Out of an abundance of caution, the School District in consultation with First Student, is announcing a 2-hour delay for tomorrow, Tuesday the 14th. Typically we will wait until the morning when the weather pattern is uncertain, however Accuweather is showing an “expected” pattern in the morning that is problematic. At 4AM It is expected to be 32 degrees, and then get cooler as follows: 5 AM: 31 degrees, 6 AM: 30 degrees, 7 AM: 30 degrees, 8 AM: 29 degrees.
When the driving conditions turn dangerous after 5:30 or 6:00 AM, it is difficult for the District to change course as parents and students are expecting buses to be there to pick up students. While there certainly is the opportunity for the roads to be fine in the morning, the District will be operating on a 2 hour delay–based on the forecast and roads that are currently very wet. Any changes or updates will be shared here. Please pass along this information. A phone dialer will go out this evening to all families and FRSD staff.
We have been informed of a vehicle accident past Noti. They have closed 126. For all of our families on Bus Route 1 (elementary) and Route 2 (FRMS/EHS). Please expect a phone call and plan to meet at Noti Market. Phone calls will begin with Elmira Elementary families and then proceed with FRMS and EHS families.
Winter weather/road conditions: Our transportation provider has just driven the highest elevation routes. At this time there is NO need to adjust our release time or routes this afternoon, as long as the temperature stays above freezing.
Please follow this page for any updates in the morning. If there is any kind of delay, routes get moved to “snow routes”, or school is closed, we try to make that decision by 6:30 AM and all information will be shared here, as well as “Superintendent Carpenter Facebook.”
For additional information on bus routes and times, please visit our transportation page.
Over the last six weeks, two families and our school community have experienced tremendous loss with the deaths of two students. The district has been working with multiple support and partner organizations in recent weeks to support students, staff and families.
As a continuation of these services we would like to invite parents to attend a virtual meeting/forum on Wednesday, December 15th, at 6:30 PM. Our community is grieving and this informational and support night is intended as an opportunity to hear from experts in this field regarding how parents can best support their children who are coping with grief and loss. Please see the flyer below for all the information, and share with anyone you think may benefit from attending. Direct Zoom Webinar Link Here
It is with great regret that I share with you that an EHS student died on Thursday. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the student’s family, friends and our entire community. We cannot share further details at this time. We ask that community members not speculate on the circumstances at this time and encourage everyone to focus on caring for themselves and one another. As we develop our district wide response, we will share further information with you.
All students were given the news of the student’s death by staff this morning.
Given that this death occurs on the heels of another student death, we encourage all Fern Ridge community members to check in with one another and their children to discuss how their feeling, how they’ve been impacted by these deaths and talk about suicide. Children who are already vulnerable may be at greater risk of suicide due to the exposure of the suicide or sudden death of a peer so it is especially important that you check-in with your child.
Heavy feelings of anger or sadness are normal during tragic events. These conditions are treatable. It’s really important if you or your child are not feeling well in any way to reach out for help.
Members of our Crisis Response Team and staff from neighboring districts are available to meet with students individually and in groups today as well as over the coming days and weeks. Please contact the school office if you feel your child is in need of additional assistance. If you or your child needs help right away, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), call 911, or take your child to the nearest emergency department.
Information about the funeral service will be made available as soon as we have it. If your child wishes to attend, we strongly encourage you to accompany them to the service. If the funeral is scheduled during school hours, students who wish to attend will need parental permission to attend.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or one of the school counselors.
District Office 541-935-2253
Elmira High School 541-935-8200
Fern Ridge Middle School 541-935-8230
Elmira Elementary School 541-935-8214
Veneta Elementary School 541-935-8225
Sincerely,
Rick Gardner
2021 S.A.N.T.A Toy Giveaway
Saturday, December 11th, 9 am to 3 pm in the Veneta Elementary Gym
Participants are required to provide proof of residency in the Fern Ridge or Crow-Applegate-Lorane School Districts and proof of age for each child.
There is no income verification required.
Please Remember: No infants or children are allowed inside the gym during the giveaway so please make other arrangements for childcare.
Got questions? You can give Monica a call at 541-285-3100
Congratulations to Candice Stansell, our December 2021 Employee of the Month!
Candice has worked in Fern Ridge for a little over a year in our OPTIONS program and has quickly proven herself an invaluable member of our team!
She assists with grading, attendance, downloading student lessons, helping parents on the phone and greeting families. “There is never any down time in our department; I like that it keeps us busy.” Her favorite thing about her job is getting to be in charge of her department’s Wellness Challenges and learning new technology skills.
“I have some pretty great co-workers that I get to work with and learn from.”
Candice and her husband Nick moved to the area from Springfield where Candice ran a Daycare/Preschool for 21 years.
In October 2019, she started with us as a classified substitute before she joined us full time in OPTIONS.
She has two boys of her own; Grant 20 and Coleman 23. She also has three step kiddos; Emma 12, Autumn 22, and Jaren 24 and a 5-year old grandson 🙂
She loves to craft, bake, collect rocks and play games with her kids but her all-time favorite way to spend her time is by going camping in their converted van.
With recent staffing changes, Candice has gone above and beyond to ensure our OPTIONS students have all of the resources and help they and their families need.
Congrats Candice!
Due to the low community donations to the Toys for Tots program, the application deadline has been moved to Tuesday, November 30 at 3:30pm.
If the deadline is extended prior to our distribution day we will post a notice here and open up the application window again!
If you or your family are interested in participating in the Toys for Tots giveaway fill out this application and bring to the district office by tomorrow at 3:30pm.
The Fern Ridge distribution day is December 18th from 10 am to 3 pm at Fern Ridge Middle School. This is a drive-thru event, you only need to bring picture id to pick up your gifts.
If you have any questions please reach out to Becky Dube at 541-935-2253 ext 1210 or rdube@fernridge.k12.or.us
Last week, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) had two substantive updates to share with schools.
The first was a change to the K-12 face covering rule (OAR 333-019-1015). This update revised the statewide outdoor face covering requirements.
The revisions have removed the outdoor face covering requirement for K-12 settings. This will mostly effect district athletics and other organizations that use district facilities for outside events, such as TSP sports and the upcoming tree lighting.
While individual schools/districts may continue to require students and staff to wear face coverings during outdoor activities, here in FRSD we will continue to operate as we have since the beginning of the pandemic. That is to say we will follow all mandates, administrative rules and other public health recommendations, but not go above and beyond the requirements absent some specific local metric or need to do so (such as case rates).
The second change was to reduce the quarantine period from 14 days to 10 days for students and staff that are close contacts.
Lane County Public Health is also looking at adopting a new “test to stay” option that is being recommended as an additional mitigation layer that will allow unvaccinated students and staff to maximize days spent in school learning. As soon as this becomes an option we will share more information here. This “test to stay option” is only allowed for close contacts who were exposed in a school setting. It is not allowed for exposures outside of school, or during athletics. This process could/would allow unvaccinated asymptomatic individuals who were exposed, to be tested twice during the 7 days following the exposure, and NOT have to quarantine.
At the links below you can visit all the information regarding snow routes, and school closure information. These links can also be found on our Transportation page.
As a side note, if we ever have a 2-hour delay on a Wednesday early release day-all schools would be released at their normal Mon/Tues or Thurs/Fri time.