News of Madison Valley

McGilvra Elementary celebrated its 100th anniversary with its biennial auction on Saturday March 22nd, at Showbox SODO. Close to 300 guests attended including current families, McGilvra Alumni, and incoming kindergarten families. The night's events were hosted by Ken Carson, who was returning for his fourth McGilvra auction. John Platt and his staff from St. Cloud's provided the catering. 

The event had over 300 items donated from families, local businesses, and McGilvra teachers and staff. Some of the more popular items were Principal for A Day, where a student gets to make a new rule for that day, monitor lunch, and recess activities. A Seahawks VIP preseason training camp and a Shark Trip to the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco were also big money raisers. 

McGilvra would like to thank all of the local businesses that donated to the auction this year. Our staff and students are so grateful for your generosity. With continued cuts in education, the school relies more than ever on donations from parents and community members. Over 75% of the classrooms have a student to teacher ratio of 29:1. The money raised from the PTA pays for the art program, a part time school counselor, a math and reading specialist, part time classroom tutors, and technology and library grants. 

McGilvra would especially like to thank its Presenting Sponsors; Dan and Larry Wilcynski from Wilcynski Partners, Mark Everts from Cobalt Mortgage, Dr. Lora Shahine and Partners from Pacific NW Fertility, and Chris Husband from CleanScapes. We would like to thank Platinum Sponsor Shawn Plaster from The Plaster Group, Gold Sponsor, Park Shore Senior Living, and Bronze Sponsor, Dr. Keith B. Wong. McGilvra would also like to thank its advertisers Kevin Trombold from Trombold Law, Wally Green from AllState, and Park Postal. Hemlock Printing was a major contributor by donating the catalogs and PaperlinX donated the bid paddles. Uber car service was instrumental in getting people to and from the auction safely while providing a generous discount to auction ticket holders. McGilvra would also like to thank local artist, Richard Carl Lehman, for use of his beautiful illustration of the school in many auction materials. Our school would not be the same without your support. Thank you!