MARCHING ENGINEERS ARE EAST REGION CHAMPIONS!!!
This past weekend the Marching Engineers traveled back to Garrard County to compete in the KMEA East Region Quarterfinals. Eleven qualifying Class AA bands from across the East Region of the State would be competing for a chance to advance to State Semifinals this coming weekend. Only the top six from this group would advance, along with the six advancing bands from the West Region to make up next week's 12 semifinalists.
The band's confidence was high going into this performance, and each member knew what was at stake as the postseason began. The big stage and bright lights did not keep this band from showing up when it mattered most! They gave their best performance of the season and proved to everyone in attendance that they were poised and ready to make a run for another State Championship. More importantly, they proved to themselves that they were capable of reaching their full potential.
As the results were being read during the full retreat ceremony, the bands were listed from 11th place up. Then, the top six were announced as State Semifinalists:
6th Place - Wayne County
5th Place - Pulaski County
4th Place - Christian Academy of Louisville
3rd Place - Russell Independent
2nd Place - Highlands (with a Distinguished Rating)
1st Place - ESTILL COUNTY (with a Distinguished Rating)
This coming Saturday, October 31, the Marching Engineers will be competing in State Semifinals at Campbellsville University. Performance time is 5:45 PM.
The top 6 bands from Semifinals will advance to State Finals that evening and compete for the Governor's Cup. --Mr. Jason Bowles, ECHS Band Director
This past weekend the Marching Engineers traveled back to Garrard County to compete in the KMEA East Region Quarterfinals. Eleven qualifying Class AA bands from across the East Region of the State would be competing for a chance to advance to State Semifinals this coming weekend. Only the top six from this group would advance, along with the six advancing bands from the West Region to make up next week's 12 semifinalists.
The band's confidence was high going into this performance, and each member knew what was at stake as the postseason began. The big stage and bright lights did not keep this band from showing up when it mattered most! They gave their best performance of the season and proved to everyone in attendance that they were poised and ready to make a run for another State Championship. More importantly, they proved to themselves that they were capable of reaching their full potential.
As the results were being read during the full retreat ceremony, the bands were listed from 11th place up. Then, the top six were announced as State Semifinalists:
6th Place - Wayne County
5th Place - Pulaski County
4th Place - Christian Academy of Louisville
3rd Place - Russell Independent
2nd Place - Highlands (with a Distinguished Rating)
1st Place - ESTILL COUNTY (with a Distinguished Rating)
This coming Saturday, October 31, the Marching Engineers will be competing in State Semifinals at Campbellsville University. Performance time is 5:45 PM.
The top 6 bands from Semifinals will advance to State Finals that evening and compete for the Governor's Cup. --Mr. Jason Bowles, ECHS Band Director
Our English Dual Credit students and several ECHS Gifted students traveled to EKU for an English Immersive experience this past Friday. Thank you to Dr. Rich and Kristi Carlisle for orchestrating this trip, to Dr. Rahimzade and Dr. Hudelson for leading interactive English mini-classes, and to the EKU cafeteria for a wonderful lunch. We are grateful to Mrs. Sarah Middleton, English teacher at ECHS, for organizing this trip, as well as Mrs. Carlee Cornett and Mrs. Brooklyn Moreland for supporting and chaperoning our students!
The final youth basketball signups will be Tuesday, October 27, 2026 from 6:00-7:00PM and Sunday, November 1, 2026 from 2:00-3:00PM at the Central Office Gym
Today has been a day of celebration for the Estill County School District! Our schools have been awarded the USDA Distance Learning Grant which funds telecommunications, audio/video equipment, and software to bring remote education to rural communities. Our district was awarded $749,816 to implement these supports for our students. It's a great day to be an Engineer!!!
(Enjoy a few pics from today...more to come!)
(Enjoy a few pics from today...more to come!)
This past Saturday, the band traveled to Bourbon County to compete in their last regular season contest of the year. The performance schedule had been changed due to the weather, and the finals competition for the evening had already been cancelled. This was going to be a one performance day for the Marching Engineers. The rain and the wind did not stop this group from turning in an outstanding performance! The band debuted part of their closer (the last song of the show) and it was an awesome surprise for the audience as well as the judges. The Marching Engineers swept class 2A winning Best Music in Class 2A, Best Visual in Class 2A, Best Effect in Class 2A and 1st Place in Class 2A. The band placed 3rd overall out of 12 bands behind Paul Laurence Dunbar and Harrison County (by .6 of a point). This coming Saturday, October 17th, the band will be hosting the Tournament of Champions here in Estill County! 18 bands from across the state will be attending, making this one of the largest contests statewide. The first band will take the field at 11:00 AM. The community is welcomed and encouraged to come out and witness this amazing event, and see some of the best bands this state has to offer. --Mr. Jason Bowles, ECHS Band Director
Recycling in Estill County just got easier thanks to a partnership between Rumpke Waste & Recycling and Estill County Schools!
Recycling drop-off bins are now available at each public school in Estill County and at the district’s bus garage. All residents are welcome to use these locations. Through this partnership, recycling collection is provided at no cost to the school system.
Drop-off locations:
• Estill County High School — 397 Engineer Road
• Estill County Middle School — 599 Engineer Road
• West Irvine Elementary School — 155 Riverview Road
• Estill Springs Elementary School — 314 Main Street
• South Irvine Early Learning Center — 1000 South Irvine Road
• Estill County Bus Garage — 2220 Winchester Road
“From Day One in Estill County, the school system has been an active and engaged partner with Rumpke, and this is a wonderful way to get more people in the community to take advantage of a free recycling program,” said Rumpke Region Vice President Adam Rumpke.
“We appreciate Rumpke’s partnership in making recycling more accessible to our students, families, and community. This program gives our schools an opportunity to model responsible environmental practices while providing a valuable service to Estill County residents,” said Jessica Mullins, Estill County Board of Education
Accepted items:
Cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs, metal cans, glass bottles and jars, and cartons.
Items NOT accepted:
Batteries, plastic bags, propane tanks and other pressurized tanks, and items that can become tangled in recycling equipment, such as clothing, dog leashes, and garden hoses.
To learn more about Rumpke and recycling, visit www.rumpke.com.
Recycling drop-off bins are now available at each public school in Estill County and at the district’s bus garage. All residents are welcome to use these locations. Through this partnership, recycling collection is provided at no cost to the school system.
Drop-off locations:
• Estill County High School — 397 Engineer Road
• Estill County Middle School — 599 Engineer Road
• West Irvine Elementary School — 155 Riverview Road
• Estill Springs Elementary School — 314 Main Street
• South Irvine Early Learning Center — 1000 South Irvine Road
• Estill County Bus Garage — 2220 Winchester Road
“From Day One in Estill County, the school system has been an active and engaged partner with Rumpke, and this is a wonderful way to get more people in the community to take advantage of a free recycling program,” said Rumpke Region Vice President Adam Rumpke.
“We appreciate Rumpke’s partnership in making recycling more accessible to our students, families, and community. This program gives our schools an opportunity to model responsible environmental practices while providing a valuable service to Estill County residents,” said Jessica Mullins, Estill County Board of Education
Accepted items:
Cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs, metal cans, glass bottles and jars, and cartons.
Items NOT accepted:
Batteries, plastic bags, propane tanks and other pressurized tanks, and items that can become tangled in recycling equipment, such as clothing, dog leashes, and garden hoses.
To learn more about Rumpke and recycling, visit www.rumpke.com.
Reminder: There will be NO SCHOOL tomorrow, Monday, October 12th.*
Students will return on Tuesday, October 13th.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Fall Break! We look forward to welcoming our students back on Tuesday! 🍂
Students will return on Tuesday, October 13th.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Fall Break! We look forward to welcoming our students back on Tuesday! 🍂
Happy National Instructional Coach Day to our very own Mrs. Williams, District Special Education Instructional Coach! Mrs. Williams supports our staff and our students and is a wealth of knowledge and encouragement. We appreciate you, Mrs. Williams!
Welcome, Nelson Benton!
Estill County Schools is pleased to announce the hiring of Nelson Benton as our new District Technology Coordinator/Chief Information Officer!
Nelson brings nearly 30 years of technology experience across education, healthcare, and business, with expertise in technology leadership, cybersecurity, network infrastructure, and technical support. He previously served as District Network Administrator for Powell County Schools and most recently as IT Director for General Rubber & Plastics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Eastern Kentucky University.
An Irvine resident, Nelson is already a familiar face in our school community. For more than 12 years, he has volunteered with our district’s band programs and supported school events, audio systems, photography, and technology projects.
We look forward to the experience, practical problem-solving skills, and commitment to our community that Nelson will bring to supporting our students, staff, and schools.
Please join us in welcoming Nelson to this new role!
Estill County Schools is pleased to announce the hiring of Nelson Benton as our new District Technology Coordinator/Chief Information Officer!
Nelson brings nearly 30 years of technology experience across education, healthcare, and business, with expertise in technology leadership, cybersecurity, network infrastructure, and technical support. He previously served as District Network Administrator for Powell County Schools and most recently as IT Director for General Rubber & Plastics. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Eastern Kentucky University.
An Irvine resident, Nelson is already a familiar face in our school community. For more than 12 years, he has volunteered with our district’s band programs and supported school events, audio systems, photography, and technology projects.
We look forward to the experience, practical problem-solving skills, and commitment to our community that Nelson will bring to supporting our students, staff, and schools.
Please join us in welcoming Nelson to this new role!
The Estill County High School welcomed many visitors to their campus today for the 2026 College and Career Fair! We appreciate each person who took time out of their busy schedule to impact students and share their knowledge and expertise. Our community is blessed by so many caring adults!
October Menus for ECHS
October Menus for ECMS
October Menus for WIE
October Menus for Estill Springs Elementary
Breakfast and Lunch Menus for South Irvine Early Learning Center
Information about EPIC Afternoons!
Who says instruction can't be a little FEAR-filled? Estill Springs 5th Graders in Mrs. Singleton’s Class tackled Fear Factor-inspired stations as they practiced math skills ahead of their Interim Proficiency Measure (IPM)!
An IPM is a checkpoint that helps teachers see what students have mastered and where they need more support. With a little suspense and plenty of learning, these students were ready to face the challenge!
An IPM is a checkpoint that helps teachers see what students have mastered and where they need more support. With a little suspense and plenty of learning, these students were ready to face the challenge!
Today, Ms. Leila Arthur presented Estill County School District with Tier I PBIS Schools of Fidelity Banners. Estill Springs Elementary and Estill County Middle School were specifically recognized for their commitment for integrating positive behavior supports into their schools and become schools of fidelity. We are so proud of the hard work that all of our schools are putting into their systems!
Marching Engineers Place 1st in Class 2A at the Boyle County Rebel Showdown! The Marching Engineers traveled to Boyle County last weekend to compete in the Boyle County Rebel Showdown. When the results were announced, the Marching Engineers placed 1st in Class 2A for the second straight week! No individual color guard or percussion awards were given at this particular contest. The band ranked 4th overall all out of 14 bands, which was a fantastic finish considering early performance time and no finals performance.
The Marching Engineers continued their competition season by traveling to Garrard County this past weekend to compete in the Garrard County Invitational. This contest hosted 17 bands, which was the largest slate the band had faced thus far. The group had shown great progress over the week, and that was evident in their preliminary performance. The Marching Engineers swept class 2A by winning Best Color Guard, Best Percussion, and 1st Place in Class 2A. The band advanced to finals competition and turned in an even better performance that evening. In the overall awards, the Marching Engineers placed 6th out of all of the finalist bands. This weekend, the band will be traveling to South Laurel High School to compete in the South Laurel Cardinal Classic. Preliminary performance time is 2:45 PM. We are so proud of our Marching Engineers!
🚜 You’re Invited: Estill County Landfill Community Open House! 🚜
Join us for a free, family-friendly event where you can get a behind-the-scenes look at our operations, learn about landfill gas collection, excavation, and recycling, and ask any questions you have!
Event Highlights:
* 🚌 Bus tours of the landfill running throughout the event
* 🚛 Touch-a-Truck area for kids
* 🍔 Free food available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
* 🎉 Fun activities for the whole family!
📅 When: Saturday, Sept. 26 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
📍 Where: Estill County High School, 397 Engineer Road, Irvine, KY 40336
🚗 Parking: Parking is behind the school (attendants will be on-site to help). Guests will take a bus across the street to tour the landfill!
This event is rain or shine—we can’t wait to see you there! ☀️🌧️
#EstillCounty #CommunityOpenHouse #Rumpke #FamilyFriendly #IrvineKY #TouchATruck
