District News

This week, Duniway and Patton middle schools held assemblies to honor the service of U.S. veterans. The annual Veterans Day events included musical performances by the school choirs and orchestras, and special appearances by the McMinnville High School Choir; speeches by Leadership students, slideshows that featured the service of family members and staff; and guest…

Students from Patton Middle School drama and McMinnville High School drama are working together in a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. William Shakespeare’s most popular comedy follows the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors, their interactions with fairies and a duke and duchess. This production, the first Shakespeare production at…

Students in Kathy Valach’s fifth grade class got creative with positivity messages today in honor of national Unity Day. Created to create a culture to prevent bullying, Unity Day is a way to build awareness about safe and supportive schools and communities by wearing the color orange. At Newby, students decided to use some craft…

Students from every school in the district will be profiled in the new school year’s campaign for the “Promise of Oregon.” The project’s production crew interviewed students about their future plans and aspirations and photographed them in various locations around their schools. The images will be used in a statewide campaign that focuses on the…

This morning, McMinnville Schools participated in the Great Oregon ShakeOut, a statewide earthquake drill for emergency preparedness. Every school in the district practiced the recommended action of “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” beginning at 10:19 a.m. and then emptied the building. Staff followed procedures on updating attendance, collecting parent emergency information, preparing for evacuation and…

At the October School Board meeting, the board declared October 15 through 21 to be “Hands & Words Are Not for Hurting” week by reading a formal proclamation. The campaign’s purple bear was on hand to welcome visitors to the meeting and, along with two Wascher students, to lead the audience in the pledge. Other…

Join students in the Grizzly Catering and ProStart programs for Fall Harvest Bistro Night on Friday, October 27 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the high school cafe. Featuring the gourmet cooking skills of the Culinary Arts Career Pathway students, the evening promises to be a spectacular dining experience. Cost per meal is $30 or…

This week, the U.S. Secretary of Education visited McMinnville High School (MHS) to tour classrooms, observe staff development and hear from staff and current and former students. Secretary Betsy DeVos said she came to McMinnville because she read a news article about high achievement in the district and wanted to see for herself what led…

McMinnville School District (MSD) will host U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday October 11. The Secretary requested a visit of McMinnville Schools to learn about the excellent instructional practices making a difference for students. Secretary DeVos is not scheduled to speak at the high school. She will enjoy a one-hour tour beginning at 2…

The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership (MEDP) honored the school district with the “Collaborators of the Year” recognition this week in the MEDP annual event and awards ceremony, “Forging the Economic Future.” Honorees included Superintendent Russell, McMinnville High School (MHS) principal Tony Vicknair, and McMinnville Robotics Alliance leaders and teachers Dave Larson (MHS/EASA) and Michelle Brantner…