News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 89
A new crop of Sisters High School graduates has set off into the future. And they've had some help determining what their path into that future might be. All juniors and seniors at Sisters High School (SHS) receive an opportunity to work with the ASPIRE (Access to Student Assistance Programs In Reach of Everyone) program. The program, managed by Rick Kroytz, a half-time grant-funded contractor, and two volunteers - Diane Russell and Phyllis Smith - has been an extension of the Sisters High School counseling department for... Full story
They say that volunteers make the world go round - and that is certainly true of the libraries at both Sisters Middle School and Sisters Elementary School. Three years ago, when the part-time media specialist who worked at both schools retired from the Sisters School District, the position wasn't filled. The libraries at both schools became lifeless; books went missing, and countless teaching hours went into pulling together booklists from outdated shelves. Mary Kay Ferwalt,... Full story
June 30 will mark the end of Leland Bliss' time with the Sisters School District. After serving as the director of operations in Sisters for the last 10 years Bliss will be moving on to Crook County School District. Bliss began his career in education 17 years ago in the Bend-La Pine School District. "There are major differences between a large district and small/medium district," he said. The director of operations has a big job. When Bliss started he was in charge of only... Full story
The Sisters Schools Foundation awarded over $23,500 in grants to teachers and projects at all three Sisters schools this spring. Since its inception in 1996, the 10-member, all-volunteer Sisters School Foundation board works to have two distributions every year, one in the fall and one in the spring. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to raising funds to support and enhance programs that serve the Sisters School District. The Foundation is funded through events like Starry Nights and private donations. "In... Full story
For the last 13 years Shannon Pollard has worked with Sisters Elementary School students in the school's Garden Club. Once a week for most of the school year, students in kindergarten through fourth grade attend Garden Club either during their lunch recess or immediately after school. They learn about plants, seeds, compost worms and simply enjoy getting their hands dirty. Last Saturday, Pollard, her family and a few dedicated volunteers hosted the 13th Annual Garden Fair at... Full story
As Americans marked Memorial Day last Monday, some paused to remember the many women who served both at home and overseas beginning in the 1940s. These women paved the way for women in military service today. There were just over 1,000 women in the military before World War II, serving either as Army or Navy nurses, all stationed in the United States. Beginning in October 1940, men between 21 and 35 were drafted for military service. When war came with the attack on Pearl... Full story
Have you ever wanted to run across the whole country? Students at Sisters Elementary School (SES) got the opportunity to do just that this spring. For three weeks, students from preschool through fourth grade can choose to forgo playing at recess and run all the way around the playground. Each lap represents approximately a third of a mile. Students receive a punch card; for every lap they get a hole punched in their card. Each card has 15 punches representing five miles.... Full story
For the past 21 years Debbie Hook has been an integral part of the Sisters School District (SSD). From driving a bus to serving as lead custodian at Sisters Elementary School, she has seen it all. She will be retiring on June 30. "This was a great job, I was blessed to get it," said Hook. Hook was working in Central Oregon at The Riverhouse before taking the job with the SSD driving school bus in the mid-'90s. She wanted to move her family to a smaller community. "I love... Full story
Sisters Middle School students had a chance to strut their stuff at their 7th- and 8th-grade semi-formal "The GIG" on Friday, May 20. GIG stands for girls ask guys, guys ask girls, girls ask girls, guys ask guys, groups invite groups... basically, students don't need to feel like they have to have a date. The middle school leadership class led by teacher Becky Aylor planned and executed the event held at the school. Students that didn't have the opportunity to go home before... Full story
There are a variety of things that affect even the youngest Sisters residents, things that have a direct impact upon their mental and emotional health. Even through budget constraints the Sisters School District has creatively patched its way through to ensure the mental-health needs of the students are met. Students at all three schools and their families have the opportunity to connect with either District employees or contractors with varying concerns on an as-needed, weekly or even daily basis. District providers are avai... Full story
While it may be difficult to glide through school unnoticed here in Sisters, there are real issues facing teens today. Managing stress levels in a healthy way is very important. According to an anonymous survey of Sisters High School students last school year, 41 percent of juniors and seniors had contemplated suicide. On the same survey 49 percent of juniors and seniors said they were not at all or slightly comfortable talking with their parents or guardians about life issues. Those numbers showcase how important it is to... Full story
Students in Rima Givot's Chemistry 2 class had the opportunity to work with scientist Steve Peterzen throughout the last two weeks to launch a 600-gram balloon - complete with experiments they designed - and capture live data. Peterzen's company, The ISTAR Group, just opened a satellite office at Sisters Eagle Airport. ISTAR launches stratospheric balloons for the purposes of testing experiments in near-space conditions. Using Helium, Peterzen and his crew launch the balloons... Full story
"It's my favorite day of the year," said fourth-grade teacher Clay Warburton, as he observed his class of students painting their abstract portraits all laid out across the floor of the elementary school commons. Each of his fourth-graders worked on portraits throughout the last several weeks. Most drew themselves three or four times, some as many as seven, in different ways. The students started practicing the project on a smaller scale using a photograph and drawing portraits in different media. They took the... Full story
Sisters Elementary School recently celebrated National Poetry Month with a "Poetry-Palooza." Throughout the morning all students from grades kindergarten through fourth grade, including the Sisters Park & Recreation District preschool, moved from classroom to classroom and experienced different interactive workshops all around the theme of poetry. Each class was able to participate in seven sessions taught by teachers, community members and parents, including read-aloud poetry, puppets, being mindful, chalk poems and more. Lo... Full story
Seventh-and eighth-grade students at Sisters Middle School took a special lesson during their PE class the past few weeks: they learned the Western swing. "We've been teaching this unit for 12-13 years," said technology teacher Wes Estvold. "My wife and I took swing classes a number of years ago and it's been something I like to share with the students." Eighth-graders Brogan Petterson and Josh Liddell liked learning the dance moves. They said that, "It was fun doing... Full story
Sisters students brought home the "Best Design" award - middle-school level - from the Oregon Games Project Challenge (OGPC) last weekend. Six students from Sisters Middle School and one from Sisters Elementary School worked since November to develop their own video game to showcase at the 9th annual Challenge, held in Keiser on Saturday, April 23. The OGPC is the only statewide game-programming competition in Oregon. This platform uses video-game development as a means of eng... Full story
The third- and fourth- graders at Sisters Elementary School had an opportunity to work on their drama skills through the Studio to School program over the past few weeks. Miss Lovely, an artist-in-residence, worked with each class for a period of 4-4.5 hours throughout the last four weeks. "It was a great opportunity for the students to build comeraderie and teamwork," said Miss Lovely. Lovley has been in Central Oregon since 1999. After studying theater at the University of... Full story
Sisters High School sophomores had the opportunity to participate in Challenge Day last month. This program, a nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay area, helps young people connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The program on a larger level is designed for grades 7-12 and uses highly interactive and energetic activities run by two trained leaders. Facilitators guide 100 youth and 25 adults through a carefully designed model of ways people separate from each other and identify... Full story
During art classes at Sisters Elementary School (SES), artist in residence Laura Campbell has been working alongside art teacher Karen Williams with students in kindergarten through fourth grade developing a mural for the school's fence along Highway 20. The artist in residence program, funded by the Studio to School grant through Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) in partnership with the Sisters School District, has been working on integrated arts curriculum in grades K-8. Over the... Full story
Students at Sisters Elementary School have been learning about river ecology through unique hands-on opportunities these past few months. Last Thursday steelhead fry, which were grown and hatched from eggs in the kindergarten classrooms and Ms. Few's second-grade class, were released by young students into Whychus Creek just blocks from the school. Working with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the kindergarten team... Full story
Every day students at all three Sisters public schools have the opportunity for a nutritious breakfast and lunch served by smiling nutrition workers. For as low as $1.50 per student for breakfast and $2.50 to $3.25 per student for lunch, students receive well-balanced meals. The Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, driven by the USDA, changed the guidelines for what the nutrition services staff can prepare at each of the school sites. Even with the new guidelines, the... Full story
Family Art Night was back last Thursday at Sisters Elementary School (SES), after a few years' hiatus. And it was back in a big way. More than 200 people, parents and students alike, filled the commons and tried their hands at over a dozen different arts and crafts projects. "It was amazing to see so many kids and parents sitting down together and working on projects," said one of the art night coordinators, Mary Dethlefs. Dethlefs not only helped to coordinate the Sisters Parent Teacher Community (SPTC)-driven event with... Full story
"It's not about teaching kids to read. It's about getting them excited about books and reading." That's how Diane Turnbull, the Central Oregon area manager for SMART, describes the program. SMART, or Start Making A Reader Today, began in 1992 and has had a site in Sisters since close to the beginning. The concept is simple: pairing one adult volunteer with one child to build a love for reading at an early age. SMART volunteers read one-on-one with students twice weekly during... Full story
Students at Sisters Elementary School have a team of people looking to ensure all students are provided the instructional support they need to make them successful. One of the key pieces is the reading program. Stephanie Jensen, the Title I Reading Specialist, along with Kori Cantrell, the special education teacher, and other teachers and administrators work to "close the achievement gap" for all students by working together to develop reading skills early. The Federal Title... Full story
For the past few years Sisters students have had the opportunity to participate in the Juntos program run through Oregon State University's Open Campus. The Juntos program, a free workshop series, is designed to support Latino students and parents with school success, career and college readiness. This program was adopted by Oregon State University from North Carolina State University in 2012. This past fall, Ruth Jones, former Hispanic advocate for the Sisters School... Full story
