McKay Creek Elementary Holiday Concert 2025
McKay 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!
McKay 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!
Students at McKay Creek Elementary have been creating artwork for the Pendleton School District Art Show in May 2025.
Makenzie McLeod
1st Grade Teacher
McKay Creek Elementary School
Born and raised in Pendleton, Makenzie left Pendleton only for college. She graduated from Pendleton High School in 2019.
She attended Eastern Washington University and earned a degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in literacy.
About working in the Pendleton School District, Makenzie said, “I have an amazing team and look forward to working with and learning from them this year! And in the same district that I attended — what a great opportunity.”
In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and walking her dog, Finley.

Haley Kannard
Behavior Support Specialist
Pendleton Early Learning Center & McKay Creek Elementary School
Haley grew up in Pilot Rock and has lived in Pendleton since 2011.
She went to college at Oregon State University, where she majored in Sociology with a minor in Health Management & Policy.
What is Haley most excited about working in the Pendleton School District? “I am very excited to be a part of the Pendleton School District and support our children in two of our amazing schools!”
In her free time, she enjoys watching her kids play sports and traveling with friends and family.

Who needs the Super Bowl in February? McKay’s students have the Read Bowl!
Second graders in Shelby Cook’s classroom and third graders in Noele Mead’s classroom have been highly focused on reading with a fun football component. The students in the two classes are participating in Read Bowl, which uses a football theme and some friendly competition in the four weeks leading up to the Super Bowl.
Each day, students get to count the reading they do while at school – this could be reading instruction, reading silently, group reading, or anything they have read during the day. They also keep track of the minutes they read at home. On their own football tracker, they color in how many minutes they read every day.
Second-grade teacher Cook said she saw the idea of Read Bowl on social media and thought she would try it to get her students reading more because she has a lot of students who really like football. “My main goal is to help my students find books they really like so they start loving to read!”
Mead’s third-grade class is also participating. At halftime, or halfway through the Read Bowl of four weeks, Mead’s students have read 26,838 minutes (about 447 hours). “This competition has really helped all my students, even the non-readers, find a love for reading!” Mead said.
So, no matter who wins the Super Bowl, these young readers are stars!

The Pendleton School District is happy to feature new PSD teachers.
