Kirn Pool Offers Olympic Swim Clinic

Former Olympic Gold Medalists, Ian Crocker and Christine Magnuson, will be conducting a swim clinic at Kirn Pool.  They will be teaching a variety of skills involving proper swimming technique, starts and turns.  The clinic is for any swimmer, ages 8-18, who are wanting to improve their swim strokes and learn from the best.  Note that the clinic is not designed as swim lessons but rather as a way for swimmers to improve on what they already know.  The cost is $75 per swimmer.  A portion of the proceeds will go to help purchase swimming equipment for Kirn. Click here for a flier with more information.

District Residents Invited toParticipate in Special Election Tuesday, Sept. 11

Polls Open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

All School District residents are invited to participate in the Special School Election on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. The purpose of the election is to amend the existing Instructional Support Program approved by the voters in 2005.  The change would increase the revenue the District could use for Instructional Support, but would not increase the overal property tax rate.

Please click here for more information:

http://www.cbcsd.org/ISL.asp

Special Election Voting Locations

Lakin Center, 815 N 16th Street

(for precincts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Broadway Methodist Church A,

11 S. 1st Street (for precincts 6, 7, 8)

Broadway Methodist Church B,

11 S. 1st Street (for precincts 9, 10A, 10B, 13, Garner)

Bethany Presbyterian, 1900 S. 7th Street (for precincts 11, 12, 14, 18)

Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, 3304 4th Ave. (for precincts 15, 16, 17)

Crescent Fire Hall

Carter Lake City Hall

Please note your voting location may be different than your location for a general election.  Please visit: www.pottcounty.com/government/auditor to find your polling place.

Fred Maher honored for 50+ Years of Service

The Community was invited to a reception to honor Fred Maher for his extraordinary career in education.  Fred currently serves as an Assistant Principal at Abraham Lincoln High School, and has worked in the Council Bluffs Community School District for 51 years, and in the field of Education for 55 ½ years.  Fred has touched the lives of many students, teachers, and families in the community, and this is an opportunity to thank Fred for his years of service and dedication. This special event was held on Saturday, June 9 from 1-5pm at the Abraham Lincoln High School cafeteria.  

Class of 2012 Graduation Ceremonies Now Online

.

The May 26th graduation cermonies for the Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln High School Classes of 2012 are now available to view online at this link. Congratulations to the more than 550 students who were part of this class! A total of 145 students earned more than $7.7 million in scholarships to continue their education. Click here to view photos from the Graduation Ceremonies on Facebook:

Walnut Grove Celebrates National Bike to School Day With a New Bike Rack

On May 9th, approximately 20 students and their parents celebrated National Bike to School Day at Walnut Grove Elementary. They started the day by biking from nearby Roberts Park to school where they were welcomed by Sgt. Riche of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Department. Safe Kids Loess Hills, and AmeriCorps members Alejandro Hughes and Brittany Schwartz held a bike rodeo where students learned the proper way to fit a helmet and participated in a variety of bicycle obstacle courses. Walnut Grove Elementary is also one of four schools nationwide to win an eight-bicycle stadium rack, provided by the National Center for Safe Routes to School and Saris Cycling Group.            

FAMILY, Inc. is the lead agency for Safe Kids Loess Hills and is an advocate for the prevention of unintentional childhood injuries. HealthCorps members, Alejandro Hughes and Brittany Schwartz, serve FAMILY, Inc. through a partnership with Iowa Public Health Association.

Thomas Jefferson Student Named Hixson Scholar

Thomas Jefferson senior Alex Henke has been honored with the Christina Hixson Opportunity Award. He is the only one student from Pottawattamie County to receive this award and scholarship to attend Iowa State University. Being a Hixson Scholar is an incredible honor and we are extremely proud of Alex.

C.B. Videos Earn Top Honors in Local UPRR Contest

Rue staff and students represented the school at the awards ceremony for the UPRR Video Contest Awards Presentation

Videos from Rue Elementary, Wilson Middle School, and Thomas Jefferson High School earned first place in the "The Great Big Rollin' Railroad video contest" sponsored by Union Pacific's 150th Anniversary Celebration. Casie LeRette won 1st place and a $1000 for Wilson Middle School. Students from Abraham Lincoln High School produced the 2nd place entry for the high school level. Rue and Thomas Jefferson schools will each receive $1,000 for their winning entries, which will be entered into the national competition. To see the videos, click here.

Registration Open for Lynx Summer Camps

Abraham Lincoln High School offers student athletes opportunities to stay active this summer.  Click here for the brochure.

TJHS Students Demonstrate Financial Literacy

Brad Stokes and Michael Wallace, seniors at Thomas Jefferson High School, were recognized for scoring in the top 20% of the 80,000 high school students participating in the National Financial Capability Challenge. This is a voluntary online exam that measures knowledge on saving, budgeting, investing, and other important skills critical to building a secure financial future.

The Thomas Jefferson overall average score of 81% surpassed the national average of 69% and Iowa average of 72%.

Tucker Center FEA Student

Laura Capel Awarded Metro Scholarship

Laura Capel was awarded one of only two Showcase of Teaching scholarships offered to members of the Future Educators Association across the metro area.  Laura is a senior at Abraham Lincoln and plans to attend the University of Nebraska at Omaha next fall, majoring in Special Education. Laura is the daughter of Thomas and Brenda Capel.

8th Grade Students Attend Career Expo

Thursday, April 26, 8th grade students from Kirn and Wilson attended a Career Expo at the Mid-America Center designed just for them.  They rotated through multiple presentations where they were able to discover and explore what might become their future.  Presenters included:  Ellison Technologies, Iowa DNR, IWCC, UNO, Hetzel Creative, Heartland Technology Solutions, Omaha Ambulance Service and TS Bank.  This event was sponsored by the Career and Technical Education division of the Council Bluffs Community School District.

It Is Not Too Late!Parents Invited to Participate in E-Registration

Families should have received an important mailing the first week of April about a new streamlined way to register their children for next school year in the Council Bluffs Community School District. Using PowerSchool and the Internet, the E-Registratrion process will allow parents to update their contact information, demographics, emergency contacts, and medical information using the Internet. This process is designed to make it more convenient for parents and more efficient for the District.  

Parents are asked to comple the E-Registration immediately upon receiving the information in the mail. Families without Internet access at home will be able to complete the E-Registration process by visiting your child's school during regular hours. The link to PowerSchool is: http://ps.cbcsd.org/public/

Parents will need the information included in the mailing to create your account and complete the registration process.

Thomas Jefferson High School College Planning Presentations for Students and Parents on October 4th

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.

"Finding the Best Fit College" for underclassmen and their parents. Topics to be covered are prioritizing what you want, making it happen, financing your dream, and follow through. I will be presenting and the counselors will be available for any questions. We will have resources  available through college planning booklets and website information.

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

"Transitions to College" for seniors and their parents. Topics to be covered are college visits, application and scholarship season, making informed decisions, and financing those decisions. I will be presenting the and counselors will be available for any questions. We will have resources available through college planning booklets and website information.

For more information please contact the Thomas Jefferson Counseling Center at 712-328-6493.

Class of 2016 Graduation Practice Sparks 8th Graders to Visualize Their Own High School Gradution

Wilson Middle School 8th grader Casie Lerette and her receives her booklet "Letters to the Class of 2016--Journey to Success" from Board of Education president David Coziahr and Superintendent Martha Bruckner.

Students in the future graduating class of 2016 attended a special event on the last day of school at the Mid-America Center to "practice" for their own graduation ceremony in four years. The Kirn and Wilson Middle School 8th graders sat in the same chairs the members of the Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson Class of 2012 will sit on May 26th as they accept their high school diplomas. 

Each student entered the arena to the "Pomp and Circumstance" music, listened to speakers, and was given a booklet of letters from school district, business and government representatives, who provided words of encouragement as the students begin their high school journies toward graduation.

Celebrate CB Parade...

Students with Perfect Attendance Make First-Time Appearance

Council Bluffs Schools was represented with perfect attendance, a 1st place float and so much more at this year's Celebrate CB Parade, Saturday, May 19th. Click here to view a picture page!

Abraham Lincoln Boys Tennis Team Finishes Year on Top  

Bottom R to L :

Aaron Valdivia, Sam Wilder, Jordan Peterson, Evan Giles
Top R to L : Head Coach Myron Wilder, Alex Crowl, Ryan Koontz, Jacob Ragland 
Not pictured: Assistant Coach Joel Nelson, Jacob Kalstrup

The ALHS Boys tennis team finished their dual meet season 10-1. They also finished first at the Atlantic Open, won the City Championship for the 7th straight year, won the Conference Championship for the 3rd straight year, finished second at Districts, and won their Preliminary Sub-State team match against SCN 5-0. Alex Crowl qualified for individual state tennis in Singles as a District Champion. This is his 4th year as a State Tournament Qualifier and finished the season undefeated 24-0. Congratulations to all!

Kirn Students Perform at National History Day Competition

Congratulations to the two Junior Group Websites for advancing to the National History Day Competition in Washington DC in June. Ashlyn Turk, Haley Hartman, and Claire Jones presented "Triangle Fire Fuels Reform" and to Jacob Kaufman and Gage Weber who presented "America Sees Red: McCarthy and the Cold War."Calabryan Holder and Elizabeth Retikis made the finals at the State Junior History Day competition on May 7, 2012 with their group documentary "From Sea to Shining Sea." Nolan Dresher, Katilyn Flenker, Dillon Gibson, Candy Heyer, and Taylor Morris, also made the finals at the State Junior History Day competition with their group performance "Lens of Reform: Lewis Hine Pictures Child Labor in America"
Deb Masker received the Patricia Behring award for the outstanding Junior History Day teacher. Congratulations to all!

ALHS Journalism Students Earn Honors

The Abraham Lincoln Journalism program is proud to announce it is the winner of third place in the "Division A" sweepstakes contest at the University of Nebraska at Omaha Media Conference. This award means the Echoes and Crimson and Blue won the third-most points per entries out of all 15 "Division A" schools from the Omaha metro area. Individual award winners are:Brittany Rupp and Danielle Peabody: 1st Place for Best Newspaper Single-Page Layout: 

Kevin Dickey and Danielle Peabody:

1st and 3rd Place for Best Newspaper Two-Page Layout   

Elizabeth Beck,Shannon Holmes and Kevin Dickey: 2nd Place for Best Cartoon:

Olivia Burgher, 3rd Place for Best AdIn Mid-April, the Iowa High School Press Association announced that the Crimson and Blue yearbook won an "Award of Distinguished Merit" from the Iowa High School Press Association, the second highest category of awards in the state.

Outdoor Classroom at Crescent Elementary

Grayson Harvey, former Crescent Elementary student and current student at Abraham Lincoln, worked with other Troop 3 members to complete an Eagle Scout Project in the Crescent Nature Trail on Saturday, April 21st. Grayson designed and built an outdoor classroom for students and teachers to use. In addition to benches and writing areas, the classroom also features a full size whiteboard and podium. We are grateful for Grayson's generosity. We would also like to thank all the other volunteer workers and our own Crescent Elementary PTO for funding a portion of this project. Classes have already used this wonderful learning space. Thank you Grayson!

2012 Excellence in Teaching Awards Presented Friday Night 

The H.H. "Red" and Ruth H. Nelson Family Foundation Excellence in Teaching Awards were presented Friday Night to Deb Masker of Kirn Middle School, Diane Storey of Thomas Jefferson High School and Deb Carlson of Hoover Elementary!  Congratulations to these dedicated and exemplary educators who received this prestigious honor!