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| School District of Beloit Newsletter |
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School District of Beloit E-News
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March 2015
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Board Listening Sessions
The Board of Education wants to hear from you on your thoughts concerning the next Superintendent of the School District of Beloit. Input can be given at the Beloit Public Library on March 19:
4:30-5:30 pm Business Leaders
5:30-6:30 pm Community Leaders and Staff
6:30-7:30 pm General Public
If you cannot come on March 19, you may contact our Board members directly; their contact information is located online. |
Photo Flash
Technology Mentoring A ldrich Middle School student newscasters visited Morgan Elementary students to teach them how to use the Touchcast technology used to create Aldrich's daily announcements. Jazz Band Concert
The BMHS Jazz Band 1 will be performing at the
Butterfly Club on
Sunday, MARCH 15, from 5-7pm. Admission is FREE. Donations will be applied to their upcoming NYC trip / Essentially Ellington Finals in May.
Fruzen School Progress The picture above shows the casework in a science room. For more updates, please visit our Intermediate Schools site, where you'll also see a picture of Fran Fruzen taking the first basketball shot in the gym! |
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Sponsorship Opportunities
Instruments and Sewing Machines Needed
Drums, violins and other instruments are needed at Roy Chapman Andrews Academy, as well as volunteer services to tune/spruce-up the two violins that the school has. Sewing machines would also be welcome as current projects are all being done by hand. To donate or for more information, please contact Sarah Palumbo at 361-4365 or [email protected].
2015 Rising Knights HBCU College Tour
This unique tour strives to stimulate an interest, among select students, in attending one of the public or privately supported HBCU's. The long term objective of the project is to develop the ways and means to assure that qualified BMHS high school students become familiar with the historic mission of Black Colleges and Universities and their broad range of high quality educational programs and academic fields. Another objective is to identify students who would especially benefit from the stimulating and supportive learning environments so characteristic of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. By participating in this fundraiser, you will be helping 35 young people in their pursuit of higher education! If you'd like to make a donation of any amount (every little bit helps), please follow this link.
Essentially Ellington Beloit Memorial High School Jazz Band I students earned the honor to be one of only 15 high schools in the country chosen out of 100 to attend Essentially Ellington this May in New York City. To help these students take advantage of this opportunity, you can attend any one of their upcoming fundraising concerts, or donate directly by sending in your cash or check (made out to "BMHS") to Beloit Memorial High School, care of Chris Behrens, 1225 Fourth Sreet, Beloit. For more information, please contact Mr. Behrens at [email protected] or 608-361-3072. |
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How marvelous to feel a break in the cold! Students are enjoying their recesses outside and no doubt looking forward to a restful Spring break, March 30-April 3. As for our past students, graduates of Beloit Memorial High School can reconnect with past classmates through this year's Alumni Directory. Harris Connect, the company we are partnering with, will be sending out postcards shortly to alumni whose addresses they have on file. If you do not receive a postcard, you can still update your directory profile by calling 800-546-3752. Phone lines open up March 16. There is no obligation to buy the directory; we just ask that you take a moment to call the number to verify/update your information.
Have a joyful Spring!
Melissa Badger
Community Relations Coordinator
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State Budget Proposal
Board of Education Passes Budget Resolution
With the proposed State 2015-2017 Biennium Budget including a net cut in funding to public schools, the School District of Beloit Board of Education passed a resolution this week that will be shared with legislators by Co-Superintendent Dr. Tom Johnson. As Dr. Johnson notes, " A reasonable biennium budget is critical to Beloit Schools and school districts across the state." To view the Board Resolution, please click here.
More information links on the budget proposal:
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NASA Partnership
 Working in tandem with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engineers, students at 8 Wisconsin schools, including McNeel Intermediate School, will be exploring STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) through real-life space problems.
Late in 2014, Wisconsin successfully applied to become one of 10 states participating in the NASA Engineering Design Challenge, a partnership of NASA and the U.S. Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CLC) program. The CLC program supports academic and other opportunities for students and families while school is not in session.
The students, grades 5-8, choose one of three challenges reflecting issues NASA engineers are also working on. As students work on their potential solutions, they will hold web video conferences with NASA staff and engineers to help them along the way.
STEM challenges include "Packing for the Moon" (growing food crops on the moon), "Why Pressure Suits?" (redesigning spacesuits for better mobility), and "Spaced Out Sports" (developing physically and psychologically challenging games for astronauts on long trips in confined spaces).
The students will document their processes and solutions through a video that will be submitted to NASA in May. Videos will be evaluated by a team of NASA engineers and astronauts and one winner will be invited to present at a national conference.
(Information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.)
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 21st Century Testing
It is no secret that modeling the skills and behavior we want to see in students is the best way to show how serious we are. With the need for students to be technologically savvy - not just in knowledge of today's skills, but how to adapt to rapid changes in technology - the State is using computers for its annual testing.
Statewide, students in Wisconsin schools will take the new Badger Exam at grades 3-8 for the first time between March 30 and May 22, 2015.
Districts not only have spent time working on curriculum that matches Common Core Standards, but have also been busy ensuring that proper technology is in place to do this testing: having enough computers and devices for students to take the tests, and making sure the network can handle the data requirements.
The Badger Exam is a Smarter Balanced assessment which includes a computer adaptive test and a performance task for each subject at each grade level. Many Wisconsin public schools and students have participated in pilot assessments over the last two years, helping make the transition to the Smarter Balanced Assessments as smooth as possible.
The Badger Exam area of the DPI website also includes resources for families, a calendar, and other information. The summary brochure can be accessed by clicking here. |
Upcoming Events
Our events are open to the whole community. Join the fun!
 Shrek - The Musical Fun for the whole family! BMHS Theatre presents the hilarious story of an ornery ogre and his talking donkey in this adaptation of the blockbuster movie. March 13, 14, 20, 21 @ 7:30 pm; March 22 @ 2:00 pm. BMHS Auditorium, 1225 Fourth Street, Beloit. Admission: $8-adults / $5-students and senior citizens. Tickets are on sale now at the welcome desk in the BMHS lobby. (Catch a sneak preview on Youtube!)
Becca's Closet Fashion Show The Beloit chapter of Becca's Closet, which provides donated formalwear to area teens in need of apparel for school dances, will have a fashion show to promote awareness of the program. Sunday, March 15, 2:00 PM, Beloit Rotary River Center, 1160 Riverside Dr. Beloit. Admission: $2.00. Appearances by Miss Beloit, Haley Jordan and Beloit's Miss Outstanding Teen, Meghan Crave. The models are students from Beloit Memorial High School (BMHS). There will be BMHS artwork on display, entertainment and door prizes. Light refreshments will be served. Child Development Screenings Free child developmental screenings for children ages 2-4� years old. Screenings are by appointment on Wednesday, March 18, 8:00 am-6:00 pm at the Beloit Head Start building. To make an appointment, call 361-4020. |
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Mythbusters
A Real Look at Common Core
Conversations about Common Core are taking place across the country - most of it over rumor and speculation. Most states have adopted these high standards as minimum benchmarks of what students should know. Wisconsin teachers have spent countless hours designing lessons around these standards, and the first round of the new state test will take place this Spring, called Smarter Assessment.
Questions that are commonly asked: Who decided what students in this country should know? What is the point of Common Core? What exactly are the standards for each grade? A full breakdown of the answers is available online.
Developers
In a nutshell, the standards were developed by a consortium led by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), involving teachers, parents, school administrators, and experts from across the country. The actual implementation of the Common Core, including how the standards are taught, the curriculum developed, and the materials used to support teachers as they help students reach the standards, is led entirely at the state and local levels.
Alignment
These standards are aligned to the expectations of colleges, workforce training programs, and employers. The standards promote equity by ensuring all students are well prepared to collaborate and compete with their peers in the United States and abroad. Unlike previous state standards, which varied widely from state to state, the Common Core enables collaboration among states on a range of tools and policies.
Standards Available to Public
 The standards are available for both Literacy and Mathematics online. Each grade's subject is
broken up into sections. For example, in grade 5 math, standards are broken down into categories: Operations & Algebraic Thinking, Number & Operations in Base 10, Number & Operations-Fractions, Measurement & Data, and Geometry. Each category is then broken down further. For example in grade 5 Operations & Algebraic Thinking, standards state students should be able to:
With each category, there is a knowledge component but also a critical thinking and analyzing section - important in a workforce that is increasingly requiring more problem-solvers. Again, these standards describe what students should know - not how it is to be taught. That is left to local districts and teachers. If you have any questions about Common Core, please call our curriculum department at 608-361-4031.
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