There will be a drive-by celebration to honor graduates at Oak Ridge High School this afternoon (Tuesday, May 26).
The drive-by celebration is scheduled from 3 to 3:30 p.m. on Providence Road. It’s a student-led event, not an official school event.
There are some rules for the celebration:
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The winner of ORAU’s 2020 Extreme Classroom Makeover competition, Amy Buchanan from Union Grove Elementary School, was surprised at her house with the Extreme Classroom Makeover winner reveal. Her principal, Kristy Brewer, and fellow staff from Union Grove Elementary School joined in the celebration. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
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Amy Buchanan encourages students at Union Grove Elementary School to imagine a world of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) beyond the limitations of the classroom.
ORAU (Oak Ridge Associated Universities) wanted to help Buchanan and her students do more than imagine.
ORAU recently surprised Buchanan at her house with $25,000 for new classroom technology. This award will allow students to explore, touch, and see the STEM classroom they’ve only imagined.
ORAU chose Buchanan, who serves as the STEM teacher for all of Union Grove Elementary in Blount County, to be the recipient of this year’s Extreme Classroom Makeover competition. She was selected after a review of her submitted video, which demonstrated the rural school’s need for STEM resources. [Read more…]
Charlie the Curious Bear, the Children’s Museum mascot, clowns around with a helper at a past Children’s Museum Gala. (Submitted photo)
The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is inviting children to participate in its first coloring contest featuring the Museum’s mascot, Charlie the Curious Bear. Children from one-year-old toddlers through fourth graders are invited to submit entries by April 30.
Families may print the official coloring page from the Children’s Museum’s home page at https://www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org. Once the page has been colored and the form at the bottom of the page is completed, the original artwork may be mailed to the Children’s Museum at 461 W. Outer Dr., Oak Ridge, TN, 37830. Original artwork is preferred, but entries may also be scanned and emailed to newsy@childrensmuseumofoakridge.org.
A staff member who has been volunteering at the Oak Ridge Schools’ food distribution sites has tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Monday.
As a result, the Oak Ridge High School and Oak Ridge Schools Preschool buildings will be closed for the remainder of this week, Borchers said in a message to staff members on Monday afternoon.
If you have been receiving meals at Oak Ridge High School, the school system recommends going to Robertsville Middle School to pick up meals. If you have been receiving meals at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool, the school system recommends going to Glenwood Elementary School to pick up meals.Â
Read moreThe Oak Ridge Board of Education has a special called board meeting today (Thursday, April 16).
The special meeting will start at 2 p.m.
Agenda items include emergency closings, telework during emergencies, and a proposed draft resolution to suspend policies (this is related to COVID-19).
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Note: This story was last updated at 6:40 p.m.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has recommended that schools in the state remain closed through the end of the school year.
Lee announced the recommendation during a Wednesday afternoon press conference about the COVID-19 pandemic.
School districts will have the flexibility to carry out critical year-end activities and to start preparing for next year, the governor said.
Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said she appreciated the governor’s recommendation to keep schools closed through the end of the school year in order to protect the health and safety of all Tennesseans.
Schwinn said schools will open next year, and students will enter new grades.
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Note: This story was last updated at 2:55 p.m.
A staff member at Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge has tested positive for COVID-19. The case was reported to have been mild, and the employee has recovered, according to a letter sent to school staff members on Wednesday.
Staff members at the school were notified of the diagnosis on Wednesday morning.
“The individual reported having felt ill at the beginning of spring break, more than 14 days ago, and now reports to have completely recovered after a mild case of the virus,” the letter to staff said. “We have been told that the positive test results were actually reported to our colleague after recovery. We are unaware of anyone else who had contact with this staff member prior to diagnosis who has also shown symptoms by the time of this writing.”
The letter to staff was sent by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. He said the building maintenance staff has thoroughly cleaned the Glenwood Elementary School building as well as every other school and facility in the Oak Ridge system.
[Read more…]Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m.
Oak Ridge Schools will be closed through at least April 15, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Tuesday.
Students were scheduled to retun to school next week after a two-week spring break that ends Friday. But Tennessee Governor Bill Lee had asked all school districts to close through at least Tuesday, March 31. It’s not clear if that statewide closure will be extended.
In the meantime, Borchers said Oak Ridge Schools intends to use 10 days that it has stockpiled for snow and emergencies to extend its closure through at least Tuesday, April 14. That means the earliest that students will return is Wednesday, April 15.
[Read more…]Oak Ridge Schools and Aramark are offering free meals to students this week.
The meals are for Oak Ridge children under 18, a press release said. They will be “to go.”
Meals will be distributed at Glenwood Elementary School, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Preschool, and Robertsville Middle School. All pickup locations are at drop-off circles. Breakfast is from 8 to 9:30 a.m., and lunch is from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
[Read more…]Oak Ridge Schools are closing at the end of the day today (Monday, March 16) after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee asked all school districts in the state to close as soon as possible.
Oak Ridge school buildings will be closed, and there will be no extracurricular activities or practices.
The governor expects all schools to stay closed through at least Tuesday, March 31. Oak Ridge Schools are currently on spring break, and they could extend the break using 10 snow/emergency days. That means students might not return to school until Wednesday, April 15, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a recorded phone call to parents early Monday afternoon.
[Read more…]Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has asked all school districts in the state to close as soon as possible.
He expects all schools to close by Friday, March 20, at the latest.
It’s part of the state’s response to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.
“Schools should remain closed through March 31 to further mitigate the spread of this infectious disease, and we will issue further guidance prior to March 31,” Lee said in an announcement on Monday morning.
[Read more…]Anderson County Schools will be closed through the end of Spring Break on March 27, and extracurricular activities are being suspended. The Clinton Community Center will be closed through at least March 30.
The school system closure is to be cautious and to be in accordance with the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about social distancing, Anderson County Schools said.
The school system is closing its buildings to all outside organizations.
Teachers and staff members were expected to report to work on Monday, March 16 to begin preparing an alternative education plan for students.
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