New Faces in Pendleton SD – Noah Eckstine
The Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
The Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
Sunridge Middle School eighth graders got to enjoy some agricultural learning in the sunshine on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) brought its Mobile Precision Agriculture Laboratory to the school for some hands-on learning.
First, the class of science students broke up into small groups, made a grid sketch of an open field, and then took the temperature of the soil in each quadrant. After they reported their findings, Drew Leggett, BMCC Precision Agriculture Instructor, discussed with the students how soil temperature can be used by farmers for growing crops.
Thor, SMS eighth grader, said, “It was interesting how the temperature changed throughout the field; you would think the sun would heat it up the same.”
Leggett then went to the mobile trailer and brought out the hit of the show — a large, brightly colored orange drone. He explained this specific drone costs about $50,000 and can fly over 250 acres on one charge of its battery. Leggett explained farmers and ranchers can use drones to fly over their property and gather detailed information about sunlight exposure, water, crop growth, and more.
Eighth grader Hayden said the drone was pretty awesome to see and looked really cool flying through the sky.
What does Leggett want these eighth graders to take away from today’s experience? “I want students to know what precision agriculture is and how it works. I also tell them that it’s a career opportunity throughout the nation, there is a huge shortage of precision ag technicians, and you need only a two-year degree to get into the field.”
This BMCC mobile lab was new in 2022. Annie Claus, Career Connected Learning Systems Navigator at BMCC, said one of the uses of the mobile lab is to connect Career Technical Education (CTE) and Career Connected Learning (CCL) opportunities to students in fifth and eighth grades and high school.
Eighth grader Hayden summed up the morning pretty well, “There’s a lot of stuff to do in science.”
Sunridge Middle School students and their parents were invited to the school’s Open House on Wednesday, September 20, 2023. In addition to serving Hill Meat hot dogs, chips, and Coca-Cola to families, school administrators hoped the event was a good photo opportunity and a chance for staff to interact with students and families.
It was the first SMS Open House for new Vice Principal Caleb Patterson. He said the school year has started out well and has been a lot of fun. “I hope tonight is a good chance for our students, especially the sixth graders, to show their parents around, for parents to put faces to teachers’ names, and for us to continue building that community feel,” Patterson said.
New teacher Noah Eckstine said his first weeks of teaching science have been great so far, with lots of support from SMS staff. At Open House, he said he hopes parents see him as a stand-up guy, know their kids are being supported and appreciated every day, and that teachers like the students as people.
Seventh grader Emilio Hernandez was showing his mom, Natasha Makin, around the school, taking her to each of his classes in the order he attends them every day. Makin said Emilio has three minutes to get from one end of the building to the other between two classes, so he showed her how he power walks to get there. Makin was happy about the Open House event, saying, “It’s a cool opportunity to meet his teachers in a fun way and not necessarily like at conferences when you might get more negative information.”
SMS Principal Piper Kelm said Open House is always an exciting night for the school. “I am always really happy when we can have our community in the building, put food in their bellies, and have them get a chance to meet our amazing teachers here at Sunridge.”
About 190 sixth graders from Sunridge Middle School recently enjoyed the annual Outdoor School during three separate weeks in April and May.
Sunridge Middle School – 5th Grade Parent Night
Discovering what the first year of middle school will be like is the purpose of a May event at Sunridge Middle School. All fifth grade students and their parents in the Pendleton School District are invited to 5th Grade Parent Night on Tuesday, May 23rd from 5 to 7 PM at SMS.
Fifth graders who will be attending the school, along with their parents, will meet sixth grade teachers, take tours of the building, watch a slideshow about electives offered at Sunridge and have hamburgers.
SMS Principal Piper Kelm said the event is a great opportunity for the school to communicate “What does Sixth Grade look like at SMS?” Kelm said, “This is the first time these students and families will all be together as their class, the one they are in from sixth grade through the end of high school. We want them to experience the building and share a meal together.”
Native American students and their families are invited to a special presentation at 4:30 PM in addition to regular Parent Night activities.
For more information about 5th Grade Parent Night, visit the Sunridge Middle School website at https://sms.pendleton.k12.or.us/.
Posted 5/19/2023
If you think there is nothing cuter than a kindergartner petting a cute, fuzzy chick, you are probably right.
Next school year, Sunridge Middle School students will have increased opportunities to explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) learning thanks to a $13,300 grant from GO-STEM. SMS Principal Piper Kelm said the grant allowed the school to purchase Virtual Reality (VR) headsets that students will use for computer coding and creating virtual spaces.
During the 2023-24 school year, sixth-grade classrooms will be able to use the equipment, which Kelm said she hopes builds interest in those students getting involved in the school’s Robotics Club for seventh and eighth graders. “We hope and anticipate this STEM grant will serve as a pipeline for our students to become interested in computer science here at the middle school and beyond in high school robotics and computers,” Kelm said.
Three other PSD schools also received GO-STEM grants: Pendleton Early Learning Center ($1,800), Washington Elementary ($8,800), and Pendleton High School ($19,000).
According to their website, GO‐STEM is a regional partnership cultivating a community that values STEM learning, prepares youth for successful STEM careers, and builds pathways and pipelines to meet workforce needs. Learn more at https://go-stem.org/.
You are invited to participate in a research study, Native Voices Across Generations: Reimagining Discipline in a New School Landscape (Native Voices or NV) project.
The Pendleton School District, in cooperation with a research team from the University of Oregon, is hosting a community conversation/listening session on Monday, April 24, at Washington Elementary, starting at 5:00 pm. Dinner and childcare will be provided.
The research team is seeking to hear from parents, community members, teachers, administrators, and staff.
The purpose of this one-year project is to give voice to teachers, school and district administrators, and other school staff to look at discipline practices and investigate contributors to and consequences of disproportionate discipline for Native students in Oregon K-12 schools.
The findings of this project will inform, design and recommend school-based policies, trainings, resources, and supports that are culturally responsive and integrate Native tribal and community assets to shift any overrepresentation of AI/AN students in discipline data by researching (1) potential contributors to and consequences of disciplinary practices in Oregon K-12 school districts and (2) if district administrators, teachers, and other school personnel might benefit from professional development on Indian Education Policies and Language Restoration; Native Languages of Oregon; and Equity in School Policy for Native Students.
Equally important, this study queries what Native students, families, and communities envision as essential for healthy schools in which Native students belong and thrive culturally, socially, psychologically, and academically.
Community conversations/listening sessions will occur at the Washington Elementary School on Monday, April 24, from 5-7:30 pm. Each participant will receive an incentive of $25 for participating in the conversations.
This project involves the collaboration of the Center for Equity Promotion (CEQP) in the University of Oregon’s (UO) College of Education, the UO’s Northwest Indian Language Institute (NILI), the Native Wellness Institute (NWI), and participating Tribes and School Districts with funding from and in partnership with the Office of Indian Education/Oregon Department of Education (OIE/ODE).
If you are interested in participating in this research study, please complete the Adult Consent form located here: https://tinyurl.com/NV-Adult-Consent.
Hard copies of the consent form will be available at the event.
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Rita Svanks at rsvanks@uoregon.edu, 541-346-4125.
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.
Accessibility Statement | Nondiscrimination Policy | USDA Nondiscrimination Statement | Public Complaint Procedure | Safe Oregon
© Pendleton School District 16R. All Rights Reserved