Family Spotlight

Conferences are the week of October 28. Are you ready?

Elementary and middle school students do not have school Wednesday, October 30 - Friday, November 1. Certified staff are taking that time to prepare for conferences with families.

Make the most of your conference time with your child and teacher. Write down questions and ask your student if they have questions they’d like you to ask. Be ready to collaborate with your teacher on how to support your child at home. And talk to your child about what you learned from the time together in the classroom.

Mountain View High School student Eli Hogan is an artist and a new voter! Eli won the 2024 Deschutes County “I Voted” Sticker Contest open to students in grades 6-12, placing his design on the cover of the November Voters’ Pamphlet. Deschutes County Clerk Steve Dennison presented the award to Eli at the County Clerk’s office on October 23 where he also viewed his design on hundreds of stickers.

What made the visit more meaningful was Eli taking the opportunity to register to vote. He turned 18 this month, so November 5 will be his first opportunity to exercise his civic duty.

Bend-La Pine students have talent! This spring, Lava Ridge Elementary’s Ivy Sapp won the sticker contest open to K-5. Ivy, her family, and all registered voters got to see her design on the Voters’ Pamphlet for the May election.

We’ve added a new tool on all Bend-La Pine Schools websites – an Engage With Us button that connects visitors with various options for contacting school and district staff, asking questions, requesting information, and gathering feedback.

Look for the new button on the home page of our District website and each of our school websites. Or click HERE to go directly to the new Engage page.

From there you will find over two dozen pathways to various engagement points, including:

• Contacting schools, district departments and your School Board
  
• Requesting records or other information
  
• Asking a question
  
• Filing a complaint or bias incident report
  
• Looking up policy
  
• Volunteering
  
• Applying for a job
  
• Submitting a safety tip
  

On January 3, 1989, Donna Layne started her career as a teacher at Mountain View High School. Now she is the teacher librarian at Mountain View, and office manager Lindsey Corley shared that “Donna taught us how to LOVE to read.” Just a short conversation with Donna will make you excited to pick up your next book. We are grateful for her work and dedication to her students and Central Oregon for 35 years.

At this year's Welcome Back program for the entire district, we also celebrated dozens of our staff members marking big milestones - 20, 25, and 30 years. Thank you for your dedication to the Bend-La Pine community!

Listen to the podcast today:

• Online – bls.fyi/podcast
  
• Apple Podcasts – bls.fyi/listenonapple
  
• Spotify – bls.fyi/listenonspotify
  

The long-term effects of the use of alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, or other drugs can lead to poor performance in school and get in the way of the adolescent brain functioning to its full capacity.

In Bend-La Pine Schools, we focus on providing health resources in response to adolescent substance use, rather than out-of-school suspensions. If your child is showing signs of alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use, the first recommended option is a program called UpShift. It’s designed to help students:

• Identify the reasons for their substance use
  
• Learn new skills that support healthier behavior
  
• Take responsibility for self-change
  

CLICK HERE to learn more about UpShift.

This is the time of year many of our high school students are registering for or preparing to take college readiness assessments such as the SAT and ACT. While not required by many colleges and universities, good test scores can bolster students' applications, as well as play a role in academic support, scholarship potential, advising opportunities and more. This fact+info sheet can help answer your questions, including whether you need to take a test.

The SAT is administered four times this year in our district, at Mountain View High School and Caldera High School. The ACT will be offered twice, at Summit High School. Please note, there are additional SAT and ACT test dates administered at other various locations around the state. Here are national SAT and ACT test dates.

In addition, schools provide PSAT and PreAct testing, as well as Advanced Placement class exams in May. Bend Senior High School hosts its International Baccalaureate Programme exams in April and May.

All test dates and registration information can be found on our College Readiness Testing web page - click HERE.

If your family needs assistance with exam fees, athletic participation fees, travel sports scholarships and other resources, please fill out the form linked below and return it to your school office or Family Access Network (FAN) advocate. All information is confidential. English / Spanish

If your student is considering attending community college, a four-year college or trades/vocational school, please join us to learn more about paying for postsecondary education opportunities. No matter your financial situation, this presentation will provide tips and advice to students and parents on how to navigate the financial aid process.

The presentation is geared towards our senior students and families but anyone can learn more about financial aid options. Financial aid presenters from our local colleges will provide an overview of the financial aid process and answer questions about the FAFSA, OSAC and ORSAA applications. There will also be an opportunity to connect with BLS school-to-career counselors about further financial aid and scholarship support programming that is available at each school. We look forward to seeing you there!

Note: Spanish-speaking Financial Aid Night will be in December. We will have more information closer to the date.

In our schools, devices must be off and away all day. It's the Bend-La Pine way! But what about personal electronic device use on buses? Know the rules to make sure everyone stays safe.

• Personal electronic devices are for personal use only in a manner that does not distract others.

• Devices are to remain below seat backs.

• Devices are not to be passed between peers.

• Students are not to film, photograph, or record while riding the school bus. This includes airdropping photos or video.

• All devices must remain silent (unless they are utilizing headphones to access audio).

Our bus drivers need to stay focused on the road. Learn more at bls.fyi/devicesonthebus. Students following the device use rules will let our drivers stay focused and keep everyone safe!

It is important to know that Bend-La Pine Schools does not carry accident insurance for students. This means that you are responsible for the medical bills if your child gets hurt during school activities. However, as a service to you and your child, Bend-La Pine Schools does provide access to a voluntary, low-cost student accident and sickness insurance program that families may purchase through Myers-Stevens & Toohey, Inc.

Please check out more information about coverage and costs on our website here: Student Accident & Sickness Insurance

October:

National Bullying Prevention Month

National Farm to School Month

National Principals Month

October 14-18, National School Lunch Week

October 21-25, National School Bus Safety Week

November:

Native American Heritage Month

November 1-2: Dia de los Muertos

November 11-15: National School Psychology Week

November 11: Veterans Day

November 14: Ruby Bridges Day

November 28: Thanksgiving

The Board of Directors for Bend-La Pine Schools will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, October 22 at 5:30 p.m. at the Education Center, 520 NW Wall Street in Bend.

For information about board members, meetings and agendas, please visit our School Board page.

Catch up on all the news from the latest School Board meeting on October 8. Click here for Dr. Cook's recap.

Are you curious which district policies and regulations are currently under review? To see proposed changes and give feedback on new language, click here.