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What's Happening in Boise School District

November 2: Boise Pre-K Project begins at Hawthorne and Whitney elementary school. Boise Pre-K Project is a partnership between the City of Boise, Boise School District and committed community partners focused on providing high-quality preschool in the Vista Neighborhood. "The research is clear that pre-k works," explained Dr. Don Coberly, Superintendent, Boise School District. Our previous experience showed that kids who participate in quality pre-k programs perform much better in Kindergarten and in the elementary grades, particularly in reading. Given that, we don't hope that this project will close the achievement gap for students entering Kindergarten - we know it will." Click here to learn more.

November 3: At 1:00 p.m. at Borah High School, 6001 W. Cassia St., Borah High teacher Pam Atkins will be honored for winning second place in the Making a Difference statewide contest sponsored by the Idaho Education Association. Atkins submitted an entry, which praised a program called "Lions' Den" that keeps the Borah High School library open after school so that students have a safe and productive environment for doing homework. The program helps serve Borah's students, including the school's large refugee student population and that more than 40 different languages are spoken at the school. Click here to learn more.

November 14: 14th Annual Boise School District Employee Holiday Bazaar - November 14th, West Junior High School, 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.. Vendors are still needed. To participate as a vendor, you must be a District employee or immediate family member participating with a District employee, retiree, substitute, or regular District volunteer. If interested, please email robi.hathorn@boiseschools.org prior to November 6th.

Learn More About District's New Website: Boise School District has launched a new website. An FAQ webpage, complete with video tutorials, has been created to help you learn more about the features of this exciting new communication tool. Click here to learn more.

STEP Students Celebrate Career Discovery Day: Students in the District's Student's in Transtion Education Program (STEP) recently clebrated the program's 2nd annual Career Discovery Day, in collaboration with Disability Mentoring Day. STEP students regularly job shadow at a number of local businesses in the community. "This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn about jobs they are interested in and build partnerships in the community," said Karen Gillette, STEP Teacher.

A luncheon was held on Wednesday, Oct. 28 where students gave presentations about their job mentoring opportunities and recognized their employers. Pictured are STEP students with some of their employers. Participating employers include: Idaho Youth Ranch- Broadway;
Animal Healing Center; The Pantry; Office Max- Broadway; Multiquip, Inc.; Zamzow's- Fairview; McU's Sports; BSU Children's Center; Create Common Good; A'Tavola; and Megis Machine & Welding.

The STEP Program (Student Transition Education Program) is one of three transition programs in the Boise District for students with disabilities who are 18-21 years old. Students have the opportunity to continue their education after walking in graduation with their peers at their home high school. STEP students work on employment, independent living, self advocacy and other important lifeskills. The focus of the program is to teach students with disabilities to become more independent, obtain paid employment and live on their own or in supported living environments. October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. It is held each October, and is a time to celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. Started in 1945, this year marks the 70th anniversary of this day.

Students Participate in DrugFree Idaho Event: DrugFree Idaho and Meridian Anti-Drug Coalition, in collaboration with community youth, recently held an event for parents and concerned adults to learn more about the dangers of teen alcohol abuse. The event was held at the Forward Movement Training Center in Meridian and allowed participants to tour a home set up to portray a teen party with local youth acting and voicing concerns expressed by teens and young adults. Pictured are Borah High students who took part in the anti-drug event (left to right): Eduardo Canales, Tyler Ladman and Ezzie Marin.

High School Seniors Named Scholarship Finalists: Capital High School seniors Winston Lie and Ope Abimbola have been selected as Questbridge Finalists. Out of 13,264 applications nationwide, only 4,895 students were selected as finalists for this prestigious scholarship. The finalists are chosen based on their academic, financial and extracurricular credentials. These two deserving Capital High students will now complete another phase of the application process and if matched with the schools they have indicated an interest in, they will win a full ride scholarship to that school. More information is available at Questbridge.org

Ope Abimbola

Capital High School Senior

Winston Lie

Capital High School Senior

Counselor Selected to Speak at National Conference: Boise High School's David Chehey [Counselor and AP Coordinator], pictured, has been selected to speak at CollegeBoard's National Forum [Nov 4-6] in Washington, DC. Mr. Chehey will co-present a session on "New AP Score Reports for Program Enhancement" and is also part of a panel - "To Disclose or Not to Disclose, That Is the Question" - representing a public school counseling perspective in the Common Application/admissions process.

Tweet and Shout About BSD Success!: Be sure to share your Boise School District pride on Twitter by using the hashtag #BSDpride. Capture all the great things happening in your Boise school by sharing tweets, photos and videos to help celebrate your school's success!

Community Education Recruiting Volunteer Instructors: Community Education would love to have YOU teach with us! Recruiting for the Winter 2016 session will begin the week of October 26 and run through November 20. This eight-week session runs January 25 - March 17, 2016. Community Education classes are held at three local schools - Timberline High, West Jr. High, and Hillside Jr. High - or can be conducted at the instructor's place of business, if necessary. Classes operate from 6:30- 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Please note that your class does not have to run the full eight weeks; you can schedule the number of class meetings you need in order to cover the material you wish to present. To apply to become a volunteer instructor and submit a class proposal, visit www.boiselearns.org and click on Teach With Us! Boise Schools Community Education has been a valuable part of the Treasure Valley for more than 40 years, bringing lifelong learning opportunities to the community. For further information, call 854-4047 or e-mail communityed@boiseschools.org.

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.

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News Media Contact:

Dan Hollar

Public Affairs Administrator

Boise School District

(208) 854-4064

dan.hollar@boiseschools.org

www.boiseschools.org