School is back in session and kindergartener Caroline Uhlenbrock and art teacher So Choi are thrilled to be at Oak Hill Elementary.

Students are back in school! For many parents, it's a familiar rhythm: activities, after school snacks, backpacks full of school work, teacher notes, fliers and brochures to read.

This year, the district has taken a step that will change the rhythm a little bit. To communicate more efficiently with parents, staff and the community, Blue Valley is introducing an electronic Community Bulletin Board to help keep parents informed about opportunities offered by outside groups.

The electronic Community Bulletin Board is now available through the district Web site and will replace all paper flier distribution from outside groups.

Many parents depend on the schools to send home information about enriching opportunities available through outside groups. The electronic Community Bulletin Board will give people access to the same types of information they used to receive from fliers and brochures. Local non-profit athletic associations, parks and recreations departments and other non-profit, governmental or education groups that offer opportunities in Johnson County will continue to communicate with Blue Valley families.

Families can access the electronic Community Bulletin Board from the district home page. Click on the Parents button or the Community button to find it. Additionally, it will be available under Hot Topics. People can also go directly to the page, which is located at www.bluevalleyk12.org/community/bulletinboard.

No time to check the Web site?
As an added convenience, people can receive email updates each time new information is posted. Visit www.bluevalleyk12.org/community/bulletinboard and click the Subscribe button to sign up. Subscribers will receive emails that tell them each time the page is updated. Emails will also include a link to the Community Bulletin Board so information can be at your fingertips in a cost efficient, environmentally friendly fashion. 

In the past, paper fliers went through a district approval process before they could go to students. Information for the new electronic Community Bulletin Board must also go through a district approval process. However, once a submission has been approved, the district can post it right away. Parents will have access to information more quickly than ever.

The bulletin board will lead to a significant drop in paper consumption, and will help groups avoid the costs associated with producing and delivering hundreds of paper fliers. It exemplifies the Blue Valley commitment to making the most of our environmental, fiscal and technological resources. It's one of the many ways we strive to deliver an Education Beyond Expectations for every student.

Blue Valley Southwest, the district's newest high school opened on Aug. 18. Seniors Joseph Gearon and Courtney Ramirez show off new t-shirts on the first day.

Oak Hill Elementary students eagerly enter school on the first day. Schools in Blue Valley started on Wednesday, August 18.

August 18, 2010 marked the opening of the new Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) in Blue Valley. CAPS is a profession-based learning center where junior and senior level students from any Blue Valley high school can deeply explore their interests in biosciences, engineering or human services.

In the first minutes after the doors opened for students, CAPS director Chad Ralston gave CAPS students from all five Blue Valley high schools their first profession-based lesson as he taught them how to perform a proper handshake.

Here, students are practicing their handshakes and their professional greetings.

Blue Valley Northwest marching band members recently practiced their marching steps and formations in anticipation of the upcoming school year. School in Blue Valley started August 18.

The Blue Valley School District takes great pride in its innovative efforts to help students experience unprecedented academic success and unparalleled personal growth. 

A recent column published in the Kansas City Star on Saturday, July 31 reflects the unsolicited external validation about the great work underway in Blue Valley. Please take a moment to read this column by Harold Kwalwasser, the former general counsel of the Los Angeles Unified School District who is writing a book on education reform. Click on the link below to read the column.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/30/2116895/guest-commentary-its-all-up-to.html

The district is fortunate to have an incredibly supportive community. A strong community, combined with hard working staff and students and a strategic plan that brings it all together, are what make Blue Valley such a special place to be.

Monica Roy Chowdhury is an incredibly well-rounded student. Not only is she a nationally recognized science scholar, she's also deeply involved in student council and community service activities at Blue Valley High and in the community. But what's even greater about Monica's achievements is her positive attitude and deep love for her school. Chowdhury is graduating from Blue Valley High this year, but she is leaving behind a legacy of hard work and love of community.

"Monica's best trait is her willingness to go above and beyond what's expected,” said Adam Wade, Blue Valley High calculus teacher. “She gives maximum effort to everything she does. I think her perseverance, dedication and desire to do well are big parts of her success."

Monica has experienced great success in the science arena. This year, she was named a semifinalist in the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search. The Intel Science Talent Search (STS) is a prestigious national science competition. The Intel STS recognizes 300 students and their schools as semifinalists each year pulling from approximately 1,700 applicants to compete for $1.25 million in awards. Monica was also selected as a finalist in the 2009-10 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology. The Siemens Competition is regarded as one of the leading science and mathematics research-based competitions for high school students.

For her, the joy of science is about the ability to help others.

"Science is something I'm really passionate about because of my natural curiosity and my desire to make a difference and help people,” Monica said. “I feel I can best do that through science."

She has spent time working in laboratories at the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri-Kansas City on projects geared toward finding cures for cancer. Monica’s goal in life is to help people with diseases. She intends to pursue a medical career after high school, but Monica is committed to using all of her skills, not just her talent for research, to give back to others in the community.

One community where she has spent much of her time giving back is Blue Valley High. She is heavily involved with student council and has also served for the last two years as the event chair for the school's Relay for Life fundraiser. This event benefits the American Cancer Society (ACS). Monica has helped raise more than $90,000 in her four years at BVH through Relay for Life.

She is a Tiger Mentor, leading freshman advisory classes. She also helped organize the school’s blood drive, has been involved in forensics, tennis, the KAY Club (a community service organization), among many others. Monica is also a member of the Science Outreach Club at BVH. She and fellow members of the club visit elementary and middle school classrooms to perform hands-on science experiments geared toward getting younger students interested in science. In honor of her leadership skills that have contributed to the success of her many activities at BVH, she was selected to  receive the Principal's Leadership Award  at BVH for 2010.

Monica enjoys being involved in her community and wants to give back to a school that has given her so much support.

"Being involved in community service is something that is very important to me and Blue Valley High has been an amazing place,” she said. “The faculty and the administration are wonderful and have taken a personal interest in me and in every student in the school."

Monica also said that the support and encouragement of her parents Debjani and Sujit Roy Chowdhury for all her activities has inspired her to give her best to the community.

In addition to graduation from high school, Monica is also scheduled for graduation in August 2010 from her Indian Classical dance school, Nritya Academy. Learning Indian dance has been a big part of her life outside of school.

Monica has chosen the University of Kansas (KU) to pursue the chemical engineering honors program with a pre-med focus. She received a full ride scholarship with some of  KU's top scholarship awards.

Now as she looks toward the future, Monica  is excited for the possibilities ahead and hopeful that no matter where she goes and what she does, she will be able to do what’s most important to her: helping others.