Friday, October 18: The 60th Annual Junior High School Music Clinic Concert will be held  at 7:00 PM, at the Borah High School Gymnasium.  The eighth- and ninth-grade combined bands and choirs from each junior high and the eighth- and ninth-grade combined orchestras from Hillside, Riverglen and Les Bois and Fairmont junior high schools will perform under the direction of three guest conductors:  Dr. Ted Ashton, Orchestra Clinician, BYU-Idaho; Band Clinician, Dr. Gregory Springer, BSU; and Vocal Clinician Heather Prinzing, Boise Schools. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend.  Donations to help with costs of the event will be taken at the door. 

Monday, October 21 - Friday, October 25: In recognition of National School Bus Safety Week, schools in the District will honor school bus drivers and staff on Wednesday, October 23rd - School Bus Appreciation Day.  Parents can show their appreciation to school bus drivers and staff members with a simple "thank you" card or "wave of appreciation" to bus drivers as they pick-up or drop-off their student from school. In the Boise School District, approximately 6-thousand students are bussed safely each day to and from school. School bus drivers travel two million miles each year in the District utilizing 151 school buses. Learn more here.

Wednesday, October 23: How many times can you run about your school's block in 20 minutes? On Wednesday, October 23rd Washington Elementary students in Boise's North End will find out. It's Washington Elementary's 7th annual Jog-A-Thon! The formula is simple and effective.  Local community businesses, most of which are owned by or employ parents of Washington Elementary students, provide a race clock for the day, as well as T-shirts and goodie bags for student runners. 

Each child gathers pledges from parents, family, and friends for running.  Then, from 9 a.m. to about 1 p.m., students ages 5 through 12 will sprint, run, jog, hop, skip, slide and walk around the school block as many laps as they can in 20 minutes as their parents, teachers, and peers cheer them on. This fun, healthy non-competitive school fundraiser was developed as a community and family-focused alternative to the traditional school fundraiser.

Educators Receive Awards:  The following counselors (pictured left to right) have been honored with the Celebration of Teaching - Mentors of the Year Awards:  Wendi Ellis Clark, Counselor, Roosevelt Elementary School; Mary Ellen Frischmuth, Counselor, Morley Nelson Elementary School; and Sandy Wargo, Counselor, Hillside Junior High School.

The following teachers (pictured below) were also honored with Teaching - Mentors of the Year Awards:  Nicole Rapp, 3rd Grade Teacher, Taft Elementary School; and Tyler Targee, 4th Grade Teacher, Trail Wind Elementary School. 

Tyler Targee

Nicole Rapp

Former NASA Astronaut and current Boise State Educator in Residence Barbara Morgan (top photo, far right) presented the awards at the Stueckle Sky Center on October 17, 2013. The Celebration of Teaching-Mentors of the Year Awards program recognizes excellent teachers and school counselors who mentor in southwest Idaho public schools. Each year the awards program honors up to 25 teachers and school counselors who guide, support and encourage fellow educators in their pursuit of effective teaching/counseling and professional growth.

East Junior High School Art Teacher Receives State Award:  The Idaho Art Education Association (IAEA) is pleased to announce East Junior High School Art Teacher Jeanine Hall has been awarded Idaho Art Teacher of the Year in the Middle School division. Mrs. Hall teaches Art and Photography and is an Advisor at East Junior High School.   She has been involved with the IAEA for 17 years including serving on the Board as Vice President and on many occasions as a presenter.  Over the years, she has worked with many students with a wide range of educational needs.  She is involved in working with the Student Teaching Program at Boise State University and mentors student teachers in need of a cooperating teacher.  She was nominated and won Idaho's Most Caring Teacher Award and makes certain that any student in need of art supplies at home, has access to them.  A quote from one of her students:  "Ms. Hall, you are the coolest art teacher ever".

Elementary Teachers Recognized: Hawthorne Elementary School First Grade Teacher Debbie French (pictured left, seated) and Taft Elementary School Second Grade Teacher Dena Duke (pictured below with Office Max staff) were recently recognized through A Day Made Better.

Through this program, Office Max associates surprise teachers in their classrooms with $1,000 worth of school supplies. 

The national initiative aims to relieve and support teachers who spend their own money on much-needed classroom supplies.

OfficeMax consumers and business clients contributed nearly $700,000 in additional school supplies through this summer's in-store supply drive held at OfficeMax stores across the country. 

The OfficeMax A Day Made Better program, in partnership with its non-profit partner AdoptAClassroom.org, aims to help end the need for teacher-funded classrooms. Since 2007, A Day Made Better and other OfficeMax Goodworks programs have contributed more than $25 million in grants and supplies to support more than 31,000 teachers and their classrooms.

Borah High Choir Invited to Perform at Carnegie Hall: Borah High School men's choir, Tactus (pictured below) has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall, in New York City on January 19, 2014, one of only three such choirs in the U.S. to be invited this year.  The 37-voiced group needs to earn approximately $65,000 to participate. This is the Distinguished Concerts International and it's an honor equivalent to the World Series in Baseball for Tactus to be invited and attend. To learn more and donate click here.  For additional information please contact Borah's Choral Director, Heather Prinzing:heather.prinzing@boiseschools.org 


The Week Ahead with Community Ed:  Next week marks the final week of our Fall Community Education session.  You still have time to register for a class.  You can even register up to the day the class begins! Click here to review a list of next week's courses. Community Education, for more than 40 years, Boise's choice for life-long learning!

Volunteer to Teach a Community Education Class: Have a passion to share with others?  Consider teaching a Community Education class. We're currently recruiting instructors for our winter 2014 Community Education session that begins in January.  To learn more, and apply, click here.