School registration underway

Online student registration for Douglas County School District’s 2022-23 academic year is open. Enrollment for kindergarten and new students can be initiated electronically through the DCSD website at dcsd.k12.nv.us.

A link to the registration homepage is provided on the left side of the DCSD homepage. This page can also be accessed by locating the “I want to” tab near the top right side of the homepage and selecting “Student Online Registration and Updates.” Users can then navigate the page to reach the Infinite Campus online registration tool.

The 2022-23 academic year begins Aug. 22. Nevada law states a child must be at least 5 years old on or before the first day of school, although exceptions may apply to students who have completed a Pre-Kindergarten program and who will turn 5 years old by Sept. 30.

Early kindergarten registration is encouraged. Depending on enrollment numbers, late kindergarten registration may result in placement at a neighboring school.

The following paper documents must be provided to complete the registration process for school: original birth certificate or other suitable document confirming the student’s identity, complete and up-to-date immunization records (or completed exemption form) as required by Nevada law, and two forms that display the student’s current physical address. A list of acceptable proof of residency documents can be found on the online registration webpage.

A video tutorial of the online registration process is available at kb.infinitecampus.com/help/online-registration-for-parents. For assistance, call the DCSD Online Registration Central Line at 775-392-1470.

February 2022 is full of palindromes

In December, I shared some fun with numbers courtesy of Aziz S, Inan, Ph.D., a professor of engineering at the University of Portland, Oregon. Inan has a deep fondness for numerical puzzles and patterns and often poses engaging number challenges to his engineering students. He also writes extensively about numerical palindromes, which are numbers that read the same left-to-right and right-to-left.

I’m someone who is similarly charmed by number patterns, and Inan and I struck up a friendly correspondence after I first connected with him in December. He reached out to me last week and shared his findings about a fresh crop of numerical palindromes appearing throughout February.

Yesterday, 2-2-22, was the first of 10 palindrome dates this month when following a month-day-year date format. From Feb. 20 through Feb. 28, nine more palindrome dates occur: 2-20-22, 2-21-22, 2-22-22, 2-23-22, 2-24-22, 2-25-22, 2-26-22, 2-27-22, and 2-28-22. Feb. 20 also forms a seven-digit palindrome when the full year is written out: 2-20-2022.

Dates are written out differently depending where you are in the world. In the U.S., the month-day-year format is most common. Some places use a day-month-year format while others list the year followed by the month and day. These differences are important when considering a “ubiquitous palindrome date,” which Inan explained is a palindrome date that occurs on the same day of the calendar no matter which date format is used (month-day-year, day-month-year, or year-month-day).

This month has two ubiquitous palindromes. The first, a four-digit format, occurred on Feb. 2 (2-2-22; 2-2-22; 22-2-2). The second has a five-digit format and occurs Feb. 22 (2-22-22; 22-2-22; 22-2-22). 

The first four-digit ubiquitous palindrome date to occur this century was 1-1-11. Inan noted that after 2-2-22, other four-digit ubiquitous palindrome dates will continue to occur every 11 years throughout this century: 3-3-33, 4-4-44, 5-5-55, 6-6-66, 7-7-77, 8-8-88, and 9-9-99.

And in a nod to homophones, Inan pointed out George Washington’s birthday of Feb. 22 falls on a “Twos-day” this year. Already a five-digit ubiquitous palindrome (2-22-22), this date also forms an eight-digit palindrome when expressed in the full day-month-year format of 22-02-2022.

I continue to be fascinated and inspired by Inan’s ability to identify these numerical delights. Take a deep dive into his insights and observations by visiting his webpage at faculty.up.edu/ainan/publications.html. 

Amy Roby can be reached at ranchosroundup@hotmail.com.