Residents needed for renovations study committee

Seven community residents are needed to serve on a new Programmatic Renovations Needs Committee, which is one of two committees being used to prepare for a possible 2009 district renovations referendum. The programmatic committee will start meeting in January to identify and prioritize possible projects related to educational programs and services. Interested non-staff member residents should contact the Superintendent by December 10.

Click here to read press release and details on the charge to & makeup of both committees.

Water main break closes most of Hostetter Building

Offices & programs in the Hostetter Building were extensively damaged on Tuesday, November 4, due to a water main break and flooding in much of the building. Insurance adjustors say it may take weeks or even months to restore the building.

Click here for the Nov. 17 update & how to locate Hostetter Building personnel.

Former school social worker arrested:  Maria Geizer has been arrested for allegedly lying about her educational and professional credentials when she applied to work for Community Human Services (CHS) in Glenville. Until her resignation in November 2007, Ms. Geizer was an employee of CHS and provided contracted social work services to BH-BL schools from 1999 to 2007. Her alleged deception came to light as part of a state Medicaid audit, and she was arraigned on several felony counts in the Glenville Town Court on November 6.

Candidate debate is Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 5:30 pm

Farmer, Kuziak & Venezio submit names for position on BH-BL Board of Education

Three Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents have submitted their names as candidates for the open seat on the BH-BL school board. William Farmer of Willow Lane, Glenville; Patre Kuziak of Schlensker Drive, Glenville; and Gail Venezio of Fruitwood Drive, Burnt Hills, are seeking the seat vacated due to the resignation last week of Nancy Della Pia, who is moving out of the district.

The Board of Education will be interviewing the three candidates at a public meeting from 5:30 - 6:30 pm in the high school library, prior to their regular 7:30 board business meeting.

READ MORE		Three candidates for Board seat
		Nancy Della Pia resigns from Board

Character Education project honored

Congratulations to the O'Rourke Middle School and teachers Marge Rizzo and Joyce Brown. Their 8th Grade Community Service Day project has earned a National Schools of Character Promising Practices Award from the Character Education Partnership.

MORE DETAILS

Complete school calendar available

The complete 28-page 2008-09 school calendar is now being printed and will be mailed to all district households around August 18. In the meantime, you can go to 2008-09 School Vacation Days at a Glance for a list of all holidays, half days, etc.  OR see below for downloadable versions of the complete calendar showing individual school events. (Warning to dial-up users: these are very big files!)

	September 2008 - June 2009 pages only (10 pages - 1.2 MB pdf file)
	September 2008 - September 2009 PLUS bus routes, phone directory & much more background information  (28 pages - 4.5 MB pdf file)

(Our Calendars page also has other information that may be of interest.)

Calling all BH-BL Alumni!  
New Details posted for Class of 1968 and 1998 Reunions   We have learned about parties being planned for the Classes of 1953, 1968, 1978, 1988 and 1998 the 2008 summer & fall. Does your class have a reunion coming up? You can read all the information we have about BH-BL reunions (or send us updated information for your class) by clicking the "Alumni" button on the left or here. Also, check out and join the BH-BL Alumni Database and see who else has registered from your class.

School Report Card posted:  On August 11, 2008, the NY State Education Department made the 2006-07 Report Cards for all NY schools public on its website. You can view or download this compilation of 2006-07 test scores, graduation results, class size, attendance and other data for the entire BH-BL school district here (pdf format). More information and the report cards for the individual schools in our district can also be viewed on the State Ed. website by clicking on "Saratoga County" at New York State Report Cards.

"For our dear old Alma Mater, cheer maroon and white!"

Spartans shine at Graduation on June 25

Nearly 300 members of the BH-BL Class of 2008 crossed the stage of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, June 25, when the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School celebrated its 89th Annual Commencement. Go to Graduation 2008 to view photos of the day's smiles and activities.

BH-BL High School ranked among top 1,300 schools in the U.S.

Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake is one of only four high schools in the Greater Capital Region included in Newsweek magazine's ranking of the best high schools in the United States.

The magazine's website lists 1,300 high schools that it calls the top 5% of all 27,000 public high schools in the nation based on the number of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams given in each school. Editor Jay Matthews feels these exams are the best quantifiable way to measure a school's efforts to provide students with an "intense academic experience." Other area high schools that made the list are Voorheesville, Bethlehem, and Shaker. Go to Newsweek top schools for the complete list, methodology and rationale.

Reminder to parents  

     If you would like to receive an automatic email when school is closed or delayed, please sign up for our "School News Notifier" service by clicking on the "BH-BL SNN" logo on the right. You are welcome to use this opt-in email service for more than one email address if you wish. A number of parents use both their work and home email for instance .You can get more information here or click directly on the SNN logo above right.

Student musicians sweep All-American Music Festival in Florida

After months of fund-raising and "practice, practice, practice," BH-BL high school musicians returned home in triumph on April 30 from competing against 30 other high school at the All-American Music Festival in Orlando, Florida. In fact, both the Concert Band and Jazz Band earned "Best Band in Festival" trophies. For the details on what each group won and a BUNCH of nifty photos, check out the Fine Arts Department homepage.

BH-BL Science Bowl team heads to Washington D.C.
 

   Five BH-BL High School pupils and their coach, teacher Brian Watts, will be traveling to Washington D.C. this week on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the National Science Bowl from May 1 - 6.  At the Regional competition in March, the BH-BL team of Douglas McErlean, Thomas Martindale, Emily Wexler, Sam Wilson and Matthew Wolf beat teams from Albany, Berlin, Bethlehem, Galway, Maple Hill, Niskayuna, Saratoga Springs, Scotia-Glenville, and Shaker high schools to earn the right to go to nationals to compete against 66 other regional winners.

   The National Science Bowl is a fast-paced question and answer competition similar to Jeopardy. Students are quizzed on biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth science, general science, and math. Regional winners' expenses are paid by the US Department of Energy, and their stay in Washington also includes seminars and tours of landmark buildings.  Go to National Science Bowl for more information.

Senior named semi-finalist in Intel science competition

BH-BL High School senior Matthew Wolf has been recognized as one of the top science pupils in the nation by being chosen as an Intel Science Search Semi-finalist for his three-year research project on carbon dioxide and global warming. He is the only Capital Region pupil so honored and the fourth BH-BL pupil to win this honor in the past seven years. More information.

BH-BL residents and staff working to focus & strengthen the district's Interscholastic Sports Program   On October 23, 2007, the BH-BL Board of Education appointed 12 voting and 4 non-voting members to an Ad Hoc Committee on Strategic Planning for Interscholastic Sports. For information on the committee's goals, membership, and meeting minutes, go to Sports Committee.

"This is the best 'attaboy' a business office can get."

NY State Comptroller's office gives BH-BL top marks

After weeks of analysis, the NY State Comptroller's office announced that its auditors were unable to find ANY reportable weaknesses in the financial controls and recordkeeping of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district. Fewer than 5% of school districts audited to date have received a record of no findings like BH-BL. More information.

"Is my child safe at school?" is a question that parents can't help but wonder when there are so many stories about safety in the news. To view a list of the many things the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district does to protect students and staff, go to School Safety Update.

Special website feature:
"Policy Search" feature is live  The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Board of Education Policy Manual has literally hundreds of policies that describe and control how all aspects of our schools will operate. All these policies are available on this website. We also have a simple way to search through them instantly using key words or phrases that interest you. At BH-BL Policy Manual, you can view both the list of all policy titles and our policy search feature.

Charlton Heights celebrates a new playground

With shouts and squeals of joy, dozens of Charlton Heights Elementary School children ran onto their new Magic Maze playground for the first time Sunday evening, June 17, 2007, as playground co-chairs Karen Smith and Tim Sinnenberg cut the paper chain and declared the playground open.

The kids ran, jumped, swung, slid, and climbed all over the new facility as a crowd of tired and dirty but equally happy adults watched. They were the final group of volunteers and parents who minutes before had sawed, screwed and painted the last boards into place under the direction of architects from Leathers and Associates.

For more information, go to construction photos or to the Charlton Heights home page for a list of business donors and construction chronology.

Non-Idling Policy  State law now requires that all school buses turn off their engines when loading or unloading students on school grounds, except when necessary for heating, mechanical, or emergency reasons. The non-idling requirement applies to other school vehicles as well. A copy of the law and memo explaining it can be viewed at www.emsc.nysed.gov/schoolbus/anti-idling/home.html.

Safety measure: Middle & Elementary School pupils must attend sports events with an adult   Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake parents are advised that 8th grade and younger pupils who wish to attend evening varsity interscholastic sports contests must do so with an adult. This proactive policy change was made in the fall of 2006 due to the number of youngsters being left unsupervised at games and several incidents of fighting, belligerence and other inappropriate behavior. Read more

BH-BL ranked 6th among 85 school districts in region

2006 School Report Card Data summarized.  
In its June 8-14, 2007, issue, the Albany Business Review ranked Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake 6th out of 85 Capital Region school districts on the basis of state test scores and graduation data.

       The weekly newspaper used data from the most recent New York State School Report Cards (May 2007). The original, lengthy State School Report Cards can be found on the NY State Education website here.