were part of the $242.1 million construction bond approved by Salem-Keizer voters in November 2008.

The community forum is Wednesday, October 13 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the West Salem High School library. Parents, staff, and interested community members are invited to attend.

The forum will share information about the boundary change work plan, school enrollments and capacities, and the School Board’s criteria for making boundary changes. People attending will examine current attendance area boundary maps and suggest possible changes. Another community forum this winter will share proposals developed by a neighborhood work team and gather reactions and input from those attending. New boundaries would be adopted by March 2011 for the 2011-12 school year. For more information, contact any West Salem school principal or project coordinator Mike Bednarek at (503) 399-3290.

Admin Staff

September 3, 2010

West Salem High School parents and community:

The most exciting day of the year (first day of school) is a weekend away. I am certainly looking forward to the start of the 2010 / 2011 academic year.

I wanted to update you on a couple things.....
1) The school district is forming a neighborhood work team that will develop proposals for new and realigned school attendance area boundaries due to the new schools opening next fall. If you are interested in being on that work team, please plan to attend the September 13th PTO meeting at 7:30pm. We will take names of interested individuals at that time and determine a process to send the names of our two representatives to the district office.
2) During in-service this week we have provided training to our teachers, classified staff, student council and peer mentoring group on The Power of Respect. The focus for students is: Respect self, respect others and respect property. We want to communicate this message at assemblies, on posters, in morning announcements and in the classroom. The message we have given the staff is that students are looking for these things from the staff:
R - respect
A - accepted
I - important
S - secure
I - included
N - noticed

Again, thank you for your continued support.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.

In appreciation,


Ed John
Principal

September 2010

West Salem parents and community:

We are excited about the start of the 2010/2011 academic year. We were able to hire some exceptional folks this summer to join our staff.

Saturday, August 21st was an amazing event. The Dream Center and West Salem Foursquare Church organized a wonderful event that brought 300 people together to spend the day pulling weeds and spreading barkdust in a community-wide campus beautification project. It was an other example of the West Salem community pulling together to support their school.

We are celebrating the fact that our state testing results indicate that we went up in each of the four state assessment areas (reading, writing, math and science). Math, writing and science showed significant gains.

This past week was a reminder that school is about ready to start with the sounds of band camp, athletic practices and teachers coming in to get their rooms ready.

Just a reminder, as we have big events at school, we have the special events parking lot behind the school for overflow parking. We want to be good neighbors and not park in the neighborhood.

Thank you for your continued support.


Ed John
Principal

February, 2010

West Salem High School Parents:

As the first semester ends and we start the second semester, I had a chance to reflect on the many positive things that are happening at West Salem High School. Students are being successful academically and our music and athletic programs have had a successful start this year.

The state report card is out (if you would like a copy, there a copies available in the main office). We were rated as satisfactory again this year. We have many things to celebrate, however we continue to work to improve our math, reading and writing scores.

The school district budget guide is available if you would like to pick up a copy from the office.

Again, thank you for your continued support. It is my pleasure to work with your students.


Ed John
Principal

October 15, 2009

West Salem parents and community:

This has been an exciting start of the academic year. Our music programs are in full swing, the athletic teams are doing well and our students are settling into their classes. Our enrollment is up to 1,700 this year and we have added a double-wide portable.

Teachers completed report cards today. You should have them in the mail within the next two weeks. Parent conferences are scheduled for November 23rd and 24th. Please make a point to attend this opportunity to meet with teachers.

This Wednesday we are honoring 383 students for being on the honor roll for their work second semester last year. We are proud of our students and appreciate their hard work.

Congratulations to Shawn Stanley, Linda Pooleon and Brenda Hauswirth for being nominated for the Crystal Apple Award. The awards ceremony is November 12th.

Our student council is working on a project to raise awareness on the important topic of bullying and harassment. I appreciate their help with this important issue.

The Titan Auction is Saturday, November 12st. Please plan to attend this event that supports student programs at West Salem High School.

Thank you for your continued support.

In appreciation,

Ed John
Principal

October 1, 2009

West Salem High School parents:

We are off to a great start with nearly 1,700 students. I am certainly proud of our students. Our athletic programs are doing well, our music programs are doing well and academically I believe this is going to be an amazing year. October 21st we will honor 383 students that are on the honor roll because of second semester grades last year.

Today in 3rd period class we are giving students a flyer to bring home regarding H1N1 safety tips. You might ask your student to retrieve it from their backpack.

The superintendent is having her annual School Talk Summit at McNary High School on Tuesday, October 21st at 7:00pm in the auditorium. You are encouraged to attend this important event.

I know this is early, but I wanted to remind parents that the two days of parent conferences are November 23 and 24.

This year we are having our monthly PTO meetings at 2:45 rather than in the evenings. Our next meeting is Tuesday, October 6th in the Titan Room. Parents are welcome to attend.

Our newsletter is coming out in a couple weeks. It will have some important information as well as a calendar of events.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Ed John
Principal