Local Elementary School May Be Rebranded as Sierra House Mountain Academy

The idea of Sierra House Elementary School becoming the Sierra House Mountain Academy was presented to the Lake Tahoe Unified School Board this week. If this becomes reality, Sierra House would join the other themed South Lake Tahoe elementary schools: Meyers is the Environmental Magnet School and Tahoe Valley is the Performing Arts Magnet School.

Principal Ryan Galles and and the School District's Physical Education Specialist Seth Martin presented their idea of what they would like the school to look like by rebranding the school with the name "Sierra House Mountain Academy" to bring awareness and recognition to the programs they already have in place. They said that the concept for a theme-based school relies on two research foundations - the effects of parent support on academic achievement and the effects of fitness on the brain.

The goals of the proposed Sierra Mountain Academy are:

• re-orient to a fitness-based PE program
• bring in school wide fitness and health events
• provide access to mountain sports (skiing, snowboarding and ice skating)
• increase parent involvement/communication
• promote healthy lifestyles, cooperative skills, critical thinking and problems solving.

The first community-based Health and Fitness Night is scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 1, 2014. The Night will include information on community resources and fitness options. Proposals for the Physical Education program include a personal fitness focus allowing choice-based activities for students to level their own abilities. Mountain sports programs initiated or continuing during the 2013/14 school year are:

• 2nd grade skiing/snowboarding at Heavenly
• 3rd and 4th grade skiing/snowboarding at Sierra-at-Tahoe
• ice skating morning fitness classes at the Ice Rink
• Kindergarten and 1st grade ice skating instruction

Sierra House Mountain Academy would provide a physical transformation of the campus, including:

• Phase 1- New Field (Completed during the summer of 2013)
• Phase 2- Growing Dome/Growing Spaces (hopefully to be constructed later this year)
• Phase 3- Walking/hiking path around campus and outdoor learning area
• Phase 4- Fitness stations and outdoor traverse wall