Open house for sesquicentennial

COUNCIL BLUFFS — The Council Bluffs Community School District will hold a communitywide open house Nov. 17 to celebrate the district's 150th anniversary.

The open house will feature school history displays, building tours, demonstrations of student work, refreshments and the chance to see former teachers and classmates. Schools will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

“We want the entire community to be part of the celebration,” Superintendent Martha Bruckner said.

Memorabilia contributed for the displays includes class photos, scrapbooks, buttons, newsletters, a 1980s band uniform overlay, a 1954 Abraham Lincoln High School memory book, yearbooks, newspaper clippings and a 1937 program for the Abraham Lincoln High School girls' May Festival at Kirn Field.

Current students have been researching their school history and interviewing former students.

In 1859, voters agreed to create the Council Bluffs Independent School District. School was in session by 1860 at two elementary schools with four teachers and one high school with two teachers, all in rented rooms.

Today, the district educates more than 9,000 students in 14 school buildings.

Also on Nov. 17, the Community Education Foundation is sponsoring a “Education is Everyone's Business” luncheon.

Another major event is set for Feb. 27 at the Mid-America Center. A committee is forming to plan that Community Anniversary Celebration.

Additional information, including a list of school addresses for the Nov. 17 open houses, can be found on the district's Web site at www.cb-schools.org.