Canby High School Family Newsletter

Good afternoon Canby High School Students and Families!

In last week’s newsletter, I addressed the concerns we have regarding the “Omicron” variant of the COVID virus for our school and activities. It’s seven days later and the full force of this latest version of the pandemic is becoming very evident and impactful. Every day there are reports of “positives” among students and staff, and our daily absence rate is steadily climbing to 30%.

Many Portland area schools have moved to a distance learning model in response to this recent development. For some, sports and activities have been canceled or modified. And the changes continue.

Our district and school are working hard to keep classes and activities on schedule as much as possible. We appreciate the parent reports of COVID positive students, and we apologize for any confusion in sharing information or responding to inquiries. We’re working to resolve these issues and streamline our process.

If a student is sick, they should stay home and get a COVID test, if possible. Parents should alert the school, as soon as possible, providing any available information. This will prompt a homework request, and absences will be entered into the system.

Of course, we can’t encourage students enough to maintain protocols and be safe. It is absolutely key that if a student is sick, they should stay at home. This helps slow the spread and keeps others healthy.

In regards to our athletics and activities, as of today, we are planning to move forward with previously scheduled events. We have enhanced some protocols, and they are detailed below in our athletics section. Please take a moment to review them.

Let’s finish on a positive! Congratulations to our wrestlers! The team won the Your Space Storage McMinnville tournament this past weekend. Our Cougars triumphed over 16 teams (with nearly 400 athletes) from across Oregon. Great job, wrestlers!

Stay healthy and strong, Canby!

Go Cougars!

Greg Dinse

Principal

#CanbyProud

1/17, Monday: NO SCHOOL-MLK Holiday

1/18, Tuesday: Boys Basketball, AWAY, 7:00pm, Girls Basketball, HOME, 7:00pm

1/19, Wednesday: Wrestling, AWAY, 7:00pm,

1/20, Thursday: Swimming, HOME, 4:00pm, Boys Basketball, HOME, 6:30pm, Girls Basketball, AWAY, 6:30

1/20, Thursday: “Fall” Play, FAC, 7:00pm

• ACT Testing for all juniors is April 5th. We will also administer the PreACT for all 9th and 10th graders. The PreACT is a practice test for the ACT. Juniors are encouraged to prep for the ACT and can access free online practice tests, study guides, online test prep and events through ACT. Go to this link for ACT prep: (https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/test-preparation/free-act-test-prep.html). 12th graders have the day to visit colleges and explore post high school options.

• Oregon State Assessment - 11th graders are still required to take the Oregon State Assessment (OSA) per state and federal requirements. They will start testing next week in reading. Note that this assessment could potentially be used in lieu of college placement exams with satisfactory test scores (check with the college for more information). Parents who want to opt out their students can go to this link and click on “Opt-Out Form” in English or Spanish: https://www.canby.k12.or.us/en-US/oregon-state-assessments-bb3efb0f.

Here is the testing schedule:

• Jan. 11 - 14 - Reading - testing in US History C classes

• Jan. 18 - 21 - Writing - testing in English classes

• Jan. 24 - 24 (tentative) - Math - testing in math classes

• Jan. 11 - April 15 - ELPA - testing in EL classes

The Canby Theater program, under the new direction of Ms. Sullivan Mackintosh, presents The Importance of Being Earnest. Performances are scheduled for January 20, 21, 22, 27, and 28. More information is coming.

COVID UPDATE: As mentioned above, the Omicron variant is having a significant impact on our students and staff. Throughout the region, many games and events have been canceled. Some schools are restricting crowd size or postponing games.

At this point, CHS plans to continue with our scheduled events. The following are modifications we’re enacting to minimize the spread and keep our events going:

• Reinforce Protocols: All individuals (players, officials, students, guests) are expected to wear masks and maintain appropriate distancing while indoors, except while actively participating.

• Crowd Size Limits: At this time, no constraints are in place, but we prefer to limit the amount of spectators. Again, masks must be worn and appropriate distance must be maintained. We are still livestreaming events via NFHS Network, in the main gym.

• Student Group Limits: Attending Band and Cheer squads will be limited in size.

• Locker Room Access will be limited

• No Overnight Team Travel

Our response to the pandemic developments are current and may change as the situation evolves. Significant changes will be communicated through subsequent emails.

Please check the athletics website at CanbyAthletics.com for the most up to date information. Often cancellations happen with little notice, but we will do our best to communicate it out as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

CHS Dance Team is sponsoring a Kids Dance Clinic on Monday January 17th. Please visit this site for more information and to register.

Oliver Insurance Athlete of the week

Week of 12/13/21 Allison Mead - Girls Basketball and Alexander Evans - Boys Basketball

Week of 1/3/22 Jack Hayhurst - Boys Swimming and Elizabeth Johnson - Girls Swimming

Week of 1/10/22 Ty Ewers - Wrestling and Hannah Thompson - Dance

Last trimester, we partnered with Odd Moe’s Pizza of Canby to create the “Odd Moe’s Unsung Hero of the Week” award to recognize those athletes who contribute to their teams in ways that go beyond athletic skill. This could be spirit, The Odd Moe’s Unsung Hero for the week of 1/10/22 Matthew Soles - Boys Basketball

COVID Testing

We are offering testing at school for students who become symptomatic at school and for Test to Stay. Please fill out the online permission form and return it to your student's school. For more information, visit our COVID-19 Information page.

From Nutrition Services

Breakfast and lunch are free to all students this 21-22 school year!

The Oregon Department of Education allows one free meal per student, per meal type.

One breakfast is allowed per student, before school starts or during break, not both. One lunch is allowed, including one entree, one milk, and as many fruits or vegetables as they would like.

Starting on Tuesday 1/4/2022 we will have students enter their school ID numbers at the register when they get a meal. This system is used only to count students, not to charge for first meals.

If your student chooses to take a second breakfast or second lunch (after the first free meal), they will be charged on their lunch account, regardless of free or reduced status.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call Nutrition Services at 503-266-6742.

Winter Weather Prep

Please subscribe to Canby School District on FlashAlert.

As the temperatures continue getting colder, it’s time to start preparing for winter weather and the snow bus routes, school delays, or closures that can come along with it.

When inclement weather strikes, the district will make decisions about school as early as possible -- sometimes even the night before, but our goal is by no later than about 5:30 a.m. on the day of the weather event. The message will go out via FlashAlert and will then be reported on most news websites and TV stations.

To make sure you’re set to receive the information, again, please subscribe to Canby School District on FlashAlert. Now is also a good time to update your text preferences online by listing your phone number. For more information, please see our inclement weather page.

CSD COVID Updates

https://www.canby.k12.or.us/covid-19-information-ea60611d

SafeOregon Program

Canby School District is now offering the community a simple way to report student safety threats. SafeOregon is a 24-hour anonymous tip-line individuals can use if they see or hear about instances of bullying, violence, threats, drug use, suicidal thoughts and more. The goal is to keep students safe by preventing threats from coming to fruition.

There are a number of ways to report, including:

• Texting or calling 844-4-SAFE-OR (844-472-3367)

• Emailing tip@safeoregon.com

• Online at safeoregon.com

• Via the SafeOregon app

Please help us keep Canby’s kids safe by utilizing this program.

Cougar Store is Open Online

Check out new apparel and CHS Cougar items in the online shopping mall, https://canbyhs.canby.k12.or.us/en-US/the-cougar-shopping-mall-36c32d45

Attendance and Sick Students

To ensure the accuracy and efficiency of our attendance process, please remember the following guidelines:

• To report an absence, call our attendance line at 503-263-7210 or email chs-attendance@canby.k12.or.us.

• Please report an absence as soon as possible and no later than 48 hours after the absence.

• If your student needs to leave class for an appointment, inform the attendance office as soon as possible. This will help us ensure that your student receives a note to leave class in a timely manner.

Remember that attendance matters and students who attend class regularly are more likely to stay on track, graduate on time, learn deeply, and get the most from their high school experience. Please partner with us to ensure great attendance and to remove any attendance barriers.

Bus Transportation

• If you have any questions or problems with school bus transportation, please email Student Transport of America (STA) at canbyschoolbus@ridesta.com.

CHS Media

Some helpful links to our social media sites:

CHS Website

CHS Instagram: @canbyhighschool, @canbyASB

CHS YouTube: @CHS Announcements

CHS Principal’s Twitter: @Canby_Principal

Spanish Speaking Resources at Canby High School:

Bilingual Main Office Secretary: Jessie Muñoz (503)263-7200

Attendance Office: Jessie Muñoz (503)263-7210

School Resource Officer: Maria DeLuna (503)263-7222

Migrant Coordinator: Karent Robles (503)263-7229

English Language Development Coordinator: Alex Frixione(503)263-7200 ext 5405

9th Grade Counselor: Elizabeth Sommo (503)263-7200 ext 5341

REACH Center: Jeralyn Gonzalez and Veronica Martinez (503)263-7429

Free Food Resources

CHS Free Food Site Links

For Mental Health Resources

**Emergency Services- for life threatening emergencies - 911**

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255

Clackamas County Emergency/Crisis Mental Health Services - 503-655-8585

Non-emergency: 503-742-5335

Crisis Text Line - Text HOME to 741741

National Alliance on Mental Illness - Text NAMI to 741741

Oregon Youthline 877-968-8491 or Text teen2teen to 839863

Trevor Project (LGBTQ+) -866-488-7386 or text START to 678678

Call to Safety: If you are an adult and worried about your safety at home. Interpretation line available.1-888-235-5333

Proyecto Unica: Spanish version of Call to Safety. 503-232-4448

DHS Hotline (Oregon Department of Human Services) If you are worried about the safety of a child, Interpretation services available. 855-503-7233