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District News

Senior class president selected for trip to D.C.

Release Date:

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

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Yes

Coming up in March, a Pendleton student will get the chance to see Washington, D.C., up close.

“I’m so excited,” said Ryan Montgomery.

Montgomery, senior class president this year at Pendleton High School, along with Caroline Porter of Klamath Falls, was selected to the U.S. Senate Youth Program, a week-long learning trip and scholarship.

The program, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is meant to give students interested in a public service career a chance to see the Senate up close and better understand government. Oregon’s own U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley serves on the advisory committee.

During “Washington Week,” Montgomery and students from the rest of the country will attend briefings by officials including senators, President Barack Obama and a Supreme Court justice.

SMS Outdoor School program receives $1,000 donation

Release Date:

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

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Yes

The Sunridge Middle School Outdoor School Program is $1,000 stronger, thanks to a donation from Northwest Farm Credit Services.

Earlier this month, SMS Principal Matt Yoshioka accepted a check for $1,000 on behalf of Outdoor School Program from Andy Vanderplaat, vice president of the Pendleton office of Northwest Farm Credit Services. Each year, the staff of the local branch has the opportunity to donate $1,000 to a community activity or cause, and this year Outdoor School was selected.

“We were happy to do it for such a great program,” Vanderplaat said. “We have members of our staff who have been to and know the value of the Outdoor School Programs.

McKay Elementary to host artist-in-residence

Release Date:

Friday, January 13, 2012

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Yes

Students at McKay Creek Elementary will have the opportunity to express themselves through art when an artist-in-residence visits the school Jan. 17-25.

Kindergarten through 5th graders will all work with teaching artist Annie Heron of Eugene, who is a public art/clay exploration artist. Heron will teach students about clay and how to express themselves through art. The goals of this experience are to articulate a vision, learn to problem-solve and make decisions, build self-confidence, and develop imagination, all while having fun through art.

Students will create clay tiles, which will be fired and eventually placed in a permanent art display at McKay Elementary.

School Announcements

Community members invited to discuss education, from Pre-K through college and career readiness

The Oregon Education Investment Board will hold seven community meetings across the state later this month, to discuss next steps to improve student success in Oregon’s public education system, from prekindergarten through to college and career readiness. A session in Pendleton will be held on Jan. 30 at Blue Mountain Community College.

Thousands of individuals have already participated in surveys, offered ideas in public testimony and met with representatives of the Governor’s Office around the state. Now local students, educators, parents and community members are invited to the meetings, to share their ideas to support student learning and thoughts on the achievement compacts at the core of the state’s No Child Left Behind waiver application.

Each of the seven meetings will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. After a brief presentation on the Oregon Education Investment Board’s proposals, most of the time is reserved for participants to discuss and share their thoughts. A session in Pendleton will take place on Jan. 30:

Monday, Blue Mountain Community College
January 30 2400 NW Carden Avenue
Room E 144
Pendleton

ADHD workshops for parents set for February

A series of workshops for parents with children who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will take place throughout February, and parents are encouraged to participate.

The “ADHD and Your Child” workshops will be presented by two of the InterMountain Education Service District’s school psychologists – Christine Culverwell, M.S., and Deirdre Bradley, Ed. S. This series of parent training sessions is designed to provide parents with the most up-to-date information and research on ADHD, as well as practical information on the treatment and management of this disorder.

Sunridge students launch WIGO

Students of Sunridge Middle School, we are the WIGO staff. WIGO is an acronym for What Is Going On? In our publications class, we have worked hard in getting ready for our very own online newspaper to be open to students, staff, and the community. With lots of hard work, and fun, we have made a lot of progress to make our site presentable. It will feature what is going on in our school, a gallery of photos, Special Events, a Wanted Column (a spotlight of selected students of our school) school sports, Dear WIGO (an advice column for students/staff), and our blog. Our class wants various suggestions to write about, therefore, we will have a suggestion box in the office and a folder in Mrs. Webster’s room. Anyone who has questions for Dear WIGO can put them in the suggestion box. If you are interested in exploring our WIGO web site and seeing all of our hard work, we encourage you to go to our Sunridge Middle School web site and click on the WIGO icon, next to the online books or click here. Thank you!

2012-2013 School Calendar Results

Thank you to the staff members, parents, students, and community members for taking the time to complete the recently closed calendar survey on the District Web site. There were a total of 594 responses to the survey, with 198 participants providing insightful comments. With certainty, this has been the most popular and active survey the PSD has ever conducted.

The results of this survey will help guide the development of the 2012-2013 School Calendar. The PSD Board of Directors will analyze all of the responses and comments as it works to create a calendar that will best meet the learning objectives for all students. The Board anticipates a first reading of the 2012-2013 Calendar at its Dec. 12 regular meeting. It hopes to officially approve the calendar at the January meeting.