April 2026

Search for an NTPS Military Appreciation Coin this April! Coins are located around all NTPS schools in clearly visible, easily accessible areas. Visitors may only search for coins when school is not in session. Learn more and see photos of this year's coin.

Calling all NTPS military families to our Bingo Night! Join us for an evening of fun and games from 5:30–7:00 pm on Wednesday, April 15, in the Timberline High School Commons (6120 Mullen Road SE). Please RSVP so we can provide enough pizza and root beer floats.

Is your student interested in attending Envision Career Academy, the NTPS career and technical education (CTE)-focused choice high school? Attend one of our upcoming family information nights at Envision Career Academy (411 College Street NE). You can learn about the school, ask questions, tour the building, and more.

RSVP to attend

All information nights start at 5:30 pm: 

• Thursday, April 16 
• Tuesday, April 28 
• Thursday, May 14 

Boys & Girls Club of Thurston County is hosting Project Prom, a no-cost prom shopping event, from 10:00 am–2:00 pm this Saturday, April 18. Stop by the Lacey Boys & Girls Club (1105 Tracey Lane SE) to browse a great selection of formal dresses, suits, shoes, and accessories to shine on your big night, completely free for students!

Applications for the 2025-26 Varsity Letter in Community Service are due Monday, April 20. Students who volunteer 250 or more hours of community service in high school can earn their school's varsity letter, the same letter earned by athletes and musicians.

Learn more and apply!

NTPS wants to recognize our military spouses/partners of both active duty and retired service members! Please join us from 3:30-5:00 pm on Friday, May 8, in the NTPS Boardroom (305 College Street NE). This year will be a casual come-and-go format featuring resource tables, light refreshments, a small token of appreciation, and door prizes. Register now! 

Reminder: School will be in session on Friday, May 22. This is a make-up day for the school closure on December 17 due to inclement weather. There will be no NTPS Preschool on that day.

Registration is now open for NTPS Summer Scholars!

Our summer school programs begin Monday, July 6.

• Our high school program will offer credit recovery and advancement options for students currently in 8th-12th grade. Transportation, breakfast, and lunch are provided. Students can complete up to two courses in person at Timberline High School. Discuss course selections with your counselor and register online by June 12.  This program has a fee but includes a partial refund upon completion.
• Our elementary and middle school program is by invitation only, free, self-guided, and fully online. It is designed for students currently in K-8th grade who would benefit from further support in English language arts and math.

Learn more about Summer Scholars and register for our high school program.

On March 30, district leaders and community partners broke ground on the Lacey Education and Family (LEAF) Center, scheduled to open fall 2027!

The LEAF Center is a new community resource that will:  

• Serve up to 600 students annually with high-quality indoor and outdoor preschool spaces.  
• Offer family-friendly spaces for parenting classes and community health and wellness support. 
• Provide a commercial kitchen for serving students’ nutritional needs.

Voters approved the LEAF Center as part of the 2024 Capital Levy for Safety, Technology, and Facilities Improvement. The building is funded through voter-approved capital levy dollars specifically earmarked for this purpose.

We have designed the building so that it can accommodate a variety of early learning programs, including NTPS Preschool classrooms, state- and federally funded preschool programs, and other partners.

Working with community partners, we are exploring future additions, such as a splash pad, library space, indoor recreation, and creative play spaces, to support family-based physical activity.

Learn more about the LEAF Center and other construction and modernization projects around the district.

Does your family need help with food this summer? For qualifying families, the Summer EBT/SUN Bucks program provides $120 per eligible child in grocery benefits that can be used to buy foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, whole grains, and dairy at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and other places. Complete your family’s NTPS child nutrition application online to find out if you qualify!

Learn more about SUN Bucks and student eligibility. 

Technology can be a very helpful tool in the classroom. We want to be sure our students use it as needed for learning and aren’t tempted to access unrelated content. We provide teachers with support and guidance on how to ensure YouTube videos are limited to instructional content.

At a district level, we use uBlock to automatically block YouTube ads on student Chromebooks, allowing videos to start without ads, and keeping instructional videos age-appropriate.

Additionally, some of the strategies our teachers use include:

• Using an application called GoGuardian to allow Chromebook access only to the videos that teachers intend to use for instruction. GoGuardian also supports teachers’ real-time monitoring of Chromebook activity.
• Embedding YouTube videos into Google Classroom or Canvas to prevent autoplay, remove suggested videos, and minimize distractions.
• Using a distraction-free YouTube link that creates a minimal player by removing suggested videos and preventing autoplay.

Our partners at the North Thurston Education Foundation (NTEF) help ensure all NTPS students can walk across the graduation stage feeling proud and supported! If you would like to help ensure students have the essentials for graduation, please consider sponsoring a senior. You can help ensure every student can celebrate this important milestone with joy.

Sponsor a Senior

On May 3, Intercity Transit will change their bus routes to provide more frequent buses, faster travel times, more direct travel, and service to new areas. The update includes a new stop on Sleater-Kinney Road across from North Thurston High School.

View maps and schedules for the new routes.

Congratulations to River Ridge High School and Summit Virtual Academy senior Noah Martinsen, whose oil on canvas painting, Ruby Beach, was named a winner of the 2026 ESD Regional High School Art Show! Noah attends Summit Virtual Academy, but participates in Alexandria Green's AP Studio Art class at River Ridge High School.

Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages to see photos from this event and other exciting things happening in our schools!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by North Thurston Public Schools (@ntpsnews)

The NTPS Board of Directors welcomed Jeff Line as District 2 Director at the March 24 Board meeting! The Board selected Line after interviewing five applicants for the open position.

Line is a long-time Thurston County resident, and his three children graduated from North Thurston Public Schools. He has served on the Capital Area Regional Public Facilities District Board and as the president of a local soccer club board. He works in human resources for a health care company.

Line told the Board he believes the district's strengths include our strong strategic plan, our staff, and the district's diversity. He identified opportunities to ensure a well-managed district budget and support district staff.

"We are pleased to welcome Jeff to the Board," said NTPS School Board President Esperanza Badillo-Diiorio. "With his experience and involvement with the district and community, the Board is confident he will be an excellent addition and make strong contributions to our work."

Our School Board meetings are an excellent place to hear the latest news from around the district. Be sure to review our Board meeting highlights, including:

• The March 10 meeting, where principals shared updates on school improvement plans. 
• The March 24 meeting, where Superintendent Troy Oliver gave the oath of office to new School Board District 2 Director Jeff Line. The Board also recognized LOTT Clean Water Alliance and WET Science Center for their partnership providing field studies for NTPS students and heard from South Bay Elementary leadership students about their contributions to the school community. 

The NTPS Family & Youth Resource Center (FYR Center) is now located at the newly remodeled Rajinder Manhas Activity Center (RMAC), located at 200 Sleater-Kinney Road NE. Watch this brief video about the FYR Center to see the new space and learn more about how NTPS is supporting families who may be experiencing financial challenges or housing instability.

Each April, NTPS proudly celebrates the Month of the Military Child by wearing Purple Up apparel, participating in the search for NTPS Military Appreciation Coins, and highlighting a Virtual Art Wall to honor and recognize our military-connected students. For more information and to explore the MOMC Virtual Student Art Wall, visit our NTPS Military Support MOMC webpage.

April 4 is National School Librarian Day – Teacher librarians make our school libraries magical places for students! From managing the collection to connecting students with their next great book to coordinating instruction closely with classroom teachers and more, teacher librarians are an essential part of our schools!

April is Occupational Therapy Month – Our NTPS occupational therapist team supports students through activities promoting their physical and mental health and well-being. We appreciate these caring, creative, and collaborative members of the team!

April 22 is Administrative Professionals Day – Administrative professionals are vital to NTPS! Thank you for helping everything run smoothly throughout the district and for being a great district ambassador to staff, families, and the community.

We love our volunteers! ❤ Every year, NTPS volunteers help all around our district in classrooms, on athletic teams, in mentoring partnerships, and more! Our volunteers include parents and guardians, community members, local businesses, organizations, and students. As of March 2026, NTPS volunteers served over 20,000 hours in our schools this year! During Volunteer Appreciation Week, if you see a volunteer working in your school, take a moment to thank them for their time.   

Interested in volunteering? Fill out a volunteer application today!