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BH-BL sports program ranked
#1 in New York
Ever heard the saying "you
can't hide that Spartan pride" ??
Well, here's one more reason
why. The New York State Sportswriters
Association has just ranked Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake as having the # 1 interscholastic sports
program in the state for the 2008-09 school
year. Way to go, Spartans!!!
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Renovations vote planned
for October 2009
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Board
of Education members discussed recommendations
from a renovations advisory committee at their
business meeting on June 23 and indicated they
plan to hold a public vote on renovations this
coming October.
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High
school graduation is June 24 with feature
speaker Kate Snow
Nearly 300 members of the Burnt
Hills-Ballston Lake Class of 2009 walked across
the stage and received their diplomas at the
Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Wednesday,
June 24. The high school was
excited Class of 1987 alumna and weekend
co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America"
Kate Snow agreed to be the featured speaker
at graduation. |
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Flu Preparedness & Prevention
June 24 Update:
The school district has been notified that we have our
first suspected case of the H1N1 or swine flu. A middle
school student has been kept at home for several days
with the flu. The student's illness is apparently either
seasonal or swine flu. The student in question has a
sibling who attends Stevens elementary. Letters went
home to parents in both schools on June 24.
The NY Department of Health continues to send
updated information and guidelines to schools. Their
Flu Symptom Checklist for Families may be of
particular interest to parents.
We will post any updates here
if
conditions change over the summer. For more information
and updates, see:
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Key
Dates for the 2009-10 School
Calendar are available
Classes to start on Wednesday, September 9
Yes, we do have a skeleton calendar for the 2009-10
school year.
Click here to view the one-page 2009-10 calendar
(pdf format) OR
here to view the list of 2009-10 Vacation Days at a
Glance.
Some changes from the district's usual September pattern
are needed since Labor Day falls as late as it possibly
can this fall, namely on September 7. Staff only will be
required to report to work before Labor Day on September
2.
Students will not return until after Labor Day.
Orientation for 6th & 9th graders will be held on
Tuesday, September 8. Classes for grades 1-12 will start
on September 9, and kindergarten classes will start on
September 10. (Note: the detailed 28-page
calendar with all events, bus routes, phone numbers,
etc. will not be ready until the end of July.) |
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Please
register your child for school now!
Summer is the time when many
families move and need to register their child
for school. See our
Are you new to our schools? page for phone
numbers and directions on how to do this.
Registration is a two-step process. First,
parents document that they are BH-BL residents
with the Superintendent's office and receive a
residency ticket. Second, parents take the
residency ticket to their child's specific
school to complete the process. Especially in
the summer, it is a good idea to call ahead to
the school for this. Elementary
and high school registration takes place all
summer, but middle school guidance counselors
are available to register and orient new 6th,
7th and 8th grade pupils only on June 30 and
August 25. Parents of new middle school
pupils should call 399-9141, ext. 4040, to make
an appointment for either of those two days. |
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Posted
May 19, 2009
BH-BL Election Results
for 2009:
Budget & Bus
Proposition pass
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents approved the proposed
2009-10 school budget of $53.4 million by a margin of
55% at the district election on May 19, 2009.
A
proposition to borrow up to $350,000 to purchase four
school buses was also approved. Incumbents Elizabeth
Herkenham and Patre Kuziak plus newcomer James Maughan were elected to the Board of Education.
For more details, go to
Annual Election.
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BH-BL cutting costs on
health insurance & copier paper, gains new
softball fields
Board of Education members
received several pieces of good news at their
business meeting on May 12. Superintendent
Jim Schultz reported that he has decided to
accept recommendations from the district health
insurance committee that are expected to save
over $120,000 in the 2009-10 school year by ...
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School Board
raises property tax exemption limits
March 1 was application deadline
BURNT HILLS: In January the Burnt Hills-Ballston
Lake Board of Education increased property tax
exemptions for low income residents who are disabled or
over the age of 65. Eligible residents could apply for
the exemptions at their TOWN assessor's office before
March 1.
The school board
raised income limits for the tax breaks to the maximum
allowed under New York State Real Property Law. The new
limits range from a 5 percent tax exemption for senior
and disabled residents earning $35,500 – $36,400, up to
a 50 percent tax exemption for those earning less than
$28,000.
More information & income chart |
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Want
to learn more about school closings?
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. Closing/delay announcements on SNN and on the
district website may have more details than what appears
on the TV where space is limited. You
can get
more information here or click directly on the SNN
logo. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Posted
May 21, 2008
BH-BL Election Results
for 2008:
Budget & Bus
Proposition pass
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake residents approved the proposed
2008-09 school budget of $52.2 million by a margin of
60% at the district election on May 20, 2008. A
proposition to borrow up to $450,000 to purchase five
school buses was also approved.
Incumbents John Blowers,
Nancy Della Pia, and Joe Pericone were elected to the Board of Education.
Go to
Annual Election for all the results and photos of
the Board members.
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BH-BL Science Bowl team heads to
Washington D.C.
Five BH-BL High School pupils and their coach,
teacher Brian Watts, will traveled to Washington
D.C. on an all-expenses-paid trip to compete
in the National Science Bowl from May 1 - 6, 2008. 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. |
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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 a 2008 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. |
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"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. |
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"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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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