The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Ross Cristiano and Thomas Arends display their hand-crafted masks. Photo by Shawn Strannigan

While most students around the country were busy with reading, writing, and arithmetic last week, the kids at Sisters Middle School were engaged in more creative educational pursuits.

During "Interim Week," the sixth through eighth graders got to choose from a wide variety of courses, including knitting, acting, mountain biking, self-defense, international cooking and Japanese folk art.

Middle school principal Lora Nordquist introduced the concept of Interim Week several years ago. Her goal was to provide the students the opportunity to explore different subjects -- courses that would not typically be offered at school.

"It allows kids who might not shine with normal curriculum an opportunity to excel," said Nordquist.

Carole Williams, who is Nordquist's secretary, agreed.

"It's so great for the kids to get to try new things," said Williams. "And this might be the only time in their lives they get to experience these activities. And it's an introduction to things they might like to do later in life."

Cassidy Keeton learned the art of fly-tying during Interim Week -- and successfully put his craft to the test.

"I took the fly-tying class because I like fishing," said Keeton. "I learned how to tie flies and what their names are. We got to go fishing at Cascade Meadows Lake, and I used one of the flies I tied. I caught nine trout, and they were all pretty big.

"Only the teacher, Mr. DeKay, caught more fish than I did," added Keeton, who emphasized the fishing was catch-and-release.

Nancy Scharf taught a mask-making course, and the students let their imaginations run wild.

"I'm making an elephant mask," said sixth grader Thomas Arends. "I was just kind of thinking about Africa and I decided to make a giraffe. But then it evolved into an elephant. It's fun!"

Parents and other local folks also shared their time and expertise with the students. Karen Ellis, a Sisters artist who specializes in printmaking and illustrating, taught a course on making nature art.

"We did drawings and paintings from nature," said Ellis. "Then I had the students make sketchbook journals. We also did water color paintings with nature prints."

For the students who preferred more physical activities, there were several courses to choose from. Rock climbing was offered in the gymnasium, with Greg Garretson overseeing the activity.

It wasn't just the students who learned new skills last week. Jeri Weber, who volunteers her time at the middle school, came to help with the Stamping class.

"I wanted to learn about stamping, but got hooked on embossing and card making," said Weber. "We made some cute cards It was really easy -- and fun!"