Watch the video below to find out what makes Wood River Middle School extraordinary.

Great teachers make great public schools!  On National Teacher Day, thousands of communities take time to honor their local educators and acknowledge the crucial role that teachers play in making sure every student receives a quality education.  Tell a teacher today how much you appreciate them!

 "Teachers teach because they care. Teaching young people is what they do best. It requires long hours, patience, and care."
--Horace Mann

Wood River High School students James Petzke and Sean Sutton competed in the National Leadership Conference competition of Business Professionals of America (BPA) in Chicago, Illinois. Their event, Web Application Team, placed 3rd at the national level. The Web Application Team created a database-driven website with a server-side functionality and presented this in front of a team of judges as a working web application.

James and Sean have both been members of BPA for four years and have competed in many different events including Web Application Team on numerous occasions. Web Application Team is an Information Technology (IT) event in BPA and is headed by advisor Sam Schrader. BPA advisor Lisa Hoskins also attended.

Click on the flyer for more information

“A highlight for me was seeing the students share their data notebooks,” said Idaho State Representative Wendy Jaquet after last year’s Carey Leadership Day.  “I was also impressed with how the children "owned" their data.  That can only be positive for school excellence.  They were so proud of the bar graphs they had produced.  They articulated their academic goals, and clearly explained how they were reaching them.”

www.blaineschools.org

The community is invited to celebrate the newly remodeled Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater on Wednesday, April 25.  The celebration begins with an open house and tours of the Community Campus at 5:30 p.m., A ribbon-cutting and performing arts showcase in the newly remodeled theater follows at 7:00 p.m.  

Originally built in 1978, the Wood River High School Performing Arts Theater at the Community Campus is the county’s largest indoor performing arts venue.  The primary use of the Performing Arts Theater is for students who participate in choral, band, orchestra and drama programs that are recognized regionally and nationally. Over 5,000 people use the theater annually.

The theater remodel was funded through the 2009 Blaine County School District Plant Facility Levy.  The levy funds safety and security, technology and facility improvements.  “We want to thank the taxpayers for their support of public education, we hope everyone will come enjoy the evening and see a greatly improved performing arts space for our students,” says Superintendent Dr. Lonnie Barber. 

The WRHS Performing Arts showcase will include the band, mixed choir, drama, and orchestra.  WRHS drama students will treat the audience to a preview of the musical Seussical, which will open the following night.  The band, choir and orchestra students will perform pieces from their appearance at the Heritage Music Festival; they will also perform pieces from their upcoming spring performances. 

Prior to the ribbon-cutting and performing arts showcase, the partners of the Community Campus will host an open-house with tours and refreshments beginning at 5:30 p.m.  The Community Campus, owned by the Blaine County School District, houses the College of Southern Idaho’s Blaine County campus, the Blaine County Recreation District, Footlight Dance Centre, Sun Valley Summer Symphony education programs, Head Start, Chartwell’s Campus Café, and a variety of rental spaces. 

Some of the activities scheduled for the Open House include:

• The BCRD’s Fitworks and the ever-popular bouncy house will be open.
•  Patrons are welcome to view an Intermediate Ballet I class at Footlight Dance Centre.
• CSI will provide information about upcoming classes. 
• Head Start will provide health and early childhood information.
• The Sun Valley Summer Symphony music students and the B-Tones will entertain during the open house. 
• And Chartwell’s will provide a different dessert at various stations set up through the Community Campus.

For more on the Blaine County School District, go to www.blaineschools.org

The Idaho Standards Achievement Tests are underway. At this week's BCSD Board of Trustees' meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lonnie Barber put ISAT's into perspective during his monthly discussion with the Board. He also shared a sample of combined (Carey and Wood River Middle School) 6th, 7th and 8th grade ISAT test results from 2011. 

Watch his discussion with the Board below:

NPR Political Editor Ken Rudin visited Hailey recently with Boise State Public Radio. NPR and Boise State Public Radio are collaborating on a project called StateImpact, designed to focus on how the actions of state government affect people and their communities. Students from Wood River High School and Silver Creek School were invited to participate in a discussion with Rudin at a private reception.

WRHS government teacher Maritt Wolfrom invited Joey Richardson and Silver Creek High School Principal Lynn Seifert invited Josh Murphy. “They asked great questions and really enjoyed the afternoon,” said Wolfrom. “I wish my whole class had been able to hear him speak.” If you are familiar with Rudin’s collection of political buttons, you’ll know why Wolfrom was so excited to tell Rudin about the collection at the Blaine County History Museum. Special thanks to Ken Rudin’s hosts for including the next generation in a discussion about politics!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/

Steve Guthrie, Blaine County School District Board of Trustees Chair, announced last night that the Board of Trustees approved a three-year contract for Dr. Lonnie Barber as Superintendent of the Blaine County School District.  The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to renew the contract following its annual performance evaluation of the Superintendent.  The Board also approved contract renewals for all District and school administrators.

Dr. Barber was hired as the Assistant Superintendent in July, 2007 as part of a leadership succession plan. The Board hired Dr. Barber two years later to become the District Superintendent following Dr. Jim Lewis’s retirement. 

In a subsequent press release, Chairman Guthrie cited the progress made during Dr. Barber’s tenure in achieving the goals of the Blaine County School District’s Strategic Plan.  “Under Dr. Barber’s leadership, the goals of our Strategic Plan have been accelerated.  Dr. Barber has worked closely with the Board of Trustees, staff, and the community at large to implement the Strategic Plan, which was based on unprecedented community involvement.  We believe Dr. Barber will provide the leadership we need to continue carrying out the community’s plan,” said Guthrie.

The annual evaluation process of the Superintendent is part of the District’s commitment to ongoing performance evaluation of all staff.  Said Dr. Barber, “the evaluation process is seen as an opportunity to improve on all levels, from custodians to the Superintendent.  We have a process in place to help all staff grow and improve. I always learn something from my evaluations and I’m committed to implementing the feedback the Board has given me based on the parent and staff survey.”

Chairman Guthrie spoke about the process involved in the Superintendent’s evaluation, “One of the most critical jobs of the Board is to evaluate the Superintendent.  It’s a continual process, as it should be.  The Board spent many hours and held several meetings to accurately and successfully evaluate the Superintendent and document our process. We work closely with the Superintendent and have ongoing discussions about progress and expectations.  We’ve also worked with Liz Kilpack of the Idaho School Boards Association, who provided input and guidance throughout the process.   This is a team effort and we believe we are moving in a positive direction.”

Dr. Barber continued, “I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the Board of Trustees and the students, parents, teachers, staff and community members in Blaine County.  Public education is at a critical crossroads right now and in Blaine County we have the opportunity to do it right, to really deliver for the diverse student population we serve and to give every student the opportunity to fulfill their dreams.  I’m humbled by the chance to help students become the best that they can be through the Blaine County School system.”

In the past four years, the Blaine County School District has among other things:

• Approved the BCSD Strategic Plan based on unprecedented community and staff input, leading the way to 21st century learning.
• Passed a Plant Facility Levy that preserves the General Fund for the cost of educating students and uses Levy funds to maintain and modernize facilities.  The Levy also provides innovative technology used by teachers and students every day.
• Implemented the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme in grades 6-10 at Wood River Middle School and Wood River High School. 
• Helped teachers bring Project Based Learning to every student.
• Began offering all-day Kindergarten, helping more students prepare for 1st grade.
• Expanded the college counseling program throughout the District, resulting in increased numbers of students applying to college.
• Began offering SAT prep for all students and expanded dual credit and Advanced Placement offerings.

“This is a team effort, and our accomplishments are the result of a very dedicated staff who want to see the District move forward in a direction that makes a difference for students.  It’s our teachers who are responsible for our success,” said Barber.

Come meet the Blaine County School District Leadership Team.  From January 11 through March 21, administrators and school board members from the Blaine County School District will visit local coffee shops every Wednesday morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m.  These informal visits are a chance for you to meet administrators and school board members and discuss anything related to Blaine County Public Schools. 

This week, Wednesday, January 11th, 8:30-9:30 AM, at Starbucks, 491 Sun Valley Road, in Ketchum.

Go to www.blaineschools.org for a compete schedule.

Content focused on 2nd-3rd grades, but all parents welcome
Wednesday, December 7th
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Community Campus, Room 301/302

Join Jonathan Brendefur and staff from the Idaho Mathematical Thinking Initiative. Learn about Common Core State Standards and what math education looks and feels like through hands-on exercises.

For childcare reservations, please RSVP to dkelly@blaineschools.org or call 578-5062.

For more information call 578-5000 or visit www.blaineschools.org

Please check out the brief video below from our last Parent Math Meeting