April 2025
McKenny Hawks Are Kind, Safe, Respectful and Responsible
Important Dates:
- 7: Running Club Resumes
- 7: Little Mermaid Jr practice starts
- 8: Booster Fun Run Fundraiser Kicks-Off
- 8: Mrs. Lloyd's Class at Port Blakely @ 9:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
- 8: PTO Meeting @ 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- 9: Walk N Roll
- 15: Class Picture Day
- 17: Booster Fun Run
- 17: 1st Grade at the Food Bank @ 5:00 - 6:30 p.m.
- 18: 4th Grade at the Capitol Building @ 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- 23: STEAM Night @ 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
- 25: 3rd, 4th & 5th Grade at OJP 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- May 1: Mr. Sjoboen's Class at Port Blakely @ 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- May 2: 2nd Grade at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge @ 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
- May 2 - 3: Little Mermaid Jr Performances
Walk N Roll - April 5th
Our school hosts a Walk N Roll event one day each month. These are optional days that students can bike or walk to and from school, and once they arrive, can receive special prizes. Please wear helmets when riding, and make sure students are crossing roads safely. Walking or biking to school is not only amazing for your health, but it is also helpful to the environment!
McKenny Class Picture day is coming!
Tuesday, April 15th
Visit clintworthphotography.com to order using access code: 3942
Steam Night - April 23
McKenny STEAM Night will be Wednesday, April 23rd from 6:00-7:30 pm. Bring your family to McKenny and learn together about Ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Experience hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math!
There will be so much to see and do including:
•Look at student art, writing and projects posted around the school.
•Become a drop of water and move through the water cycle.
•Observe a beehive
•Plant a seed to take home
•Build model of an oyster filtering water
•Smell your way to your home river, just like a salmon
•Use a microscope to observe tiny animal life
•Research kelp fields like a scientist
•Compare your size to the size of PNW animals
•Thurston County Dive and Rescue team will show how they explore the water of Thurston County
•Search for life in a kelp bed
•Design a plankton prototype
Olympia Junior Programs (OJP) - April 25th (3rd - 5th Grade)
McKenny students in grades 1 - 5 participate in OJP at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. This month grades 3rd, 4th, & 5th will be seeing "Doktor Kaboom" on Friday, April 25th. Permission slips will be sent home Monday, April 7th; please return them by April 23rd for your child to attend.
If possible please donate $4 for your child's attendance to the show. Payments can be made with cash (exact amount only, Office does not have change), check, or credit (online or in the office).
Roarin’ and Soarin’ Fun Run - June 8th
The second annual Roarin' and Soarin' Fun Run 2.5k/5k is coming up on Sunday June 8th!! McKenny and Madison Elementary Schools will be joining together to host this fun event! Students from both schools will get a free registration!! Sign by May 1st to get a race shirt with your registration. We also need parent volunteers to make this day a success for everyone. Please take a look at the volunteer sign up and see where you can help out.
Race registration: https://my.cheddarup.com/c/mad-dash-2025/items?cart
Volunteer signup:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E44A4A92DA4FACE9-55230735-madison?useFullSite=true#/
News from the PTO
PTO Meeting Tuesday April 8th 6:30-8:00pm:
Mark your calendars for the Tuesday following Spring Break and join us in the McKenny library at 6:30 PM or connect via Zoom for our April PTO meeting. We will be discussing our Booster Fun Run, discussing the 2025-2026 PTO board, our upcoming theater performances and more! We hope to see you there—whether in person or on ZOOM. Meeting ID: 881 5468 3334 Passcode: 772214
Booster Fun Run:
We are getting close to kicking off our McKenny Fun Run fundraiser! The fun officially begins on April 8th, and the run itself will take place on April 17th. This is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and we need your support to make it a success! Our goal is to raise $12,000 to fund art supplies, add new benches to our McKenny playground, and bring the Pacific Science Center on Wheels to McKenny for the 2025-2026 school year. You can get started by going to MyBooster.com, click “Sign Up”, enter our school name and enter your information. Once you are signed up you can start sharing via Facebook, email and text!
Yearbook Photos:
Let’s keep those photos rolling in for the McKenny yearbook so that we can see all the amazing things our students have been doing this year. Please be sure to label pictures with names and what event the photo is from. You can submit your photos through Yearbook Snap App, password McKenny25. If you have difficulty with the app please feel free to email photos to [email protected].
McKenny Garden Work Party Saturday April 19th:
Join us on Saturday April 19th, from 9:00-11:00 AM for a fun-filled morning of sprucing up our school garden! Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a beginner, we’d love to have you there. Bring your family, friends, and gardening gloves. Let’s dig in and make our garden beautiful together!
Thank you for your continued support of our school and PTO! We appreciate all that you do to help create a vibrant and engaging environment for all McKenny students. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].
You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, CheddarUp and our website!
PTO email: [email protected]
PTO website: mckennypto.org!
Instagram: @mckennyhawkspto
Facebook: facebook.com/mckennyhawkspto
Principals Corner
Spring Learning!
As we return to school after spring break, I want to take a moment to reinforce the academic importance of this time in the school year. Having recently completed parent-teacher conferences, teachers have received input and information from families that help to guide the remainder of the academic year. This information, combined with data from recent state and curriculum-based assessments, gives teachers a lot to consider and take into account as they collaborate with each other to plan for the rest of this school year.
Additionally, the weeks between spring break and memorial day weekend are crucial for several reasons.
- There are six consecutive five day academic weeks. This is really important learning time with fewer disruptions.
- All of our district MAP testing (Measure of Academic Progress) will occur during this window of time.
- Most of our state testing (SBA and WCAS for 5th grade) will also be accomplished during this time. And,
- Students continue to build upon prior learning throughout the year and many academic concepts are tied together in meaningful ways as we inch toward summer.
For all of these reasons, and because we love to see the children, attendance at school is just as critical during April, May and June as it is during the rest of the year. Please do your best to get the students to school on time every day. If you can schedule medical appointments for times before or after school, please do so. If family time can be arranged so that students will not miss any school, that would be ideal. Student safety and student academic progress are most important to us and we appreciate your support as it relates to student attendance.
Please be on the lookout for more specific information from your child’s teacher related to state and district testing dates.
Thank you and, as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Michael
McKenny Elementary School Schedule
Grades K to 5 8:30 a.m.—2:45 p.m.
AM Preschool 8:30—11:00 a.m.
PM Preschool 12:15—2:45 p.m.
Early Release Every Wednesday 1:55 p.m. (No preschool)
Half Day Dismissal 11:35 a.m. (No preschool)