McKenzie School District

2019-20 Student Life layout from the MRCS Yearbook

Pretty amazing! Northwest Community Credit Union donated $2,000 to our school, which will be used to support students during the holiday season. Thank you so much, Northwest Community Credit Union and Ryan Young, for this wonderful donation. #Mckenziestrong

We are happy to report the smoke damage clean up has been completed at our school. Thanks to BELFOR Property Restoration for undertaking the huge task of cleaning our site and for their work to repair damages from the Holiday Farm Fire.

Hello McKenzie River Community School Families, After much discussion, the McKenzie School Board voted to add additional days to the school year and shift the calendar. The move is meant to maximize the learning time disrupted by fall wildfires. The Holiday Farm Fire devastated our community and caused students to miss valuable distance learning time. The School Board voted to add six school days to the year, all of the new days landing on Fridays. They also adjusted the quarters because of the additional days. The first quarter will end on December 3, the second quarter on February 11, and the third quarter on April 22. The last day of school will be June 17. Graduation will not be affected and will remain on June 12. Distance learning has been challenging for all of us. We thank you for your continued support and flexibility as we work to make sure your children are getting all of the necessary instruction they need to be successful this year. We have attached a picture of our new schedule so your family can keep track of the changes.

Hello McKenzie River Community School Families, We wanted to alert you to a likely change in our school calendar. The Holiday Farm Fire has devastated our community and that’s why the McKenzie School District Board of Directors will vote on a revised schedule tomorrow. Each proposed option will add back at least six instructional days and shift the end of the quarters accordingly. The first quarter will now end on December 3 instead of November 5. The second quarter would end February 11 instead of January 28. The third quarter would end on April 22 instead of April 8. The end of the school year is a significant difference between the proposals. One would maintain the current end of the year, June 17. The other would add another week to the end of the year and close the year on June 24. Graduation would not be affected and remains scheduled for June 12. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we try to navigate during COVID and the Holiday Farm Fire. The education of your students remains our top priority. The Board will hold a Special Meeting this Thursday at 5:30 pm. You can find the agenda here: www.mckenziesd.org/o/mckenzie-school-district/page/district-board-upcoming-agenda

📚Thank you to SMART Reading for donating dozens of books for our students. Thanks to a fun and safe trunk or treat event this weekend at the McKenzie General Store & Obsidian Grill Restaurant,our students loaded up on these books. Remember to keep track of the books you are reading this year.

Hello McKenzie River Community School Families, about half of our student body has been accounted for through this survey, https://forms.gle/C1epCnHnTNPU7JFE7 . If you have not had a chance to fill this out yet, please do so. It will give us valuable information to help us plan to get you the educational and support services you need for your student(s) and children as we move forward through the end of the calendar year. McKenzie Schools plan on resuming food service through the McKenzie Cafeteria the week of November 16, 2020. If you would like to take advantage of school meals before then please fill out Springfield Public Schools meal form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeg2NxTV_DqyZ94ibzklT9epVBTL8Kj5SyQ6BD6x2p47s5ayQ/viewform Thank you and Go Eagles! #McKenzieStrong

MRCS middle/high school Music Yearbook layout

High school student life courtesy McKenzie Yearbook

2019-20 pictures and layouts courtesy of Yearbook staff

yearbook layouts of girls and boys bball

A huge thank you to Connected Lane County, CBT Nuggets, and SheerID for providing our students with 45 additional cellular wifi hotspots. We are lucky to have a wonderful community surrounding us to help our students continue their education during this difficult time.

If you or your family members are feeling stressed, anxious, or exhausted as a result of the Holiday Farm Fire, you are not alone. Here’s is a message from Mr. Tompkins. https://youtu.be/4rvROLeiOg8 The Oregon Department of Education has also put together this guide of additional mental health resources: https://www.mckenziesd.org/.../page/holiday-farm-fire-info #McKenziestrong

Hello McKenzie Families: We want to do what we can to help. We did not get many responses to this survey, please take a moment to fill it out. Thank you to all that responded already. This will help us get families the resources that are needed to help your student(s) be successful. We realize that some of the information is duplicative, we apologize and Thank You for your time. https://forms.gle/GWGiuniiaRfYX2Fu6

Congratulations to Elaine Bryson, who was appointed to the McKenzie School Board. We are so lucky to have her advocating for our students. Bryson was a past district employee and served as the Director of Programs/Grant Writer. She has been a member of this community for more than 25 years. As a parent of a McKenzie School District graduate, she says she feels she will be able to support the Board, Administration, staff, and our community during this unprecedented difficult time.

Hi Eagles! We are so proud of you during these challenging times. Here’s a message from Mr. Tompkins and our School Board Chair, Tim Halloran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=071BPUa27yc&t=3s

Hello McKenzie River Community School Families: Please take a moment to fill out this survey. It will help us get families the resources that are needed to help students be successful. We realize that some of the information is duplicative, we apologize and Thank You for your time. https://forms.gle/GWGiuniiaRfYX2Fu6

The time for tomorrow's opportunity to meet with the teaching staff at Guy Lee Elementary is 2-3:30 pm. Sorry for any confusion. The address is: 755 Harlow Rd, Springfield, OR 97477. We look forward to seeing you there!

Hello McKenzie Families, Well done last week kicking off the 2020-2021 school year! Although it looks much different that what we are used to, we did it! When staff went up river, it was great to see familiar faces and check in on the families we have had little to no contact with. It was also an opportunity to see first hand the state of the school and the community. It was a hard but rewarding day, thank you to all who were able to make it out. This is a friendly reminder that teaching staff will be at Guy Lee Elementary tomorrow, Tuesday, October 6, 2020 from 2-2:30 PM to meet with families that are currently in "town"(Eugene/Springfield/surrounding areas), on the down river side of the closure or that have not had a chance to meet with teaching staff yet. We look forward to seeing you there! #mckenziestrong

Hello McKenzie Families, We know this first week has had some bumps, you have once again shown your grit and resilience. Well done. This is a friendly reminder that teaching staff will be up river at the McKenzie Bridge Christian Church tomorrow, Friday, October 2, 2020. Staff will be available to meet from noon until at least 1:30 PM. A light lunch will be provided by Project Hope starting at noon. For our McKenzie Families currently in Springfield/Eugene or on the down river side of the pilot car area, stay tuned, there will be an opportunity for you to meet with teaching staff as well.