Middle School Choice: Hemingway STEAM And Wood River Middle School Hold Open Houses For Parents And Students
Blaine County School District will now offer a choice when it comes to middle school, according a press release from the district.
Parents can now choose between Ernest Hemingway STEAM School in Ketchum and Wood River Middle School in Hailey.
Starting in the 2019-20 school year, Hemingway’s STEAM School will add eighth grade along with the education integrating science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The school offers elective courses and world languages.
WRMS already offers a well-rounded curriculum that includes world languages and dual immersion. Elective courses and extracurriculars include art, music, technology and athletics. Transportation is provided for middle school students living in Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue for both middle schools.
Parent and student open houses will take place at Hemingway from 5:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 15, and at WRMS from 6-7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 16.
A tour with the Hemingway principal is available every Friday in January from 1-1:45 p.m.
For more information, visit blaineschools.org.
14th Annual Lighting Of Luminaries
The 14th annual Lighting of Luminaries to benefit The Hunger Coalition will be held Sunday, Dec. 23.
Luminary bags sell for $1 each and are sold in batches of five, 10 and 20.
Luminaries are available at 620 Kintail Drive in Hailey’s Northridge subdivision or by calling Lee Dabney at (208) 578-0861. Participants are welcome to put as many luminaries as they want outside their homes on the street.
Sun Valley Opera Winter Gala With Kate Aldrich
Kick off the New Year with The Sparkling Winter Gala at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, Friday, Dec. 28.
Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich stars in this evening of magical music.
Aldrich began her professional career at the Arena di Verona where, in 2000, she made her début as Preziosilla in “La forza del destino” and in the following season sang Fenena in “Nebucco.”
Hailey Elementary Students Compete And Win In First LEGO League Tournament
Blaine County School District announced in a press release that the Hailey Elementary Blaine County Bots Robotics Team, The Space Narwhals, brought home two trophies from their state tournament qualifier on Dec. 8 at the First LEGO League Tournament in Twin Falls.
The team, fifth-graders Tessa Peck, Rowan Star, Marlowe Bradley, Story Sharp and Karsen Miller, and fourth-graders Tyler Langbehn and Luca Raziano, earned first place in the Robot Performance Award with the high score of the tournament and were also presented the overall Champions Award for their combined scores in the different disciplines of the tournament.
They were the first-place team out of eight teams that qualified to move on to the state championship on Jan. 12. Team coaches include parent volunteers Jaime Sharp, Jessica Miller and Hailey Elementary Technology and Design teacher Vic Morales.
South Custer Historical Society, Lost River Museum Receives State’s Highest Honor For Museums, Historical Societies And Interpretive Organizations
The Idaho State Historical Society announced in a press release that the South Custer Historical Society in Mackay received the Sister Alfreda Elsensohn Award for its outstanding work on the Lost River Museum. Given annually by the Idaho Humanities Council and Idaho State Historical Society, the Sister Alfreda recognition includes a $10,000 award to be used by the awarded museum, historical society, or interpretive organization to continue its educational efforts.
Mackay’s Lost River Museum, operated by the South Custer County Historical Society, opened its doors in 2017. The museum houses a collection of unique items donated by the Mackay community and Lost River Valley residents. The museum and collection of historical artifacts truly displays the history, essence and spirit of this small community. A local story is revealed through each and every display. Themed display areas include: farming and ranching, the Mackay branch railroad, Mackay’s movie history, early Mackay businesses, homestead cabins and artifacts, and an extensive local history reference book collection.
The award is named for Sister Alfreda Elsensohn, who founded the Historical Museum at St. Gertrude in the 1930s. Sister Alfreda, one of Idaho’s outstanding historians, sought to collect, preserve, and interpret artifacts from Idaho County and the surrounding area to better educate the public. It is her vision of Idaho museums as exciting, interactive and educational institutions that the award seeks to recognize by honoring one outstanding Idaho museum each year.
WRMS Students To Sponsor Food And Toy Drive
The sixth-grade leadership at Wood River Middle School is starting a toy and food drive to benefit local families, according to the school’s leadership teacher, Melanie Schrader.
The drive aims to help financially strapped families by providing food and gifts, including toys, sports equipment and/or art supplies, this Christmas.
The WRMS leadership students are collecting donations in person at Hailey Atkinsons’ Market from 4-6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 21, and from 12-3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 22.
Police Warn About New Netflix Scam
Police are warning people about a new scam where someone posing as Netflix emails to steal the recipient’s personal information. The email claims the user’s account is on hold because Netflix is having trouble with billing information and then invites the user to click on a link to update their payment method, according to a screenshot shared with police in Solon, Ohio.
Netflix’s website advises not to enter login or financial details after following a link in an email or text message claiming to be Netflix. Anybody who receives a suspicious email or text message claiming to be from Netflix is asked to forward the message to phishing@netflix.com for further review by the company’s security team.
Homegrown Film Festival Presented By Friends Of The Sawtooth Avalanche Center
The Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center and title sponsor Black Diamond are teaming up to present the 2nd Annual Homegrown Film Festival.
The festival will benefit the Sawtooth Avalanche Center and celebrate phenomenal local athletes and filmmakers. This popular event will show for one night only and was sold out in advance last year.
Tickets are $15 for Blaine County students and $20 for adults. Tickets are on sale in Ketchum at Backwoods Mountain Sports and The Elephant’s Perch, Sturtevants in Hailey and online at the argyros.org.
Films begin at 7 p.m.
Winter Tracking Workshops With ERC
Join the Environmental Resource Center (ERC) and longtime Wood River Valley resident and tracking extraordinaire Ann Christensen for a winter tracking workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 29.
Christensen begins each program at the ERC office, introducing participants to local winter animals, their life histories and winter adaptations while laying out some basics about tracking. Participants then head outside on a snowshoe tracking adventure through the fields and woods north of town.
Christensen, who studied with the famous tracker and author James Halfpenny, has been introducing residents and visitors to the secret stories left in the snow for decades. Bring snowshoes, warm clothes, water, and your curiosity.
There is a suggested donation of $10/ERC members and $20/nonmembers. Space is limited, so register early.
For more information, contact (208) 726-4333 or email alisa@ercsv.org.