EPSD9 Community Newsletter
News & Updates that impact our community, February 2022
February 11, 2022
Greetings Eagle Point School District 9 Staff, Students, and Families,
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is projecting the statewide indoor mask requirement will be lifted by March 31. OHA’s projected COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations for the end of March look similar to rates from last summer when cases were relatively low in Jackson County. During that time, we were able to keep masks optional for Summer School while maintaining a low number of COVID-19 exposures.
EPSD9's priority is to provide the highest quality of education possible while keeping students, staff, and the community safe.
Over the next few weeks, EPSD9 will continue to have conversations with the local public health authority, OHA and ODE. District 9 is currently exploring the details involved with adjusting our guidance to masks being optional when the requirements are lifted for schools. As more information becomes available about these changes, we will provide additional communication. Masks are still mandated indoors as of now.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Superintendent Andy Kovach
Facilities Committee Survey
District 9 Community Members,
The Eagle Point School District 9 Facilities Committee is conducting a survey and is seeking your valuable input! The purpose of the survey is to gather community feedback to help steer the conversation and direction of our district's maintenance and growth. The goal of the committee is to evaluate District 9 school buildings and grounds to define focus areas for improvement. Our students' education is our priority and we know the school environment contributes to overall success.
The EPSD9 Facilities Committee has sent a mailer. The mailer includes a QR code that will direct you to the digital survey when scanned with a smartphone or tablet. The survey is also available at eaglepnt.k12.or.us or using the links below:
English Version
Spanish Version
Questions? Please contact the District office at 541-830-6577
Thank you for your input and participation!
The survey will conclude on February 22nd.
Table Rock Elementary Mileage Club Introduces Competition and Fun to Students!
The Mileage Club, which started at the beginning of January 2022, is off and running with over 650 student participants. The program will continue for the remainder of the school year and comes with incentives, awards, QR cards to track miles, and even some future surprises.
Each student has a personalized scan card with a QR code. Every time they complete a lap, the teacher scans the student's card and a computer program records their total miles. Three times around the TRE track equals one mile. The main award offered through the program is a charm bracelet that the students receive after completing their first 5 miles. A new mileage charm, along with a certificate, can be earned every additional 5 miles.
Each week a printout of the top 100 mileage leaders is posted for the students to see who has completed the most miles and help motivate each other to keep going. The Mileage Club has only been in play for four weeks and some students already have walked or ran over 20 miles!
When interviewing a few student participants, they shared the following about the Mileage Club:
Zoey, who is in 5th grade, currently has 14 miles and enjoys the prizes that she gets along the way. She said, "It gives the students a boost."
Jose, who is in 4th grade, said, "The program is good motivation for kids to run and exercise." Jose likes competing with his friends and currently has the most miles completed in his class.
Madeleine, who is in 3rd grade, said, "The program inspires me to do more. There is always another goal, so you always have something to look forward to."
Erick, who is in 1st grade, enjoys being outside and can complete as many as 7 laps during his track time.
Table Rock Elementary's PE teacher, Mrs. Laura Luksich, is coordinating the program. She has noticed the students' excitement has grown over the last few weeks. She said, "The kids are really getting into it! We will probably have students who will walk or run over 100 miles by the end of the school year. Students like putting their Mileage Club charm bracelets on their backpacks to show off their achievements. The students like to talk about how many miles they have gone."
This year's Mileage Club program is being sponsored by a local community business that provided a generous donation for all the program's tools and prizes. Table Rock Elementary students and staff thank you for the support!
Swim Team Bottle Drive is Huge Success!
The Eagle Point High School Swim team is heading to Districts in Cottage Grove for a 2-day competition. The event will take place on 2/11/22 and 2/12/22. The tournament consists of individual and team competitions. EPHS will be sending 14 students to compete on behalf of District 9. Ana Apgar, swim team head coach, said, "The team has had an amazing year and I'm excited about the upcoming competition."
The swim team's original agenda was to only stay in Cottage Grove for one night. After some deliberation, starting the competition after a long bus ride would be less than ideal. They put their thinking caps on and decided to hold a bottle drive to raise money for an extra night's stay.
The entire swim team went out to the community and collected bottles and cans. They spent hours going door to door, gathering mounds of cans to cash in. The team worked with the local Ray's Food Place, who provided large plastic bags for collecting and turned the cans into cash.
After hours of collecting, sorting, and depositing, the students achieved their goal by raising over $1500. An enormous thank you goes out to the entire District 9 community for supporting the EPHS Swim Team.
EPSD9 School Board, January Recognition of Eagle Point High School Staff and Students
The following students and staff were recognized last week for their outstanding work by our School Board. Board Members in photos are Josh Graves and Randy Wolf.
Congratulations Taylor Eddings!
Taylor is one of the most positive students we have on campus. She is always willing to jump in and help out with ANYTHING on campus. She is not only highly active within the Eagle Point FFA Chapter, but she is also a leader within the EPHS Leadership class. She coordinates assemblies and school activities, cheers on her fellow Eagles, and is coordinating our school blood drive. She is not afraid to take the lead or support someone else that is in charge. Within our FFA Chapter, she was a leader of a committee that coordinated a community service event to raise money for our school sparrow. Taylor is on multiple contest teams, is the president of our chapter, and coordinates numerous activities. I don't know where she gets all her energy, but her common slogan is "It's a Great Day to be an Eagle" and it is rare that we do not see her fully embody that quote. She is definitely making the most out of her high school experience.
Congratulations Kevin Turcios!
Kevin can lighten up the mood in any room. He's bright, personable, caring, and just makes everyone around him feel important. He's loved by his classmates, teachers, and staff because of his personality, and there's no doubt he's going to accomplish amazing things in his life! Kevin is always looking for ways to make himself a better individual, role model, and student-athlete. Kevin brings positive energy to any environment. Kevin is a leader both on and off the field and is not afraid of putting in hard work to be the best that he can be!
Congratulations Mrs. Virginia Cortez!
Mrs. Cortez is someone who is behind the scenes always willing to help her colleagues, students, and school. She is constantly running concessions for our events, preparing food for banquets and staff lunches, coaches cheerleading, chaperone dances…whatever is needed for our school! All of this is done with many early mornings, last-minute grocery runs, and corralling our culinary class to cook up food. Her students not only enjoy her classes, they compete to be in them. They fill quickly and constantly have a waiting list of students hoping to join. To say her CTE program of study is thriving is putting it lightly. EPHS count on Mrs. Cortez in many ways; it would be a very different place without her.
Congratulations Mr. Ryan Marrs!
To quote the person who nominated Mr. Marrs: “He does the work of 5 employees.” As one of the EPHS grad coaches, Ryan works tirelessly with his students and even fills in to help support other grade levels. He uses his school resources and outside community connections to do everything from helping with homework, intervening with students and their teachers, getting students safe transport to and from school to finding safe places to live and sleep at night. As the head boys basketball coach, Ryan has developed a program under the John Wooden philosophy, focusing on students’ character first, then teamwork, and then basketball skill. It has resulted in a 13-1 start to this season, the best in our staff’s recollection. We appreciate all of your hard work and dedication to our community.
Every Student, Every Class, Every Day!
Email: macinnisd@eaglepnt.k12.or.us
Website: eaglepnt.k12.or.us
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EPSD9