Bear Facts February 2011

8/7/2019 Bear Facts February 2011

1/8

Box Holder

BUCKleY MI 49620

I This eiti

PrST STd U.S. PoSTage PaId

CadIllaC MI PerMIT #147Buckley Community Schools305 S. First St. l PO Box 38Buckley, Mich. 49620

ProUdlY ServIng BUCKleY

February 2011

Issue #3

305 S. First Stre

Buckley, Mich. 496

Its aleady time f Hmecming Week at BuckleyCmmunity Schls. The big week begins nValentines Day. Events ae scheduled thughutthe week, with the Hmecming Game n Fiday,Febuay 18, against the Glen Lake Lakes.

The Hmecming Cut will be hned betweenthe JV and vasity games, with epesentativesfm each class and the cwing f the king andqueen.

The Hmecming Dance,A Night at the Oscars,is slated f Satuday night in the little gym fm811:30 p.m.

Homcoming on Tap 1Looking Forward 2PTO Activitis 2Third Grad Larning 321 Things 3Brifs 3Suprintndnt Wins Award 4FOCUS 4Nw Tachrs 4Buckly District Host 5Northrn Blls Champs 5100 Yars of Graduats 6Prparing Our Youngst 8

SCHooL PrIDEAbve left: The gils basketball team is having a cmpetitive seasn, includicnvincing win against Leland. Abve: Buckley students ae excited abut sc

spiit. The lude and lage the cwd at u hme games, the bette u teseem t play. Students wee excited abut the Benzie CentalBuckley gamFebuay 2, which the Beas pevailed at the buzze, 3635. Left: The basketteam was fcused against the Huskies, with Evan Chalke keeping his eye nbucket while a Benzie playe shts a fee thw. The Hmecming Gamebe played Fiday, Febuay 18, against the Glen Lake Lakes. The JV game ff at 6 p.m. Please cme ut t the game t suppt the Beas in this NthwCnfeence battle.

daIlY THeMeSMoy: Frmrs dy

Tusy: Bckwrs dy

Wsy: Wcky

Wsy

Thursy: no dy

Friy: Bu & go dy


2/8

2 Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s / The Bea Facts

Support Buckleys PTO bydining at La Seorita

Prt roup ctiv i myrs, icui worfuprt vts i JuryHomecoming

Homecoming is always a fun week at school. The students are

able to exhibit their Bear Pride in ways not normal throughout

the year. Monday is Farmers Day; Tuesday is Backwards Day;

Wednesday is Wacky Wednesday; Thursday is Neon Day;

Friday is Blue & Gold Day. The big Northwest Conference

basketball battle will be Friday night against the Glen Lake

Lakers. The JV game begins at 6 p.m.

Construction Project

We have been in discussions at the school about the possibility

of asking the community to support a bond to build a school

building off of the gymnasium, a commons area, and a

corridor to connect the buildings. We have also explored theidea of bleachers and a press box at the athletic complex for

soccer and track events.

At our February board meeting, we will meet with

representatives from both Triangle Associates and Granger

Construction Company to discuss working with them as

construction management rms.

In the coming months, we will hold community forums

to discuss what community members see as needs within

the school. Further, we will work with staff and others to

determine the best course of action for the future of our

school.

WebsiteWe continue to update

and improve our

website every day.

You can check things

out at http://www.

buckleyschools.com.

We strive to keep things

updated on a regular

basis.

Contact

If you have questions

regarding the school,please contact Principal

Todd Kulawiak or

Superintendent Rick

Heitmeyer. They

can be reached by

email (tkulawiak@

buckleyschools.

com or rheitmeyer@

buckleyschools.com)

or phone at (231) 269

3325.

Buckley Community Schools is lucky to have a

parent group that is active on many fronts and

does all it can to help earn money to assist our

teachers and students in extra activities.

Recently, the Dnuts with Dad andMufns with Mom events in January were

spectacular. Thank you to all who attended and

made the students feel special!

Bear Pride

The PTO is working with the elementary staff and students to encourage them

to participate in Homecoming activities to show that Bear Pride. The PTO

is hosting a poster contest for the students and will display all posters in thegymnasium for game night on February 18. In addition to the posters, the PTO

has invited all students and teachers to engage in the Spirit Week theme days

and will award individual Bear Pride prizes along with classroom rewards. Top

classroom reward is $100 in Scholastic dollars! Show your Spirit and win!

Eat at La Senorita and energize the PTO

On Monday, February 21 at the US3

South La Seita location (2455N US 31 South; Traverse City,Michigan 49684; phone: (231)

9464545), Buckley can earn 20% of

all purchases made from 11 a.m.12

midnight. Purchases include all food,drinks, and gift certicates and the

purchaser must present a token.

Tokens may be obtained at the school

ofce or by contacting Jessica Francisco at (231) 2630334 or Heather Cade a

(231) 2184651. La Seorita will allow us to pass out and use as many tokens

as we would like no limit! So, please pass this along and ask coworkers an

others to visit the restaurant on February 21 with a Buckley token. If you woul

like to volunteer to pass out tokens, please let us know think outside the box

and earn for your school!

Many ways to earn $

As always please save and send in anyBx Tps (see our ad on page 7),

Campbells and Spatan labels. Check out our PTO website for updatedproduct lists atwww.buckleyschools.com under the community link. My

Schools Cool at the Grand Traverse Mall we need your help! Please send in

any mall receipt including Target, the food court, and movie

theatre! We will be competing in a book drive in March and

would love your donation of used books, CDs, DVDs, VHS,

and cassette tapes (but no magazines please).

Contact Francisco [(231) 2630334] or drop

your items off at the school.

Thank you to all who help the PTO put special

events together for the kids! We appreciate you!

LookingForward

Board of Education

Membership 2011PresidentDave Buck

VicePresidentLew ChalkerSecretaryHollianne McHugh

TreasurerKell TysonTrusteeMatt Breithaupt

TrusteeMatt SimonTrusteeBrian Warren

Publishd by BCS

Suprintndnt: Rick Hitmyr

The Bear Facts is publishd six timsduring th school yar from AugustMay. If you hav any suggstions, orquestions, please contact the ofce at(231) 2693325 btwn th hours of

8 a.m.4 p.m.

ALL CONTeNT

COPYRIGHT MMIXI BY BCS
http://%20http//www.buckleyschools.comhttp://%20http//www.buckleyschools.comhttp://www.buckleyschools.com/http://www.buckleyschools.com/http://%20http//www.buckleyschools.comhttp://%20http//www.buckleyschools.com


3/8

The Bea Facts / Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s

21 things for studentsTownsend to pilot program for semester

B

uckleys technology classtaught by Mr. Dal Townsend

was one of only 40classrooms chosen to pilot the newcourse called21things4students.

The class includes 21 things students need to know in order to be

technologically procient. The following are the 21 things that will be

covered: Staying Organized, Web Presence, Be Legal & Fair, Productivity

Suite, Project Collaboration, Digital Video, Information Literacy, Personal

Networks, SelfDirected Learning, Online Learning, Interactive Tools,

ECommerce, Career Prep, Troubleshooting, Visual Organizers, Powerful

Presentations, VIACasting, Visual Programming, Data Quest, Mobile

Computing.

The resources on this site have been developed by teachereducators and

instructional technology specialists working for intermediate school districtsacross Michigan. The goals are to:

Improve prociency for Michigan students in grades 612, in

meeting the Michigan Educational Technology Standards (METS)

and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS).

Provide 21st Century resources for teaching and learning with

educational technology for teachers and their students using

performancebased activities based on 21st Century educational

technology tools such as Google Docs, spreadsheets and graphing,

digital citizenship, copyright, presentation tools, etc.

Provide justintime and projectbased resources online which

increase opportunities for authentic portfoliobased assessment of

educational technology literacy skills in 612 grade levels.

Animals, money hottopics in third grade

Miss Dana Monks third graders have been working on

their animal research projects in science. The 28 students

researched an animal of their choice and are writing reports

on them.Students learned about the animals habitat, diet, and

appearance.

The students have learned about characteristics and

adaptations the animals use to help them survive in the

wild.

Students

will be creating

dioramas of their

animals habitat,

and hope to

display them in

the library and

around school!

The third

graders have also been learning about money in the current

math unit.

They have been doing awesome, commented Monks.

We have learned a lot of interesting facts about coins and

bills, including how they are made.

Monks also said the students learned about the words

that appear on both the fronts and backs of coins and

bills and why it is signicant. Further, the students have

learned which presidents are on the fronts of coins and bills

and what number president they were!

I am very impressed at how well the third graders havebeen doing with this and how much fun they have been

having with! Keep it up third graders! said Monks.

Midwinter break runsFebruary 2125

MidWinter Break, which coincides with Presidents Week,

will be Monday, February 21Friday, February 25. School

will resume the normal schedule on Monday, February

28. All sporting events and practices will still occur asscheduled during the break.

Spring break coming upSpring break will be Monday, March 28Friday, April 1.

School will resume on Monday, April 4.

Spring pictures March 7Spring pictures will be taken by Geskus Photography on

Monday, March 7, beginning at 8 a.m. Please watch the

weekly bus notes for additional information.

Students leaned abut theanimals habitat, diet, and

appeaance.


4/8

4 Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s

A chance f all studentst FOCUSn theileaning in gades 46All students in grades

46 are invited to attend anafter school program called

FOCUS.

FOCUS will run

MondayThursday from

3:155:15 p.m. in room 310.

Mrs. Nancy

Winogrodzki, our Title I

paraprofessional, will be

lead instructor.

Students may choose

which days they want to

attend and they do not

need to attend every day.

During FOCUS students

will be engaged in a variety

of activities, including

homework support, study

and organizational skills,

educational computer games, creative projects, and math and reading uency

practice

Students will need to arrange

for their own transportation home.

Bussing is not available.

There is no preregistration

required to join FOCUS. Dailyparental permission for students will

be mandatory. Parents may send a

permission slip or call the school.

The program began on January 24 and is supported by Title I federal

funding. Buckley Community School receives funding from several sources,

including local, state, and federal. Our federal money is based on our districts

free and reduced breakfast and lunch count, which is established each year

in November based on the number of free and reduced lunch forms that are

submitted to the school district. Title I funding allows for additional learning

opportunities for our students, including the new FOCUS option.

Superintendent winsState Leadership Award

Buckley Community Schools Superintendent Rick Heitmeyer

has been selected by the executive committee of the Michigan

Association of State and Federal Program Specialists (MAS/

FPS) to receive the State Leadership Award.

Heitmeyer earned this recognition because of his activeinvolvement in professional development planning, creating

of brochures, yers, and conference booklet development,

as well as his role as editor of the MAS/FPS newsletter, The

Informer.

MAS/FPS President Michele Burley Lemire explained that,

Students from all over our state reap benets from teachers

and administrators who have taken advantage of professional

development offerings he helped to advertise and publish, and

also from federal programs effectively implemented as a result

of his work.

Heitmeyer has been invited to attend the National

Association of Federal Education Program Administrators

(NAFEPA) Conference in Washington, D.C., to receive

the award at the annual NAFEPA Conference. The award

ceremony will occur at lunch on Monday, March 28, 2011.

While at this conference, Heitmeyer will not only be

presented with the award, but will have the opportunity

to take advantage of high quality training on how best to

implement federal programs such as Title I, as well as how to

ensure federal compliance associated with these programs.

He will have the chance to visit Capitol Hill and meet

members of Congress to explain how reauthorization of the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act affects local school

districts and children.

Mr. Heitmeyer said he was surprised by the award.I had no idea that I had even been nominated, he said.

Im excited to receive it, but also excited to network with our

politicians in Washington, D.C., and rally support for public

education.

Heitmeyer said he expects changes nationally and at the

State level.

Schools were designed a long time ago, and we still t

todays education into that model. There is a great deal of

discussion about reform, but I think its time to transform

education, he said. Students today have different needs and

expectations from school than students just 10 years ago.

FoCUS will unMndayThusday

fm 3:155:15 p.m.in m 310.

nw tchrs joi BCS for sco smstrTwo new teachers joined Buckley Community Schools for the

second semester.

Mrs. Colleen Hartl joins the staff as the new Spanish, history,

and English teacher and Mrs. Mary Schubert takes over as the

Early Childhood Program teacher.

Both Hartl and Schubert have previous teaching experience.

Seora Colleen Hartl joins the staff at Buckley after teaching

Spanish, history, and government at Manton High School since

2007, and previously teaching K-12 Spanish at Lake Leelanau

St. Marys.

Hartl brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to

our hallways from her time as a legislative assistant on the

Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House o

Representatives, as well as her position as an operations

ofcer with the Central Intelligence Agency prior to her re

locating to Traverse City with her husband, Jerome, in 20

In 1994, she received her B.A. in International Relation

from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, her

See new teaches, Pag

Hrt bris

wth of

kow

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to our

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5/8

Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s

Buckley to hostMHSAA GirlsBasketball Districts

Its always fun to play the Michigan High School Athletic

Association tournament on your own court. The 2011

version of the Buckley girls basketball team has thatopportunity.

Teams participating will include the Baldwin Panthers,

Marion Eagles, and McBain Northern Michigan Christian

Comets as well as our very own Buckley Bears.

Games will be played on Wednesday, March 2. The rst

game pitting Baldwin and Marion will be at 6 p.m. At 7:30

McBain NMC and Buckley

will battle on the hardwood.

The District nal game will be

Friday, March 4, at 7:30 p.m.

The winning team will advance

to the Traverse City West High

School Regional.

Because this is an MHSAA

sponsored event, no season,

golden senior, or league passes

will be accepted. Admission

is $5 for everyone, including

young children. No family discounts are offered, either.

The boys district will be played a week later, at

Baldwin. Buckley will battle McBain NMC on Wednesday

March 9, at 8 p.m. Winner of the Baldwin District will pla

in the Cadillac Regional the following week.

We hope to see you at the games wearing your blue and

gold.

Northern Belles Conference Champions50th Anniversary team honored at BCSChampions from a past generation had an

opportunity to meet the new generation.

Fifty years sounds like a long time, but

50 years goes by fast. Mrs. Jeanne Skillet

headed up this reunion of the graduating

class of 1961.She contacted Athletic Director Rne

LaFreniere and said that many members of

the team would be attending the January 14,

2011, game against the Mesick Bulldogs.

LaFreniere began to develop an idea for

the reunion.

The team photo and player names were included in that nights program, LaFreniere said. Prior to the start of the varsity game, team members

attendance were introduced and presented with commemorative shirts.

Skillet brought out the championship trophy and the team was given a standing ovation. A new team picture was taken with the current varsit

basketball team.

LaFreniere said, It was a unique opportunity to bring together the pioneers of girls basketball and our current members. It was a fun night. Plu

the girls beat Mesick!

We hpe t

see all f

yu ut at

the gamesweaing yu

blue and gld.

NoW AND THENLeft: The cuent vasity team with membes f the Class f 1961 vasity team. right: The vasity basketball team fm 1961.


6/8

6 Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s / The Bea Facts

100 years ofgraduatingclasses at BCS

What does it mean to be graduating the

100th class at Buckley Community Schools?

It means that this small northern Michigan

district has withstood the test of time.

On Sunday, May 29, 2011, the 100th

graduating class will walk across the stage at

the Big Gym.

One could argue that a great deal has

changed in the last 100 years, but a lot has

changed just in the last 10 years, as well.

That rst class had one student graduate.

The Class of 2011 will see 38 students walk

across the stage and receive their diplomas.

Buckley has always been small, but in the

last few years, the school has grown. With 42students attending school on our campus eve

day, our hallways are busy and classrooms

jammed. But, were not in a oneroom schoo

house, either.

Since the mid80s, we have been housed

in the new school after the former school was

condemned. We made it through the rebuild

process, though, and now have a newer schoo

Our Big Gym was added in 1995 and it was

state of the art.

In 2005, the community supported anothe

bond to allow for repairs and upgrades to the

school buildings, as well as a weight room an

track.

One hundred years is lled with many

changes, even here in Buckley!

secondary education certication in 2003 from Ferris State

University, and in 2007 she received her Master of Arts in

Humanities from Central Michigan University.

The Hartls have a 23-month old son named Henry and two

amazing English Setters, Timber and Hardy. She is excited to

be here at Buckley, and wants everyone to feel welcome in herclassroom!

Bienvenida! she said.

Schubert obtained her Masters Degree in Special Education

at Montclair State University in New Jersey. After completing

the degree, she began teaching middle school social studies and

science at Montclair Public Schools.

In 2008, her husband and she moved to Adrian, Michigan,

due to his job relocating to Michigan. Schubert taught at the

Autism Model School in Ohio for two years prior to moving to

Traverse City.

I am very excited to be the early childhood teacher at the

Buckley Community Schools! she said.

New teaches, fm Page 4


7/8

The Bea Facts / Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s

Show your school you carewith a bouquet of Box Tops.

Thank you for helping! Every Box Topyou collect is worth 10 for your school.

Name

Grade

Teachers Name

1

3

42

7

9

6

8

5

10

Support ouR pto

Clip box tops, attach them to this form, and

return it to school!


8/8

8 Buckl ey Cmmuni ty Sch l s

Points of Pride

Certified and experienced early childhood teachers Young Fives class option All day, every day kindergarten Highly qualified paraprofessionals Small class size Computers in classrooms Physical education and music classes Certified speech and language teacher Teacher consultant services

Students must be five years old byDecember 1, 2011, to attend

Save the date: May 6, 2011Call (231) 2693325 to register for an appointment

Please bring your childs certified birthcertificate, immunization record, proof of

physical examination and proof of residency

Preparing forlearning a key

for our youngeststudentsBuckley offers early childhood education

programming for our students. We offer anEarly Childhood Program (ECP), a Young

Fives (Y5) option, as well as All Day Every Day

kindergarten (ADED).

Prior to the 201011 school year, Buckley

offered an every other day option for

kindergarten students, in addition to the ECP

program.

The school district surveyed the community,

looked at the different options, discussed what

different programming options were and the

Board of Education voted to adopt a Y5 and

ADED system.

The school district hired Darcey Matthews

to teach the Y5 class three days a week.

Students in the class are a bit younger than

their kindergarten peers and may need some

additional time before kindergarten in order to

fully succeed in a kindergarten program.

Matthews said, Ive watched the students

improve so much, and not just academically.

The students social growth has been awesome.

Anne Stull has taught kindergarten at

Buckley for several years.

She said that ADED is working.

Stull said, Every day kindergarten is awonderful opportunity for the student who is

ready to handle school all day every day. The

every day schedule gives students a consistent

schedule, lots of time to practice early reading

and math skills along with plenty of time for

music, gym and library. Our kindergarten day

has a good balance of active and quiet times.

Rick Heitmeyer, superintendent, said he is

pleased with the addition of Y5 and ADED.

He has concerns about President Obamas

recent proclamation that educating children

earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on

math and science is the answer.Students need to be ready to learn, and

overeducating them when they are young

is not going to produce positive results,

Heitmeyer said. He believes that early

childhood education is extremely important

and that the curriculum should focus on all core

subjects.

Getting our youngest students ready to learn

for the next 16 or so years has to be a priority,

he said. Our initial contact with students and

families is extremely important.

Documents

Bear Facts February 2011