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BCS News & Notes
A newsletter for parents, students, staff and community |
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P.O. Box 10007
Birmingham, Alabama 35202
(205) 231-4610
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Progress being made, challenges remain
All parents want the best for their children, including an education that prepares them for success in a career or college. The administration, faculty and staff of Birmingham City Schools are working hard to provide that for our students.
We are being successful in some areas but, data shows, we still have challenges to meet in other areas.
An academic data presentation made by our curriculum staff at the Nov. 27 Board of Education work session provided insight into the achievements and areas of concern. Click here to see the presentation.
But data is only good if it is used. That is why we are using the data to develop strategies that improve the outcome for students.
As we move forward, district-wide program specialists and school leadership teams will work collaboratively to make improvements. They will focus on the needs of individual students to ensure that each child's needs are met. Our Special Education Department is working especially hard to increase the achievement of special education students.
At the same time, we will continue to provide professional development for our teachers and other staff, including the Professional Learning Communities model that we adopted in 2010.
This is all happening at the same time the state is changing the way it assesses students. For example, this is the last year for the Alabama Reading and Math Test that is taken by students in third through eighth grades. The Alabama High School Graduation Exam also is being phased out, with today's juniors and seniors being the last to take it.
The state is moving to the use of end-of-course tests, with students taking English 9, English 10, algebra I and algebra II beginning to take those exams this school year. Additional tests will be added the next two years. In addition, the class of 2015 and beyond will take the ACT with writing as juniors and the WorkKeys assessment as seniors.
The way student achievement is measured is changing, but we will continue focusing our efforts on teaching our children at high levels.
Sincerely , Craig Witherspoon Superintendent
Birmingham City Schools |
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All City Music Festival set Dec. 6
Students of all ages will participate
Students from all around the Birmingham City Schools will participate in the 73rd annual All City Music Festival, set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, at Boutwell Auditorium.
The theme for this year's event is "There's Christmas in the Air." The festival will include band, choral, orchestral and dance performances involving students from elementary school through high school. The event is free and open to the public. |
Glen Iris has Community Math Nights
Parent University events focus on math concepts
Representatives of the Birmingham Education Foundation and Greater Bir
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A Glen Iris student plays a math game with a teacher and parent |
mingham Math Partnership hope that Community Math Nights held at Glen Iris Elementary School help add up to success for students.
Interactive math workshops for families with students in kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth grades were held Nov. 27 and 29. Parents and students worked with teachers and Math Partnership representatives to focus on math concepts and to play math games.
The events were a program of Birmingham Parent University.
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| Workshop for grandparents planned Dec. 6
Program is for those raising grandchildren
Grandparents who are raising grandchildren face special challenges. That is why the Birmingham City Schools Family Involvement Program and the Birmingham Council of PTAs are sponsoring a seminar for them.
The event is set for 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, in the auditorium of the Davis Center, 417 29th St. South.
Topics will include effective communications, Internet safety, helping with homework and home safety plans.
Lunch will be served.
For more information, call 231-7976.
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Sisters win Yellow Pages recycling contest
W.J. Christian K-8 gets $1,000 check as well
Two sisters who attend W.J. Christian K-8 School won first and second place in the citywide Yellow Page Project ReDirectory Recycling contest, which also made W.J. Christian the first place school winner.
Heaven Bush, who is in second grade, was the top winner and received $400. Kennedy Bush, who is in kindergarten, won $250 for her second place finish. Their school got $1,000. Mayor William Bell presented the awards at the Nov. 27 Birmingham City Council meeting. It was a repeat win for Heaven Bush, who also took first place in 2011. |
Gaskins students love Rock-n-Read-a-Thon
Adults rock and read to students Martha Gaskins Middle School hosted its first Rock-n-Read-a-Thon Nov. 16. Four readers placed throughout the school "rocked" and read to students. For three hours, each grade level rotated through the different reading stations and  | |
Martha Gaskins students listen at the Rock-n-Read-a-Thon |
enjoyed various books from different genres. Each station featured a different theme for the students to enjoy. The sixth grade hall had a superhero theme, seventh grade hall featured the story "Hatchet," eighth grade hall presented different versions of Cinderella from around the world and the physical education hall highlighted different professional basketball players. Student Na'shayla Peebles said,"The Rock-n-Read-a-Thon was a ball! We got to visit different halls and meet different people. Those people read a book of their choice to the students. Ms. Hunter-Smith read one of my favorite books, "Iron Man." It was mighty funny but very interesting." "The Rock-n-Read-a-Thon was very fun because we got to hear all types of stories." Alma Chimal said. "One of my favorite books that we heard was "The Talking Eggs." I personally thought it was interesting but, at the same time, exciting!" "Our Rock-n-Read-a-Thon was great because we had a wide variety of books that were being read to us," said Dakota Martinez. "It was terrific for the students to take a break from working and have some time to read. My favorite book was the Cinderella book because it was odd. It was odd because Cinderella was rich, but in this other story, the Cinderella was poor and became rich from some eggs an old woman gave her." |
Parent Advisory Committee to meet Dec. 12
All parents and guardians may participate
Parents and guardians who want to participate in the Superintendent's Parent Advisory Committee should mark their calendars for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, when the next meeting will be held at the Lincoln Professional Development Center, 901 Ninth Ave. North, Room 123. The committee is open to all parents and guardians.
The featured speaker for the Dec. 12 meeting will be Dr. David Patterson, director of dpecial education. Superintendent Craig Witherspoon will also provide district highlights and will be available to respond to questions and comments. |
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Glen Iris kindergarten class learned through fairy tales
Parents invited to dance with their knights and princesses
Once upon a time in the land of Birmingham, there was a group of bright, inquisitive children. They
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Student "knights" and "princesses" dance with parents at Glen Iris Elementary School |
set out on a learning theme about fairy tales.
During this integrated study, the young learners in Dr. Beth Howard's kindergarten class at Glen Iris read lots of wonderful books. The stories and activities also provided opportunities to learn about language arts, math, social studies and science.
For example, the class watched chicks hatch as they read about the Little Red Hen, graphed and counted Teddy Grahams with The Three Bears, baked and decorated a Gingerbread Man that "ran away" but left clues to follow and worked cooperatively in groups to make papier mache pigs and different houses for The Three Little Pigs.
Nov. 29 was proclaimed as the day for the class' Fairy Tale Ball, the celebratory culmination of the learning theme. Parents and family members joined the class for dancing, refreshments and a tour of the classroom to see and hear about the projects and learning that took place during the theme.
The story will not end there for this group of knights and princesses, whose teacher plans to ensure that they continue to learn happily ever after.
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Police officers visit Martha Gaskins
Protect and Serve Day teaches students
Several Birmingham Police Department officers visited Martha Gaskins Middle School Nov. 13 as part of the school's Protect and Serve Day.
Several police officers spoke to the students about topics that included laws and what it means to enforce them and the importance of students getting an education in order to accomplish their goals in life. Several students spoke about their question and answer session with the officers.
On Protect and Serve Day ... students were taught the basic rules and steps to follow in order to reach their goals," said student Dasia Key. "The officers taught us about the importance of laws and how to follow them. It made a major impact on the student body. Understanding this will help us to do better and give us a mind to stay out of trouble." |
Coming events
The Birmingham Board of Education will have a regularly scheduled meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, in the auditorium of the Administration Building, 2015 Park Place.
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