Party kicks off schools initiative

Local families will gather on Thursday, August 12, at the Village Green to celebrate the kickoff of the local Community Schools Initiative.

The grant-funded program puts partners together to promote healthy activities for children.

"A community school is basically a place and a set of partnerships between the school district and organizations/businesses/individuals," said Sisters Schools Superintendent Jim Golden. "It has an integrated focus on academics, health and social services and recreation. The idea is that through these partnerships we can further develop our community and engage kids more fully in positive activities that lead to improved student learning, stronger families and healthier communities."

The school district is partnering with Sisters Park & Recreation District (SPRD), Deschutes County Commission on Children and the Deschutes County Health Department as well as other local partners.

"For the last nine months, a team of representatives from the community including the school district, the business community, parks and rec and various community support agencies, has been meeting to write and apply for the community schools grant through Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)," said Shawn Diez, coordinator of the program. "What happened is these people came together and shared their common vision for our community; to make Sisters a place where kids and families learn, grow and thrive.

"We discovered two things: 1) That there are a lot of people, agencies and businesses that care a lot about our children and work really hard to provide the best education and services for them, and 2) That times are very difficult economically, which impacts our families, children and community, and only if we all come together will we be able to continue to make Sisters a great place for our families."

Part of the grant will be used to fund after-school tutoring and homework help from 4 to 5 p.m. every school day at SPRD's Coffield Community

Center.

That work will be followed by an hour of enrichment activities from 4 to 5 p.m., including library activities; an arts program with Kit Stafford; gymnastics play and Taekwondo instruction conducted through Acrovision; a "healthy kids" program focusing on good diet, exercise and outdoor activities; and cooking instruction and a movie on Fridays.

There is a $35-per-week registration fee for the enrichment programs; scholarships are available. For more information contact SPRD at 541-549-2091.

The family party evening runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on August 12. There will be a barbecue, field games, and craft activities. SPRD and other community organizations will be on hand to explain the array of family services available in

Sisters.