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Vernon School

IBelieve. IBelong. IBecome.
Come grow with us.

2044 NE Killingsworth?Portland, OR 97211?Ph 503-916-6415?Fx 503-916-2678

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  • Vernon IB World School:
    Look Closer

District News

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  • McDaniel Junior Takes Top Honors in State Solo Music Contest

    When Beckham Weatherby picks up his tuba, the rest of the world falls away. 

    “I don’t get that nervous and I don’t get stage fright at all,” he said. “I guess I got lucky with how my body reacts to performing in front of crowds.”

    Which is something the McDaniel High School junior has done quite a bit of lately. Not only is he a member of the prestigious Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) and the PYP conservatory orchestra, but he recently earned first prize in the tuba solo performance category at the Oregon State Solo Music Championships.

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  • Bon Voyage, Miss Ellie: Teacher Retires After 50 Years at PPS

    Miss Ellie helps students hold a chick.

    The first things you notice when you walk into Ellie Jensen’s classroom at Boise-Eliot/Humboldt Elementary School are peace and warmth. Then you hear the laughter of children. Then you just might see two posters hanging on the walls that tell you a great deal about the kind of teacher she has been for the past 50 years. The posters simply say, “Leave a little sparkle wherever you go” and “Be a friend.”

    Jensen, known as “Miss Ellie” to the hundreds of students she has taught in her half a century as a Portland Public Schools educator, can’t help but light up a room. And she is a friend to all children. 

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  • Food Pantry Gets a Makeover, Courtesy of McDaniel¡¯s CTE Art Students

    We dare you to drive by the Mainspring Food Pantry on the corner of 82nd Avenue and Fremont and not do a double take. Or a triple take. 

    Students from McDaniel High School’s art-focused Career Technical Education (CTE) class have spent the last four weeks turning the exterior walls of the pantry into one, huge, joyful mural as part of the course’s exploration of climate justice and community engagement.

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  • Earthstock Brings the Joy to the Crystal Ballroom

     Two students dance at Earthstock 2024.

    A little over 30 years ago, a Madison High School student named Joseph Janson had a simple wish. He wanted to go to a dance. But nothing was simple for Joseph, who was born with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. 

    He confided his wish to Tony Nitz, who at that time was an educational assistant at Madison (now Leodis V. McDaniel High School). Tony had been working one-on-one with Joseph for months and he immediately went about making the young man’s dream come true.

    “The truth is, I would have done anything for Joseph,” Nitz said. “He was a unique person, and we had a very special bond.”

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Principal's
Message

  • Hello Vernon Community,

    Vernon is a diverse and vibrant neighborhood school with an international focus. Because Vernon is home to diverse, creative, and supportive community, it lends itself like no other to the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Our diverse population and the IB framework help to create a uniquely rich school culture.

    Vernon is an authorized International Baccalaureate/Primary Years Program (IB/PYP grades K-5) and International Baccalaureate/Middle Years Program (IB/MYP grades 6-8). Our teachers have completed extensive IB training that helps them hone their skills in the latest instructional practices, assessment and child development in order to bring your child an educational experience that is world-renowned.  We know that IB offers tremendous advantages for students, helping them to become internationally minded students who can be successful at any level.

    Our use of the IB framework allows us to provide a well-rounded program that incorporates the PPS curriculum with a focus on conceptual learning and our connectedness to a global society. In kindergarten through eighth grade, students explore world language. In addition, our curriculum builds on district and state standards delivered through internationally developed, research-supported educational practices. Inquiry is a primary vehicle for learning, and is used to integrate higher order thinking, questioning, and application of content knowledge through interdisciplinary learning. Students participate in authentic projects that promote responsible citizenship, applying content knowledge through community action. Developing students as learners is fundamental to IB, and our use of Learner Profile as well as IB Attitudes and Outcomes help us strive to be the best we can be. Students regularly assess and reflect on their mastery of becoming a thoughtful learner.

    Finally, parents are actively involved at Vernon. Volunteers are welcome in classrooms, helping to extend and enrich the curriculum. Programs offered through our SUN after school program provide additional academic and enrichment opportunities to hundreds of students each year. We invite families to join us for these wonderful opportunities as part of our learning community. As the Principal at Vernon, I hear everyone from staff to families talk about the positive atmosphere here. They describe Vernon as a place that just feels good to be, where the environment is deeply caring. Vernon's quality staff, dedicated to academic achievement for all, makes Vernon a great place to learn for over 460 students.

    Come grow with us,

    Ben Keefer

    Principal

    Mr. Keefer

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