12
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
SPORTS: Families9
level of comfort
to be respected
Continued from page 3
the Governor9s Office, OHA
and ODE. This participation
may include conditioning,
practices, and interscholastic
competitions in those per-
mitted activities provided
schools adhere to OSAA pol-
icies. Health protocols and
other guidance are clearly
outlined by the Oregon
Health Authority (OHA)
and Oregon Department of
Education (ODE), which
are subject to county phase
requirements.
Sisters has decided, start-
ing September 15, to offer
three four-week <mini-sea-
sons= beginning with tradi-
tional spring sports (baseball,
softball, tennis, golf, track
and field, and lacrosse). In
October, fall sports will run
for another four weeks, fol-
lowed by winter sports.
Sports considered <full
contact= 4 such as foot-
ball and lacrosse 4 will be
offered as conditioning only
unless the health metrics
change during Season One.
Other districts are making
different plans, but Thorson
and other district leaders
believe this plan works best
for Sisters.
RAFFLE: Funds will help
community-building
efforts
Continued from page 3
heightened need for com-
munity members to access a
bounty of essential goods in a
manner that would be acces-
sible and safe.
It took a great effort to
continue the market this year
in the face of COVID-19.
These challenges required
doubling the number of hours
to organize and manage the
market, and required more
resources to ensure safety and
social distancing inside of the
market. Additional physical
Thorson explained, <Our
district has recognized the
need for our students to get
safely engaged again, and has
set a plan which is a healthy
compromise on the engage-
ment spectrum. With us still
in the distance-learning mode,
it did not make sense for us
to have opened things up for
athletics on August 31 and
dive right into competition
with other schools. Our prior-
ity is getting the kids back in
their seats for class and that
means limiting contact and
exposure as much as we can.=
The plan adds up to teams
being together for about 20
practices during the mini-sea-
son and the possible potential
for some limited competition.
<In terms of competition,
we have scheduled some
events for some of the spring
sports teams but we are in a
8wait and see mode9 for those
and will only conduct these
if the health metrics are con-
tinuing in a positive direc-
tion,= said Thorson.
The district is working out
ways to safely have middle-
school activities available as
well, according to Thorson.
<We also want to start
to get our middle-school
student-athletes involved
and have opened up middle-
school-track 8practice only9
sessions for them,= he said.
Thorson understands well
the complexity and balancing
act of keeping students and
staff from spreading COVID-
19, while also giving students
the opportunity for activities
that promote physical, as well
as emotional, health.
<These opportunities for
our students to engage in
athletics and other activities
for the district are of course
optional,= he explained. <Our
coaching staff will be follow-
ing all of the required proto-
cols to safely run our practice
sessions and have communi-
cated to the parents that these
are not mandatory practices.=
Being outdoors, keeping
distance from one another,
conducting health checks and
working in small cohorts are
all part of the plan for safety.
<We realize the com-
fort levels and health issues
vary from family to family
and we respect and support
everyone9s position, but want
to make athletics and other
activities safely available to
our students,= Thorson said.
<Our youth need the physical
and social benefits of activi-
ties now more than ever, and
some positivity for them right
now will go a long way.=
Families can register for
Season One activities through
Family I.D. at no cost,
according to Thorson.
<We see this offering as a
good way to get kids active
again and to try something
new,= said Thorson.
procedures and digital infra-
structure were developed
4 exceeding national safety
standards and leading as an
innovator in the region 4
incorporating an online pre-
order option with curbside
pickup for contactless access
to healthy foods and locally-
sourced products. Despite the
ongoing challenges of this
time, market attendance has
continued to increase, provid-
ing vendors with an essential
marketplace and further stim-
ulating the local economy.
With the mission to sup-
port a healthier community in
mind, Sisters Farmers Market
sees an urgent need for those
impacted directly by the cata-
strophic wildfires, and hopes
to provide an avenue for
Central Oregonians to sup-
port our devastated commu-
nities to the west. Fifty per-
cent of ticket sales from raffle
entries will be distributed to
wildfire relief efforts through
the end of September.
The Sisters Farmers
Market continues to draw
high-quality vendors and
enthusiastic customers from
in and out of town. The funds
raised through the raffle will
allow the Sisters Farmers
Market to recover some of
this year9s extra costs brought
on by COVID, keeping fees
low for vendors and leaving
the market in a stronger posi-
tion to continue in the 2021
season.
SCHOOLS: District
proclaimed diversity
and anti-racism
Continued from page 3
a net gain over last year of
30. The elementary school
has had a continuous flow
of kindergarten enrollments,
along with other grades,
and stood at a total of 322,
which includes some fami-
lies who have opted for the
district9s full-time online
option and full-time dis-
tance learning. The high
school reported a total of 25
new students to the district.
More accurate enrollment
numbers will be available
soon.
" The preschool has not
yet begun operations as the
district awaits the signing of
a contract from the Oregon
Early Learning Division
which oversees public pre-
schools in Oregon. Principal
Joan Warburg said, <We have
staff hired and are ready to
rock and roll, but have to
wait for the state to finish the
contract.=
" Special education direc-
tor Martha Hindman reported
on summer activities, includ-
ing the Youth Transition
Program and the extended
school year academic skills
class. Teaching and para-
professionals took part in
a <Special Education 101=
course in August to enhance
understanding of special
education law and best
practices.
" The board approved
a minor adjustment to the
school calendar, necessitated
in part due to the high school
and middle school operat-
ing on six-week segments
rather than traditional terms.
The updated calendar will be
available on the school dis-
trict website soon.
" The new transporta-
tion facility west of SPRD is
completed.
" Curt Scholl expressed
the district9s commitment to
supporting the social/emo-
tional needs of students dur-
ing the challenges of the pan-
demic and distance learning.
" The next school board
meeting is set for Wednesday,
October 7 at 6 p.m.
DO YOU HAVE A TEACHER THAT HELPS
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