National School Bus Safety Week – October 20-24, 2025
The Pendleton School District and First Student, the transportation company that transports PSD students, will focus on safety during National School Bus Safety Week, October 20-24.
First Student has a whole week, called Safety Stand-Down Week, to reinforce their focus on safety and their mission to provide the safest ride to and from school. A Safety Stand-Down is an event where leaders pause to talk directly to employees about safety and provide education and training on specific safety topics. Some activities they will do during the safety week are Mirror Grid Monday, Turning Tuesday and Wind-y Wednesday (serpentine route set up), safety meeting and pledges.
“It is a learning and reminding week, but also a fun week as well,” said Patrick Phillips, Senior Location Manager at First Student.
Here are some safety strategies First Student and the district are using this school year:
First Serves – a positive reinforcement coaching for students instead of a referral, disciplinary system. Bus drivers utilize Bus Bucks to reward appropriate behavior on the bus; each school has a reward system for the bucks.
Kindergarten bus tags –students at the Pendleton Early Learning Center wear bright orange tags attached to their backpacks that have their bus route number clearly visible. These youngest students also must be put on the bus and taken off the bus by a family member.
FirstView — an app that parents can download on their phones that tracks their student’s bus. Parents can also set a boundary around their stop that alerts them when the bus is near the stop. “On our side of the app, tracking the buses looks like a whole bunch of green ants going and we can see where all of our buses are,” Phillips said.
Tiffany Jennings, First Student Location Manager, said there are about 2,000 Pendleton School District students registered to ride the bus.
What do Phillips and Jennings want bus-riding students to remember?
SAFE – sitting back to back, seat to seat, floor on floor & body parts and belongings inside windows
RESPECTFUL – hands and feet to yourself, voices at a whisper
RESPONSIBLE – follow adult directions, food and drinks in backpack
What about parents? Phillips said it’s helpful for parents to remember that sometimes traffic issues arise, like a train blocking several railroad crossings in town, which necessitates buses routing around, which takes more time.
“We have a great working relationship and good communication with the Pendleton School District,” Phillips said, “which makes it easier to ensure bus safety for students every day.”
Pendleton School Board Member Profile – Anne Keeler, Vice Chair
/in District Site News /by rthornburgTo celebrate School Board Recognition Month in January, we are highlighting our school board members. Meet Board Vice Chair Anne Keeler:
If you work outside the home, where do you work?
I work at 1910 CrossFit in Pendleton as a part-time gym manager.
What is your connection to the Pendleton School District?
I have two children who attend PSD schools: McKay Creek Elementary and Sunridge Middle School. My children are the fourth generation in our family to attend Pendleton schools. I have many personal connections at multiple schools through participation in parent clubs, volunteering, past employment as a Teacher and Substitute Teacher, and prior work as a University Supervisor for the College of Education at Eastern Oregon University.
Why do you serve on the School Board?
I am committed to the belief that strong schools are essential for the greater good of our community. As a School Board member, I strive to make a tangible difference by shaping policies that directly support student growth and long-term success. Ultimately, I hope to make a lasting difference in the educational opportunities available to every child in our district.
What is one thing you love about Pendleton schools or the Pendleton community?
I love the small-town feel and the sense of genuine care that comes from such a close-knit community. After growing up in the Portland-Metro area, I truly love that a familiar face is only one trip to the grocery store away.
Pendleton School Board Member Profile – Beth Harrison, Chair
/in District Site News /by rthornburgTo celebrate School Board Recognition Month in January, we are highlighting our school board members. Meet Board Chair Beth Harrison:
If you work outside the home, where do you work?
My primary work is as a mother and community volunteer, but I also work at Harrison Family Medicine doing some billing and back-office work.
What is your connection to the Pendleton School District?
Since moving to Pendleton in 2009, I have had children enrolled in the Pendleton School District — generally at multiple schools. I have volunteered in many classrooms and chaperoned elementary field trips and high school trips for the jazz band and orchestra and attended sporting events.
Why do you serve on the School Board?
I began volunteering in classrooms to be informed about my own children’s experiences and to support their teachers, but after seeing their classmates and interacting with so many students and families throughout the district, I now serve on the school board to advocate for all those students and to support the wonderful teachers and leaders we have in our district. Quality schools that teach real skills to the youth in our community are vital to the success of Pendleton’s future.
What is one thing you love about Pendleton schools or the Pendleton community?
I love the dedicated teachers who show up to a really hard job every day because they love their students and are committed to connecting with them and teaching and preparing them for their future.
Teaching requires a broader and more creative set of skills than it did just 10 years ago. I love the teachers, counselors, and administrators who are willing to learn and adapt and figure out how to connect with the amazing, resilient, and often complex students we have in our schools today.
School Board Recognition
/in District Site News /by rthornburgJanuary is School Board Recognition Month!
Our school board members are more than just officials—they are our neighbors, friends, and tireless advocates for our children’s futures. They spend countless hours behind the scenes making tough decisions, attending evening meetings or school events, and always putting students first.
Please join us in saying THANK YOU to our seven outstanding school board members for their dedication to Pendleton School District! We are so grateful for your leadership and your heart for our community.
McKay Creek Elementary Holiday Concert 2025
/in District Site News, McKay Creek School News /by rthornburgMcKay Creek Elementary students worked hard on their songs and music for their Holiday Concert, which they were happy to perform for their families in December. Check out their great voices and cheer!
Culinary Program Creates Holiday Fare
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgStudents in the Pendleton High School Culinary Program have been busy preparing holiday food this month.
They recently made baked goods for a bake sale for employees of the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution (EOCI). Creations included cookies, brownies, Swiss rolls, and cinnamon rolls.
Then they prepared dinner for the EOCI Employee Christmas Party for about 120 people on December 12, 2025. The menu was homemade dinner rolls, Caesar salad with homemade croutons, apple harvest salad with roasted sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, potato dish, maple and cumin glazed roasted carrots, grilled New York steaks, and chicken thighs. Kaden Clark, PHS Food Teacher, said he is letting the students choose what to make for dessert.
Clark said he wants students to feel confident about preparing food for a large group. “Sometimes, catering events or preparing food for a large group can be intimidating, so I want them to feel good about their skills in the kitchen. I know they can do it,” Clark said. He also wants them to understand how much planning and labor go into preparing food, as well as the business side of it.
Jasmine, PHS Senior, was helping prepare the homemade dinner rolls for the EOCI dinner. She said she enjoys the teamwork of preparing food. Senior Sophia said she likes the thrill of having to get everything done in a timely manner.
Another student in Foods IV, PHS Senior Cole, was cutting carrots for roasting. He said he has learned quite a bit about the business side of the food industry, like if you mess up a big order, that’s a lot of time and money lost. But his biggest takeaway? “I enjoy making the food and especially eating the food.”
Sunridge Middle School Winter Concert
/in District Site News, Sunridge News /by rthornburgWhat a wonderful night of music! 🎶 Families and friends gathered to enjoy the Winter Instrumental Concert and celebrate the talent and hard work of our Sunridge Middle School musicians. Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening so special.
Science Class at the Umatilla River
/in District Site News, Hawthorne High News /by rthornburgStudents in a science class at Hawthorne Alternative High School are enjoying some hands-on learning at the Umatilla River this semester.
According to Andrew Sneed, Science Teacher, the students visit the Umatilla River multiple times and collect macroinvertebrates. They then quantify and classify each species. “With our collected data at the end of the semester, we will calculate the biodiversity index of macroinvertebrates in the river,” Sneed said.
A macroinvertebrate is a large (visible to the naked eye) invertebrate (animal without a backbone) that lives in or near water, such as insects, snails, crayfish, and worms. Macroinvertebrates serve as a key indicator of aquatic ecosystem health because their presence and types reflect water quality.
In December, students used nets to collect samples, then sorted and collected the macroinvertebrates. The following day, they used a macroinvertebrate field guide to classify and quantify the samples. At the end of the semester, student groups will create a poster that shows the biodiversity index equation and a graph to show the level of biodiversity in the river.
Sneed said students really enjoy and look forward to going to the river. “It gives them hands-on experience and interaction within their own ecosystem and how seasonal changes affect different species. A big takeaway we talked about in December is how water temperatures affect the abundance of different species compared to collections during warmer seasons of the river.”
Native American Heritage Month
/in District Site News, News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgNovember is Native American Heritage Month. CTUIR shared some of their traditions, including drumming and dancing, at each of the schools. Thank you, CTUIR singers and dancers.
Tribal Dance Presentation at PHS
/in District Site News, High Schools News /by rthornburgPendleton High School students and staff enjoyed a tribal dance presentation in Warberg Court on Friday, November 14th, as part of Native American Heritage Month. Thank you to the singers and dancers from CTUIR for sharing your cultural traditions with us.
National School Bus Safety Week – October 20-24, 2025
/in District Site News, News - District & All Schools /by rthornburgNational School Bus Safety Week – October 20-24, 2025
The Pendleton School District and First Student, the transportation company that transports PSD students, will focus on safety during National School Bus Safety Week, October 20-24.
First Student has a whole week, called Safety Stand-Down Week, to reinforce their focus on safety and their mission to provide the safest ride to and from school. A Safety Stand-Down is an event where leaders pause to talk directly to employees about safety and provide education and training on specific safety topics. Some activities they will do during the safety week are Mirror Grid Monday, Turning Tuesday and Wind-y Wednesday (serpentine route set up), safety meeting and pledges.
“It is a learning and reminding week, but also a fun week as well,” said Patrick Phillips, Senior Location Manager at First Student.
Here are some safety strategies First Student and the district are using this school year:
First Serves – a positive reinforcement coaching for students instead of a referral, disciplinary system. Bus drivers utilize Bus Bucks to reward appropriate behavior on the bus; each school has a reward system for the bucks.
Kindergarten bus tags –students at the Pendleton Early Learning Center wear bright orange tags attached to their backpacks that have their bus route number clearly visible. These youngest students also must be put on the bus and taken off the bus by a family member.
FirstView — an app that parents can download on their phones that tracks their student’s bus. Parents can also set a boundary around their stop that alerts them when the bus is near the stop. “On our side of the app, tracking the buses looks like a whole bunch of green ants going and we can see where all of our buses are,” Phillips said.
Tiffany Jennings, First Student Location Manager, said there are about 2,000 Pendleton School District students registered to ride the bus.
What do Phillips and Jennings want bus-riding students to remember?
SAFE – sitting back to back, seat to seat, floor on floor & body parts and belongings inside windows
RESPECTFUL – hands and feet to yourself, voices at a whisper
RESPONSIBLE – follow adult directions, food and drinks in backpack
What about parents? Phillips said it’s helpful for parents to remember that sometimes traffic issues arise, like a train blocking several railroad crossings in town, which necessitates buses routing around, which takes more time.
“We have a great working relationship and good communication with the Pendleton School District,” Phillips said, “which makes it easier to ensure bus safety for students every day.”