April 30, 2007

It’s a busy week at Boise High!

This Week's Calendar:

Whittenberger Awards: Twenty-one Boise High School students are the recipients of the Whittenberger Achievement Award. This award recognizes seniors who maintain a 3.5 GPA and excel in activities outside the programs offered through the District. Boise Brave parents will host an awards breakfast in May. The following students received this award: Kyle Antonini, Robert Buckner, Nate Coffman, Christina Connolly, Elizabeth Corrick, Wyatt Fereday, Nolan Koenig, Ryan Hofstetter, Bryant Kealey, Jake Martin, Caitlin McGowan, Katie Rigsby, Kristin Robertson, Emily Rosenbaum, James Schumacher, Kathrin Sears, Colleen Smith, Andrew Storms, Luke Studebaker, Griff Tweeten, and Olive Wicherski.

The Wizard of OZ- The musical The Wizard of Oz opens Wed, May 2 and runs through Sat, May 5. Not only is this a combined effort including drama, choir, orchestra and band students from Boise High, but music students from both East and North Junior Highs and Lowell and Washington Elementary Schools will be involved in the production. The elementary students will be Munchkins, with Boise High drama student, Matt Dominick, playing the part of the Mayor of the Munchkin Village . Dorothy is being played by Bri Wickland and Kelly Woodard. The Scarecrow, Tin Man and The Lion are played by Reece Lyons, Jonathan Wagamot and Chris Canfield. The play also features Lauren Hamilton playing the part of both Auntie Em and Glinda the Good Witch of the North. David Thompson is Uncle Henry. Victoria Hess is the Wicked Witch of the West and also the stage manager. The production will feature a revolving stage which was engineered and built by Mr. Bruce Hess; it permits the changing of the scene in an easier fashion than on a normal stage. The play is directed by Mr. Brett Eshelman with the music being directed by Mr. Matt Swenson. Doors open at 6:15 each evening with the curtain at 7:00 pm. We are excited by the prospect of working with so many students from so many schools. This is a must-see production that will retell the great story that reminds us that there really is …..No Place Like Home.--Drama Dept.

Boise High Dance Team Places in Competition: Boise High School 's Redline Dance Team recently competed in the Idaho State Championship Dance and Cheer competition. They placed third in both Novelty and Lyrical Dance.  Congratulations!

Band Update--The Boise High Band, after receiving an Excellent rating at the District III competition (with one judge awarding them a superior), headed for the Heritage Festival Competition in San Francisco.  After a day of sightseeing, including a tour of Alcatraz (where no students were left), the students prepared for their adjudication by renowned conductors from around the country.  The competition included a mini clinic conducted by one of the judges which proved very beneficial.  The students spent the rest of the day enjoying the Great America Theme Park where the Festival ended with the awards ceremony during a dinner/dance.   The band overcame obstacles including a missing instrument and broken mouthpiece to place third in their class which included groups from as far as Texas .  The students felt the trip was educational, fun and well worth the hard work they had done to prepare and earn money for the competition.  Great job BHS Band!!—Joni Curry

Close Up - Washington DC —In April, Boise High participated in the Close Up Washington DC Study Trip. This year, ten Boise High students went to our nation’s capitol and participated in democracy. These students are Katy Westover, Suzy Forney, Leah Harf, Lauren Brassey, Pedro Cortabitarte, Tom McNeill, Chris Shaner, Rebecca Maguire, Kelsey Tyson and Rob Dillon. In addition to learning and getting involved in our governmental process, the group toured the monuments, visited the Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery , and hung out in Chinatown and Georgetown ! Boise High is very proud of these students. We hope to have the same excitement next year.--Bob Clark

Vive la France --In March, five Boise High French Students, Sarah King, Leslie Lovlien, Maddie Bronken-Cunningham, Jonathan Wagamot and Sasha Pierson, along with adults and teachers, Cindy Wagamot, David Chehey, Sally Husted, Pat Fletcher, and Peggy Jones set off with a group from Borah to go on a tour of Paris and parts of France .  All had a wonderful time!  

Senior Mentors--Thank you to all the Senior Mentors that worked this year with the sophomore class. Tues, May 1st will be the last training session and the following Friday (the shortened school day) will be the last classroom visit. We have a surprise in store at the training, so please be in the Choir Room during lunch on the 1st of May. Your efforts have shown great results and a stronger sophomore class is the result of your time and kindness. You have indeed left a legacy at Boise High of which you can be very proud.

National Latin Exam--Recently Latin I, II, III took the National Latin Exam. Of the 36 Boise students who took the test, 15 placed at or above the national average. In Latin I Sasha Allen-Grieve, Jennifer George, Melissa Jensen, and Tony Roche received the Silver Maxima Cum Laude award; Danika Stromberg, Jessica Lanser, and Robert Thornton received Magna Cum Laude awards; and Maxwell Gobel and Maegan Blansett received Cum Laude awards. In Latin II Matthew Simpson, and Gary Parkinson received Magna Cum Laude awards and Eva Thomas and Lyon Anderson received Cum Laude awards. There were eight students who missed by only one or two points. These students should be commended for their fine work and effort. Over 134,000 students from all fifty states and 13 foreign countries took the NLE. It was nice to see their hard work and effort payoff. They will be receiving their individual awards in the next few days. --Larry Stamps

Book Club News--The book club will be participating in the Big Read. This year the novel is: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.  Pick up a copy at the library and participate in a nationwide examination of a classic. For more information go to your local library.

American Mathematics Competitions Exam-- Congratulations to Kyle Antonini, Walker Grimshaw, and Katerine Kowal, all of whom excelled in the American Mathematics Competition Exam.  Good job also to Katerine Kowal, Kyle Antonini, Luke Maher (gold medallists) and Nicholas Huang (silver medallist) for their performance on the State Math Exam!  

Presidential Scholar Semi-Finalist--Senior Kyle Antonini has been named as a semi-finalist in the 2006-07 Presidential Scholar search. Each year two presidential scholars are selected from each state to represent their schools and communities and to be honored during a week of festivities in Washington , D.C. in June. These students have made it through a rigorous selection process that starts with over 10,000 candidates nationwide and ends with the naming of 154 students from the 3,000,000 graduating in the spring of this year. The final list of scholars will be named during May. Good luck, Kyle!

Poetry Competition-- Junior Shaun Engstrom recently placed first in the Idaho Poetry Out Loud recitation competition. She will now compete at the national competition for a $20,000 college scholarship.  Well done, Shaun!

Boise Rotary Century Scholars-- The top 100 graduating seniors in Boise and a number of top performing educators will be recognized in the Second Annual Boise Rotary Century Scholars Program Wed, May 2, from 6-9 pm in the Jordan Ballroom at the Student Center at BSU. The program is designed to honor those students who have demonstrated the highest academic achievement during their high school years. Also being recognized will be educators the students have named as having played a significant role in their academic success.  

History Club – There are elections all this week, Mon, April 30 to Fri, May 4.  If you wish to vote for the new officers, please come to Mr. Arnold’s room and vote.  The next History Club meeting is Fri, May 18.