Thursday, May 30, 2013

Budget Amendment Hearing before June Board meeting


The purpose of the hearing is to discuss amending the Qualified Capital Purpose Undertaking Fund budget. The QCPU budget will be increased by $170,000 to pay for expenditures for the classroom addition that were budgeted in the 2011-12 school year but were paid in September, 2012, in the 2012-13 budget year. This expenditure will cause the district to exceed the QCPU fund budget of expenditures for 2012-13 which was set at $32,000. 
The budget amendment will not change the tax levy.



Nebraska 7th in college continuation rate

The National Center for Education Statistics ranks Nebraska 7th in the nation with 69.5 percent of Nebraska students continuing on to college after high school. This number reflects the most recent data available (from 2010).
Ahead of Nebraska are 1) Mississippi, 2) Connecticut, 3) Massachusetts, 4) New Mexico, 5) South Dakota, and 6) Minnesota.
Nebraska 2010 student data represents a 5% increase in students attending college compared to 2007 student data.
When the 2007 data was released, the Nebraska P-16 Initiative established the goal of improving Nebraska's College-going rate to the top-10 tier nationally. It didn't take the state long to reach that goal.
Here is the College Going Rate data for Bancroft-Rosalie School from 2007-2011.
 

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

B-R "Twelve Letter" athletes

 Reviewing records of letter winners back to 1992, there are five males and nine females that have earned twelve letters during their athletic careers at Bancroft-Rosalie.

It would be nice to see more recognition given to those students that participate in all three athletic seasons. Small schools need high levels of student participation in order to maintain successful programs. Younger players develop through junior varsity competition and low numbers limit the ability to play JV games.

Males
Nels Nelson 1994-98
Nate Gustin 1995-99
Derek Archer 1996-00
Joey Larsen 1993-97
Devon Niewohner 2003-07

Females
Brooke Simonsen 1988-92
Lisa Slaughter 1989-93
Jennifer Meyer 1991-95
Andrea Wegner 1997-01
Allison Zwygart 1998-02
Heidi Renz 1999-03
Katie Clark 2000-04
Elizabeth Cerny 2003-07
Katie Stansberry 2004-08

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Nebraska State Writing Test Summary


Writing test results showed that 66 percent of Nebraska 8th graders met or exceeded state standards, a 2 percent increase. And, 68 percent of the 11th graders met or exceeded standards, a 6 percent increase. A report released today also showed that 68 percent of the 4th graders met or exceeded the standards. The state’s process for scoring tests was recently revised to better ensure high school graduates will succeed in college and their careers.

Writing essays were scored in four areas: content/ideas, organization, voice/word choice, and sentence fluency/writing conventions. School districts received feedback at all three grades to help teachers determine how well their students scored and where instruction and student performance need improvement.

Bancroft-Rosalie Community Foundation brochure



Bancroft and Bancroft-Rosalie Alumni Program



Rosalie Alumni Banquet Program



Monday, May 27, 2013

Highest paid college majors

The highest-paid college majors, here's the latest list (these are starting salaries) according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers:
  • Petroleum Engineering: $93,500
  • Computer Engineering: $71,700
  • Chemical Engineering: $67,600
  • Computer Science: $64,800
  • Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering: $64,400
  • Mechanical Engineering: $64,000
  • Electrical/Electronics and Communications Engineering: $63,400
  • Management Information Systems/Business: $63,100
  • Engineering Technology: $62,200
  • Finance: $57,400

Saturday, May 25, 2013

2012-13 School Year Synopsis


Bancroft-Rosalie Community School

2012-13 Synopsis

General Information
- Class of 2013 had 13 graduates
- 248 students K-12 and 34 preschoolers
- Moved into a two classroom addition- Music and social studies
- Added a security system to the main entrance
- Implemented a Positive Behavior Intervention Support program (GRR’s)
- Technology: 1 to 1 macbooks grades 7-12 and 10 Ipads for each elementary grade
- started e-library (10 school consortium), 900+ books with more added next year

Academics
- Offered 27 dual credits in social studies, english, math and Health science
- #1 in the state in student growth in reading (245 school districts)
- Two Career academies in Health Science (CNA) and Education (para)
- Seven of 21 students in 7th grade completed Algebra- all received A’s
- Eleven juniors inducted into National Honor Society
- Jerrica Tietz artwork selected for display in Washington DC congressional building

Activities
- Joined the East Husker Conference starting this Fall- small school division
- Moved into new three story football crow’s nest
- 16 academic all-stater’s
- One of nine schools to receive State sportsmanship award
- Football team made the play-off’s
- One Act play was conference runner-up and district runner-up
- Boys basketball team was conference regular season champions and tournament champions
- Speech team was district champions, qualified 13 for state, 4 students placed at state and the team finished 5th at State.
- The Powerdrive team finished 3rd at state
- The golf team was conference champions, district champions, state runner-up and three students medaled at state.
- The track team had one state qualifier
- Ten students qualified for Honor Bands, one for Honor Choir, and one student will participate in the Shrine Bowl marching band this summer.

Retirements
June Hawk- 36 years
Vickie Slaughter- 33 years
Rob Smith- 20 years

Friday, May 24, 2013

GED (Graduate Equivalency Diploma) changes in 2014


Adults who've begun work toward their GED need to finish before the end of the year. On January 1, 2014 the test for a high school equivalency diploma changes and anyone who has not completed all five parts of the current GED test will have all of their scores expire and they will have to start all over again.

GED Testing Service will introduce a new version of the test, given nationwide, on Jan. 1, 2014. Developers say the first major changes since 2002 will align the test with the new Common Core curricula adopted by most states to increase college and career readiness. It also will shift test-taking from pencil and paper to computer. Instead of five sections, the test will be re-aligned into four: reasoning through language arts, mathematical reasoning, science and social studies. The current stand-alone essay section will be incorporated into writing assignments within the language arts and social studies sections

There is also financial incentive to complete the GED this year. At $120, the computer-based version is double the cost of the current test. Nebraska subsidizes some of the expense but the student share is expected to increase.

About 700,000 people take the GED exam yearly in the United States and about 72 percent pass and earn their states' high school equivalency diploma.


If you do not have a high school diploma, you should consider earning a GED. By passing the GED test and getting the diploma can lead to a better paying job, higher wages, and more opportunities. The Nebraska Department of Education lists the following eligibility requirements for taking the GED exam:
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Resident of Nebraska for at least 30 days prior to applying
  • Unable to get a diploma from the last school attended, or
  • It has been one year since your class graduated from high school
Teens aged 16 and 17 can take the GED exam, but must submit additional paperwork including a letter explaining the circumstances of your withdrawal from school and proof of withdrawal. More information about the eligibility requirements for underage candidates can be found on the Nebraska Department of Education website.


While each test is scored individually and are worth between 200 and 800, you must earn a cumulative score of 2250 to pass the GED exam. Any test that scores below 410 will automatically be failed and you will have to retake it before you will be awarded your diploma.
In Nebraska, there is a 60 day waiting period between retakes. You can bypass the waiting period if you can furnish proof that you have studied for the test. For example, taking a GED prep course and submitting the transcript for the class may be enough to earn a waiver for the waiting period.


Thursday, May 23, 2013

State Aid for 2013-14

Bancroft-Rosalie School will receive $576,287 in state aid for the 2013-14 school year. 
This is a decrease of $135,673 from last year's state aid of $711,960. 
On the bright side, there are only three more payments on the 1997 school bonds. 
The final payment of $368,467 will be made in December 2015.


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

B-R Golf Team finishes 2nd

The golf team is bringing home a runner-up trophy from the state golf championships played at Kearney yesterday and today. The team shot a 718. Thayer Central won the team championship with a 682. Third place went to Medicine Valley with a score of 728.

Individual results:
Preston Peters 4th with a score of 159
Auston Darnell 8th with a 166
Brady Petersen 11th with a 174
Seth Steinmeyer 83rd with a 219
Easton Weborg 91st with a score of 237

Spring MAP scores

MAP scores are the Bancroft-Rosalie School achievement test results. We test math and reading 3 times a year and language once a year.
I put together a table of results (below), identifying how many students in each grade scores in each of four quadrants, or percentile ranges.
We want high numbers of students scoring in the 75-100% row and low numbers in the 0-24%.
7th grade math has the top results with 11 of the 20 students scoring between 75-100%.
Our students are demonstrating academic growth by performing well in Math and Reading.

On the second table way down below is an example of one page of the student MAP test summary that will be sent home with report cards for students in grades 3-11. The graph shows all test scores over the past 3 years (4th grade will have two years and 3rd grade one year of scores).
The faint light blue line you can barely see is the national average. The gold line is the district average (which is well above the national average for our high school grades). The dark blue line is the individual students performance.
We want to see the dark blue line going uphill, the steeper the line the more the student has improved.
We also want to see the dark blue line above the light blue line, indicating the student is performing above average.
High performing students may have a difficult time showing large growth. If you look at the word summary below the graph, scoring high or high average is great even if the dark blue line is not always going uphill.




Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Golf team in second place after Day 1 of state golf meet

The two day state golf meet in Kearney is half completed and the B-R boys are in second place. Preston Peters is tied for fifth in the individual competition with a score of 83. Auston Darnell shot an 85 and Brady Petersen had an 88. Seth Steinmeyer shot a 111 and Easton Weborg a 121.

In the team scores, Thayer Central is in first with a 347, B-R second with 367, Medicine Valley 3rd with 376 and Hartington 4th with 382.

Bancroft-Rosalie School May safety committee minutes


Safety Committee Meeting Minutes
May 20, 2013
10:00 am
1.             Roll Call- Cerny, Pagels, Wortman, M. Kai, Sjuts, Ras, Munderloh

2.             Minutes of January 17, 2013 meeting were read.

3.             Documentation- None.

4.             New claims- None

5.            Training
            SafeSchools:
                        January- Concussion awareness
                        February- Conflict management: student to student
                        March- Dating violence, student alcohol and drug abuse
                        April- Van safety
                        May- Back injury and lifting
           
6.             Safety inspections- ALICAP safety visit March 19, 2003

7.            Accidents/Incidents- Five student incidents
Two in physical education, two in the classroom, and one at recess.
One staff incident involving tripping in the kitchen.                                   

8.         Safety issues: 
Civil rights compliance issues deadline before school starts next August.
 Main school entry door visitor entry control has been completed.
Woodchips needed under playground equipment. Playground has a hole
                                 and the slide needs to be replaced. Greenhouse will be repaired.
Railing east of school going south in being repaired by Petersen Metals
Bleachers at Football Field have been repaired by the Village
Sidewalk in front of Rosalie Gym- Interior also needs some repair
Motion detector needed for Rosalie Gym, light switch has been added.
West parking lot barriers will be installed and the fence repaired.

9.         Other business:                  
Bullying prevention has been emphasized. The school plans to add a confidential reporting system

High School Football Fall Information


Football Conditioning    
August 5- August 9  
8:00 am- 9:00 am  or 8:00 pm- 9:00 pm

Football practices begin August 12
August 12 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 13 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 14 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 15 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 16 4:00- 6:30 pm


August 19 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 20 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 21 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 22 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 23 4:00- 6:30 pm
Saturday August 24 9:30 am scrimmage


August 26 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 27 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 28 4:00- 6:30 pm
August 29 Scrimmage 8:00 pm
August 30 4:00- 6:00 pm

Varsity Schedule
Sept. 6   at Winside
Sept. 13 at Wausa
Sept. 20 Wynot home
Sept. 27 at Scribner-Snyder
Oct. 4    Humphrey home
Oct. 11  Lyons-Decatur home
Oct. 18  Open
Oct. 25  Humphrey St. Francis

JV Schedule
Sept. 10 at Dodge-Howells
Sept. 16 at Winnebago
Sept 23  at Emerson-Hubbard
Sept 30  at Pender
Oct. 7    Omaha Nation home
Oct. 14  at Winnebago
Oct. 21  Lyons-Decatur home



Summer Lifting and Conditioning Schedule

Monday May 20- Friday August 2    Monday-Friday

One hour per day

Choose from two times
6:00 am- 7:00 am
7:00 am- 8:00 am

Recommended 3 days per week, 30 days over the course of the summer.





Monday, May 20, 2013

Four staff leaving Bancroft-Rosalie School

June Hawk is retiring after 36 years at Rosalie and Bancroft-Rosalie Schools. June served as Librarian and Family and Consumer Science teacher during her career.

Vickie Slaughter is retiring after 33 years at Rosalie and Bancroft-Rosalie Schools. Vickie served as Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent in the Rosalie School Building and Administrative Assistant to the Principal in the Bancroft-Rosalie School building.

Rob Smith is leaving after 20 years at Bancroft-Rosalie School to go into private business. Rob served as Industrial Technology teacher and Power Drive Coach.

Alan Grinvalds is leaving after 4 years at Bancroft-Rosalie School to relocate to the Omaha area. Alan served as English and Reading teacher in the junior high.

Summer Swim Bus

Friday, May 17, 2013

Students collect their GRR slips on last day of school

The GRR positive behavior slips on the walls of the school are being taken down today by the students that earned them. Some will be going home with their hands full. Congratulations students for having a safe, responsible, respectful school year.



Thursday, May 16, 2013

Football team receives forfeit from Lindsay Holy Family for upcoming season

Lindsay Holy Family's football program will be forfeiting/canceling their regular season schedule in favor of playing a 6-man junior varsity schedule due to the lack of numbers, according to an e-mail received from Holy Family this morning.

Bancroft-Rosalie is scheduled to play at Lindsay this fall in week 7 of the football season.

Athletic Director Mr. Sjuts has contacted the Nebraska School Activities Association to see if another game can be scheduled to replace the forfeited game. NSAA Football Director Nate Neuhaus said the NSAA will look at it in June after State Track and State Golf are completed.

Other teams affected by the Lindsay season forfeit include Fullerton, Spalding-Spalding Academy, Newcastle, Scribner-Snyder, Lyons-Decatur, Humphrey, and Humphrey St. Francis.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Bancroft-Rosalie Summer Weight Room Hours

Monday May 20- Friday August 9

Weight Room Hours

6:00 am- 8:00 am.

Students should lift at least 3 days per week

Football players are expected to lift at least 30 times over the summer.

Junior Class Zoo Trip

The Junior Class earned a trip to the zoo for their high performance on the NeSA tests this spring. The trip included a tour of the nutrition department and a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium. The group also watched trainers train the Puma.
Aquarium Tour- A view from above

Preparing dinner for the Sharks

Monkeys above the Aqurium

The Nutrition Lab

Looking into the Shark tank

Aquarium Tour

Training the Puma in 100 degree heat

Turtles

Golf Team wins District Title

Bancroft-Rosalie School won the District D-1 golf tournament held at Indian Trails in Beemer and qualified for the state golf meet next Tuesday and Wednesday in Kearney.


Individual State Qualifiers:
1. Jay Cottam (10), Thayer Central, 80
2. Auston Darnell (11), Bancroft-Rosalie, 81
3. Jaxon Clouse (12), Friend, 81
4. Preston Peters (11), Bancroft-Rosalie, 82
5. Eric Wemhoff (12), Humphrey, 84
6. Michael Brockhaus (11), Humphrey St. Francis, 85
7. Brady Petersen (12), Bancroft-Rosalie, 89
8. Cody Steuter (10), Guardian Angels Central Catholic, 89
9. Isaac Kreikemeier (10), Guardian Angels Central Catholic, 90
10. Mark Bender (12), Humphrey, 96
T10. Trevor Blum (11), Howells-Dodge, 96

Qualifying Team:
Bancroft-Rosalie, 353
Coach: Brook Darnell
Auston Darnell (11), 81
Preston Peters (11), 82
Brady Petersen (12), 89
Seth Steinmeyer (11), 101
Easton Weborg (10), 146

Monday, May 13, 2013

Board of Education meeting summary


The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, May 13, 2013 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft.
Superintendent Cerny presented the April transportation report, expected enrollment for 2013-14, NeSA assessment results, and MAP achievement test results. Principal Sjuts reported on semester tests, senior sneak trip, and graduation.

In old business the board approved extra-duty assignments for 2013-14.

 In new business, the board reviewed the preliminary budget for 2013-14 and summer training and workshops. The board approved the lease purchase of 95 MacBook Pro computers, 1 server, and 30 IPad II’s. Approval was given for the purchase of chimes, a drum set, a gong and cymbals for the band program.

In other new business the board set wages for bus drivers and classified staff substitutes; approved the school mission and belief statements; offered a teaching contract to Abigail Linnerson; and accepted the invitation to join the East Husker Conference effective June 1, 2013 and withdraw from the Lewis and Clark Conference.

The board discussed Common Core Standards and allowing the Cheerleaders to a place a Fireworks Stand in the school parking lot this summer.

May School Board Meeting Agenda


Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
Regular Board of Education Meeting Agenda
Monday, May 13, 2013 --- 7:30 p.m. in Bancroft

1.             Call to Order
2.            Open Meetings Act
3.             Roll Call
4.             Read and approve the minutes of the April 8, 2013 Board Meeting.

5.             Treasurer’s Report
            A.             Approve the Bills
            B.             Financial Review

6.             Review Agenda

7.             Public Hearing

8.  Administrator’s Reports:
            A. Superintendent’s Report
            B.            Principal’s Report

9.            Old Business:
            A. Coaches and sponsors assignments

10.            New Business:
            A. Annual review of financial needs- Preliminary budget study.
            B. Review budget amount for training and workshops.
            C. Review major purchase requisitions for ensuing year.
            D. Set wages for activity bus drivers and substitute cooks.
                E.            Approve School Mission and Belief Statements
            F. Offer teaching contract to Abigail Linnerson
            G. Accept invitation to join the East Husker Conference effective June 1, 2013 and
                         withdraw from the Lewis and Clark Conference

11. Discussion Items
            A. Common Core Standards

12. Executive Session-
13.            Future Planning- Next scheduled meeting- June 10, 2013 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft.           
14.            Adjournment.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Massive open online courses

Massive open online courses (MOOC) are a recent development in distance education. An MOOC is an online course aiming at large-scale interactive participation and open access via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as videos, readings, and problem sets, MOOCs provide interactive user forums that help build a community for the students and teachers.

Open online courses have the potential to impact our educational system. Why do I say this? Read the following course description of Hippocrates Challenge, an MOOC from Stanford University, and see if you agree this would appeal to bright students who are bored with traditional classroom instruction but interested in health sciences-

"The year is 2032. You are the doctor on a ship of 5000, when suddenly you encounter a hostile forces Now, the sickbay is overflowing with the injured and dying. Your mission is to repair, reconstruct and regenerate your wounded shipmates before time runs out.
Welcome to the Hippocrates Challenge 2013, a course designed for anyone with an interest in medicine. When you take the challenge in this course, you'll be offered the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the structure and function of the human body, how tissues respond to injury, and how stem cells and regenerative medicine can change the face of treatment of trauma. Using case-based studies and collaborative projects, you will diagnose patients and then work in teams to repair and reconstruct their injuries. By the end of this course, you will have had the chance to learn the principles of human physiology and anatomy, surgical reconstruction and explore the innovative new field of regenerative medicine."

Sounds interesting and may appeal to students more than my chemistry lecture. But we are not ready to start using them at B-R yet. Most MOOC's are written for college students, but this year some high school courses came on-line. Three organizations, Khan Academy, Peer-to-Peer University (P2PU) and Udemy are viewed as being similar to MOOCs, but they work outside the university system or mainly provide individual lessons that students may take at their own pace, rather than having a massive number of students all working on the same course schedule.

Several questions must be answered before we try offering one of these classes to our students-
1. How will students be graded?
2. Is the class of good quality and worth of offering?
3. How will the class work within our current system?
There will be other issues that have to be resolved before B-R students will be taking an MOOC.

But if there is a good quality MOOC that our students are interested in, I am ready to consider it.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Computer proposal for 2013-14


Computer proposal for May School Board meeting agenda

2013-14 through 2017

Grades 9-12                        New MacBook Pro computers

Grades 7-8                        3 year old MacBook computers

Computer Lab            3 year old MacBook Pro computers and MacBooks

5th and 6th                        IPAD cart with 20 one year old IPad II’s

3rd and 4th                        20 new IPad II’s

1st and 2nd                        20 new IPad II’s

Pre and Kind                        20 new IPad II’s

Server                                    New MacPro server

Mrs. Nolting is the new B-R School Librarian

Bancroft-Rosalie School technology coordinator Joy Nolting will also be school librarian next year. Current librarian June Hawk is retiring at the end of the school year. 
Judy Ross will continue in her role as Library Assistant and will take over the duties of the elementary library. The 8th grade library skills class will become part of the 8th grade Reading class. 

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Special Academic Awards

 Preston Peters and Levi Beutler win the Green Power Award of Nebraska Public Power. The school receives a free I Pad and a camera.
 Nikki White presents the IPAD and Camera representing Cuming County Power
 Morgan Smith receives the Golden Hammer shop Award
 Mr. Smith receives an appreciation gift from the Powerdrive team.
Morgan Smith presents the gift and says a few words. Mr. Smith was also honored with a video of his Decade as Powerdrive sponsor.

Academic Awards 7-12








Kennedy Schuttler- Silver Honor Roll