Remember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” A guest speaker at some Pendleton schools on December 13th used that concept for his message to students. Brooks Gibbs is a resilience educator with a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. At an assembly at Sunridge Middle School, he spoke to all the students in the school about taking personal responsibility for how they feel and how to protect their emotions from the effects of mean or aggressive behaviors through emotional resilience.
In an example with a student volunteer, Gibbs had the student pretend to be mean to him. In the first scenario, Gibbs got very angry and upset about the comments. In the second scenario, instead, he was calm and kind and treated the person like a friend. “The more upset you get, the more you are giving them power and playing their game in losing mode,” Gibbs explained.
He went on to say that when people are using mean and negative words toward you, you can choose not to get upset and that nobody can hurt your feelings without you giving them permission. He teaches students two basic principles when dealing with aggression:
- Don’t get upset (Emotional Resilience)
- Treat them like a friend (The Golden Rule)
Seventh grader Kale said he learned that getting more frustrated will end up making the person have more fun, and staying calm can help in an aggressive situation. Kenzie, another seventh grader, said her takeaway from the assembly was to always be nice and kind to other people.
Gibbs said physical violence does require adult intervention and encourages students to seek help if they feel they are in danger or cannot handle the aggression on their own.
Piper Kelm, Principal at Sunridge Middle School, said increasing emotional resilience in middle school students is a perfect fit because, since the COVID pandemic, a lagging skill in many young people is the ability to self-regulate and adjust to adversity in their lives. “Any tools and strategies we can help provide to our students benefit them and our school climate,” Kelm said.
In addition to visiting SMS, Gibbs presented at Washington Elementary, Pendleton High School, and Nixyaawii Community School. The presentations were funded through Title XI funds in the Pendleton School District.
Gibbs is a popular youth speaker who has been hired by more than 3,000 schools to present his message to students, parents, and educators. For more information about him and his program, visit www.brooksgibbs.com.

Guest Speaker Promotes Emotional Resilience at SMS
/in District Site News, Sunridge News /by rthornburgRemember the saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me?” A guest speaker at some Pendleton schools on December 13th used that concept for his message to students. Brooks Gibbs is a resilience educator with a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. At an assembly at Sunridge Middle School, he spoke to all the students in the school about taking personal responsibility for how they feel and how to protect their emotions from the effects of mean or aggressive behaviors through emotional resilience.
In an example with a student volunteer, Gibbs had the student pretend to be mean to him. In the first scenario, Gibbs got very angry and upset about the comments. In the second scenario, instead, he was calm and kind and treated the person like a friend. “The more upset you get, the more you are giving them power and playing their game in losing mode,” Gibbs explained.
He went on to say that when people are using mean and negative words toward you, you can choose not to get upset and that nobody can hurt your feelings without you giving them permission. He teaches students two basic principles when dealing with aggression:
Seventh grader Kale said he learned that getting more frustrated will end up making the person have more fun, and staying calm can help in an aggressive situation. Kenzie, another seventh grader, said her takeaway from the assembly was to always be nice and kind to other people.
Gibbs said physical violence does require adult intervention and encourages students to seek help if they feel they are in danger or cannot handle the aggression on their own.
Piper Kelm, Principal at Sunridge Middle School, said increasing emotional resilience in middle school students is a perfect fit because, since the COVID pandemic, a lagging skill in many young people is the ability to self-regulate and adjust to adversity in their lives. “Any tools and strategies we can help provide to our students benefit them and our school climate,” Kelm said.
In addition to visiting SMS, Gibbs presented at Washington Elementary, Pendleton High School, and Nixyaawii Community School. The presentations were funded through Title XI funds in the Pendleton School District.
Gibbs is a popular youth speaker who has been hired by more than 3,000 schools to present his message to students, parents, and educators. For more information about him and his program, visit www.brooksgibbs.com.
Forest Service Visits 4th Grade at Washington Elementary
/in District Site News, Washington School News /by rthornburgFourth Graders Enjoy Visit from U.S. Forest Service
Washington Elementary School’s fourth grade students learned about the U.S. Forest Service and had a special guest in their classrooms on December 8, 2023. Two Northwest Youth Corps interns, Bailey Langley and Fabian Spencer, visited the school and talked about the U.S. Forest Service and the Umatilla National Forest.
The two were there to promote the Every Kid Outdoors program, which provides free access to national forests to every fourth grader in the United States.
First, Langley and Spencer talked about where the Umatilla National Forest in eastern Oregon is and asked students what they could do when visiting the forest. Answers ranged from camping, playing, and fishing to making tree forts and taking a sleigh ride.
Students then participated in a group activity about the ten essentials a person should carry in their backpack when exploring a forest. Through a group effort, the students decided which items were most important, things like a flashlight, matches, map and compass, clothing, and food. They were correct in choosing eight of the ten crucial items, which Spencer said was really good.
Langley then read the students the true story of Smokey Bear, the bear cub rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico in 1950. And then the real Smokey Bear walked into the classroom to the delight of the students! After some high-fives and a couple of photos, Smokey left to get back to his important forest work.
Washington Elementary fourth grade teachers thank the Umatilla National Forest for visiting and leading the lesson.
PHS Leadership Organizes Canned Food Drive
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgDistrict Food Drive Aims High to Help Community
All schools in the Pendleton School District worked hard for their community this holiday season through the district-wide Annual Food Drive. Organized by Leadership Class students at Pendleton High School, this annual effort collects non-perishable food items from schools across the district.
According to Lea, PHS Senior and Chair of the Food Drive Committee, the goal of this year’s drive is to collect more than 2,000 food items. At the high school, students have donated food items in their Advisory class, and leadership students have kept track of which class has given the most. There are two categories that can win prizes.
PHS students recently traveled to the other schools in the district to pick up those donations.
Lea said the drive has gone well. “I like that this project helps people in our community, and I like being part of that. I also think students feel good when they can help someone less fortunate,” she said.
PHS brought in more than 2,800 cans of food. The expected total for the Food Drive is more than 8,000 cans. The food will be given to St. Mary’s Outreach and Salvation Army in Pendleton.
PHS Adopts-A-Family
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgPHS Groups & Teams Work Together for Christmas Cheer
A number of children in the Pendleton community will have some gifts under their Christmas tree this year thanks to the Salvation Army and Pendleton High School students and staff. Each year, PHS student groups, sports teams, and some staff groups participate in the Adopt-a-Family project at the school.
Here’s how it works: PHS student clubs, sports teams, and staff groups let the PHS Leadership Class know they would like to participate and tell them how many children they would like to “adopt” for the holiday. PHS Leadership gets tags from the Salvation Army with wishes from children about what they want/need for Christmas, then passes those along. The groups go shopping and purchase items like clothes, shoes, toys, games, etc. for the children.
“It’s so much fun and rewarding to help out people in our community and give back during the holidays,” said Ellie, PHS Senior and Chair of Adopt-a-Family.
This year, more than 10 PHS groups are participating, including the Culture Club, National Honor Society, Hispanic/Latino Club, Girls’ Basketball, Boys’ Basketball, Girls’ Tennis, PHS Leadership and more. PHS Leadership collects all of the gifts and takes them to the Salvation Army, which distributes them.
“I just hope that people realize they can give back in many ways and anywhere, even in high school,” Ellie said.
New Faces in Pendleton SD – Hailey Kendrick
/in District Site News, Sherwood School News /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
New Faces in Pendleton SD – Trisha Bunker
/in District Site News, Washington School News /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
New Faces in Pendleton SD – Zoe Jones
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
4th Graders Learn About Veterans Day at Sherwood Elementary
/in District Site News, Sherwood School News /by rthornburgSome fourth graders at Sherwood Elementary spent some time in November learning about Veterans Day. In teacher Hailey Kendrick’s class, student groups were assigned a piece of reading on a branch of the U.S. Military. After reading the information and identifying the main idea and supporting details of the text, students had the opportunity to share their learning with each other by presenting the information they learned as a group.
Kendrick said students enjoyed learning about the different branches of the military and that while some were familiar with a few of the branches, almost all were excited about learning something new. “Additionally, many students were proud to share about family members and important people in their lives who are Veterans. They were able to feel a deeper connection and admiration for them through learning more about how they served our country,” Kendrick said.
Then, the students completed a craft honoring the American flag. Kendrick said the students really liked learning more about the American flag and its history and persevering through a fun yet challenging art project depicting the flag.
What does Kendrick hope her fourth graders take away from the Veterans Day lessons? “I hope students have an even deeper sense of respect for the people who serve our country and protect the freedoms we enjoy every single day. I also hope they are walking away with an understanding that the American flag is a figure that represents these freedoms and liberties, which is why we do certain things like standing for the national anthem, taking hats off when the American flag enters an arena or stadium and saluting the flag if they are comfortable,” she said.
Jacey Dirisu, another fourth grade teacher at Sherwood, also worked with her students to explore Veterans Day. Her students read an informational passage about one of the six military branches of their choosing (they worked on the U.S. Army as a whole class, for example) and then identified the main idea and supporting details from the text. After that, groups made a poster to represent what they learned and gave a mini-presentation to the rest of the class.
Dirisu said her students mainly loved making the posters because they were able to use their creativity and teamwork skills and that most of them put a lot of effort into this project.
What is one thing Dirisu hopes her students take away from this project? “I hope my students took away from this activity how important each branch of the military is in keeping our country safe.”
November is National Native American Heritage Month
/in News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgNew Faces in Pendleton SD – Beckylyn Jenco-Bellando
/in District Site News, Early Learning Center News /by rthornburgThe Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.