Lines From Les Bois
Winter Newsletter 2017-2018
Letter from the Principal
Dear Les Bois Parents,
As the school year is well into 2nd Quarter, we want to tell you how great the students are here at Les Bois. It has been terrific to see many of our students in several of our extra-curricular activities. It is fun to see them in the halls at Lunch interacting with their friends and peers. Most importantly, it is a real pleasure to see our tremendous teachers and staff working with the students in the classrooms of the school. This is a great school with very dedicated teachers.
We appreciate all of your support as we work together to educate your children here at Les Bois. Special thanks to many of you who volunteer in many ways. Our PTO runs our Outpost concession stand for games, events, and Fridays. This money is used to fund various teacher projects here at the school. Your volunteer efforts really make a difference here at Les Bois. Please look for opportunities to volunteer through our outstanding PTO.
Holiday Break will begin on Thursday, December 21, 2017 with an early release and school will resume Monday, January 8, 2018. We will have final exams for the semester on January 17-19. Please encourage your students to do their best and finish the semester strong.
This calendar year, our teachers have been implementing new grading procedures we piloted this last year. Student learning and progress is our #1 goal and we are working very hard to allow each student many opportunities to learn. Our teachers have been working hard to meet the needs of all of our students.
I had the opportunity again this year to visit many other schools in the state as part of Accreditation Teams. I am happy to report that Les Bois continues to be second to none when it comes to the quality of our teachers and education received at Les Bois by our students. A big part of our success is due to the incredibly supportive community, families and students we have. Thank you all for continuing to make Les Bois great. We would like to take this time to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Rich Clements
Principal
Les Bois Junior High School
854-5342
rich.clements@boiseschools.org
Jessica Cromie
Assistant Principal
Les Bois Junior High School
Sibling Yearbook Pictures
Important Dates
December 21st: Early Release @ 12:00
December 22nd-Jan. 7th: Winter Break
January 8th: School resumes
January 8th: Boys basketball starts, have boys listen for announcements
January 15th: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No School)
January 17th-19th: End of Semester Testing Early Release @ 1:15 W-F
January 25th: Dennis Technical Center Open House 5:30 - 7pm
January 29th: Timberline Freshman Orientation (incoming Sophomores) 6:30-7:30
February 5th: 9th Graders pre-register for Timberline during English Class
February 5th: 8th Grade Parent Night, High school graduation plans and credits 6:30-7:30
February 19th: President's Day (No School)
March 7th: Incoming 7th Grade Orientation 6-7 pm Les Bois gym
Twitter at Les Bois
Hey parents and students,
Start following us on Twitter and see what all the fun things we have going on here at Les Bois. https://twitter.com/LesBoisJrHigh
Open Gym
Open Gym program runs on Saturday and Sunday at a number of Boise School District schools. Open Gym is presented by the Boise Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with the Boise School District. Participating schools include Garfield and Hawthorne elementary schools (K-6 children only) each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Les Bois, East, South & West junior high schools (7-12 students only) at various times on Saturday and Sunday. Les Bois times are Saturday: 9 am-12 and Sunday 1 pm-4.
Winter Weather
Boise School District Winter Weather Procedures
Education is important and every missed day of school represents lost learning opportunities. However, the 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 city-wide dangerous weather conditions, school may be cancelled.
We will not cancel school on days with normal wintery conditions. Light snowfall, cold mornings or areas of ice are not sufficiently dangerous to force the closure of schools. With proper precautions including appropriate clothing, road deicing, and careful driving, students can travel to and from school safely.
The Boise School District covers over 450 square miles of Ada County. We recognize that conditions vary throughout the District, even from street to street, in some cases. Conditions may be extremely dangerous in one area, while perfectly safe everywhere else.
If parents believe it is too dangerous for their children to travel to school they have the option to keep their children home. If school is cancelled, it will be cancelled for the entire District.
The most frequent dangerous weather conditions facing Boise schools are:
SNOW: Snow levels within the City of Boise are typically light or moderate. However, there is always the potential for a heavy snowfall to make traveling by vehicle or on foot dangerous. Historically, most snow fall only results in slow traffic and minor accidents throughout the City. Normal snowfalls would not result in school closures.
COLD: Frigid temperatures are more serious than snow when making school closure decisions. On bitterly cold days our concern is for students walking to school. Extremely cold weather also impairs our ability to get busses running, which causes delays in pickup routes, delays which are much more dangerous to riders because of the low temperatures.
ICE: Ice is our most dangerous winter weather condition. Freezing rain and/or refreezing of melted snow make our roads, streets and sidewalks extremely treacherous for pedestrians, and vehicles. Icy conditions may force us to close, even if it appears that no other dangerous conditions exist.
How is the decision made to close or not to close school? Representatives from transportation agencies, the weather bureau, the highway district, city and county law enforcement agencies, and school administrators, including the Superintendent, check the roads and monitor information throughout the night and early morning hours. We confer by telephone early in the morning to reach a decision.
If school will be closed, we will communicate to local radio and television stations to spread the word. We will also email parents, send a text message to parents, and post closure information on the District's website www.boiseschools.org and on our Twitter account. To sign-up for the District's emergency text messaging service text SUBSCRIBE to the number 68453.
Nurse's Notes
Preventing the Flu
Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs
The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent flu.
1. Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
2. Stay home when you are sick.
If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.
3. Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
4. Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
6. Practice other good health habits.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
Counselor's Corner
Counselors will also be visiting the 6th graders at all the Elementary Schools in the spring and helping them pick classes and register.
9th Graders, there are lots of important dates coming up in January for High School registration. Parents, make sure you look at the list of important dates.
Les Bois Library
When logging into the Destiny Discover and Overdrive apps or internet sites, students will use their school computer username and their capital initials + 6-digit birth date for their password.
When logging into the Tumble Book Cloud app or internet site, use the username boiseschool and the password library.
From home students, will type the username: boiseschool and the password: library or the access code: library.
Several of these databases can be added to personal devices like Ebsco and Gale.
Sports Update
Girl's 7th grade volleyball: Starts in March this year, try outs will be announced at school.
Snowriders Club
Starting sometime in January, Bogus Basin begins holding Dotty Clark races every Saturday for 6 consecutive Saturdays. The races are individual not as a group. They have races for Slalom Ski -Novice, Intermediate, and Expert, Slalom Snowboard- Novice, Intermediate, and Expert, Freestyle Intermediate- ski and snowboard, Freestyle Expert- ski and snowboard, and Nordic -1K, 2K, and 3K.
Students who sign up for Snowriders can compete in races and earn points for themselves and Les Bois. If they go to 3 of the 6 races, then they qualify for the Dotty Clark championship which is held during the school day. It is a fun way to meet more people who ski or snowboard and to set personal goals for skiing and snowboarding. Applications will be available at the beginning of October. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Hart in room 120. jeanna.hart@boiseschools.org
PTO News
Show school spirit by purchasing Les Bois Spirit Wear! Varying designs of T-shirts (both short and long sleeve) and sweatshirts are available at the Outpost/Concession. Most designs are $15, $20, and $25. Some Nike and Under Amour available for $30, $35, and $45.
Box Tops
Thank you to the families who have sent in Box Tops! We recently submitted 1,331 Box Tops (worth $133.10 for our school). We can do much better! Lets try to double that for our spring submission. Make sure to check your groceries & household purchases for Box Tops and send them to the office. Email Amber (amberchalas@gmail.com) with questions.
Spring Break 2018
Hello Blazer families,
During spring break of 2018, Lori Ewing and Angela Heindel will be leading a trip to New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia and we need to find out who might be interested in getting more information as it becomes available.
Adult family members are invited to join us as well as siblings as long as they are at least 12 years old at the time of the trip. We will be traveling with School Tours of America, a well-established and highly respected student travel company. $99 will get you registered and will be applied to the trip cost. There are discounts for early payment and School Tours of America has tools available to help you raise money for your trip.
If you have any interest in the trip and would like to get information as it becomes available, please email us at lori.ewing@boiseschools or angela.heindel@boiseschools.org.
Thanks,
Lori Ewing and Angela Heindel
Les Bois Junior High
Registrar- lauren.harpe@boiseschools.org
Counseling office- alsy.cory@boiseschools.org
Principal- rich.clements@boiseschools.org
Assistant Principal- jessica.cromie@boiseschools.org
Main Office: (208) 854-5340
Fax: (208) 854-5341
Attendance: (208) 854-5344
Website: https://lesbois.boiseschools.org
Location: 4150 East Grand Forest Drive, Boise, ID, United States
Phone: 208 854 5340