Blackford County Schools

Check out the final 8th grade STEAM video game projects in Mrs. Jen Gallatin's class at BJSHS. Nice work, Bruins! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAm_btRWxh9rcMVgAtT2_gwuyHxyUY2XD

Get your homemade Christmas cards from the Bruin Specialties crew at BJSHS! Cards are .50/each or 12/$5. Share the holiday spirit and support the amazing work of our Bruin Specialties students all at one time! Contact Mrs. Linda Wallace to order: lwallace@blackfordschools.org

Blackford Spotlight - Mrs. Sarah Penny's 3rd grade class at Blackford Intermediate School: "Third graders in my class have been working on understanding what life was like in a Native American tribe in Indiana. This week they have been working on writing letters to pen pals about their life in the tribe. They have talked about what work they do around camp, what foods they are eating, and many more things that happen in the life of a Native American child. They then got to write their letters on “ancient” looking paper. They had so much fun writing from another point of view." - Mrs. Penny Great job, Bears! Keep up the good work!

Have you ever considered becoming a bus driver? Join Us!

Blackford Spotlight- Our 5th grade students at Blackford Intermediate School have been hard at work reading "Number the Stars," a book about a family's escape during World War II. Students finished the book this week and enjoyed it thoroughly! Great job, Bears! #ChooseBCS

After consulting with the Blackford County Health Officer, students in grades 9-12 will return to in-person instruction on Monday, December 7th, 2020.

Here are more photos from Mrs. Amanda Wolfe's pet house project, which was conducted during Northside's indoor recess today. Mrs. Wolfe has some very creative first graders!

We need your input! If you have children under the age of 5 in your household, please take a moment to complete this survey for the Blackford County Early Childhood Coalition. (Please share and thank you!) https://www.research.net/r/BlackfordParents

Blackford Spotlight - Mrs. Amanda Wolfe's 1st grade class at Northside: "We have been making the best of indoor recess. We have been using our creativity to create houses for our desk pets. These pets (fun erasers) are getting pampered with some pretty amazing houses." -Mrs. Wolfe Wow! Great imaginations, Cubs! #ChooseBCS

Blackford Spotlight: Ms. Kylee Redford's 3rd grade students at Montpelier Elementary. "These 3rd graders have worked hard to research information about the first Thanksgiving, the Mayflower, Pilgrims, and Wampanoag Indians. The students then created posters and presented them to their classmates. I was super impressed with their artistic abilities and creativity in making their posters!" -Ms. Redford Great job, Kodiaks! #ChooseMES

Be sure and catch the BJSHS Drama Dept.'s great production of How to Screw-Up your College Interview -- A Covid Experience (Video instead of Live) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiSFlwHY1aw #BruinProud

11/27/2020 On Wednesday, 11/25/2020, Blackford County moved into the “Red” level of community spread on the Indiana State Department of Health Dashboard. This dashboard looks at the number of cases and the positivity rate of the county, and both figures are at their highest this fall for our county. After consultation with the Blackford County Health Officer, we are following her recommendation, students in grades 9-12 at BJSHS will be on at-home Blended Learning for the week of Monday, November 30th through Friday, December 4th. This is a preemptive move by our district, in conjunction with the health officer on anticipated spread through the holiday activities this week. The focus on high school students doing at-home learning is driven by that age group being the highest area of typical spread in school aged students. Students in 7th grade and 8th grade at BJSHS, as well as students in BCS Elementary schools, will continue with normally scheduled classes in person. We want to continue to thank our faculty, staff, parents and students for their efforts during this unusual year. Our student cases and quarantine numbers within the schools have stayed low due to your diligence in monitoring student symptoms and reporting issues to the school. The preemptive move next week will only be successful in reducing the spread if students and families continue to practice good health habits including social distancing, wearing masks, and frequent hand washing/hand sanitizing while not at school. To our High School students, it is imperative that you maintain a great effort during this week of blended learning. Look for emails about the upcoming week, and plan your schedules to participate in online discussion and lectures as set up by your teachers. We appreciate the support of our community and look forward to students in grades 9-12 returning to in-person learning on December 7th. Sincerely, Chad Yencer Superintendent

During these stressful times, BCS would like to remind our families that several prepaid counseling sessions are available to our students through the Bowen Center.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Instructional Assistants, bus drivers, food service... We need YOU! Check out the latest BCS job openings: https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1019795/Job_Opportunities_11-24.pdf

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, check out the ⭐⭐⭐ at BJSHS!!! Presenting the World Premiere of How to Screw-Up your College Interview -- A Covid Experience (Video instead of Live) by The BJSHS Drama Department. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiSFlwHY1aw How about a round of applause for our hard-working drama students and their directors Mrs. Noelle Lehman and Mrs. Amanda Wolfe! 👏🏻👏🏽👏🏿 #BruinProud

Blackford County Schools Administrative Office building will be closed on Wednesday, November 25 and reopen Monday, November 30. We wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday!

Montpelier Elementary Families, Due to staffing shortages at Montpelier Elementary School we will be moving MES to at home blended learning on Monday 11/23/2020 and Tuesday 11/24/2020. MES families can pick up computers at the school between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday, 11/23/2020. BJSHS students that ride the Montpelier Bus routes (115, 118, 119) should expect busses to be there at slightly different times these two mornings as no elementary students will be riding the bus.

Congratulations to the fifth grade representatives to the Blackford Intermediate School Student Council for 2020-2021! (From left) Hannah Jernigan, Elexa Massey, Cole Dickey and Reed Wicker #ProudOfOurBears

Here is a helpful graphic for use during tomorrow's (Wednesday, Nov. 18) Blended Learning Day. #ChooseBCS