February 15 - NO SCHOOL: President’s Day

February 23-26 - Centennial High School Registration for students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 for the 2021-2022 school year

March 2-5 - Centennial High School Registration for students in Grades 9, 10 and 11 for the 2021-2022 school year

March 22-26 - NO SCHOOL: Spring Break

West Ada School District is moving forward with bringing middle and high school students back on campus full time no earlier than March 29 (please note the 29th is a remote Monday). The primary criteria centers around staff reaching peak immunity after receiving the vaccine and that at each school the student/staff percent positive is below 2% for two consecutive weeks. The student/staff percent positive for each school is calculated by looking at each school’s student/staff positive case counts divided by total student/staff enrollment.

The timeline for the vaccine to reach peak effectiveness was emphasized by the committees who drafted the criteria. There are 28 days between the first and second dose of the vaccine, and another two weeks following the second dose before a person reaches peak immune response. The committees (one for middle and one for high school) were made up of district and building administration, teachers, school nurses, trustees, parents and health professionals.

Date considerations made by the committees:

• Late January: School staff choosing to be vaccinated began receiving first dose.

• Early March: Second doses received by most school staff choosing to receive vaccine.

• Late March: Two weeks following last dose is when those vaccinated reach peak immune response.

• Late March: Spring break.

• March 29: Earliest date middle and high schools would attend school in-person full-time (March 30 is the earliest first in person day, since March 29 is a remote Monday).

“With the necessary two-weeks after dose number two to achieve peak immune response, the earliest West Ada School District could return to school, based on the criterion of opportunity to receive vaccine protection, would be March 29 after spring break,” Bret Heller, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning explained. “This gives us time to watch the effectiveness of the vaccine in our community and react appropriately.”

West Ada School District continues monitoring infection rates in schools and moving individual campuses, classrooms or programs to remote learning as necessary. The pandemic operating plan continues to guide decision making, with adjustments made as new information becomes available from health authorities.

Returning to Full Time Learning Means:

• All middle schools will need to meet the criteria and return to daily in-person learning at the same time.

• All high schools will need to meet the criteria and return to daily in-person learning at the same time.

• Monday will continue to function as a remote learning day, in-person learning will occur on Tuesday-Friday.

• The mask requirement will remain in-place at minimum through the end of the 2020-21 school year.

• Continued focus on mitigating measures - hand hygiene, sanitizing and continuing to facilitate as much physical distancing as possible.

• Six-feet of physical distancing will not occur when all students are back in the building.

• Teachers at middle school and high school expected to deliver fully synchronous learning to students on quarantine/isolation.

• If any middle school or high school needs to transition to full remote learning due to positive cases, clusters, or outbreaks in the two weeks prior to fourth quarter, then school district administration will evaluate whether the situation necessitates a delay to returning to full, in-person learning.

“When you think about last March when we were handing out packets, we have come a long way,” shared Heller. “One of the questions we keep asking is how do we do things differently so to do things as safely as we can.”

Superintendent Ranells will inform the board if the start date needs to be further amended during the next regular meeting on February 23. Remote Mondays will continue until the end of the school year.

If you are considering a transfer to Virtual School House for quarter four of the 2020-2021 school year, please fill out the online form below. After the request window closes on March 5 you will receive information from VSH about the next steps for transferring.

This form is NOT intended for students currently enrolled in VSH.

For seniors considering a transfer to VSH for quarter four, please note you are requesting a complete transfer to VSH. This means you would graduate and walk with students in VSH in June 2021. Additionally, your high school diploma would be from VSH.

You can learn more about VSH and the fourth quarter classes on the VSH website or using the buttons below.

Boys Varsity Basketball at Districts - sites TBA

Wrestlers at Districts - Meridian High School Feb 19 & 20

You can still register for IDLA LATE Spring Session Classes - Registration ends Friday, January 22nd.

Please see Mrs. Rossman in the Career Center for assistance.

Spring Trimester registration ends on 2/26

For assistance or questions, contact Ms. Rossman in the Career Center at: rossman.wendy@westada.org or 208-855-4270

This past Saturday, February 6, the Centennial Speech and Debate team competed at the 2021 Warhawk Invitational (usually hosted by Ridgevue HS, this year it was held online). Freshmen Lincoln Douglas and debater Abbey Takeuchi represented the Patriots and finished the tournament with a 3-1 record! Abbey had wins over Rigby, Mountain Home, and Century High School! This is an incredibly impressive accomplishment as Abbey is competing in the varsity division and her only loss was to a Senior! Abbey finished the day ranked 14th out of 49 competitors! Up next is the Idaho "Gem of the Mountain " district qualifying tournament for NSDA nationals. Go Patriots!

Parents and students interested in learning more about high school honors, Advanced Placement, concurrent credit, IB courses, or career and technical education courses, check out the Advanced Opportunities Virtual Career Center in its entirety.

CLICK HERE to be redirected: https://www.westada.org/advancedopportunities

Advanced Opportunity/Fast Forward Portal is now open!

Portal dates: 1/28 - 3/12

Request funds for your IDLA and Dual Credit Classes and AP Exams for Quarter 3.

For assistance, please see Mrs. Townsley, Mrs. Jerome, or Mrs. Rossman in the Career Center

Mrs. Bergland and her Ed. Asst. students will be hosting a pre-school for children ages 3-5 years old at Centennial High School. Children are invited to attend from March 2-19 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30-10:15am. The cost is $30/student and can be made through the Bookkeeper, Mrs. Steinmetz. CDH guidelines will be followed! An enrollment form can be found below and should accompany payment. Thank you!

Centennial High School is hosting SAT Test Prep sessions for current 11th grade students before the School Day SAT on April 13, 2021!

Tuesday/Thursday sessions OR Saturday sessions are available to students to select from. Both sessions accumulate to 20 hours of SAT test prep instruction with Mrs. Suzie Fore, Math Teacher and Mrs. Stacy Lacy, English Teacher and will be held at Centennial High School.

SESSION 1: TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS

Tuesdays will cover Math and Thursdays will cover English. Sessions will go from 3:30-5:30pm on both days and take place at Centennial High School.

SESSION 2: SATURDAYS

Saturday sessions will go from 9:00am-1:30pm with a half hour provided to students for lunch/break from 11:00-11:30am. Saturday sessions will cover both Math and English.

The cost is $50 per student and both sessions will be capped at 20 students each so SIGN UP SOON!

Keep up-to-date on grade level specific College and Career Center information by using REMIND! Stay on top of what's going on in the College and Career Center, right through your phone!

• 9th Grade - Text @968bef to 81010
• 10th Grade - Text @2fhf98 to 81010
• 11th Grade - Text @d33g78 to 81010
• 12th Grade - Text @k2gcd8 to 81010

Advanced Opportunity/Fast Forward Portal is now open!

Request funds for your IDLA and Dual Credit Classes and AP Exams for Quarter 3.

The Fast Forward portal dates for Quarter 3 will be open on Jan. 28th and close on March 12th. If you would like help requesting FF funds please contact Mrs. Townsley or Mrs. Jerome in the Career Center.

More information on Advanced Opportunities and Fast Forward funding here: https://advancedops.sde.idaho.gov/

Juniors it is time to start thinking about life beyond high school. Check out this YouTube video highlighting all 12 colleges and universities in Idaho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKz0fgygvI4&t=8s

The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho (NFBI), awards merit based scholarships to blind/visually impaired, functionally blind, high school seniors or college students annually. Students who are blind/Visually impaired, or receiving services from the Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ICBVI), attending an accredited college or university the academic school year beginning fall semester 2021 are urged to apply. There will be up to three (3) merit based scholarships: $1,000, $1,500, and $2,500 awarded at the state convention of the NFBI, March 25 through 27, 2021, in Boise, Idaho, or online via the Zoom meeting platform if pandemic conditions require. Scholarship finalists will have their expenses paid to attend the in person event and are required to attend the convention whether the mode is in person or online.

Please Note individuals are limited to receiving an NFBI scholarship a maximum of two (2), times. The scholarship application can be found at http://www.nfbidaho.org/scholarship

Seniors

The State board of Education has a scholarship called Opportunity Scholarship. It is a great scholarship and if awarded it is renewable all 4 years.

Criteria:

• Must be attending an Idaho College/University
• Must fill out the FAFSA
• Must have a 2.7 cumulative GPA
• Deadline is March 1st

It is a short form and will take 20 minutes to fill out. Maximum value is $3,500

www.boardofed.idaho.gov/scholarships/idaho-opportunity-scholarship/

There are currently two available scholarships open to graduating high school seniors living in Idaho Power's service area! Learn more and apply using the link in our bio!

Scholarship for Academic Excellence:

Provides fifteen, $2,000 annual student fee/tuition grants for graduating high school students who live within Idaho Power’s service area. Applicants must have a minimum 3.75 unweighted grade point average. Application requirements and access to the application form can be found on the website. The submission deadline is March 1, 2021.

Idaho Power’s Douglas E. Sprenger, Kevin M. Whittier and Larry R. Wimer Memorial Scholarship Fund:

Who can apply? Graduating high school seniors planning to enroll, or college students enrolled in a natural resources program at an accredited Idaho college, university or vocational-technical school; OR graduating high school seniors planning to enroll in an engineering program at an accredited Idaho college, university or vocational-technical school. This one-time scholarship is not renewable. Application requirements and access to the form can be found on the website. The submission deadline is March 15, 2021.

Are you interested in a hands-on career? College of Western Idaho (CWI) offers comprehensive training in just 9-24 months. CWI partners with local employers to ensure students learn the skills necessary to be competitive. Visit: https://cwi.edu/programs-degrees/career-technical-education for more information.

Programs include: Automotive Technology, Computer Support Specialist, Early Childhood Education, Heavy Equipment Technician, Welding and Metals Fabrication, and many more!

Emails from college representatives from across the country are coming in DAILY! They want to meet YOU and share information about their schools, including the application process. All visits are virtual and most begin at 3:30 PM. Invite your parents to join the meeting too!

Attention high school girls: Take an hour out of your day to join a discussion with female STEM professionals from MICRON Technology. Bring your questions, or just plan to listen in on an informative session where you will hear personal experience about the path from high school through college to a career in a STEM field.

Discussions will be the first Monday of each month.

Registration is required: https://k12foundation.wufoo.com/forms/sqs3p4m13yub6q/

Students will receive a secure Zoom link to join following registration.

Freshmen and Sophomore students at CHS can participate in the Boise State University, Sophomore Start Program. It is designed for a motivated student who can maintain a 3.0 GPA and who would like to earn 30 college credits while still in high school. Students can utilize Fast Forward Funds to pay for these college credits. This can be a great opportunity to enter college as a Sophomore for students who are planning to attend Boise State. A dedicated advisor will work with the student throughout their participation in the program.

If you would like more information about this program please visit Boise State's Concurrent Enrollment website at https://www.boisestate.edu/concurrentenrollment/sophomore-start/ or if you would like to speak with an adviser please contact Harmonee Teng at (208) 426-3772 or by email at harmoneeteng@boisestate.edu.