YSD Stories

  • McKinley Has a New Playground!

    Posted by Al Fischer on 3/6/2023
    After years of saving and community support, McKinley Elementary has a beautiful new addition to our playground.  
     
    A playground structure
     
    Thank you to our wonderful community partners: 
    • Parker Youth Foundation
    • Sundquist Family Foundation
    • Nico Salamanca and friends
    Students holding a giant check
     
    The new playground structure has brought smiles to people not only at McKinley, but also in our neighborhood community when it's used by area families after school!
     
    Kids playingKids playing
     
    Thank you also to Kyle and others from the YSD Maintenance Team, Rachel Gora and Trent Connor from Buell Recreation, and Rock Wells from Mountain Rock Design and Construction for helping make our playground dreams come true.  Mavericks will be smiling for decades to come about this.  :-)
     
    Kids playing
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  • McKinley School Store

    Posted by Al Fischer on 1/11/2023

    I asked Mrs. Ayala-Dean, our MTSS Interventionist, about our new school store. 

    Students shopping

    This is what she said:

    The idea came about after we realized that our initial MAVS ticket redemption wasn't really fair for all of the students. When our new Assistant Principal, Mrs. Hitchcock started at McKinley, she suggested a School store as an option and the idea took off. We now schedule two classes a day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only. The students save their Maverick dollars and can shop from a $3, $5, $8, $10 or $15+ table at the school store. The price ranges make it so every student can afford to purchase something. Students earn Maverick Dollars for showing Maverick Expectations in all areas of the school building. They can earn a dollar from any staff member. Our Store is funded primarily through donations. We have received donations from teachers, staff members, admin, and the donorchoose community. In addition to this system, we have also created a whole class reward system. Students can pool their Maverick dollars together to choose a whole class reward such as a pizza party, Cookies and Juice party or playdough/slime making for example. We have created a digital check register that teachers can share with their students. This helps them keep track of how much money their class has saved towards their rewards. 

    Both Mrs. Ayala-Dean and Mrs. Hitchcock are new to their roles at McKinley this year.  They are appreciated!  Way to go, Mavericks.

    Students shopping

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  • McKinley Returns to the Capitol Theatre!!

    Posted by Al Fischer on 12/9/2022

    It has been a couple of COVID-filled years since we performed at the Capitol Theatre, but on December 7 the Mavericks were back on the big stage for our Winter Concert!!  That afternoon, the students all got on buses to go practice.

    Kids on a bus

    Kids practicing

    Then in the evening, our families brought them back for the big show!  The kids were super excited sitting in the audience.

    Kids in the audience

    And they did an AWESOME job on stage.

    Kids performingKids performing

    All of that hard work paid off!  Great job, Mavericks.

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