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What's Happening in Boise School District

December 14: Boise School Board meeting, 6:00 p.m., Boise School District Services Center, 8169 W. Victory Rd., Boise. Agenda will be posted here.

December 18: Early release for Boise School District students. Click here to review early release schedule.

December 21 - January 1: Winter holiday break. No school for Boise School District students.

January 3: Online registration begins for Community Education's popular Winter session of classes. At that time, you may click here to review classes and register. Winter session runs January 25th through March 17th. Choose from hundreds of lifelong learning opportunities, from fitness, health, arts and crafts, travel, business and finance and much, much more! For more than forty years, Community Ed has served as Boise's first choice for lifelong learning opportunities. Get out of the house this winter and learn something new with Community Ed!

January 4: School resumes for Boise School District students.

January 4 - February 12: Boise School District's Public Montessori program will accept applications during this time period. The program, which is offered at Liberty Elementary School, is focused on fostering self-motivated, responsible, lifelong learners by providing an opportunity for students to meet high academic standards using the Montessori Philosophy and methods of education. A lottery will be held on February 19th. Families will be notified by mail the week of February 22nd. Parent Information Night will be in the Liberty Library, 1740 E. Bergeson, on Wednesday January 20th from 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 PM. Click here for more information and click here for an application.

January 25: Boise School District will provide developmental preschool screening for children ages 3 to 5 years of age. Please call 854-5520 to set up an appointment by January 20th if you have a child who may have problems in the following areas: Self Help Skills; Speech; Language; Social Emotional; Concepts; Hearing; Vision and Motor Skills. Services are available for children with special needs through the Boise School District Early Childhood Special Education program.

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.

Fairmont Students' Artwork Represented on National Christmas Tree: Fairmont Junior High School is representing Idaho on the National Christmas Tree & Pathway of Peace. Idaho's ornaments were designed by Fairmont students (pictured), facilitated by artist/teacher Ritta Nielsen. Students were inspired by the beauty found in the wildflowers of Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument. Working collaboratively, the following students spent 190 hours to produce these Idaho gems: Yuliana Barreto Nunez, Joy Bartschi, Ben Blodgett, Robert Bray, Anna Gamel, Lili Goller, Jordyn Hausman, Abby Johnson, Venessa Kudashkin, Will Santos, Jack Seastone, Chris Softley, Corine Sprute, Craig Sturges, Paige Travis, Isabella Wildt. Click here to learn more.

Mihaya Sakai

Student Artwork Selected for Annual Holiday Card: Riverside Elementary School 3rd grade student Mihaya Sakai's artwork was selected as the winner of this year's Boise School District Holiday Card Contest. Mihaya's depiction of a winter scene complete with decorated Christmas tree and snowman was selected from among one hundred (100) entries submitted by students in grades K-6. As the Grand Prize Winner, Mihaya receives a certificate of participation, 100 cards featuring her artwork, and a $25 gift card to Quality Art. She will be recognized during the Boise School Board meeting scheduled on December 14th.

2015 Festival of Trees Winter Art Contest Recipients: A number of Boise District student's artwork was chosen during this year's Festival of Trees Winter Art Contest. Click here for a list of students who won awards during this year's art contest.

High School Choir Invited to Carnegie Hall: In April of 2015 the Boise High High Expectations Choir (pictured) competed in the World Strides Heritage Music Festival in Seattle, WA. At this festival, they received a Gold award with a score of 95 out of 100. They also received a special commendation from the festival adjudicators and were invited to participate in the Festival of Gold concert series held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. "It is a tremendous honor for us to have received this invitation and we are excited to make everyone aware that in April 2016 we will be traveling to New York City and joining 12 other high schools from across the country for this performance," said David Burton, BHS Choral Director. If you would like to support these incredibly talented students, please consider making a donation to the Boise High School Choirs or supporting any of our upcoming fundraising events. Contact BHS Choral Director, David Burton, Phone: 854-4353 or email: david.burton@boiseschools.org for information on how you can help.

Borah High Jazz Ensemble Recognized: On December 4th, the Borah High Jazz Ensemble was honored for their outstanding performance at the District III Jazz Festival.The band received a Superior rating. Only 6 of 38 bands where rated superior at the 2 day festival. The Borah High Jazz Ensemble has received a Superior Rating at the DIII Jazz festival 23 of the past 24 years and has the high score 11 times. The Jazz Ensemble is directed by Kevin Sullivan.

East Junior High 9th Grade Concert Band Selected to Perform: East Jr. High's 9th Grade Concert Band was recently selected to perform at the Idaho Music Educators Association All-State In-service Conference after auditioning and being selected by a panel. Only a handful of ensembles across the state are chosen every other year. The band is directed by Mr. Enrique Martinez.

Future College Planning Video

Roosevelt Students Team Up With IDeal to Showcase College Planning: Roosevelt Elementary School 6th grade students recently partnered with IDeal to create an interactive lesson on future college planning. The end result was the production of a video (click on adjacent video image), which describes the purpose of preparing to pay for the costs of college and provided students and their families with a hands-on learning experience. Seven Roosevelt students were awarded $100 IDeal scholarships as the result of their participation in this learning project. Scholarships were awarded as the three groups cycled through the lesson at a time in teams of two - the closest team to the actual cost of 4 years at an Idaho University won the scholarship.

Casey Lindorfer

Music Educator Recognized: Capital High School Band Director Casey Lindorfer, has been recognized by the national School Band and Orchestras Magazine as one of "50 Director's Who Make a Difference for 2015". Click here to learn more.

Three Boise Teachers Honored for Inspiring Future Teachers: The fifth annual Pesky Award for Inspirational Teaching has recognized three distinguished Boise District K-12 teachers (pictured below) who have made a difference in the lives of their former students. The Boise District educators recognized are Sheryce Davis, Rich Lapp and Mary McGuire. The PAIT is the only award known of its kind that recognizes K-12 teachers for the inspirational work they do. Alan and Wendy Pesky, founders of the Lee Pesky Learning Center, created the award in conjunction with the College of Education. Boise State teacher candidates in the graduating class of fall 2015 or spring 2016 nominated former teachers who have inspired them.

The awards will be presented during Boise State's Winter Commencement ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19, in Taco Bell Arena. Alan and Wendy Pesky will honor the four outstanding and inspirational K-12 teachers and their schools. Each of the four teachers will receive $2,000 and their schools will receive $500 each.

Sheryce Davis
Owyhee Elementary School

Rich Lapp
Former Timberline High Choir Teacher
Currently District Performing Arts Coordinator

Mary McGuire
Horizon Elementary School

English Language Learner Department Presents at National Conference: Boise School District's English Language Learner Department recently presented at a national conference - the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment Consortium (WIDA) National Conference in Las Vegas, held in October. Molly, McMillian, Title I Co-Teacher, South Jr. High; and Michelle Bishop, 7th Grade Reading Teacher, North Jr. High presented and Molly Jo Fuentealba, ELL Consulting Teacher, and Fernanda Brendefur, Principal, Whittier Elementary School, were also contributors.

This and That for December: In his latest Data Points blog, Dr. Don Coberly, Superintendent, Boise School District, takes a closer look at educational issues currently making the news. Data Points is dedicated to providing student achievement and education trend analysis and is intended for parents and patrons interested in an objective, data-driven look at student performance in Boise and across Idaho. Click here to read more.

Neighborhood gyms open for weekend youth activities starting in December: Youth from kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to participate in supervised open gym play at eight neighborhood schools this winter. Open gym is a free service provided by the Boise School District and the Boise Parks & Recreation Department. Gyms are open on the weekends from Dec. 5-March 13 (Valley View Elementary and West Jr. High will open on Dec. 12). All gyms will be closed on holidays. Ages, schools and hours are:

GRADES K-6

Hawthorne Elementary School, 2401 S. Targee St. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Koelsch Elementary School, 2015 N. Curtis Rd. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Valley View Elementary School, 3555 Milwaukee St. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday

GRADES 7-12

South Junior High, 3101 Cassia St. 1-4 p.m. Sunday
West Junior High, 8371 W Salt Creek Ct. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday
Les Bois Junior High, 4150 E. Grand Forest Drive. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday
Hillside Junior High, 3536 Hill Rd. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday
East Junior High, 5600 Warm Springs Ave. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, 1-4 p.m. Sunday

Substitutes Needed: Boise School District is in need of both certified and classified substitutes.

Selected applicants interested in substituting as a certified substitute must meet the minimum requirements of having at least a Bachelor's Degree and must attend a teacher training class.

Certified positions include elementary and secondary teacher and nurse.

Classified positions include tutor, special education paraprofessional, detention monitor, school support, administrative assistant and health technican.

Click here to apply online.

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.

Note: Should you no longer wish to receive Constant Contact emails from the District, you may click on the SafeUnsubscribe link located at the bottom of this email.

News Media Contact:

Dan Hollar

Public Affairs Administrator

Boise School District

(208) 854-4064

dan.hollar@boiseschools.org

www.boiseschools.org