Apply to college day Part 2

UNO Admissions Representative Herbert Merino-Ponce was a guest at Bancroft-Rosalie's Apply 2 College event. He's is shown here assisting students with their applications. The Financial Literacy/College readiness class is co-taught by Mrs. Hennig and Mrs. Ras. Who's wearing an "Apply 2 College" sticker? That would be them.

Apply To College Day at B-R

The staff are supporting students on Apply To College Day by wearing college and/or military clothing. The guy behind the camera is proudly displaying his University of Nebraska red.

Senator Brasch letter and Nebraska Secretary of State Citiation

Norfolk Daily News article on Burt County

Bancroft-Rosalie was mentioned in today's Norfolk Daily News as part of the ongoing Burt County School talks. The Bancroft-Rosalie School Board has talked with Lyons-Decatur about future planning and has decided not to participate in a feasibility study at this time and see how the sports coop goes. The sports cooperative started with youth sports when parents realized that we did not have enough participation to field our own youth teams and cooped for baseball and softball. That problem would move up to junior high and eventually affect high school programs. Lyons-Decatur had a more urgent need in high school girls sports, so it made sense to look at a sports cooperative between the two schools in order to continue to provide competitive athletic opportunities for our students. Parents have made positive comments about the junior high coop and the combining of youth programs. Bancroft-Rosalie has a new secondary building and a tax levy of 61.48 cents, 20 cents less than adjoining schools. It will be hard to find a scenario in which a school merger would not raise taxes for B-R District patrons. B-R has a great school system, but we need to look at expanding our course offerings for students in Career and Technical Education (Business, Agriculture, Communication and Information Systems, Human Services, Health Sciences, and Industrial-Mechanical-Engineering Systems). That is why we are participating in a ten school "ReVision" process to look at how we can work together as a region to provide these opportunities for all of our students. Perhaps some students will have to drive to a neighboring community to access a "regional" pre-engineering or Certified Nurse Assistant class. Or maybe they take an on-line course from Northeast Community College with mentoring from one of our staff. Losing a high school is the beginning of the end for a community. There may be a point, because of low student numbers,at which it is no longer feasible for some communities to be able to support a high school. But the future of education is using technology to "personalize learning". This type of learning can be done from anywhere if schools are creative. For example, Mr. Zavadil has taught Calculus to students in Giltner from his room in Bancroft. Some schools are using local welders to teach welding when they can't hire an Industrial technology teacher. There are options that do not include closing high schools and busing all students. We should probably try these first.

Crazy 8's Math Club after-school

The Crazy 8's Math Club will be held on Wednesday's for grades 3-6 and on Tuesday's for grades K-2.

1985 State Championship Football Game Reunion

The 1985 Football team was honored at Friday's game vs. Wynot. The idea came from Humphrey High School, which honored a basketball team Mr. Sjuts was on last year. We decided to start with the 1985 team since it is the 30 year anniversary. It was fun seeing my boys together again and sharing stories. I owe a lot to these guys, for their hard work led to their success as a team and my success as a coach.
Check out some photos and see if you can recognize them all.

Reality Check- Video for parents

Parents- Watch the following program, "Reality Check", that talks about students and making good career decisions.

http://www.education.ne.gov/NCE/documents/Reality%20Check%20Materials/Reality%20Check_%20Guiding%20Your%20Children%20to%20Career%20Success-HD.mp4

FFA results- Dairy cattle judging

The first FFA competition for B-R students took place last week. A Dairy Cattle judging competition with the B-R students entered in the junior division (9th-10th grades). There were 114 students and 29 teams entered in that division.

Kailey Irwin placed 18th with a purple ribbon
Kariden Briggs placed 22nd with a purple ribbon.
Josh Wilson placed 100th.

Irwin and Briggs teamed with Brooke Simonsen and Cassidy Farrens of Lyons-Decatur to placed 3rd in the team competition.

Any Teammates volunteers out there?

October Biz Buzz

November school board meeting date change

Bancroft-Rosalie School will have their November School Board meeting on Wednesday November 11 at 7:30 pm due because of the conflict with the National Blue Ribbon ceremony in Washington DC on November 9-10.

School Board meeting news

The Bancroft-Rosalie Board of Education met Monday, October 12, 2015 at 7:30 pm in Bancroft. In old business, the board approved the cooperative sports agreement with Lyons-Decatur for High School Football, Volleyball, Girls and Boys Basketball, and Boys and Girls Track for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years.

In new business, the board reviewed the school transportation program and the school insurance program. The board recognized the Bancroft-Rosalie Education Association as the exclusive bargaining agent for teachers for 2017-18 and discussed the timeline for teacher negotiations.

The board went into executive session to discuss personnel. 

Paige Peters at State Golf in north Platte today

The state golf tournament competition is today and Tuesday in North Platte. Live results can be accessed through the Nebraska School Activities Association website.

East Husker Volleyball Tournament Bracket

B-R plays at Stanton Thursday and West Point Saturday.

October School Board Agenda

Congratulatory letters

The following letters were received from Arne Duncan (U.S. Department of Education), Senator Deb Fischer, and Rachel Wise (President of Nebraska State Board of Education).

Motion Commotion

Deb Schroeder from Cuming County Extension helped B-R elementary celebrate National Youth Science Day with an activity called Motion Commotion.

Hundreds of thousands of youth across the United States, and some globally, are conducting the world's largest, youth-led science experiment as part of 4-H National Youth Science Day (4-H NYSD) , which launched today in communities across the nation. The "Motion Commotion" experiment was designed by Oregon State University Cooperative Extension in partnership with Vernier Software & Technology and challenges youth to explore the physical and human factors of motion in distracted driving. 

Youth conducted the two-part "Motion Commotion" experiment using every day materials - including a toy car, modeling clay, ruler, calculator and cell phone - to explore physics in the real-world. In the first phase, youth constructed a simulated runway to analyze the speed, momentum and kinetic energy of a car in motion, and explored the science behind the car's collisions. In the second phase, they led an experiment that uses the same physics principles to demonstrate the consequences of distracted driving. 

Nebraska Association of School Boards Announces Awards of Achievement to local School Board Members

The Nebraska Association of School Boards (NASB), Board of Directors and staff, recognized the 2015 Award of Achievement recipients during the Norfolk Region Meeting on Wednesday, September 23, 2015.

NASB is a private, nonprofit organization that serves the needs of Nebraska public school districts and Educational Service Unit board members.  Board Members from across the state may participate in board development training throughout the year by attending workshops and conferences to help strengthen their role in governance, legislative advocacy, and stewardship of district resources in support of student achievement.

In recognition of their volunteer time and commitment to education, the Association commends continued participation and growth in knowledge and best practice governance.  Through the Awards of Achievement program, the following board members were recognized at the meeting for their outstanding excellence:

·         Level II                  Doug Reil                        Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
·         Level II                  Pat Browning                   Bancroft-Rosalie Community School
·         Level I                   Trevor Bonneau               Bancroft-Rosalie Community School

Board members are awarded for their participation in NASB Services and Programs as well as attendance at NASB workshops and events. Just as board members have made a commitment to provide a quality education for students in their districts, NASB strives to provide quality resources and opportunities for its members.  There are ten total levels of achievement that carry over year to year.
 Below are photos of the recipients, most with NASB President Heidi Schutz.

BR volleyball vs Clarkson-Leigh live tonight on The Cube

Access the videostream with announcers Austin Bruning and Jacob Cole at
http://thecube.com/cube/bancroft-rosalie-comm-schools-bancroft-nebraska

NSAA Classification Committee discussing possible changes

The Nebraska School Activities Association Committee on Classification is meeting throughout the year to formulate goals and a plan of action to address school activity classification. As a member of the committee, I have had the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. Here are some of the issues being addressed:

1.    Ratio, particularly in Class B. 

2.    Classifying.  Use a female count for female sports and use a male count for male sports.  An idea was presented to classify each school within a city to be classified in the same classification of the largest school population.  (i.e. Norfolk Catholic, Lutheran High NE would be Class A as Norfolk High School is Class A.)  Also addressed was to establish an east and west division in Classes C & D based on enrollment.

3.    Utilizing a 2-year classification period for all activities, not just football.

4.    Establishing a break-off number in each class.  (i.e. All schools with an enrollment of 1,000 or greater would be classified Class A, etc.)

5.    Decreasing the number of classes from 6 to 5 in the activities in which there are currently 6 classes.  Other options presented were to increase the number of classes to 7 or restructuring the current 6 classes.

6.    Study a multiplier/success factor.

7.    Opting Up.  A school would need to declare their intention to opt up prior to the release of enrollment numbers for the upcoming classification period.

Wednesday October 7 After-school Program "Motion Commotion"

Wednesday October 7 is National Youth Science Day. Cuming County Extension will lead our after-school students grades 3-6 in "Motion Commotion."

Students will conduct the two-part “Motion Commotion” experiment on Wednesday October 7 at Bancroft Rosalie After School program, where they will use every day materials – including a toy car, modeling clay, ruler, calculator and cell phone – to explore physics in the real-world. In the first phase, youth will construct a simulated runway to analyze the speed, momentum and kinetic energy of a car in motion, and will explore the science behind the car’s collisions. In the second phase, they will lead an experiment that uses the same physics principles to demonstrate the consequences of distracted driving.

8th Grade Life Science paeticipates in "So You Want To Be A Martian?"

As NASA prepares for humans’ first steps on Mars in the 2030’s, it is important to understand fact versus fiction about living on Mars. This morning Bancroft-Rosalie Life Science students participated in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Journey to Mars Education Event called “So You Want to Be a Martian.” A curated panel discussion with Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, NASA’s Planetary Science Director, a NASA astronaut, a NASA botanist, and two stars from the movie “The Martian” presented using NASA’s Digital Learning Network.

Schools had the opportunity to submit a question to be used during the panel discussion. Unfortunately our question was not selected.

BR Farm to School profile on Center For Rural Affairs website

 School Name:  Bancroft-Rosalie Community School

Name of farm or business used for local purchases:  D&V Produce and C&C Egg Company - Kai Farms both near Bancroft, NE, Hiland Dairy in West Point, and Missouri Valley Honey in Walthill.

Items/Foods regularly purchased:  Fresh fruit and vegetables, Eggs, Milk and Honey.

You can view our entire Farm to School profile at

http://www.cfra.org/news/150916/farm-school-profile-bancroft-rosalie-public-school

2015 Homecoming Royalty