Portland Lutheran School ~ Pre-K - 12th Grade

7th Grade Goes to the Gorge

donnm — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:35:45 +0000

On Friday, September 3rd, the 7th grade class spent the day exploring God’s beautiful creation in the Columbia River Gorge.

The students hiked to Wahclella Falls, where they were able to play in the stream and climb into a cave. They then ate lunch at Crown Point and admired the panoramic views. The class had a great time enjoying the beautiful day.

Meet the “New” High School English Teacher!

donnm — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 21:39:40 +0000

Have you met our new English teacher, Ms. Cole? You may remember her as our former English teacher, Ms. Zelinka!

Koty Zelinka and Jason Cole were married on July 3, 2010 in a small ceremony in the forest near Camp 18 on the way to Seaside. Ms. Zelinka is happy to be known by her new name now, so try it out the next time you see her in the hallway!

PLS Enrollment Up 6.3%

donnm — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:54:59 +0000

Portland Lutheran School welcomed 220 students on opening day (Wed. Sep. 1) – a 6.3% increase over last year!

Sixty one new students helped fill the halls of PLS : 24 in PreKindergarten/Kindergarten, 8 in the elementary school, 15 in the middle school, and 14 in the high school.

Another great year has started!

P.T.O. – Picnic, Fundraisers & SCRIP

donnm — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:07:45 +0000

Back To School Picnic : Please join us at 5 PM on Monday August 30 for fun, fellowship, and sandwiches! We’ll be serving Subway sandwiches, thanks to our friends at the Powell/182nd store. Get a head start on your SHARE hours if you can help with set up, serving, or clean up. Please contact Pam Merritt at extension 354 or pmerritt@portland-lutheran.org

Fall Fundraisers : We welcome back the Entertainment Book Sale this Fall. At $25 each, these books are super easy to sell, so start asking your family and friends for pre-orders! We’d like to sell 400 books. Cookie Dough sales will begin in October, for delivery just in time for Thanksgiving. More details will be forthcoming. Let your family and friends know that they can order their dough from you! Fundraisers this year have a cool twist – students will be appreciated mid-sale for their efforts with treats and recognition in school assemblies. Our top sellers will have an extra treat of entering the cash machine for prizes and $$$!

SCRIP : It’s time to think SCRIP again. September order dates are the 7th and the 20th. Delivery is always the Friday of that same week. Last year we profited over $4,300 and with your help, we can reach our goal of $8,000. It’s a win/win fundraiser. Let’s say you purchase $100 in Fred Meyer SCRIP – you’ll receive a $100 gift card to use for anything at any Fred Meyer store. Your checks aren’t deposited until after the SCRIP is delivered, so you don’t have that “out of pocket/pay ahead” feeling. It’s super easy and there is something for everyone on the order form. Please contact Pam Merritt at extension 354 or pmerritt@portland-lutheran.org if you have questions. All orders can be dropped off at any school office, and late orders can be accepted on Tuesdays before 9 AM.

PTO Membership : Would you like to join us as we support PLS and our students? We are always looking for new ideas and helping hands. Please contact Pam Merritt at extension 354 or pmerritt@portland-lutheran.org

PLS alumnus receives Princeton scholarship

Zelinka — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:38:06 +0000

Portland Lutheran graduate Sean McGuire recently received a full tuition scholarship and stipend to conduct research in the Lasers and Applied Physics doctorate program at Princeton University. Sean graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane on May 16, with a double major in mathematics and physics.

To read more about Sean, click the link for the entire article from The Gresham Outlook.

Girls track team places third at state

Zelinka — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:12:21 +0000

Sophomore Lindsay LeBrun scored 24.5 of her teams 48.5 points to help lead the Jays to the third place trophy after finishing 1st in the 200m, 2nd in the 100m (by .01 second), and 3rd in the 400m. She also anchored the 4x100m relay team. Other individual finishes include: Ali Brauer (11), who paced her way to 2nd in the 3000m and 5th in the 1500m run; Denisse Cruz (9), who set a school record by throwing 105’3″ in the Discus, putting her in 4th place; Morgan Grubb (10), who jumped 15’8.75″ in the Long Jump, placing her in 7th place; and Ingrid Bergmann (12), who finished in a five-way tie for 2nd place at 7’6″ in the Pole Vault but received 5th place because of misses. The 4x100m relay team comprised of Becca Phipps (10), Christine Jung (9), Morgan Grubb, and Lindsay LeBrun, finished in 7th place.

The boys team finished in 12th place out of 39 teams. Shelby Grubb (11) placed in all three of his individual events and helped the 4x100m relay to a 3rd place finish. Andre Martin (10) placed in his two events and anchored the 4x100m relay. The 4x100m relay team improved its school record time by .01 second (45.82), getting nosed out by .01 second from 2nd place.

PLS senior honored for Holocaust essay

Zelinka — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:32:44 +0000

Senior Hibery Ho places second in state-wide essay contest.

The Oregon Holocaust Resource Center is honoring this years winners of their annual art and writing contest Sunday, May 17, at the Scottish Rite Center in downtown Portland. PLS senior Hibery Ho will be among the honorees, receiving a second place finish for her essay entry, Suffering is a Choice. Ho, an international student from Vietnam, is one of over 200 applicants for this years contest, which includes both visual and written interpretations of the years theme: Life was Uncertain. This is the first PLS student to place in the state-wide competition.

For further information about the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center,visit www.OHRConline.org.

Three PLS scholars excel on the PSAT

Zelinka — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:42:50 +0000

Congratulations to PLS juniors Ali Brauer, Silas Lortz, and Jakob Maier, who recently learned they have met the requirements to be entered into the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program. This designation places them in the top 3% of junior students across the nation for academic aptitude. This designation significantly increases their opportunity for college scholarships.

These three students, who represent 14% of PLS juniors, are among the 50,000 highest scoring participants of some 1.5 million students, nationwide, who took the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) in the fall of this year. Of the 50,000 students, 16,000 will be named National Merit Semifinalists and 34,000 will be named National Merit Commended Scholars. The semifinalists will have the opportunity to compete for one of 8,200 National Merit Scholarships to be offered in 2011.

The students receive an immediate benefit as well. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation will send direct notification to two colleges of each students choice. This benefit is offered to encourage college officials to communicate directly with these scholastically able students about educational opportunities that may be available to them.

Each year, 100% of PLS juniors participate in the PSAT exam as part of our college preparatory program. The achievements of Ali, Silas and Jakob further demonstrate the quality of students and educational opportunities provided by PLS.

Blue Wing film club featured in The Outlook

Zelinka — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:27:32 +0000

PLS students involved in the film production club share their views on the state of movies in today's culture.

Members of Portland Lutheran High Schools filmmaking club Blue Wing Productions were featured in a recent Gresham Outlook article on the demise of video stores. The club includes Sam Bilyeu, 15, a sophomore; juniors Silas Lortz, 17; Elliot Noonan, 17; Jakob Maier, 16; Grace Eide, 16; Ali Brauer, 16; and Emily Bonazzola, 17.

Students in the production club also recently created a promotional video for PLS and were inherent in every stage of the filmmaking process: camera-work, interviews, cutting and editing, and splicing in original music tracks. The video will soon be available on the Portland Lutheran website.

To read the full text of The Gresham Outlook story featuring PLS students, visit the original article on theoutlookonline.com: Has new tech killed the video store?

PLS hosts Green Schools Summit

Zelinka — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:23:14 +0000

Joy Macalanda of Kelly Creek Elementary examines a red wiggler worm during the “I’ve Got Worms” class at the Oregon Green Schools Summit held at Portland Lutheran School on Friday, March 5.
Jim Clark / Gresham Outlook

This years annual Green Schools Summit was held at Portland Lutheran School on Friday, March 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. PLS students and teachers helped direct and organize the hundreds of participants who convened on the schools Rockwood campus.

The summit is the annual meeting for Oregon Green Schools, a nonprofit organization formed in 1997 with over 25 regional coordinators throughout the state and nearly 200 participating schools. The mission of the organization is to help Oregon schools set up and maintain effective, permanent waste reduction and resource efficiency programs that improve school environments and communities. Coordinators are also active in recognizing schools for their efforts and achievements in going and staying green. Each Green School is invited to send a team of students and one adult to participate in the Summit each year. The event is a fun, enriching opportunity to celebrate successes, gain new skills, generate enthusiasm, and share ideas with peers from across Oregon. The location of the Summit changes each year, and this is the first time Portland Lutheran has had an opportunity to host. Administrators and teachers hope the experience inspired students at the school to work towards “green” certification in the coming school year.

The summit was featured in the most recent edition of the Gresham Outlook: “It’s a Green World.”