Bonner Springs High School

Principal's Newsletter for Parents


	Classroom Highlights

The month of September has passed quickly and end of the first quarter of the year is a week away. Our students and staff have enjoyed a fantastic start to the school year both in and out of the classroom. As we conclude a week of Homecoming activities, it's my pleasure to share with you a few of the highlights from our classroom visits in September.

Justin Howe
In American History he is doing a choice project to differentiate his instruction over Reconstruction. The student's have the following options. Create a political cartoon. Research African-American school enrollment rates between 1860 - 1900 then create a bar or line graph to represent their findings, and summarize the results in a paragraph. Research the economic impact that the Civil War and Reconstruction had on each state, then create a bar or line graph to represent their findings, and summarize the results in a paragraph. Research Black Colleges and Universities and write a one page paper on the school's history and connection to the Reconstruction era. Not only is this differentiated project a great example of providing students choices, but a nice illustration that Black History is not limited to just February. Enclosed is a picture of where some of the student work will be displayed.

Hannah Oberg
In her English 9 class she began the year by asking the students to complete one of the sheets pictured below about themselves. They were asked to draw a picture of a food they liked, an animal they wish they could be, five adjectives that describe them, draw a self portrait, draw a symbol that represents them, what they like to do (verb), a picture that depicts them at school, and their catch phrase. The creativity in each one was impressive as well as the quality of the final product. They are posted outside her room if you want to see more, but here are some pictures of a few.

Diane Bonner
The Success Center is one of the best kept secrets at Bonner Springs High School. Ms. Bonner works with some of our most challenging students, but does so with kindness and empathy, as she maintains her high expectations for achievement.I would argue that no other program in our school has done more for our students or graduation rate than the Success Center.Take a look at the enclosed 2010-11 Year End Report attached at the bottom of this box to see what I'm talking about.Pictured is one of Ms. Bonner's students, Arlando Young.For his senior project he has taken on an "Extreme Makeover - Success Center" than includes a pastel color scheme as well as a combination aquarium-terrarium double-decker animal display.Arlando is one of the many success stories that happen every day in the Success Center.

Jim Mitchell

The Brave Cave has some new products thanks to a project spearheaded by Mr. Mitchell.Sean Holley, a 2011 graduate, is working in the Brave Cave to deliver gourmet coffee as well as a new doughnut making machine. Mr. Mitchell's commitment to his students has been well documented over the years at BSHS, but this year he has taken it to a new level, as he works with the Holley family to create this opportunity for Sean that will serve as a model for other functional students in our district.The ripple effect of this program will impact countless students in the future as we continue to integrate our special education services into our regular education curriculum to best meet the needs of all students in our district.

Adie Law
In her Marketing class students were comparing "national vs private (store) brands" in a taste test. The students were able to pick the national brand with about 60% accuracy, with many being surprised by the quality and taste of private brands.In their final conclusions, most said they would continue to want national brands due to continual previous use and marketing exposed to them about the product.However when they start buying products on their own, the average $1 savings per product and comparable quality would sway them to start buying private brands. It's amazing how they want to save money when they have to earn it!

Jill Holder

In her Beginning Journalism class she had students taking "Glamour Shots."In groups of four they used a model, two lighting technicians, and a photographer to experiment with front, side, and back lighting to see their effects.Rather than just provide the students with examples of each she allowed them to play with the idea themselves and draw their own conclusions on the benefits of each.This constructivist approach creates learning experiences the students' take away for a lifetime, and serves as a great example of doing school as opposed to watching school.

Attachment:

2010-11_Success_Center_Report.doc


	BSHS September Highlights

Buy a Yearbook
If you want to purchase a 2012 Totem Pole yearbook for your student at the lowest price possible, you will need to do so by Friday, Oct. 21. Currently, a regular yearbook is $45 and a personalized yearbook is $50. Prices go up by $5 per book on Saturday, Oct. 22. Please check the attached PDF for payment options.

Brave Cave Goes Online
Thanks to John Hilton and Bryce McFarland BSHS has an exclusive apparel contract with Nike. This deal, the first in Kansas, secures a 35% discount on all uniform and apparel purchases, and 30% discount on shoes, for all of our students and staff. In addition, Nike will provide us with $5000 worth of product this year, $4000 next year, and $3000 in the third year. Mr. McFarland is working to expand the offerings in the Brave Cave with Nike gear and has developed Online Brave Cave Store to order Braves Nike items with the assistance of Nill Brothers Sports. Check it out by clicking:

http://www.usd204.net/education/components/whatsnew/default.php?sectiondetailid=12907

Team of the Week

Congratulations to Coach Aslin and our football program for being selected as the KMBC Game of the Week vs. Mill Valley. By obtaining the most votes they were the featured highlights on KMBC as well as being awarded a $250 contribuition to the program. Enclosed is a photo of the check being presented to myself and our cheerleaders by Len Dawson.

Cross Country Meet at the Kansas Speedway
Thank you to Coach Marriott, Coach Downing, and John Hilton for all their work in organizing our Cross Country Meet at the Kansas Speedway. The event will have over 1100 runners in middle and high school for both boys and girls. The girls race will be started by Scintila Capalla, and if you have not had a chance to read the stories in our Pow Wow or the Cheiftain, check out this link.
http://www.bonnersprings.com/news/2011/sep/22/runners-rally-show-support-bonner-springs-high-sch/

EBSCO Subscription
Thank you to Chris Wood for again purchasing, for the second year in a row, an EBSCO subscription for our students and teachers to use in their classes. Her comprehensive research concluded this was the best option for our students, and when the district could not fund it, she wrote the $1218 check herself.

Band Festival
Congratulations to Bill Turley for another successful Band Festival that we hosted on Thursday. The band director from Kansas State University judged and provided a clinic for our students as well as students from Basehor, Mill Valley, Cass-Midway, Cass-Sherwood, Spring Hill, and Lansing High Schools.

Tabacco Awareness Assembly
Thank you to Nurse Kim for all of her work to set up the ASA Tobacco Free Assembly on Tuesday. It was a one of a kind event, and I invite you to visit http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ to learn more about their program. There was also a nice story in the Cheiftain about it, check out this link.

http://www.bonnersprings.com/news/2011/sep/20/professional-bmx-skateboard-inline-skating-athlete/

Attachment:

Yearbook_Sales_2012.pdf

Student Centered...Skill Driven...Post-Secondary Minded