Around the District

Conferences scheduled Thursday, Friday

Public school students have Thursday and Friday off this week, while teachers and parents get together for conferences. Most schools will distribute first-quarter report cards and results of last spring's state-mandated benchmark test scores at the conferences.

Conference time also is an opportunity to vote for vacancies on the site-base councils, to attend book fairs at many schools and to make sure schools have current emergency contact information on file for students.

Check with individual schools for details about conference times.

KCHS to hold sports gear swap

Calling all sports equipment: The annual KCHS Cross-Country Ski Team Sports Swap will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the cafeteria. Item check-in is Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m.

Challenger offers anatomy camp

The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska plans an overnight workshop this weekend called "Models with Muscle." Students will build models resembling our bodies' joints, sockets and fingers to gain an understanding of how complex machines are designed.

Students in grades three through six are invited. It begins 4 p.m. Friday and ends at 1 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $80.

For more information or to register, call 283-2000.

Skyview show tickets go on sale

Tickets for the Skyview High School 2000 interdisciplinary show "The Roaring Twenties" will go on sale Thursday during parent-teacher conferences.

This year's show features flappers, music, vaudeville, vintage films, dance and great food typical of that era. The dinner show will be Nov. 22 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the commons. Tickets cost $18 each.

For the first time, the school will present a second, dessert only, show Nov. 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets for this show are $5. Skyview Students of the Month and their parents will get complimentary tickets to this performance. Tickets always sell out early.

Kenai Middle names Students of the Month

Kenai Middle School has announced its Students of the Month for October: Sabrina Anderson, Chelsea Baird, Josh Bennett, Isabel Cantil, Courtney Fischer, Chelsie Harris, Nolan Schmidt, Rochelle Stretch, Brenna Tolly and Stephen Wilson. These students were treated to lunch courtesy of Burger King on Tuesday.

Districts get grants to help students with tests

Alaska's school districts will get about $9.5 million in grant funds through the state Department of Education and Early Development for beefing up school programs, training teachers and providing students extra help so more students pass the new Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination and the Alaska Benchmark Examinations.

The benchmark exams are administered at the third, sixth and eighth grades. Each of the tests measure state standards in reading, writing and mathematics. The first scores are going to parents this month.

The grant funds, announced last week by the department, also help schools meet other goals of the administration's Quality Schools Initiative.

The funds originate from two legislative appropriations earmarked for the same purpose: $16 per student for the Quality School Grants, and $46.83 per student for the Learning Opportunity Grants.

With an estimated 48,400 students, Anchorage is the biggest recipient of the combined grants at $3.3 million. Fairbanks will get $1.08 million. Matanuska-Susitna will get $853,500 and the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, the state's fourth-largest with 10,000 students, will get $711,000. Smaller districts will receive the rest of the funds.