News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 89
Josh Nordell and his Life Skills class at Sisters High School have been working with students with varying degrees of mental and physical challenges for several years. Life Skills is a class that partners general-education students, known as mentors, with special-needs students to give them life experiences and help support their learning and transitioning after high school. Students in the class are partnered with general-education mentors where they get special support for... Full story
Fourth-graders in Clay Warburton's class had an opportunity to celebrate a unique tradition last week. Warburton and his students learned about Dia de los Meurtos, or Day of the Dead, where they learned about Mexican traditions and even had a chance to celebrate a bit on their own. Each student was challenged to do a report on a loved one who has passed and bring a picture in to help celebrate their life. "We wrote a biography of a person who has passed away and got to share... Full story
Sisters is a picturesque community, nestled in the mountains and surrounded by natural beauty. The community is supportive, helpful, and rural - the picture of small-town America. It's not hard to understand why people want to live here. We boast about our strong schools, music festivals, arts programming, endless outdoor opportunities and more. Some move here to find they can't afford to be here - but they have fallen in love and they will do anything to stay. One family of four moved to Sisters from Florida last April.... Full story
Rainshadow Organics and students from the Sisters High School Sustainable Agriculture and IEE (Interdisciplinary Environmental Education) classes are teaming up to get locally grown organic food into the Central Oregon community. This year represents Rainshadow Organics' 4th Annual Great Potato Harvest. In the past, community members have been able to come to their farm and help harvest the potatoes; this year it's being run a bit differently. Sisters High School students in... Full story
Julie Holden, fourth-grade teacher at Sisters Elementary School (SES) has been working with her class for the last several weeks to create the Outlaw Detective Agency. The first book the students read this year was a mystery and it gave Holden the idea for a "Storyline" project. "Mysteries can be super engaging," said Holden. "This is a genre I wanted to introduce to the students and have them tackle it in both their reading and writing." Over the summer teachers from both Sis... Full story
Fourth-graders at Sisters Elementary School in Mrs. Parsons' and Mr. Warburton's classes ended their four-week study of energy with a tasty project. Students in each class attempted to harness the energy of the sun by creating solar ovens and making s'mores. "I loved it," said Kaden Crabb. "It was so much fun. I want to do that kind of stuff for a job." Students used items from the recycle bin to create their ovens. They were creative and used things like cardboard boxes,... Full story
October is National Farm to School month, and the Sisters School District is celebrating it to the fullest. Throughout the next month students will get an opportunity to taste-test different foods, create their own toppings on items like vegetarian chili and the baked-potato bar, as well as enjoy fruits and vegetables straight from the farm. "This month we have the smallest, most flavorful grapes from Cottage Grove," said Terri Rood, nutrition services operations assistant.... Full story
Students at Sisters Elementary School learned new rhythms over the past two weeks with their African Drumming Artist in Residency. Dale Largent from Bend spent the better part of the last two weeks working with music classes from Pre-K (through the SPRD Community Preschool), and kindergarten through 4th grade, all within the Sisters Elementary School and funded through the Studio to School grant from Sisters Folk Festival. All kids received four lessons and participated in... Full story
The Sisters Family Access Network (FAN) is working hard to maintain a program which retired elementary school custodian Deb Hook began three years ago. The "Backpack Food" program was something Hook started in order to support Sisters School District children who may not have food at their homes over the weekend. Throughout the week, the federally subsidized free and reduced lunch program, available through each of the schools in Sisters, helps to feed those students who may need an extra hand throughout the week. Hook... Full story
Josh Erskine of Sisters is a freshman at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. The 18-year-old recently made a significant cash contribution to the Deschutes County Mental Health program focusing on suicide prevention. Funds were raised through the sale of a book he penned and self-published in honor of his friend who took her own life just a few years ago. Both Josh and his friend Taye Nakamura-Koyama were students at Cascades Academy. Josh really got to know Taye... Full story
"There is so much love in this room." That's what one event-goer said to Justin Veloso as Dennis McGregor and The Spoilers hit the stage at the Belfry last Thursday night after a live auction raised over $27,000 for the 28-year-old's cancer treatment and recovery. Veloso, a lifetime musician and drummer who graduated from Sisters High School in 2006, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in February. In March, he had surgery to remove his thyroid and some lymph nodes and is on... Full story
Sisters Elementary School welcomed three new teachers this fall. Students welcomed Ashleigh Thomas, replacing longtime P.E. teacher Mark Lamont; Danielle Pulliam as a new third-grade teacher and Ashley Bye as the new Title Teacher for both reading and math. Both the P.E. and title position replaced staff who have moved on from the Sisters School District. Pulliam's position is new to the District - added this year to help keep class sizes small as promised by District... Full story
Sisters Middle School English teacher Becky Aylor challenged middle school students this year to "Take a Hike." After school two days a week, students are invited to hike with her to get outside, get moving and give them something positive to do after school. The first Take a Hike outing was last Wednesday, September 6, and she had 22 students participate for a 2.11-mile hike. Students gathered by the playground as Aylor finished her bus duty, and then she double-checked all... Full story
Thanks to a grant from the Sisters Schools Foundation, Sisters Elementary School will be able to expand their Handwriting Without Tears program beyond kindergarten to first and second grade. Tiffany Briggs, a parent at Sisters Elementary School, put together the grant for the Sisters Schools Foundation this past spring. Briggs writes, "Research has shown the benefits of handwriting go beyond penmanship. Handwriting skills help brain development, reading, writing, and... Full story
Sisters Elementary School welcomed new school counselor Wendy Von Segren this week, as classes started. Von Segren comes off of 17 years teaching experience at the elementary-school level in the Redmond School District. This year marks the first in some number of years that all three schools have each had a certified counselor. Von Segren holds a master's degree in counseling from Lewis & Clark College. Her husband is a school counselor in Terrebonne, where both of her childre... Full story
Justin Veloso is one of our own. A homegrown young man who followed his dreams to New York City after being encouraged by his parents, dedicated teachers, and a community that believed in him. After graduating, touring, and then returning home to Sisters Country to give back through music, he is being shown more support through our community of Sisters. Veloso, a 2006 graduate of Sisters High School, played the drums under the direction of then-band-instructor Jody Henderson.... Full story
Sherry Joseph has taken the reins at the Sisters School District as the new business manager. Joseph was hired this summer after the retirement of longtime business manager Sandy Tartaglia. Bringing with her 18 years experience in the Crook County School District as well as an additional 13 years working in the accounting department for Les Schwab, Joseph says she is ready for the Sisters job. "It's what I've always wanted to do," she said. "I love looking at the general... Full story
The Seed to Table program has been going strong in Sisters for the last three years, and director Audrey Tehan is excited about moving into the fourth. Seed to Table started with support from the Sisters Science Club and Sisters School District as an opportunity to connect students to farm- and garden-based education. This year the local program has been recognized at the state level, with Tehan as a Farm-to-Table speaker at the State-wide Oregon School Gardens Conference in... Full story
Three Creeks Brewing Company's tasting room on Barclay Drive is open for business. Partner Victoria Graves is on hand on Fridays and Saturdays from 3 to 7 p.m. through September 24. The tasting room is for adults only and offers a very relaxed atmosphere. And a view: A picture-perfect image of the Three Sisters and Broken Top are visible right from the taps. With three rotating Three Creeks brews on tap, coupled with their entire product selection in bottles and cans... Full story
Roger Blain has lived his life in love with nature and all that it has to offer. After years working for the National Park Service as a park ranger and any other job he could find that would keep him outside and teaching others about nature and wildlife - he has written a children's book, "Why Salmon Cry." "Why Salmon Cry" was self-released this past month, It is a story told from the perspective of a Native American boy hearing the legend of the salmon migration as told by... Full story
Sisters' 16-year-old Tyler Friend had an opportunity of a lifetime recently by attending the Russell Wilson Passing Academy (RWPA) in Seattle, Washington. Friend is the son of Dena and Josh Dunn. Josh is an active member of the United States Air Force and is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. Every year, the Russell Wilson Passing Academy opens up a few places to scholarship athletes that are a part of a military family. Friend was chosen by his father's... Full story
Sisters School District teachers are the students this summer in a continuing education curriculum workshop. The Storyline workshop hosted by the Studio to School program through Sisters Folk Festival worked with several teachers from Sisters Elementary School and Sisters Middle School to train them on the unique Storyline integrated curriculum. Storyline began in Scotland in the 1960s. According to Storyline.org, "Storyline is a structured approach to learning and teaching... Full story
It was cold day in 2005 and snow covered the ground when Lisa Clausen and her eight-week-old puppy, Ruby, drove a golden shovel down, breaking ground on the Sisters Movie House. Fast forward over 11 years and Lisa, along with now-12-year-old Ruby, are moving on. Recently, Clausen quietly sold the Sisters Movie House to Drew Kaza; the ownership change will take place at the end of July. Clausen did not make the decision to sell quickly. "I was approached by several chains," she... Full story
The crowd was hopping early at the Fifth Annual Sisters Eagle Airport 4th of July Fly-In and Car Show. By 8 a.m. the runway was lined with planes. Classic and unique cars dating back to 1914 and running clear up to the newest Tesla models stood proud in the Sisters sun. Sisters Eagle Airport is celebrating 80 years this year - originally built and opened by George Wakefield in 1936. "We are glad to use this community asset for this fun community event," said airport owner... Full story
Sisters Middle School students in Susie Werts' fifth-grade reading class created a Monarch Butterfly Waystation at school as a part of their "connection infection" reading integration program this spring. Werts works with her students to have them connect what they are reading to the real world. Several months ago the students read an article about what insects do in the winter. The follow-up discussion in class led to reading an article about monarch butterflies and how they... Full story
