Respect

Dignity

Honesty

Responsibility

Teamwork

What's Happening in Boise School District

Boise School District's Winter Weather Procedures

Winter Weather Procedures - Keeping Students Safe: When winter weather comes our way, the Boise School District has a plan to keep our students safe. Click here to learn more about the District's Winter Weather Procedures or click on the adjacent image to view a video explaining the procedures.

Parents: Sign-Up for Emergency Text Messaging: The Boise School District offers emergency text messaging for parents/guardians. Click here to learn more and sign-up.

The Other Side of the Story: An Analysis of Recent Claims Regarding College Graduation Rates for 9th Graders: In his latest blog post, Boise School District Superintendent Dr. Don Coberly explores claims that 1 in 10 ninth grade students in Idaho complete college. His blog, Data Points, is dedicated to providing student achievement and education trend analysis and is available here or click on the adjacent Data Points image. The blog is intended for parents and patrons interested in an objective, data-driven look at student performance in Boise and across Idaho.

Pictured left to right: Borah High Principal Tim Standlee, Zions Bank Financial Center Manager David Harper and AP Environmental Science students: David Ashton, Hayden McCarney, Courtney Wallace and Dylan Porter.

Zions Bank Awards $1,000 to STEM Programs at Borah High School: On Wednesday, November 5th, officials from Zions Bank visited Borah Science Teacher's Darin Zarbnisky's Advanced Placement Environmental Science class for an official check presentation. The bank donated $1,000 to the school's STEM program after running a campaign to reward students who earn "A" grades. Click here to learn more.

Art Teacher Recognized: Debra Chojnacky was selected by the Idaho Art Education Association as the 2014 Idaho Art Educator of the Year and also Idaho High School Teacher of the Year. The awards were announced at the IAEA annual art teacher conference in October at Boise High School. Mrs. Chjonacky will receive her Idaho Art Educator of the Year award in New Orleans in March of 2015. Mrs. Chjonacky teaches at Borah High School and South Jr. High.

Students Participate in Plant the Promise: Students from Capital High School recently took part in planting tulip bulbs to remember those who died due to impaired driving. Students from Boise School District's five high schools participated in the event, which was sponsored by Drug Free Idaho. Altogether, the students planted 90 tulip bulbs, one for each life lost last year in the state of Idaho due to impaired driving. Click here to view more photos taken of the planting.

Monroe Elementary Students Win Writing Contest: Mrs. Gary's 2nd and 3rd Grade Class recently won a writing contest sponsored by Lego Education and Author, Mo Willems. The entire class wrote a creative version of their own "Pigeon Story" and built a plot structure with lego bricks to plan and illustrate the story. The entire class won a set of miniature lego pigeons after Mrs. Gary submitted the lesson plan and photos.

Travel and Learn Together Online using Google Lit Trips and Google Maps for Education: As the weather gets colder, we might feel limit

ed in our outdoor adventures. This is a great time to travel and learn together online using Google Lit Trips and Google Maps for Education. Google Lit Trips are created to connect the themes from books with real world places and engage readers in a virtual 3-D tours. Google Maps for Education provides not only resources to strengthen geography skills, but also historical context and street-view features for locations all over the world. Click here to learn more in this week's Activate2Learn blog post.

The Boise Public Schools Education Foundation is pleased to announce that from now through the holidays, Internet Auto Rent and Sales will donate a portion of every auto sale to the Foundation's SAFE (Student Aid Fund for Emergencies) program. SAFE provides emergency funds for school supplies, doctor visits, shoes, class fees, counseling and groceries - basic needs to keep kids in school. For more information about SAFE, please visit www.boiseschoolsfoundation.com. For more information about Internet Auto Rent and Sales, please visit www.internetautoboise.com/.

School Lunch Recipe Contest!: Submit a favorite recipe you would like to see served at school and you could WIN!!! Prizes include $50 gift card, kitchen gadgets, kids recipe books, backpacks, kids culinary classes and lunch with the Mayor! For more information visit www.letsmoveboise.com. Send recipes by November 18th to: foodandnutrition@boiseschools.org

or peggy.bodnar@boiseschools.org

Sponsored by Let's Move Boise and their partners! Click here for more information.

Teach With Us!: Have a passion to share with others? Teach a Community Ed class. We are currently recruiting instructors for our winter 2015 session that begins in January. To learn more, and apply, click click here.

Wanted: School Bus Drivers: If you are interested in working as a school bus driver, call 854-5230. Schools will receive a $100 credit toward a future field trip if the bus drivers hired identify a school's reader board or newsletter as the place they first learned about the job opening.

November 1 - 21: Give the gift of reading by donating a new book to the 2014 Operation Wish Book campaign. Operation Wish Book celebrates its

25th anniversary this year. From November 1st to 21st, book collection boxes will be located at all Boise and Meridian public

schools, as well as many charter schools, private schools and local businesses. Operation Wish Book is a nonprofit organization operating in Ada County that places new books in the hands of children who do not own books. In December, the books are distributed through the Salvation Army. Donations are also accepted. For more information contact Lucy Leavell (208-870-0254, bleav8@yahoo.com) or Betty Reimann (208-376-8687, reimann65@gmail.com).

November 19: More than 150 Koelsch Elementary students in grades 3-5 will participate in the semifinals of the fourth annual Simplot Potato Sack Race for a chance to qualify to the finals held on the blue turf during the 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. A special assembly will be held at Koelsch Elementary, 2015 N. Curtis Road, at 2:00 p.m. and will include photo/video and interview opportunities. Boise School District, Simplot and Famous Idaho Potato Bowl personnel will be on hand. News media are invited to attend. Click here to learn more.

November 24-28: Thanksgiving Holiday Break. No school for students in Boise School District.

News Media Contact:

Dan Hollar

Public Affairs Administrator

Boise School District

(208) 854-4064

dan.hollar@boiseschools.org

www.boiseschools.org