All About Discovery Elementary School

JUMP TO

The Impact of Art
Supporting Students
Additional Thoughts From Parents & Students
Discovery Elementary School Stats
Neighborhoods Within School Boundary

Next in our series about the Peninsula School District is Discovery Elementary School, right in the heart of Gig Harbor. Join me as we take a look inside and hear from teachers, students, and parents on what they love most about their school.

Discovering Community & Family

Delonna Halliday, Principal

I’m the principal at Discovery Elementary. We’re the closest elementary school to downtown Gig Harbor and we feed into Goodman Middle School and Gig Harbor High School, and of course Henderson Bay High School is available for all students. 

One of the great things here about Discovery that I have come to appreciate so much is the community support. We have a very strong parent organization, called a VPO, and then we also have a great relationship with our two high schools. We are right next to Henderson Bay High School and we’re right next to Gig Harbor High School, and so we have students from Gig Harbor High School who come over as tutors and work with our students, and then we have students from Henderson Bay who come over and do other projects with our kids. So it is great to have this whole inclusive environment where, again, we want everyone learning and growing. So if that means high school students are coming here and learning what it’s like to educate and work with children, we have other students coming over and working on leadership, we are for it. We want everyone around us learning and growing. 

Paola Mendoza, Parent

I’m from Mexico City. We just moved last year to Gig Harbor, so it’s going to be a really, really amazing adventure to be here. You can be part of the VPO or you can be a room parent, as I am. It’s really fun because you are involved with your kids. For example, we did a Halloween party and it was amazing.

You feel at home, you know. I miss family, but I don’t miss them anymore because here you really find a second family. 

Madeline M., Student

This year we had a Halloween party and there was just a bunch of fun snacks and there were glitter tattoos, and there’s just a lot of fun activities.

Megan Hankel, Teacher

The culture of the school is fantastic. I feel like this is my home away from home. It’s my second family. We actually talk about family in my classroom as a culture that we have and that we respect each other that way and love each other that way.

Satya Delgadillo, Parent

As a full-time working mom, sometimes it’s difficult to commit to things, but I’ve already been in the class and helped with an art project this year and I just feel like it’s really an open door. 

The Impact of Art

Delonna Halliday, Principal

So we’re really excited here because in Peninsula, three of our elementary schools went out for grants and we got a grant from the Gig Harbor Arts Commission and another one from ArtsWA. And this has allowed us to work with Arts Impact, which is a professional development group that trains teachers on how to infuse arts into our daily curriculum. 

Megan Hankel, Teacher

For Arts Impact, we are infusing art education into our regular education program. For instance, when we teach math, we’re not just going to sit down and do paper and pencil math worksheets, we are going to instead do a lot more body movement with math, we are going to possibly act out math problems. So it’s really just taking our basic standards and then infusing it with some sort of art and cultural theme. 

Jordan J., Student

My favorite activity is probably art. When we did arts and crafts, we made salmon and that was one of my favorites. I love coming to Discovery Elementary School. 

Alex Morrison, Parent

Our daughter is very artistic and creative and she loves all the different specialists that she has. Last week she came home just raving about her music class because they not only wrote their own song, but she got to play the bongos and then the drums, and she took turns, and she always raves about all the different specialists that they have here.

Supporting Students

Paola Mendoza, Parent

We really like Discovery. I have two kids, one is in kindergarten and the other is in second grade at the PACE program. Really great teachers—they really care about the kids. You feel that about the kids.

Alex MacAulay, Communities in Schools Site Coordinator

I’m the Communities in Schools Site Coordinator at Discovery Elementary. Communities in Schools is a nonprofit organization that aims to bridge the gap between the school and the community. Our mission is to surround students with a community of support that empowers them to stay in school and achieve in life. We provide all sorts of wraparound services to help our students and our families here at Discovery and within the Peninsula School District—Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 level supports that are designed to match the needs of the individual families.

Satya Delgadillo, Parent

My student feels great about his teacher. The first week of school here, he started talking about being responsible at home. He used the word responsible a lot, which is very exciting for a five-year-old to be getting that concept. The value system here I think really translates well, even for a five-year-old.

Delonna Halliday, Principal

One of the great things here at Discovery is we believe everyone’s a learner—students, staff, we’re all in this together—and we’re excited to learn and grow, because as adults we should be modeling lifelong learning for our students, and we love to do that here.

Additional Thoughts From Parents & Students

What Parents Love About Discovery

“Small class size.”

What They Wish Could Be Better

“I wish the school was newer.”

What Their Children Love About Discovery

“The ship inside the school!”

What Would They Tell A New Family At Discovery?

“The pickup line is super fast!”

Neighborhoods Within School Boundary

Some neighborhoods include:

  • Downtown Gig Harbor

    • Millville

  • Midway

    • Fairwood

  • Rosedale

    • Park Dale

    • Rosewood

    • Rosewood Glen

    • The Heights at Gig Harbor

  • Skansie

    • Bellesara

    • Cedarcrest

    • Heritage at Gig Harbor

    • Legacy

    • Newport

    • North Creek Estates

    • Norwegian Woods

    • Rosedale Commons Condominiums

    • Skansie Pointe

    • Sunnybrae

    • The Estates at Gig Harbor

  • Soundview

    • Anton’s

    • Autumn Crest

    • Crest View

    • Holly Bluff

    • Islandview East

    • Seaview Place

    • Soundview Court

    • Spinnaker Ridge

And there you have it! Thanks for joining me in this look at Discovery Elementary School. If you want to learn more about our wonderful community here be sure to check out my blog, or for more information on buying and selling in Gig Harbor and the surrounding area go to askpaigeschulte.com.

Gig Harbor SchoolsBecca Fitzpatrick