Stories

Blaine County School District's registration for All-Day Kindergarten, Dual Immersion Kindergarten, and Half-Day Preschool will take place on the following dates:

Bellevue, Hailey, and Woodside Elementary
Monday, April 26th, 11:30 AM - 7:00 PM
at the Community Campus in Hailey

Hemingway Elementary
Monday, April 26th, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:00-2:00 PM
at Hemingway Elementary

Carey School
Tuesday, April 27th, 1:00-3:00 PM
at Carey School

Required documentation for registration:

1. Original STATE CERTIFIED Birth Certificate - Not a hospital certificate

2. (K) Immunization Record with: 5 DPT 4 Polio, 2 MMR, 3 HEP B

3. Documented Proof of Residency with a PHYSICAL address in Blaine County

4. Child’s Day Care information - will determine your child’s school of attendance if your child will be riding the bus.

5. Pre-School Only - Income verification - copy of 2009 Federal Tax Return. All Pre-School programs are tuition-based using a sliding fee schedule.

If you are interested in registering your child for the Dual Immersion Program... (more)

Registration is underway for the Spring season of Girls on the Run.  The season will run from March 22 to May 22 and culminates on May 22 with the New Balance Girls on the Run 5k & Healthy Living Exop that is open to the whole community. 

Register online now! Also registration have been sent home from the schools, and downloadable English and Spanish forms are available at girlsontherunwrv.org. This Spring's sites will all be held on school grounds and include:

Hemingway Elementary, M/W, 2:45-4:00 pm

Hailey Elementary, T/TH, 2:45-4:00 pm

Woodside Elementary, T/TH, 2:45-4:00 pm

Bellevue Elementary, M/W, 2:45-4:00 pm

Full or partial scholarships are available, so please inquire, or fill out our scholarship form.  No girl will be turned away because of need.  Call Mary at 788-7863 or email mary@girlsontherunwrv.org if you have any questions.

Swimming, movies, food and fun all in one night!  The YMCA will be hosting the first Flick and Float of the year on Saturday, March 20th from 7:00pm-9:00pm. Grab your friends and family for this special night of watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs while floating and playing in the pool.  Hot dogs, chips, and a drink is included in this fun night.  You won't want to miss out on all the fun, so call the YMCA to reserve your spot today.  Pre-registration is required to ensure that we have enough food and staff. 

Looking for something fun for your kids to do during Spring Break this year?

Music N Me in Hailey has the perfect answer: send them to a Staycation Mini Rock and Roll Camp! The popular summer camp has been modified to fit a one-week break that will include a performance in Hailey at a big "Staycation Bash" which will also feature a scavenger hunt.

The cost for the camp is $20 per day. Call Mitzi Mecham at 788-2494 to register or if you have any questions!

Staying home for Spring Break has *never* been so much fun!

Papoose Club’s Annual KinderCup ski race is happening this Saturday, February 27th. This fun and free ski race for children ages 3 to 13 will be held at Dollar Mountain. There will be a fun race base and swag, and each racer will be photographed.  Registration is from 8:30 – 9:30 am sharp at Dollar Lodge. Races begin at 10:15 am. Medal ceremony is at 12:30 pm.  Parking is available in both Dollar lots, and overflow in the Pavilion lot.  This exciting race has been running for decades. Come join your neighbors and cheer on the Valley's future Olympians!

What: Fundamentals of Color Art Class

Location: Sawtooth Botanical Garden (11 Gimlet Road, Ketchum, ID. 83340)

Date: Friday, March 12^th, 2010

Time:  2:00-4:00 P.M.

Cost: Member $5, Non-member $7

Ages: Kids 7+

Contact: To register or for more information, call Teresa at (208) 726-9358

More Information: Spring Break is right around the corner! Have Blago, a gifted contemporary artist from Blagojce Fine Art Gallery, help your kids get their break started in a great way at the Sawtooth Botanical Garden. There is an early release for public schools on Friday, March 12^th, so come to the Garden to have an awesome time learning basic painting concepts in our beautiful greenhouse. The last class Blago taught was a hit, so you don’t want to miss out this time. Sign up today to join in on the fun!

Google joins Facebook in majorly screwing up the rollout of a new feature that can have a severe impact on one's privacy. The focus of this post, however, is focused on kids. Users of Gmail had a new service rolled out to them called Google Buzz that most kids (and adults too) won't realize the implications of. Charlene Li is a well-regarded Internet Industry Analyst and also a parent. In her piece, she opens with this.

Like many parents, I try to take steps to keep my kids safe online, making sure that they understand not to share personal information online, or even to use their real names. They know how to write appropriate emails, and I constantly monitoring what they do, the emails they send, and most importantly, engaging in a constant dialog with what they are doing online.

She goes on to share her nightmare (and real world) scenario.

Without an overhaul and the addition of true parental controls in Gmail, this will remain a problem for Google, and a potential PR nightmare. Imagine parents (and...

By Charles C. Haynes  
First Amendment Center senior scholar
01.31.10

Fights over the Good Book in public schools have a long and ignoble history in the United States — from 19th century Bible Wars (when riots broke out over whose version of the Bible would be read in the morning) to current conflicts over Bible electives.

Now three-in-one-month legal developments in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee add fuel to the fiery rhetoric from all sides about when the Bible should come through the schoolhouse door.

This month in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, a small town with more than 30 churches, school officials finally wrapped up a year-long pre-termination hearing involving science teacher John Freshwater. A verdict is not expected for several months.

According to The New York Times, Freshwater is accused of invoking the Bible to teach science, posting the Ten Commandments and Scripture verses on his classroom wall, and otherwise using his position to proselytize kids.

The most bizarre charge, one Freshwater vehemently denies,... (more)

Reproduced from: Wooden: A lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court by former UCLA Coach John Wooden

This is your first game, my child. I hope you win. I hope you win for your sake, not mine. Because winning's nice. It's a good feeling. Like the whole world is yours. But, it passes, this feeling. And what lasts is what you've learned.

And what you learn about is life. That's what sports is all about. Life. The whole thing is played out in an afternoon. The happiness of life. The miseries. The joys. The heartbreaks.

There's no telling what'll turn up. There's no telling whether they'll toss you out in the first five minutes or whether you'll stay for the long haul.

There's no telling how you'll do. You might be a hero or you might be absolutely nothing. There's just no telling. Too much depends on chance. On how the ball bounces.

I'm not talking about the game, my child. I'm talking about life. But it's life that the game is all about. Just as I said.

Because every game is life. And... (more)

The average young American now spends practically every waking minute — except for the time in school — using a smart phone, computer, television or other electronic device, according to a new study from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Read full story at the NY Times...

Hailey Soccer Mom, Kathy Scott, has been chosen for the final four in the NFL Fandmonium Finals. Kathy Scott is competing in a national contest to become the “Director of Fandmonium” for the NFL next year.

Online votes pushed Scott into the final four, and voters have until Feb. 5 to make her the overall champion, proudly representing her team (the New Orleans Saints) from Idaho. 

This is a life changing experience for the winner of this competition as they will take home $100,000 and make appearances at a handful of NFL events next season. 

What do you get out of voting for Kathy Scott? You get to feel good about it and if you vote by Jan. 24th, you’ll be entered to win a trip to Super Bowl XLIV (one vote per person per day). 

Voting for Kathy can be your good deed for the day. How often do we get to assist someone achieve their dreams and simply by pushing a button? 

Kathy's goal for her winnings,... (more)

Kids not only "say" the darndest things, but they also frequently express the darndest things via their art works as well. I was repeatedly reminded of that wonderful fact when I visited Ketchum's Petite Picasso Workshop back in November (see my 11/20/'09 "Where ART Thou?"), and I was repeatedly reminded of it yet again when I recently got a chance to check out the often amazing art collection of Hailey's Ashley Dreyfus.

Ever since I saw that jaw-droppingly imaginative and inspired painting by Hailey's Ashley Drefyus (of a woman having a spa day with her cat!!! (LOL) -- back when I was writing about that wonderful collection of 90+ NAMI
art-auction art works that were on display at Iconoclast Books (back in late November); see this article:
http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=7

-- I knew it was only a matter of time before I'd be eagerly writing a "Where ART Thou?" column on this verrry gifted and multi-talented local artist.



And then, later on, I saw, at the YMCA, that boldly imaginative (... (more)