Hillsboro Elementary School becomes second Solar2Schools installation site in the country

Farmington View Elementary School will host a Solar Celebration on Tuesday, May 22, from 1:00 to 1:50 p.m. to inaugurate its new demonstration solar array.

The school is the first in Hillsboro to install solar panels and just the second to participate in SolarWorld's Solar2Schools program, which offers schools a fully installed system for just $5,000.  The panels at Farmington View—eight 235-watt polycrystalline panels—and central monitor were provided by SolarWorld and the installation was completed by Pacific Solar.  The system is rated at 1.88 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which equates to a production of 1,880 kilowatts of electricity each year (actual production could top 2,000 kWh/year)—about enough to power one classroom.

Media and community members are invited to attend the celebration, which will feature student presentations, demonstrations, and a ceremonial powering-on of the system.

Hillsboro High School will host their first ever Personal Project Exhibition Night on Monday, May 21, at 6:30pm. This night is being organized in conjunction with the school's Focused Program of Study and Senior Project Exhibition Night. The evening will be similar to a science fair-type event, but will feature 10th grade students' Middle Years Program Personal Projects.

The Personal Projects are a culminating assessment for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program and are completed during a student's 10th grade year. Students choose a topic of their own interest, set a goal to develop a product, track their progress in a journal, present their work on exhibition night, then write a reflective paper about the projects.

Here are some example projects:

• One student is trying to raise awareness about breast cancer and to do so is interviewing her aunt (who is a breast cancer survivor) and creating a pamphlet/poster about how treatment and recovery impact patients emotionally.
• One student is interviewing individuals to see how different genres of music influence their attitudes and emotions.
• One student is designing a dress out of newspaper.
• Many students are doing service projects by volunteering at various charitable organizations.

Don't miss this opportunity to support and celebrate the great work of Hilhi sophomores!

The Budget Committee, which consists of all members of the School Board and an equal number of appointed citizens, met for their official review of the 2012-13 Proposed Budget on Thursday, May 10, at 7:00 p.m. in the Administration Center Board Room.  After electing a Budget Committee Chair, Helen Noonan-Harnsberger, the Committee heard the Budget Message from Superintendent Mike Scott, and an explanation of the information contained in the Proposed Budget from Chief Financial Officer Adam Stewart.

Prior to the meeting, Adam and his team received several questions about the Proposed Budget and provided answers, but there was also time during the meeting for additional questions and discussion.

Most of the discussion centered around the inadequacy of funds available for K-12 education throughout the state, an acknowledgement that we are trying to select the best of bad choices, recognition that the forethought and conservatism of past Boards has allowed us to mitigate the effects of continually declining revenues, and a desire to start the budget planning process even earlier next year and engage in tough conversations about what we will be able to provide to students moving forward.

The Budget Committee approved the Proposed Budget unanimously.  The Proposed Budget will now advance to the Board for an adoption vote on Tuesday, June 12, 2012; that meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Administration Center Board Room and is open to the public.  To see the detailed list of cuts for 2012-13, please click here.