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FAMILY SPOTLIGHT

Dec. 1, 2022

Helping families stay connected to Bend-La Pine Schools

Voters, thank you for your support!

On behalf of the staff and students of Bend-La Pine Schools, I’d like to offer my hearty thanks to the voters and local community for your overwhelming support of the construction bond on the Nov. 8 ballot. Thank you for showing your commitment to students and public education by supporting this measure, which will upgrade safety and security, modernize classrooms and provide for critical maintenance and preservation projects across our district.

I believe the approval of this bond will ensure a better future for our students, our schools and our community.

Thank you to the many volunteers who helped lead the advocacy campaign. Thank you, also, to the numerous civic leaders, businesses, students and community members who endorsed the bond and helped support its passage.

As we move ahead with 89 proposed projects, we will seek to honor the trust our community placed in us. We take our financial stewardship seriously and will aim to keep community members informed as the work progresses in the months and years ahead.

I am proud to be part of this community and, alongside our staff, will continue to strive to make our schools the best in the state and a source of pride for local residents.

In partnership,

Dr. Steven Cook, Superintendent

News & Updates

NEW: Lottery process and Area Change Request deadline now Jan. 20

Deadlines to apply for Bend-La Pine Schools’ Choice Option schools and to submit an Attendance Area Change Request (ACR) are shifting this year.

Applications open: Jan. 3, 2023
Application deadline (ACRs and Choice Option applications for grades 1-12): Jan. 20, 2023 at 3 p.m.
Application deadline (ACRs and Choice Option applications for incoming kindergartners): March 24, 2023 at 3 p.m.

Learn more about our choice option schools

Learn more about the ACR process

Respiratory illness having big impact on our schools

Our schools are currently experiencing an increase in student and staff illness. Increasing respiratory illnesses are causing increased pediatric hospitalizations across the state and in Central Oregon. Oregon hospitals with pediatric ICUs have all shifted to crisis standards of care. According to the Oregon Health Authority, this means that resources are severely limited, more patients are in need of critical care than what hospitals can supply and moving patients to another critical care center is not an option.

Here’s what you can do to help keep yourself and others healthy:

Practice measures that were practiced during the pandemic.
Stay home if feeling ill (learn more about when to keep a student home, based on symptoms).
Avoid contact with those who are sick.
Wash hands frequently.
Clean and disinfect surfaces
Wear a face covering while indoors.
Stay up to date on all routine vaccinations including flu shots and COVID-19 boosters.
Flu Shots - It’s not too late to vaccinate.
COVID-19 Vaccination - Vaccine boosters and additional doses.

Riding e-bikes safely

An important message about e-bikes from our partners at the City of Bend:

We’ve seen a huge increase in the number of e-bikes on the roads and recognize they can be useful and fun. However, we want to make sure people know the rules about them.

Due to their motorized nature, e-bikes follow state laws that riders must adhere to in Bend.

E-bike riders must be 16 years of age or older.
E-bikes cannot be ridden on sidewalks.
E-bikes have different classes, which are regulated by different rules. Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are generally supposed to top out at 20 mph. If they go faster than this on level ground, they are likely going to be a Class 3 e-bike and could be regulated like mopeds and motorcycles rather than bicycles, requiring a license, insurance and registration.
E-bikes can carry passengers only if they are designed and safely equipped for passengers.

Be safe out there!

Stay connected to learn about delays, closures

Winter weather is here, which makes it a great time to remind staff and families about how to stay connected to find out about delays and closures due to inclement weather.

To find out if there is a delay to the start of the school day, an early release or school closure:

Visit our website bend.k12.or.us (an alert banner will be posted to every page in the case of a delay, closure or early release.)
Call our hotline, which will be updated with weather delay or closure information: English 541-323-7669 or Spanish 541-355-0044.
Sign up for BLConnect, an emergency alert text messaging system.

For many of our students, school is the safest place to be during inclement weather. Schools provide a warm, supervised environment for children. However, parents/guardians are always encouraged to consider the conditions of their neighborhood and the well-being of their students in deciding whether to keep their student home. Students are excused from school when parents/guardians so request.

Learn more about how we make decisions: bls.fyi/inclementweather

Vaping: How it's affecting schools, what we can do to help

Vaping is impacting our schools. While we know that a majority of students are not vaping, the number who are need support. In Superintendent Steve Cook's latest podcast, he examines this topic alongside Becky Aylor, Assistant Principal at Mountain View High School, and Dr. Aimee Snyder, Prevention and Health Promotion Supervisor at Deschutes County. Together they discuss the size of the problem, the steps our schools are taking to help students and the actions we can all take to prevent vaping or intervene once a student has started. Listen now: bls.fyi/podcast

Prevention Resources:

Recovery/Intervention Resources:

Text DITCHVAPE to 99709: Text-based, youth-focused support to quit nicotine/ vaping
Oregon Quitline (for 13 years and older): Phone, online and text counseling to quit nicotine and cannabis: English: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) quitnow.net/oregon or Español: 1-855-DEJELO-YA (1-855-335-35692) quitnow.net/oregonsp
Youth can also text or call Youthline to talk to a peer about what they’re experiencing that may be influencing their substance use and to learn more about options they could consider from a peer: Text Teen2Teen to 839863 or call 877-968-8491 (link available on student iPads)
Use Care Solace to have a Care Companion help access treatment: CareSolace.com/bls or call 888-515-0595. Their school counselor or school nurse can help them connect to a Care Solace Care Companion.

Bend Senior High Honors Maxwell Legacy with Dedication

On Thursday, Nov. 10, Bend Senior High School hosted a special dedication ceremony for the school’s new Robert D. Maxwell Center as part of the school’s Veterans Day events.

More than 120 veterans from throughout the community attended the event alongside students and staff to honor Maxwell, who taught automotive at Bend High and received the Medal of Honor for his service in WWII. The Veterans Day events also included an interactive student assembly, with the awarding of an honorary high school diploma to a veteran, the unveiling of a new monument to Maxwell and a flyover from military aircraft.

The Maxwell Center, which was part of Bend-La Pine Schools’ 2017 school construction bond, opened to students in September. The building, which sits on roughly the spot where Maxwell taught automotive classes for decades, includes a large multi-purpose room and four classrooms. It is part of phase one of the master plan outlined for the school.

More about Robert Maxwell:

Maxwell, often referred to as the most decorated veteran in Oregon history, left school during the "Dust Bowl" days of the Great Depression and served in the U.S. Army during WWII. He was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for selflessly falling on a German grenade during the war, thus saving the lives of the men around him.

After the war, Maxwell taught automotive at Bend Senior High School and Central Oregon College (COCC). He received an official Oregon Standard Diploma from Bend Senior High School in 2011, at age 91.

News from the Board of Directors

Chadwick Selected to Fill Vacant School Board Seat

During a special meeting on Nov. 15, Bend-La Pine Schools’ Board of Directors voted to appoint Kina Chadwick to fill the vacant seat, Zone 7, at-large. Chadwick, who was selected from a pool of 18 applicants, will be sworn in at the Dec. 13 meeting of the Board of Directors.

Chadwick works in organizational development for a professional services firm and has experience in many local community organizations, including the City of Bend’s Core Area Advisory Board, Embrace Bend and The Father’s Group.

“I really appreciated that Kina centered the student experience in every question. Also I think representation is really important and we do not have anyone on our board that has the perspective of the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Board Member Carrie McPherson Douglass.

Learn more

Board policies in review: learn what's up next at Dec. 13 meeting

The Board of Directors will review policies and regulations focused on field trips and interscholastic activities , inclement weather and emergency closure procedures, bilingual education and restorative practices in relation to student conduct and discipline at their December 13 board meeting.

To view drafts of upcoming policies and regulations in review, please visit our Policies in Review webpage.

Stay up-to-date with Bend-La Pine Schools’ Board of Directors

Individuals interested in receiving additional updates about the work of Bend-La Pine Schools’ Board of Directors can sign up to receive additional news.

The information will include agendas and packets for upcoming board meetings, links to policies in review and other board-related news.

Kudos and Celebrations

Academic All-Stars celebrate student-athletes inside our classrooms

As much as we love celebrating our teams’ performances on the fields, courts and at meets, we are also thrilled to recognize our student-athletes for stellar performances inside our classrooms.

Please join us in celebrating Summit High School's football team, which earned the highest GPA (3.69) for any football team in the state!

According to OSAA's Academic All-State program, other fall sports teams earning a 3.0 GPA or above include the following:

Bend Senior High: Girls cross country, boys cross country, girls soccer, volleyball, football

Mountain View High School: Girls cross country, boys cross country, girls soccer, boys soccer, volleyball, football

Summit High School: Girls cross country, boys cross country, girls soccer, boys soccer, volleyball, football

Congrats to all teams for putting in the hard work to be amazing student-athletes!

Summit High earns three state titles

Summit football

The Summit High School Football Team recently won the 5A State Championship in a hard-fought game over Wilsonville.

Congrats on an amazing season, Summit Football!

Summit girls cross country

Congrats to the Summit High School girls cross country team for winning the 5A State Championship, their 14th straight team title! They now hold the Oregon record for most consecutive state championships for any team in Oregon.

Summit boys water polo

Congrats to the Summit High Water Polo Team, who swam their way to a state title at the Nov. 12 championship in Corvallis.

Bend Senior High volleyball earns second place

Congrats to the Bend Senior High Volleyball Team on taking second place in the 5A state title match! We're so proud of the Lava Bears for an amazing season of spikes, serves and sets!

Bend Senior High student brings awareness to mental health topics

We're so proud of Bend Senior High junior Neve Gerard for the important work she's been doing to promote student-led mental health projects as part of Bend High's Design Justice Class.

Neve recently presented to over 70 School-Based Health Center (SBHC) professionals at an Oregon Health Authority conference on student-led resiliency work, which focused on the collaboration between Bend-La Pine Schools and Mosaic Medical, an effort she and several other students spearheaded last year.

Deschutes County Youth Engagement Coordinator Lisa Brown said, "Neve is grace under fire personified! She independently created slides, then worked with me to send them along to OHA and ultimately talked beautifully about the importance of youth-led work to promote SBHCs in our county. Neve was one of only two students in the meeting, and she showed poise and confidence during her presentation. I am so honored to work alongside students like her, and I can’t sing her praises enough!"

"I wanted to do this project because it was a good chance to show a large group of people the work that our class has been doing. It’s important to get out because not only have students worked very hard on it but also because it is something that affects our community a lot," Gerard shared.

La Pine High ROTC leader is a Champion for Students

In November, Bend-la Pine Schools honored Master Gunnery Sergeant Don Wilborn or Master Gunns as he’s often called, as our Champion for Students.

Don has supported the ROTC program at La Pine High School for 17 years … he’s a true mainstay of the program - and hundreds of students have benefitted from his dedication and commitment. Many of the young people in the program have gone on to serve in our Armed Forces to benefit our state and nation and Master Gunns has played a critical role in all of that.

Master Gunnery Sergeant Don Wilborn is known for his great warmth and sense of humor. Students want to be around him. They want to make him proud. And then, when it’s go time, he shows students how to be serious and take pride in their work.

Wilborn has also helped students discover the value of giving back, by leading so many community service efforts in the La Pine community.

Master Gunns, we are all grateful for your great dedication, commitment and character! Your leadership and mentorship have a huge positive impact on the students in this community, making you a true Champion for Students!

Do you know of someone who is a Champion for Students?

Let us know: bls.fyi/championforstudents

Champion for Students: Master Gunnery Sergeant Don Wilborn

Classroom Corner

Highland Magnet Organizes Successful Blood Drive

Highland Magnet recently hosted a blood drive where 36 units of blood were donated, which could potentially save 108 lives! Based on the success of the drive, Highland may host another in the spring. Stay tuned for details!

Rosland Elementary Celebrates Kindness

Rosland Elementary recently celebrated World Kindness Day with an entire week of sharing notes of friendship and gratitude. Students and staff were both recipients of the kind notes!

Using Turkey Legs to Explain the Transfer of Energy

Pilot Butte Middle School sixth graders recently made Rube Goldberg machines showing the transfer of energy. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the goal was to use three types of energy to put a turkey leg on a plate!