News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
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Have you ever wanted to learn to make your own soap? Or how to drive a tractor? How about harnessing the sun by making a solar system for your trailer or RV? These and a multitude of other classes are offered by the School of Ranch (SoR), the brainchild of Mark Gross who came from the tech sector in California to Redmond in July 2020, moving to Terrebonne two years ago where he enjoys a "national park view" and welcome silence. When needing to learn skills such as cutting... Full story
What started out as a convenient job turned into a 35-year career for Mary Lesowske. The lead secretary at Sisters Middle School is retiring this month after serving students and staff at two Sisters schools in a role that created many fond memories. "I loved it," she said. "I love everybody here." Her colleagues feel the same about her. "She is an amazing human, and we will miss her dedication and expertise," said Molly Pearring, who works with Lesowske at the middle school.... Full story
The New Year marks a cultural beginning to new promises, ideas, and mindsets. You may have the resolution to give more to others; being a part of the ASPIRE (Access to Student Assistance Programs In Reach of Everyone) program as a volunteer mentor is a great way to fulfill this desire. The goal of ASPIRE is to normalize and celebrate the future. They do this through furthering student preparation for a post-high school life through experience under community mentorship. This year ASPIRE has a new College and Career... Full story
The Sisters School District will be appointing one community member to fill a vacancy on the School Board. David Thorsett, who has served on the Sisters School District Board of Directors for over five years, announced his resignation at the December 4 school board meeting. He will remain in his position until a new board member is appointed. The person appointed will serve on the School Board until the next elections and the end of the term on June 30, 2025. To be eligible, a candidate must live in the school district, not... Full story
Sons of Liberty dumped tea into Boston Harbor; a mob of angry colonials pelted British Redcoats with rocks and snowballs; Thomas Jefferson and John Adams toiled over a draft of the Declaration of Independence - and it all occurred in a classroom at Sisters Middle School on December 4. Eighth grade students in Deb Riehle's U.S. History classes concluded weeks of study of colonial Boston and the American Revolution with a classroom presentation attended by family members. The... Full story
Last week's Nugget profiled four children, ranging in age from eight to 15, all in attendance at Sisters schools. Each lives on farmland and raises livestock. Each talked about how they could benefit if the Sisters School District offered an agribusiness or agriscience curriculum, as every other district in central Oregon does. The Nugget talked at length about the possibilities of such a program with Sisters Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl. Scholl appreciated the longing... Full story
Music students at Sisters middle and high schools experienced a rare opportunity last week as the five member Celtic group Scottish Fish spent time with the Americana and Outlaw Strings students in a workshop and concert. After spending over three hours with students on Thursday, the group played a sold-out show at The Belfry Friday night, December 6, in which the middle school fiddle players performed as the opening act. The visit from the Boston-based quintet came about... Full story
BEND — The High Desert Museum will receive $500,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities from its exceedingly competitive Public Humanities Projects category. The funding will support the Museum’s revitalization of its permanent exhibition dedicated to the Indigenous cultures of the region. “By Hand Through Memory” opened in 1999, supported in part by NEH funding. Hand in hand with Native partners, the Museum has been working on a new version of the exhibition for several years. This award is the second grant f... Full story
Owen Christianson is an eighth grader at Sisters Middle School. He's also in business for himself. He breeds sheep - a dozen-plus - only two of which he will enter for show. The rest is agribusiness in microcosm. He comes by it naturally. Both of his parents are self-employed entrepreneurs. They reside on an 80-acre spread spanning both sides of Highway 126 about halfway to Redmond. Christianson wishes there was a vocational agriculture program at Sisters High School, as... Full story
Oregon school districts are projected to pay $670 million more to the state’s public employee pension program over the next two years, potentially wiping out all increases to school funding proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek. The increased tab, more than 10 percent for some districts, follows lagging returns in investments of the Public Employees Retirement system (PERS) and could affect teaching and learning in some schools. “Next year’s sharp jumps in PERS rates will take significant money away from classrooms without making life... Full story
A small, mighty crew of parents is preparing an unforgettable experience for Sisters High School graduating seniors — and they are seeking community help to make it happen. The Foundation is seeking tax-deductible contributions to ensure that graduation festivities are free and accessible to all graduating seniors. The fundraising drive is timed around “Giving Tuesday” on December 3. The estimated cost for this year’s festivities is $25,000. Funds raised will allow the Foundation to cover a variety of expenses, includi... Full story
Central Electric Cooperative (CEC) is accepting applications for its 2025 Washington, D.C., Youth Tour program. CEC will select two high school juniors to visit the nation’s capital for one week in June. Participants will join student leaders from electric cooperatives nationwide to learn about cooperatives’ contributions to rural America, leadership, the political process, and interact with elected officials. The trip includes seeing the nation’s capital and other sites, including the Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietn... Full story
Three months into the first school year in the new Sisters Elementary School (SES) building, its leaders are over the moon. The old grounds, they say, were "bursting at the seams." Teachers and students "felt stifled." Today, "everything is bigger and better," said Principal Joan Warburg. "Better than expected." Assistant Principal of Student Success Jana Giles is very pleased with how students and teachers have been getting into their new groove. "Teachers have been really... Full story
The new Sisters Elementary School - constructed close to Sisters middle and high schools - is helping to build connections between students. Earlier this month Sisters High School IEE (Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition) students worked with SES kindergarten and firtst graders on plant identification. After the teachers of these classes realized that they were covering similar content, they decided to collaborate. Junior age students at SHS led hands-on activities... Full story
Sisters High School filled the school auditorium with joyful sounds in their annual Fall Concert held Tuesday, November 19. Showcasing band, choir, and Americana music, the concert blended the multiple SHS music departments into a singular cohesive and enjoyable performance. "My favorite part was the vibe and the energy between instrumental and vocal programs," SHS Band Director Kayla Golka said. "We have really awesome synthesis and community, this was the least stressful con... Full story
The new Outlaw Media class at Sisters High School is introducing a wide array of skills to SHS students. Many of these skills are founded on hands-on interactions, which led to their recent field trip to the Allen Hall School of Journalism and the University of Oregon. A small group of eight students, including chaperones Susan Seaney and Matt Hilgers, were led around campus by Mikala Selman, a current SOJC student and junior ambassador. The group met with Professors Kelli... Full story
The presence of wolves is shaped by the landscapes they inhabit and the humans who share those spaces. For millennia, wolves and humans have maintained a complex and intertwined relationship showcasing striking similarities. Both species exhibit unique behavioral traits that are rare in the animal kingdom. While most people recognize that wolves live in groups known as packs, many may not realize that these packs function as family units. Much like humans, wolves are among the few species on the planet that live in family... Full story
Sisters Elementary School (SES) is becoming a Halloween haunt, not only for kids in costume, but for a cauldron of bats. The bats had called home the ponderosa pines that stood tall at McKenzie Highway and McKinney Butte Road, then the trees were cut down so the school building could go up. "They lost their part of the forest, their habitat. There must have been some big holes way up in the trees where the bats were living. Every year, they come back after they hibernate.... Full story
The connection between people and nature is a bond that some would consider essential. It develops understanding and appreciation of the environment and creates space to better discover who a person is. Earlier this month, Sisters High School Interdisciplinary Environ-mental Expedition (IEE) group achieved these lessons by exploring the Three Sisters Wilderness on a backpacking trip. Guided by teachers Rand Runco, Samra Spear, and Glen Herron, the class comprised 48 total... Full story
After feeling that nature was pretty well understood by the middle of the 19th century, physics was shaken by twin revolutions in the early 20th century, those of relativity and quantum mechanics. Of the two, relativity arose from new understandings of the geometry of space and time, and could be accommodated reasonably as an extension of classical physics. Quantum Mechanics, on the other hand, required new ways of thinking not related to classical physics, including the apparently irreducible role of randomness and... Full story
Central Oregon Community College is among just a handful of higher education institutions in the nation that can now offer federal Pell Grants to people who are incarcerated. COCC was the first school in Oregon to receive approval for its Prison Education Program, or PEP, at Deer Ridge Correctional Institution in Madras. Pell Grants are the U.S. Department of Education’s single largest source of need-based funding for undergraduate students. The grants, which do not have to be paid back, typically go directly to students f... Full story
Sisters High School hosted Balla Kouyaté & Mike Block Band in an assembly on Friday, September 27. Marking the 24th year of this annual tradition, students of all grade levels attended and watched the performance - with wide eyes and big smiles. Brad Tisdel, creative director of SFF Presents, introduced the band, whom he first encountered at the Wintergrass Festival earlier this year. "My favorite thing about these assemblies, as well as the Americana Program here at the high... Full story
Sometimes the beginning of a new school year can be filled with dread and anticipation, but the new "Outlaw Media" class at Sisters High School has put a focus on the exciting potential of hands-on learning. Jack Turpen, SHS senior and AV program president, has been at the helm of all things technology at the high school since his freshman year. Last year he unveiled the Outlaw Media Center, a hub for editing, videography, and recording weekly Outlaw News videos. Over the... Full story
The 35th annual High Desert Rendezvous — one of Central Oregon’s longest-running charitable events — set a new fundraising record on August 24, 2024, grossing more than $630,000 to support the programs and exhibitions of the High Desert Museum. The record was set with help from the 2024 High Desert Rendezvous Honoree, The Bend Foundation. Founded in 1947 by Brooks Scanlon, Brooks Resources, and its shareholders, The Bend Foundation has continuously invested in the health and vitality of Central Oregon. And The Bend Found... Full story
Did you ever watch something on a screen and wish you could jump right through it and into the action? With the emergence of virtual reality and social virtual worlds, it is possible and often with surprising effects. Although we often see news headlines that talk about the dark side of technology, consider, too, how interactions in these places can improve an 87-year-old Parkinson’s patient’s quality of life and mobility. Dr. Donna Davis, director of the Oregon Reality Lab and the Immersive Media Communication program at... Full story
