The School Board had some big news on Tuesday, May 14, including saying goodbye to a School Board member, announcing three open Student Rep positions, approving the Academic Calendar for 2024-25, formally accepting community donations, and so much more.
A Farewell
School Board Director Renee Powell, Zone 5, resigned on Tuesday, May 14. The Zone 5 Director position is now open for someone to complete the remaining year of her term. Applicants must live in Zone 5, the Edwards area, be a registered voter, and meet other requirements as described in policy (BBE). Applications are due by June 5. Interviews will be held at the June 11 School Board meeting. To apply, send a letter to the School District Office: 714 E. Sixth St., Newberg, OR 97132.
Student Rep Positions
The School Board bid farewell to its current three Student Reps: Tricia Seto, Esther Muthiah, and Fred Sutherland, all of whom are graduating from Newberg High School this June.
There is a call for applications for three open Student Representative positions on the School Board for 2024-25:
- To apply, complete the online form by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5.
- Interviews will be held at the School Board meeting on June 11.
- Those who are chosen will serve until June 30, 2025.
- Anyone with questions about the application may contact Board Secretary Tabitha Renne at [email protected] or 503-554-5041.
The Calendar
The School Board approved the Academic Calendar for the 2024-25 year. All of the dates are below, and the calendar is also included in this story as a photo and as a PDF file below. Now that the calendar has been approved, it is being translated into Spanish.
- First Day of School:
- September 3 (K-5, 6th, 9th grades, Catalyst, SAIL)
- September 4 (7th/8th, 10th-12th grades)
- Last Day of School: June 12 (Half Day)
- Trimesters Ending Dates:
- Trimester 1: December 5
- Trimester 2: March 13
- Trimester 3: June 12
- December 23 to Jan 3: Winter Break (no classes)
- March 24 to 28: Spring Break (no classes)
- June 12: Last Day of School (Half Day)
Start Times: (M, T, TH, F):
- Elementary: 7:40 a.m.
- Middle: 8:25 a.m.
- NHS: 8:15 a.m.
- Catalyst: 9:00 a.m.
- Wednesday: Add one hour to start times
Donations
The community continues to be generous, and the School Board approved accepting three donations:
- Newberg Education Foundation: $650 for state testing perks for students
- Newberg Afternoon Rotary: $900 for Catalyst Senior Awards Night and other celebrations for Catalyst seniors
- Anonymous: $500 for Catalyst Alternative High School Guitar Class
Out-of-State Travel Approved for Our Champions
The School Board approved the out-of-state travel request for the NHS trapshooting team, which is heading to the National Championship from July 10 to 16. Congratulations, NHS!
Bond Update
The School Board got an update from Casey Cunningham, the Senior Manager of Cornerstone Management Group, which has led the bond-funded construction and upgrades. He was proud to say that his team had laid the asphalt and installed the signs at the new Dundee Elementary School project site. With the remaining bond funds, he plans to do projects over the summer, including fixing the roof at Newberg High School.
Fees
There are now fees for families that choose to send their child to another district but want to take a class in Newberg-Dundee. This decision is at the discretion of the Superintendent. A high school class for a trimester is $750 and an MS class for a trimester is $625.
Notes and Comments
During the final part of the meeting, the whole board and the Superintendent offer comments and notes about events or highlights. Superintendent Stephen W. Phillips read his fantastic overview (created with Athletic Director Mark Brown’s help) of the amazing achievements of local students:
- NHS Choir was League Champions and placed 11th in State.
- NHS Band qualified and competed at State.
- NHS students Jonathan Rapp and Graley Sanders both qualified for the State Solo Contest (both on violin).
- The NHS Musical Theater Class just finished the production of “The Drowsy Chaperone, Jr.” this past weekend and are now preparing for the Tournament of Plays, which is a competition between each grade level. The tournament will run May 23-25.
- Boys Golf qualified for State as a team. Adele Gregory qualified for the Girls Golf State Tournament as an individual.
- Boys Lacrosse are Conference Champions for the second year in a row. They will start state playoffs this Friday (May 17).
- Boys & Girls Tennis compete in the District Tournament this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (May 16, 17, and 18).
- Softball will make the playoffs, which will begin next week (week of May 20).
- Track & Field: We had five District Champions:
- Girls 4x100m Relay team of Gracie Hess, Sophia Castaneda, Tenley Pothoff, and Natalie Wall.
- Sophia Castaneda in the 200m and 400m.
- Esther Muthiah in the 100m Hurdles.
- Dax Duggan in the 300m Hurdles.
- Gabe Bondurant in the High Jump.
- Additionally, these student-athletes finished second at District and automatically qualified for the state meet as well:
- Esther Muthiah in the 300m Hurdles.
- Sophia Carpenter in the High Jump.
- Gracen Sandoz in the Javelin.
- Isaac Hankel in the Pole Vault.
- Ben Bondurant in the High Jump.
- Caleb Lofdahl qualified as a wildcard in Pole Vault.
- Also, congratulations to Gabe Bondurant on being named the Male Field Athlete of the Year and to Sophia Castaneda on being named the Female Track Athlete of the Year!
- Our Girls team was named Pacific Conference Dual Meet Champions.