District News

March 5 – 9 is Classified Employee Appreciation Week. The week celebrates and honors the dedicated support staff who serve our students, schools and district. Classified employees are the secretaries, food service workers, educational assistants, custodians, maintenance workers and others who provide critical services to keep the schools and district operating smoothly. On February 12,…

Teresa Denney, Tech TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) for the McMinnville School District, is leading a new initiative at Duniway to give students a real-world intern experience. Dubbed the “tech interns,” sixth-grade students Carter Gibson, Mary McKeegan and Caden Stephens spend seventh period every day working on computer repairs and gathering news for the school…

McMinnville High School is proud to present the spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors. The show is a horror/comedy musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a unfortunate florist shop assistant who raises a plant which feeds on human blood and flesh. The meek flower shop assistant Seymour (played by Noah Miller) pines for co-worker Audrey (played by Anna…

The district calendar committee has presented two calendar options for the 2018-2019 school year. The final calendar will be adopted at the next School Board business meeting on March 12. The committee would like input on which option is preferred. Parents and district employees are invited to participate in a short online survey by clicking…

At last night’s business meeting, the School Board accepted a check for the newly launched “United for Classrooms” initiative. A project of the United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley, the initiative will fund $200 per elementary classroom in the McMinnville School District to help teachers support student needs. The initiative is intended to address the…

The community is invited to hear about the upcoming construction plan for McMinnville High School. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 8 at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Construction for new and reconfigured instructional space at the high school will begin this Spring and conclude in Fall 2019. The plan is part…

On Tuesday, February 13 from 2:45 to 7 p.m., the Toothtastic Vax-A-Palooza will take place at Duniway Middle School. The wellness event includes dental and vaccination screenings and is open to K-8 students in Yamhill County. The event is a partnership among Physicians’ Medical Center, Virginia Garcia McMinnville, West Hills Healthcare, Yamhill County Public Health,…

Three McMinnville High School students earned top honors in the regional round of the national Scholastic Art Awards. Out of nearly 10,000 submissions, seniors Meg Murray, Aaron Dobkins and Gerardo Ceja won Gold Key designations, which will advance each entry into the national competition in New York City later this spring. Murray won the Sculptural…

The McMinnville High School Symphonic Choir and director Robin Pederson were honored during their appearance at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration last weekend. The group was recognized with Yolanda D. King Award for their contribution to the arts. The choir’s performance was part of the “Drum Major Celebration,” which is named from a…

JoAnne Myers, a longtime staff member at Wascher, was honored as regional Volunteer of the Year by the Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) program this week. Myers was surprised with flowers and a framed certificate by SMART staff during a break during a weekly reading session with Wascher kindergartners. Part of a new delivery…