Middle School

Memories were shared all day Thursday in South Lake Tahoe, from white ribbons and thoughts shared on banners to an evening candlelight vigil.

It marks one week since 14-year old Dejon Smith went missing after spending time with friends during a storm with high winds and rain. His body was found under a fallen tree two days later.

Page & Sage has been serving students in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District for three years, giving children in need a backpack of food and a book to take home over the weekends when they don't receive free lunches and breakfasts at school.

When Liberty Utilities in South Lake Tahoe found out about the program they began a food and donation drive in order to help fill the program's shelves. They gathered boxes and cans of food and almost $300 in cash.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) was awarded over $150,000 to look into providing safer, more walkable and bikeable off highway routes around South Tahoe Middle School (STMS), Bijou Park and Lake Tahoe Community College. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) awarded the grant as part of their $500,000 "On Our Way" program grants.

Another public workshop to get feedback from the community will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the STMS Multi-purpose room.

Music students from throughout the Lake Tahoe Unitied School District will be treating local veterans and community members to an evening of entertainment with their bands, choirs and orchestras.

South Tahoe Middle School, South Tahoe High School and Tahoe Valley Elementary
Bands, Orchestras, and Choirs celebrate and honor veterans of the armed services at the concert which will be at the STMS multi-purpose room on Wednesday, November 12 for the concert.

The theme for the night is "A Veterans Day Musical Tribute."

The concert is free!

There were two workshops held on Thursday at South Tahoe Middle School to help identify the safe and unsafe routes students take to school each day on foot or on their bikes. From 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., school officials, staff from Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the Lake Tahoe Sustainability Mobility group and members of the public were stationed at locations on the streets around the school to monitor traffic, car speeds and safe routes the students were taking to get to school.

Back in April, the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) was awarded over $150,000 to look into providing safer, off highway opportunities around South Tahoe Middle School (STMS). The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) awarded the grant as part of their $500,000 "On Our Way" program grants.

The fall planting season for the sugar pine tree is underway around Lake Tahoe. The public is invited to join the Sugar Pine Foundation in any (or all) of their four scheduled plantings.

The Sugar Pine Foundation's Fall Planting Schedule

Saturday, Oct. 11th, 11-1pm - Rubicon McKinley Planting, 6445 Chamberland Drive, Tahoe National Forest, Tahoma, CA

Saturday, Oct. 18th, 10-12pm - Kingsbury Middle School Planting, 1900 Echo Court, Toiyabe National Forest, Glenbrook, NV

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

Shawna Brekke-Read has been named the City of South Lake Tahoe's new Development Services Director. She is heading to the Sierra from the Bay Area where she has been the Town of Moraga's Planning Director for the last three years.

City Manager Nancy Kerry made the announcement Thursday. “I am very pleased to announce the selection of Shawna Brekke-Read to join the City’s organization leadership team. We are fortunate to recruit a professional of her caliber, experience and tenacity. I am confident Ms. Brekke-Read will serve the community and City Council well.”

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.

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition (STDFC) was formed in 2012 by Tahoe Youth and Family Services in collaboration with key community partners. Some of these community partners include the South Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Public Health, and Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

Regarded by many as the best track and field team ever, members of the 1968 Olympic team returned to the site of their high altitude training center and U.S. Olympic Men's Track & Field Trials on Friday as the location was honored with a California State Historical Marker.

A crowd of a few hundred people gathered at Echo Summit for "Return to the Summit" which honored the unique location as well as the unique time and team. There were tumultuous times in 1968 prior to the Olympics with the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr and Bobby Kennedy as well as the Vietnam War.

On Friday, May 30th Live Violence Free in collaboration with South Tahoe Middle School and Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra held the annual Girls Empowerment Retreat for 33 middle school girls, grades 6-8.

South Tahoe Now sent a questionnaire out to all of the candidates for El Dorado County Supervisor and Douglas County Sheriff. This is the last of the submitted responses. Candidates Sue Novasel, Kenny Curtzwiler and Angela Swanson were the only County Supervisor candidates to respond, and Douglas County Sheriff candidates Ron Pierini and Dave Brady were the only Sheriff candidates to respond. We thank those that took the time to reply.

1) What do you see as the Number 1 issue facing residents of District 5?

Anyone interested in purchasing the 22.4 acres that was once home to Kingsbury Middle School has until Wednesday to make their interest known. The minimum recommendation for bids is the appraised value of $4,000,000. The property is located at 1900 Echo Drive, Zephyr Cove, Nevada.

During Wednesday's Douglas County School Board meeting, sealed offers will be received at the 3:30 p.m. start. Oral bids may also be presented during the meeting (but they must come in at 5% or more above the highest sealed bid).

Just one month ago the plea was made to the South Lake Tahoe community: Help Ryan Wallace raise $25,000 to replace his prosthetic leg.

As of today, the goal was met with the final boost made by the students at South Tahoe Middle School where Wallace was Wrestling Coach and Instructional Aide. "A Minute to Win It For Ryan" was presented to the kids as a way to help their mentor.

The South Lake Tahoe community is know for its ability to pull together when one of it own is in need of help, and that is evident once again with the story of Ryan Wallace. The life long local had a rare form of bone cancer which led to the amputation of his leg when he was just 19.

In a community where the economy and weather affect jobs and business levels, perhaps no better indicator is the number of South Lake Tahoe school students who are dependent on the free or reduced cost school lunch program.

Currently, 61.8% of all students are on these programs in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, ranging from a high of 81.3% of the students at Tahoe Valley Elementary to a low of 19.3% at the Environmental Science Magnet School.

The Missoula Children's Theater visits South Lake Tahoe with a local children's production of Robinson Crusoe on Saturday, November 23. Performances are at 2 pm and 6 pm in the multi-purpose room of South Tahoe Middle School.

Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

You may have noticed the new bus shelters placed this summer along Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe. They were installed by the Tahoe Transportation District, operator of the local South Shore Transit System. The shelters won't only come with seating and protect those waiting for buses from the elements, they also have new bike racks and bear safe trash cans.

11:00 am update: Sparks Police confirm that a Sparks Middle School staff member and the student gunman are the two dead from this morning's schoolyard shooting and that two minors are in critical condition at Renown Medical Center. The school will be closed for the remainder of the week. More details will be released as the investigation continues.

Four were shot this morning at Sparks Middle School, resulting in 2 deaths and 2 being treated at Renown Medical Center. Many details are not being confirmed at this time.

Celebrate and honor our veterans as the LTUSD Performing Arts Department presents A Veterans Day Musical Tribute on Thursday, November 7, 2013. The music will be performed by the South Tahoe Middle School and South Tahoe High School Bands, Orchestras, and Choirs. The concert will be held in the Multi-purpose Room at South Tahoe Middle School and is FREE!

Doors open at 6:30 PM and the concert starts at 7PM.

For the first time since 1996, enrollment in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District appears to be on an upward trend. There are 102 new students in the district so far this school year, bringing the total number of students currently enrolled to 3,832.

This figure is still far below the number of students attending local school in the 1996-1997 school year when there were 5,978 in grades K to 12.

The breakdown of students at the district's 6 schools:

Bijou Community School – 572
Sierra House Elementary School 493