Some very cool student inventions will be showcased later this month at the 26th annual Astounding Inventions contest.

We haven’t talked much on the NewsFlash about the new Common Core State Standards, but they represent a major shift in education, and they’re the subject of an upcoming presentation from the Orange County Department of Education that will feature IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker as a panelist. Dr.

Open Enrollment has begun in IUSD, and with it comes a unique opportunity for students who are currently in the seventh grade.

About 400 IUSD middle schoolers recently got a chance to test-drive potential careers in physics, robotics, aerospace, health and other specialized fields during a long-running science conference at UCI.

Back in July, IUSD approved the second phase of an ambitious project that’s bringing energy-generating solar panels to a number of additional schools and district sites.

A pair of Irvine schools made headlines recently on the Orange County Register’s website. For starters, Register reporter Samantha Schaefer previewed Northwood High School's third annual Timberwolf 5K Run/Walk, which will raise money for Northwood's athletics program and Families Forward.

Just a reminder: IUSD schools will be closed all next week for the Thanksgiving holiday.

BY SUPERINTENDENT TERRY L. WALKER This month’s election has finally brought some clarity to IUSD’s budget outlook, and perhaps given rise to a little optimism.