principal

Kids reached their inner Vincent Van Gogh and Jackson Pollock this week at Tahoe Valley Elementary School during special day of BATS, Bringing Art to Schools.

Third, fourth and fifth graders were given a treat by three local artists who gave their time to help the kids get created through paint and mosaics.

Retiring South Tahoe Middle School Principal thought it was an assembly to honor the school's staff who are retiring. Words were said and plaques were given at the Wednesday morning ceremony. Then, the fire alarm sounded and hundreds of students and staff moved out onto the soccer field.

After working a total of 637 1/2 years for the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD), 25 teachers, staff members and administrators were recognized in a ceremony Tuesday evening.

LTUSD and the Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation hosted the reception.

Certified Retirees:

Betsy Benavidez, Teacher - 24 years
Karen Boyer, Speech Therapist - 20 years
Howard Coleman, Teacher - 32 years
Beth Delacour, Principal - 32 years
Madeline Fernald, Teacher - 16 years
Joann Hernandez, School Counselor - 15 years
Deborah Kushner - 31 years

South Tahoe High received news this week that they not only made one Top 10 list, but they were also named a California Gold Ribbon school.

A list of the top 10 public high schools in Northern California based on college readiness, according to U.S. News and World Report was released today, and South Tahoe High ranked #10.

When current South Tahoe Middle School Principal Beth Delacour retires in June she is leaving the school in the capable hands of John Simons. Simons (pronounced sim-mons) was introduced at Tuesday evening's Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board meeting.

Simons is relocating to South Lake Tahoe from Oakdale, CA where he has been principal at the community's middle school for the past seven years. Prior to that he served as the school's vice-principal for three years.

Tokay High School (Lodi) football coach and athletic director Louis Franklin announced Monday he will be stepping down at the end of the school year after being offered “an opportunity to join Lake Tahoe Unified School District.”

Franklin, a 2000 Tokay graduate, has been the school’s head football coach since 2007 and the athletic director since 2010, when he replaced Jeff Johnston.
Franklin was 38-46 as Tokay’s head coach, including an 0-4 record in the playoffs, but finished with three winning seasons.

The public is invited to a series of public hearings on the proposed State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project. The completed design is expected in September with construction expected to start in May, 2016.

The final environment impact report, environmental impact statement, and environmental assessment (EIR/EIS/EA) documents are now available. They can be viewed on line or at the following hearings:

Soroptimist International of Tahoe Sierra recently honored 12 South Tahoe Middle School (STMS) students for their winning Writing Festival essays. Each year the members of the club collaborate with the Language Arts teachers at STMS to provide an opportunity for students to express themselves.

Winning essays are selected from each grade level. First place and first place honors winners each won a $75 cash award, second place $50 and third place $25.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. is getting used to saying no.

For the second time in two weeks, the casino operator rejected a demand from an unsecured second level bondholder for payment of the obligations.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday, Caesars said BOKF N.A. asked for payment on $750 million in debt plus interest. Caesars said it turned down the payment demand.

Due to the generous donation from someone in the community, the South Tahoe High girls' and boys' basketball games are free on Saturday, February 14.

The Junior Varsity girls open up the day of basketball with their 10 a.m. game, followed by the JV boys at 11:30 a.m.

Varsity games get underway at 1 p.m. for the girls and 2:30 p.m. for the boys.

All games will be against Churchill County High School of Fallon, NV.

Draft environmental documents are available for public review and comment for the State Route 89/Fanny Bridge Community Revitalization Project in Tahoe City, California. Public comments will be accepted through Tuesday, February 17, 2015.

The tributes and memories of Dejon Smith continue to pour in via Facebook and media outlets as well as through much desired hugs.

South Tahoe High had counselors on hand Monday during the school day, helping students deal with grief. The death of 14 year old freshman Dejon Smith has affected not only his friends and classmates but also unknown people around the country.

Weidinger Public Relations was presented with four awards by the Public Relations Society of America, Sierra Nevada Chapter at the organization’s 28th annual Silver Spike Awards recently held in Reno. They won the prestigious “Judge’s Choice Award,” denoting Northern Nevada’s best overall campaign.

Over 100 South Tahoe High students, teachers and staff participated in a demonstration of the power of words on the campus today. I AM NOT was the theme of t-shirts worn for the day.

"The project focuses on the power of words and the fact that they can negatively affects all of us," said Principal Chad Houck. "These words are often the language of bullies, the reason kids miss school, and sometimes even the reason our students find little worth in themselves."

The El Dorado County Grand Jury has released their final report for the 2013-14 year and several South Lake Tahoe situations have been brought to light.

According to Jury Foreman Neil Cunningham, the jury compiled 20 reports and recommendations which were created as they followed up on inquiries from citizens and Grand Jury required inspections.

The LTUSD Board gets out of the board room and into the schools Tuesday as they have their Annual Student Lunch meeting. They will have lunch with about 20 selected students at South Tahoe High in the new Student Union. The students are a cross section of seniors who will be sharing their thoughts with the board.

Coming on the heels of the announcement by U.S. News & World Report that their school was nationally ranked and placed as the 2nd best high school in Nevada, planned cuts at Whittell High School were unveiled at the May 9th Douglas County School Board Meeting.

Several concerned parents attended the last meeting and many more are planning on making the drive to Minden for this week's meeting. The parents have taken their mission to social media with starting the Facebook page: Concerned citizens and parents for Whittell High School.

Ivonne Larson, the Principal of South Tahoe High, was named Assistant Superintendent by the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board on Tuesday, April 22. She will be in charge of Secondary Education, Career Technical Education and AVID for the district starting July 1, 2014.

This is the first time LTUSD has had an Assistant Superintendent since Barbara Davis resigned in August of 2005. The new position for Assistant Superintendent is part time.

The District will post a job opening for STHS Principal this week to replace Larson.

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.

In a quest to make a difference, South Tahoe High School senior Brooke Georguson is collecting jeans that will be donated to homeless youth in the Reno/Tahoe community. On top of that goal, Brooke wants to collect the most jeans in the region so her school will be awarded a $10,000 grant.

With the holiday season now in full swing, it’s only appropriate that the Reno Jazz Orchestra (RJO) brings Jazz for the Holidays to Northern Nevada for all to enjoy on December 20, 2013 at The Nightingale Hall - University of Nevada. Accompanying the accomplished musicians of the RJO are vocalists Cami Thompson and Kenn Pettiford, international Tap star Sam Weber and performers from the Sierra Nevada Ballet under the direction of Rosine Bena. The Reno Youth Jazz Orchestra, conducted by Vern Scarbrough, will open the holiday performance which starts at 7:30 pm.

Dubbed the "All Star Panel," a group of long time local residents shared stories of a South Lake Tahoe most of us never experienced. The seven panelists have lived in Lake Tahoe a combined 600 plus years and shared some great stories with the overflowing crowd at Camp Richardson Lodge on Tuesday evening. In fact, the number of long time locals in the audience was very evident since their combined years of living in Lake Tahoe was over 1880!

Dave Wakeman, South Lake Tahoe resident since 1947

The 2013-14 school year is off to a great start! We have had much excitement since August 19th with our first and hopefully, annual Round Hill Pines Beach Bash which was held on September 8th. Festivities included hot dogs and hamburgers, a raffle, and a silent auction. Families were able to get acquainted and re-acquainted and the kids were still enjoying the long summer sun. Thanks to our awesome Parent-Teacher Club, we are well on our way to funding many academic opportunities for enrichment and intervention as well as materials and resources for our teachers.

It has been 17 years since President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore stood on the shores of Lake Tahoe and issued a challenge. They urged the frequently fractious perspectives in the region to come together in support of the restoration of Lake Tahoe.