Herbicide Notice

PSD Facilities anticipate putting down an herbicide treatment across the district grounds the week of March 24-28, 2025, weather dependent.

First Student

First Student Safety Stand-Down Week

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First Student, LLC., the transportation company Pendleton School District contracts with to bus students, is increasing its focus on safety with a Safety Stand-Down Week from October 25-31. This is a special event in which company leaders pause to talk directly to employees about safety and provide education and training on specific safety topics.

According to materials from First Student, the company is having the event because “we have a responsibility to learn from recent safety incidents and ensure they do not happen again by reinforcing fundamental safety principles.”

Stand-Down Week will focus on three key areas: Manage Distractions, Focus on the Task at Hand, and Apply Your Training. Some of the safety practices being re-emphasized for bus drivers are:

  • Perform one task at a time
  • Maintain situational awareness
  • Stop and restart if you miss a step
  • If you are late, stay late
  • Properly adjust your seat & mirrors
  • Look left, look right, look left

According to Patrick Phillips, Location Manager for First Student, the Pendleton location employees will be able to sign Safety Pledges, watch reminder videos, and get daily reminder posts during the event. First Student will also be running special safety radio messages. “The Safety Stand-Down is an opportunity for our company to reiterate to employees to get back to the basics of safety,” Phillips said.

Matt Yoshioka, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Pendleton School District, said the district is pleased that First Student has organized Stand-Down Week to re-focus on safety. “Student safety while being transported to and from school is a top priority for First Student and our district, just as keeping students safe at school is,” Yoshioka said.

First Student

3rd Grade Animal Adaptation Project at McKay Elementary

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Third graders in Noele Mead’s classroom at McKay Creek Elementary recently worked on a project combining reading, writing, and a little bit of science. The students had to choose an animal to read about and research and then write about the animal.

On the wall outside Mead’s classroom are the resulting reports created by her students, with animals ranging from a koala to a Gila Monster to ocean creatures.

Third grader Gwen said she read and wrote about the Blue Marlin, one of the largest, fastest, and most recognizable fish in the world due to the long bill that grows from the front of its head. Gwen said she chose the marlin because her teacher said to pick an animal, probably nobody else would, so she searched in the fish category. Gwen discovered a Blue Marlin could weigh over 1,800 pounds and live in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans.

A main part of the assignment was to research adaptations of the animal you chose. Andrew, a third grader, said, “An adaptation is one of their special body parts that helps them survive.”

The sharp, spear-like nose on the Blue Marlin is an adaptation that helps it catch its prey, and it’s also a very fast swimmer, Gwen said.

Andrew chose to report on the King Cobra since he likes snakes. He said he learned that the hood of the snake, an expansion of their neck skin, makes it look threatening, and the snake’s bite can kill an elephant. It lives in forests and deserts and eats rats, squirrels, and frogs. The King Cobra’s adaptation is its threatening hood, and one type of cobra can spit venom into a predator’s eyes.

Both students explained that after reading about their animals, they completed pre-writes of their report, which their teacher reviewed and edited to be ready for publishing. Mead, their teacher, said the process of reading a variety of information, in addition to incorporating what they already know, helps them determine the most important items to include in the report. “This is a skill students need to develop that will help them be successful for future third grade lessons, but also as they progress through school,” Mead said.

In addition to their own animals, Andrew said he liked fellow student Noah’s report on the beaver, because he is a big Oregon State University Beavers fan and he also liked the Glass Frog. Gwen said she liked the report on the Gila Monster.

“In this project, I liked learning more about the Blue Marlin,” Gwen said. Would she want to see one in the ocean? Yes, she said, but “I would like to have a safe distance from it.”

McKay Animal Project McKay Animal Project McKay Animal Project McKay Animal Project McKay Animal Project McKay Animal Project

 

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Pendleton School District
107 NW 10th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone:  541.276.6711  Fax:  541.278.3208

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