Bijou Community School

During their April 19 meeting, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Lake Tahoe Unified School District’s Safe Routes to School Master Plan. With this approval, the Supervisors support plans to improve pedestrian and bicycle access and safety around Lake Tahoe schools through infrastructure upgrades, education and encouragement programs, and better enforcement of traffic laws.

Members of Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra (SITS) handed out checks to 22 different project that are created by non-profits to serve the women and children of South Lake Tahoe on Thursday.

The awardees:

SOS Outreach, a non-profit serving South Lake Tahoe youth, launched their winter mountain program at Heavenly Ski Resort this weekend. Vail Resorts and Heavenly donate instructors, gear and access to the mountain. For their first day on the mountain Saturday, SOS had 75 at risk and underserved youth for day one of a five day Learn to ski/snowboard Program.

SOS uses core values and positive adults while teaching youth to ski or snowboard.
Each day of activities staff and youth participate in has a focus, and this first day on the slopes was "courage".

"I'm usually a bass fisherman," explained 11-year-old Casey Holden. "I only fish for trout during this derby."

The sixth grader from Fairfield-Suisun Valley Elementary had the catch of the day on Sunday during the 14th annual Moose Lodge Fishing Derby held at Lake Baron inside Tahoe Paradise Park. The first fish he reeled in was 3 lbs 7 oz after about 90 minutes of fishing. As soon as he got that one off the hook he cast another line and within a minute caught the one that ended up being the biggest of the day, a 7 lb 5 oz rainbow trout.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District will be holding a public hearing Tuesday on how to spend an estimated $2,159,294 in LCAP funding. They want parents to participate in the decision making and have invited everyone to the June 9 School Board meeting to encourage participation.

After several years of declining enrollment, Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has seen more students sitting the seats of local schools over the past two years.

The lowest enrollment figures were for the school year 2012-2013. When school ended in June of 2013 there were 3,793 students in South Lake Tahoe's eight schools.

When school started back up in the Fall of 2013 there were 3,855 students enrolled. An additional 26 students started off this school year.

The Bijou Community Playground represents a community effort and shows what we can do when we all come together and each do a little. "Many hands make for light work" is a true phenomenon here at Bijou School. Since 2007, with the inception of the Two Way Immersion program, and our forced volunteering program, the parents, staff and community members have consistently been spending time, funds, and those blood, sweat and tears we always talk about at this school. The new playground, as well as the field and park behind it, is a tangible representation of the volunteer force here at Bijou.

Physicians are in high demand, but not just from patients. With an impending physician shortage and more job competition, medical administrators and recruiters will spend hours attending meetings, networking, and recruiting to hire top-notch physicians.

In a 2012 study, the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR) estimated that physician recruitment costs between $75,000 and $90,000 per doctor. This does not include the time and effort to set up a medical practice and then to retain a physician.

The Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation honored the seven school district employees who are retiring this year during a reception held at the school district board meeting Tuesday night.

Three were in attendance and they received an award and gift certificate to Sprouts: Steve Simmons, teacher at Mt. Tallac and employee for 25 years; Bonnie Oliver, preschool aide at Al Tahoe and employee for 16 years; and Judy Ward, bus driver for 9 years.

Registration for South Lake Tahoe kindergarten and transitional kindergarten will be held May 5th through May 9th.

Children must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2014. Children who turn 5 between September 2 and December 2, 2014 are eligible for transitional kindergarten.

California Law requires that:
1. You bring child's birth certificate;
2. You bring proof of immunizations, which includes the Varicella (Chicken Pox), Hepatitis B and for
most children - the last booster shot. Children will not be enrolled in school without presenting an

Would you like your child to be able to read, write, speak, and think fluently in English and Spanish? (and receive the same curriculum as all other students?)

The Two Way Immersion Program at Bijou Community School makes it happen!
For detailed information, please visit:www.bijouschool.org

The school is taking sign ups for children interested in this program and will be entering kindergarten in 2014. There are only 66 openings and spots will be awarded in a Lottery.

The Christmas season is a bit brighter for 20 South Lake Tahoe families who all received boxes full of food donated by the local Moose Lodge and their community partners. During the past week, students at Bijou Community School decorated the boxes which held the food donations.

In order to help the families, who are part of the Family Resource Center, Moose Lodge member Robbie Koth conducted a donation drive in the community. He raised enough to donate a large ham and food supplies to each family.

There will be a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at South Tahoe High to celebrate the newly completed Sports Medicine Building on Friday, August 23 at 10 am. The public is invited to attend and tour all of the new buildings. The ceremony will include messages by Lake Tahoe Unified School District Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater , school board, community and student members. View the program.

Bijou Community School has once again benefited greatly from the kindness of our community! More than 40 Bijou parents, staff, and students along with a few South Lake Tahoe Rotarians built two bea...

Signs and announcements written in Spanish line the halls in the Bijou Community School. A third-grade class down the hall learns the story of Mulan, all in Spanish, while one of the kindergarte...

With our third annual community service day this past weekend, Bijou school and its students once again saw an amazing outpouring of support from our community of South Lake Tahoe. The grant sup...

In an effort to impact the health of our community the Barton Foundation recently opened their grant opportunities for programs and organizations benefitting the South Lake Tahoe area. Barton Health Grants provide funding for programs targeted at underserved populations and/or providing great impact to the health status of the community. The total grant amount available for 2012 is set at $25,000 and is generally dispersed between five and 10 local organizations.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The city of South Lake Tahoe is organizing a fall clean up of the Bijou neighborhood at 10 a.m. Tuesday.Participants should meet at Bijou Community School in front of the...

Do you live in the Bijou neighborhoods? Are you looking for a way to participate in your community? Please feel free to join South Lake Tahoe's Community Outreach at the Bijou Neighborhood Clean-Up Day on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 10 a.m.
Volunteers will meet at Bijou Community School in front of the Family Resource Center at 10 a.m. Collection bags and gloves will be dispersed. See attached fliers.