District Partners with City, County and Area Schools to Encourage Regular School Attendance; Mayor Signs Proclamation
Representatives of Council Bluffs area schools, the City of Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County joined in a news conference on the first day of school to announce a year-long effort to raise the awareness in the community of the need for all adults to make sure children are attending school every day unless they are ill. Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan signed a proclamation to signify the 2010-11 school year as one to focus on increasing attendance.
Recognizing the need to increase the average daily attendance from the current 91%, Superintendent Martha Bruckner invited leaders of the Lewis Central Community Schools, St. Albert Catholic Schools and Iowa School for the Deaf to join forces to promote the importance of students attending school every day. Together, they serve more than 12,000 students.
Police Chief Ralph O’Donnell and Assistant County Attorney Dawn Landon also pledged their support of the effort, recognizing the benefits to a community when children are in school rather than on the streets.
Under Iowa Law, students who are at least six and less than 16 years of age on September 15th must enroll in school for the entire school year. The parent, not the child, would be reported to the county attorney if the child is repeatedly absent without an approved excuse.
Tucker Center HOSA Students Receive Oustanding Chapter Award;
Alex Dixon Named a National Finalist
Thirty students and three advisors represented Council Bluffs Schools and the Tucker Career & College Center at the 33rd Anual Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National Leadership Conference June 21-28, 2010 in Orlando, FL. Students who placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in competitions at the Iowa state conference qualified to attend and represent Iowa. 
More than 6,000 students from 48 states participated in the Conference. The Tucker Center HOSA chapter was recognized as an "Outstanding HOSA Chapter" through documentation completed in a scrapbook submitted by Jessica Frank, senior from Abraham Lincoln H.S. Also placing as a national finalist was Alex Dixon, senior from ALHS in Medical Photography.
Alex Dixon Jessica Frank
AL's Anna Jo Cowan Receives the 2010 Youth Leadership Award
Anna Jo Cowan’s efforts prove that 4-H not only makes individual youth better citizens and communicators, but it also can create a powerful group of children and
teens to influence state and national leaders.
Cowan, a nine-year 4-H member and a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, received the 2010 Youth Leadership Award on May 4. Mari Culver, the first lady of Iowa, presented the award at the Youth and Shelter Services Risky Business Conference in Ames. “Anna Jo’s community has truly benefited from her endeavors, her efforts and her advocacy and service,” Culver said. View the complete article.
Thomas Jefferson Musicians Combine Music and Fun
The Thomas Jefferson High School band, orchestra and several choir members traveled to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to perform and have a little fun. Click here for the complete Nonpareil story.
Bloomer Students Lend a Helping Hand
Enrichment students at Bloomer Elementary recently donated 86 pounds of pop tabs to the Omaha Ronald McDonald House. The students researched the Ronald McDonald House and developed a power point presentation to explain how the Ronald McDonald House provides support to families outside of the Omaha area. They presented their power point projects to the classrooms at Bloomer and together were able to generate this sizable donation.
TJ's Courtney Ruff Named Outstanding Female Scholar Athlete
For more than fifteen years the Greater Omaha Sports Committee has honored Outstanding Scholar Athletes in the Omaha Metro Area. These students are judged not only for their accomplishments on the field but for their scholastic achievements in the class room. This Fall, Courtney received the "Fall Scholar Athlete" for her outstanding accomplishments in Cross Country and academics. She has now been selected, from all of the previous award winners, as Outstanding Scholar Athlete of the Year. This distinguished honor is given to only one male and one female student athlete in the Omaha Metro Area each year. Congratulations Courtney, on this prestigious honor.
Masker and Adams Named Employees of the Year!
Kirn Middle School Vocal Music Teacher Deb Masker (left) receives applause from students as she's named the District's Licensed Staff Member of the Year.
Tucker College & Career Center Secretary Beth Adams (right) is cheered by Tucker Center Faculty as she receives word from Superintendent Martha Bruckner that she is this year's Support Staff Member of the Year.
The Board of Education and the Community Education Foundation will recognize the Employees of the Year at the 6:30 School Board meeting Tuesday night at the Educational Service Center, 12 Scott Street.
Debora (Deb) Masker has been the vocal music teacher at Kirn for the past 10 years.
This year, she also teaches Careers and Computers.
A parent nominator said: "Deb not only teaches vocal music she is the director of show choir and drama. She is a huge mentor and sponsor for the State History Day; she even makes time for the Leadership Academy. You can just tell Deb cares not only about our kids and our community but our future for both."
A colleague nominator said: "Passion should be Deb’s middle name. She exudes an energy that you cannot help but want to share.
Bethene (Beth) Adams has been with the District since 2002, first as a para-professional at Walnut Grove Elementary before beginning her new position in two years ago.
Her nominator said, "Beth is a shining example of our dedicated support staff."
Beth’s words and actions always exemplify the statement “collaborative, caring community”. As a key coordinator of the 8th Grade Career Fair, Beth helped ensure
that this event functioned like a well-oiled machine. She understands how important our relationships with the community are, and does everything in her power to make them better.
Due to a cut in a position at the central office mid-year, Beth was assigned to track all secondary students' registration information in the database. She approached the work with a “can do” attitude and has taken on this extra work without missing a beat."
Air Force JROTC Receives Outstanding Organization Award
Unit IA-951 at Abraham Lincoln High School has been selected as one of 212 units to receive the 2009-2010 Air Force Junior ROTC Outstanding Organization Award. The award recognizes Air Force Junior ROTC units that have performed above normal expectations, and that have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to their school and community while meeting the Air Force Junior ROTC mission of producing better citizens for America.
The objectives of the Junior ROTC program are to educated and train high school cadets in citizenship and life skills; promote community service; instill responsibility, character and self discipline through character education and to provide instruction in air and space fundamentals.
In addition to this honor, the JROTC Color Guard won first place for the second year in a row at last week's Celebrate CB parade.
Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln end the year with high honors
at the IHSMA State Solo & Ensemble Contest
For a complete list of awards and honors click here.
Kirn Students Selected for All State Band
2010 Iowa 8th grade All State Band members from Kirn Middle School are Chelsea Eret and Hope Philbrick. They traveled to Des Moines for their concert on May 13, in conjunction with the Iowa Bandmasters Association annual conference.
Geometry Students Receive Award of Distinction
The Wilson geometry students recently won an Award of Distinction accompanied by a $250 check to Wilson and a beautiful glass trophy. They also received silver recognition in the areas of research and teamwork. Click here for more details.
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Congratulations 2010 Summer Graduates
Congratulations to the nine students who graduated July 1st during a consolidatedl ceremony at Thomas Jefferson High School. Graduates include three students from Abraham Lincoln and six from Thomas Jefferson.
Washington Students Team Up with Kanesville Gardeners
Students from Carol Mattox’s 5th grade TAG class teamed up with students at Kanesville Alternative Learning Center community garden. Students Maricecy Zavala, Mason Cuttings, Matthew Brunson and Josue Lopez all assisted in replanting various, fruits, vegetables and flowers from seeds that they donated to the garden. The Washington students also held a can drive which raised $37 to help in purchase containers for the harvest of the vegetables. Everyone involved can’t wait until fall to enjoy their hard work.
Three AL Teams Recognized for Academics
The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has recognized three Abraham Lincoln High School Teams for Academic Achievement. The following Teams were acknowledged:
*Basketball Cheerleading - Excellence in Academic Achievement (3.08 GPA)
*Boys Basketball - Excellence in Academic Achievement (3.22 GPA)
*Swimming - Distinguished in Academic Achievement (3.30 GPA).
TJ Students put Physics in Motion
The TJ Physics students' final project was to create a Rube Goldberg machine that would turn on the on the room's projector. Each class was responsible for certain tables that later were combined to reach one final goal. Click the link to see if they were able to turn the projector on.
AL's Colpitts and Ebertowski - State Track Champs
This past Thursday, just four days after participating in her graduation ceremony, Chelsea Colpitts represented Council Bluffs and Abraham Lincoln High School in the Class 4-A discus event at the State Track Meet. She earned the state title with a 148-foot, 8-inch throw, topping her career-best and breaking the Abraham Lincoln High School record by nearly three feet. Congratulations to you, Chelsea, for this outstanding accomplishment!
Abraham Lincoln Junior Austin Ebertowski earned the Class 4-A state title in the 100-meter sprint this past Saturday with a time a 10.99 seconds. He became the first individual boys track champion from Abraham Lincoln since 2006 and the school’s first athlete to win this event. As if this accomplishment wasn’t enough, he went on to earn second-place in the 200-meter race at the State meet. We are proud of you, Austin, and are eager to see what you can do next year!
Crescent Elementary Students Enjoy Fitness Day
The event was put on by the Crescent PTO, Crescent Elementary Staff, Crescent Optimist Club and assisted by Nutrition Services. The event was sponsored by the Community Networking Grant from Promise Partners-Pottawattamie County's Alliance for Youth with funding from Iowa West Foundation and the Community Partnerships for Protecting
Children Initiative. The students participated in different fitness stations such as wheel barrow races, hula-hooping, bean bag toss, three legged races, and nutritious food tasting stations.
Wilson Student Speaks about Cyber Communication
Congratulations to Zane Taylor who recently participated in the State Optimist Speech Contest. He presented his speech “Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem” at the regional competition on May 8th where he placed first among the boys. He then presented his speech at the State Competition on May 22nd, where he placed fourth. Zane has also taken time to give his speech to the West End Optimist Club.
Hoover Inventor Receives Merit Award at State Invention Convention 
Hoover Elementary third grade student Ben Price was a meritorous winner at the state invention convention held April 24th at the University of Iowa.His "No Sick Road Trip Book Buddy" was among 334 student inventions at the convention, and was the only one from Council Bluffs this year. He received a $50 savings bond for his accomplishment.
Students at Gunn Elementary Working for a Brighter Future One Penny at a Time
The fifth grade, advanced math group had been selling popcorn every other Friday to raise money to donate to an educational charity.
While trying to determine what charity to give their proceeds to, they read the book “Three Cups of Tea”, by Greg Mortenson. The book was about one man who helped thousands of children in Afghanistan and Pakistan by building schools in the war-stricken countries.
The class was so inspired by the story that they decided to give the proceeds of their popcorn sales to help Mortenson’s cause. The students wrote a letter to Mortenson, which they enclosed with their donation of $370 for his Pennies for Peace fund.
Gunn Elementary Float Takes 1st in Celebrate CB Parade
Congratulations to the Gunn Elementary students who were awarded the First Place Float in the Celebrate CB Parade held Saturday Morning. The students, as well as judges, are pictured during the awards presentation.
Groundbreaking Day!
Groundbreaking ceremonies on Friday marked the official beginning of construction for the new College View and Carter
Lake Elementary Schools to open in the fall of 2011.
Carter Lake Elementary Ceremonial Groundbreaking
The new Carter Lake Elementary School will be built on land next to the current aging building. Parents, Board of Education members, Carter Lake Mayor Russ Kramer and students Cameron Barges and Lindsay Urich, both with perfect attendance at Carter Lake Elementary this year, were part of the ceremony.
College View Elementary School, located at the intersection of College Road and Valley View Drive, will serve students who currently are assigned to attend other schools in the east and north parts of the school district.
College View Elementary Ceremonial Groundbreaking
Participating in the College View Elementary ceremony were four-year-old Claire Schoening and her six-year-old sister Grace, who will be among the first students to attend the new
school. School District Board members, administrators and teachers, as well as Chamber of Commerce and City officials also joined in the ceremony.
The new school buildings are part of the Council Bluffs Community School District's long-term plan to update its school buildings to be more energy efficient and to include the features necessary for a modern learning environment. Thomas Jefferson High School was the first to be transformed during a multi-year renovation and expansion project. Abraham Lincoln High School, Longfellow Elementary, Rue Elementary and Hoover Elementary are among the building improvement projects underway and planned for the next few years.
Total cost of both construction projects will be $18 million to be funded by state-wide, one-cent sales tax revenue designated specifically for school building renovation and construction. Both schools will be built with the same basic two-story design to house students in preschool through fifth grade.
Andersen Construction Company of Council Bluffs was awarded the projects earlier this week. BCDM is the project architectural firm.
Junior State History Day Results
Seventeen students from Kirn Middle School competed in the Junior State History Day on May 2, 2010. The following students received special awards or were finalists in the competition:
Tia Frey--Outstanding project in African American History--QUALIFIED for the National Competition in Washington DC in June with her Project: George Washington Carver: The Perfect Peanut Plan to Combat Southern Poverty
Natalie Carlon--Finalist in Website Category--Julia Morgan Innovative Architecture ALTERNATE for the National Competition in Washingto DC in June
Allie Moats and Cassie Schilling--Oustanding project in Womens HIstory, Finalist in the Group Documentary--"Beautiful Barbie: Ruth Handlers Innovative Impact on Girls
Tristan Harris--Finalist in the Historical Paper Category-- The Innovation of Night Baseball.
The students from Kirn received third place in the Oustanding school category. The following students received special recognition for Judges Choice Awards: Shelby Knauss, Tristan Harris, Kayla Beck, Allie Moats, Tia Frey and Cassie Schilling.
The groups sponsor is Deb Masker
State Math Bee Results
Students from Kirn Middle School recently participated in the State Math Bee. Kevin Lin tied for 18th in the state with a score of 39 out of 50. The math team placed 13th out of 31 state qualifying teams, 6 points away from a top 10 finish. The team members were Kevin Lin (39), Logan Erwin (32), Trevor DiColandrea (30), Tyler Messenger (26) and Colton Mahood (alternate - 21). The average score was 32.02.
“Day of the Young Author"
On May 6, Lewis & Clark students celebrated being young authors. Last month they sent one piece to Student Treasures publishing company to be bound and published as a book. Writing has been an important focus to our students’ learning this year and students wanted to showcase all of their fantastic work.
“Day of the Young Author” events included…
- A writing Symposium where 5th grade students shared selected pieces from their books with the entire school.
- Students reading and sharing their published books with other students and with more than 60 of the families who visited Lewis & Clark to see our young authors and their writing portfolios.
It was a great day for Lewis & Clark’s young writers and their families!
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