Another part of the proposal would align the new Corner Canyon High School's boundaries to include all students living south of 12300 South. The Board last fall approved elementary and high school boundaries to be implemented in the 2013-2014 school year.

Still to be determined: if, when, and where to build a new Crescent View Middle School; how to pay for it; and when to implement new middle school boundaries. A $20 million renovation, but not rebuild, to Crescent View was included in the $250 million bond voters approved in 2010. Several Board members expressed interest in exploring the possibility of another bond.

To view details or listen to the presentation, please visit http://www.boarddocs.com/ut/canyons/Board.nsf and click Agenda Item 2A. Comments on the proposal can be e-mailed to communications@canyonsdistrict.org.

The students are:

Alta Abbey Diener Emily Herman

Brighton Carly Michelle Taylor

Hillcrest Ryan T. Baker Mairin R. Buckley Pierce Olin Darragh Dale Wilson Fox III

 

In March, the National Merit Scholarship Committee will begin mailing scholarship offers to winners at their homes and confidential notices to high school principals.

About 1.5 million juniors in about 22,000 high schools entered the competition by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, the initial screen of the applicants. Students also must submit an essay, be recommended by the high school principal, and demonstrate leadership at school and in the community.

Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by about 250 corporations and business organizations for students who meet specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located. In addition, about 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

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The projects of secondary-school students who are vying for Science Fair awards will be judged from 3:30 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 21 and Wednesday, Feb. 22. The public is invited to see the projects on Wednesday, Feb. 22 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Jordan High School, 95 E. Beetdigger Blvd.
 
Winners of all grade levels will be announced at a 7 p.m. ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Mt. Jordan Middle School, 9360 S. 300 East.
 
The projects vary in size, scope and complexity. Some students have been working for several months on the projects, which explore issues in environmental science, biology, engineering, microbiology, chemistry and physics.  
 
Judges evaluate the projects with the scoring rubric of the Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair.

“This school district has achieved something very remarkable. It managed to open the doors of its AP classrooms to many more students, while also increasing the percentage of students earning high enough AP Exam grades to stand out in the competitive college admission process and qualify for college credit and placement,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and college readiness.

Inclusion on the 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the following criteria:

1. Examination of three years of AP data, from 2009 to 2011 
2. Increase in participation in/access to AP by at least 4 percent in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts and at least 11 percent in small districts 
3. Performance levels maintained or improved when comparing the percentage of students in 2011 scoring a 3 or higher to those in 2009, or the school already has attained a performance level in which more than 70 percent of the AP students are scoring a 3 or higher 
4. A steady or increasing percentage of exams taken by African-American, Hispanic/Latino and American Indian/Alaska Native students

Participation in college-level AP courses can level the playing field for underserved students, give them the confidence needed to succeed in college, and raise standards and performance in key subjects like science and math,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “The AP Honor Roll districts are defying expectations by expanding access while enabling their students to maintain or improve their AP Exam scores.”

Canyons Superintendent David Doty said the honor validates the vision and hard work of Canyons’ staff, including Chief Academic Officer Dr. Ginger Rhode, Director of Evidence-Based Learning (Secondary) Dr. Hollie Pettersson, dedicated principals and teachers.

“This is an incredible honor for Canyons School District,” Dr. Doty said. “Increasing AP participation and success rates of our students has been one of the District’s top priorities since it began operations in July 2009, and I am thrilled that the College Board has endorsed our efforts to prepare all students for higher education.”

Canyons School District’s college- and career-ready academic plan includes awarding Utah’s first college- and career-ready diplomas in spring 2011; giving the ACT EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT college-entrance test to all eighth-, 10th- and 11th-graders, respectively; rebuilding schools to accommodate 21st century education needs with a $250 million bond; and reconfiguring grades in fall 2013 to move sixth-graders to middle school and ninth-graders into high schools.

However, “we have had such great success with the show that we are adding a show on Tuesday, Feb. 7,” says Union Middle teacher Bryan Stephenson.

Cost to the show, which is Union's first musical, is $2 per person.

“Come share in the talents of so many of our students,” says Stephenson.

Click here to see a photo on the District’s Facebook page.

More than 100 students from all parts of Canyons District will learn from experts in fields ranging from law enforcement to city government to architecture to veterinary science. In all, more than 60 companies in the Salt Lake Valley are hosting students during the day. The event is held each your to help students see how they can apply classroom lessons to the workplace, and to motivate students to become be ready for the rigors of careers and college.

Individual winners of various ability categories also received medals. They are:

Creig Jewkes, Mt. Jordan
Trevor Cross, Mt. Jordan
Monica McCarthy, Mt. Jordan
Jerome Angeles, Midvale
Jun Chun, Midvale
Jonah Wang, Midvale

Some 200 Canyons middle school students had been practicing since October prepare for the districtwide competition, added last year to the Middle School Intramurals lineup. The Intramurals Program kicked in fall 2009 to give young teens competitive athletic and academic events in which everyone is welcome to participate. This year's tournaments include cross country, chess and soccer.

Panel participants include Eric Hyer, the Asian Studies Coordinator at Brigham Young University and author of “Haunted by History: China and its Northwestern Neighbors;” Minqi Li, economics professor at the University of Utah and author of “The Rise of China and the Demise of the Capitalist World Economy;” and Janet Theiss, director of the Asian Studies program at the University of Utah and author of “The Unsettling Nature of Women’s Agency in Chinese History.”

Hyer, Li and Theiss also will present workshops on such topics as the legacy of the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989, the system of Chairman Mao, and China’s economic influence in the world.

Alta High is holding the event in an effort to provide important information to the community. The themes presented during the forum also will be particularly useful for students taking Advanced Placement world history and comparative government courses.

This program — the first of its kind in Canyons District — is part of the Alta High’s Social Studies Department's attempt to establish an ongoing series of community forums at Alta that address important historical and current issues.

 

The remaining tickets are for the shows on Sunday, Aug. 12 and Sunday, Aug. 19.

To date, the Foundation has earned more than $20,000 from the sale of “Wicked” tickets.

Questions?  Call the Foundation offices at 801-826-5171.