Ashland Connect

🌎✨ Celebrate Earth Day with a twist! Join us at The Farm @ SOU for an extraordinary Rogue Earth Day event! 🚴‍♂️🎭🎨 🗓 Mark your calendars: April 19 | 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM 📍 155 Walker Ave, at the SOU Farm Don't miss out on the fun and the opportunity to connect with the community in celebrating our planet. 🌱💚 For more info, pedal over to 👉 sou.edu/earthday

🏀 Calling all young athletes! 🏀 Join us for the Ashland High School Girls Basketball Camp! Open to girls in grades 5-8 for the 2024-2025 school year. This is your chance to improve your skills, make new friends, and have a blast on the court! 📅 Dates: JULY 15-19 2024 📍 Location: 201 S Mountain Ave. Ashland, Or 97520 Register now to secure your spot: https://5il.co/2hufp or scan the QR code in the image. For more information, email allison.gida@yahoo.com or visit the AHS Athletic Office.

PREVIEW NEW ONLINE CURRICULUM FOR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) HERE: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/page/sel-curriculum-adoption The State of Oregon has launched its Transformative SEL Framework and Standards, a pioneering initiative aimed at fostering holistic development in students and educators alike. This comprehensive approach centers around the belief that learning is inherently a social and emotional process, deeply intertwined with the development of healthy identities, empathy, supportive relationships, and responsible decision-making. To align with the state framework, Ashland is preparing to adopt new K-12 curriculum tools. These will be online tools designed to be used in age-appropriate ways at each grade level from Kindergarten through high school graduation. Visit the site in the next 30 days to preview the online tools, read more about top choice WAYFINDER, and register your comments.

Greetings, Ashland School District Community! The Board of Directors would like to share a quick progress update in the search for the district’s next Superintendent. The recruitment window for applications ended on December 28th, 2023. In the coming weeks, the Board will review applications and conduct preliminary interviews to determine semi-finalists. These semi-finalists will be invited to interview in-person with the board and the Community Interview Panel later this month. If you haven’t applied for the Community Interview Panel, it’s not too late! This volunteer group of students, staff members, parents, and community members will have the opportunity to interview Superintendent finalists on January 23rd. If you’re interested in learning more or would like to apply, please visit ashland.k12.or.us/supsearch. The deadline to apply is noon on Monday, January 8th. If you have questions, concerns, or input about the Superintendent Search process, the Board wants to know! You can connect with the entire School Board by emailing school.board@ashland.k12.or.us. We hope that you’ll consider playing a role in this critical process for Ashland Public Schools. Thank you!

"Let's innovate together! 🌟 Ashland School District seeks your feedback on our school calendar and schedule. We value the diverse needs of our families and invite students, staff, parents, and community members to take a brief 12-question survey. Your insights are crucial for our collaborative and comprehensive review process. Have your say and make a difference! ✏️ Survey closes 11/24/23 - click to participate: https://www.smore.com/jhnx8

Ashland School District Board of Directors has launched a search for Ashland School District’s new Superintendent, who will join our district in July 2024. They are committed to finding the right leader for our unique and dynamic community. To lay the foundation for a meaningful search that reflects the needs and priorities of the Ashland community, the Board is seeking input through a Superintendent Search Survey for students, families, staff members, and community members. To participate in the Superintendent Search Survey click the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SuptAshland For additional information about the Superintendent search process, click the following link: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/o/school-board/page/superintendent-search

Middle School Students (grades 6-8) who attend Ashland Connect, AMS, TRAILS, or Willow Wind can all participate in middle school sports at Ashland Middle School. Some important information and dates for the remainder of the year include: Sign up now for 7/8 Boys Basketball. The deadline to register is prior to October 23rd (first day of practice). Some practices will be held over the conference week. Now is also the time to register for any AMS sport. Below are the season start dates for the following AMS sports: Boys Basketball (October 23rd) Wrestling & Girls Basketball (January 2nd) Track & Field (March 4th) We know that students that engage in clubs, school activities, and sports are more connected to their school community and peers. Encourage your student to register today!

Today we honor and celebrate the perseverance, rich diversity and contributions of all Indigenous peoples—from the first peoples of this place to those from across the globe who now call Oregon home. We especially recognize our local tribes including the Takelma, Shasta, Modoc, Klamath, and Umpqua as well as the almost 160 students in our schools who identify as Native American and their families. We value the individual and cultural traditions and contributions that they bring that strengthens our ASD community.

Water Polo Summer Opportunities Summer Drop-In Classes: Beginning June 21, the Daniel Meyer Pool will offer water polo classes on Wednesdays from 6-7:30pm for just $4. This is a wonderful opportunity to maintain your skills over the summer. All ages are welcome! Regular Fall Season: Practice for the Ashland High School fall season (exclusive to high school students) will commence in August. Please frequently check our website for updates and to register for the fall season. For more information, visit ashlandwaterpolo.org.

🍎📚✏️ Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! 📚✏️🍎 As we celebrate #TeacherAppreciationWeek, join us as we express our deepest gratitude to all the teachers who have dedicated their lives to shaping our minds and nurturing our hearts. Their passion, patience, and unwavering support have made a lasting impact in countless lives, inspiring generations of students to reach their full potential. We'd love to hear your stories in the comments below. Share an experience with a teacher who has impacted you or someone you know. Let's show our appreciation and remind them how much they mean to us. Feel free to tag your school and use the hashtag #TeacherAppreciationWeek to join the conversation.🏆💖 #TeacherAppreciationWeek #ThankATeacher

Ashland School Board Innovation Committees Ashland Families, Students, and Community Members - The Ashland School Board recently voted to create a series of Innovation Committees focused on some key areas that are of great importance to the district's operations and strategic plan. These committees will gather information and present their ideas to the Ashland School Board. We are seeking those with skills, insights, and broad perspectives to help envision schools for the future for ALL Ashland children. At this time, the three committees we are moving forward with are: • Calendar and Schedule; • Re-imagining High School; and • Enrollment: Attracting New Children and Families to Ashland. Two meetings will be held this year and work will be scheduled to continue next fall. Committees will be comprised of a number of constituent groups including community members, family members, teachers, administrators, and students. If YOU are interested in learning more or serving on one of these committees, please take a moment to fill out this form to let us know by April 30, 2023. Click the link below for detailed information and to apply: https://www.smore.com/0e5j9-school-board-innovation-committees

Due to the recent snow days in February, we will be using two of our make-up days. Please take note of the updated school calendar that shows a full day of classes on April 17th and June 14th, and a half day on June 15th (the last day of school) The link below will take you to the web page where the new calendar can be viewed and downloaded. https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/page/school-day-calendars

Get On Board! The Ashland School Board has announced two vacancies to be filled in a special election on May 16, 2023. Positions #2 and #5 will be vacant. The 4-year terms will run July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027. Learn more: https://www.ashland.k12.or.us/o/school-board/page/candidate-resources

Ashland Connect students had a blast on their field trip with TRAILS students to the pumpkin patch! Cider, hayrides, animals, and of course picking the perfect pumpkin were all part of the fun. Thank you TRAILS for including us in a wonderful fall field trip!

Ashland Connect at TRAILS is now enrolling students for the 2022-23 school year. Wondering if Ashland Connect (a public K-8 academy in the Ashland School District) is right for your child? Our program has been designed intentionally as an online academy without the requirement of synchronous learning, all while offering the support and connection of a certified teacher here in our community. There are also optional field trips, student activities, and access to clubs, athletics and more! Contact us to learn more and see if this is the option that your family's been looking for.

All TRAILS Outdoor School families are welcome! Please mark your calendars for the special kickoff for the 2022-23 school year.

Verizon hosts 10th Annual Backpack and School Supplies Giveaway Jackson County, Ore. — Inflation has taken a toll on families in more ways than anyone could have imagined. But, there are a few things that still have to be done no matter what, like making sure your children have back-to-school supplies. For parents who are struggling and need extra help with that, the Cellular Connection for Verizon is hosting their 10th Annual Backpack and School Supplies Giveaway. “Every location we have around the country gets from 150-200 backpacks every year and they come filled with school supplies from folders, rulers, paper, pencils and pens,” said Daniel Varela, District Manager for Southern Oregon TCC Verizon. According to Varela, they have four locations in Southern Oregon and the event will take place July 31 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. “We ask that when you do show up that you bring your child with you so we can hand them the backpack," Varela said. "We just encourage everyone to come out, we will have food vendors and games for everyone to enjoy as well.” The locations are: Grants Pass 498 Union Ave 142 NE Terry Lane Medford 1779 N. Riverside 1315 Center Drive “We have five $10,000 scholarships we will be giving away as well across all our locations," Varela said. "There's a little QR code that we can get them signed up for the potential to win one of these $10,000 scholarships, so when they come get a backpack we’ll help them out with that part as well.” They will be announcing the winner a few weeks after the giveaway and will contact each person that won. See the original story here: https://ktvl.com/news/local/backpack-and-school-supplies-giveaway-verizon-cellular-connection-folders-rulers-pens-pencils-southern-oregon-scholarships

The Ashland Grizzly Football Team is pleased to bring back its GRIZZLY FOOTBALL KIDS CAMP! This camp is for kids in 3rd-8th grade. The camp will be held on the Ashland High School Grizzly Football Fields JUNE 27-30 from 10-noon. $25/player To learn more click the link below for the brochure, or visit the website & register! https://5il.co/1bwim https://ashlandfootballclub.com/

AHSA will be hosting a volleyball camp for boys and girls grades 4th-8th starting August 2-4th from 4-6pm at Ashland High School. Please see the printable form below to sign up! https://5il.co/1bwin

Get ready for the 13th Annual Monster Dash Run for Education! This year’s race is back in Lithia Park on Saturday, October 30th, or you can sign up to run the race virtually from anywhere October 22nd – 31st. 1-mile Fun Run/Walk 5k Run/Walk 10k Run Walk, run or zombie stroll for this annual family-fun event that supports grants in Ashland public schools. This one-of-a-kind race is presented by Lithia 4 Kids, the Ashland Kiwanis Club, and the Ashland Schools Foundation (ASF). This year the in-person races at Lithia Park will be modified for COVID safety, with mask requirements, staggered race-wave start times and locations, and limited numbers per race to allow for social distancing. All racers receive finisher’s medals, plus fun-filled race packets and giveaways for youth 18 and under! Register NOW for early-bird pricing for adults (thru Oct 13…kids are always $10) and before the race time you want fills up. Go to www.AshlandMonsterDash.com to sign up the whole family and get more info about this year’s race, online contests, silent auction and prizes!