sierra house elementary

It's time again for the Amgen Tour of California, and the South Lake Tahoe area once again is host to both the men's and the women's portions of the race.

On Friday, May 18, the town will be the scene for the men's Stage 6 and the women's Stage 2, but with the rolling road closures and number of people in town for the day will take some planning to watch the excitement.

Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe (SISLT) awarded $25,003 towards programs in the local community that benefit youth during a luncheon on Wednesday, March 14.

The following presenters gave a brief description of the program on how the funds that were awarded would be used.

Jeanne Nelson– NAMI, El Dorado County, SLT – Brain Health Leadership
Paula Peterson – St. Theresa Bread & Broth 4 Kids - Healthy Snacks in the Classroom
Peggy Blowney – Tahoe Arts Project – Performing Arts in School
Kristy Wilson – Sierra House Elementary School PTA – Agroforestry Project

Sierra House Elementary School celebrated the opening of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games on Friday morning with lots of excitement. They had the torch, the cheering fans, the Olympic flag and the national anthem.

A torch relay started at 9:15 a.m. with torch bearing students running their portion of the relay before passing it on to the next runner. The relay circled the school a few times, with each passing of a runner drawing cheers from the crowd of students, parents and faculty.

For seven years the South Lake Tahoe Moose Lodge 1632 has supplied boxes of food supplies for local families in need, and this year will be no different.

This week, members of the lodge will deliver 50 decorated boxes, each packed full of a ham, vegetables, canned goods, pasta, potatoes, bread, tortillas and everything else needed to feed a family a big holiday meal, and then more for leftovers.

This year's recipients will be selected by the Family Resource Center.

The grand hall at MontBleu Casino Resort has been turned into a holiday paradise, a winter wonderland with the main attraction being the specialty Christmas trees.

On Thursday, local celebrities and media strolled by each of the designer trees, selecting those that won top honors of Most Elegant, Best Theme, Most Creative and Best of Show.

The excellent work on each made it almost impossible to come up with a winner, but four were chosen after much deliberation. Each tree will be paired with a special prize package during a live auction at Saturday's Gala.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District is looking for volunteers to help them in their quest to help students with a healthy lifestyle as well as their efforts to be sustainable and use of renewable energy.

Community members with an interest or expertise in any of these areas are encouraged to join one of the following committees:

Wellness Committee – Nutrition, Wellness Committee – Physical Education and Activity, and Renewable Energy and Sustainability Committee

Help fill a SLTPD police car with food and cash during St. Theresa's Bread & Broth 4 Kids Cram-A-Cruiser on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at Grocery Outlet, 2358 Lake Tahoe Blvd., in South Lake Tahoe from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Hundreds of plants grown under the green thumbs of UCCE Master Gardners of Lake Tahoe were sold Saturday morning during their annual plant sale.

Normally held in the spring, this year's event was moved to the fall due to a delayed start to the growing season due to the long winter we saw in the Sierra. The community apparently was ready for the sale as a long line of gardeners were already waiting when the doors opened at Sierra House Elementary.

A bonus this year were tours of the Sierra House Grow Domes as well as a Yard Art sale of the student's crafts.

Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) officials didn't have to look far in getting a replacement for Ryan Galles, outgoing Sierra House Elementary principal.

South Lake Tahoe native Karin Holmes will take the school's top spot on an interim basis beginning August 7.

"It is very exciting," Karin told South Tahoe Now. "What they are doing at Sierra House is amazing! With the garden and health and fitness focus there is no moss growing at the school."

Staff with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the League to Save Lake Tahoe (Keep Tahoe Blue) took the top prizes in the 2017 Tahoe Bike Challenge, while hundreds of Tahoe youth rode in increasingly large bike-to-school events.

Each year, for the first two weeks of June, hundreds of Tahoe residents and visitors participate in the Tahoe Bike Challenge. In teams or as individuals, participants join a friendly competition to see who can replace the most car trips with trips by bicycle.

The Pony Express Re-Ride 2017 is almost in the history books. The mochila (mailbag) was transferred to a rider at the Nevada/California state line at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday night. That rider then went down Pioneer Trail to Echo Summit.

"I's so excited!"

Eduardo Gutierrez has a lot to be excited about this week. He is attending his U.S. Citizenship ceremony today in Reno, a day after the school he is a custodian for, South Tahoe Middle School (STMS), celebrated him and his achievement with Red, White and Blue Day.

On Thursday, students and staff dressed in the colors of the flag, hallways were decorated and a ceremony was held to present Gutierrez with a flag for his home. "This is a big surprise, I'm so happy," he said of the celebration.

The UCCE Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe are having their 4th annual Plant Sale takes on a different format this year. Natives and other perennials need more time to grow out of their overwintering slumber so the sale will be held in two segments. Vegetable plants will be sold at the Ski Run Farmers Market on friday, June 9 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (or until all plants have been sold) and the Natives and Perennials will be sold on Saturday, September 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Sierra House Elementary School.

Location

One by one they lined up. Boys and girls, men and women, families, fire fighters, ski patrol, students and dozens of others all lined up at Heavenly Mountain Resort Friday night to have their heads shaved, all in the name of children's cancer research. 110 people in total stopped by to "Brave the Shave" and raise funds to support research of childhood cancer.

As we look at reopening the Al Tahoe Elementary School as a STEAM academy, it is important to take a look back at the journey Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has taken to get to where we are today.

Following decades of desegregation efforts and forced busing, lawsuits in the 1990s effectively brought a halt to desegregation efforts in the country. Neighborhood schools in South Lake Tahoe may have been segregated, not only based on race, but based on income levels.

The South Lake Tahoe Endowment Cabinet awarded $50,000 to South Lake Tahoe area non-profits and schools during a recent reception at South Tahoe High School.

Wendy David, the Cabinet Chair, awarded the grants to an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd.

Private donors fund the Foundation with money to be given back to the community in the form of grants.

After earning a national award for their commitment to healthy choices for food and exercise, Sierra House Elementary is now adding a nature trail, exercise route and garden at the back end of their campus.

Dr. Annie Davidson should be the next LTUSD School Board member from Trustee Area #1. Since coming to Lake Tahoe, she has jumped into the community with great energy and commitment. For example, she is an adjunct faculty member of Lake Tahoe Community College and co-teacher at Tahoe Parents Nursery School with Aileen Yure and Jennifer David. She served as member of the Sierra House Elementary PTA Board as a co-grant coordinator, classroom volunteer, and also volunteers with the Coalition for the Homeless and Warm Room Advisory Council.

When students make their way through the doors of classrooms in Lake Tahoe Unified School District on Monday, 22 new certified staff members will be there to greet them.

Al Tahoe Preschool: Michael Pulley, Early Childhood Education Specialist

Tahoe Valley Elementary: Chelsea Casey, Special Day Class

Lake Tahoe Environmental Magnet School: Anne Lafferty, Special Day Class and Leah Stockton, 1st Grade

Sierra House Elementary School: Jennifer Bronken, 4th Grade and Tamara Dupuis, School Nurse to be split with Bijou

What started as a small group with a vision of empowering high-risk young girls in the South Lake Tahoe community has expanded into a much sought after program serving 124 girls, and growing every year.

Tahoe Youth & Family Services started “The Girl’s Project” in 2010 to partner with girls and help them become more confident and influential women later in life. The Girl’s Project has now expanded to Tahoe Valley Elementary, Sierra House Elementary, Bijou Elementary and South Tahoe Middle 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.

Three local community groups were recently awarded grants form the South Lake Tahoe Rotary Club. The Drug Store Project was given $1,000, H.E.R.O Scholarship Fund $2,000 and the Sierra House Elementary 5th Grade Nature Bridge $1,500.

The Drug Store Project, which is operated under the guidance of Tahoe Youth and Family Services will use the money to continue its annual youth drug awareness and avoidance program in 2016. This is program is designed to reduce future drug experimentation/use/abuse and increase student knowledge about the dangers of drug and alcohol use.

I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you,
And defend Her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt,
I love this land, God Bless the U.S.A.

STOP RIGHT THERE. Don’t move a muscle, buster. Stay out of this book or I WILL CHOMP YOU!

Meet Bear. He's exhausted. All he wants is to go to sleep. Meet Duck, Bear's persistent next-door neighbor. All he wants is to hang out . . . with Bear

If you're a dinosaur, all of your friends are dead. If you're a pirate, all of your friends have scurvy. If you're a tree, all of your friends are end tables.

These are just a few lines out of books written by South Tahoe High School graduate Jory John who's ninth book, "I Will Chomp You," is being released on Tuesday.