Sutherlin Middle School

Take Root Parenting Connection Winter 2021 Virtual Event Schedule http://bit.ly/37qEQF8

Good Morning Bulldog families, Don’t forget, meals are available for delivery! Log into your parentVUE account and follow the instructions. This needs to be filled out by Thursday evening to receive meal delivery the following week. Have a great weekend!

Good Morning Bulldogs, February 17, 2021 is Exclusion Day. All children who are not up to date on their immunizations will not be able to attend school. Please click the link below for some important information regarding immunizations. https://5il.co/npwc Have a great day bulldogs!

November 24, 2020 Dear Sutherlin School District Staff and Families, Sutherlin School District is taking steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff. A student at Sutherlin Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19, but has not been in school since last week. We are working closely with the Douglas Public Health Network to respond to this news and protect the health of our community. Sutherlin Middle School is canceling all on-site classes for Wednesday November 25th due to lack of coverage for quarantined staff. All other Sutherlin Schools will continue with classes as planned. We have begun notifying staff and parents of the children in the cohort that a student tested positive, asking them to quarantine and monitor for symptoms. We’re providing quarantine guidance and informing parents of exposed children that someone from the DPHN will be in daily telephone contact to provide additional monitoring. All schools in Sutherlin School District will return to Comprehensive Distance Learning Monday, November 30. We encourage our community to follow and maintain the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education guidelines; namely handwashing, staying home when sick, physical distancing, mask wearing and practicing disinfecting protocols. We understand families are concerned and our hearts go out to everyone directly affected. We will keep families and the school community updated with any new information as it becomes available, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone's right to privacy. If you have concerns or questions about COVID-19, please call the Douglas Public Health Network hotline at 541-464-6550, seven days a week between 8 am - 5:00 pm. Sincerely, Terry Prestianni, Sutherlin School District Superintendent

CDL classes will resume November 30th at 8:15 am.

Sutherlin School District will be delivering meals to students. Complete the SchoolPay form to request delivery of meals. Meal Service – How to order Meals https://5il.co/n4v8 Link to ParentVue https://bit.ly/3l8VmgU

November 23, 2020 Dear Sutherlin School District Staff and Families, Due to the increase in local COVID-19 cases in Douglas County, as well as staffing difficulties related to obtaining substitutes, our school district has decided to transition students to Comprehensive Distance Learning beginning November 30. With staff following protocols for staying home when sick and quarantining when directed, it has become very difficult to continue staffing our buildings. We do not take this decision lightly and it was a difficult one to make, but hope to return to onsite instruction as soon as possible. Additional information and support will be provided to families during remote learning. We’re grateful to our educators who are prepared to provide students with consistent learning opportunities. We will contact you as soon as we have information about when schools will reopen to in-person instruction. If you have questions or concerns about COVID-19, please contact your healthcare provider or call the Douglas Public Health Network hotline at 541-464-6550, seven days a week between 8 am - 5:00 pm. We understand that this circumstance is difficult on the community. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Terry Prestianni, Superintendent Sutherlin School District

**Important Sports Update** Due to the rise in Covid-19 numbers in Douglas County, at this time we will be postponing all sports practices. School will remain in person at this time. We hope to start sports as soon as we feel that it is safe to do so! Keep an eye on our Facebook page for an update in December.

Here is the Meal Survey for November 23rd- November 25th https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=rPjAJluVM0uxkzCgm3D1L-LPTr9ndcBOsFoNcqTCHxxUQ1BHMVRWUEJMMlcyOU9MV0ZFOTBDTUdWQS4u Have a great week!

November 17, 2020 Dear Sutherlin School District Families, We know this is a hard time for our community and our hearts go out to those who are ill. The safety of our students and staff continue to be our number one priority. Despite the increase in COVID-19 cases in Douglas County, Sutherlin School District is able to continue to keep schools open under the Safe Harbor Clause outlined in the Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance. At this time, all Sutherlin schools will continue to provide on-site instruction to students through at least November 25th. However, the district will closely monitor the status of COVID-19 in the county/school district and future decisions will be made on a weekly basis. To be clear, we will continue to offer on-site instruction to be determined weekly as we move towards Christmas Break. We’re grateful to our teachers, instructional assistants and substitute teachers who offer ways for students to stay engaged in effective learning. To provide increased disinfection protocols during in-person learning, our district has recently added additional custodial services. In addition, extra bus drivers were hired to help keep our students and staff safe. It is important to note, while there have been three students who tested positive for COVID-19, it was determined that the students contracted the virus outside of the school setting and there have been no additional cases as a result of attending school within our district. We want our community to protect themselves against COVID-19. Here are ways to help protect your family and others: • People who are sick should stay home from work or school and avoid other people until they are better. • Wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. • Wear face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the virus. • Maintain a distance of six feet between people outside your household. • Teach your children to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or by coughing into the inside of the elbow. We will keep you updated with any new information as it comes out, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone's right to privacy. If you have questions or concerns about COVID-19, please contact your healthcare provider or call the Douglas Public Health Network hotline at 541-464-6550, seven days a week between 8 am - 5:00 pm. Additional information about metrics can be found on the Oregon Department of Education’s Ready Schools, Safe Learners website and the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID-19 page. Sincerely, Terry Prestianni, Superintendent Sutherlin School District

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Douglas County, students, parents and staff are raising questions about the necessity of returning to a Comprehensive Distance Learning (CDL). On Monday, November 16th the latest county metric numbers will be released, and we will know more about the future of onsite instruction at that time. If the number of COVID-19 cases is at the level requiring a return to a Comprehensive Distance Learning instruction model, students, staff, and parents will be notified and a plan for a smooth transition will be announced. Please be aware that the metrics are now determined on a consecutive two-week period, so if we are fortunate enough to meet the metrics on November 16th to allow us to continue our current model of instruction, we will still face the same scenario for the following week. Student and staff safety is our number 1 priority and we will continue to take all measures possible to educate students safely during this pandemic. Sutherlin School District is committed to keeping as many students as possible in “onsite instruction” while providing a quality comprehensive distance learning model for all others. As always, thank you for your support and understanding. Sutherlin School District

Good Morning Bulldog Families, Here is the meal survey for the week of November 16th- November 19th https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=rPjAJluVM0uxkzCgm3D1L-LPTr9ndcBOsFoNcqTCHxxURFRMTEw3QVJXOUlSNTVOOVJVSkwwWkdZNy4u You can Also find this on the Sutherlin Middle School webpage under Dining.

ATTENTION SMS FAMILIES: The sports practice schedule has changed. Sorry for the confusion, here is the final schedule: Beginning November 30th: Monday: Track Practice 3:15-4:15 Tuesday: Volleyball and Cross Country 3:15-4:15 Wednesday: Wrestling 3:15-4:15 Thursday: Basketball 3:15-4:15 All Practices are optional and open to all 6th,7th, and 8th graders. Masks are required.

With generous support from our community, Sutherlin Schools would like to provide Thanksgiving & Christmas food baskets to the families of students who could benefit from food assistance this holiday season. If you have a student in our district and would like to receive a food basket, please complete the following survey, or contact Andrea Shaver, Family Liaison at 541-459-2912 x 3716. Holiday Support Form-Sutherlin School District https://bit.ly/3ncaoUp

November 4, 2020 School District Responds to Positive COVID-19 Case(s) The Sutherlin School District is taking steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff. A Sutherlin School District student at Sutherlin Middle School has tested positive for COVID-19. We are working closely with the Douglas Public Health Network to respond to this news and protect the health of our community. We are taking steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff. As soon as the Douglas Public Health Network informed us that a student in our district tested positive for COVID-19, we started notifying staff, and parents of the children in the cohort that a student tested positive, asking them to quarantine for 14 days and monitor for symptoms. We provided quarantine guidance and informed parents of exposed children that someone from the DPHN will be in daily telephone contact to provide additional monitoring. We will continue to follow and maintain the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education guidelines; namely practicing handwashing, physical distancing to the degree we can, requiring people wear masks inside the building, and upholding cleaning and disinfecting protocols. At this time, in-person learning will resume for the students and staff who are not quarantined. We understand families are concerned. We will keep families and the school community updated with any new information as it becomes available, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone's right to privacy.  Terry Prestianni, Superintendent

Good Morning SMS Families, Here is the meal survey for the week of November 9th- November 12th. Please have this filled out by Sunday Evening :) https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=rPjAJluVM0uxkzCgm3D1L-LPTr9ndcBOsFoNcqTCHxxUMTFEMkhIQ0kyWjNJQ0ZSWU1SQVczNEEwMi4u You can always find this link on the Sutherlin Middle School website under the Dining tab. Have a wonderful weekend

Good Morning SMS Families, Veterans Day is November 11th. There will be NO School

November 1, 2020 School District Responds to Positive COVID-19 Case(s) The Sutherlin School District is taking steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff. A Sutherlin School District student at East Primary School has tested positive for COVID-19. We are working closely with the Douglas Public Health Network to respond to this news and protect the health of our community. We are taking steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff. As soon as the Douglas Public Health Network informed us that a student in our district tested positive for COVID-19, we started notifying staff, and parents of the children in the cohort that a student tested positive, asking them to quarantine for 14 days and monitor for symptoms. We provided quarantine guidance and informed parents of exposed children that someone from the DPHN will be in daily telephone contact to provide additional monitoring. We will continue to follow and maintain the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Education guidelines; namely practicing handwashing, physical distancing to the degree we can, requiring people wear masks inside the building, and upholding cleaning and disinfecting protocols. At this time, in-person learning will resume for the students and staff who are not quarantined. We understand families are concerned. We will keep families and the school community updated with any new information as it becomes available, while meeting the requirements to honor everyone's right to privacy. Terry Prestianni, Superintendent

Clarification about COVID-19 case count. https://5il.co/mmm5

Good Morning SMS Families, Just a friendly reminder that if you chose "parent pick up" at the time of registration, we are unable to switch your student to ride a bus after school. Unfortunately, due to the social distancing guidelines and the number of kids on each bus, the Middle School is unable to make this change. If you need to make arrangements for your student to ride a bus after school, please contact Wendy at the district office 541-459-2228. Thank you for your patience and understanding,