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AN OVERVIEW OF ALL SCHOOLS

ROCKING OUT: Omaha Burke High special education students — also known as the Rockstars — will perform “Beauty and the Beast: Rockstar Style” at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Burke auditorium. (The performance previously was scheduled for Dec. 10 but postponed because of weather.) The program will highlight the talents of 14 special education students, who will be joined onstage by at least 35 general education students. A reception with complimentary dessert and coffee will follow. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated to help with the cost of field trips for the Rockstars.

WESTSIDE HAPPENINGS: Westside High's Jazz Band will have a 7 p.m. Tuesday concert at the school. And on Friday at 5 p.m. the varsity dinner dance will be held in the Warrior Room.

DECA DOINGS: The DECA citywide conference will be Jan. 30 at Westside High.

TUNING UP: The All-Millard Orchestra Festival will be Monday at Millard North High School. The concert will begin at 7 p.m.

JUST FOR PARENTS: The Millard ADHD Parent Group will meet from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Millard North High School Counseling Center. Learn about the latest research on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, treatment options and behavioral interventions for home and school. This month's topic is “Homework: Can't Do/Won't Do.”

FUTURE STUDENTS: Millard North High School orientation will be Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the school's auditorium for eighth-graders now attending all middle schools except Kiewit. Parents and students should attend.

ENROLL, DANCE: Millard West will be busy next week. Information on advanced placement and dual enrollments will be given from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium. The Winter Formal will run from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Jan. 30.

FOR THE FUTURE: Millard West has started Future Wildcat Night events for elementary and middle schoolers at home basketball games. The younger students will pay $5 for admission, which includes a hot dog or pizza and pop. The Rohwer Rockets and Beadle Bulldogs were recognized last week. The Black Elk Eagles and Wheeler Wildcats were recognized Friday. On Feb. 6, the Reagan Eagles and Ackerman All Stars will have their Future Wildcat Night. And on Feb. 11, the Russell Timberwolves will be honored.

MUSIC APLENTY: Singsation, a show choir competition for high schools and middle schools, will run all day today at Millard West High School. More than 25 show choirs involving more than 1,000 performers from Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas will compete in five divisions. Spectator cost is $10 for the day or $7 for the evening finals session only. Concessions will be sold all day.

ART SOUGHT: Area students are invited to participate in the Bluffs Arts Council Youth Showcase Artist competition by depicting the theme “Art as a Part of Our Lives.” Students 14 to 21 are asked to submit a piece of art that will become a showcase piece for the Bluffs Arts Council. There is a $200 cash prize for the student chosen. Entries are due March 1. For more information, go to www.bluffsarts.org.

THROWING A DISCUS: Looking beyond just grades, test scores and win-loss records, a new national awards program honors all-around high school students who demonstrate excellence and engagement both inside and outside of school. The Discus Awards (www.discusawards.com) recognize students who excel in at least three areas that demonstrate multidimensional talents and passions. Students may nominate themselves or be nominated by parents, teachers, counselors, coaches or friends. Students write short essays describing their accomplishments in three out of 10 major categories: academics, arts, athletics, community service, faith, government, environment, technology, work and other achievements.

NORTHWEST METRO SCHOOLS

FUN NIGHT: Abbott Elementary in Millard will have Fun Night for fourth- and fifth-graders and their parents Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the school.

CENTRAL METRO SCHOOLS

RETREAT: Brownell-Talbot Upper School students will participate in an all-day respect retreat Tuesday. Youth Frontiers, a nonprofit character-education program based in Minneapolis, will run the retreat.

MOVIE: The Junior Classical League of Brownell-Talbot will host a Film Night from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday in the Swanson Auditorium.

BEE TIME: Grade-level spelling bees for fifth- through eighth-graders will begin Monday in the English classrooms at Brownell-Talbot School. The Middle School Spelling Bee will be Feb. 4

CONCERT: Fifth-graders at Loveland Elementary in Westside will give a musical concert at 7 p.m. Thursday at the school.

WEST METRO SCHOOLS

MUSICAL MONDAY: Rockbrook Elementary's third- and fourth-graders will have a music program at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Westside school.

COME TO LEARN: Millard North Middle School will host International Baccalaureate-Middle Years Program informational meetings for parents and students from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday and Feb. 2. Both meetings will cover the same information and answer questions.

A LITTLE DAYTIME MUSIC: Second-graders at Harvey Oaks Elementary in Millard will give a musical concert for their parents during the school day Wednesday.

FOR PARENTS: Cather Elementary will have parent information night on its Core Program from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Millard school.

WITH BUTTER AND SYRUP: The Pancake Man will be at Disney Elementary School in Millard from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday. The PTO is sponsoring the visit.

JUST ONE GRADE: Fifth-graders at Morton Elementary in Millard will present a program at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

BIG DOINGS: Reagan Elementary in Millard will have a ball and silent auction from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

SOUTH CENTRAL METRO SCHOOLS

AT MIDDLE SCHOOL: The Community Club of Westside Middle School will host a dance from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the school.

SAY NO TO DRUGS: The Westside Way Club of Westside High will give a drug-prevention program to sixth-graders at Sunset Hills Elementary School at 3:35 p.m. Tuesday.

MARTIAL ARTS: Hitchcock Elementary School students will see a San-Mai Martial Arts Performance at 9 a.m. Friday. The school is in the Millard district.

SOUTH METRO SCHOOLS

PANCAKES, BINGO: Bertha Barber Elementary in Bellevue will be busy Friday. PTA Pancakes for Dinner will run from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the gym, followed by PTA Family Fun Night Book Bingo.

HOT JAZZ ON A COLD NIGHT: Warrior Jazz and Eighth-Grade Bands at Logan Fontenelle Middle School in Bellevue will perform in concert at 7 p.m. Monday in the gym.

JUST FOR FAMILIES: Friday will bring PTO Family Night to Squire Thomas Elementary in the Gretna Public Schools.

EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK, 2010 STYLE: Trumble Park Elementary's fifth- and sixth-graders will present a music program at 7 p.m. Monday at Papillion-La Vista South High School.

FUN FOR FAMILIES: Carriage Hill Elementary in Papillion will have Family Game Night at 6 p.m. Thursday in the art room and gym. At 11 the next morning, the school will have a fine arts performance.

PASS THE SYRUP: The Pancake Man will visit Rumsey Station Elementary in Papillion from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday in the gym.

FOOD AND FUN: Thursday will bring game and pizza night to G. Stanley Hall Elementary in La Vista. Starting at 6:30 p.m. in the gym, Godfather's will cater pizza. Bingo will follow dinner.

BRING AN UMBRELLA? Walnut Creek Elementary in Papillion will show “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” at 7 p.m. Friday in the gym. It's part of Family Movie Night for the school's families. All children must be accompanied by an adult to attend the free showing.

WESTERN IOWA SCHOOLS

MUSIC FOR A COLD EVENING: Abraham Lincoln High in Council Bluffs will have a Winter Band Concert at 7 p.m. Monday.

OUT OF SCHOOL: Students in Lewis Central Community Schools in Council Bluffs will not have class Monday because of staff development.

HAVING A (SNOW)BALL: DECA at Abraham Lincoln High will have a Winter Snowball Dance from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. tonight in the cafeteria of the Bluffs school.

FESTIVAL TIME: Jan. 30 will bring the Iowa Class 2A/4A Show Choir and Jazz Band Festival to Abraham Lincoln High in Council Bluffs.

ALL-CITY: The Council Bluffs All-City Orchestra practice for elementary students will run from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Thomas Jefferson High Commons.

WINTER DANCE: Thomas Jefferson High in the Bluffs will have a Snoball Dance at 7 p.m. Jan. 30.

PRESCHOOL SCREENING: The Lewis Central Preschool Child Screening will be March 25-26 at Kreft Primary School in Council Bluffs. Screening for 3- to 5-year-olds will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. This developmental screening is free and will give information on how your child is playing, moving, thinking and talking at her age level. Loess Hills Area Education Agency 13 staff in conjunction with the Lewis Central Community Schools will conduct the fair. Interested district residents should call the Kreft Primary School office at 712-366-8292 or 712-366-8367 any day between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. to make an appointment.

ATTENTION, EIGHTH-GRADERS: The College Access Program is recruiting eighth-graders who will be students at Abraham Lincoln High and Thomas Jefferson High in Council Bluffs for the 2010-11 school year. The program helps students succeed in high school and prepare for college. Applications are available in the Wilson and Kirn Middle School guidance counseling offices and are due by March 26. Contact Stefanie Marshall, CAP Site Coordinator, for more information at 712-328-6493 ext. 144, or at smarshall@cbcsd.org

HONOR A TEACHER: The H.H. “Red” and Ruth H. Nelson Family Foundation is accepting nominations for the Excellence in Teaching Awards to be announced in May. Five educators from the Council Bluffs and Lewis Central Community School Districts will be honored as part of this annual program, and each will receive a $5,000 cash gift. Nominations are due Feb. 26. For more information, go to www.omahafoundation.org/page10004647.cfm.

ART HONORS: Twenty-five Council Bluffs students were recognized as part of the First Night 2010 student art contest. Art teachers recommended much of the artwork for the First Night Contest from among pieces in the Council Bluffs Community Schools' second quarter Student Art Talent Showcase. The winning entries from each grade level will be on display all year at the Pottawattamie County Courthouse. The second-place artwork will be featured in the Student Art Talent Showcase at the school district's Educational Service Center, 12 Scott St., through early March.

NEBRASKA SCHOOLS

A MODEL: The American School Counselor Association has recognized Lincoln East High School as a Model Program. It is one of 35 schools in 16 states given the honor. The recognition is for “delivering a comprehensive, data-driven school counseling program and an exemplary educational environment.” The association is a worldwide nonprofit founded in 1952 to support school counselors.

FOCUS SCHOOLS: The Lincoln Public Schools high school focus programs — for Arts and Humanities, Science (Zoo School), Information Technology and Entrepreneurship — will have informational open houses next week for prospective students and their families. The schedule: Arts and Humanities, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 643 S. 25th St.; Entrepreneurship, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday or 7 p.m. Thursday at 285 S. 68th St. Place; Information Technology, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at 285 S. 68th St. Place; Science (Zoo School), 7 p.m. Tuesday at the district offices, 5901 O St.

ONE BOOK, ONE SCHOOL: Families at Adams Elementary School in Lincoln have been invited to join in reading the book “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson. On Thursday, there will be a special event for parents to discuss the book and for children to participate in craft and art activities and stories of Pakistan. To end the evening, Shaima Shakir and Aemal and Shandana Khattak, natives of Pakistan, will share stories of their life experiences. The Adams Character Council will hold a penny drive for Mortenson's “Pennies for Peace” organization, which builds and funds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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