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  • Great things happen, even in uncertain times

    Outstanding attendance in virtual classes We are so proud of Oregon Trail families! You know how important it is to encourage your child's participation in their virtual classes. As a result, our average attendance for the first month of distance learning, K-12, is nearly 95%. Incredible! PGE contributes funds for hotspots Portland General Electric (PGE) is contributing $5,000 to OTSD specifically for the purchase of about 150 hotspots to help improve the distance learning experience for students with no or limited internet access.  PGE managed a Community Resource Center at our Welches School campus after shutting off power along the Hwy 26 corridor on September 7 to eliminate wildfires' potential in our mountain communities. We want to thank them for their diligence and partnership.   CTE Career Pathway grants awarded The Oregon Department of Education has awarded over $16,000 in Career Pathways grants to five of Sandy High School's Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs, including Agriculture, Engineering, Health Science, Manufacturing, and Automotive. The purpose of the grants is to fund activities related to CTE programs of study that are pathways to high-wage, high-demand jobs. PHOTO: Sandra Carter teaches Health Science courses at Sandy High School.  Sandy High arts instructors work in concert to provide distanced education Sandy Post article by Brittany Allen, Reporter In "normal" times, many students tend to rely on arts programs for relief and a needed form of expression, whether it's through acting, playing an instrument, or singing. Now, with the COVID-19 crisis and mandated distanced learning in place, that need seems to have only grown, and teachers at Sandy High are working to provide the best arts education experience possible — virtually.  Read the full Sandy Post article Courtesy photo: Rob McGlothin   Rob McGlothin leads demonstrations in his virtual jazz studies class, which students follow along with independently while muted. 

    Tuesday, Oct 27 2020

  • Cozy up with a good book

    We understand the importance of putting print books into the hands of our students to increase their literacy skills and foster their love of reading, so we are excited to announce that all Oregon Trail students now have access to books from our school libraries. Beginning Monday, October 26, Oregon Trail K-12 students will be able to browse their school library shelves digitally and place a hold on up to five books. Students will access their school library via the Alexandria digital library catalog, using their assigned Alexandria login. Our media specialists have created videos to demonstrate how it works. Teachers will review the videos with students over the coming weeks, and parents may access the videos on our BookMobile Library Help Site . The books placed on hold may be picked up in the school foyer during the following week (see chart below). Students will be able to hold books for school pickup through the end of November. Beginning November 30, the books will be delivered to neighborhoods throughout the community with our new BookMobile. We will share the BookMobile delivery sites and schedule with you soon. Books that are not picked up from the BookMobile will then be placed in the student’s school foyer for pick-up. Please note:  Books must be placed on hold by Thursday, 12 pm, to be ready for delivery the following week. Students with no internet access may select books by calling 503-668-1262, 8am-2pm on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. The Oregon Trail BookMobile program begins October 26 and will continue throughout the 2020-2021 school year, during distance learning and, ultimately, during hybrid instruction.  As of November 30, this will be the regular weekly process:  Questions?           BookMobile Library Help Site , or call: 503-668-1262, 8am-2pm on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday

    Saturday, Oct 24 2020

  • Resources for Families

    Oregon Trail Families, The attached Resources for Families document includes information about: * OTSD support and resources * Local community resources * Food assistance, and more Also attached: * A schedule of drive through flu vaccination events, and * Information about local COVID relief programs

    Tuesday, Oct 20 2020

  • WIFI hotspot requests

    Oregon Trail Families, So far this school year, OTSD has provided 760 WIFI hotspots and 2,684 Chromebooks to support students in the at-home learning environment. We contract with cellular service providers for WIFI hotspots for use by our students in order to obtain internet access for those who do not currently have it.  Oregon Trail families had the opportunity to request a hotspot during our annual online enrollment verification process. If a need became apparent after completing this process, families were, and continue to be, able to submit a request via their school office. At this time, we have been able to assign one hotspot to each of the 760 families who requested one. Some are still in the process of being distributed. If more requests come in, there will be a delay as we have exhausted our supply and need to acquire additional units.  Due to the nature of the technology, and our local geography, cellular WIFI hotspots have limitations beyond our control. Some areas are outside the companies’ coverage area and have no connection options. Some areas have limited connection and cannot provide a connection sufficient for participation in a live class. Also, even with the best possible connection, a device can only readily serve three students at one time.  With both synchronous (live) and asynchronous (recorded) options, students can access their classes at different times to accommodate the internet connection that is available to them. Some families have requested additional hotspots to accommodate their learning schedules better.  Here are the conditions under which the district can accommodate a second hotspot for a family: Families must have four or more students, AND The family is outside the coverage area for a land-based broadband  internet connection (Wave, Comcast, SandyNet, etc.). OR: The family is eligible for free or reduced lunch, based on the attached guidelines. Families who meet these criteria can request a second hotspot beginning Wednesday, October 14th, by contacting their school office.  Please note, there will be a delay in distributing additional hotspots as a new order will need to be received before there is the quantity for delivery. 

    Tuesday, Oct 13 2020

  • Preschools accepting applications

    Two preschools located at Sandy Grade School are accepting applications. Please visit the following websites for more information and to determine eligibility: Preschool Promise: earlylearninghubofclackamascounty.org/preschool-promise Head Start to Success: clackesd.org/headstart

    Thursday, Sep 24 2020

  • Sandy School-Based Health Center

      Students in the Oregon Trail School District have access to comprehensive physical, mental, and preventive health services at the Sandy School-Based Health Center. The clinic is staffed by a family nurse practitioner, mental health therapist and certified medical assistant who are dedicated to creating a safe and inviting environment for students in grades K-12. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical and mental health services will be offered primarily through the use of telephone and video visits. Limited in-person visits will also be available on an as-needed basis, as will visits for immunizations, labs, blood pressure checks and other screenings.  No student is denied services due to lack of insurance, but whenever possible, insurance will be billed. No co-pay is charged. Students and families will not be responsible for any balance not covered by insurance. Ability to bill insurance helps support the Health and Wellness Center. Our staff are able to take your insurance information at the time of scheduling, as well as connect you to a team of Eligibility Specialists for help getting coverage if you or your family is uninsured. The following services at the School-Based Health Center focus on preventing illnesses and promoting healthy behaviors: Diagnosing and treating injury and illness, referrals to specialty care as needed Comprehensive physical exams and sports physicals and concussion checks Mental or emotional health services Health education and wellness counseling Screenings (blood pressure and vision) Lab tests and Immunizations Coordination of care with the student’s primary care provider Call us at (503) 668-3483 during the school year to make an appointment or if you have any questions.

    Tuesday, Sep 22 2020

  • Meal Pack Breakfast and Lunch for Oregon Trail students

    Oregon Trail Families, Beginning September 22, meal packs will be available to all students and served on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A meal pack will consist of a breakfast and a lunch each for multiple days (two days of meals on Tuesday and 3 days of meals on Thursday.) Only meal packs will be served. There is no fee to any student for meals served through December 31, 2020 under special US Department of Agriculture funding. Meals may be picked up by a parent or guardian without the student(s) present. Meals are delivered to your vehicles, curbside at schools, or walk up at select other sites as follows:

    Monday, Sep 21 2020

  • Distance Learning Help @ Home

    School starts this Monday, September 21!  Two hints for a successful first day of school: Practice logging in to your Chromebook this weekend, and On Monday morning, log in to your class 5 minutes early. Visit Oregon Trail’s  Help @ Home  website for parent and student resources and tech support: Learn how to log in to your Chromebook Find who to contact when you have a tech issue Learn about using Google Meet, Google Classroom, Google Drive, and lots more Also on the  Help @ Home  page, check out the instructions and FAQs for using ParentVue and ParentSquare: ParentVUE is where you can view student assignments, grades, and attendance. This is also where you register/enroll your student, using ParentVUE’s online enrollment process. ParentSquare is Oregon Trail’s communication system for news, alerts, and notifications via email, text, or app. We look forward to seeing our students virtually on Monday!

    Saturday, Sep 19 2020

  • District Issued Hotspots

    Oregon Trail Families, Hotspot requests nearly doubled from last spring. While we have over 550 units prepared for distribution, there are currently not enough hotspots in the district to provide for all who have requested a device. However, additional hotspots are on order and we are committed to acquiring quantities sufficient to provide one per family. If your family needs a hotspot and has not yet requested one here is the process: If you have already  completed online registration Via ParentVUE and did not request a hotspot in that process, please contact your school Secretary/Registrar. They can make that change to your registration. This will add your name to the distribution list. If you have not yet completed online registration via ParentVUE, you can make the hotpot request as part of that process. We will be distributing hotspots based on the timing of requests. We will complete distribution for each of the following groups before moving on to the next group: Requests made previous to August 31st Requests made from September 1st - September 14th Requests made after September 14th Families will be informed via a ParentSquare message when a hotspot is available and how / when to pick it up. WIFI Zones While this is not an option anyone is content with, Clackamas County is tracking the location of Public WIFI zones on the map linked below. If internet is not available at home, this is an option for periodic access: WIFI Zone Map  

    Saturday, Sep 19 2020

  • School will start on September 21

    Good afternoon, I hope you are well and this message reaches you in a much better place than last week. Today our staff will resume efforts to communicate with each of their families and answer questions parents and students may have about restarting school. Your principal will also share the schedule for the remainder of the materials distribution and any open house meetings that were disrupted. We recognize that an event of this magnitude has many unpredictable variables, and a definitive return for everyone is impossible to identify. For those that are able, we will begin hosting classes on Monday, September 21. Do not hesitate to reach out to your principal if this event has created circumstances for your family that prevent your student from participating. Your principal will help identify solutions that may work for your family. Though we are looking ahead, we will not lose sight of the past week's events and the impact it has had on our families. We will work to provide our students with every support they need to navigate the succession of stressors that have befallen them. If your family needs resources beyond the school district, please contact your building principal, Julia Monteith, or myself, so we can connect you with the appropriate organization to help you through. Be well! Aaron Bayer, Superintendent Contact: aaron.bayer@ortrail.k12.or.us julia.monteith@ortrail.k12.or.us Wildfire resources: Red Cross Safe and Well registry: Safe and Well registry : https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php This website is designed to let your family and friends know you are safe. Click on the ‘List Myself as Safe and Well’ button to register yourself on the site. Click on the ‘Search Registrants’ to search the list of those who have registered themselves and ‘safe and well.’ If you are unable to register yourself, contact 211info for assistance . During times of disaster, there may be long wait times. CALL: 211 or 1-866-698-6155 (Free language interpreters available by phone; Phone hours: 24/7) TTY: dial 711 and call 1-866-698-6155 TEXT: your zip code to 898211 (TXT211) (text available English and Spanish; Text hours: 9am-5pm) EMAIL  help@211info.org  (email available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin)  OHDC shelter and food assistance: Oregon Human Development Corporation (OHDC) is offering assistance with sheltering, food and other support services. Please call 1-855-215-6158 for information.        

    Wednesday, Sep 16 2020