District News

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…

One of the biggest fundraising events at local schools is the school jog-a-ton. Students bring in pledges for the laps they run or walk. Memorial and Wascher elementary schools have both wrapped up their fall fun run fundraisers. At Memorial, more than 500 students ran and walked 10,424 laps, which is equal to 1,303 miles….

This month, the Oregon Department of Education released its annual State School Report Card with ratings for all schools. All McMinnville schools exceeded the state average in all subject areas, and almost all schools are rated above average on the state report cards. Buel and Grandhaven have also been named as model schools for earning…

This month, Buel Elementary School Principal Stephanie Legard joined distinguished principals of the year from every other state at the National Principal of the Year Conference in Washington, D.C.  She was recognized for leading student achievement gains at Buel, met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and shared educational best practices with her peers…

Every year, Duniway and Patton middle schools host assemblies to honor veterans and active service members. Each school’s event includes a slide show about the veterans who are in attendance, musical tributes by middle school and McMinnville High School students, and inspirational speeches by students. In addition to students and school staff, students’ families are…

Last week, Patton Middle School held its annual Veterans’ Day Assembly to honor veterans and active military personnel. This was the last annual assembly organized by Patton Middle School teacher Scott Phoenix, pictured above with Board Director Tim Roberts. Phoenix has overseen the assembly for 10 years. He is retiring at the end of this…