ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE TOGETHER
October 5, 2015
In This Issue
Day of Play 5K
Alumni Spotlilght
BCS Distinguished Rating
Elementary
Middle School
High School
STEM Super Saturday
Boone County Youth Cabinet
Looking for Alumni
Quick Links
Boone County Schools
 
Free/Reduced Lunch Online Form
 
 
Board of Education Meetings
 
 
 FALL SCHOOL NEWS


Faith Evans
Alumni Spotlight:
Ryle Grad Faith Evans

Congratulations to former Ryle High School graduate Faith Evans who is a biology student studying at the University of Kentucky.  She was recently named a Chellgren Fellow at U.K.

The Chellgren Fellows Program is for students with exceptional academic potential and aspirations, who are eager to participate in a special learning community designed to cultivate extraordinary achievement. Click here to read the full article.
A Distinguished District
Boone County Schools is celebrating the results of the Kentucky Performance Rating for Educational Progress or K-PREP administered in the spring of this year and released today by the Kentucky Department of Education.  The results show that Boone County Schools are a Distinguished District.
 
Randy Poe, Superintendent of Boone County Schools, shared, "I am extremely pleased to see that implementation of our strategic plan continues to prove that we are delivering a world class education for our students.  Our students, staff, teachers, parents and community continue to "Achieve Excellence Together". I am very grateful to all for the importance our community places on education!"

Boone County Schools Breakdown

 District Classification:  Distinguished
    • o   9 schools are Distinguished
    • o   1 school of Distinction
    • o   1 High Progress School
    • o   6 schools are Proficient
    • o   4 schools are Progressing
  • Highlights:
    • o   9 schools raised their Overall scores
    • o   9 schools raised their Non-duplicated Gap Score
    • o   11 schools raised their Achievement scores
    • o   14 schools raised their Growth Score
"We are very excited to see that EVERY school demonstrated growth," said Krista Decker, Director of Assessment Support for the district.  "The hard work of our students, parents, teachers, administrators, and support staff is evident in the continuous improvement seen across the district." 

 
ELEMENTARY

National Thank a Police Officer














 A day to honor Police Officers at Florence Elementary started with the 'Whole Truth Project' which protects innocent police officers being wrongfully accused of misconduct.  Under the direction of Ilah Conley, the Social Studies teacher at Florence Elementary, the students have been examining the roles of police officers in our community and have discussed the importance of being both respectful and thankful for the services they perform.  To honor this day, the students poured their heart and soul into making cards and writing letters to support National Thank An Officer Day.  The school body wore blue on Friday, September 18th, to support the cause.


 Stephens Elementary School makes Channel 9 WCPO News.  Check out this video.  This is how Stephens welcomes it's students back to school after the weekend.  












 The first graders at Florence Elementary met a local author, Marcie May, who shared her second book "The Mystery of the Crystal Waterfall".  Marcie and her daughter, co-author, Vonnie Zerhusen, published their first book that was inspired by Marcie's granddaughter Sophia and the family cat, Rusty.  Marcie introduced herself and the book by engaging the students with an upbeat song she wrote to go along with the book "The Mystery of the Crystal Waterfall" because she is also a musician and performer.   The students jumped, danced, made wiggle circles, Egyptian style moves, and swimming movements. 
MIDDLE SCHOOL  
October is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. R.A. Jones Middle School invited nationally known anti-bullying expert Keenan West to come talk with parents and student separately about the potentially tragic and devastating results of bullying. 








Keenan West is a motivational speaker and vocalist from Cincinnati.  He recently produced and recorded a powerful anti-bullying music video that has captured the attention of several anti-bullying organizations and schools all over the nation.  His video "Never Ever" can be seen on YouTube.  West is on a national tour visiting more than 100 schools with a 60 minute anti-bullying performance using pop culture inspired videos, music and dance in his curriculum.  This powerful and thought-provoking motivational message engages students and helps them take ownership of bringing an end to bullying at their school and among their peers and friends.  









West explained the Five Types of Bullying.  1. Physical, 2. Verbal, 3. Relational, 4. Cyber, 5. Sexual.  








West  also provided students with a Guide To End Bullying and explained how to use it.  1. Recognize The Bullying, 2. After The Bullying, 3. If You See Bullying, 4.  If You Are Being Bullied, 5. Bring It Together.










West involves students in his campaign. At R.A. Jones he asked a few talented teachers and students to participate in a dance to energize the crowd.  







West said it's very important for students and parents to understand the difference of being 'picked on' and being bullied.  He says if a child is picked on a couple of times "that is just life, something we all go through,"  but if that 'picking on' continues repeatedly it becomes bullying. 







Two sessions were held.   Session one was held for parents, teaching them how to recognize when their child is being bullied and what steps to take to help their child.  Session two was designed for students only.  In this session students learned what it means to be a bully and how bullying affects others and what students witnessing bullying can do to help the victim.  
 
HIGH SCHOOL 
Conner and Cooper High Schools received a visit from the President of the University of Louisville last week.  Dr. James Ramsey came to talk to college bound students at both schools about the benefits and privileges of going to U of L.  

At Conner High 
At Conner High 










At Cooper High

At Cooper High











At Conner High 
Dr. Ramsey says Education has never been as important as it is today. Human capital is what drives economic activity. New companies are driven by ideas, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.  That has been coming from students like the ones graduating from Boone County High Schools.  U of L is one of two research universities in the Commonwealth.  Dr. Ramsey says as a research university U of L is a leader in many things...medical and dental research, a leader in engineering,  a leader in sustainability, and a leader in logistics and distribution.  He encourages students to come visit the U of L campus, sit in on a class and talk to students on campus.  He says U of L is not focused on quantity but quality.  Their commitment to every student at U of L is the opportunity to be a success.  

2012 Conner grad
Sydney Watts

At Conner High 
He brought along with 
him a current U of L student and graduate of Conner High Sydney Watts. She is graduating from U of L after 3 and a half years.  She was a member of the Honors Scholars program while at Conner High and is a member of several honors organizations at U of L; Gold Key and Phi Eta Sigma. 


Maddie Smith of Cooper High

Maddie Smith won the Girls NKAC tournament last week by shooting a 73 at Boone Links Golf course.
Maddie will attend the state tournament after qualifying during the Regional Tournament this week.
 
Olivia Dipaolo from Ryle shoot a 78 helping her team place second in the NKAC tournament.  Ryle girls will also attend the state tournament after finishing second in the Regional Tournament this week.  Olivia had the third best score of the tournament shooting a 78 in the pouring rain at AJ Jolly golf course.

Boone County High celebrates Oktoberfest

Boone County High School German Teacher Emily Hensel dressed authentically for an Oktoberfest lesson last Friday.  Her class learned the history behind Oktoberfest, what makes it a tradition all over the world today and the answer to the question everyone asks...'Why is Oktoberfest held in September rather than October?' Students also brought in authentic German treats to be shared with their teacher and classmates.

German Teacher Emily Hensel









Explaining Oktoberfest Tents






Oktoberfest Lesson





Traditional German treats!







 













Students learned the history behind Oktoberfest started with a horse race staged by the national guard to celebrate the August 1810 wedding of Ludwig Crown Prince of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.  The celebration went on for days and was such a success it was held again and again on the anniversary of the couples marriage.

Once it became an annual event named Oktoberfest it was held in the first two weeks of October. The festivities were moved up and into September to take advantage of the warmer weather.  Today Oktoberfest is usually celebrated the last week of September into the first few days of October.

 
Boone County Youth Cabinet


 Congratulations to the 2015-16 Boone County Youth Cabinet.  The Youth Cabinet is made up of student from all four Boone County High Schools as well as student from other public, private and parochial schools. 


The Cabinet was established ten years ago by the Boone County Fiscal Court.  It is consists of students in the 11th grade and meets monthly. The Boone County Youth Cabinet is staffed by the Judge/Executive's office and supported by the RC Durr YMCA. 
Calling all Boone County School Alumni
We are looking for former graduates of Boone County Schools to tell us their stories of success after graduating from this district. If you are one of those students or if you have a son or daughter with post Boone County School District successes that should be celebrated, please contact us.  You will need to provide a j.peg picture of your student as well as information on their success story. We will post it in the Alumni Spotlight section of this school district newsletter.