In addition to robust academics, this year, Sunridge Middle School students are also learning how to connect with classmates, build social-emotional skills, and more.
A revision from last year’s calendar is the addition of a designated Advisory period of 32 minutes, which is the third period five days a week. This change means one less period for students, but Piper Kelm, SMS Principal, said Advisory is being utilized for growth. At the start of the period, all students watch a recorded video of school announcements. The announcements (video link and written) are emailed every day to 900 parents of SMS students. “This is one way we are trying to connect parents to our building and a way for them to ask their child about specific ways to be involved in school,” Kelm said.
Monday during Advisory is used for Grade Checks and follow-up with students who need extra academic support. Tuesday and Wednesday are for Character Strong, a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)/Character Education curriculum taught by every Advisory teacher. The goal is to help students develop self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and more to become healthy and kind individuals.
On Thursdays and Fridays during Advisory, teachers provide lessons created by the SMS counselors. Topics may include digital citizenship (the ability to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly), suicide prevention, career education, and more.
Principal Kelm said since the pandemic, there are many students who struggle with dysregulated behaviors, the inability to control or regulate one’s emotional responses. She said having designated time during the week to provide lessons and skills about getting along with others, making connections, and addressing lagging skills in social-emotional learning is crucial to creating a successful learning environment.
Other supports in the building include DESSA screening for social-emotional wellness and small groups led by counselors for students and employees from Community Counseling Solutions in the building.
“We have students for only a little bit of time, and they are at a tender age with some vulnerability. Being socially-emotionally healthy helps kids feel safe, which means they can learn more effectively and make greater academic gains,” Kelm said.
She encourages parents to know who their child’s counselor at school is, reach out about concerns, and to always feel welcome to communicate with SMS staff.
January is Board Appreciation Month
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgJanuary is School Board Appreciation Month, and we recognize the hard work and dedication they give to the Pendleton School District! YOU ARE APPRECIATED!
ELD Program Winter Celebrations Event
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District welcomed students in its ELD (English Language Development) Program to a family event on Thursday, December 14th, at the Pendleton Early Learning Center. The theme of the evening event was Winter Celebrations Around the World.
Former and current students and their families were invited. A variety of arts and crafts were set up at different tables in the PELC’s Commons, with activities from different countries. Activities included making a holiday card for England, lanterns and fortune cookies for China, a Hanukkah dreidel for Israel, mini pinatas for Mexico, and gingerbread house cookie decorating for Germany.
High School students in the ELD Program volunteered at the event, helping at the tables. Jaylene, a sophomore at Pendleton High School, was volunteering at the event “just because it’s really fun to help the kids do fun crafts.” She was helping with the gingerbread cookie decorating and said she was enjoying looking at everyone’s ways of decorating their house cookies because they were all very unique.
Auna Alferez attended the event with her two daughters, who are in third and fourth grade. She said her children like to come to family events like these. Asked what their favorite part of the night was, her two girls said, “Everything!”
According to Cary Wasem-Varela, ELD Teacher, the events the program staff previously organized were not very well attended, so they started talking to the parents. “We found out they didn’t want to come to events to fill out paperwork or be asked to serve on committees. They enjoy socializing and getting together, so we feel like we really succeeded with this arts and crafts winter event where they can have fun as a family.”
Julie Smith, Director of Special Programs for the Pendleton School District, said one of the goals at the event is for ELD staff to circulate and talk with parents and families. “Our bilingual educators help bridge the language gap so parents can share their thoughts about our program. The staff try to talk to as many families as they can to gather information on what is working well and how we can improve our programs,” Smith said.
About 115 students are currently enrolled in the Pendleton School District’s ELD Program, and they are K-12 students from all of the district’s schools.
Guest Speaker Promotes Emotional Resilience at SMS
/in District Site News, Sunridge News /by rthornburgRemember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” A guest speaker at some Pendleton schools on December 13th used that concept for his message to students. Brooks Gibbs is a resilience educator with a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. At an assembly at Sunridge Middle School, he spoke to all the students in the school about taking personal responsibility for how they feel and how to protect their emotions from the effects of mean or aggressive behaviors through emotional resilience.
In an example with a student volunteer, Gibbs had the student pretend to be mean to him. In the first scenario, Gibbs got very angry and upset about the comments. In the second scenario, instead, he was calm and kind and treated the person like a friend. “The more upset you get, the more you are giving them power and playing their game in losing mode,” Gibbs explained.
He went on to say that when people are using mean and negative words toward you, you can choose not to get upset and that nobody can hurt your feelings without you giving them permission. He teaches students two basic principles when dealing with aggression:
Seventh grader Kale said he learned that getting more frustrated will end up making the person have more fun, and staying calm can help in an aggressive situation. Kenzie, another seventh grader, said her takeaway from the assembly was to always be nice and kind to other people.
Gibbs said physical violence does require adult intervention and encourages students to seek help if they feel they are in danger or cannot handle the aggression on their own.
Piper Kelm, Principal at Sunridge Middle School, said increasing emotional resilience in middle school students is a perfect fit because, since the COVID pandemic, a lagging skill in many young people is the ability to self-regulate and adjust to adversity in their lives. “Any tools and strategies we can help provide to our students benefit them and our school climate,” Kelm said.
In addition to visiting SMS, Gibbs presented at Washington Elementary, Pendleton High School, and Nixyaawii Community School. The presentations were funded through Title XI funds in the Pendleton School District.
Gibbs is a popular youth speaker who has been hired by more than 3,000 schools to present his message to students, parents, and educators. For more information about him and his program, visit www.brooksgibbs.com.
PHS Leadership Organizes Canned Food Drive
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgDistrict Food Drive Aims High to Help Community
All schools in the Pendleton School District worked hard for their community this holiday season through the district-wide Annual Food Drive. Organized by Leadership Class students at Pendleton High School, this annual effort collects non-perishable food items from schools across the district.
According to Lea, PHS Senior and Chair of the Food Drive Committee, the goal of this year’s drive is to collect more than 2,000 food items. At the high school, students have donated food items in their Advisory class, and leadership students have kept track of which class has given the most. There are two categories that can win prizes.
PHS students recently traveled to the other schools in the district to pick up those donations.
Lea said the drive has gone well. “I like that this project helps people in our community, and I like being part of that. I also think students feel good when they can help someone less fortunate,” she said.
PHS brought in more than 2,800 cans of food. The expected total for the Food Drive is more than 8,000 cans. The food will be given to St. Mary’s Outreach and Salvation Army in Pendleton.
November is National Native American Heritage Month
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgFall Parent/Teacher Conferences
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgParent/Teacher conferences will be held on November 20 & 21, 2023. Please contact your student’s school if you have questions.
K-5
Monday, Nov 20: 4 – 8 pm
Tuesday, Nov 21: 7:30 am – 7:00 pm
SMS
Monday, Nov 20: 4 – 8 pm
Tuesday, Nov 21: 7:30 am – 1 pm, 2 – 7 pm
PHS
Monday, Nov 20: 4 – 8 pm (commons)
Tuesday, Nov 21: 7:30 am – 1 pm (virtual), 2 – 4 pm (virtual), 4 – 7 pm (commons)
Outdoor School Transitions from 6th to 5th Grade
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgPendleton School District’s Outdoor School (ODS) program recently encountered a big change. This is the last year that sixth graders from Sunridge Middle School will attend ODS. For several weeks last month (October), this year’s sixth graders attended the program. While ODS is usually run in the spring, the middle school had sixth graders attend this fall, as all fifth graders in the district will be attending in Spring 2024.
The district transition from having all fifth graders attend this traditional program instead of sixth graders was done for various reasons. The spring schedule conflicted with the testing schedule for sixth graders at SMS; also, many substitute teachers were needed for long periods of time.
The same curriculum and model, where students rotate to different stations around the outdoor camp, will be used for the fifth-grade Outdoor School program.
“Our sixth graders had a great time this fall at Outdoor School. We are excited to continue the program since it is a longstanding tradition for PSD, and we know our fifth graders will really enjoy the experience,” said John Summerfield, SMS Social Studies Teacher and ODS Coordinator.
Pendleton School District’s Outdoor School has been running for 52 years. It is held at the U.S. Forest Service’s Buck Creek Cabins/Corporation facility on the Umatilla National Forest, on the banks of the Umatilla River. Students are bused to the site every day and spend the day in field studies to learn about natural habitats and outdoor skills. The field studies are taught by federal, state, and local natural resource employees and volunteers from the region.
New Faces in Pendleton SD – Kelsey Pershall
/in District Site News, Sunridge News /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
Social Emotional Learning Supports at SMS
/in District Site News, Sunridge News /by rthornburgIn addition to robust academics, this year, Sunridge Middle School students are also learning how to connect with classmates, build social-emotional skills, and more.
A revision from last year’s calendar is the addition of a designated Advisory period of 32 minutes, which is the third period five days a week. This change means one less period for students, but Piper Kelm, SMS Principal, said Advisory is being utilized for growth. At the start of the period, all students watch a recorded video of school announcements. The announcements (video link and written) are emailed every day to 900 parents of SMS students. “This is one way we are trying to connect parents to our building and a way for them to ask their child about specific ways to be involved in school,” Kelm said.
Monday during Advisory is used for Grade Checks and follow-up with students who need extra academic support. Tuesday and Wednesday are for Character Strong, a Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)/Character Education curriculum taught by every Advisory teacher. The goal is to help students develop self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and more to become healthy and kind individuals.
On Thursdays and Fridays during Advisory, teachers provide lessons created by the SMS counselors. Topics may include digital citizenship (the ability to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly), suicide prevention, career education, and more.
Principal Kelm said since the pandemic, there are many students who struggle with dysregulated behaviors, the inability to control or regulate one’s emotional responses. She said having designated time during the week to provide lessons and skills about getting along with others, making connections, and addressing lagging skills in social-emotional learning is crucial to creating a successful learning environment.
Other supports in the building include DESSA screening for social-emotional wellness and small groups led by counselors for students and employees from Community Counseling Solutions in the building.
“We have students for only a little bit of time, and they are at a tender age with some vulnerability. Being socially-emotionally healthy helps kids feel safe, which means they can learn more effectively and make greater academic gains,” Kelm said.
She encourages parents to know who their child’s counselor at school is, reach out about concerns, and to always feel welcome to communicate with SMS staff.
First Student Safety Stand-Down Week
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgFirst Student, LLC., the transportation company Pendleton School District contracts with to bus students, is increasing its focus on safety with a Safety Stand-Down Week from October 25-31. This is a special event in which company leaders pause to talk directly to employees about safety and provide education and training on specific safety topics.
According to materials from First Student, the company is having the event because “we have a responsibility to learn from recent safety incidents and ensure they do not happen again by reinforcing fundamental safety principles.”
Stand-Down Week will focus on three key areas: Manage Distractions, Focus on the Task at Hand, and Apply Your Training. Some of the safety practices being re-emphasized for bus drivers are:
According to Patrick Phillips, Location Manager for First Student, the Pendleton location employees will be able to sign Safety Pledges, watch reminder videos, and get daily reminder posts during the event. First Student will also be running special safety radio messages. “The Safety Stand-Down is an opportunity for our company to reiterate to employees to get back to the basics of safety,” Phillips said.
Matt Yoshioka, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Pendleton School District, said the district is pleased that First Student has organized Stand-Down Week to re-focus on safety. “Student safety while being transported to and from school is a top priority for First Student and our district, just as keeping students safe at school is,” Yoshioka said.