District News

McMinnville High School will open to the public on Wednesday, Oct. 2 for the community to tour the newly expanded facility. Tours will begin at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., the high school’s back to school night celebration, GrizzFest, begins, featuring music from the MHS band and vocal groups; performances by the Grizzly cheer and…

In the spring of 2019, state leaders passed HB 3427 known as the Student Success Act, which will increase revenue for K-12 schools. This winter, each Oregon school district will apply for funds from the Student Investment Account created by the Student Success Act. Applications will be available for additional funding in four key areas:…

A new afterschool club will launch next week at both middle schools. Linfield band director Seth Wollam, who joined the college last year to launch the school’s first marching band since before World War II, will oversee the new mariachi club, funded by grants from the Rutherford family and the Chehalem Cultural Center. The sessions, scheduled for…

The McMinnville School District (MSD) is providing space for a School-Based Health Center (SBHC), which will be located at 1500 NE Baker Street, the District Annex.  The center is expected to open in October 2019. The center is a partnership with Sunrise Medical Center, Yamhill County Public Health and Capitol Dental. The center is intended…

McMinnville School District’s three-part READY! for Kindergarten workshops are open for registration.  Sessions for all district families will be held at Buel Elementary on Thursdays, Oct. 17, Jan. 23, and April 23. Targeted to parents with children ages birth to five years old, the workshops are designed to help parent participants reinforce early learning skills needed…

The 2019-20 school year launched today with the annual Welcome Back event that celebrates past successes and charts a course for the year to come. This year’s program themes was “Come Fly with Us” and mixed motivation, inspiration and humor to showcase the idea that we can all work together to help students soar to…

The district’s 33 new licensed staff were formally introduced today at the beginning of orientation sessions.  School Board chair Larry Vollmer formally welcomed the new members of the staff and other board members were also on hand to greet them. Building administrators introduced each new staff member to the group, and Superintendent Maryalice Russell gave…

All incoming kindergartners are invited to participate in a “Transition Camp” at their home school.  The camp will kick off this year with a special session for parents in an effort to build strong partnerships for students between home and school. “We know that inviting new kindergartners to camp begins helps them transition to the…

The Oregon School Boards Association (OSBA) sent a reporter to feature the McMinnville School District’s freshman-sophomore math and science summer program. The program, created and led by McMinnville High School teachers, gives students a chance to focus on the curriculum areas they struggled with during the school year. The four-week session offers students a chance…

Anna Pearl Johnson graduated from Mac High in 2018.  After a year of college out of state, she’s back for the summer and helping the pilot Career Bound employment program launched this year by the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP). The Career Bound program matches new graduates with full-time summer jobs that could lead to…