Students looking for an edge on their science projects will be able to consult with some pretty sharp experts next month, as IUSD is once again sponsoring “Ask-A-Scientist Night” at Rancho San Joaquin Middle School. This year's event will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

IUSD recently bid farewell to Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Lisa Howell, who after 11 years in Irvine – including the last three as the district’s fiscal chief – has accepted a job much closer to her Palm Springs-area home.

Ninety-six IUSD seniors are in some very elite company this week, having been named semifinalists in the annual pursuit of scholarships through the National Merit Scholarship Corp. Overall, 16,000 earned the prestigious honor in the U.S., representing less than 1 percent of all high school seniors.

In recent years, IUSD has engaged in an ambitious campaign to harness solar power, cut electrical consumption, reduce waste and promote sustainability while adding an 18-lesson curriculum on sustainable energy in grades five and six.

Congratulations to Hari Garg of Rancho San Joaquin Middle School and Rae Holcomb of South Lake Middle School.

The Assistance League of Irvine has announced that its annual Operation School Bell program will kick off on Aug. 22.

The U.S. Department of Education has made some big changes to a key component of the No Child Left Behind Act that was signed by President George W. Bush in 2001.

The Irvine Unified School District’s four year-round campuses are getting ready to welcome students back for the first day of the 2011-12 school year.

Woodbridge High School’s athletic boosters have announced two recipients of a scholarship honoring the late Kent “K.J.” Bentley.