District News

After interning for the Willamette Valley Medical Center (WVMC), Nancy Suarez has changed her career goals. “I want to become a doctor,” said the recent McMinnville High School (MHS) grad.  “Maybe in the ER because I like the urgency, the rush.” The internship program is part of a partnership between the high school and the…

At last night’s business meeting, the School Board issued a proclamation declaring September “Be College Ready” month in McMinnville and Lafayette schools. The McMinnville School District is one of five districts across the state selected to pilot a new program to help families start planning for college.  “Be College Ready” kicks off in September 2015…

Chris Szedlak, owner of Concrete Solutions, Inc., hasn’t had many high school students working for him through the years.  Now he has two. “I’m happy to see kids out here working,” says Szedlak.  “A lot of people don’t want to do physical work anymore. “But I think it’s great that kids are getting trained in…

For students going through McMinnville High School’s (MHS) Early Childhood Education career pathway, understanding how young children develop is the first step. “Learning about the overall development stages really helps,” said Katy Parr, a rising MHS senior.  “Like learning how to calm them down when they’re angry.” Parr and Melissa Llanes, a rising junior at…

Oregon GEAR UP – which stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs – is supported by a six-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education and the contributions of many community partners.  The goal of the GEAR UP program is to ensure that Oregon’s low-income middle school and high school students are…

This summer, Buel Principal Stephanie Legard was named Oregon Elementary School Principal of the Year for 2014 by the Oregon Elementary School Principals Association and the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators. That honor was followed by a second distinction when she was named one of the National Distinguished Principals of the Year by the National…

MHS 2010 graduate Alyssa Hasslen was recently featured on the National College Athletics Association website for her academic and athletic accomplishments at University of Arizona.  She is currently training to compete in shot put in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and aspires to work for Nike.  Read the whole article.

MHS teachers/instructional coaches, Kelly Shipley (left), Pam Canady (pictured, right) and Jared Larson presented a workshop at the national conference of the Math/Science Partnership Program in Washington D.C. this week. The presentation was focused on the MHS ninth-grade science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) project, which promotes the natural connectedness of biology and algebra. Specifically,…

Read about this program and see more photos on the Neuroscience Outreach Group website: NW Noggin heads to McMinnville! Eighth-grade Patton Middle School students, in partnership with NOGGIN (Neuroscience Outreach Group Growing in Networks), were able to combine their study of the text Flowers for Algernon with an exploration of real human brains. Students were introduced to…

Bruin newspaper senior Haley Swinth’s photo is a national finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association’s [NSPA] Picture of the Year. Haley is the Managing Editor of McMinnville High School’s newspaper, The Bruin, this year. She plans on pursuing a media degree from the University of Oregon next year. The national winners will be announced…