OFF PAGE ONE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
School:
Continued from Page A1
472 freshmen, 1,700 students in all
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Matt McCoy fl ips off a ramp during a freestyle motocross
demonstration Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, during the Greater
Hermiston CityFest with Andrew Palau at Butte Park
in Hermiston.
CityFest:
Continued from Page A1
Charles Hearn, Pilot
Rock resident, said he was
having fun and he was
happy to bring his children
to experience God.
Jason Estle, pastor of
Desert Rose Ministries of
Hermiston, was likewise
impressed, saying CityFest
was great and that it was
“awesome” to see Christ
touch lives.
He said he heard from
people with many prob-
lems, including issues of
addiction. The power of
God was making them free,
he said.
Estle was working at
a prayer tent at CityFest,
joined by Hermiston resi-
dent Amy Palmer. She said
she was glad to be meet-
ing people. People, who
were desiring greater con-
nection with God, had been
visiting her to ask for and
off er prayers.
“This is a wonderful
place of prayer,” she said.
CityFest began the day
Gov. Kate Brown’s mask
mandate for large outdoor
gatherings went into eff ect
Aug. 27. The day after the
festival, Levi Park, direc-
tor of festivals for CityFest,
said he had a good time.
He added all volunteers
were wearing masks, sani-
tation stations were placed
at entrances and requests to
mask up were made from
the stage, as promised prior
to the event.
“We did our part,” he
said. He added he could
not force anyone to wear a
mask.
The crowd size, based on
counts throughout the day,
was an estimated 4,800 peo-
ple. Masks were rare at the
event, and social distanc-
ing was not followed, even
among volunteers.
Michael Thomas, assistant prin-
cipal who is starting his sixth year,
is likewise optimistic. There are 472
freshmen enrolled at the school. Total
enrollment is around 1,700 students.
He is glad to have them present in
school.
“Having students in school makes a
diff erence,” Thomas said.
When they are in the building,
working with them is much easier.
He also said he is seeing a lot of joy-
ful anticipation amongst students.
They will have to grow accustomed
to studying in person, but they are
up to the task and he does not expect
trouble.
“They’ll do great,” he said.
He also is anticipating positivity
from the school’s teachers, though
he said there are some who “aren’t
thrilled” about mask or vaccination
mandates. As for himself, he said, “I’ll
stand on my head every morning if
that’s what it takes to get our kids in
school.”
Hermiston High staff will have to
wear masks in class, and they will
need to get a vaccination by Oct. 18,
unless they fi le a medical or religious
exemption.
“They also make friends and get to
know the people who will look out for
them,” she said.
Maggie Hughes-Boyd, school
counselor, said the Link Crew pro-
gram “seems magical.”
“The process works,” Hughes-
Boyd said. It keeps students moving
and having fun and drew about 340
freshmen to an entirely voluntary fi rst
day at school.
The staff and teachers
While students learned the ropes of
their new school, HHS teachers pre-
pared for instruction the following
week.
Erika Hearne, math teacher, was
getting set for her fi rst year of full-
time teaching. Prior to this year, she
had been a substitute teacher for four
years.
“I’m very excited,” she said. “I get
to teach a class that supports a skill that
feeds into every facet of life whether
you believe it or not.”
She missed interacting face to
face and found it hard to measure
the impact of her remote instruction.
In-person schooling should be better,
she said, and she hopes the school can
remain open.
Ernest Kincaid, math and spe-
cial education teacher, said he also is
happy about this year.
The welcoming
On the morning of Aug. 27, the
school welcomed its freshmen through
the door with a large assembly and
group meetings.
Kate Thomas, who works for Link
Crew, led the assembly with Hermis-
ton High faculty and student helpers.
The students played games that ener-
gized them to make them feel com-
fortable with their surroundings and
their classmates. Then, they broke up
into small groups for further discus-
sion, a tour and lunch.
Thomas, who traveled to Hermis-
ton from Portland, said it is important
to start the school year with a smile.
The goal, she said, is to make fresh-
men comfortable, show them their
lockers and teach them how to navi-
gate a lunch line.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Freshmen fi ll the stands in the
Hermiston High School gymnasium
Friday, Aug. 27, 2021, for a introduction
and orientation session.
“It was tough last year, especially
for our special ed population,” he said.
Technological problems hampered his
teaching. He also found student moti-
vation lacking at times.
“We made it through,” he said.
Jessica Gormley, math teacher, said
many of the same things. It was diffi -
cult to keep student attention and fully
see her student’s skills.
“I think being in the classroom
takes away all those challenges,” she
said.
Tori Scott, business teacher, also is
cheerful about in-person instruction.
This is her fi rst year at the high school.
She previously taught at Armand Lar-
ive Middle School in Hermiston.
“It was very diffi cult,” she said of
classes online. Work was not being
turned in, and many students were
failing, especially at the start. Being
in person, she said, she can get a bet-
ter read on students to see when they
need help.
Now beginning year 27 with the
school district, Delia Fields is cheerful
to be back behind a desk as a school
librarian. For the start of her career
with the district, she was a human-
ities teacher. For the past eight years
she has worked at the library, except
when she covered art classes recently
for Sandstone Middle School.
“It was an entirely diff erent situ-
ation for everyone,” she said of her
recent stint as an art teacher, though
she made the best of it. She used her
library background to fi nd resources
for teaching, and she used her knowl-
edge of humanities to incorporate art
history into her lessons.
Still, she said in-person learning is
superior to online classes, as she can
better form relationships with stu-
dents. She said she believes her work
is especially important to students who
might otherwise be turned loose onto
the internet.
More than ever, she said, a librari-
an’s work is not just books. It is about
fi nding quality information, eff ec-
tively and effi ciently. We drown when
we stick our heads under the “Google
waterfall” as we try to take a drink.
The librarian’s job, like the job of
other educators, is to guide students to
a faucet.
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