School District Questions and Answers –

With board chair- Twinkle Ann Morton

Key Communicator Question about

Playing Fields and PRAISE for our HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY

First of all, as I always do, let me begin by reminding my readers that this column is my opinion and my opinion only.  By that I mean that I am not speaking for the board, merely making observations about educational topics and asking for your perspective and input.  I was contacted the other day by one of the key communicators [thank you] who shared with me that some of the high school parents are concerned with the condition of the playing fields for our kids.  I contacted our Grounds person who does a superb job of making things work for our kids on a very small budget.  He shares the parents’ concerns and is doing everything possible to improve the situation.  What follows are his remarks:

“All of our playing fields throughout the District are in need of upgrades and long term maintenance plans. The field in question has been recently aerated, fertilized and is receiving water 4x a week as part of this plan.   Yesterday I attended a field turf training seminar at OSU which confirmed in my mind we are on the right track to accomplish our objective.   The components of the plan are as follows:

1. Secure a reliable irrigation water source.  Water from Fern Ridge is not always available to adequately irrigate all our fields.  Recently, holding tanks and valving were installed at EHS allowing water from our domestic well to be used for irrigation.  The risk is that we over tax our aquifer jeopardizing our domestic source.  Other holding tanks and systems are planned for EE. 
2. Implement scheduled maintenance program.  Our fields receive heavy use by both school and community groups.  To ensure our fields stay in decent shape we need to follow a schedule for fertilization, aeration, top dressing and over seeding.  This will require additional equipment and man hours.
3. Increase our turf field resources.  Because of all the user groups we need additional fields.  This would allow for major maintenance projects to be accomplished without interrupting sports schedules
4. Staff training.  The key for long term sustainability is for these practices be carried on in perpetuity.  Once a field is damaged or stressed its condition deteriorates exponentially. 

I realize people are concerned, and rightfully so.  We are moving in the direction to eliminate these hazards.  I am in communication with staff and coaches concerning these issues and plans to address them. “          Jeff

I want to thank Jeff and Greg for all the work that goes on that sadly only gets noticed if it’s perceived as a problem.  The rooms are clean, the floors polished, the grounds spiffed up- ready for our great teachers and wonderful students to return for another year.  AND

I want to give a big shout out to our high school teachers and administrators.  I received this message from Principal Gary Carpenter this morning.  “Sorry, have to take this opportunity to brag…. :)”   And Brag he should.  The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium [SBAC] testing results are back for the 11^th graders who took the test this year.  The percentage change from last year to this year is truly amazing AND Elmira High School Scores continue to be above – way above the state averages.  Here they are:  The Language scores increased by 7% [state average 71% our average 90%], Math increased by 20% [state average 34% our average 61%], and Science increased by 14%[state average 55% our average 67%]

Mr. Carpenter wants to thank the teachers, parents, families and students for their hard work.  He asked I not thank him… sorry, that part I can’t do.  Mr. Carpenter’s leadership is integral to the hard work these people perform each and every day… so congrats to all – well deserved and VERY impressive.  To get the full and real deal, be sure you read your high school state report card-  I borrowed this from him “Each year we[EHS Staff] reflect on our strengths and our weaknesses and implement changes to improve in areas of concern, while maintaining and supporting those things that are going well.  2016-17 will be no different as we have already implemented many new ideas, programs, support services and classes that we hope will benefit all of our students here at EHS.  The FRSD community should be proud of the great staff working here at EHS.  They are second to none.”  I have to agree-   And it not just us that recognize the strength of our high school- we are recognized by the US NEWS and WORLD REPORT’s annual Best High Schools list on a consistent basis.  What’s not to like?

I look forward to continuing my column and answering your questions so please continue to write to me at tmorton@fernridge.k12.or.us and read my articles.  I hope to reach new readers so share with your friends and loved ones.  I leave you with this quote from Maria Orlando’s article “Nine Characteristics of a great Teacher”  “The great teachers, however, work tirelessly to create a challenging, nurturing environment for their students. Great teaching seems to have less to do with our knowledge and skills than with our attitude toward our students, our subject, and our work.”  We’ve got it all at Elmira High School.

In addition, I want to share with you what happens when researchers dropped a penny onto a group of ants. https://youtu.be/Ul3_D3DtZgw  What if a society could be so closely aligned as to let something invasive fall right through it while regaining our bond with each other on the other side… a coin could crush one or two ants but working together they release to let it pass through and then rejoin on the other side while the weight goes to the bottom where it does no harm…   just a thought.

Until next time.

School District Kudos –

With board vice- chair- Twinkle Ann Morton

Just wanted to print a few of the many things our students excel at… impressive range of things and I have only scratched the surface.  Enjoy reading of their many accomplishments.

Elmira High School received ranking in national publication

Elmira High School is a “bronze medal” school this year according to the USA Today rankings.  Last year, EHS won the “silver medal”.  This foregrounds our high graduation rates. The Four Year Cohort Graduation Rate has the State Average at 73.8% while Elmira High School recorded an 89.83% rate which is well above the state average.  Similarly, the Five Year Cohort Graduation Rate shows the State Average to be 76.49%, and Elmira High School’s average is 88.35%.

Fern Ridge Elementary Schools Perform Well in OBOB at state

The Fern Ridge School District sent several teams to the OBOB competition.   On the elementary level both Veneta and Elmira schools performed very well.   Congratulations to the Veneta team who made it to the “Sweet Sixteen” standing.  The team consists of Jake Bondurant, Jacob Janeczko, Alexys Kallio, and Bailey Cedarleaf. Jake and Alexys are fourth graders and Bailey and Jacob are 5th graders. They were coached by Jake’s father Nate Bondurant. The Elmira team made it to the “Elite Eight” battling it out during overtime rounds, and the members are  called “The No Mercy (Sisters) Return”. Their names are Grace Vestal, Nancy Coffman, Gracie Storey, Kelly Torres and Lucy Mitchem.  With thanks to Alisa Johnson for coaching them.  Nice job to everyone who read, participated and tried their best.   All of you made us proud!

Fern Ridge Middle School Wins OBOB at State

The OBOB team consisted of three 8th graders from last year’s team and one 6th graders (Josiah Lorenz, Emily Eagle-Eye, Jessica Woods, and Zola Walker).  The kids put in a lot of hard work along with their coach Sherry Cooper.

Fern Ridge Middle School at Brain Bowl at LCC

Fern Ridge Middle School competed in their first Lane County Brain Bowl today. They did great! They got third out of 17 teams. There were some incredibly smart middle schoolers in that room. Everyone would like to thank Angie Pebworth and Jason Alansky for organizing and coaching the team.  Middle School Brain Bowl competition involves students in grades 6 to 8 in games similar to athletic competitions offered at this level.  Questions are read in major areas of learning and the team member buzzes in when he or she knows the answer.  The participants in this event were Maddie Alansky, Emily Eagle Eye, Josiah Lorenz, Reign Luxembourger, Ian Miller, and Megan Porter.

Elmira High School OBOB in Fern Ridge District

The team won the first round in the Terrific 12 split bracket but then lost in the Elite 8 second round, which sadly was a sudden elimination match. The participants are Finn King, Celeste Ossowski, Cooper Barnes, Jessica Coone, and Jessica Yost. Everyone put in a great deal of work and thanks goes out to their coach Sherry Cooper and Forrest Cooper for his help at the competition.

Veneta Elementary Earth Day Fair

Our Earth Day Fair was a huge success again this year. We increased the time by one hour and were able to have all of VES students and some Elmira Elementary School students attend. At another event, we had our Third Quarter Award ceremonies where we gave out 118 class awards, 117 outstanding citizen awards, and 11 perfect attendance awards.

Fern Ridge Family Resource Center

Fern Ridge School District now has a Family Resource Center! Located at Veneta Elementary School, the Family Resource Center will provide services to all families in the district with a focus on families with children birth to five years old. As it gets going, the center will feature information for families on community resources, parent education workshops, and activities for small children. The goal for the center is to help build literacy skills in small children and help families make the transition to kindergarten. The Family Resource Center is made possible by a grant from Lane Kids.

Our Family Resource Coordinator is Angi Trent who has been on the job for a short time, but she already has big plans for the Family Resource Center.  Plans included a play date on March 9^th which featured sensory play with shaving cream and a visit from a local police officer.  It was a big hit with kids and families alike.  Stay tuned for more events in the works.

For more information on the Fern Ridge Family Resource Center contact Angi at 541-935-8225 ext. 418.