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Be prepared for closures and late starts
It’s that time of year to prepare for snow and ice and to review school protocols for inclement weather. Closures and late starts On days when snow or icy conditions cause school closures or late starts, Oregon Trail School District will take the following actions: Transportation staff will review road conditions when weather forecasts or first-hand observations indicate the onset of inclement conditions. Near 5:00 AM, the Superintendent will decide on a school closure or late start schedule, and the decision will be communicated to families and staff. Near 7:00 AM, if a late start was called, conditions will be reevaluated, and the Superintendent will make a final decision on whether to close schools. If it appears weather conditions are progressively deteriorating, schools will likely be closed. If there is a possibility of improvement, a late-start schedule will be implemented as follows: K-8 schools will be on a two-hour late start schedule, and buses may be on snow routes Sandy High will be on a 1-hour late start schedule with virtual classes, and BLAP will be on a regular schedule with virtual classes. Updates will be communicated to families and staff. Information will be released to families and staff through various channels, including: ParentSquare Alert: email, text, voice message, app District & school website alerts Facebook & Twitter FlashAlert Local news stations Read the full Inclement Weather Action Protocol and Detailed Snow Route List on the district website Transportation page: oregontrailschools.com/transportation .
Friday, Nov 19 2021
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Weekly Clackamas County Vaccine Clinics
Clackamas County Public Health is sponsoring a weekly COVID-19 vaccine clinic beginning this Friday at the Sandy Community/Senior Center . The clinic will run each Friday from 2-5 PM, and will include vaccines for age 5 and up. An appointment is required ( www.clackamas.us/coronavirus/vaccine ).
Tuesday, Nov 16 2021
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Congratulations to Cedar Ridge staff and students!
Cedar Ridge is a U.S. News Best Middle School! Cedar Ridge Middle School has placed among the top 30% of middle schools in the State of Oregon, making it a U.S. News Best Middle School. Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school. Principal Nicole Johnston is proud of Cedar Ridge educators for their collaborative focus on what’s best for kids. “Cedar Ridge is a learning community where staff members care about their students and one another.” Lesson Study is one way that Cedar Ridge teachers work together to grow their collective expertise. Johnston said, “Our teachers spend time in one another’s classrooms - viewing instruction, giving feedback, and sharing best practices. They discuss specific student needs and ways they can collaborate to meet those needs and ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed.”
Saturday, Oct 30 2021
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NPLB promotes student health, character, scholarship...
Thank you to all the participants in this year’s No Pioneer Left Behind (NPLB) golf tournament. The event profited over $25,000 for NPLB student scholarships. Created in 2011, the NPLB Scholarship Fund assists middle and high school students in need with the fees associated with school-sponsored athletics and activities. NPLB promotes student health, character, scholarship, and citizenship. It is the hope and expectation of the individuals contributing their time and resources to this effort that we increase student participation in the valuable opportunities that exist in our schools. NPLB is sponsored by the Oregon Trail Education Foundation, and funded with proceeds from the annual Art Skipper Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament, held each September at the Mt Hood Oregon Resort golf course in Welches. The Oregon Trail Education Foundation believes every student should have the opportunity to grow beyond their experiences in the classroom, and financial hardship should not be an inhibiting factor to those opportunities.
Tuesday, Oct 05 2021
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Reporting school safety concerns
Safety is one of our district's top priorities, and to help safeguard our school community we use Report It, a Vector/SafeSchools Alert service that allows students, staff, and parents to submit safety concerns. You and your child can easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, vandalism, threats of violence, or any safety issue you're concerned about through Repo rt It. When you submit a tip, be sure to use OTSD's identification code: 1371 in your communication. Every tip Report It Alert receives about our district is immediately logged in the system and our administration is notified so that they can investigate and take appropriate action. And, tips may be submitted anonymously if you prefer .
Monday, Sep 27 2021
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Help us keep kids in school
As we enter our third week of full-time in-person learning, we are extremely pleased to see our students adjusting to COVID-era guidelines and happy to be back in classrooms with their friends and teachers. Though the year is early, we have already seen schools throughout the state shut down and return to distance learning (CDL) due to quarantines. We will do everything in our power to keep our students in school, but we need your continued support and partnership. Please remember that the best way to keep Oregon Trail students in school and safe from the COVID-19 virus is to keep the virus out of our schools. · If your student is not feeling well, please keep them home and contact your school office. Follow the ‘Can my child attend school today?’ flowchart attached. · If your student has close contact with a family member who is ill, please keep them home and monitor their health. · Consider this: A COVID-19 diagnosis requires quarantining the COVID-positive person as well as other students or staff who have been in close contact and are not vaccinated. If you get a phone call stating that your student needs to be quarantined, the staff member making that call is following state mandates and public health guidelines. We appreciate you affording them your patience, understanding, and civility. If you have questions or concerns about state mandates and health protocols, please contact Clackamas County Public Health at: covidschoolliaison@clackamas.us . If you would like to submit a comment about how Oregon Trail is implementing the health protocols you may use ‘ Report It ,’ our online tip reporting system.
Wednesday, Sep 22 2021
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Job openings for bus drivers, custodians, nutrition ...
Oregon Trail Families, OTSD typically runs 25 regular bus routes. STA, our transportation contractor, is currently down eight drivers. As of today they are only able to run 14 routes due to the driver shortage and absences, with no available substitute drivers. We know how this impacts our students and families, and we sincerely apologize. STA has continuously advertised for drivers throughout the past several months, but as you are probably aware, there is a shortage of drivers in Oregon and across the nation. In addition to the driver shortage, we need nutrition services workers and custodians. Please help us by spreading the word to your family, friends, and neighbors. You may view current OTSD job openings at: oregontrailschools.com/Employment . To apply with STA, go to: https://bit.ly/3EEvILO , or call 503-668-8855. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.
Tuesday, Sep 21 2021
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1st week update; transportation challenge
Oregon Trail Families, It has been great to have students back in our classrooms for full-time in-person learning. Nearly 4500 returned this September, with about 95% physically returning to classrooms and 5% participating in full-time virtual or online instruction. Most o f our students quickly readjusted to the health and safety protocols they learned during Hybrid instruction last spring. We had hoped for less stringent requirements, but we've all learned to adapt to the moment. We know there will be cases of COVID, quarantines, and limitations to some of our usual activities, but the best type of teaching and learning – face to face - is happening in a robust fashion. Our promise to every Oregon Trail student is that we will continue to work hard to sustain the outstanding learning opportunities they deserve. Please remain vigilant and keep yourself and your children healthy. Student Transportation Transportation was a challenge during our first week back, but improvements were made each day. We appreciate our bus drivers' efforts to safely transport our students amid the uncertainty with some routes and schedules, as well as a driver shortage. Their fortitude is commendable, and we couldn't ask for a better group of people to rally around a cause and help normalize life for our students. We continue to work with STA management and administration as they correct their data, routing sheets, and schedules. There will continue to be some combined routes until STA can engage additional drivers. Several are currently being trained and licensed. Last week while STA worked to improve student pickup and delivery, and principals mitigated traffic concerns at their schools, our district office worked with Konell Construction to reduce traffic and improve parent drop off and pick up at Firwood Elementary. Our thanks to Konell for responding immediately to the urgent need. We were also able to move the OTA charter school parent drop-off and pickup to Meinig Park, and we want to thank the City of Sandy for consenting to our use. It is anticipated the days and weeks to come will bring more COVID cases that will require isolation and quarantine. We encourage everyone to engage in practices that you believe will keep you most protected from the spread. We will do everything in our power to keep our schools open daily and continue to provide every student with the opportunity to attend face to face with their teachers and their peers. Sincerely, Aaron Bayer, Superintendent
Tuesday, Sep 14 2021
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Fall 2021 health protocols
Oregon Trail Families, Visit our Fall 2021 FAQs and Protocols webpage for information about health protocols and answers to your most-asked questions. Remember, the best way to keep students safe from the COVID-19 virus is to keep the virus out of our schools. If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home and contact your school office. See you on the 7th!
Friday, Sep 03 2021