December Newsletter

Posted Date: 12/23/25 (12:00 PM)

District Newsletter

Monthly news and updates

December 23, 2025

Dear Santiam Canyon Community,

The holidays offer an opportunity for reflection, hope, and gratitude. This time of year encourages us to pause and recognize the importance of community, connection, and shared purpose—values that are especially meaningful here in Santiam Canyon.

As we enter this season of giving, I want to thank you—the Santiam Canyon community—for your continued support and involvement in our district. Your commitment strengthens our school, bolsters our mission, and makes a lasting difference every day in the lives of the students we serve.

May this season bring you connection, comfort, and joy. Happy holidays to you and yours!

Ms. Nieraeth

In this issue:

Winter Concerts

Tis the season for concerts! Our music programs at both SES and SJSHS hosted Winter Music Concerts and both were well attended by all! Thank you to Ms. Singletary and Mr. Burroughs for their hard work in getting our students ready for the concerts. Thank you to our students for their hard work, and thank you to our staff for supporting this event!!

Art Club

Our elementary art club spent time after school to create the decorations for the elementary winter concert. Thank you to Ms. Beshay and Ms. Tobey for leading this club and helping make our concert festive!

Staff Professional Development

On Friday, December 6, our staff participated in two professional development sessions. The first session, Trauma-Informed Practices for a Special Education Classroom, was facilitated by Mark Summers and Shelly Gruver from LBLESD. The second professional development session, TAG Identification and High-Leverage Instruction for All, was presented by Angela Allen from ODE.

Our elementary instructional assistants are also participating in a series of "The Science of Reading" trainings to help certify all of our IAs to become Highly Qualified Tutors under the Early Literacy Grant.

These professional development opportunities support staff growth and build capacity to create inclusive learning environments that are conducive to the success of all students.

SES Robotics

On Saturday, December 13, five 4th-grade students from Santiam Elementary competed against 16 teams (grades 4–8) at the FIRST LEGO League Challenge Robotics Tournament in Corvallis, Oregon.

Team Santiam Canyon #1 participated in the Robot Game, where their robot completed programmed tasks during a timed event. They also presented their Innovation Project, “The Arcibot 2000,” to a panel of judges, showcasing their research and solution to assist archaeologists.

The team was also evaluated on Core Values, highlighting teamwork, and Robot Design, which assessed mechanical design, building, and programming. Out of the four judged events, the team shined in their Innovation Project for research and creativity and positively represented our district through their Core Values.

Culinary Christmas Cookie Contest

SJSHS' Baking Class held a Christmas Cookie Baking Contest. Teams were rated on texture, taste, incorporation of Christmas themed flavors, and presentation.

A panel of judges then rated each cookies and determined the winner! Thank you to Mrs. Boyd for her hard work in creating this contest for her students to participate in!

Winter Athletics

Our winter athletic teams have been busy! Our wrestlers have been busy at many different tournaments around our region, including the Santiam Invitational at SJSHS on December 17th. Middle School wrestling did awesome in their season, finishing up in December.

Our High School Basketball teams are finishing up with their preseason schedule and will be starting league games in January. The Middle School Girls basketball team completed their season in December with only 2 losses. The Middle School Boys basketball team starts their season in January. You can access all sports schedules at https://shs.santiam.k12.or.us/78783.

When is sick too sick for school?

Showing up to school every day is critical for children’s well-being, engagement and learning.

Make sure to send children to school if they are:

· Generally healthy and well.

· Participating in usual day-to-day activities.

Children can even go to school if they:

· Have a mild cold, which may include a runny nose and/or cough.

· Have eye drainage without fever, eye pain or eyelid redness.

· Have a mild stomachache.

· Have a mild rash with no other symptoms.

· Have head lice. Though they should be treated, lice are not a reason to exclude a child from school.

· Haven’t had a fever overnight and they have not taken fever-reducing medicine during that time.

Reasons to Keep Students Home from School:

· Fever of 100.4 degrees F or higher

· Vomiting and/or diarrhea within the last 24 hours

· Persistent cough or trouble breathing

· Rash with symptoms

· Sore throat if there is drooling, trouble swallowing or a fever and/or rash

Important Dates

Dec. 22 - Jan. 2 - Winter Vacation *NO SCHOOL

Jan. 5 - School resumes

Jan. 14 - Regular School Board Meeting - 6pm SES Commons

Jan. 19 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. *NO SCHOOL

Jan. 23 - School for students

Jan. 29 - End of 1st Semester

Jan. 30 - Grading Day