Holiday Card Art Contest Award Recipients

Each year, Boise School District holds a holiday card art contest for students in the District. The contest is held in conjunction with the Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees, which also holds a holiday card art contest for students. Below is the student artwork chosen as this year's recipients of the holiday card contest for the Boise School District and the Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees. During its regular monthly meeting on December 11, 2023 the Boise School Board recognized the two students whose artwork was chosen for this year's holiday cards (see photos below).

Boise School District Holiday Card Contest Award Recipient

Andria Li

5th Grade

White Pine Elementary School

Karen Hammer

Teacher

Andria Li, 5th Grade, White Pine Elementary School was recognized by the Boise School Board for her artwork (pictured above), which was selected as the Boise School District's Holiday Card for 2023.

Andria said that she likes cats, and when she thinks of winter, she thinks of winter cabins or McCall, so she wanted to combine her favorite animal (a cat) with how she thinks of winter. Beautiful art, Andria! Congratulations!

Festival of Trees Holiday Card Contest Award Recipient

Arjun Eruvuru

5th Grade

Hawthorne Elementary School

Scarlett Randall

Teacher

Arjun Eruvuru, 5th Grade, Hawthorne Elementary School was recognized by the Boise School Board for his artwork (pictured above), which was selected as the Festival of Trees Holiday Card for 2023.

Arjun said that it was really difficult to think of ideas, and he was struggling with his art supplies. His art teacher was kind enough to lend him some better art supplies. Arjun's art was chosen by the St. Alphonsus Foundation as a 2023 holiday card art contest winner! St. Alphonsus will be using Arjun's art on thank-you cards. Congratulations on your beautiful art, Arjun!

Idaho Department of Education Selects District Students' Holiday Artwork

In addition to the District and Festival of Trees Holiday Card Art Contests, the Idaho Department of Education recently announced that Boise School District 5th grade student Aryan Eruvuru (Arjun's brother), Trail Wind Elementary School, is one of two Idaho students whose artwork has been selected as the overall winner of the Department's 2023 Holiday Card Art Contest. Aryan's artwork is pictured below. The Idaho Department of Education also selected a number of other Boise School District student holiday artwork, as well. View all the winning holiday artwork on the Idaho Department of Education website.

Aryan Eruvuru, 5th Grade, Trail Wind Elementary School, is one of two Idaho students whose artwork has been selected as the overall winner of the Idaho Department of Education's 2023 Holiday Card Art Contest.

Great Student Award Recipients

Timberline High School's William Jewell is Bringing Clean Drinking Water to Roatan Honduras

William Jewell is a senior at Timberline High School who is spending his free time working to bring clean drinking water to a Honduran island.



William was selected in November 2023 for BoiseDev’s Great Student Award – where one student each week is selected to receive a $200 scholarship based on their good deeds in the community – from helping others, volunteering, and more. William went on a trip with his family to Roatan, Honduras. During the trip, he visited a local school and noticed empty water bottles thrown around the schoolyard and a truck delivering water bottles around town. 

He wanted to find a solution to this problem and found that installing hydropanels could provide safe drinking water to the residents. Hydropanels use the moisture in the air to create clean drinking water. William' s efforts were recently featured in an article by Idaho Press Education Reporter Emily White.

Borah High School's Jeff Nalder Spends His Time Volunteering at the World Center for Birds of Prey

Jeff Nalder is a sophomore at Borah High School who has a love for birds of prey.

Nalder has been selected in December 2023 for BoiseDev’s Great Student Award — where one student each week is selected to receive a $200 scholarship based on their good deeds in the community — from helping others, volunteering, and more.



Nalder has volunteered at the World Center for Birds of Prey for the last two years — completing 70 hours of service. There, he helps teach people of all ages about the raptors at the center. He also actively encourages visitors to protect birds of prey in the wild.

December Red Apple Award Recipient

Each month during the school year, the Boise School Board honors deserving teachers and support staff through the District's highest awards program - the Red Apple Award for teachers and the Golden Apple Award for classified employees. During the Board meeting held on December 11, 2023, Trustees recognized December's Red Apple Award recipient.

Read the words of nomination for Annie Adams.

Did You Know?

Announcing Spring 2024 High School Graduation Dates

Boise School District is pleased to announce the following spring 2024 high school graduation dates.

Spring 2024 Graduation Dates

ExtraMile Arena, 7:00 p.m.

(unless otherwise noted)

• Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - Boise Online School, 2:00 p.m.; Frank Church High School, 6:00 p.m. (both graduation ceremonies to be held at the Morrison Center)
• Monday, May 20, 2024 - Boise High School
• Tuesday, May 21, 2024 - Borah High School
• Wednesday, May 22, 2024 - Capital High School
• Thursday, May 23, 2024 – Timberline High School

Our Schools Care

Student Creates 'Chill Room' for Support

Timberline High School student Lila Stadler envisioned a "chill room," where students can take a few minutes to themselves, relax, and take a break. She brought her vision to life after winning a contest and donating the prize money. In the following video, Lila openly shares about the journey she's taken to focus on her mental health, and how her own journey inspired the creation of this space. She hopes the safe and calming place will continue to help other students focus on their mental health, too. Thank you for giving Timberline students this awesome gift, Lila, and for being so inspiring!

Timberline High School student Lila Stadler (right) envisioned a "chill room," where students can take a few minutes to themselves, relax, and take a break. In this video, Lila and Timberline School Social Worker Katy Metzger explain how the "chill room" is helping students.

Supporting Our Students, Families & Staff

Boise School District has a number of resources to help students, family and staff. From counselors to social workers to school psychologists, our schools employ highly-trained mental health professionals.

Over the years, we have also developed relationships with phenomenal community mental health partners such as BPA Health, Communities for Youth, the City of Boise, YMCA, Boise State University, St. Luke’s and St. Alphonsus to provide families and employees with critical resources outside of the school environment.

In addition, we continue to strengthen our curriculum so our students learn not just about resources, but develop a deeper understanding of mental health overall. And, as mentioned earlier, our crisis response team provides immediate and comprehensive support for a school after a tragedy has occurred. 

For more information on immediate support available to our students and families, please review the following information and our Resources for Support online brochure.

Winter Weather Procedures & Driving Tips

Education is important and every missed day of school represents lost learning opportunities. However, Boise School District’s primary concern is for the safety of all students, including students riding busses and walking or biking to school. If students cannot safely travel to school or if schools are not able to operate safely because of citywide dangerous weather conditions, school may be cancelled. Watch the following video to learn more about Boise School District's Inclement Weather Procedures.

Winter driving can be challenging for drivers of all ages, but especially for high school students who are new to driving. With this in mind, review these safe winter driving tips to help you navigate winter weather.

Girls 5th & 6th Grade Basketball District Tournament Results

Results from the recently-held 5th & 6th Grade Girls District Basketball Tournament are in and the District Champion is the Whitney Girls Basketball Team (pictured). A total of 23 teams competed in the District tournament. The following teams won their respective District tournament quadrant final games: Hidden Springs, Trail Wind, Valley View & Whitney. Watch the following video to learn more.

Whitney Girls 5th & 6th Grade Girls Basketball Team won the Boise School District Championship for 2023. The team is coached by Katie Franca (pictured). Franca also serves Whitney students as a 4th/5th Grade Combination Teacher.

Student athletes who competed in the recently held District 5th & 6th Grade Girls Basketball Tournament learned new skills like sportsmanship in a safe and nurturing environment. Watch the above video to learn more.

Interested in Athletics?

Boise School District has always been highly regarded for academic achievements. At the same time, we have always been considered a leader throughout Idaho and the Pacific Northwest in the area of athletics. Many of our programs have become models for other districts. Below are the try-out dates and first days of practice for the 2023-2024 athletics program. Please contact your school for more information.

Parenting Classes

Boise School District is partnering with Family Advocates to provide FREE 10-week parenting courses. These courses include dinner, childcare and resources. Grace Jordan Elementary School, 6411 W. Fairfield Ave., Boise, will be hosting the course in English and Horizon Elementary School, 730 N. Mitchell St., Boise, will be hosting the course in Spanish. Space is limited! If you are interested please fill out the appropriate form (linked below) and we will contact you about the registration process. Please reach out to Sara Nord if you have any questions at 208-559-3107 or [email protected]. 

• Registration for the course in English starting January 18th
• Registration for the course in Spanish starting January 16th

Kinship Workshop

Are you providing care for a child that is your relative? This could be a grandchild, sibling that is still a child, niece, or nephew. We would love for you to join us for an evening of connection and to learn more about resources for your family in our community. This workshop will be held at Monroe Elementary School, 3615 W. Cassia St., Boise, ID 83705, on December 14th from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Please register here or call Sara Nord at 208-559-3107. 

READY! for Kindergarten

Boise School District is hosting READY! for Kindergarten at our Madison Early Childhood Center, 2215 W. Madison Ave., Boise, ID 83702. This three part series helps parents/guardians of children ages 2-5 years old support their child's early education and prepare them for Kindergarten. At each workshop, families learn how to use educational materials and toys that they get to take home. Dinner and childcare will be provided. The dates for this workshop series are January 17th, February 21st , and March 13th. Click here to register. Please contact Sara Nord at [email protected] for more information or questions. 

Early Childhood Special Education - FREE Developmental Screener Available



Boise School District's Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) program provides services to children 3-5 years old, who qualify for special education services. The program goals, curriculum and materials are developmentally appropriate and geared to the differing ability levels of each child. Children attending the ECSE classroom are provided a high quality program, and a safe and nurturing environment. This program promotes and integrates the cognitive, communication, physical, social, emotional, and self-help areas of development through classroom activities.

Boise School District offers a Free Developmental Screener for children ages 3-5 years old with developmental concerns.

BSD Developmental Screening Information 2023-2024 Spanish Language Version

Student Device Monitoring 

A reminder to parents that Boise School District provides parents/guardians with the ability to monitor your student’s activity on their District-assigned digital device via the GoGuardian Parent App: 

• GoGuardian Parent App - Welcome letter
• GoGuardian Parent App Instructions  

• December 19, 20, 21: Secondary End of Semester Testing - Early Release 7-12
• December 20: Early Release K-6, No School Pre K
• December 21: End of First Semester - Early Release K-6, No School Pre K
• December 22 - January 5: Winter Break - No School Pre K-12
• January 7: Winter Community Education Online Registration Opens
• January 8: School Resumes
• January 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - No School Pre K-12

Boise School District | 208-854-4000 | 8169 W. Victory Rd., Boise, Idaho www.boiseschools.org

Boise School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to all individuals. Learn more...