District News

Memorial Elementary’s after-school coding club visited last night’s School Board meeting to show members what they’re learning about computer programming. Principal Dan Sheppard introduced the club and teacher Karen Wenzel, who leads the group of second and third graders in the twice-weekly activity. The students demonstrated some of the activities they’re exploring like creating a…

Fifth grader Jackson Stein from Wascher and seventh grader Daphne Riddle from Duniway were named district champions at today’s spelling bee finals. The first place finishers qualify to compete in the county spelling bee. For the elementary division, Mykah Felty, fifth grader from Memorial, took second place; and Jameson Rickards, fourth grader from Newby, took…

The internationally acclaimed jazz vocal group New York Voices (NYV) visited McMinnville High School (MHS) to perform a show and host a clinic.  The clinic was offered to the Twilighters and Symphonic Choir members and included feedback and professional advice on performance techniques. The Grammy-winning foursome, Peter Eldridge, Darmon Meader, Kim Nazarian and Lauren Kinhan,…

McMinnville High School (MHS)’s new production is “12 Angry Jurors,” adapted from the timeless “12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose.  The story follows a 1954 homicide trial and the jury that must decide the fate of those involved. MHS drama director Bethany Mason has added a few twists to the classic: she opened the 12…

McMinnville High School senior Brian Barnes won the wrestling state championship in the 285-pound weight class, ending the season undefeated.  This is Brian’s third state wrestling championship. Brian pinned his opponent from Newberg at the 1:17 mark of the first period. Junior Michael Abeyta also finished with a medal, coming in second place in the…

McMinnville High School (MHS) senior Michael Martinoff won the regional English-Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition at Lewis and Clark College in Portland over the weekend.  He is the third straight winner from MHS. A student of MHS drama teacher Bethany Mason, Michael was also tutored by local acting coach Judith Miller (pictured). As the regional winner,…

The district calendar committee has presented two calendar options for the 2017-2018 school year. The final calendar will be adopted at the March School Board meeting. 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 here. The survey will…

Congratulations to McMinnville High School (MHS) teacher Krista Carpino (far right) and her culinary team that won first place this weekend in the 2017 ProStart® Culinary Championships! The students, (from left) Luis Garibaldo, Hanna Eby, Karissa Olsen, Kaylyn Clevenger and Devin Baldwin, competed on Sunday against 14 other schools across the state. The MHS team…

This week’s School Board meeting featured an interactive presentation of digital learning by Grandhaven students. Led by teachers Robin McClendon and Kathy Mika, students partnered with board members, district staff and some audience members to showcase some of the ways they are using technology to learn. First graders showed how they use digital storytelling on…

The Oregon Department of Education has released state-wide data on high school graduation rates, and McMinnville High School (MHS) has again improved its rates across the board. For the first time, all subgroups have outperformed the state averages by double-digits. McMinnville’s graduation rate rose just over two points to 86.85 percent, which is a little…