Dear Parent or Guardian, 

 We are pleased to announce that Dallesport Elementary REACH (Relationships, Enrichment, Academics, Community, and Homework) program will begin on October 17th, 2022. The Dallesport Elementary Program has made some changes and will now serve elementary students in 2^nd through 5^th grade. The program typically runs four days per week before school and two hours after school and aligns with the district calendar. Transportation home and a nutritious snack will be provided. This program is free to you and is funded through a grant. The REACH program will connect with students and their families, help students REACH success, and will collaborate with the community for support and services.

REACH combines the support and resources of two rural school districts (Lyle and Wishram), along with our partners, which include Career Connect. Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITCF), Columbia River Swish Basketball, 4-H of Klickitat County, Gorge Ecology Outdoors, Arts in Education of the Gorge, Fort Vancouver Regional Library, Riverview Community Bank, Klickitat County Health Department, Klickitat County Sherriff’s Department, Howards Haven Animal Sanctuary, Trout Unlimited and YES Youth Employment Services, Skyline Hospital, and ESD (Educational Service Districts) 112 to create two community learning centers housed at Dallesport Elementary and Wishram School. By promoting and strengthening partnerships between schools, community programs, and families, REACH will help improve academic achievement in math and reading through activities and methods that have been proven to work. The program activities will be linked to classroom curriculum and individual student needs, and will include academic support in math and reading, homework help, high-interest small group activities, projects, and special family events.

While ESD 112 will conduct program coordination and evaluation, local district staff will provide instructional support. Enrollment forms are available in the office. Please return completed forms to the office attention Kenji Stasiewicz. We look forward to working with you and your child.

Sincerely, Kenji Stasiewicz- Dallesport Elementary REACH Site Coordinator; (2nd-5th Grades) Dallesport Elementary

  Estimado padre o tutor, 

 Nos complace anunciar que el programa Reach (Relaciones, Enriquecimiento, Académicos, Comunidad y Tarea) de Dallesport Elementary comenzará el 17 de octubre de 2022. El Programa de Primaria Dallesport ha hecho algunos cambios y ahora servirá a los estudiantes de primaria en^2º a^5º grado. El programa generalmente funciona cuatro días a la semana antes de la escuela y dos horas después de la escuela y se alinea con el calendario del distrito. Se proporcionará transporte a casa y un refrigerio nutritivo. Este programa es gratuito para usted y se financia a través de una subvención. El programa REACH se conectará con los estudiantes y sus familias, ayudará a los estudiantes a alcanzar el éxito y colaborará con la comunidad para obtener apoyo y servicios.

REACH combina el apoyo y los recursos de dos distritos escolares rurales (Lyle y Wishram), junto con nuestros socios, que incluyen Career Connect. Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission (CRITCF), Columbia River Swish Basketball, 4-H of Klickitat County, Gorge Ecology Outdoors, Arts in Education of the Gorge, Fort Vancouver Regional Library, Riverview Community Bank, Klickitat County Health Department, Klickitat County Sherriff's Department, Howards Haven Animal Sanctuary, Trout Unlimited and YES Youth Employment Services, Skyline Hospital y ESD (Educational Service Districts) 112 para crear dos centros de aprendizaje comunitario ubicados en  Dallesport Elementary y Wishram School. Al promover y fortalecer las asociaciones entre las escuelas, los programas comunitarios y las familias, REACH ayudará a mejorar el rendimiento académico en matemáticas y lectura a través de actividades y métodos que han demostrado funcionar. Las actividades del programa estarán vinculadas al currículo del aula y las necesidades individuales de los estudiantes, e incluirán apoyo académico en matemáticas y lectura, ayuda con la tarea, actividades de grupos pequeños de alto interés, proyectos y eventos familiares especiales.

Mientras que la EDS 112 llevará a cabo la coordinación y evaluación del programa, el personal del distrito local proporcionará apoyo educativo. Los formularios de inscripción están disponibles en la oficina. Por favor, devuelva los formularios completados a la atención de la oficina Kenji Stasiewicz. Esperamos trabajar con usted y su hijo.

Sinceramente, Kenji Stasiewicz- Coordinador del sitio REACH de Dallesport Elementary; (2º-5º Grados) Primaria Dallesport

Dear Cougar Families,

School Picture Day is this Thursday, October 13th.

Please Note - Due to our size and location, we no longer get a makeup day, so it's especially important for each student to be picture ready this Thursday.

Parents - You can order photos online at www.lifetouch.com. You'll be asked to enter the Picture Day ID, which is EVTKJRBK7. Packets were also sent home with students last week.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday!

Estimadas familias cougar,

El Día de la Fotografía Escolar es este jueves 13 de octubre.

Tenga en cuenta que debido a nuestro tamaño y ubicación, ya no tenemos un día de maquillaje, por lo que es especialmente importante que cada estudiante esté listo para la foto este jueves. Padres - Puede pedir fotos en línea en www.lifetouch.com. Se te pedirá que introduzcas el ID del Día de la Imagen, que es EVTKJRBK7. Los paquetes también fueron enviados a casa con los estudiantes la semana pasada.

¡Esperamos ver a todos el jueves!

Dear Cougar Families,

To accommodate Fall Conferences, students will be released at noon on Wednesday 10/5, Thursday 10/6, and Friday 10/7. All meals will be served and buses will arrive home three hours earlier than usual. Wednesday will be late start AND early release. If you haven't received a conference day/time for your student, please reach out to the office.

Have a great week!

September 29, 2022

PARENTS AND GUARDIANS:

Due to a driver shortage tomorrow, September 30, 2022, the Giraffe (Appleton) bus will arrive home approximately 1 hour to 1.5 hours later than normal. We apologize for the inconvenience. If you would like to pick up your child, please remember to come to the upper parking lot by the main office.

Thank you,

Lori Smith, Principal

There will be a parent/community "Curriculum Review Night" held in the school library on Wednesday, September 21 at 6:00 PM. This will be to review a high school social studies textbook. PTO will have a meeting immediately following.

Welcome Back to School!

Dear Lyle Families,

Welcome to the 2022-23 School Year! I hope you enjoyed a summer vacation filled with fun and exciting memories with your loved ones. I am so excited to be starting my fifth year as Principal and to continue to work with the amazing students, families, and community members of the Lyle School District. I am deeply committed to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of your child(ren) and cannot wait for the year to get started and have our halls filled with the laughter, the smiles and the hustle and bustle of our incredible students as they begin a new school year.

All signs point to another incredible and productive school year. All teachers and support staff have spent hours preparing materials, creating student-centered classrooms, and reviewing data.

The rooms look amazing and are ready for a new school year. Office managers and office staff have registered new students, put together information packets to be sent home with all students, and organized new materials. The custodial and maintenance staff have worked diligently throughout the summer to clean and ready the school. Kitchen staff have worked on preparing menus and getting ready for the new school year. We are so excited to welcome back our former students and meet our new students. The staff at Lyle are very excited to continue our work of building strong relationships with our families and working together to provide opportunities for growth and achievement for all students. The possibilities are endless if we work together.

Working with families and students is one of my top priorities. I welcome the opportunity to work with you to overcome any challenges your student may face. Should you ever need to meet with me, please call the main office and we will set it up as fast as we can.  I am looking forward to our collaboration in providing a safe and nurturing environment as well as a challenging and diverse curriculum. If you would like to contact me, my email address is lori.smith@lyleschools.org You can also reach me by phone at Lyle Community Schools, (509) 365-2211.

Remember, school starts tomorrow, Wednesday, August 24^th. Buses will be running on the late start schedule that happens every Wednesday. School starts at 9:00 AM on Wednesdays. Bus route schedules will be posted soon. Watch the school website for more information.

This is going to be an AMAZING year!

Sincerely,

Lori Smith, Principal

August 2022

Dear Families,

It is with a huge smile that I welcome everyone in Lyle to the 2022-23 school year. The start of each school year brings much excitement, energy, and perhaps even some trepidation.  We all feel this excitement in different ways. Students look forward to seeing friends, some of whom they may not have seen since June, and are excited about all that the new year will bring. Parents and guardians are thrilled to see their children off for the start of another successful school year, yet are amazed at how fast their children are growing.  Even staff members, re-energized from vacation and summer professional learning, may be trying to tame those nervous butterflies as the first day of school approaches.

Fall is a special time for those of us involved in public education because it allows us to develop new goals, build new relationships and embark upon new challenges. The goals this year will highlight both academic and social and emotional learning. While improving student achievement is of great importance to our mission, we know it is essential to focus on the social and emotional needs of our students as well. We are so lucky to have a supportive community and school team who value all students and encourage them as they reach their dreams and goals.

Please help me in welcoming our new teaching staff. Ian Monahan will be teaching K-12 music, Katie Layne is our new 2^nd grade teacher, and Ann Scott will be teaching secondary Art, CTE, and Computer Science. Also, Conor Ryan, who joined our team late last school year, will be returning as our Attendance and Reengagement Specialist.

We also have a few teachers that have moved positions within our building, so you’ll see familiar faces, in new places! Shelby Casey will be teaching middle school math, Jesika LaBryer has moved to teaching middle school science, Tim Foley is now our K-12 PE teacher, and Anna Seltzer has moved to teaching 5^th grade.

I continue to be honored to work with each of you, our Board of Directors, and our incredible team of educators as we work together to provide the best possible learning opportunity for Lyle students. Welcome back!

Sincerely,

Ann Varkados

Superintendent

The first day of school is almost here!   And here’s how to find the info you need.

Start with the school district website at www.lyleschools.org.  Important dates are on the calendar – it’s on the far right of the navigation bar. If you’re using your cell phone or other device, click on the three horizontal bars just below “Home of the Cougars” and select from the options there. You can also select from the “Dallesport Elementary,” “Lyle Secondary” and “Our District drop-down menus to find things like school lunch menus, staff names and emails, and bus schedules.

Need to register your student in Lyle Schools?

Come to our office in the school at 625 Keasey Ave., Lyle, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Or call 509-365-2211, ext. 120.

The first day of school is August 24, and since it’s a Wednesday, the start time is 9 a.m. Students can start arriving at 8:30 a.m. so they have time for breakfast (free!) and to catch up with friends they haven’t seen for a bit.  On all other days of the week, school starts at 8 a.m., with students beginning to arrive at 7:30 a.m.  

Kindergarten starts on August 24^th, too, and continues to be a full-day program.

ECEAP staff will do one-on-one orientations with incoming families for 2022-23 school year from August 24-30. The first day of class for ECEAP is August 31. This year, ECEAP/pre-Kindergarten will be five days a week instead of four, with an all-day option. Please keep an eye on the front page of the website and on our Facebook page (@LyleSchools) for more information.

Supply Lists? Nope.

The school district provides basic education supplies – you don’t have to worry about pencils, erasers, lined paper and the like. Parents can supply a backpack, closed-toe shoes that are appropriate for playing outside, and a jacket for when the weather turns colder. Families of our younger children (K-2) should also consider leaving a change of clothes in their lockers in case of an accident. If you need assistance with obtaining school clothes for your children, reach out to us.

Health Requirements

A note about immunizations: Some are required to attend school, but note that the COVID vaccination is not required for students at this time. You can find these at www.lyleschools.org. Select “Health Information” in the “Our District” menu.

Looking for School Breakfast and Lunch Menus or Bus Routes?

Menus will be shared here.

You can find bus routes here. They will be posted a little later in August.

Want to email your child's teacher?

Go to the main navigation bar and click on either Dallesport Elementary or Lyle Secondary and pull down to the staff selection.

Athletics

Fall athletics gear up before school even starts. If you have a secondary student planning on joining the football or volleyball teams, check with our school office for more information. Game schedules will be posted on the district website (“Athletics” in the Lyle Secondary School menu) soon.

Also, if you enjoy coming to our games, know that this year we will begin charging admission again. We’re working with Home Town Ticketing to make it possible for Cougar fans to pay with a credit card online – also on the athletics page – or at the door. If you’ve ever had to scramble to find a cash machine before a game, you’ll know what a great idea this is!

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone back this fall.  We expect it to be the most normal start of a school year since 2019! Keep watching our webpage and Facebook page for introductions to new staff and other news. Go Cougs!

In Spite of Everything, the Class of 2022 Excelled

The Lyle High School Class of 2022 held their commencement ceremony on June 4, 2022, in a traditional ceremony in the school gymnasium – the first class to do so since 2019. The normalcy of that simple ceremony was deceptive, because for these kids, high school has been anything but normal.  (See video of the ceremony here.)

When the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, they were in their sophomore year. They have participated in remote learning for nearly one-half their high school years and missed experiences common to the 9^th-12^th graders. Athletics were cancelled and returned only on a very limited basis in the Spring of 2021. Proms and other social events were cancelled until the Spring of 2022.

Yet, this class somehow not only survived, but excelled. We say with all sincerity, the Lyle High School Class of 2022 deserves respect with a capital “R.” Here’s a little more about each student.

	Myeengan Syrette earned the rank of Class Valedictorian and the Principal’s Leadership Award. He also received Excellence in Social Studies and English Language Arts. Myeengan will attend Central Michigan University this fall to pursue a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Native Studies. Myeengan is a skilled Native dancer who shared two dances and spoke about their cultural significance with the school’s student body in November.  Myeengan has earned the Multicultural Advancement and Cofer Scholar Award of Distinction award from the university.
	Only a fraction of a point in grade point averages separated Myeengan and Sophie Kilian, the class Salutatorian. Sophie earned the Female Athlete of the Year and Principal’s Leadership Awards. She was awarded $500 for the Ron Halverson/Alumni scholarship, $750 for the Lions Scholarship and $1,000 for the Pamela Jane Oldenburg Memorial Scholarship. Sophie was recognized as the Washington State University Top Scholar based on her achievements in high school. Her academic achievements placed her in the top 10 percent of the incoming freshmen; as a result, she received the Distinguished University Achievement award for $4,000. She also received the WSU Regents Scholars award for $4,000 for four years. She plans to study nursing at Washington State University in Pullman and has already earned credits toward that degree by her participation in the Running Start program.
	Arturo Gutierrez received Excellence in Science and English Language Arts awards. He received $750 for the Lions Scholarship and $1,000 for the Pamela Jane Oldenburg Memorial Scholarship, and plans to pursue a degree in electrical-mechanical studies at Columbia Gorge Community College.
	Hannah Hunsaker, a strong science student, also will be attending Columbia Gorge Community College this fall.
	Haylee Hunsaker is off to Montana State University. Like her sister, she has shown an aptitude for science during her high school years.
	Wyatt Jones, who received an Excellence in Science Award, will participate in an electrician apprenticeship this year.

Two students were recognized by Principal Lori Smith with Mountain Climber Awards. These students overcame some significant challenges to achieve great things:

	Dakota Stubbs, who will attend trade school to pursue a degree in a medical field,
	and Cody Zaugg who overcame a significant credit deficit to graduate early and now plans to pursue his dreams in California.

The class had several more students who all earned college credit as a result of their participation in Running Start, a free early college program. Some earned enough to graduate with an Associate of Arts (AA) degree in addition to their high school diploma.

Running Start students include:

	Angelina Quinterro, who also received an Overall Academic Excellence Award and will attend Texas A&M with a goal of earning a degree in Equine Studies.
	Aaron Smith, also the school’s Male Athlete of the Year. He plans to enter an electrician apprenticeship following high school.
	Carly Tatro, who is also planning on entering the work force and pursuing a real estate license.
	Alana Hail, who earned an Excellence in Science Award. She is the recipient of the Beverly Ann Bryan Memorial Scholarship for $1,000 and the Lions Scholarship for $750. She plans to attend Idaho State University.

Please help us congratulate our 2022 graduates!

The Class of 2022 Commencement Ceremony!