Wednesday, April 22, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon C O M M U N I T 3 Y Students adapt to learning at a distance Thursday, the students of Sisters High School take part in three-hour school days. During these days, stu- dents have their normal class periods in 30-minute video conferences. Seniors at Sisters High School have been given their final grades and are not required to participate fur- ther in classes (although it is encouraged). For all the other students at the high school, like freshmen Ella Thorsett and Annie Cohen, their final grades have yet to be determined, and they9re still required to attend all classes. By Chloe Gold Correspondent Following the March 13 shutdown of all in-school education as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Sisters School District stu- dents were able to virtually return to their studies on Monday, April 13. While elementary school students are being taught by their parents with videos and materials provided by their teachers, the high school stu- dents have been able to have a somewhat normal school day 4 from the safety of their homes. From Monday through See ADAPTING on page 9 ESI earns recognition for hiring veterans ENERGYneering Solutions, Inc. (ESI) has been awarded the HIRE Vets Gold Medallion, a national honor by the U.S. Department of Labor, which recognizes exemplary efforts to recruit, employ, and retain American military veterans. ESI is one of five companies in Oregon to receive the national recog- nition, and is the only one in Central Oregon. The HIRE Vets Act was signed by President Trump in May 2017. It is the only veteran hiring award at the federal level. In a letter from the U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia wrote,