September 13, 2019

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, September 17: First meeting of the Bond Development Committee, 6 pm

Tuesday, September 24: School Board Meeting, 7 pm

News links of interest:

NHS administrators focus on a cultural change

Volunteers spruce up hallways at NHS—Newberg Graphic

Homework for School Boards with Student Success Act—OSBA

Donation for our high school CTE (career and technical education)

Cascade Steel in McMinnville donated 2000 pounds of raw steel to our industrial arts program at the high school. Harris Thermal, a Newberg company, transported it all to the high school. These donations of time and materials are another huge way our community is making a difference for our students! We celebrate and give a huge thank you to Cascade Steel and Harris Thermal.

Highlights from the week:

I've been able to start my regular practice of spending 90 minutes in every school every month, visiting classrooms and seeing the great work going on. I visited Joan Austin Elementary (where it was Principal Jen Bailey's birthday), Crater Elementary, and Chehalem Valley Middle School. Thanks to all the teachers and staff and students I got to see.

Student Success Act

Several District staff members will be attending a training and planning session Wednesday, September 18 at the Willamette Educational Service District. The article from OSBA linked above gives an idea of the broad community input needed in this process. The Oregon Department of Education is coming out with new guidance almost every week, and this will help our staff know how to plan and prepare to ensure that Newberg Schools receive funding from this once in a generation investment in public education in Oregon.

George Fox University Serve Day

Every year, all the students and staff from George Fox University close their campus and head out to do service projects on Serve Day. We're so grateful for all the ways they help our schools!

(left picture) George Fox Serve Day Students dismantle old baseball bleachers
(middle picture) Serve Students help with Kindergarten Assessments
(right picture) Serve Students prune and spruce our yards

Community Input

We are inviting staff, parents, and community to give us input on the District's Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP). This plan helps us to flesh out the goals needed to meet our overall Strategic Plan. Staff are invited to one of two dates: Wednesday Sept. 25 and Monday Oct. 7, both at 4 pm.

The parent and community dates are either Wednesday Oct. 2 or Thursday Oct. 17, both at 6 pm. Click here for more info on those dates.

Tiger Manufacturing Webpage

Did you know there is an entirely student run business at Newberg High School? Tiger Manufacturing continues to grow and expand, giving our students experience and training in all parts of running a business. Check out their new webpage for more information.

Joe's Thoughts:

We are finally starting to feel like we are back in the full swing of things, and I’ve already begun my monthly classroom visits. It’s very exciting for me to see all our staff coming together to serve student needs and really get down to the business of school. With teachers and staff working on everything from the “number of the day” in kindergarten to building physical representations of the phases of the moon at middle school, you can see the excitement of students and the dedication of our adults as they prepare every student for their futures.

We’ve also had a huge amount of support from community volunteers, most notably our George Fox students on their annual Serve Day when they come to spend their time helping beautify our schools and work with our students. It really does take our whole school community to support our students and I’m grateful for every staff and community member who’s helping every student succeed.

Joe

https://www.smore.com/k4gre