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Sunridge Middle School Counselors Put Students First

Navigating a global pandemic is difficult. Navigating middle school is difficult. Try doing both at once. Some days, it’s just not easy.

For those days, Sunridge Middle School students have three amazing adults to support them at school – Rick Scheibner, Brandy Dougherty, and Matt Rediger. On a recent Wednesday in the Counseling Office, these three counselors were busy connecting with students and talking about the resources and tools they are using to make a difference.

Dougherty is the counselor for this year’s seventh graders. All the counselors follow the class as they progress through SMS. For example, last year, her students were 6th graders, this year seventh-graders, and next school year eighth graders. Dougherty is excited about a new program SMS adopted in November called B.I.O.N.I.C. (Believe It Or Not I Care), which seeks to help students and/or staff members dealing with challenging life issues. The national program’s mission “creates more caring schools, organizations, and communities that support, encourage, and connect those facing challenging times” (https://www.bionicteam.org/).

The concept of B.I.O.N.I.C. is for fellow students in the school to be trained to serve on different teams and to support their peers. The New Student Team connects new students with ambassadors to help transition new students for the first few days they are at Sunridge. The Loss Team reaches out to students who have a significant family member who has passed away. The Extended Illness Team and the Hospitalization Team support students who have serious illnesses or surgeries. The Bully Prevention Team implements school-wide practices to prevent and reduce bullying behaviors.

Dougherty said it has been great to have students join teams and help others. “B.I.O.N.I.C. is a great leadership opportunity and a great fit for naturally caring students who embrace the idea of connection and support for fellow students,” Dougherty said.

Aly, an eighth-grader at SMS, is a B.I.O.N.I.C. participant and team leader who said she joined because she likes helping people. “I like how our team all works together and how our different personalities can do our best together,” Aly said.

Rick Scheibner works with the current sixth grade class. He points out that these students have not been together for an entire school year since before they were fourth-graders. Another SMS program called Character Strong is a tool counselors use school-wide. During third period Advisory once a week, all SMS teachers present a Character Strong lesson to their students. Topics include building community, building and applying listening skills, understanding emotions, and conflict resolution. While some of the struggles students are experiencing right now may be exacerbated by the long span of online learning and adjusting last fall to in-person school, Scheibner said much of what he discusses with students are normal stages of development — changing friendships, maturing at different rates and emotional ups and downs. “Together with students, we normalize the fact that they are experiencing different emotions from last year to this year and work on perseverance and tenacity,” he said.

The eighth-grade class counselor is Matt Rediger, who says students he works with are doing pretty well and are very happy to be with peers and friends in person at school. Despite increased anxiety for some students last fall, students are just really thankful not to be in distance learning. Rediger said he appreciates the B.I.O.N.I.C. and Character Strong programs because they focus on being proactive about social-emotional health and improving the overall school climate at SMS. “Being more intentional and less reactive and involving students in the work of creating positive school culture is really exciting,” Rediger said.

Character Strong SMS
Character Strong SMS

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Upcoming Events

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  • District Wide
  • Early Learning Center
  • Hawthorne High School
  • McKay Elementary School
  • Pendleton High School
  • Sherwood Elementary School
  • Sunridge Middle School
  • Washington Elementary School
  • Pvla
  • June 2025

Calendar of Events

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

S Sun

1 event, 26

2025-05-26

No School – Holiday

No School – Holiday

May 26

No School – Holiday

No school due to Memorial Day observed.

1 event, 27

2025-05-27

Art Show

Art Show

May 27 @ 8:00 am - May 29 @ 5:00 pm

Art Show

Pendleton School District Art Show at the Pendleton Convention Center. Evening only on 5/27/25.

3 events, 28

2025-05-27

Art Show

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

HAHS Graduation

May 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

HAHS Graduation

Hawthorne Alternative High School Graduation @ Hawthorne

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Scholarship Night

May 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Scholarship Night

Scholarship Night is by invitation only in the auditorium.

3 events, 29

2025-05-27

Art Show

2025-05-29

Seniors Last Day

Seniors Last Day

May 29

Seniors Last Day

Congratulations Class of 2025!

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Baccalaureate

May 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Baccalaureate

Baccalaureate in PHS Auditorium

0 events, 30

0 events, 31

1 event, 1

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

PHS Graduation

June 1 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

PHS Graduation

Congratulations, Class of 2025!  Graduation will be held in the Round-Up arena on Sunday, June 1, 2025.  More details to come.

1 event, 2

2025-06-02

1 Hour Late Start

1 Hour Late Start

Event Series
June 2 Event Series

1 Hour Late Start

2 events, 3

8:00 am - 9:00 am Event Series

Board Work Session

June 3 @ 8:00 am - 9:00 am Event Series

Board Work Session

Meets in the District Office boardroom

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

5th Grade Track Meet

June 3 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

5th Grade Track Meet

1 event, 4

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

4th Grade Track Meet

June 4 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

4th Grade Track Meet

1 event, 5

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

3rd Grade Track Meet

June 5 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

3rd Grade Track Meet

2 events, 6

2025-06-06

School Ends

School Ends

June 6

School Ends

2 hour early release.  Last day of school in the 2024-25 school year.  Enjoy summer!

2025-06-06

End of 2nd Semester

End of 2nd Semester

June 6

End of 2nd Semester

0 events, 7

0 events, 8

2 events, 9

2025-06-09

In-Service

In-Service

June 9

In-Service

No school.  Staff in-service today.

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Event Series

Regular Board Meeting

June 9 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Event Series

Regular Board Meeting

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0 events, 11

0 events, 12

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0 events, 14

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0 events, 28

0 events, 29

0 events, 30

0 events, 1

0 events, 2

0 events, 3

0 events, 4

0 events, 5

0 events, 6

May 26
All day

No School – Holiday

May 27
May 27 @ 8:00 am - May 29 @ 5:00 pm

Art Show

May 27
May 27 @ 8:00 am - May 29 @ 5:00 pm

Art Show

May 28 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

HAHS Graduation

May 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Scholarship Night

May 27
May 27 @ 8:00 am - May 29 @ 5:00 pm

Art Show

All day

Seniors Last Day

May 29 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Baccalaureate

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
June 1
June 1 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

PHS Graduation

June 2
All day Event Series

1 Hour Late Start

June 3
June 3 @ 8:00 am - 9:00 am Event Series

Board Work Session

June 3 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

5th Grade Track Meet

June 4
June 4 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

4th Grade Track Meet

June 5
June 5 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

3rd Grade Track Meet

June 9
June 9 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Event Series

Regular Board Meeting

June 5
June 5 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

3rd Grade Track Meet

June 6
All day

School Ends

All day

End of 2nd Semester

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
June 9
All day

In-Service

June 9 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm Event Series

Regular Board Meeting

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View Calendar
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Pendleton School District
107 NW 10th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone:  541.276.6711  Fax:  541.278.3208

The Pendleton School District assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or income as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related authorities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any Pendleton School District sponsored program or activity.

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