March 18th, 2013
Benson Polytechnic High School
Parent Newsletter
Letter from the Principal:
Hello Benson Community:
We had a very entertaining talent assembly on Friday. The talent show was a preliminary contest to select an act to send to the Z-Man Scholarship event on April 26th at the University of Portland Chiles Center. The event is sponsored by the Portland Police Department. The performer who will represent Benson is Alexis Whitney. Alexis is a sophomore who performs the national anthem at many of our athletic and school events.
We have late starts this week on Wednesday and Thursday for staff to participate in equity training and professional development. Classes begin for students at 10:15 both days. Teachers are available to meet with students on Thursday at 9:15 a.m. for individual help.
All students are eligible to participate in the Career Expo this Tuesday. A field trip form is required and must be turned in on Monday. Please check with your student about this form. Teachers will escort students to the Convention Center.
As always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
Carol
Upcoming Dates
March 19 Portland Career Expo at the Convention Center-1/2 day field trip for all Benson
students
March 20 Late Start-Classes start at 10:15 a.m. (staff equity PD)
March 21 Late Start-Classes start at 10:15 a.m. (staff teaching and learning PD)
March 23-31 Spring Break (no school)
Celebrations
PYAP (Portland Youth Apprenticeship Program) held interviews Friday, March 8th at Benson for apprenticeship positions in electric and manufacturing at various industry partners. There were 26 Benson juniors and seniors who participated in the interviews. Benson is the only high school in Portland offering these types of apprenticeship opportunities.
So far, three students have been selected for paid apprenticeship positions. All three will be working at Blount International.
Ricky Wade Senior Electrician
Shawn Corrigan Junior Manufacturing/Millwright
Simon Chau Junior Manufacturing/Millwright
In the upcoming weeks, more students will be selected by additional industry partners.
Talent Assembly for Z-Man Scholarship Competition
1st Place Alexis Whitney
2nd Place Felix Lilly
3rd Place Dancers: Marshae Rufener, Chris Molinar, Jeremy Vargas, Benny Luong and
Dreyme Jackson
Alexis will automatically be eligible to participate in the competition on April 26th at the Chiles Center with the chance to win a $5000 scholarship. The 2nd and 3rd place finishers will also have a chance to be wild card entries.
The talent was amazing and representative of the many ways that Benson students show their pride. Other performers included:
Jovi Asa and Donna Salavedra Dancing
Olivia Collins and Breah Etherly Singing
Rheym Fernandez Singing
Steven Washburn Drums
Kahleil Johnson Piano
Megan Schnell Singing
Enterprise Academy
Mike Ryan, social studies teacher, encouraged students to participate in the Enterprise Academy. This event is sponsored by Rotary and is held each year. It is a weekend workshop in which students have the opportunity to work with Portland business leaders and entrepreneurs. The event was held March 1-3 at Salvation Army Camp Kuratli in Boring, Oregon. Over 80 students attended from high schools throughout the metro area. Benson students who participated included:
Mike Ivezic, Kahleil Johnson, Han Nguyen, Katie Darke, John Lorenz, Susan Vang, Thao Nguyen, Tien Nguyen, Linh Tran.
Fit to Live and Learn Program
This week, a film crew will begin creating a documentary about the new PE/Health program at Benson. The freshmen class has lost over 868 pounds, improved endurance and reduced body fat percentages. The program has gained local, state and national attention. The documentary is sponsored by Health Corps and will feature the program design and results. Congratulations to teachers Linda McLellan and Katie Meyer and to Amy Barras, Benson’s Health Corps representative for their hard work in designing the curriculum and securing partners to help support the program. If you or you know of someone who might be interested in contributing to this successful program, please let us know. We are remodeling to create a Yoga space and exercise rooms with bikes and other equipment. We are also in need of industry grade exercise equipment (treadmills, spinner bikes, etc.).
Essay Contest Winner!
Senior Haja Koroma won the essay contest at the International Youth Leadership Conference held earlier this month at the Marshall Campus. Haja’s essay highlighted the challenges she experienced when she left her family in Sierra Leone and came to the United States when she was 10 years old. She is a Health Occupations major and intends to continue in the medical field with the hope of helping US immigrants and possibly returning to Sierra Leone to provide health care.
$5000 award
Communications teachers Cathy Skach and Jeanette Pelster won a trophy and a $5000 award from US Education TV. They have been using a platform on the internet (useducationtv.com) to create online tutorials for their communications classes. The award was for “Best Use of the Educational Platform.”
The award was presented at a national conference held in Los Angeles last week. Cathy Skach accompanied two students, senior McKenzie Haynes and junior, Kristine Hayes who participated in a film competition at the event.
Site Council
The next site council meeting will be April 9th at 4:00 p.m. in the library classroom. The site council is composed of teachers, administrators, classified, students, parents, alumni and community members. The council is currently working on a five-year plan for Benson. If you are interested in joining in this work, please attend our next meeting.
Teaching and Learning
This week during the late starts on Wednesday and Thursday teachers will be participating in professional development. On Wednesday, the equity workshop will include an introduction and discussion focused on culturally relevant instruction. During Thursday’s session focused on instructional practice, teachers will discuss common expectations and strategies to build literacy skills across content areas.
Equity
Part of our equity training this month will include examining our discipline data through a racial lens. We will look at types of referrals and frequency of referrals and incidents across racial groups.
We will also begin to discuss culturally responsive teaching.
Here is the website for the Pacific Education Group. http://www.pacificeducationalgroup.com/
PEG provides equity training for all PPS staff.
PTSA News
Go to http://bensonptsa.org/ to order your Season 2013 Spirit Scarfs and Seat Cushions – order on line or get them at the games!
You will also find the PTSA meetings information, minutes, agenda and general good news about Benson.
Next PTSA meeting is March 19th at 7:00 p.m. in the library classroom.
Breakfast
All students can get breakfast free of charge. Breakfast is served from 7:45-8:30. Those students who have late arrival can get breakfast in the cafeteria from 9:30-9:45.
Free and reduced lunch applications have to be filled out every year. The forms are available in the main office.
Counseling/Career Center News
Career Days
- Portland Parks and Recreation is looking to hire people for summer employment. See Ms. Ryan in the Career Center for more information.
- The Eagle Program is a paid Internship program. Only sophomores are eligible to apply for this two year program. Find applications in the career center.
- OHSU Cure is an 8-10 week paid internship. Applications are due April 5, 2013. www.ohsu.edu/diversty
v SCHOLARSHIPS:
See the Career Coordinator for more information on scholarships.
Scholarships due in March:
· Jiffy Lube –Teen Driver Scholarship for 2,500. Due- 3/25
· Future Connect Scholarship Due- 3/31
Scholarships in April
- Oregon Jaycee Foundation scholarship award of $500 due-4/1
- Tiffany Wang Scholarships $500 award due-4/1
- The Reed college young scholars Program at least one $500 scholarship awarded due-4/1
- Dr. Ethel Simon Mc Williams scholarship fund $10,000 scholarship due-4/1
- OASSA youth scholarship two 1,000 awards due-4/4
- Zman scholarship foundation “The talent within” due-4/5
- Neil Kelly Memorial Scholarship, $1,000 award due- 4/19
- 2013 Student-view scholarship program $10,500 worth of scholarships due- 4/21
- Zeta Phi sorority, incorporated, Oregon Dove scholarship for $500 awarded to an individual due- 4/29
- Humanist of greater Portland offering $2,000 scholarship due-4/30
v COLLEGE VISITS:
All visits will be held in the Career Center. You must sign up in the Counseling Center for these visits.
3/22 Fashion Institute of Design/March 10:00
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