White River High School students Dylan Fagan and Mikaela Kilcup were at the White River School District school board meeting Feb. 8 to talk about their venture to Jostens Leadership Camp, but they also took some time to introduce Harry.

Harry is their pint-size, half skeleton from Lynette Nylund’s anatomy and physiology class. The girls, along with their partners in the classroom, used modeling clay to define Harry’s muscle structure. Students also learned about muscle construction by dissecting a cat in class.

It’s that hands-on learning piece, Nylund and the girls, said helps them retain the information.

Nylund, along with physical science teacher Sheryl Lathrop, presented information about the science program to the board. Assistant Principal Lainey Mathews updated the board on the science curriculum adoption.

Mathews outlined the science courses covering physical science, biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology and AP chemistry. She also talked briefly about the mobile laboratory, textbooks, ebooks, online resources and hands-on lab materials.

Lathrop shared with the board metric conversion cards, an energy car and data collectors. She said the experiences with those lab pieces combined with the content from the textbooks is generating an excitement about science.

“We’re just really thrilled to have it,” she said. “It’s fantastic.”

Lathrop said students are asking to come in after school to do additional work.

Mathews shared other science teachers comments.

She shared that 87 percent of Todd Miller’s students passed the comprehensive midterm with a 75 percent or higher and teacher Jason Wenham said the recent addition of a centrifuge allows him to offer labs he wasn’t able to in the past.

“There’s a lot of great energy within the high school science team,” Deputy Superintendent Janel Keating said. She said that energy is trickling into the middle school and elementary level as the high school teachers reach out to create a uniform K-12 program.

In other business, the board:

• heard from Kilcup and Fagan, who attended Jostens Leadership Camp, where WRHS earned a second-place finish for its spirit, attitude and program participation. WRHS also earned the Networking Award for its “It Just Takes One…” campaign, which promotes acts of kindness across the campus and community.

• launched its paperless effort. Board members received their packets through email and followed along at the meeting on laptop computers.

• announced its next special meeting will be Feb. 22 and its next regular meeting March 14, both at 6 p.m. in the board conference room.

• reminded the audience there will be no school Feb. 17-20 in observance of President’s Day.

• approved out-of-state travel for WRHS teacher Randy Wilson and DECA students to attend the International Career Development Conference in Salt Lake City and WRHS Principal Mike Hagadone to attend the National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference in Tampa, Fla.

• approved the surplussing of six buses ranging in age from 1993 to 2001.