BHS Bucks Principal's Update

We've been adapting and adjusting all month. COVID era education has been a learning curve for all of us. But, like many other people, we change directions when the path we are on isn't taking us in the right direction. We have had much to celebrate this month, and much to be proud of. Our students are coping with a very stressful situation in life and the effects of which are impacting all of us.

Please continue to keep the lines of communication open with the school when your child is sick, struggling emotionally, or needs some help. We have an amazingly supportive staff who will overcome major obstacles to help our students in need. If your student or family is experiencing some hardships or food insecurity, please reach out to us. Our Bucks are eager to help our community.

Thank you for your feedback in our survey regarding our remote trial days and our conferences. Your feedback was instrumental in guiding us to make changes for our future programming. If you are a family who is not capable of securing internet due to your location, please contact the school and let us know who you are, or simply fill out this quick form and we will be alerted to who in our school community is not capable of receiving internet in their homes. We will do our best to come up with some solutions so that your students will have the benefit of online resources.

Together, we are #BUCKSTRONG!

Sincerely,

Mrs. DeMaio

If you live an area where Internet does not reach your home, please complete this quick form to notify us of your needs should we need to move into Remote Learning. Please fill out one form for each child who attends the high school. Click this link for the form.

On October 16, BHS held it's first Academic Awards Breakfast to honor recipients from the 2018-2019 school year. Normally, this celebration takes place with the NHS Induction ceremony in the spring, however, due to COVID we were unable to celebrate the success of these students in person.

The academic letter is one of the hardest academic achievements a BHS student can acquire. It is an annual achievement awarded to students who have earned a minimum 3.35 GPA for TWO consecutive semesters within one school year. This is not an average or cumulative GPA of the two semesters, but rather a 3.35 or higher for EACH individual semester.

This year, our students were sent a special invitation to attend this event, and were pleasantly surprised to see that it was during their ICE time and no classes would be missed. Mrs. DeMaio, Mr. Pruett, Mr. Kurland, and Mrs. Robinson were present to celebrate and congratulate these outstanding students. First year honorees were given a certificate, an academic letter, and a chevron. All subsequent year honorees received a certificate and a chevron.

There were 98 honorees total for the 18-19 school year. Of those, 40 were first year award winners, 29 were second year award winners, and 29 were third year award winners. This achievement truly is a testament to the hard work and dedication that these students have demonstrated. Congratulations to all of them on this extraordinary accomplishment!

On October 15th, eight students were inducted into the Margaret W. Snyder Chapter of the National Honor Society of Buchanan High School. BHS held it's first ever virtual induction. Current leadership took on roles of the induction ceremony and new inductees pledged their oath. Membership in this chapter is granted upon deserving students by the faculty and is based on the criteria of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. The purpose of this chapter is to create an enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote worthy leadership, and to encourage the development of character in students of Buchanan High School. Congratulations to our newest members of NHS!

Ruya Antisdel

Christin Cooper

Hailey Jonatzke

Joy Kaltenbach

Claire Lietz

MyKyna Meseraull

Macy Orphanidis

Lauren Strefling

October was testing month!!! Students finished up the Diagnostic testing in ExactPath. Eighth graders finished taking the Math and Reading tests for NWEA. All students grades 9-12 took the SAT or PSAT assessment. Results for ExactPath and NWEA are immediate. Students will be given their NWEA scores this week. Please ask your 8th grader to share those results at home. State assessments for SAT and PSAT come to us later in the year and we will report on those when they arrive.

NWEA results indicate that 56% of our current 8th graders are above the norm in both Math, and 55% are above the norm in Reading.

Math ExactPath diagnostics indicate that as a school, 39% of our students scored higher than the National Percentile Rank (NPR). By grade levels, 42% of 8th graders scored higher than the NPR, 43% of 9th graders, 57% of 10th graders, 36% of 11th graders, and 23% of 12th graders. On the opposite end, as a whole 36% of our students scored at or below the National Percentile Rank (NPR). 56% of 8th graders scored at or below the NPR, 0% of 9th graders, 34% of 10th graders, 25% of 11thgraders and 15% of 12th graders. Keep in mind that not all students are in the building to take these diagnostics and therefore not all numbers will add up to 100.

Reading ExactPath diagnostics indicate that as a school, 35% of our students scored higher than the NPR. By grade levels, 30% of 8th graders are above and 68% are at or below the NPR. 40% of 9th graders are above and 52% are at or below the NPR. 56% of 10th graders are above and 36% are at or below the NPR. 34% of 11th graders are above and 22% are at or below the NPR. Finally, 19% of the seniors are above and 20% are at or below the NPR.

Language Arts ExactPath diagnostics indicate that as a school, 50% of our students scored higher than the NPR. By grade levels, 55% of 8th graders are above and 41% are at or below the NPR. 64% of 9th graders are above the NPR, while 31% are at or below. 73% of 10th graders scored higher than the NPR, while 18% are at or below. 37% of 11th graders scored above the NPR, while 18% are at or below the NPR. Finally, 28% of 12th graders scored above, while 11% scored at or below the NPR.

The following students are showing their leadership skills at the Math Science Center. In a county-wide program, a Buchanan student was nominated at every level. Congrats!!

Freshman:

Daniel Furst - Treasurer

Sophomore:

Quinten Ruff - President

Junior:

Christin Cooper - Treasurer

Senior:

Samuel Poole - Secretary

Nora has been chosen to have her work on display for the Principal's Update this month. Nora is a third year art student working on her own themes.This work is done in acrylic paint and meant to look creepy or weird. Nora doesn't want to work realistically so she is distorting faces in an unusual way.

Ms. Southwell and Mr. Pearson will be available Tuesday - Thursday after school to help students with their academic needs, with class work, credit recovery, a friendly chat or with any issues students may be having. Students may sign up with Mrs. Southwell. ASA is available until 3:45 Tuesdays and Thursdays, and until 3:15 on Wednesdays.

October 29 - Picture Retake Day!

November 5 - 1/2 day for students (hours 1,2,3)

November 6 - 1/2 day for students (hours 4,5,6).

November 25 - No School - Thanksgiving break!

November 26 - No School - Happy Thanksgiving!

November 27 - No School - Thanksgiving break!

December 21 - January 3 - Winter Break!

January 18 - No School - District PD

January 21 - 1/2 day for students (Exams: hours 1,2,3)

January 22 - 1/2 day for students (Exams: hours 4,5,6)

January 25 - Second Semester Begins

At Buchanan High School, we strive to prepare students for life outside of the academic setting. We are always looking for partnerships within our community to bring real world life experiences to our students. Please reach out to us if you have an idea you'd like to discuss to help our students become successful.

If you call our office, our phone menu has changed, please listen carefully to the new option. Please check out our new Facebook page and like us!

Email: sdemaio@buchananschools.com
Website: www.buchananschools.com
Location: 401 West Chicago Street, Buchanan, MI, USA
Phone: (269) 695-8403
Facebook: facebook.com/BuchananHSBucks
Twitter: @BHS_Bucks