Your Ellensburg Schools
August 2022
WELCOME BACK!
Historic Move to Neighborhood Schools
This year Ellensburg will have four elementary schools, and these state of the art schools will provide innovative spaces for students to learn and thrive. Because elementary students will now attend schools in their neighborhood zones, it will take a little longer this year to get classroom assignments in place. Families should receive their classroom assignments by August 26th.
Just as a reminder, students who are not in specialized programs will not be transported to schools outside of their assigned neighborhood school zone this year. Parents will be responsible for transportation if their student is granted a transfer to a school outside of their zone.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move into an exciting new era in Ellensburg education!
Lincoln Remodel
ESD Welcomes Randy Aker
Ellensburg School District is pleased to welcome Randy Aker to the ESD team as the new Director of Maintenance and Facilities. Aker replaces Dale Leslie who retired in June after 30 years of service to our community.
Aker was born in Texas, raised in Oklahoma and moved to Washington from Kansas City, MO to accept the maintenance director position for the Warden School District. Most recently, he was the director of maintenance, grounds and custodial for the Riverside School District, near Spokane. He and wife Diane have three children and are the proud grandparents of eight. "We love Ellensburg," says Aker. "I like snow, but my wife likes warm. Here we get a little of both."
One of Aker's duties in ESD will be managing community use of school facilities, and ESD encourages the community to access our buildings. The District is in the process of moving to an online system where community members can request the use of school facilities. "Each building will have a coordinator on hand to help with community use," says Aker.
Please join us in welcoming Aker to team ESD!
Riding the School Bus?
It’s time to sign up for bus service if your students will be riding the school bus this year.
- Visit esd401.org/departments/transportation to complete your electronic request for bus routing.
- Download the Edulog Parent Portal App in your app store, which will allow you to track your students’ bus in real time.
If you have questions regarding bus routes, please contact Transportation Director Carol Chrisman at 509-925-8100.
Make Music Ellensburg
What began in 1982 France as Fete de la Musique has expanded to more than 700 cities and 120 countries all celebrating music on the same day. In Ellensburg, more than 30 scheduled performers, including students, shared their musical talents at downtown indoor and outdoor venues. Highlights included a "flash mob" performing "Louis, Louis," with a strong showing from the kazoo section.
First Place at TSA
These students competed in events such as Video Game Design, Software Development, Cybersecurity, Coding and Programming, and Tech Bowl. Out of all of the events, the Software Development team, Team Vera (Tessa Ward, Diana Alvarado and Hannah Phanitchob), placed 10th overall for their software app and the Video Game Design Team (Josephine Shoda and Andrew Stinson), won 1st place.
Teacher Tiffany Price says, “This is our TSA Chapter's first time competing at the national level, and it is truly extraordinary to place so high, and speaks to the level of talent and dedication (especially given all of the challenges related to COVID) of our students.”
Congratulations to all! You make us proud to be Bulldogs!
Coding Camp Returns
Younger students had an opportunity to learn new computer skills, while older students had an opportunity to share their knowledge. As an added bonus, fees from the camp will help EHS students attend the 2023 Technology Student Association annual conference next summer.
Parents were asked for feedback about their student's experience at camp at the end of each week. Many noted that it was the social aspect, mixed with learning, that most captivated their students. The high school helpers also received kudos from happy participants.
Congratulations on a great summer experience for students!
Ellensburg School District
Email: leslee.caul@esd401.org
Website: esd401.org
Location: 1300 East 3rd Avenue, Ellensburg, WA, USA
Phone: 509-925-8010
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellensburgschools