Respect

Dignity

Honesty

Responsibility

Teamwork

What's Happening in Boise School District

December 12: The Chemistry Department and Chemistry Club at Boise State invites Boise District students to attend their 7th Annual Holiday Demo Show. This free community event will be held in the Jordan Ballroom of the Student Union Building from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This event brings families in the community together to watch Boise State professors, including the well-loved Dr. Picklestein, perform unique Christmas-themed science demonstrations. The children can also participate in hands-on scientific activities with current Boise State students.

People First Language Video

December 15-19: The Idaho Department of Labor and the Boise School District will host a career camp for students with disabilities in Boise. Students between the ages of 18 and 21 will enjoy tours of local companies (Boise Airport, Fred Meyer, Downtown YMCA, Lithia Ford and St. Al's), explore career possibilities, learn interview techniques, application completion, resume writing and more. The goal is to help students with disabilities transition to the workplace. News media are invited to attend Friday the 19th at 1:00 p.m. at the Department of Labor, 219 W. Main Street, Boise, where students will be dressed professionally and receive awards for the week. Contact Julie.Sherry@labor.idaho.gov or Rachel.piepmeyer@labor.idaho.gov for more information. As part of the event, the students in STEP, or the Student Transition Education Program, produced a video for the public about using proper language when referring to people with disabilities. Click on the above image to view the video.

December 17: Applications to fill a vacancy on the Boise School Board must be returned and signed by the applicant in person to the Clerk of the Board no later than 4:30 p.m. on December 17, 2014. Click here for more information.

December 19: Early release K-12 students. Click here for early release schedule.

December 22 - January 2: Winter holiday break. No school for students in Boise School District.

January 4: Online registration begins for Boise School District's popular Winter Community Education session. Choose from more than 3-hundred personal enrichment classes, including many new ones. We offer courses in business and finance, arts and crafts, culinary arts, landscaping, music, dance, travel, health and fitness, and many, many more! Beat the winter blues by getting out of the house, meeting new people and learning something new with Community Ed! For more than forty years, we've served as Boise's first choice for lifelong learning opportunities. Click here for more information.

January 5: School resumes for students in Boise School District.

January 5: A free after school program begins at Hawthorne Elementary School. Click here for more information.

January 10: Boise High Girls Basketball will hold its 7th Annual Pink Zone Event in the Boise High gymnasium which raises funds and awareness for breast cancer research. The girls basketball program will be selling raffle tickets leading up to the event, and all money raised goes directly to the local Susan G. Komen Foundation. Games against the visiting Centennial Patriots will be at 4:30, 6:00, and 7:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to wear pink and support the cause by purchasing raffle tickets. This year the Lady Braves hope to best last year's mark of $1,500 raised.

January 14, 15, 16: Secondary end of semester testing. Early release for students in grades 7-12. Click here for early release schedule.

January 16: End of first semester. Early release for students in grades K-6. Click here for early release schedule.

January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. No school for students in Boise School District.

Riverside Elementary Student's Artwork Selected for District Holiday Card

Each year, Boise School District elementary school students showcase their artistic talents in the District's Holiday Card Contest. Of the entries, 100 are selected as finalists, and one of those 100 is chosen for the District's annual holiday card. Each of the 99 runners-up receive a certificate of participation and a $10 gift card to Quality Art; the grand prize winner also receives a certificate of participation, 100 cards featuring their artwork, and a $25 gift card to Quality Art. This year's grand prize winner is Corinna Berger, a 6th grade student at Riverside Elementary School whose card is pictured above. Corinna is pictured with District Superintendent Dr. Don Coberly. Her scene of a festive room complete with a view of someone building a snowman was selected for its intricate detail. Click here for a complete list of the top 100 holiday cards selected in the District for each grade level.

Attend a Holiday Concert: This time of year, the sights and sounds of the season come alive in your Boise Schools. Plan now to attend one of many holiday concerts performed by our many talented student musicians and directed by our outstanding staff members. For a complete list of elementary holiday concerts click here and for a listing of secondary school holiday concerts click here. Admission is free.

Dual Language Program Featured on CNN: The Boise District's Dual Language Program is the focus of a special report by CNN. CNN Reporter Gustavo Valdes recently visited Whittier Elementary School to see the program in action. He was then interviewed by the District about his impressions of the program. Boise offers kindergarten through fourth grade Spanish/English dual language programs at Whitney and Whittier Elementary Schools.Click on the following video images to review the CNN report and interview and click here to learn more about the Dual Language Program.

CNN Report on Boise District Dual Language program

Interview with CNN Reporter Gustavo Valdes Re: Dual Language Program

Interview with CNN Reporter Gustavo Valdes Regarding Dual Language Program

Timberline Athletic Director Recognized: Tol Gropp, Athletic Director, Timberline High School appears in the current edition of Interscholastic Athletic Administration magazine for being selected to receive a 2014 NIAAA State Award of Merit. He is one of only 47 athletic directors nationwide to be selected for this honor.

Maple Grove Elementary Student Wins Essay Contest: Wyatt Sloan, 5th Grade Student, Maple Grove Elementary, was recently selected as the winner for grades 3-5 in the Project Learning Tree essay contest. Click here for more information.

Elementary Students Participate in Fantasy Flight: Christmas came early for 80 underprivileged elementary children from 12 elementary schools in the Boise District when United Airlines took the kids on a Fantasy Flight to the 'North Pole' on December 5th. The event included a visit by Santa and gifts presented by United Airlines and its employees. View photos taken from that special evening by clicking here and learn more here.

Boise Fire Fighter's Distribute Winter Coats: Members of Boise Fire Fighters Local 149 distributed 372 new American-made coats (up from 250 last year) to 11 Boise District elementary schools on December 9th. BFF Local 149 collaborated with Operation Warm to raise over $12-thousand in generous donations from union members and local businesses. Click here to view photos of the coat distribution.

Congratulations to the Borah High Jazz Ensemble for a great performance at the recently held District III Jazz Festival, receiving scores of 94, 94 and 97 from the 3 college adjudicators for an average score of 95, which is a superior rating!

Congratulations to Borah Band students Christine Kickel- Flute, Kate Bush- Alto Sax and Rhiannon Terry- Clarinet for being selected to play in the Idaho All- State honor band to be held in Coeur d' Alene in February. They were selected after completing an audition process and will perform with the best musicians from around the state.

Getting Started with Coding with an Hour of Code: Coding is the ability to not only read and write in a machine language, but to do so with computational thinking. Problem solving, pattern recognition, and decomposition are terms used when trying to define this activity. Google's Made with Code, simply explains code as " a tool that lets you write your story with technology." This week Code.org hosts Hour of Code, a global outreach that involves millions of students in over 180 countries, including many within our own Boise School District. Click here to read more in this week's Activate 2 Learn 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/.

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.

News Media Contact:

Dan Hollar

Public Affairs Administrator

Boise School District

(208) 854-4064

dan.hollar@boiseschools.org

www.boiseschools.org