Herbicide Notice

PSD Facilities anticipate putting down an herbicide treatment across the district grounds the week of March 24-28, 2025, weather dependent.

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SMS Parent-Teacher Conferences Summary

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Recent Parent-Teacher Conferences were a whole new experience at Sunridge Middle School in early March. The two evenings on March 7th and 9th were created to be part conference, part school open house, and part student showcase.

Parents could still make appointments to meet with their student’s teachers, and those meetings occurred in the classroom setting. In addition, multiple interactive activities were set up in other classrooms – parents and their students could experience a virtual Escape Room on computers in math class, and microscopes were set up in science. SMS counselors had prepared presentations about what they have been working on with students, including Character Strong, a curriculum that impacts engagement, belonging, and student well-being. These presentations were set up for the entire conference evenings.

For the showcase part, there were performances by Sunridge band, orchestra and choir groups, as well as completed student projects in the Wood Shop that parents and students could view.

Sunridge also fed those who attended conferences with a free baked potato bar each night.

“Ensuring that students and parents feel welcome in our building is always a priority at Sunridge,” said Principal Piper Kelm. “While the interaction and information between teachers and parents are important at Parent-Teacher conferences, we felt it was a good opportunity to connect with our families and show them what students have been learning.”

6th Grade Spring Instrumental and Choir Concert

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Join us at Sunridge Middle School for our 6th grade Spring Instrumental and Choir Concert. The concert will be held Friday March 24th at 10am in the gym.

7th and 8th Grade Spring Instrumental Concert

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Our Spring Instrumental Concert will be held on Thursday March 23rd at 7pm in the Common of Sunridge Middle School. Join us!

7th and 8th Grade Choir Concert

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Join us on Tuesday March 21st at Sunridge Middle School for our 7th and 8th grade Spring Choir Concert. The concert will be held in the Commons at 7pm.

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Pesticide Application Notification

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Pendleton School District will be applying pesticides on the school district properties March 20 – October 31, 2023 between the hours of 6:00 am – 2:30 pm, weather dependent. See the list of pesticides on the Facilities Page.

Kevin Headings

Superintendent Message – Snow Make Up Day

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Hello PSD Families,

The Pendleton School District will be conducting school as normal on Friday, May 12th.  This day was originally put on our 2022-2023 Calendar as a “snow make-up day.”  It’s hard to believe, but we have had six late starts and two full “snow days” this school year.  Each of these days represents lost instruction for our students.  The state requires a minimum number of instruction hours each year, and when we fall below this number, we find ways to make up for the lost time.  As a result, we create our yearly school calendar with at least one “snow make-up day.”  If we don’t need to use it, great.  If we need to make up instructional hours, as we do this year, we use it without adding days to the end of the year.  So again, there will be school on Friday, May 12th, so please plan accordingly.  Here is the link to the updated school calendar.

Sincerely,

Kevin Headings
Superintendent

Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences and Student Showcase

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Hello SMS students and parents,

We will have parent/teacher conferences this Tuesday 3/7 and Thursday 3/9 from 4:00 – 8:00pm.
Conferences are optional but we will be scheduling both in-person and virtual conferences.

Teachers called home last week to schedule conferences for a select group of students with grade concerns.
If you were not called and would like to conference with your child’s teacher(s) please contact the teacher(s)
or call the office at 541 276-4560.

In addition to parent/teacher conferences we will also be presenting a showcase of student work. We want to
show off all the amazing things our students have learned.

There are many different activities planned during the Showcase including:
● In the Library: Our Annual Book Fair.
● On the Stage: Mini-Concerts by our Choirs, Strings/Orchestra and Advanced Band.
● On the Stage: Presentations on SEL, Counseling and CharacterStrong by our School Counselors.
● In the Upper Commons: A Free Baked Potato bar starting at 5:00pm and sponsored by the Parent Club
and our student Leadership program.
● In the Classrooms: Meet our teachers and see classroom demonstrations and sample mini-lessons.
● In the Hallways: See completed projects, art, assignments, photos, etc.

Showcase Schedule (on the Stage in the Commons)
Tuesday, March 7th                                                                           Thursday, March 9th
6:30 – Chamber Choir Performance                                                    6:30 – Concert Choir Performance
6:45 – SEL, Counseling & Character Strong                                       6:45 – SEL, Counseling & Character Strong
Meet Our 6th Grade Counselor                                                             Meet Our 8th Grade Counselor
7:00 – SEL, Counseling & Character Strong                                       7:00 – SEL, Counseling & Character Strong
Meet Our 7th Grade Counselor                                                             Meet Our 7th Grade Counselor
7:15 – SEL, Counseling & Character Strong                                        7:15 – SEL,Counseling & Character Strong
Meet Our 8th Grade Counselor                                                             Meet Our 6th Grade Counselor
7:30 – Strings & Orchestra Performances                                           7:30 – Advanced Band Performance

 

 

 

 

SMS Principal Advisory

Sunridge Middle School – Principals’ Advisory Council

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School leaders at Sunridge Middle School are trying a new concept this school year to get feedback from their most important stakeholders – their students. The Principals’ Advisory Council is a group of students from all three grades at the school who meet with Principal Piper Kelm and Assistant Principal Jared Tesch. 

School counselors selected the students who participate. They were intentional about choosing students who represent the wide variety of students who attend SMS in order to get many different points of view. 

The Principals’ Advisory Council meets twice a month during lunchtime – one meeting per month is with each grade level, and one is with all three grade levels. Kelm and Tesch ask the students what’s going well at SMS and what could be improved. “What we really want from them is input on the culture and climate of our school, how they feel when they are here,” Principal Kelm said.

The meeting with all the participants – about 27 6th, 7th and 8th graders – is scheduled for about one and a half hours. They start with an icebreaker and then discuss topics. Kelm said in addition to getting school feedback, the Council also is starting to help build relationships between students in different grades, which she hopes makes them more willing to share their thoughts. 

Kelm said as the group dives into their work during the second half of this school year, they will write some tasks and goals on large pieces of paper and start to cross them off as they accomplish them, hopefully eventually hanging them up in The Commons to share will all SMS students. 

If the Principals’ Advisory Council continues next school year, some of the same students could participate. “We really want this group to serve as a diverse representation of students at SMS with an opportunity for student’s voice,” Kelm said.

SMS Principal Advisory SMS Principal Advisory SMS Principal Advisory SMS Principal Advisory SMS Principal Advisory SMS Principal Advisory

 

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Pendleton School District
107 NW 10th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone:  541.276.6711  Fax:  541.278.3208

The Pendleton School District assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or income as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related authorities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any Pendleton School District sponsored program or activity.

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