ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE TOGETHER
February 10, 2015
In This Issue
Rotary Teacher of the Year
edcamp nKY
Makerspace
Parent Engagment
Minecraft Teaches
Elementary
Middle School
High School
Preschool Screenings
Lunch and Learn
Gifted Students Workshop
Quick Links
Boone County Schools
 
Free/Reduced Lunch Online Form
 
 
Board of Education Meetings
 
 
 WINTER SCHOOL NEWS
 
Rotary Teacher of the Year Nominations
 
  

The Florence Rotary Club is presenting 3 Boone County Teacher of the Year awards this spring. 

Award winning teachers will receive a monetary award to be given to the school or charity of their choice.  The deadline for nominations is in three weeks February 23, 2015.
 
 
The FREE unconference conference: edcamp nKY
February 28th 
 
Billed as the unconference conference edcamp is an unstructured, organic-one-of-a-kind professional development for school staff. Edcamp is free and devoted to K-12 education issues and ideas. Its goal is to assemble forward-thinking school administrators, board of education members, classroom teacher leaders, parents/community members - anyone interested in K-12 education - for a morning of conversation, reflection and inspiration.This year it will be held at Boone County High School February 28th from 8am to 12pm.  Click here to sign up.

Makerspace in the Making  

Awaiting transformation

Students in Northern Kentucky will soon have a space where they can think, create and build all their own.  It's called a Makerspace.  It's a place that will be school based but also open to the community after school where individuals come together to share resources in a space that fosters creative exploration for the benefit of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  Makerspaces were first created in Germany.  Today there are Makerspaces across the U.S. and the world.  The Makerspace underway in Boone County will be the first in Northern Kentucky. It will have many things like a 3D Printer for digital fabrication, a video and audio room for productions, a robotics room and much more. 

The idea came from several Boone County School students who presented their idea for a Makerspace to the Leadership Northern Kentucky Class of 2015 (LNK).  LNK 2015 was looking for a project to sponsor.  LNK had listened to several pitches of ideas from around the area. The LNK Class of 2015 ultimately picked Makerspace for the potential it has to inspire

children and their community.  Look for more information about the progress of  the Northern Kentucky Makerspace in the coming weeks and months.  Read this article about it in The Kentucky Enquirer.

  Parent Engagement Workshop 

 

The Boone County Schools District has embarked on a long-term family-school partnership strategy with parents, teachers and administrators. In Boone County Schools student achievement in school is greatly enhanced when family-school partnerships are strong and parents are empowered to be active participants in their student's learning. 

 

 

Parent Engagement Expert Joe Mazza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 
  
  
  
The first two day workshop on Empowering Parents and Building Family-School Partnerships held last week was guided by parent engagement expertDr. Joe Mazza. Dr. Mazza is a Leadership Innovation Manager at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.  
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Here you see teams of parents, teachers and administrators working with Dr. Mazzza to develop and implement innovative high and low technology strategies for briding the gap between home and school.  In the Boone County School District, parent engagement is an ongoing active component of our strategic plan to provide all students a world class education and ensure that  they are college, career and life ready. 

  

 

 

 

 

  
  

 

  

 

 

 

 

How Boone County School District educators are using a video game as an educational tool in the classroom
  
  
By Brenna R. Kelly--Kentucky Teacher magazine
  
Fifth-grader Olivia Staples is building a castle, not just any castle - a floating castle.
Sitting at a computer in the Longbranch Elementary School library, she follows instructions written by a classmate to create the structure in the pixelated world of Minecraft.  If the essay is detailed enough - the castle will hover over the video game world, if it falls flat, Olivia's partner will have to revise the essay until the directions match the intended outcome.
"It's a really great lesson for them to see where their writing lacks, what worked and didn't work," said Stacie Kegley, library media specialist at the Boone County school.  "It allows partnership and collaboration and of course, I'm totally teasing them with the Minecraft game to get them excited about writing."
Like Kegley, teachers across Kentucky and the world are using Minecraft, a video game often likened to a sandbox as an educational tool both inside and outside the classroom. Read the entire article here.
  
   
ELEMENTARY NEWS
  
  
Yealey Elementary's Wax Museum

Sara Brummet as Leonardo DeVinci
Natalie Jump as Cleopatra
Rhiannon Holland as Pocahontas

 

 

 Firefighters visit Florence Elementary

 

 

 

 

Engine 102 rolled into the Florence Elementary parking lot, not to offer assistance but to educate the kindergarten students. 

The fire department discussed fire safety and how candles, lighters, and matches are the top causes in starting fires. They talked about having a family plan, a meeting place in case of a fire. They reviewed how to call the fire department (911) and how important it is for the kids to know their complete home address and not just the street name or that they live in a red brick house.

Firefighter Ryan Born fully dressed in his uniform, starting with his boots, mask, oxygen tank, helmet and additional gear so the kids would not be frightened if they encounter a fireman in the future. The group headed outside to explore the fire truck. The kids were impressed with all the compartments and gadgets on the truck.

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   
MIDDLE SCHOOL NEWS 

 

 

 

Wyatt Richards, James Funk, Lucy Lawal, Kate Grayson, Mina Ryumae, Audrey Wilson, and Colin McLagan
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gary Middle School's Junior Brainy Bots team are state champions after participating in the FIRST LEGO League Robotics tournament this past weekend at NKU!  They came in 1st place overall, and earned them the spot for Kentucky at the World Finals in April!  To be the champion, the team had high scores in all four areas of the competition-1) robot design and programming, 2) robot performance, 3) core values,  and 4) project: innovative solution and creative presentation.
 

Also, Tech Team (Gray Middle School) won 2nd place in programming and 2nd place in robot performance at the tournament.  We've Got the Minds (New Haven Elementary School) earned 1st place in Research,  Mann Master Builders (Mann Elementary School) earned 1st place in Innovative Solution and Trailblazers (Camp Ernst Middle School) earned 2nd place in Robot Strategy.


Congratulations to these future engineers, scientists, and technology whizzes!

 

 

  
Second place NFL Punt, Pass & Kicker!
    
Audrey Pelster


 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Left: Audrey Pelster at Boone County Fiscal Court

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Camp Ernst Middle School Student Audrey Pelster placed second in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick finals. The 7th grader was one of two top finishers in each division. She performed to a sellout crowd at Century Link Field during the Seahawks-Panthers play off game. Audrey represented one of four regional competitions in the girls 12-13 age group to qualify for the finals. Pelster competed against three other girls from California, Michigan and Oklahoma.See the WCPO's feature story on Pelster here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Science of Weather from a meterologist

 

 

 

  

WCPO-9 Meterologist Jennifer Ketchmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

The 6th grade students at

Gray Middle School have been studying weather and climate in their science classes and were recently visited by Channel 9 News meteorologist, Jennifer Ketchmark. She spoke to more than 350 students in the cafeteria about her job and popular weather topics. Mrs. Ketchmark explained what meterology is.  Meterology is a combination of science, geography and math. Students were amazed that she wakes up at 1:30 a.m. in order to be in the newsroom by 2:30 a.m. to begin prepping for the morning news! Not only did students learn more about how weather & science are related, but they also learned the most important concept about being a meteorologist is not appearing on television but one's education. After providing a detailed account of how teamwork is a critical part of putting together a news broadcast, Mrs. Ketchmark fielded a variety of interesting questions...the one most important and on everyone's mind, "When will our next snow day be?"  Truthful answer: Sorry kids, no one, not even the meterologists know the answer to that one!

  

 

The Gray Middle School Dance Team donates 27 pairs of shoes.

 

 


 

 

Caitlin Holbrook, Hannah Ross, Ashley Torosian, Grace Wellmann, Katie Hadley, Ashlyn Green, Ariel Klaas, Danielle Corbin, Peyton Fransen, Ally Price, & Courtney Dolwick

 

The team of girls in the sixth, seventh and eighth grade, is coached by

 

Lori Dolwick and choreographed by Hannah Montgomery.


 

Their community service project was Free Feet Footwear Inc., a nonprofit organization that has been serving Northern Kentucky children and families since 2006.

With the collaboration of schools, churches, friends and organizations, Free Feet has been able to provide over 5,000 pairs of new athletic shoes over eight years.


 

Free Feet Footwear Inc. is a 100 percent nonprofit organization. All money and donations go to those living in the Northern Kentucky area.

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

  

 

 

The Gray Middle School Band helps the homeless.


 

 

 

GMS gave a winter concert on December 9th and collected canned goods for the homeless. They collected a pickup truck full of food and more than $400 in cash for the Fairhaven Rescue Mission. The bands collect donations at every concert to help those less fortunate. In the past, they have supported the Fairhaven Mission and the Susan G. Komen Foundation among others.

 


 

The bands have begun preparing for the next concert on March 5 here at GMS. This concert will preview pieces to be taken to the Northern Kentucky Concert Band Assessment at NKU. The band has a long tradition of distinguished ratings at that assessment and they hope this year's performances will yield the same accolades.

  
  

 

In other news....

 


 

 

Camp Ernst Middle School is holding a Red Carpet event Saturday February 7th, 2015.   They are collecting new to gently used semi-formal attire to help students at Camp Ernst that may not be able to purchase a semi-formal outfit for their school dance.  Students in the community may come in and shop and choose 1 outfit for free.  If anyone including other schools have some items of attire they would like to donate please contact PTA/PTSO board member Becky Quigley at

 

 

blortz@will-son.com 

 

 

 

 
HIGH SCHOOL NEWS 

 

 

Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA)
  
Congratulations to Boone County High's Biology Teacher
Lenny Beck BCHS
Lenny Beck on being a 2014 OBTA Honoree. This award is from the National Association of Biology Teachers.  
  
Every year, the Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA) program attempts to recognize an outstanding biology educator from grades
 7-12 in each state. Candidates winning this award have devoted a major part of their career to the teaching of biology/life science, and candidates are judged on their teaching ability and experience, cooperativeness in the school and community, inventiveness, initiative, and student-teacher relationships.
 OBTA recipients are special guests of Carolina Biology Supply Company at the Honors Luncheon held at the NABT Professional Development Conference, receive gift certificates from Carolina Biological Supply Company, resources from other sponsors, and award certificates and complimentary one-year membership from NABT. Get to know more about Mr. Beck here.
 
  

 

Transferring Excitement: Service Project to Impact Project!

  

Jessica Pass BCHS

 

 

Jessica Pass, Boone County High School

English Teacher, Assistant Librarian, Head Varsity Volleyball Coach

Florence, Kentucky

Follow @cfaleaderacademy on Instagram

 

 

 

 

Boone County High School teacher Jessica Pass has involved her students in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Program.  The students learn leadership skills that they will use to create and execute a final Impact Project that serves their community.   

"Chick-fil-A Leader Academy is not only teaching our kids leadership skills - it is helping

them become aware and compassionate young people," said Boone County High

School's Jessica Pass.

Jessica is hooked. What started as an opportunity to give her girls' volleyball team a

chance to develop their leadership skills has turned into an eye opening experience. She

and her class are fully invested in the program and in making a difference in their

community. Her class was particularly moved by the Big Thank You service project,

which compelled students to thank the people that have made a special impact on their

lives. Simultaneously, it got her class thinking about how they could extend that notion

into something bigger for their school and community. Now, Jessica and her students are

re-imagining their Impact Project. Together they want to create a program to make

service a part of their school culture year round.

 

 

 Conner High School wins

the Governor's cup District 32 Tournament 

 

 

 

 

Individual top performers:

Chad Nelson-2nd in social studies, 2nd in math

TJ Roberts-3rd in math, 4th in social studies

Kevin Owens-1st in social studies, 1st in arts and humanities

Morgan Edmonds-2nd in science, 2nd in language arts

Eli Graft-1st in language arts, 5th in science

The quick recall team also went undefeated and won 1st place on the day.  Regionals are February 14.

 

   

 

Mt. Zion Kroger invites BCHS Band to perform at Grand Re-opening and present the band with a $1000 check! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the Boone County High School Varsity Cheerleading Team. They competed in the Northern Kentucky Cheerleading Coaches Association Annual Tournament at the Bank of Kentucky Center on January 25, 2015. They won the Large Varsity Division and were named overall Grand Champions.

 

 

 

 

In other news... 

 

Conner High School is proud to announce that Matthew Repka is a finalist in the Cincinnati Overture Awards Scholarship Competition.  Matthew is one of four students chosen to compete in the area of Instrumental Music.  His specialty area is percussion. He will be performing on a marimba.  Matthew is competing for a $4000 scholarship, but is already guaranteed a $1000 scholarship.  The final competition will be February 28, 2015, at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati.  CHS and Boone County Schools wish Matthew the best of luck.

 

 

 

Congratulations to Ryle High's Band and the following students form making KMEA District 6 All District Select Band:  

 

Rachel Lietzow, Matt Hanus, George Nalbandian,

Chloe McDaniel, Brandon Boone, Ian Coates,

Chisato Fuji, Aya Nakamura, Lillie Tucker,

Yoshino Kano, Dalton O'Cull, Kylee Schaadt,

Rachael Lappin, Alex Strawn, Jon Carlo Bustamente,

Caleb Edwards, Logan Young, Hannah Fry,

Jason Wang, Chris Hall, Lauren Wehner,

Amanda Stegman, Devon Thompson, Sae Kurata,

Ramon Rivera-Sanchez, Cassidy Dorsey, Nick Hyett,

Livia Black, Thomas Lykins, Willis Dickman,

David Gregory, Samantha O'Neal