District News

Five McMinnville High School (MHS) students earned honors in the state competition for the Scholastic Art Awards.  Across the state, 2,604 students entered 7,007 individual pieces of art and 270 portfolios. Seniors Keelie Grasley and Carly Szedlak won Gold Key recognition for their work (see below) and will advance to the national competition in New…

January is School Board Appreciation Month. Thank you, School Board members Carson Benner, Janis Braich (pictured), Barbara Carter, Paul Haddeland, Gerardo Partida, Tim Roberts and Larry Vollmer for your service and dedication to the McMinnville School District! Superintendent Maryalice Russell read a formal proclamation into the record and noted that board members serve in a…

Paige Lomas, third grade teacher at Columbus Elementary, today launched a new session of Success Now called “Web Writers.”  Targeted to third-fifth graders, the after-school session is designed to develop informative writing skills among the more than 20 students who signed up. With a special news feed on the Columbus website, the students will publish…

Students at Grandhaven and Wascher elementary schools will have the opportunity to spend time with children’s advocate and award-winning author Trudy Ludwig. Ludwig will lead two student assemblies,  broken out by age group, at each school. She will read one of her books to the audience and discuss the story and the characters’ roles. Through engaging,…

The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast-paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like “Snow White,” “Cinderella” and “Hansel and Gretel” to more bizarre, obscure stories like “The Devil’s Grandmother” and “The Girl Without Hands.” The…

McMinnville High School junior Colton Nielsen today wrapped up a fundraiser for the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The synagogue was the site of a horrific mass shooting on October 27, 2018. While some students wrote letters of condolence to Tree of Life congregants, Colton decided to do more. Every morning for the…

Seven musicians from Patton and eight from Duniway middle schools have been selected to participate in the Oregon Music Educators Association District 14 Honor Band and Honor Choir.  Patton’s music director is Joseph Demianew and Duniway’s is Marc Dana. In January, the students will travel to West Linn to rehearse with 8th graders from schools…

The McMinnnville High School (MHS) will launch its first-ever Holiday Bazaar to highlight the skills being developed in the Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. The bazaar will run from Monday, Dec. 10 through Wednesday, Dec. 12 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the new Career Technical Center and the MHS main entrance. All items at…

The annual Santa Claus Project, spearheaded by McMinnville’s Noon Rotary, took place on Friday, December 7.  Six students from every elementary school in the district were chosen to participate in a holiday shopping trip for clothes, toys and gifts for their families. Each student brought along a shopping list, including sizes for shoes and clothing….

Expanded after-school clubs and enrichment programs launched this fall as part of a recently awarded $2.4 million five-year grant. The first lineup of elementary sessions wraps up Thursday, Dec. 6, and the second lineup begins in January.   The first sessions for middle and high schools run through Thursday, Jan. 30, 2019. The next sessions will…