Scott Swanson
Despite a day without computers that ended with a freak storm, which knocked out power to the school district on the third day of school, things otherwise went pretty well last week as Sweet Home schools opened their doors for the 2013-14 year.
Student numbers are up over the last two years, Supt. Don Schrader said.
“I’m excited by the numbers we have,” he said.
The district ended last year with 2,289 students and, as of Monday, Sept. 9, had 2,359, counting the 224 enrolled at Sweet Home Charter School – a total of 70 over last year at this time.
“We’re rocking and rolling,” said Hawthorne Principal Terry Augustadt, whose school is the largest in the district behind the junior high and high school, at 307 students and added an additional teacher this year, one of six new faces on the staff. “We’re up 25 to 30 kids, give or take (from the end of last year).”
He said the extra teaching position was timely.
“That came at a perfect point. We’re still fuller than we’d ideally like to be, but it’s good we have another teacher now.”
Numbers are down slightly at Foster, Schrader and Principal Jan Sharp said, as well as at Holley and the junior high, where a large eighth-grade class moved on to high school last spring. High school enrollment is about 50 students over last year at this time.
New junior high Principal Colleen Henry said the first week was pretty much consumed with getting the seventh-graders up to speed.
“We’ve been doing ice-breaker activities,” she said, noting that eighth-grade mentors from the school’s TLC program have been important in that process. “(Seventh-graders) even need help with the lockers. That’s a big thing, remembering which way you turn the dial, right-left.”
Sharp came out of retirement to serve as principal at Foster after Glenna DeSouza left for another position.
“I’m new to Foster but I’m impressed at how well the students are doing,” she said. “Everything seems calm and happy. Teachers are doing a great job.”
At Holley, the school kicked off the new year on Sept. 3 with a pancake breakfast for students and between 30 and 40 parents, Principal Elena Barton said.
“It’s been really smooth,” she said of the first week. “We have about same number of students as last year and the same staff, so we’re set to go.”
She said a pair of jugglers from Eugene appeared at a school assembly on Friday to teach perseverance and friendship skills, and also visited individual classes to teach juggling skills.
District functions were complicated a bit on Wednesday and Thursday by computer system failures, Schrader said. He said a cable was sliced in the Corvallis or Albany area Thursday – he heard different reports, knocking out computers for the day.
“They were out on Wednesday for a couple of hours, then we came in the next day and – nothing. We were out of the network for the whole day. That wasn’t fun.”
Then the unusually severe thunderstorm hit as school let out.
“No network, the storm came and the lights went out,” Schrader said. “Everybody here in the district office went home because there’s not much you can do with lights out and no computers.
“Fortunately, the elementary kids were on the buses, going home, and when I got to the junior high, the teachers had flashlights.”