Last year was only the beginning. It was not a one-time shot.  As school employees gathered to begin the new year, plans were put into place to once again participate in the 6th Annual Brookville Breast Cancer 5K Walk which will be held on Saturday, September 26, beginning at 9:05 a.m.

 

Brookville School's staff are already registering with hopes to match or better the 150 walkers who signed up a year ago. Participation is the first district wellness goal that our employees are ask to accomplish, with eight goals total; one for each month over the school year. 

 

"The response last year was overwhelming," commented Superintendent Tim Hopkins. "In the end, as school district employees, we were able to donate over $4,000 to the Walk.  Our dream is to a least match that effort this year." 

 

As a special incentive, the breast cancer walk organizer, Mrs. Gale Colston, attended the opening day meeting to address our employees. Gale was most gracious for the involvement last year and equally challenged everyone to get out of their seats and be actively involved in supporting this cause. To view a portion of Mrs. Colston's address to school staff, please click here. More information and videos are available regarding the Pink Ribbon Girls, the recipient of this years' contributions here. 

 

We encourage you to get involved in Brookville's own 6th Annual Breast Cancer 5K Walk by registering.  You can find the registration form here, in the non-sponsored Back Pack (left hand border). Plan to participate in this great community event on Saturday, September 26. Please contact Gale Colston at 833-5457 for additional information.

There was a grassroots outcry for change and it was heard.  Last winter and spring students were in multiple testing sessions for long periods of time.  School technology was rendered unavailable for regular instruction.  State legislators and officials were inundated with inquiries as to the course being followed.  The demand for change was not only heard but action was taken.  This year there will only be one spring testing session and content area test will be shorter. 

 

The testing vendor will be American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Ohio educators will help review and select the test questions.  That is where the story gets exciting for Brookville Schools.  Our own Mrs. Belinda Linville, an 8^th grade math teacher, has been selected to serve on the Content Advisory Committee to review test questions and make recommendations about which items should be considered for use.  She will travel to the Quest Business Center in Columbus, September 23-24 to participate.  When Mrs. Linville was asked why she wanted to be a part of the process she said, "One of my mottos to live by: Don't complain about it unless you're willing to fix it.  I'm doing my part to attempt to fix it."

 

Mrs. Linville went on to add that "minimally, I'm hoping for a better understanding of the new state testing procedures and formats.  Ideally, I'm hoping to provide guidance on grade level and technology structure appropriateness for high stakes testing.  I would really hope to be able to share helpful information about the new testing with our staff here at Brookville."

 

We commend Mrs. Linville for taking this role and wish her the best.  For more information you can see the State Test Updates page here.   Also, look here to see the grade levels, content areas and dates for this year's testing. 

Need your school information fix in a timely fashion? Tired of not knowing this week's schedule or what is going on in your child's building? Whether it is as simple as a lunch menu or as important as finding the link to Progress Book or a teacher's email address, you have access at your fingertips. Go to the school website www.brookvilleschools.org on your computer or through any mobile device.

 

Our school district recently launched a website redesign with the full intent of providing families with timely and pertinent information. There is a district homepage and homepages for each individual building. You will find numerous quick links, calendar of events, school news and announcements, Twitter feeds and a district Instagram account.  A scrolling ticker on each site will give you a quick read of the newest information. Our site is also chocked full of photo galleries at the bottom of each homepage.  

The website had not been 'refreshed' in five years and this redesign was launched in an effort to clean up searching for information most important to people and giving a fresh look to this digital medium. Take a moment to check out the redesigned website.

On a beautiful Friday night, Blue Devil football became the last fall sport team to kick off their 2015 season.  Before the game we were honored to have the US flag flown in by Team Fastrax Professional Skydiving Team. Team Fastrax is based out of Middletown, Ohio. They treated everyone to a breathtaking display of a huge United States flag through a complex, coordinated effort between the jumpers, pilot and ground crew.

 

The exhibition was special and unique in that Fastrax team members John and David Hart, Brookville Graduates, and Pete Chakris, a long time Brookville industrial arts teacher and coach, delivered the flag and the game ball via a tandem jump.  All three of these gentlemen are also Army veterans. 

 

Team Fastrax Professional Skydiving has performed around the world at numerous special events.  They often skydive into events in an effort to recognize Veterans and Wounded Warriors.  We want to extend a hardy note of appreciation for their participation in Friday's pre-game activity. You can view photos from the event in our photo gallery.

 

 

And, we can't leave out saying CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Hetrick and your BLUE DEVILS on a  35-14 win over Tri-County North.

College Credit Plus  or "CCP"  is the new program offering high school students the opportunity to earn college credit while still in HS. BHS is working to make sure that our students are taking advantage of this opportunity by providing many College Credit Plus (CCP) class offerings and assisting students and parents with the process.

 

Our local CCP coordinator and guidance counselor, Mrs. Donati is committed to helping Brookville High School students find options that suit them best. This year our students are enrolled in over 25 additional courses either at BHS, online or on a college campus. We have partnered with Sinclair, Urbana and Clark State for these opportunities.  Options for both HS and college credit are in classes such as AP English, Great Books, Psychology, Sociology, AP Calc, Pre-Calc, Advanced Algebra II, AP Gov't and AP American History.

 

For those that are ready, this opportunity can be a great way to jump start a college education.  Families and students are given the ability to choose what they feel is best. For some students, one CCP course at a time, at BHS, with the extra support of our teachers and staff is the optimal learning environment. For other students, this is an incentive to taking the most rigorous courses available and earning college credit at the same time.  If you have questions about CCP you can learn more, visit the CCP website  or contact Mrs. Donati or Mr. Bronner .

We would like to introduce Natalie Weidner, an intermediate school teacher at Brookville. The Staff Spotlight is a regular feature in the Blue Connector, designed to assist you in getting to know our teachers and staff.  Please take a moment to read about Miss Weidner.

Q.    Where is your hometown?

        Greenville, Ohio

Q.    Where do you live now?

        Brookville, Ohio

Q.    How many years have you taught in Brookville?

       This is my 3rd year teaching at Brookville.

Q.    What is your position in the school district?

       I am a 4th grade language arts and social studies teacher.

Q.   Tell us about your family and hobbies outside of teaching.   

My fiancé, Rob, lives in Mississippi - we've been engaged for about a month! My parents still live in Greenville and I have two younger sisters. One sister lives in Charleston, South Carolina and the other is in Veterinarian school at Ohio State. My dog, Lady, is a 12 year old terrier mix and I love spending time with her. Outside of teaching I am very active in my church and community outreach. I teach women's Bible studies and lead a program for inner-city teen girls on Friday nights through the Dayton Gospel Mission. I also love to read, watch movies, ride my bike and spend time with friends and family.  

Q.    What is your favorite thing about teaching in Brookville?

Its hard to pick one thing! This is a tremendous place to work each day, but if I had to pick one thing, I think it's the students. The students at Brookville really make being a teacher so much fun!

Q.    How do you spend June and July?

I enjoy spending time with out-of-town family and friends, traveling, reading and just having time at home to relax.

For more information on Mrs. Weidner, please visit her webpage.

Brookville Schools are proud of our series, "Where Are They Now?" which features profiles of past Brookville High School graduates. These graduates have responded to brief questions concerning their education or training after high school, their current occupation and their words of wisdom to the students in our buildings.

Our latest profile is of Brittney Schreier, a 2007 graduate.  Please take a moment to view her profile.  You can view past profiles on our website.

Over the years Brookville Athletics have been remarkably supported by the efforts of the Athletic Booster Club. This club has a long and rich history of providing for the needs, both great and small, of our athletic programs. 

 

The Athletic Boosters is a unique organization in that rather than offer support to one focused program, they tend to the needs of 19 high school and 8 junior high athletic programs.  Their passion to be successful at this mission has helped the district by combining forces of parents in junior high and high school athletics in their effort to provide support.

 

Unfortunately, the number of participating parents, grandparents and caregivers has grown thin. The Athletic Boosters have advised us that many of their current members have children who will soon graduate, thus marking the end of their tenure. Here's the bottom line; the Athletic Booster Club needs YOUR help.  For more information on what you can do call, Jenny O'Meara at 833-1662 or attend the next Athletic Booster Club meeting Wednesday, September 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Intermediate School cafeteria.