Education Notebook, Dec. 10-16

FREE LUNCH SERVED AT LE CORDON BLEU

Approximately 60 at-risk students from Von Tobel Middle School, 2436 N. Pecos Road, who are enrolled in After-School All-Stars Las Vegas enjoyed a hot Thanksgiving lunch Nov.26 at Le Cordon Bleu’s culinary campus, 1451 Center Crossing Road.

The meal was served by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, Ciy Councilman Bob Beers and local television anchors and was donated by Le Cordon Bleu. It included all of the traditional dishes of Thanksgiving. More than a dozen chefs and students from the culinary school were involved in preparing and serving it.

VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOL HOSTS COMPUTER DRIVE

The Clark County School District plans a Laptops for Learning drive through Dec. 31 to benefit Virtual High School students who can’t afford computers. Virtual High School allows students to take online classes.

The school, 3050 E. Flamingo Road, will accept computers in good, working condition. Data will be wiped clean by U.S. Micro Corp.

For more information, visit ccsdde.net or call principal Darlin Delgado at 702-855-8435.

TECHNOLOGY GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE TO TEACHERS

CenturyLink is offering $35,000 in education grants through the CenturyLink Clarke M. Williams Foundation’s Teachers and Technology grant program. Applications are open to all Southern Nevada teachers working in public or private schools who are “looking to innovatively implement technology in their classrooms to increase student achievement,” according to CenturyLink.

The application deadline is Jan. 10; grants are to be presented in April. The number of grants awarded will depend on the applications, which are to be reviewed by a panel of local technology professionals.

For more information or to apply, visit centurylinkteachersandtech.com.

SCHOOL DISTRICT RELEASES 2014 GRADUATION SCHEDULE

The Clark County School District has released its 2014 high school graduation schedule, which can be found at tinyurl.com/ccsdgrad2014. Graduations are scheduled June 2-14, most of them at The Orleans or the Thomas & Mack Center.

AFTER-SCHOOL ALL-STARS KICKS OFF GIVING TUESDAY CAMPAIGN

After-School All-Stars Las Vegas announces the kickoff of a holiday campaign called Giving Tuesday. Thanks to two anonymous donors, those who participate in the campaign will see their dollars matched by each of the anonymous donors, tripling the original donation amount.

Donations may be made at asaslv.org or by calling 702-770-7601. Once the donation is made, it will be matched by each of the anonymous Giving Tuesday donors.

WYNN AND ENCORE EMPLOYEES GIVE GIFTS

Employees from the Wynn and Encore were scheduled to distribute toys and other gifts to nearly 4,000 After-School All-Stars Las Vegas students Dec. 4-6. The employees made their donations at Bell, Wynn, Roundy, Lunt and Martinez elementary schools.

After-School All-Stars Las Vegas provides after-school activities, mentoring and tutoring to more than 6,000 students at 13 valley schools.

CCSD PROVIDES SCHOOL CHOICE OPTIONS DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT

The Clark County School District is holding open enrollment to provide students and their parents with additional options regarding school selection.

The open enrollment interest form and other information is available at ccsd.net/schools/open-enrollment. Interest forms will be accepted online through Feb. 3.

The schools available for selection during the open enrollment process have been chosen because of the number of open seats and additional capacity at that school.

COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA INTRODUCES SMARTPHONE APP

The College of Southern Nevada introduced a new smartphone app that allows students to register for classes for the spring 2014 semester. CSN Mobile is free and available in the iTunes Store and Google Play.

Users, including nonstudents, can also search for campus phone numbers, access an interactive campus map, communicate with professors and more.

For more information, visit csn.edu/mobile.

BOOK DRIVE TO BENEFIT LOCAL SCHOOLS

City National Bank and Barnes & Noble plan a book drive through Jan. 1 to benefit schools in Nevada and other states. To participate in the drive, shoppers can buy a book at select Barnes & Noble stores and donate it. People can also drop off a new book at any City National branch, or visit readingisthewayup.org to donate money for the purchase of new books.

City National’s Reading is the Way Up literacy program will match each book donation up to $75,000. The books are expected to be donated to schools in Southern Nevada and elsewhere early next year.

Participating Barnes & Noble locations include 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. and 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. For a list of City National Bank locations, visit cnb.com.\

MOJAVE MAX EMERGENCE CONTEST KICKS OFF

The annual Mojave Max Emergence Contest has kicked off, offering participants the chance to guess when Mojave Max, a live tortoise who lives at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, will leave his burrow in the spring. Participants are encouraged to try to guess as closely as possible the correct day, hour and minute when Max will emerge.

Anyone can enter the contest, but only one kindergarten- through 12th-grade student enrolled in a Clark County public, private or registered home school is eligible to win prizes. The grand prize winner’s class will receive T-shirts, a pizza party and a field trip to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. The winner also receives a laptop computer, a digital camera and a yearlong pass to federally managed fee areas. The winner’s teacher will receive a laptop computer.

To enter, visit mojavemax.com and click on “Contest.” Since the contest launched in 2000, the earliest Max has emerged was 11:55 a.m. Feb. 14, 2005. The latest was 12:41 p.m. April 17, 2012.