News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Everyone has been impacted in some way over the past year as a result of COVID-19 and much has been written about the challenges in regard to emotional well-being among school aged-children, whose “normal” lives have been taken on a wild ride. From school closures to the shutdown of activities, from the shortage of social opportunities to being cooped up at home, young people have been asked to adapt in unprecedented ways. For some these difficulties have taken a significant toll leading to feelings of depression and iso... Full story
The coronavirus pandemic has wiped out sport seasons for nearly a year now, and along with it many of the goals and dreams of high-school athletes. But some members of the Sisters High School cross-country team have continued to train in hopes of racing in the upcoming weeks during a truncated, six-week season that begins officially February 22. The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA), the governing body for Oregon high-school sports and activities, has created a calen... Full story
The Sisters High School (SHS) Key Club is sponsoring a drive to collect hygiene products to be donated for future use at Sisters Warming Shelter or distributed through the Family Access Network. The drive is set to begin on Wednesday, February 11, and run through Thursday, March 11, according to Susie Seaney, club advisor and teacher at SHS. Key Club is a junior organization of Sisters Kiwanis Club, which is well known for its charitable work, including the local food bank. According to Seaney, students wanted to do... Full story
Child development has been a lifelong focus for Sisters resident Edie Jones, but in her recently published second book she has taken a unique angle on the subject, using her goldendoodle, Walker, as the focal point. The book is comprised of a series of poems, chronicling Walker’s development. The soft-cover volume, “Walker’s Wisdom: His Journey from Puppy to Big Dog,” is hot off the press and available for purchase locally. It is a collection of 14 full-page poems, each of... Full story
“Snow on the ground, sun is out, kids are coming back — life is good!” said Sisters Middle School (SMS) Counselor Brook Jackson on Monday, January 25, as students returned to classrooms for the first time in months. After nearly 11 months of receiving instruction through Comprehensive Distance Learning, secondary students in Sisters School District returned to the classroom this week under the “Hybrid Model,” which allows them to be in school part of the week, while c... Full story
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc for high school sports teams, but due to the nature of the sport, the Sisters High School alpine ski team has developed a plan with other schools to begin competitions this week with a meet at Hoodoo scheduled for Wednesday, January 27. Coach Gabe Chladek reported that the boys and girls comprising the team have been doing dryland training since November and have been up “on the hill” once or twice a week since mid-December. “All of th... Full story
The pandemic has impacted local sports as well as the ability to gather, but cross country coach and teacher Josh Nordell came up with a simple way to do some real good during the holiday season through a running challenge designed to put a little money into some local charities. Nordell contacted Peterson Ridge Rumble Race Director Sean Meissner and asked if he would be willing to put up some funds from the race to help make the idea work. The two settled on a plan in which anyone could be involved. For every mile covered... Full story
The Sisters School Board met for the first time in 2021 on Wednesday, January 6 via Zoom. • Superintendent Curt Scholl thanked the teachers and support staff for continuing to have a common focus and working together for the sake of Sisters’ students. • Early indications show little increase in enrollment, but housing projects continue to boom in the area, so an enrollment increase is strongly anticipated. Scholl reported that with the expected growth for next year, the elementary school may need to install one o... Full story
About 30 specialists, paraprofessionals and support staff were the first of the Sisters School District staff members to receive their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. The vaccinations come amidst concern that Oregon’s supply may not be as substantial as first reported. In a news conference on Friday, January 15, Governor Kate Brown expressed her dismay that the total number of available vaccines was apparently misrepresented, but vowed to get as many teachers in Oregon vaccinated as possible in a timely manner, w... Full story
All students in the Sisters School District are scheduled to return to some level of in-person learning by February 1, according to a communication sent out January 6 by superintendent Curt Scholl. Sisters Elementary School has been operating with in-person instruction under what is referred to as the “hybrid model” since early in the school year. Students attend Monday through Thursday full-time and work from home on Fridays. The middle school and high school have been conducting school under Comprehensive Distance Lea... Full story
In a gesture to help families and to promote participation, the Sisters School District has announced that the pay-to-play fees for middle school and high school sports is being waived for the school year. Superintendent Curt Scholl and high school athletic director Gary Thorson made the announcement last week. Any families who have already paid for upcoming sports seasons will be reimbursed, according to Thorson. “Our ‘Season One’ that took place with limited activity was n... Full story
Sisters Elementary School will be allowed to remain open for “hybrid” learning under the state’s “Safe Harbor” clause, which was extended following an announcement late December 16 from the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority. The “Safe Harbor” status had been set to expire January 4, 2021. ODE expects to publish updated information in the “Safe Schools, Ready Learners” program, including regarding “Safe Harbor” in the next two weeks. However, superintendent Curt Scholl emphasized that stude... Full story
In a year that has challenged teachers in ways no one ever imagined, the annual call for nominations for the Oregon Teacher of the Year likely has more meaning than ever before. In a recent press release the Oregon Department of Education, along with the Oregon Lottery, announced that nominations for the Oregon Regional Teacher of the Year are open through January 31, 2021. Recognizing the strength of the teaching staff in the Sisters School District, administrators Curt Scholl, Joe Hosang, Alison Haney, and Joan Warburg all... Full story
• Sisters Elementary School Principal Joan Warburg praised school district nurse Trish Roy for her professionalism and hard work during the pandemic in helping the entire district in navigating and managing health protocols, contacting families, and keeping students cared for. She is grateful to have had all of the grades in school the past month. The preschool expects to be up to 12 students by the end of January and has a maximum capacity of 18. Warburg acknowledged the hard work and sacrifice all of her staff have... Full story
The school counselors in the Sisters School District have continued focusing on the social/emotional well-being of students during the pandemic as well as in response to the loss of three local teenagers earlier this year in accidents. The holiday season, while designed to be a time of joy and togetherness, can be particularly challenging during times of unusual stress, such as a global pandemic or following the loss of loved ones. Sisters Middle School counselor Brook Jackson shared an article compiled by staff at the Mayo... Full story
In response to the spike in COVID-19 cases around the state over the past month, the Oregon Schools Athletics and Activities Association (OSAA) announced last week that it will further condense the competitive seasons planned for this school year — down to six weeks apiece for all sports and will move winter sports to late spring. The latest changes shuffle the order of the three competitive sports seasons and shorten each season to about six weeks from the nine originally planned. In its press release the OSAA wrote,... Full story
With every other public school in Deschutes County operating under the Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL) model due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sisters Elementary School stands alone conducting in-person learning — leaving Principal Joan Warburg feeling quite fortunate and pleased for her students. “Our students are happy, our parents are happy and our staff is happy,” she said. “I have seen a deep appreciation in our students for being able to be in school learning. They come to school with smiles on their faces... Full story
In what has become nearly a weekly pattern, Sisters School District superintendent Curtiss Scholl shared a letter with the school community last week regarding what the rising infection rate in Deschutes County means to students and families. With a record number of weekly confirmed COVID-19 cases, Deschutes County has remained in the “red zone” which has both immediate, and potentially future, impacts on when and where students will be able to receive in-person instruction. In his letter Scholl said, “Unfortunately, our c... Full story
As front-line workers facing the challenges of working through the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers have been forced to pivot quickly and adapt on the fly, to meet the needs of their students in the months that have forced most schools in Oregon to operate under Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL). The Nugget checked in with some of the teachers at Sisters Middle School (SMS) and Sisters High School (SHS) who have been conducting their instruction under CDL since March. Fifth-grade teacher Tiffany Tisdel acknowledged the adaptat... Full story
After a summer focused on biking, my fall season has largely been a time of walking and hiking with a plan to mix more running in over the wintertime. My inner runner felt a definite stirring last week when I paid a visit to the area in which I grew up and took a morning hike down a very familiar trail. Every competitive runner has certain places, sounds, smells and circumstances that elicit a physiological response that says to the brain, “It’s time to run!” Wilderness Trail... Full story
The Graduate Resource Organization (GRO), which facilitates the scholarship program available to Sisters High School graduates, has grown enough in recent years that the all-volunteer GRO board of directors put plans in place last year to hire a part-time program director. The plan came to fruition earlier this month and Laura Kloss is the happy recipient of the position. She will officially begin her duties in mid-December. The board received a healthy number of applicants... Full story
The surging COVID-19 caseload has cast a shadow over efforts to get middle school students back into the classroom. In a letter sent to parents Thursday, November 19, Superintendent Curt Scholl addressed the questions and confusion about getting fifth and sixth graders at Sisters Middle School back into the classroom under the “hybrid” model amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Rising numbers of infections in Deschutes County have resulted in a move into the “orange zone... Full story
The three themes undergirding the work of Sisters School District — Belong, Prepare, Inspire — are harder to accomplish during the battle with COVID-19 and the resultant distance learning. The teachers of Sisters middle and high schools are doing all they can to safely offer person-to-person interaction through what is known as “limited in-person instruction” under the state’s “Ready School, Safe Learners” guidelines. Limited In-Person Instruction, or LIPI, allows... Full story
In the final competition of their mini-season, members of the Sisters High School team, running unattached, produced outstanding results at a meet held Saturday, November 7, at the Alderbrook Golf Course in Tillamook. The meet featured some of the best high school runners in the state, creating a championship atmosphere. Ella Thorsett, last year’s state 4A champion as a freshman, ran in the elite race where she placed third behind two runners from 6A Jesuit High School of Portland, Chloe Foerster and Molly Grant, who were r... Full story
For over two decades the schools in the Sisters School District have made special efforts to honor veterans during the week of Veterans Day, but with the pandemic closing down the middle and high schools, they had to get creative to keep the tradition alive. The result is a student-leadership-produced video made available last week that includes music, commentary, and educational information related to veterans. The video is available on The Nugget’s Facebook page as well as via a link available at the end of this story. E... Full story
