Congratulations to Dawn Northey! Dawn is the well-deserving May employee of the month for Fern Ridge. 
She started with Fern Ridge as an Instructional Assistant in the fall of 2013 before transferring into a secretary position at the middle school. Dawn became the head secretary at Elmira Elementary in August of 2017 where she has been keeping the office organized ever since.
To list all of the wonderful ways that Dawn helps to take care of EES would take many more pages! A few of her daily tasks include answering phones, helping families with in-person and on-line registration, processing all of the registration paperwork, collecting student body fees, tracking classified and licensed substitutes for the building and helping with time sheets, staff schedules, coordinating volunteers, keeping track of all the student transportation updates, and countless other jobs that make EES run as smoothly as possible.
One of the things she likes most about her job are the wonderful people she works with and the families she is able to serve. “I enjoy doing it because I know that families appreciate it…..sometimes it involves searching the internet for a form or a phone number, or setting up transportation for them so they don’t have to make one more call in their busy day. The list goes on, but it brings me great joy to serve them.”
When she is not welcoming families and running the office, Dawn enjoys spending time with her two fantastic girls, Maddie and Mackenzie. Maddie is a senior and Mackenzie is a junior at Elmira High School. She loves being outdoors hiking, exploring, and kayaking down the many wonderful rivers here in Oregon. She also enjoys family game nights (with all you can eat ice cream!) family movies, traveling to new places, reading a good book, and anything chocolate.
A huge thank you to Dawn for all of the countless ways you help our Elmira Elementary students, families, and teachers. Congratulations!
Recently the district was informed about a new program, the FCC’s emergency broadband program for low income families, and wanted to pass along the information to our FRSD families. One of the “qualifiers” for this program is anyone that receives benefits under the free and reduced price school lunch program. Applications open a week from today. Please spread the word to anyone that may be interested.
Benefit (per household):
- Up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals
- Up to a $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands
- A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)
- Guidance if more than one household is living at the same address.
Outreach toolkit, includes Spanish language content
This is a temporary program and the benefit will end when the fund runs out of money or 6 months after the Dept of Health and Human Services declares an end to the COVID 19 health emergency, whichever is sooner. So, its best to apply on the front end and receive some benefit rather than wait and have that timeline decreased.
This and other resources can be found on the City of Eugene Community Support website.
Several of you have asked about any possible summer opportunities for students. We have been working hard on this for the last month. We are still a couple weeks away from releasing the final details, but below is a list of some general information. We are hopeful that by Monday the 17th, we will have something more concrete to share! Stay tuned for more details on the exciting activities that will be taking place in our “Super Summer programs!”
- The space we will have is somewhat limited, however we will try to make it available to as many students as possible.
- Schools/teachers will be starting the process by reaching out to specific parents with a focus being on our students with an IEP, 504, or those that have struggled academically, emotionally or with attendance during the 2020-2021 school year.
- The program will run for 4 weeks, 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs). It is currently scheduled for July 12-August 5.
- At the elementary level we expect the time-frame to be 9 am-2 pm. The elementary program will run at Elmira Elementary.
- At the middle school & high school we are expecting a 3.5 hour program, running from approximately 9:30 am-1:00 pm.
- The high school offerings will be to earn/recover credit.
- There is also a KITS program we will be running (for incoming Kinders)–if you are interested, please contact your local Elementary school ASAP.
- Stay tuned!
To Our Teachers:
You’ve learned to create virtual learning communities.
You’ve found new ways to connect with students.
You’ve re-defined what the words “pivot” and “unprecedented” mean for education.
You’ve got PPE down to a science, have sanitized e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, and know the square footage of your classroom by heart.
And yet, despite all of the challenges that came our way, the quality and dedication of our educators is unchanged.
You’ve been here, standing together, and taking care of our students so that each can continue to reach their greatest potential.
Thanks for all you do!
FRSD Families,
Since we expanded a few weeks ago to bring more students back to full-time instruction, district staff have been following both the county COVID-19 infection rates, our local rates here in the school district attendance area, as well as the restrictions currently in place for our county based on the “extreme risk” designation. That information, combined with the knowledge that to date we have NOT had transmission of the virus in our schools, that things are going well, and that the risk of shutting down in-person instruction becomes more likely should we bring all students back and transmission occur, we have made some decisions.
For the final 6 weeks the District will remain in our current model, and NOT expand in-person instruction. While this news may be disappointing for some, we believe it gives us the best chance to reach the 2nd week of June and NOT have a situation where we will need to return to CDL, even with rising county rates. Having to return to CDL would be extremely problematic, as in two weeks we will begin a chromebook check-in process, starting with our youngest students (K-2) and ending the last week of school with High School and all OPTIONS program students (More information coming out on this in the coming days).
The primary thing that could mandate us to return to a CDL format, would be if significant transmission of the virus was occurring within the school. I am hopeful, if not mildly confident, we have the ability to avoid that, regardless of whether or not the county rates continue to rise. While we have had several students contact the virus in recent weeks through a wide variety of ways (most often through a positive parent, or a weekend gathering with friends), all of the protocols and safety measures taking place in schools have resulted in ZERO transmissions in our schools. For us to make it through the end of the school year and be able to maintain what we are still doing, will require everyone doing their part. Please continue to keep your students home when they have any symptoms, avoid large gatherings, and practice recommended protocols at all times. The single biggest factor, besides all of our safety protocols, to ensure there is no spread in our schools, would be to have NO students testing positive!
A couple quick notes on the 21-22 school year. While there is still lots of work to do before September, I fully expect the FRSD to have a normal school day and calendar in 21-22 (what that looks like will largely depend on ODE guidance, and the COVID-19 infection rate). All of our staff will be doing whatever it takes over the summer to ensure to the best of our ability that occurs! I was in a meeting today with ODE where it was stated that they will have the first iteration of Fall guidance out on July 19th. Superintendents shared loudly and clearly that we need this guidance earlier. Regardless of when it comes, I am committed to exploring any option that gets students to experience a normal academic calendar in 21-22. Finally, our FRSD OPTIONS program will continue in 21-22 as an additional choice for our parents that would like that. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the district office, or your building principal.
Thank you to the many staff members that put in extra work to make sure our current 5th and 6th graders are getting an “Outdoor School” experience.
Special thanks to Mrs. Leatham and Mrs. Marshall who spearheaded this effort. While it looks different than normal, the first day of 6th grade outdoor school is a success and we look forward to our 5th graders participating next week!
Dear Families,
Recently, we were notified of a small number of COVID-19 student cases in the District. It is also important to mention that none of the cases were school related in regards to transmission. As members of the school community, we understand that this might raise concerns, alongside a caring response. We are working closely with Lane County Public Health to respond to this news.
Each situation calls for different protocols. In this case:
- The school was notified on April 27, 2021 that a member of the school community had tested positive.
The following protocols were put in place:
- The 4 students who tested positive are staying home from school.
- Anyone who was in close contact with the person who tested positive, has been notified and they are self quarantining.
The School has been working with our District Health Nurse and Lane County Public Health to review classroom logs. Anyone who was identified as having a close contact with the person who tested positive has been notified.
The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is through staying home when ill, wearing face coverings, physical distancing, and practicing good health hygiene habits. Be sure to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, cover your coughs and sneezes, and avoid contact with people who have signs of illness. Get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat a healthy diet.
Protect the community by following the Governor’s safety requirements. Wearing cloth face coverings reduces the spread of viruses.
We will keep you updated with any new information as it comes out, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone’s right to privacy.
More information can be found on the Oregon Department of Education’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners page, and the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our District nurse at tparsons@fernridge.k12.or.us
On Monday night, the FRSD School Board adopted the 2021-2022 Calendar presented to them by the FRSD Calendar Committee. The link is on the right hand side of our webpage. The direct link is here: 2021-2022 Calendar
Absent any significant increases in restrictions put out by ODE or OHA as a result of COVID-19, we fully expect to return to a normal school calendar in 21-22 with every student attending every day, and having early release Wednesdays. While there almost certainly will be additional safety protocols and practices in place for some time, we are committed to doing whatever it takes to maintain a normal calendar.
This year has continued to be like no other. The planning, prepping, communication, and working with others has never been so important. We could not do this work without the amazing administrative professionals we have here in FRSD. The work they do day in and day out has a big impact in many workplaces but definitely here in FRSD. They make our offices more efficient and productive every single day. Much of the work they do is behind the scenes so we want to make sure that we take a moment to thank them for EVERYTHING that they do!
Thank you Michelle Cook (District Office)!
Thank you Dawn Northey (EES)!
Thank you Becky Walton & Shelby Humphrey(VES)!
Thank you Tammy Eutsler & Casey Anderson(FRMS)!
Thank you Lorie Hafner(EHS)!
Thank you Tammy Boren(Special Services)!
Lane County Public Health will be holding a vaccine clinic for people 16 to 17 years old.
Where: Lane Community College
When: April 24 and 25 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.
What: 2,400 doses of Pfizer will be made available for those 16 to 17 years old. Additional doses will be made available to the general public.
How: This clinic is by appointment only, please go to http://lanecounty.org/vaxclinics to schedule your vaccine appointment.
Important: All Lane County Public Health clinics are free. You do not need insurance and will not be asked for any financial information