Eagle Leaders Letter
A Weekly Message from SHS Administration | 10-30-20
Susanne Stefani
Vicky Storey
Darren Shryock
Final Grades Approaching
This year’s condensed instructional time means that students are completing a semester (typically 18 weeks) in only eight weeks' time. Grading day is coming up, and many teachers have a deadline of Friday, 11/13 to turn in late work. Until then, students may do revisions or retakes as needed. But time is running short to complete those tasks before final grades go in!
This is important: a student's calculated grade represents their skills or understanding about a course's standards based on the evidence they have provided so far on assessments (tests). The grade does not reflect behavior or effort, which are subjective and unrelated to course standards. So when the semester ends, if there are missing assessments, a teacher may lack sufficient evidence to assign a grade. In that case, the student will earn an Incomplete (no credit).
For example, a student could have an 84% in a class. But if she is missing one or more assessments, the teacher may assign an Incomplete for the course grade, as they cannot guarantee the student has learned adequately to prepare for the next level. (Whether the student will be put into a credit-recovery arrangement or made to retake the entire course will be determined by the teacher and communicated to students and parents. We have a system set up to support any outcome, but it's much easier to put in the effort now!)
Connect with Teachers
A Note for the Frustrated
This continues to be a tough time for all of us. So many of you are trying the very best you can, and it may not feel like enough. For students, some days may be a real struggle to engage, to focus, to follow through. Parents may be out of patience trying to monitor, explain, and enforce. We get it. This work of teaching and learning is already hard sometimes, but from a distance, doing the heavy lifting feels even harder. If you’re frustrated and sad, that’s normal and okay. If you’re scared about your academic progress right now, that’s understandable.
Our vision at SHS is Empowering Every Student for Life. That means we’re committed to doing everything we can to support our students--to ensure not only that they cross the finish line but that they are prepared to thrive after high school. We have all had to adapt significantly to these times; here, we have put systems in place to help where students falter. We are constantly evaluating and adjusting those systems as needed.
Students, we miss you. Parents, we understand your worry. Extend patience, grace, and kindness toward yourself and to each other. It’s become cliché to say we’ll get through this together, but we will.
Honoring Athletic Leaders
We are pleased to announce the Eagle Athletes Leadership Team! These fifteen student-athletes will meet once a month to discuss leadership ideas and hear from prominent leaders in the Stayton community. Congratulations to...
- Benjamin Adams
- Olivia Atiyeh
- Riley Burns
- Wyatt Connally
- Omar Garcia
- Erick Gomez
- Rian Hill
- Alissa Humphreys
- Mya Joyce
- Madelynn Mitzel
- Donald Morgan
- Haili Nyquist
- Tori Nyquist
- Danner Salisbury
- Tayven Whieldon
We are excited for this group of young leaders as they strive to make a difference at Stayton High School and beyond! Go Eagles!
Teacher Feature
SHS welcomes three of our new teachers!
Lindsey Michaud is a brand-new math teacher. Originally, from Philomath, she graduated from OSU. When she’s not calculating things, you can find her outside, painting, and playing board games. As a high schooler, she got to study abroad in Cairo, Egypt. While she hasn’t gotten to know the full Eagle experience yet, she so far really appreciates how positive and welcoming the community is.
Ward Robertson is new to SHS this year and teaches English for sophomores and seniors as well as High School Success. He has been married for 27 years and enjoys reading, creative writing, swimming, yoga, camping, watching sports, fantasy football, and spending time with his family. He is a graduate of UW and has taught for 25 years in four states! Impressively (perhaps?), he can recite from memory the entire starting lineup for the 1975 Cincinnati Reds...but he often forgets birthdays of close friends and family. He has appreciated how everyone at SHS has been supportive and willing to help him adapt to a new school.
Mary Murphy is our newest CTE teacher, covering Health Occupations and Principles of Biomedical Science. Before she joined us, she worked for 17 years in healthcare as a Nursing Assistant and Respiratory Therapist. She graduated from UO, where she was a track athlete and met her husband, with whom she now has a family of six. She enjoys hiking, camping, and swimming, and family movie nights with popcorn and M&Ms.
Empowering Every Student for Life.
Email: susanne.stefani@nsantiam.k12.or.us
Website: nsantiam.k12.or.us/shs
Location: 757 West Locust Street, Stayton, OR, USA
Phone: 503-769-2171