COVID-19 Response

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

We certainly wish that we were writing with better news today. Unfortunately, the metrics for last week do not yet meet the requirements for us to bring our 4th-12th grade students back to campus. Despite continuing to have low positivity rates in Deschutes County, the state test positivity rate last week was 5.6%. And, despite having a decrease in actual cases statewide, Oregon's test positivity rate must be ≤5% in order for us to be allowed to return to in-person classes. As such, we must continue with virtual learning for the time being. We have some very limited ability for students to be on campus in groups of 10 for gatherings under two hours; we are looking into the details around this and will provide more information as soon as we can.

The current guidelines state that the metrics must be met for three consecutive weeks making the earliest possible date for grades 4-12 to return in-person October 7. For upper school students who are registered to take the SAT on campus next week, we will delay this test to our makeup date of October 27.

I'll be honest. When I read the metrics this morning, I was deflated as I am sure some of you are feeling right now. I feel strongly that getting our students back on campus is critical to their academic, social, and emotional well-being. Beginning today, we will be reaching out to our state and local officials to see what, if any, avenues might be open to us to advocate for getting students back on campus sooner. If you might be able to assist us with this advocacy, please reach out to me directly. We are looking to connect with families who may have relationships with our local or state political leaders or have lobbying expertise to support our efforts.

Health & Safety Reminders:

• PK-3rd grade families: Please continue to use Great Coach each morning before bringing your child to school.
• If your child will not be at school (virtually or in-person), please report their absence to attendance@cascadesacademy.org.
• We will continue to monitor air quality and keep students inside as needed.

After taking a lot of long, deep breaths on my drive into school today, my outlook completely transformed as I witnessed our school community dancing together in the hallways throughout drop-off. We may not be able to control the wildfires, the pandemic, or the metrics, but as I watched everyone dance and smile together, I was beautifully reminded of all of the blessings we do have: an incredible community, a team of inspiring educators, and engaged students and families. If you're looking for a little pick me up, please check out our Facebook page for some fun videos from today. I hope it brings joy to your heart as it did mine.

Sincerely,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear Pre-Kindergarten Families,

Happy summer! I hope many of you are enjoying some family time, perhaps even some vacation, and are taking full advantage of living in this beautiful area. It has been a busy and productive time here at school. As we navigate these unique times, every day presents itself as a mix of providing answers with continued times to apply a healthy dose of flexibility. We are constantly learning new things and responding to them. Most of all, I can tell you that we are all looking forward to interacting with our students and families again!

Pre-Kindergarten In-Person for 2020-2021 School Year:

The exciting news for our Pre-K program is that we will be able to offer an in-person program in a safe and appropriate manner for the entire school year, regardless of whether our other classes are virtual. As you may know, our Pre-K program is licensed through the Early Learning Division of the Oregon Department of Education. Through their guidance, we are looking forward to offering a safe and developmentally appropriate early childhood program by prioritizing supportive features such as:

• Group size and stable cohort: we are capping our Pre-K to 8 students, keeping this group, along with its two teachers, as a stable and independent cohort.
• Face masks: worn by all adults and children. We recommend you take time to ensure that your child is comfortable wearing a face mask. There are many different face masks available; find those that work and get several of them!
• Physical distancing: Although physical distancing is one of the most effective ways to manage the spread of COVID, it is not always feasible and is at odds within our nurturing and responsive early childhood program. Our program will include physical distancing whenever possible. We will be spending more time outside, spending less time in line, sharing fewer items and equipment, and bringing all snacks and food from home.
• The Pre-Kindergarten teaching team will complete daily health checks as well as follow specific drop-off and pick-up procedures. More information about these kinds of details will be shared closer to the start of school.
• The classroom, learning supplies, and any other common area will be fully sanitized at the end of the day and cleaned thoroughly at any transition time.

Our Outdoor Classroom:

We are so fortunate to have this amazing campus and are making plans to use it as much as possible. We are hoping, with proper social distancing practices, to use the outdoors as a way to seamlessly pull the whole class together. Students will not only experience different outdoor areas for lunch and recess, but they will also use identified areas to learn together outside.

School supplies:

As always, school supplies are provided for all lower school students (PK-5). Students will need to bring the following items (labeled with their name):

• Backpack
• Lunchbox
• Water bottle
• Face coverings - mandatory for all PK-5 students and teachers (It is recommended to have more than five masks, so a fresh mask can be worn each day.)

New Students and Families:

Thanks to an amazing admission season, we are excited to welcome over 25 new students to our lower school community this year. It is anticipated that all of our Prek-5 classes will be full, many with a robust waiting list. We would like to invite families and students, who are new to Cascades Academy this year, to join us for our lower school New Family Orientation on Thursday, September 3 from 9:30-11:00 This event will be held on campus, and will include some time in classrooms for students and an information session for parents. If you are a new family this year, we will be sending out an Evite to New Family Orientation, so please RSVP when you receive that invitation so we can plan accordingly for a safe, socially-distanced event. I can’t wait to meet you all!

Steelhead Connect:

Steelhead Connect is the name of our learning management system (LMS), used for registering students, rostering classes, communicating with families and students, posting academic information, and more. As a parent, learning how to effectively use and navigate Steelhead Connect is critical, so we are offering training sessions for parents to learn about this system. Please keep an eye out for more information coming soon to sign up for a Steelhead Connect Training Session on either Friday, August 28th at 9:30 am or Tuesday, September 1 at 5:00 pm.

PreK-3rd Grade Community Conversations via Zoom: Thursday, August 27, 5:00 pm

As we head into this school year, we would like to invite all PreK-3rd grade parents to join us for a Community Conversation. The purpose of this Zoom session will be to provide a forum for all families to ask questions about the school’s reopening plan and pandemic response and allow us all to check in with each other.

Yes, this school year is promising to be quite unique. But, even under these uncertain times, I am confident that we are a community that is positioned to be flexible and nimble, and able to respond quickly to an ever-changing landscape. My sincere gratitude to all who have helped us chart our path - there are many of you. We are in good hands.

I look forward to being in touch again in a few weeks.

Warmly,

Jessi Christiansen
Lower School Head

Dear Kindergarten through Fifth Grade Families,

Happy summer! I hope many of you are enjoying some family time, perhaps even some vacation, and are taking full advantage of living in this beautiful area. It has been a busy and productive time here at school. As we navigate these unique times, every day presents itself as a mix of providing answers with continued times to apply a healthy dose of flexibility. We are constantly learning new things and responding to them. Most of all, I can tell you that we are all looking forward to interacting with our students and families again, be it virtually or in person.

In-person or Virtual Learning:

Getting our students safely back on campus continues to be our highest priority. As we shared with you before, our in-person program will be a 5-day program, from 8:30-2:30 with students in stable cohorts of up to 20, and 1st-4th graders divided into two separate classrooms. Having had some time to make some important adjustments, our K-5 virtual plan will closely reflect what we did in the spring, but with some improvements to make it even more successful. We are ready to implement either program.

For families with Pre-K students, you can expect to hear more details next week once we have received additional guidance from the Early Learning Division of Oregon's Department of Education.

As mentioned in the most recent Pathways communication, we are monitoring the local and statewide health metrics and are committed to begin in-person classes as soon as those metrics permit us to do so. Please refer to our COVID-19 Response page to find out more about these guidelines.

Given our most recent trends, I am cautiously optimistic that, come September 8th, we will be able to offer in-person learning for our K-3rd graders, and will most likely begin the school year with remote learning for our 4th and 5th graders.

If there are classes that need to start virtually, the Oregon Department of Education would allow us to offer “limited in-person instruction” in groups of 10 for up to 2 hours at a time. Potentially, what this means for our fourth and fifth-grade students is that we would be able to have short orientation sessions that would allow us to connect with students while also introducing them to the school year in-person. As soon as we meet the health metrics, we will be ready to begin in-person learning. So, keep practicing good social distancing habits; we want all students to be able to get back to school safely.

Our final decision to start in-person or virtually will be made no later than Friday, August 28th.

Teachers and Assistants:

I am excited to introduce two new teachers to our lower school community:

Danielle Erickson - first grade

Elissa Feuerman - second grade

Both are highly experienced elementary teachers with a diverse set of skills who bring a wonderful positive energy and a “can-do” spirit to our community. We are still working on a “Get-to-Know-You” opportunity, and look forward to reaching out to our 1st and 2nd grade families with more information about this event.

We have also hired four additional Program Assistants, who will support our 1st through 4th grade classroom teachers this year. All of our Program Assistants are already familiar with Cascades Academy, either from previous years or because they supported Camp CREATE this summer. Please help me welcome:

Pat Oldham

Curtis Jensen

Michaela Teefy

Brighton Fowler

Their partnership will be highly instrumental as we support our new 1st through 4th grade cohort structure.

Cohorts:

As you know, we have adjusted the location of each grade, K-5, in order to comply with the 35 sq. ft. social distancing requirements. Because kindergarten (Commons) and 5th grade (library) have spaces with larger square footage, these classes are together in one space. First through fourth grades are each divided into two adjacent classrooms but are each still considered one cohort. Regardless of being in one or two rooms, each grade-level cohort will be allowed to mix within the same cohort throughout the day as well as join up for outside activities, recess, or any activity that takes place in a space that allows for proper social distancing.

Our goal is for each of these cohorts to grow and maintain their deep sense of their whole-class community. To begin our school year, each student, 1st-4th grade, will be assigned to a smaller homeroom group with a priority on nurturing their social and emotional needs. We will mix up the smaller groups every couple of weeks throughout the school year to allow for flexible social interactions. While there will also be ample opportunities to safely mix and mingle within the same cohort throughout the day to support differentiated academic needs, belonging to a homeroom group will help anchor students and nurture their sense of belonging.

Specialists:

We are excited to continue to offer a robust specialist program that will include art, STEM, music, and drama (new) for the 2020-2021 school year. Art and STEM will be taught to the entire cohort with the help of the Program Assistants, whereas for music and drama, students will be split into two smaller groups, allowing the music and drama teachers to teach groups of up to 10 students per cohort and switching those groups in January. Our PE program will be integrated throughout the day with designated brain breaks, short yoga sessions, and other activities to help students get their bodies moving. We have decided to pause on Spanish for the 2020-2021 school year, and look forward to presenting those families interested in pursuing learning Spanish with some alternative options to explore at home.

Our Outdoor Classroom:

We are so fortunate to have this amazing campus, and we are making plans to use it as much as possible. We are hoping, with proper social distancing practices, to use the outdoors as a way to seamlessly pull the whole class together. Students will not only experience different outdoor areas for lunch and recess, but they will also use identified areas to learn together outside. The school will provide for all K-5 students a ground-level camping chair (similar to a Crazy Creek) that will allow students to help define their outside learning space.

School Supplies:

As always, school supplies are provided for all lower school students (PK-5). Students will only need to bring the following items, all clearly labeled with their name:

• Backpack
• Lunchbox
• Water bottle
• Face coverings - mandatory for all students and teachers (It is recommended to have more than five masks, so a fresh mask can be worn each day.)

New Students and Families:

Thanks to an amazing admission season, we are excited to welcome over 25 new students to our lower school community this year. It is anticipated that all of our PK-5 classes will be full, many with a robust wait pool. We would like to invite families and students, who are new to Cascades Academy this year, to join us for our lower school New Family Orientation on Thursday, September 3 from 9:30-11:00 am This event will be held on campus, and will include some time in classrooms for students and an information session for parents. If you are a new family this year, we will be sending out an Evite to New Family Orientation, so please RSVP when you receive that invitation so we can plan accordingly for a safe, socially-distanced event. I can’t wait to meet you all!

Steelhead Connect:

Steelhead Connect is the name of our learning management system (LMS), used for registering students, rostering classes, communicating with families and students, posting academic information, and more. For new families, this is the same system that you used for your application to the school. As a parent, learning how to effectively use and navigate Steelhead Connect is critical, so we are offering training sessions for parents to learn about this system. Please keep an eye out for more information coming soon to sign up for a Steelhead Connect Training Session on either Friday, August 28th at 9:30 am or Tuesday, September 1 at 5:00 pm.

Community Conversations via Zoom:

As we head into this school year, we would like to invite all PreK-5th grade parents to join us for Community Conversations. The purpose of these Zoom sessions will be to provide a forum for all families to ask questions about the school’s reopening plan, our pandemic response, and allow us all to check in with each other.

• PreK-3rd Grade Community Conversations via Zoom: Thursday, August 27, 5:00 pm
• 4th and 5th Grade Community Conversations via Zoom: Monday, August 24, 5:00 pm

A quick note on learning pods:

Some parents have asked whether the school will take any role in organizing learning pods for at-home learning. This is a complicated idea with many dynamics. After careful consideration, we feel that letting parents make their own decision around learning pods is the most appropriate approach given the diverse needs of individual families.

Yes, this school year is promising to be quite unique. But, even under these uncertain times, I am confident that we are a community that is positioned to be flexible and nimble, and able to respond quickly to an ever-changing landscape. My sincere gratitude to all who have helped us chart our path - there are many of you. We are in good hands.

I look forward to being in touch again in a few weeks.

Warmly,

Jessi Christiansen
Lower School Head

Dear Middle School Students and Families,

As we’ve entered August, I find myself thinking about you all and anticipating the start of our 2020-21 school year. Certainly, this will be a memorable year as we forge ahead with our lives while experiencing a range of emotions and the persistent uncertainty of what the future holds. I hope you all can rest assured that our school is committed to supporting our students and families with a school year that ensures the continuation of learning, stays true to our mission, and makes the very best of the situation in which we find ourselves. I do not know the extent to which this pandemic has affected each of you, but I am hopeful that this letter finds you all healthy and well. I wanted to reach out today with a few updates about what to expect for our return to school in September.

The Pathways Forward Committee has done an admirable job this summer managing our response to the pandemic, responding to new information as it becomes available, planning for multiple scenarios, and communicating with families. Behind the scenes, there is a team of administrators, board members, and teachers who have been working to make sure we are ready to go on September 8th. In our previous correspondence this summer, we outlined and communicated to you our plan for returning to campus and allowing for students who are not able to return to in-person learning to participate remotely. Given the recent metrics outlined by the governor, we feel almost certain at this point that our middle school program will begin the school year with virtual learning. The virtual program will closely reflect our program from the spring, but with some adjustments and improvements to make it even more successful. Our dedicated team of teachers remain committed to providing daily synchronous classes and giving students a chance to connect with each other and learn together.

Some parents have asked whether the school will take any role in organizing learning pods for at-home learning, and after careful consideration, we feel that letting parents make their own decision around learning pods is the most appropriate approach given the diverse needs of individual families. This past week, however, we received new information from the Oregon Department of Education that allows us to offer “limited in-person instruction,” in groups of 10 for 2 hours at a time. We plan on taking advantage of these allowances so we can provide time for in-person connection among teachers and students and to implement parts of our curricular program that are not replicable in the virtual environment. To start the school year, we will also offer opportunities for our middle school students and teachers can safely meet and connect in-person, and as soon as the number of new Covid-19 cases in Deschutes County drops to 20 or fewer for 3 consecutive weeks and the test positivity rate both county and state wide is below 5%, we will be ready to promptly begin in-person learning on campus. We are still unsure about the status of middle school fall sports, but as more information becomes available, we will be updating the community.

Here are some of the specific updates I want to share with you:

Confluence (formerly we called this Steelhead Week): September 8-11

The word confluence means the coming together of two rivers, and it accurately describes the reunion we feel each fall when our families and students come together alongside our teachers and staff. This year, instead of our normal week-long Confluence program, we are planning opportunities during the opening week of school for students to safely connect in-person with their classmates and teachers, to meet with their advisors, and to engage in some of the traditional team-building activities we feel are incredibly important to getting the school year off to a strong start.

Cohorts and Advisory

Once we are able to resume in-person learning on campus, we will need to maintain social distancing. Each grade-level class of 20 students will still be considered a single cohort, but when inside the school, each grade-level cohort will be divided into two smaller groups of ~10 students each in order to maintain a safe distance between students. Each of these smaller groups will occupy one classroom in the middle school wing. When we resume in-person learning, all students and staff will be required to wear a clean, laundered, mask to school each day.

• 6th grade cohort: 20 students divided into 2 groups, 7th grade cohort: 20 students divided into 2 groups, 8th grade cohort: 18-20 students divided into 2 groups
• These smaller classroom groups within each cohort do not need to remain the same all year. We will mix up the smaller classroom groupings every couple of weeks throughout the school year to allow for flexible groupings and a variety of social interactions.
• As always, we will divide each grade level into two advisories with a designated faculty advisor. This is true for either in-person or virtual learning. In other words, a student’s advisory group will stay the same all year, but the classmates in their physical classroom will change through the year.

New Students, New Faculty, and New Family Orientation

We are thrilled to welcome several new students and families to Cascades Academy Middle School! We have 5 new students joining the 6th grade class, 3 new students joining 7th grade, and 4 new students joining 8th grade. With only one spot open in 8th grade, which I suspect may fill in the coming days, the Middle School is beginning the school year with our highest enrollment ever. Hello, to our new students and families! We are happy to welcome:

• Yajaira (6th)
• Kyra (6th)
• Oliver (6th)
• Justin (6th)
• Benjamin (6th)
• Rowan (7th)
• Ellie (7th)
• Belle (7th)
• Nathaniel (8th)
• Lulu (8th)
• Dylan (8th)
• Franco (8th)

We are also very excited to introduce you to two exceptional teachers who have joined the middle school team:

• Adriana Boylan, Middle School Math Teacher, brings to the team several years of experience teaching middle school math, directing STEM programs, and leading outdoor and adventure travel trips. She is a former Dean of Students and also led her previous school’s mindfulness program. Adriana brings a wonderful mix of experience both inside and outside the classroom, which aligns perfectly with our school’s mission to balance challenging academics with experiential learning.
• Colin McCusker, Middle School Social Studies Teacher, has a decade of experience teaching history, humanities, psychology, and geography. In addition to his extensive experience with project-based and expeditionary learning, Colin developed and chaired an innovative program, called EDGE, which embodied interdisciplinary and 21st century instructional strategies to empower students with authentic learning experiences, while fostering a growth mindset. Colin’s skill set and experience will add immediate value to our middle school program.

We are truly fortunate to have Adriana and Colin on our team, and I can’t wait for you all to meet these two impressive and experienced educators!

New Family Orientation

We would like to invite families and students, who are new to Cascades Academy this year, to join us for our middle school New Family Orientation on Thursday, September 3 from 1:00-2:30. This event will be held on campus, and after an initial meet and greet, we will offer a student orientation and “get-to-know you” program with a few of our middle school teachers, while the parents spend time with me and the rest of our middle school team. We will be available to answer any questions you may have at that time. We will be sending out an Evite to New Family Orientation, so please RSVP when you receive that invitation so we can plan accordingly for a safe, socially-distanced event.

Academic Mindset and Resources

Steelhead Connect is the name of our learning management system (LMS), used for registering students, rostering classes, communicating with families and students, posting lessons and assignments, and more. As a parent, learning how to effectively use and navigate Steelhead Connect is critical, so we are offering training sessions for all parents to learn more about this system. For new families, this is the same system that you used for your application to the school. Please keep an eye out for more information coming soon to sign up for a Steelhead Connect Training Session on either August 27th at 9:30am or September 2 at 5:00pm.

At this point in the summer, I always encourage students to start easing back into their academic mindset. I want to remind you all that there are Summer Resources, including required summer reading assignments from Mrs. Schroeder, detailed on Steelhead Connect under Groups>MS Families>Topics. Follow the link above to login with your credentials to access the summer resources. If you have any issues, contact Bernadette Shilliam at shilliam@cascadesacademy.org.

Student Supply List

We have an updated student supply list, attached to this email. Please take a look and secure all of the virtual learning resources prior to the start of the school year. This school supply list is also available on Steelhead Connect under Groups>MS Families.

You can expect to hear from me again during the week of August 24th with another update. At that point, I’ll be sharing with you the weekly student schedule, more details about Confluence (September 8-11), and the advisory lists for the 2020-21 school year. As always, feel free to reach out to me with any questions or if you have anything else you’d like to discuss prior to the start of the school year.

Sincerely,

Aaron Moorhead
Middle School Head

Dear Upper School Students and Families,

Given all the uncertainty that we’ve experienced over the last several months, I can state unequivocally that the faculty and staff at Cascades Academy are wholly dedicated to creating the best possible experience for students during the upcoming school year. Student well-being, community cohesion, and academic engagement continue to be the foundation upon which all of our plans are made, and we’ve been busy this summer refining our program to meet the evolving requirements created by COVID. With the start of school less than one month away, we are at a point in the summer when we have additional important information to share.

Program Update: We have dedicated significant time this summer preparing for different scenarios related to COVID-19, much of which has been explained in the various Pathways updates sent previously. The Pathways team, including board members and key leadership staff, have worked tirelessly to balance the school’s mission with state requirements, and they continue to provide the guidance necessary for the school to open on September 8th. Given the Governor’s recent metrics, it appears that we will have to start the school year in remote learning, and we will make that final determination by Monday, August 24th. Though we would prefer a return to permanent, in-person instruction, two updates will allow us to interact on-campus to a greater extent than we previously anticipated.

• Confluence Orientation: First, as is our tradition, the first week of school is dedicated to our Confluence Orientation, and that tradition will continue this year. The current guidance from the Oregon Health Authority allows us to execute small-group, in-person activities during the first few days after Labor Day. Our programming won’t involve an overnight, off-campus component as is usually the case, but on Tuesday, September 8th and Wednesday, September 9th, we will gather for a portion of the day on-campus in 9th/10th and 11th/12th cohort groups for icebreakers, team building, and other important activities that will help us prepare for the remainder of the school year. Full details about the Confluence Orientation will follow in the coming weeks.

• Limited In-Person Instruction: Second, though we will be operating in remote learning until Deschutes County achieves the required metrics related to COVID infections, we will be able to offer weekly, small-group, in-person classes, activities, and events to a small extent. These interactions will allow us to focus on our core value of community as one of the top priorities at the beginning of the school year, especially under current circumstances. Possible in-person interactions might include experiential programming, science labs, advisory meetings, or other instruction most effectively done in-person. We will need some time to figure out how to work this into our weekly schedule, but we are excited about the ability to have students come together on a limited basis each week.

Moving forward, whenever we are on-campus, all students and staff will be required to wear a clean, laundered, mask at school each day.

Welcome New Students: We will start the school year with the largest upper school student body in Cascades Academy history, and we are very excited to welcome the following new students to the school:

• 9th Grade: Jay, Genevieve, Kevin, and Katie
• 10th Grade: Nate
• 11th Grade: Eli and Auden

We also would like to extend a sincere welcome to the 17 rising 9th graders who, while not new to Cascades Academy, are new to the Upper School. We look forward to getting to know you better in the coming days and weeks and for the important contributions, you will make this year to our school.

Families have asked if the school will be organizing learning pods for at-home learning, and after careful consideration, the consensus among independent schools is that letting families make their own decision around learning pods is the most appropriate approach given the diverse needs of individual families.

Welcome New Faculty: As our Upper School grows, so too do our staffing needs. This year, we are happy to introduce you to the following new faculty members:

• Clarcie Howell, 11th/12th Humanities: As many of you know, Clarcie joined us last March, but given the collective upheaval we experienced at that time, it’s wholly appropriate to welcome her again. Clarcie brings a wealth of experience in the humanities, experiential education, and trip leadership, and we look forward to Clarcie continuing to share her wisdom with our students.
• Syver Pearson, Math, and Science: Syver Pearson will be teaching biology this year as well as the Algebra II classes. In addition to his prior classroom experience in these subjects (as well as many others), Syver brings deep skills in outdoor programming and experiential learning.

Both Clarcie and Syver will help enrich our program and we look forward to collaborating with them during the school year. Welcome, Clarcie and Syver!

New Student and Family Orientation: We would like to invite families and students who are new to Cascades Academy this year to join us for our annual Upper School New Family Orientation on Thursday, September 3rd from 1:00-2:30 PM. This event will be held on-campus and we will spend time getting to know one another, playing a few informal games, and answering your questions about the upper school program and the 2020 - 2021 school year. We will be sending out an Evite to New Family Orientation, so RSVP when you receive that invitation so we can plan accordingly for a safe, outdoor, socially-distanced event. Additionally, we will be hosting an Upper School Community Conversation via Zoom at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, August 26th. The goal of this conversation is to help forge the important ties that make our community bond so strong. We will send the Zoom link in future correspondence.

Academics & Resources: We are at the point in the summer when we all would be well served to turn our attention to the habits of work and mind that will make for a successful school year.

Steelhead Connect: Integral to this process is Steelhead Connect, our Learning Management System (LMS). In the coming weeks, we will offer a variety of training opportunities that will allow families to become familiar with the LMS and all the information it contains. Be on the lookout for more information about the Steelhead Connect Training Sessions on either August 27th at 9:30 AM or September 2 at 5:00 PM. Students, we continue to refine our use of the LMS and we look forward to sharing with you improved functionality that will help streamline and simplify your interaction with Steelhead, all to help you dedicate your time and energy to learning. For new families, Steelhead Connect is the same system that you used for your application to the school. Follow the link above to login with your same credentials to access the LMS. If you have any issues, contact Bernadette Shilliam at shilliam@cascadesacademy.org.

Recommended Reading: Everyone can find recommended reading lists on Steelhead Connect under Groups > US Students (or US Families) > Topics > Upper School Summer 2020 Recommended Reading and Resources. Students, if you haven’t already, please pick a text and get reading!

Student Supply List: Here is a link to an updated school supply list, also available on Steelhead Connect (US Students or US Families > Bulletin Board > Links > Upper School Supply List). Students, make sure your webcam is functional and reliable. You will be expected to use the video function each day in every class when working remotely over Zoom.

Coming Soon: In the coming weeks, we will be sending all the additional details necessary for everyone to prepare for the school year. Forthcoming information will include:

• Remote and Hybrid Program Schedules
• Confluence Orientation Schedule
• Cohort and Advisory Updates

I stumbled upon a quote two days ago, attributed to Vivian Greene, a British novelist, that caught my attention and befits the times: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” With that sentiment in mind, I’d like to extend an additional thank you to the entire upper school community for all that you will do this school year to make the most of our time together. Regardless of how the current ‘storm’ feels to each one of you, I know that our collective strength will allow us to come together as a learning community, and engage in empowering, challenging, and meaningful experiences that will help make the world a better place.

Until then, please don’t hesitate to be in contact with any questions.

Kind regards,

Joshua Klaus
Upper School Head

Cascades Academy's Operational Blueprint for Re-Entry has been accepted by the Deschutes County Health Department and the Cascades Academy Board of Trustees. The full blueprint can be viewed here.

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

Last week, we shared the news with you that the state had released new metrics for school reopenings in Oregon. As a follow up, we wanted to give you a bit more information about how we will proceed over the coming weeks with our decision to open for in-person or virtual learning.

A Responsive Approach

With our local public schools announcing this week that they will delay the first day of school until Monday, September 14 and commit to distance learning for a minimum of six weeks, we have received several questions from families if we will be doing the same thing.

The short answer is we will not. Instead, we will continue to monitor the local and statewide health metrics and begin in-person classes as soon as those metrics permit us to do so.

Each week, the Oregon Health Authority will release updated county data on their website. For the three weeks leading up to September 8 (August 17-September 7), infection rates will need to be fewer than roughly 60 new cases in Deschutes County per week in order to open in-person for grades K-3 and fewer than 20 new cases in Deschutes County per week and <5% state-wide positive test rate to open in-person for grades 4-12.

No later than Friday, August 28, we will communicate our intention to open either in-person or virtual based on the data available to us at that time. In deciding to wait until this date to make our decision, we hope that we may still be able to bring our youngest learners back to campus beginning Tuesday, September 8. It seems unlikely that we will be able to welcome grades 4-12 back in-person in early September given the current numbers. The teachers have been preparing diligently for both in-person and virtual learning, and we will be ready for either scenario.

Orientation Week: September 8-11

Whether we are in-person or virtual, our goals for the opening week of school remain the same:

• Prioritizing activities that allow all students and teachers to connect and get to know each other
• Ensuring that all students have the right tools & training (technology, systems, etc.) to begin the year successfully
• Connecting with all students individually to gauge their emotional health and well-being
• Creating a feeling of health, safety, connection, and care
• Seeing lots of smiles!

We will send more specific details about "Orientation Week" as we get closer.

Nimble, Flexible, and Hopeful

Like you, we are all hoping to be able to have all of our students, PK-12, on campus in September. At the same time, we know that we will have to remain flexible to adapt to whatever circumstances come our way. If we do have to start the school year virtually, we want you to know that we will watch the data weekly, and as soon as the case numbers improve, we will switch back to in-person learning.

As a reminder, your cooperation in completing the program preference survey this week (due August 7) will help us in our planning process.

I realize we are communicating a lot of information each week, and I appreciate your words of encouragement and engagement as we navigate so many changes together. Please do not hesitate to continue to reach out with your questions and concerns. We will continue to update you as our journey unfolds. Until then, stay well.

Sincerely,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear Middle School Families,

During the spring semester, when all of our lives and daily routines were disrupted, we were truly inspired by the way our community responded to the unprecedented situation. Collectively, our parent body, middle school students, teachers, and administrators worked together to ensure that teaching and learning continued to thrive at Cascades Academy. As the school year came to an end and during the initial weeks of summer, we gathered feedback from as many people as possible: students, teachers, and parents. We have connected with educators from around the country and engaged in professional learning to better inform our decision-making. We specifically solicited input from our parent community about possible scenarios for reopening school in the fall, and several of you took part in our focus group discussions to engage in more detailed conversation about our options. While many families shared stories of success from their remote learning experience, there was a clear preference from our parent community for in-person school to resume.

We are writing today to update about our current plans for the 2020-21 school year. After considering multiple models, we are happy to share our plans to have all middle schoolers on campus 5 days a week this fall. We feel confident that, given our spacious facility and campus, we will be able to do this with health and safety as our top priority, while meeting the state's requirements for social distancing. We will also be able to concurrently deliver our middle school program online for students who are immunocompromised or live in an immunocompromised household.

Here is a snapshot of our plan:

• Each class of 20 students will be divided into two cohorts of 10 students each. These cohorts will remain the same for at least the first several weeks and will also be their advisory groups for the school year.
• The two cohorts for each grade will be in adjacent classrooms in the middle school wing, allowing teachers to easily flow from one room to the other during any given lesson. The middle school program will be using all six classrooms in the middle school wing, taking over the music and extended day rooms.
• Each cohort of 10 students will essentially have a homeroom, where they will take all of their classes.
• Instead of students rotating from classroom to classroom for their various courses, teachers will move between the student cohort groups, and our weekly class schedule will look very similar to years past: core classes will meet 4 days/week, students will take art, music, drama, IDEA Lab, and computer science classes 1-2 times a week, advisory and clubs will meet once a week, we will continue to devote Thursday afternoons to experiential learning, and students will also have prep (study hall) most days.
• When they are not teaching, teachers will help to provide supervision in those additional classrooms.
• Inside the classroom, students will have 6 feet of spacing and 35 square feet of space as outlined in the state's requirements.
• We plan to take advantage of our large and beautiful campus to take our learning outside as much as possible.
• Teachers can teach lessons outside for the whole class of 20 students, but when inside the building, students will be in their smaller cohort groups of 10 students.
• We will be running a concurrent classroom model, which means that lessons and activities will be available and accessible to students whether they are physically in the same room as the teacher, in the adjacent classroom, or joining in remotely.
• We will continue to use Zoom and other technologies to broadcast teacher lessons for students into the adjacent classrooms and at home.
• To allow for more teacher prep time to design, build, and teach in this concurrent model, we are considering slightly shortening the school day to 8:45-3:00. This has not been finalized and will be coordinated with the other divisions to allow for staggered drop off and pick up times across the full student body.

While there are still some details to work out, we are excited and confident about our plan for the 2020-21 school year. We also acknowledge that the circumstances with COVID-19 are dynamic, and we are closely monitoring the situation. Anticipating the possibility that, at some point, we may need to resume remote learning or some type of hybrid approach, we are also preparing schedules and making plans for the continuation of our middle school program should that become necessary.

We also expect that state guidelines will likely change before we resume school in the fall, and while we are happy with our planning and preparation to date, we anticipate there will be some changes to our plans in the coming weeks. We will continue to update you this summer with more details as we progress in our planning process. As always, please feel free to reach out to either of us at any time. Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

Aaron Moorhead, Middle School Head
Julie Amberg, Head of School

Dear Upper School Students and Families,

Happy Summer! We hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits, and that you've been able to relax, recharge, and enjoy time outdoors with friends and family. The purpose of this communication is to update you on current plans for the upper school program during the 2020 - 2021 school year and provide you a sense of what to expect this fall.

We remain committed to learner well-being, challenging academics, experiential learning, strong relationships within our community, and of course, the health and safety of learners, families, and faculty alike. These values are woven into our planning and implementation framework and will continue to influence our decisions moving forward.

At this point, we are planning on opening school with a hybrid learning program. Each week, learners will spend three days learning on campus, and two days learning off campus. When on campus, learners will be in cohorts of 15 individuals (or less), and we will minimize mixing between the cohorts to the greatest extent possible. There are many reasons why we've decided to move forward with a hybrid approach, and we'd like to elaborate on the most important ones below.

Learner and family feedback, and faculty preparation:

• Learner and family surveys and a family focus group affirmed a desire and appreciation for hybrid learning.
• On-campus learning and off-campus learning will allow us to retain strong relationships and allow learners to interact in-person with peers and faculty, while also providing participants with additional autonomy to lead their own learning when working off-campus.
• All upper school faculty participated in a three-week-long professional development course on hybrid learning this summer, and we are more prepared than ever to deliver a quality hybrid learning experience.

State guidelines:

• State guidelines require that each learner has 35 square feet of space within any indoor learning environment and that we practice six-foot social distancing at all times, whether indoors or outdoors.
• Most of the indoor teaching and learning will take place in the US Commons and the IDEA Lab. These two spaces allow us to meet state guidelines, keep cohorts to a reasonable size, and allow for immediate access to the outdoors.
• Each cohort will work in one of these two spaces, and instead of students moving from classroom to classroom as they normally would, teachers will rotate in and out throughout the day.
• When possible and appropriate, learners will work in small, socially-distanced groups in the other US classrooms and outside in various locations on-campus.

Future preparation:

• A hybrid approach provides an ideal opportunity for learners to continue to develop and practice 21st-century skills, including flexibility and adaptability, creativity, communication, problem-solving, collaboration, self-management, and self-efficacy.
• A hybrid approach also provides learners with an excellent opportunity to exercise their aspirations and abilities.

Within our hybrid model, we remain committed to offering our program for learners who, for health and safety reasons, aren't able to participate in on-campus learning. Meeting the needs of these learners combined with the inherent challenges created by the pandemic will require a different level of commitment, collaboration, preparation, and communication from our teachers. One solution we are considering (but have not yet finalized) is to shorten the school day to a small extent. On-campus learning will tentatively start at 9:00 am and end at 3:15 pm. A later morning start time will allow us to have a staggered drop-off time for all learners and will continue to align our schedule with what research has shown to be beneficial for adolescent sleep schedules. Earlier dismissal will provide faculty with the time needed to plan, prepare, collaborate, and as needed, meet with learners during office hours.

Regarding other components of our program, we will continue to offer fine arts, and during the year, learners will participate in one trimester of studio art, one trimester of music, and one trimester of theater & performing arts. Our elective program will be integrated with our experiential expeditions and will take place on or near campus. We have many interesting opportunities for engaging and empowering experiential programming given the newly acquired acreage to the north and the west of campus in addition to our proximity to Tumalo State Park. We remain committed to integrated, meaningful experiential learning and we will provide these kinds of learning opportunities to the fullest extent possible. We are still in discussion about Traveling School but don't yet have all the answers. Once we have our plan in place, we will communicate all the details in a timely manner.

Of the many unknowns we are all confronting, we can write with certainty that we still have many details to figure out and that state guidelines likely will change before Labor Day. Therefore, while we are pleased with and confident about our plans to date, we anticipate there will be some changes to our schedule in the coming weeks. As plans evolve and are finalized, we will update the upper school community as quickly as possible, and of course, share a detailed schedule and calendar before school starts.

Of the many things we've been reminded of during these unprecedented times, gratitude is one of the most important. We are immensely grateful to be members of this school community. Our campus is incredible. Our faculty and staff are creative, committed, and passionate. Our leadership and Board of Trustees are wholly dedicated to making learner-centered decisions at all times. Most importantly, you -- our learners and families -- are amazing, adaptable, and compassionate. Thanks, everyone, for your support as we navigate collectively our new reality. Be on the lookout for more details later in the summer, and we look forward to seeing everyone in September.

Kind regards,

Joshua Klaus, Upper School Head
Julie Amberg, Head of School

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

I'm writing today to provide an update from the Pathways Forward team. You'll recall that last week we shared the Looking Ahead plan that outlined our approach to planning for the 2020-21 school year. This week we received additional guidance from the Oregon Department of Education's which outlines several recommended protocols for school in the fall including:

• Physical distancing (minimizing contact within 6 feet with other people)
• Cohorts (conducting all activities in small groups that remain together over time with minimal mixing of groups)
• Protective equipment
• Hand hygiene and environmental cleaning and disinfection
• Isolation of sick people and quarantine of exposed people

You may find the complete guidelines here: Ready Schools, Safe Learners.

Our leadership team did a walk through of the campus yesterday after reviewing the guidelines, and we feel very optimistic about our ability to maximize student time on campus next year while keeping health and safety as our top priority. In addition, we are committed to finding an alternative solution for families who are not able to be on campus due to individual health reasons.

As you can imagine, the programmatic planning for next year is multi-layered and complex. Our faculty and staff are meeting next week to dive further into the implications of these most recent guidelines and determine how to adapt our curriculum while maintaining our deep commitment to mission and core values. Once we have determined our re-entry plan that addresses the recommended guidelines, we will be required to submit our plan to the local health authority for approval. The state acknowledges that each school's situation (enrollment, facilities, etc.) is unique, and we anticipate that our campus and smaller enrollment will be beneficial in our planning.

On that note, we are grateful to all who completed the last survey that we sent. We received 93 responses and an overwhelming willingness to participate in focus groups. We are in the process of following up with those who expressed interest. From those surveys we identified some clear trends including:

• Preserving our commitment to whole-child learning that includes challenging academics, experiential learning, social emotional learning, social responsibility, community and social connection continues to be important.
• Student health and safety is paramount. At the same time, we learned that every family may have different risk tolerances for what that means.
• For most families, there is a clear longing for a return to in-person classes as much as possible.
• Students really miss their friends and want to reconnect socially with their peers.
• There were some unexpected benefits of remote learning for middle and upper school students including greater autonomy and independence.
• Some of our students and families are immune-compromised, and as such, we must find an alternative to serve them as well.

Hearing directly from you is instrumental in our planning and helps us keep what is best for students at the heart of all of our decisions. Thank you!

At this point, we will plan to communicate with you again in early July after the Department of Education releases its next version of the guidance on June 30. In the meantime, our Looking Ahead plan, referenced above, as well as all Covid-19 communications, can be found on our website.

As we embark on this next phase of our planning, we continue to be bolstered by your gratitude and support. We certainly have a busy summer ahead, and we will keep you updated as our planning evolves. Until then, I wish you all a wonderful start to the summer.

Sincerely,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear CACO Families,

Today marks the beginning of our 7th week of remote learning. I find that each day continues to bring both unique challenges and, fortunately, some pleasant surprises too. Like many of you, I'm trying to juggle impossibly competing demands – working at home while meeting the educational and personal needs of my family. On any given day, my own emotions seem to mirror the emotions of the family member who is struggling the most. Some days that means feeling frustrated and fragile and other days feeling grateful and joyful. "One day, one decision at a time," I remind myself. I smile, take a deep breath, and carry on.

This letter is a follow-up to the earlier video communication from our Board Chair, Holly Wylam Klein, in which she shared that a group of appointed trustees and administration leaders have formed a new ad hoc "Pathways Forward" committee. The committee is actively creating a strategic and operational vision that will prioritize student and community health and wellness, ensure the quality and depth of our academic programs, and safeguard the long-term sustainability of our school for the coming academic year. Among many tasks, this committee is undertaking the planning for several reopening scenarios guided by our mission and core values as our north star. We are actively monitoring local and state guidelines and developments, attending webinars with experts, and connecting with our counterparts at independent schools throughout the country. While our goal is to be ready to open for in-person learning in the fall, we - like all schools - are planning for a variety of scenarios.

Given the circumstances, it would be premature to roll out the menu of possibilities for the fall at this time. But, our promise to you is that we will provide clear and timely communication as more information is known. Nimbleness, inventiveness, flexibility, creativity – we are calling upon all these skills in our planning and feel lucky that as a small, independent school these characteristics are already a hallmark of our school culture.

Of critical importance to our work is our commitment to serving, uniting, and sustaining our extraordinary community. We understand that the last few weeks may have presented unexpected financial hardship for some families. In recognition of this, the Pathways Forward committee's first priority was to create a series of Financial Assistance Pathways for families experiencing an unexpected change in circumstances. Our hope is to be able to keep current students enrolled and to allow new students to join us as planned, despite financial changes that may have arisen because of the pandemic.

The Financial Assistance Pathways are structured to provide custom solutions to families, from changes in tuition payment plans to applying for need-based aid. It is our sincerest wish that no one be forced to make a different decision for fall enrollment because of a change in circumstances. As those of you who attended our presentations this fall on school finances understand, CACO's budget is very lean and carefully controlled. And so, simultaneous to rolling out this program, we will be seeking assistance from our family of donors to grow our limited pool of available funds so that we may help everyone weather this storm. Stay tuned for more information about this community-sustaining initiative, which we are calling "Pay It Forward."

We ask that if you are facing or anticipating a change in your financial circumstances, please reach out to Barb Cartmell (cartmell@cascadesacademy.org or 206.920.8585) before Friday, May 29 to discuss the various Financial Assistance Pathways that may be available.

As we navigate these next weeks and months, I am guessing you have all kinds of other questions as well! I am looking to create a new forum for answering community FAQ's, so please reach out to me directly with what's on your mind, and I'll determine the best way to address those questions with our entire community.

As we continue to gather your feedback, we have genuinely appreciated hearing your heartfelt and resounding gratitude for our faculty and staff. They certainly deserve this recognition and encouragement. And, the same is absolutely true for you - our remarkable families. You have trusted our process, our program, and our community every step of the way. You have guided your children with incredible love, resilience, and encouragement. Together, we have embarked on this journey that no one could have ever possibly imagined, and no matter what the pathway ahead, we too will carry on . . . together.

Warmly,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

Yesterday, we heard from Governor Kate Brown that all Oregon schools must remain closed for in-person classes through the end of the school year. Though we are heartbroken not to be able to come back together as a community in person this spring, we understand the importance of this step for the greater good and the health of our world.

Our commitment to you remains steadfast:

• We will continue to provide the best possible remote learning experience for our beloved Cascades Academy students.
• We will focus on our mission and core values, promoting a balance of enriching academics, hands-on experiential learning within an engaged community.
• We will continue to honor and support the unique needs and challenges of each student and family as you navigate remote learning.
• We will look for ways to brighten our students' days with levity, humor, and plenty of time outdoors.
• We will find creative ways to celebrate our students and their accomplishments, especially the senior class of 2020. If the guidelines for gatherings change this spring, we will stay open to celebrating in person if at all possible.
• And, we will continue to ask for your feedback so that we can ensure families are supported through this new and different model.

We understand that students will respond to this news in a variety of ways. We thought it might be helpful to have some guidance from Leah Rapaport, Director of Counseling, around how to support your child. For those students who are saddened by this news, they may essentially be experiencing a sense of loss or grief. This loss may look different for each student and may be expressed in different ways. For our seniors, they could be grieving the loss of normal end of year activities and celebrations. For our younger students, it can be the simple loss of connecting with friends during lunchtime. Lunch at home is maybe just not as much fun as it is at school. With this in mind, the following may be helpful in supporting your child:

• Acknowledge the loss. It is very real for them. Say things like, "I know how sad you are," and "Yes, these are meaningful losses." Let them just express how they feel without immediately trying to fix the feeling.
• Let their questions and concerns guide the conversation.
• Be honest, but do your best to present a hopeful and future-focused perspective.
• As much as possible, exude calm. Fake it until you make it if need be. Your child looks to you for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If you're ok, then your child will feel more confident that he/she will be ok too.
• Encourage continued connection with the community in whatever ways are safe, healthy, and doable for your family. We are all in this together.
• If you'd like to connect with Leah directly, you can schedule an appointment with her here or email her directly.

Knowing that remote learning will continue for the remainder of the academic year, your feedback regarding how it is going for your family and what the school can do to support you is more critical than ever. We will be sending grade specific surveys to each family tomorrow. We would love to hear from every family about what we can do to personalize and enhance your experience throughout the coming weeks.

Although this communication is about the remainder of this year, the Board and I are also thinking beyond the spring in terms of how we can support our families for the long run. Our commitment to preserving and fostering our engaged and vibrant community remains at the heart of every decision. We are deeply grateful to every teacher, parent, and student for embracing this time with such compassion, resilience, flexibility, and love and cannot thank you enough for your continued support, encouragement, and engagement.

With my sincere gratitude,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

In an effort to continue to keep everyone informed on developments that affect our school community, I am writing with a few updates.

First, we were happy to learn that the Mt. Bachelor ski instructor who had contact with our four lower school students last Friday has tested negative for COVID-19.

Second, in light of the governor's proclamation issued on Tuesday night that all Oregon schools remain closed until April 28, we have decided to extend our remote learning plan through April 28 as well. As such, the first possible date that we will return to campus will be Wednesday, April 29, and we will continue to re-evaluate this date as new information and recommendations unfold.

Right now, I can only imagine that, like me, you are trying to balance savoring spring break with your family, keeping up on world developments, and navigating the unknown. During these last few days I have found it helpful to ground myself by asking two questions, "What do I have control over right now, and what can I do to help others?"

As I think about these two questions in the context of our school community, I am focused on working with our exceptional teachers to design an innovative and personalized approach to education delivered in a new way. While we will no longer physically be connected on our campus, we remain focused on delivering a robust academic program while also facilitating the emotional support and social connection that our students need and deserve.

In the spirit of helping others, I want to be sure that you know that our public school district is providing free Grab and Go meals for those who may be facing food insecurity during this time. Complete details may be found here.

In addition, former Cascades Academy Director of Counseling, Dawn Betts, is hoping to return to Bend this spring after her school in Ghana closed recently due to the Coronavirus. She and her husband, Steve, are looking for a place to rent during April and May until their home becomes available again in June. If you or someone you know can be of assistance to them during this transitional time, please let me know, and I will connect you.

I will continue to send updates as they become known. Until then, I wish you all well!

Warmly,

Julie Amberg
Head of School

Dear Cascades Academy Families,

Last night, Governor Kate Brown announced that all schools in Oregon should close from March 16-31. While fortunately, this closure aligns with our spring break, at the same time, we think it's prudent to start thinking about our educational approach after the 31st. As such, we have decided to move to remote learning from Wednesday, April 1 through Friday, April 3. The earliest we will hold classes on campus is Monday, April 6, but we are also making plans assuming we may need to extend the remote learning period beyond April 3. We will continue to monitor ongoing developments and communicate any changes to this plan.

In addition, our Spring Break Camp (March 23-27) and No School Day Program (March 30) have been canceled. During spring break, our facilities team will proceed with a deep clean of the campus.

This decision was not made in response to specific cases of COVID-19 being present in our community. Cascades Academy has no reported or confirmed cases of students, faculty, staff, or administration with Coronavirus COVID-19 or who have had direct exposure to someone who has been diagnosed with Coronavirus COVID-19.

The situation in Oregon and around the world is evolving quickly, and we hope to know a lot more during the next few weeks. Please know that this is not a decision that we take lightly, as all of us at Cascades Academy know this will have an impact on your families. As educators and school leaders, our work is to focus on what is best for our students, faculty, staff, and community.

These are extraordinary times, and it is up to all of us to be proactive to protect the most vulnerable among us. The social distancing measures recommended by our health authorities include keeping children home as much as possible and not having them gathering in groups. While the virus does not as severely affect children, they are capable of spreading it to more vulnerable populations.

We have been preparing for the possibility of remote learning for the last couple of weeks, and we feel confident in our ability to deliver a modified, yet high-quality and age-appropriate educational experience remotely. Because we feel it's important for teachers to still have their spring vacation, we will use March 30-31 to fine-tune our remote learning lessons and be ready to engage with students beginning April 1.

During the remote learning period, you will receive regular email communications from us including information about schedules, course explanations, and expectations, including attendance procedures and guidelines for the student work environment. Cascades Academy administrators, faculty, and staff will be accessible through email; find their contact information on the Steelhead Connect directory.

Remote learning will look different at each grade level and require different technology needs. Content will be delivered via Steelhead Connect which requires an internet connection. At this point we anticipate the following:

• PK-3rd Grade: Parents will need to be able to login to Steelhead Connect to access content, activites, or assignments for their children periodically.
  
• 4th-5th Grade: Students will need access to a device for a portion of the day. If you do not have a device at home that your child can use, school Chromebooks will be available for checkout on Tuesday, March 31st for any 4th/5th grade student who needs one. Exact details re: checkout process and Steelhead Connect login information will be communicated on March 30.
  
• 6th-12th Grade: Students will continue to use their own laptops to access Steelhead Connect.

If you have any concerns about your ability to access content during the remote learning period, please contact Bernadette Shilliam.

Our top priorities during this time will be fostering continued student engagement and academic progress and maintaining a sense of community. I wish you all could witness how quickly our teachers have embraced this pivot to remote learning. We are lucky to already have so many technology tools in place, and I have the utmost confidence in both our teachers and our students to adapt and respond positively to this change.

In the midst of these challenges, I continue to be grateful to be a part of this community. I trust that every member of our community - students, faculty, staff, and parents/guardians - will work together, supporting each member of the Cascades Academy community and our larger Central Oregon community.

I will continue to keep you informed as we move forward. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Thank you for your continued support. I know at times it feels hard to think about much else beyond this unprecedented crisis, but I do wish you all a wonderful spring break and hope that you find time to get outside and have some quality time with your loved ones.

Sincerely,

Julie Amberg
Head of School