I love to watch team sports. It doesn't matter if it's high school, college, or professional, I love to see great teams play together. There is something magical that happens when teams learn to play together, when individuals sacrifice their own desires to make the team better, when team members play for each other instead of for themselves.

When I watch that happen, it makes me think about what kind of team player am I being? Am I showing up each day to support my team? Do I care more about being recognized for my individual effort or about the success of our team? Does my team know how much I value their contributions?

It is so tempting to see the faults in others, but if we want to make our team great, we have to focus on what we can control. Our individual efforts to show up each day to make the team better is what will determine how successful we are.

Monday, October 23rd is PSAT Day for all 10th grade students. The high schools will not be having intervention on Monday. Monday will be only for 10th grade students to take the PSAT.

Each year, schools are required to conduct at least one student engagement and well being survey. This usually happens in the spring. This year, a number of our schools will also be doing this survey this fall so that they can see the impact of various programs. Here is a link to preview the survey that will be sent to students. Please note that there are different questions for three different grade levels, K-2, 3rd-6th, and 7th-12th. To see all of the questions at each grade level, you will need to preview the survey three times, picking a different grade level each time. We are asking schools to notify families prior to having students complete the survey.

If you need to withdraw your child from participating in this survey, you may submit an Activity Accommodation Request form by going to d93.org/2428F

Please take a look at the following policies that were approved for 30-day review:

4312 School Visitations

3518 Treatment of Opioid Overdoses

3006 Proof of Residency

3006F Third-Party Affidavit Form

3500 Distributing Treats and Gifts at School

2740 Self-Directed Learner

D93 Live happened on October 16th at 8:00 p.m. on the District's Facebook page. Click the link to see what was discussed.

Each year the Bonneville County Heritage Association (BCHA) sponsors several student contests to celebrate Idaho Day (the anniversary of the day President Abraham Lincoln created the Idaho Territory in 1863). All Bonneville County students in grades 4 and 7-12 are invited to participate. A variety of contests are offered (e.g., map drawing, sculpting, painting, photography, handwriting, essays, poetry, and song writing) and students may enter as many contests as they desire. The theme for this year’s contests is “Transportation in Idaho”.

Cash prizes are awarded to all first-place winners and prizes are given to second and third place winners as well. All contest entries are displayed during the BCHA’s annual Idaho Day Celebration held on March 4th. All contest winners (1st-3rd place) will be invited to the celebration where they will be recognized.

To enter a contest, submit the entry to Todd Brown at the Idaho Falls School District Administration building, 690 John Adams Parkway, any time before 5:00 p.m., January 26, 2024. Please include the student’s name, grade, school (if applicable), contest entered, and phone number on the back of the entry or on an index card accompanying the entry. Entries will be returned to students following the Idaho Day Celebration.

Click on the this link to access the Student Contest Files on Google.

Submissions Now Being Accepted

Every year, thousands of school districts in over 40 states participate in local and state-level competitions to select artwork that depicts school bus safety-related themes and encourages and promotes school bus safety. The winning posters are used to promote safer school bus safety and state winners advance to the national contest.

The 2023-2024 National Poster Contest aims to select the poster that best depicts the theme of "Driving Safety Into the Future." Completed posters must be 11" x 17" or 12" x 18". Designs should be submitted on quality tag, poster illustration board or heavy paper. Construction paper may be used but entries must be mounted on quality tag paper. Lamination is not permitted.

All entries must be submitted by April 17, 2024. Submissions should be mailed to: Idaho Department of Education, Attn: Ali Stolzman, P.O. Box 83720, Boise 83720-0027. Download the complete 2023-2024 poster contest guidelines at the button below.

Idaho high school seniors with exceptional academic achievement who will graduate between January and August of 2024 are invited to apply for the 2023 – 2024 cycle of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

Students are invited to apply in one of two areas: general and career technical education. There is also an arts component for students currently participating in the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists’ YoungArts program.

Seniors who scored in the top percentiles on either the ACT or SAT during the window that began in August 2020 and runs through October 2023 will be automatically considered for participation. The automatic selection includes the top 20 female and top 20 male test-takers. These students will be notified of their selection directly from the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.

The program also calls on Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield to nominate up to 20 additional candidates in the “general” category. Nominees will be selected based on outstanding academic performance and a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.

Students in career technical education (CTE) fields are also eligible to apply for the program. Superintendent Critchfield can nominate up to five students based on their demonstrated commitment to academic achievement and for their accomplishments in CTE fields.

“Programs like these are some of the real bright spots in our work at the Department of Education,” said Critchfield. “I hope our amazing high school seniors will take this opportunity to participate in this prestigious program.”

Students interested in applying for a nomination may do so here. Students applying in the CTE category should note their status as CTE candidates in the self-assessment portion of the application.

Students participating in the YoungArts program are also encouraged to apply to be U.S. Presidential Scholars. YoungArts participants interested in applying can learn more about securing their nomination here.

For more than 59 years, this unique federal initiative has honored over 8,000 students for their commitment to leadership, scholarship and contributions to school and community. Learn more about the program at the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

Students, parents, and employees can reach out for help with bullying, harassment, suicidal tendencies, self-harm, threats, or to report weapons at school by going to d93.org/gethelp or sending the text @gethelp to 855-528-0074.

Thank you to our community partners at EIRMC for supporting our D93 Family Update.