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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2020)
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon The Nugget Newspaper Crossword By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service PHOTO BY CHARLIE KANZIG Sisters Elementary School allowed parents to retrieve personal items after Governor Kate Brown announced that schools will remain closed. SCHOOLS: Materials pick up at schools was emotional for many Continued from page 1 to Brown and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), basically, seniors will be given a <Pass= for any classes they were passing at the time of the closure, which will ensure those students get their diplomas. Any students who were not passing will be given the opportunity to com- plete their courses in order to finish up. ODE will soon publish fur- ther guidelines for grade 9-11 regarding how the question of credits and grades will be handled. Sisters High School Principal Joe Hosang said, <I am confident about how we will take care of the stu- dents, including the seniors. Everyone seems to understand this is a work in progress, so parents and students have been very understanding and gracious.= Regarding this year 9s graduates, Hosang has a team of parents and staff members working on plans to honor the seniors as well as possible given the circumstance. <Between the Senior Party committee, GRO, and our commencement ceremony committee, as well as others, we are going to do all we can to make things as good as we can for the class of 2020,= he said. Once Brown9s announce- ment came, clearing out stu- dent belongings got added to the list of tasks needing to be accomplished. The elemen- tary school was able to bag up students9 possessions from the classroom for pickup along with the educational materi- als Friday, but personal pos- sessions will have to be dealt with in the future for middle and high school students, according to Superintendent Curt Scholl. He wrote, <Now that we know that we will not be returning to our buildings, we understand that some students have personal property in the schools and we will need to arrange a process for the recovery of those items. This communication will come from your child9s school, but please be patient as we are currently working to re- engage our students.= Middle school teacher and teacher union president Michelle Hammer acknowl- edged the challenges ahead for everyone involved. <Preparing for this 8new nor- mal9 creates a steep learning curve for teachers and they are working extremely hard to meet students9 needs,= she said. <In whatever we do we do not want to add additional stress to families. We do want to provide some semblance of normalcy for our students by helping them get into a rou- tine, while being keenly aware that families are facing mul- tiple challenges themselves.= Warburg spoke in the same vein, saying, < I couldn9t be prouder of our staff who have been incredible this week in their hard work to plan and organize materials for our stu- dents, connect with families, and learn new skills. They are eager to begin the work this week to rebuild their class- room community in a virtual environment. We appreciate the way Sisters9 parents have been so supportive 4 we will make mistakes as we practice this new way of teaching and we will model for our stu- dents what it means to have a growth mindset, growing our brains as we all learn new skills.= High school teacher Kristy Rawls, who also assisted with handing out materials, said, <I was very glad that I was able to help and also see the students. It made my heart happy during this really rough time. I am so sad for those big events that seniors and other students are going to miss, but equally sad to lose all those small daily contacts we have with our kids.= Scholl touched briefly in his letter on what <distance learning= is comprised of. <This distance learning is not just about online educa- tion and may, in fact, include a blend of other modes, such as phone calls, recorded video lessons, Canvas, Google Meet, Zoom and paper pack- ets,= he said. Scholl asked for continued <patience, kindness, resilience and strength= moving forward into the weeks and months ahead. <We are in uncharted waters, but the school district has the right people to tackle this challenge.= — Last Week’s Puzzle Solved — This Week’s Crossword Sponsors When the going gets tough, even the tough call us. Banr Enterprises, llc Consult | Construct | Complete Earthwork • Utilities • Grading • Rock Walls • Snow Removal Residential and Commercial Contractor CCB: 165122 www.banr.net | 541-549-6977 Greg Wieland L.Ac. Practicing since 1989 352 E. Hood Ave., Ste. E Sisters Acupuncture Center 541-549-1523 “Sisters Businesses are Here to Serve” page to find curbside pick up, delivery, and more. 19