Student Empowerment
Monday Morning Jams
Stephens Elementary
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 ELEMENTARY
The Cincinnati Zoo paid a visit to Stephens Elementary earlier this month bringing with them some exotics. Students were introduced to a lizard, a snake and an owl by professional zoo keepers. The zoo keepers asked the students to read a book to the animals as a way to keep the animals and children calm during the introductions.
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| | Eastern Blue-tongue Lizard |
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Ockerman Elementary students took their dads to school!
Ockerman Elementary sponsored their first Take Your Dad to School event last week. Dads arrived during the school day to not only observe their students in the classroom but participate in the class by helping their students with the assignments.
At least 134 fathers and even some mothers participated in Take Your Dad to School for this two day event. Feedback from the dads was impressive. Here are just a few of their comments:
"I loved the way I was able to sit with my fourth grader and participate in her learning."
"This school has great educators who let kids be challenged and have fun at the same time."
"This was a wonderful experience. I appreciate that you would allow me as a father to come and spend some classroom time with my daughter. Knowing that she is learning and engaged in the classroom is a weight off of my mind. Thank you so much!"
"The STEAM Lab was amazing. I love the fact that even at 5 years old my daughter is learning computer animation. I also like the hands on and group learning. I felt as if all of the children were treated equally. Great School! I am proud that my daughter is here."
"Nicely done. Thanks for the opportunity to visit and interact with our son in the academic environment."
"Maybe you could start recording math lessons and posting them on school website so we can watch them at home to help with homework."
"Today was a really neat experience and highly recommend it for next year. This is a great way to get parents into the school."
"I just enjoyed being able to be a part of my daughter's day and wish we could have more "dad based" programs with the kids."
"Awesome job by the teachers. All classes were very interactive. Great to see all the fathers together. Continue to offer more programs such as this."
COMPUTER LAB
Ockerman Elementary believes these activities not only strengthen the relationship between a father and child but it also improves the relationship between fathers and schools. Take Your Dad to School is a Family Engagement plan that is part of the School and District Improvement plan.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Congratulations to the Gray Middle School Academic Team for having a very succesful weekend at the State Governor's Cup Competition in Louisville last month. The team made it to the Elite Eight for the first time.
The members of the Quick Recall team are: Max Coates, Addi Fish, Troy Hutchinson, Leena Mayi, Jadin Moorman, Thomas Taylor, Tyler Trostle, Kurt Zurad, John Dumancic, Nik Dumancic, Krupa Hegde, and Mina Ryumae.
Students also competed in individual written assessments. Congratulations to Krupa Hegde, who placed 4th on the Language Arts test. All students from GMS placed in the top 100 in the state on their written assessments. They are Mina Ryumae (math 17th), John Dumancic (math 45th), Hannah Laroy (math 95th), Thomas Taylor (science 37th), Kurt Zurad (social studies 49th), Leena Mayi (arts).
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HIGH SCHOOL
Boone County High School Marching Band entertains at the 97th Findlay Market Opening Day Parade in Cincinnati!
SAVE A LIFE TOUR visits Cooper and Ryle High Schools
Just in time for Prom season the Save A Life Tour visits Cooper and Ryle High Schools. The pictures below are from Cooper. The Save A Life Tour is a high-impact alcohol awareness and distracted driving simulator program that visits schools, universities and offices. The tour starts off with a whole school assembly then breaks down into a state-of-the-art, interactive driving simulator for licensed driving students that addresses the very real and often fatal consequences of poor choices that are made while driving distracted or under the influence.
In the Alcohol Awareness simulator the driver feels what it's like to be drunk while driving. Each action of the drunk driver has a delay (driving, breaking and stopping). In the Distracted Driving simulator the driver is required to text while driving. The cell phone in the simulator resembles a smart phone sending the driver texts that must be answered. The driver finds out how quickly they cannot handle both staying on the road and texting safely.
Kyle Sand says this simulation exercise was an eye opening experience for him. He says while the dangers of of drinking and driving are common the consequences of texting and driving are not as well known. He says, "I couldn't pay attention to the road or see what was coming from the sides of the vehicle while I was trying to answer the texts that the simulator was sending me while I was driving it."
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| | Kyle Sand attempts and fails at the texting and driving simulator |
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| | Kyle Sand far right with classmates |
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Bringing the Save A Life Tour to Cooper High was the idea of Vice Principal Brian Vanover. Mr. Vanover says driving is a right of passage for students and it's even more exciting as we head into Spring and near the end of the school year. "I want to get students to think about their responsibilities when getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Texting and social media are a part of their lives and they uses these devices so regularly --walking, talking, texting -- that they are not even aware they are distracted. I want them to realize that it only takes a split second for a bad decision to permanently change their entire lives."
Principal Mike Wilson says he saw students intently listening and some even told him they didn't realize they could so easily be distracted or impaired as a drunk driver. "Teens tend to think they are invincible. I hope this tour serves as a reminder that what they do behind the wheel matters."
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| Michael Henry--Student Representative to the Boone County Board of Education |
Both Brian Vanover and Principal Michael Wilson are considering making this an annual experience for their students. They are evaluating the program for how effective the assembly and simulators were for their licensed to drive students.
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Girls STEM Saturday
The Northern Kentucky Makerspace sponsored another STEM Saturday for girls. Girls in grades 4th through 8th were introduced to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math skills at this event. Students below were taught how to use a camera, lights and water to create cool effects. They were also shown how to recreate them with a cell phone camera and an app.
The students below received a lesson in Textiles learning how to create masks with working battery powered lights.
Students learned how to solder (a fusible metal alloy) together metals and create basic jewelry from metal wire. They also learned about the stress and elasticity of metals using heat guns. Toyota engineers showed the girls how a car door on the Camry is 3D printed and stamped to create its shape.
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 Boone County School Energy Teams Forming
The primary goals of our energy teams are to study how energy is used in each school and begin programs to reduce energy consumption. Our students are learning many valuable lessons about energy through hands-on activities. Our School Energy Teams are excited to increase awareness of energy efficient practices!
Click here to see what some of our schools are doing.
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 GED CHANGES PASSING SCORE
You may have earned your GED and not know it. If you took the GED and received a score of less than 150 but 145 or greater you have passed! In Kentucky the passing score for high school equivalency is moving from 150 to 145. Read more about it here. |
 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION AND ORIENTATION
Parents, please click here if you have children who will be 5-years-old on or before October 1, 2016.
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