first day of school

Crews have cleared out of Sierra House Elementary and it is set to reopen to all grades on Tuesday, October 1.

Families, students, and staff got the good news Monday.

"The kids and staff are thrilled to be back," said Lake Tahoe Unified School District Spokesperson Shannon Chandler. "It's like a second home so I imagine that everyone is relieved and comforted to be back."

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The first day of school has been pushed out until September 9 for all of the students at Sierra House Elementary School. South Tahoe Now had spoken to the school district on Wednesday and at that time they were still hoping to have the school open by August 26.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Angel More is missing the first two days of her junior year at Menlo High School, but there is a very good reason.

She'll be swimming 21.3 miles across Lake Tahoe.

The 15-year-old Bay Area resident is after the California Triple Crown of Marathon Swimming, and when she gets out of the water Saturday morning she'll be the youngest person to do so. Only ten people have completed the Triple Crown, the youngest of that group being a 38-year-old man.

UPDATE: The Meet & Greet at Mt. Tallac School is postponed until Wednesday, August 30 due to Monday's widespread power outage but schedules behind. It will start at 10:30 a.m.

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Mt. Tallac High School is holding their third community Meet & Greet on the first day of school, August 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Community members and business owners visit the campus in a casual open house setting with refreshments, meeting the students and engaging in conversation.

Quick thinking and action by three South Tahoe High teachers helped put out a fire at the campus just as the first day of school came to a close on August 29.

Melissa Berry called 911 and grabbed the fire extinguisher from her classroom and joined fellow teachers Lori Buchan and Whitney Pomeroy in putting out the fire just off the "C" wing at the school.

"The teachers did a good job stopping the fire and it suppressed when we arrived," said SLT Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Spencer told South Tahoe Now at the scene.

The beginning of the school can be as hectic for parents as it is for kids due to the amount of paperwork to fill out and items to be purchased. Much of the class time on those first few days is filled with teachers collected those completed forms, sending kids to purchase gym clothes, school pictures, check out Chrome Books, and more. For the first time, both South Tahoe High and South Tahoe Middle Schools are holding "KickStart" day on Thursday, August 25 to alleviate some of those tasks. There will be a series of stations for students and parents to navigate through.

The students at Mt. Tallac High School may not be experiencing the traditional path to graduation, but they are now going to experience a new one focused on work ethic and careers.

The dynamic duo team of Holly Greenough and Amy Jackson are beginning Phase Two of what they started last year, a program that takes students from school to career. The students that attend Mt. Tallac are the ones that stay in town, unlike others who take the college path and leave town and start a career and families elsewhere.

The first week of school in South Lake Tahoe is in the books, and the early numbers show that enrollment is up for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District's seven schools.

Many students had to miss the first day of school since they didn't have their paperwork and immunizations completed, which are both required to attend local schools.

Angie Keil, the Public Information Officer for LTUSD, said that it was a hectic first week of school but so far the enrollment numbers show that there are 3,877 students in school. This is up by 156 from the end of school figures from June.

It's once again time to hear the ring of the school bell, to see the yellow buses going through the neighborhoods, and hear the happy voices from the school playgrounds.

The summer vacation ends Monday for students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District as walk, ride or drive to their first day of school.

Classes at South Tahoe High School start at 7:55 a.m. and school is out at 2:40 p.m. South Tahoe Middle School starts at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 1:55 p.m.

The four elementary schools have different start and end times:
Bijou, grades K-5 runs from 8:35 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Registration for kindergarten at South Lake Tahoe schools will be held on August 4th. South Tahoe Middle School registration for new students will be held on August 12 and for new students at South Tahoe High August 11-14.

The first day of school is August 25th.