Friday Update

Charger Hoops! Our Charger Basketball players had a great season opener and first couple of weeks.  This is the highest number of students playing for the Middle school since the District started keeping statistics on the team. Mr. Manni reported that students and coaches have worked hard to get the team ready for the season and these players have demonstrated positive sportsmanship on and off the court.  Way to go team and keep up the Charger Spirit!

Harrah Campus Teachers are Learning Mathematics Along With Their Students - Harrah Campus teachers have continued their math discussions with Dawn Sparks, our Mathematics coach from ESD 105.  During the last training, Ms. Sparks modeled lessons for teachers based the concept of deepening conceptual understanding and students’ use of manipulatives. We look forward to this professional development for teachers transferring to high levels of learning for every student every day!

 

The Instructional Leadership Team at the Harrah Campus started the conversation regarding deepening our understanding and practices around standards based grading. The team will participate in training provided by Nathan Wear from Curriculum Associates two more times this year with the goal of fully implementing standards based grading.  Standards-based grading (SBG) is an intentional way for teachers to track their students' progress and achievements while focusing on helping students learn and reach their highest potential. It is based on students showing signs of mastery or understanding various lessons and skills.

 

Veteran’s Day at Mt. Adams School District - The students on both campuses enjoyed Veteran's Day Assemblies last week and I still heard both students and staff commenting on how meaningful these assemblies were. On the Harrah Campus, teachers gathered pictures of veterans from their own families and those of students to complete a slideshow for the assembly. On the White Swan Campus, veterans from the Yakama Warriors shared their stories.  Mrs. Tenney said that you could hear a pin drop because students were so engaged and listening so intently to our local heroes and elders.  We celebrate those who stood guard for us and made the life that we know possible; freedom is not free!  Thank you servicemen and service-women for your service!

 

Outdoor Learning Anyone?  The district has received a $35,000 Outdoor Learning grant from OSPI.  The writing of the grant was a collaborative effort between Mrs. Tenney and Mrs. Jarnecke.  The goal of the grant is to increase our students' engagement and ownership of their learning while connecting to outdoor-based activities that expose them to a wide variety of jobs and cultural experiences. 

We plan on focusing on three outdoor learning experiences for our students:

1.  Provide experiences that directly relate to possible job opportunities; ex:  field trips and experiences developed in partnership with the Yakama Nation and with our CTE department.

2.  Provide outdoor science activities; ex:  field trips and outdoor learning experiences to local wildlife reserve, visiting indigenous lands looking for plants, land forms and understanding environmental changes and boundaries, building and launching rockets, and developing raided beds where students will plant local medicinal plants and garden plants that can be shared with the community.

3.  Provide active outdoor activities to help students develop healthy habits and encourage hobby building such as archery, hiking, outdoor photography and cultural outdoor cooking.

If you have question or suggestions about these planned activities, please feel free to contact Mrs. Tenney and/or Mr. Muller who are the direct contacts for this grant.

 

MASD has made it to the big screen!  Be on the lookout for our next scheduled theater advertisement which will run from 12/23-12/29 in a theatre near you!  The message of the advertisement is to invite people to “Come on home to Mt. Adams School District.”  We will share about our new PreK-8 school in Harrah with the new logo and pictures of our school. The plan is to share that we embrace Yakama and Latino Cultural programming for student success.  If there is room we will also share about, the "New" White Swan High School featuring Golf, Soccer, and multiple Career Pathways.

Do Something Nice for your Teacher Today!  Did you know that a November 2022 study found that teachers experienced significantly more anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic than healthcare, office, and other workers, according to new research released this week. Those teaching remotely reported substantially higher rates of depression and feelings of isolation than those teaching in person.  The authors found that U.S. teachers were 40 percent more likely to report anxiety symptoms than healthcare workers, 20 percent more likely than office workers, and 30 percent more likely than workers in other occupations, such as military, farming, and legal professions. Among teachers, those who taught remotely were 60 percent more likely to report feelings of isolation than their in-person peers. Female teachers were 70 percent more likely to experience anxiety than male teachers.  The author Kush said he and his co-authors were surprised that teachers reported significantly higher rates of anxiety than healthcare workers. “We would have guessed healthcare workers battling COVID-19 on the front lines during a public health crisis would display the most anxiety,” said Kush.

 

Mt. Adams School District Teachers are Amazing! The take away from this research study is that Mt. Adams School District has AMAZING teachers and staff who have kept us all safe and ensured our success during COVID-19.  Thank you Mt. Adams Teachers and Staff for all that you do!