Good News Report
January 27, 2026
The Good News highlights uplifting and inspiring stories of the students and staff in Evergreen Public Schools
The Good News highlights uplifting and inspiring stories of the students and staff in Evergreen Public Schools
Evergreen High School and Mountain View High School are gearing up for the first ever Battle of the Bear! Battle of the Bear is a school spirit competition that will take place during the girls and boys basketball games on February 6th at Evergreen HS. Each school selects a theme. Students, teams, dance programs, staff, and community members are encouraged to participate with costumes, music, props, and school spirit. Evergreen’s theme is Barbie’s Dream House, Mt. View’s is Men in Black. The winner takes home Bobby the Bear! The goal is to foster positive rivalry, school pride, and community connection.
Cougars gathered to honor the extraordinary legacy and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders from the era.
Pioneer Student Leadership team visited Truewood Retirement Community on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Students read our school-wide shared book, "We've got the whole world in our hands", played a game of Pictionary and delivered the hearts. The felt hearts were sewn by buddy classrooms in December with the help of many amazing parent volunteers, and were then bagged with little chocolates by student leadership to give the community. Residents of the community were excited to welcome us and our students did a wonderful job reading, talking and bringing them joy.
Shahala Middle School Orchestra entertained patrons at the Vancouver Mall with a selection of holiday classics.
I am honestly in disbelief at the magnitude of generosity that flows through the Fircrest Falcon Family. When I began the planning for this food drive two months ago, I was certain there was no way we would get anywhere close to the totals from previous years. Not only did we get close, but we also blew through last year's total of 5,173! I had a few minutes Friday night to slow down and look through the Clothes Closest and found myself in tears at what this little school was able to accomplish. It's honestly incredible! The class winners will celebrate after winter break with a donut or ice cream party. Their choice!
The totals are and the winners are as follows:
K-2nd Grade: Thao's 2nd grade class with - 833
3rd - 5th grade: Kort's 5th grade class with - 1161
A special thank you to Mrs. Camarena and the 5th grade Leadership kids, Delora for helping with counting and updating our board each morning, Cathe and Marissa for helping to organize, and those that helped with the planning and bulletin board creation (Behrens, Pugsley, Camarena, Welch-Gillins, Dahlquist, and anyone else I may have missed!) Thank you again.
Breanna Potter-Utley B.S.ED., M.ED, M.J.Il
Family & Community Outreach Coordinator
In December, Crestline's 4th and 5th grade Student Leadership partnership with Cascade Park Baptist Church to pack holiday food boxes for families. The church purchased the food and gift cards for 20 of our Crestline families, and the students packed up the food boxes for distribution. It was a wonderful experience for us all.
Business Principles adopted a family for Christmas through @Salvation Army again this year. Students wrapped and deliver the gifts.
Riverview Roadrunners delighted the audience with a selection of holiday favorites during their Winter Sing-a-Long!
In January, the Mountain View High School drama program performed "Beetlejuice Jr." The show was completely produced, directed, designed and performed by students!
We want to give a big shout-out to two amazing donors who made a huge impact on our Riverview Elementary families this week. Our neighbors on Riveridge Drive generously donated 250 pounds of food to our pantry, and the Vancouver Fire Department brought presents for families needing extra support this year. We're so grateful for the care and generosity shown to our Roadrunner families.
Welcome Back from Winter Break - Shahala's administrative team treated staff member to a pancake breakfast. A great way to start 2026!
A chamber ensemble from the Covington Middle School band (directed by Jay Cobb and Bruce Dunn), performed pre-concert music for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's December holiday pops performance on December 13, 2025. Congratulations to the following students on an amazing performance: Keona Klicke, Carmelo Guzman Leon, Carina Stovall, Sophia Torres-Helmer, Melanie Cabrera, Nicholas Hansen, John Nymeyer, Isabella Reed, Eli Servino, Kora Frey, Mason Jansen, Taylor Laboucane, Adley Londo, Chase Osborne, Ella Bushard, Kaycee Leach.
Harmony Elementary would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Bike Clark County for their generous donation of bicycle helmets to our students. Recently, Harmony Elementary completed a bike riding and bike safety unit in Physical Education for our 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students. At the conclusion of the unit, we identified several students who did not own a helmet. Thanks to Bike Clark County's support, these students now hav proper safety equipment to help keep them safe while riding. We truly appreciate Bike Clark County's commitment to student safety and community support.
Warmly,
Mr. Mertz
Physical Education Teacher
Harmony Elementary School
John Godinho - far left
Union's John Godinho was recently inducted into the Washington State Wrestling Hall of Fame. " I am proud to have the honor of being the first Union Head Wrestling Coach. My name is John Godinho, and I am willing to work hard to ensure success on and off the mat. I have been part of many championships. In High School I was on a great team that took state in 1984 and 1985. I personally won state titles these years. I wrestled in college at Pacific Lutheran University for four years as a varsity wrestler. I received All American status and qualified for Nationals three of these years. Not ready to leave wrestling, coaching was the next step. In 1992 I began coaching in the Evergreen School District. I have coached continuously since then at the Middle and High School levels. In these years, I have been a part of two wrestling state championships. I believe wrestling gives you more than championships; it teaches you life skills such as work ethic, loyalty and dedication. You can expect to experience and learn more than wrestling as a Titan Wrestler."
Andonjoy earned a special award for his participation in our Summer Reading program. He completed 96 lessons and had the most participation minutes - 2936 minutes.
The Cascade Middle School 8th Grade Girls Basketball A-Team won the Greater St. Helens Middle School League Championship and held a traditional net cutting to celebrate their amazing accomplishment. The team had a memorable season this as they finished their season as both League & District Champions. The team consisted of Kasha Foreman, Tressa Maileoi, True Thompson, Cathy Rogge, Bryn Castro, Za'neisha Baylis and Kamila Vargas. Cascade ended up beating Skyridge for the District Championship game 46-36. This is Cascade Middle School's 2nd League & District Championship for the school. The last one was captured during the 2023-24 basketball season. The Cascade Cougars finished their stellar season with an 11-0 record. Great Job Cougars!
Congratulations to the 8th Grade District Soccer Champs!
January is National School Board Recognition Month, and we want to pay tribute to our five directors: Jacqueline Weatherspoon, Rob Perkins, Ginny Gronwoldt Julie Bocanegra and Gary Wilson. These dedicated, public servants were elected by voters, and they keep our students' needs at the forefront of everything they do. Thank you, directors!