Bloomer High School Newsletter Bloomer School District website: www.bloomer.k12.wi.us Chad Steinmetz, High School Principal From the Principal s Desk February, 2018 2018 2019 Scheduling February and March are typically the months that we begin developing the master schedule for the next school year. The first and most important part of this process is student registration for courses, which begins with the course description booklet. The booklet is a very comprehensive overview of all of the course offerings at Bloomer High School. In addition, at the beginning of the booklet there is information and course recommendations for students who plan to pursue post-secondary education either technical school or college. All students receive a copy of the course description booklet before they register for courses. Additional copies are available in the counseling office. The actual registration process began in December. Our counselor, Mrs. Nikki Seibel, met with current freshmen, sophomores, and juniors during Resource Period to explain the registration process and assist them in making their course selections. After meeting with Mrs. Seibel, students had the opportunity to bring home their registration sheets for you as parents/guardians to review and sign. Students were asked to return their signed registration sheets to their advisor during advisee period. Students who failed to return a signed registration sheet on the due date were asked to complete a new one immediately and will then be assigned the courses that they selected at that time. The student registration process is very important. It is with this information that staffing decisions for next year are made. Therefore, once students have registered for courses, requests for schedule changes are scrutinized very carefully. If you have any questions regarding the registration/scheduling process for the 2018 2019 school year, please feel free to contact Mrs. Seibel or me at Bloomer High School (568-2800). Inside this issue: Principal s Desk...1 Activities...2 Student Service.3-4 Reality Day. 4 Literacy Corner.. 5-6 Science Olympiad..7-8 Art Dept. News......9 High School Years...10-11 February Menus...12 February Calendar...13 After School Tutoring Bloomer High School is continuing to offer an after-school tutoring program for students in need of some academic assistance. Mrs. Maryann Gumness is available in the Art Room from 3:30 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of each week to offer assistance to any students in need. Please encourage your children to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity if they are struggling in any of their courses. Challenge Empower Achieve
Blackhawk Notes 2 Jason Steinmetz, Activities Director Winter Sports Season in Full Swing February is always an exciting month in the winter sports season. The wrestling team will compete in the Heart O North Conference Tournament, hosted this year by Bloomer on Saturday, February 3. Regionals follow on Saturday, February 10 at Baldwin, and Sectionals will be at Amery on Saturday, February 17. The State Wrestling Tournament will be held at the Kohl Center in Madison on February 22-24. The girls basketball teams will conclude their regular season on Friday, February 16, when they travel to Hayward, and WIAA tournament play begins on Tuesday, February 20. The boys basketball teams will conclude their regular season on Thursday, February 22, when they host Hayward. WIAA tournament play begins on Tuesday, February 27. Following is a list of our home events in the month of February. Boys Basketball Thursday, February 5 Thursday, February 9 Monday, February 19 (Senior Night) Thursday, February 22 Girls Basketball Friday, February 8 Wrestling Saturday, Feb. 3 Osceola Northwestern Glenwood City Hayward Barron Conference Parents of Athletes Your role as a parent/guardian in the education of your son or daughter is vital, which includes your active involvement in our athletic program at Bloomer High School. It is important for all of us involved in interscholastic athletics to realize that athletics is part of education, and that the benefits go far beyond the final score of a game or the season s record. There is a value system, established at home and nurtured in the school, which helps young people develop the abilities they will need throughout life. Trustworthiness, citizenship, fairness, respect, dedication, and commitment are lifetime values taught through athletics. These are the core principles of our athletic program. With them the spirit of competition thrives, fueled by honest rivalry, courteous relations and graceful acceptance of the results. As a parent/guardian of a student athlete at Bloomer High School, your goals should include: Encouraging our athletes to perform their best and to take pride in that performance. Helping our student athletes realize how important it is to be at their best both physically and mentally and to make a commitment to be drug free. Developing a sense of character, dignity and civility that speaks highly of our school and community. Respecting the task our coaches face as teachers of sport and character, and support them as they strive to educate our youth. Respecting the rules of the game and those who administer them and their decisions. Respecting our opponents and acknowledge them for striving to do their best. Being an active and vigilant parentstakeholder in Bloomer High School athletics. You can have perhaps the biggest influence of all on your child s attitude and behavior as a student and an athlete. The leadership role you take will help influence your child and our community for years to come. Challenge Empower Achieve
Blackhawk Notes 3 From the Student Services Office ASVAB The ASVAB Program is an aptitude test and career interest inventory that gives student an opportunity to evaluate their skills, estimate their performance in academic and vocations areas and identify potential careers. The ASVAB will be administered at BHS on February 13 th at 9:00am. Juniors interested in participating may sign up in student services, there is no cost to take this exam. Early College Credit Program Early College Credit Program provides opportunities for highly motivated high school juniors and seniors who are in good academic standing to take university courses that count both for college credit and toward high school graduation. Students that are interested in participating in Early College Credit Program for the 2018 Fall semester must apply by March 1st. Applications materials are available in student services. Start College Now Start College Now. Start College Now is a program designed to introduce high school students to the world of higher education. In addition to getting a first-hand view of the college experience, you can earn both high school and college credit at the same time. Applications are due March 1 st and they are available in student. services. ACT Testing The state of Wisconsin will require all high school juniors to take the ACT and ACT Workkeys this spring. Student scores will be used to measure student academic performance and rate schools on the State School Report Card. ACT results will also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of instruction and to identify students who need assistance with certain subject areas or academic skills. Juniors in WI will take the ACT on February 27 th and the ACT Workkeys on February 28 th. Students will not pay to take the ACT on this required state testing date. In addition, the ACT is universally accepted for college admission. A student s ACT scores, high school grades, academic preparation, out-of-class accomplishments are all considered by college admissions offices. Colleges consider the student s highest score therefore many students choose to take the ACT again. Those that choose to take the ACT again will need to register on the ACT website, www.actstudent.org, and will be required to pay the fees set by ACT. A school code is required to complete the registration process, the BHS school code is 500-235. Placement Testing Seniors who will be attending one of the UW System campuses next fall will be asked to take placement tests at a regional testing site. Online registration begins February 1. You can find information and register for testing on the Regional Placement Testing website: testing.wisc.edu/centerpages/regionaltesting.html. For additional information on placement testing, students should contact the campus they will be attending. The chart below provides information on the methods used to place students in math and English at each UW System campus. Challenge Empower Achieve
UW Campus UW-Eau Claire UW-Green Bay UW-LaCrosse UW-Madison UW-Milwaukee UW-Oshkosh UW-Parkside UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Superior UW-Whitewater Placement Testing Method Placement tests are required for math and English Placement test is needed for math. ACT/SAT subscores will be used for placement into English. ACT/SAT scores are used to place students for English and math. Placement test is required for math. English placement is determined through a writing sample that is completed during orientation. Placement test is needed for math. ACT/SAT subscores will be used for placement into English. Placement test is needed for math. ACT/SAT subscores will be used for placement into English. UW Colleges Foreign language placement testing is available and optional at each testing site. Please note: This is standard procedure for incoming freshman students. Please contact the campuses testing office with special circumstances. Volunteers Invited to Help with Reality Day Bloomer High School, community members, and area businesses are once again teaming up to co-sponsor Reality Day an interactive, hands-on, authentic experience for high school seniors to learn about money management first hand. Community members are invited to volunteer their time to help with this program. In advance of the event, students will select and research a career for themselves at age 28. Based on the career they choose, an appropriate salary will be determined. On the day of the event, each high school senior will enter the financial simulation with a family status and a paycheck. Volunteers will be ready to assist them in purchasing life s necessities housing, transportation, groceries, and more. The truth of life s responsibilities will set in quickly as students note their take-home pay, after taxes. Several other twists--like medical or legal situations--will await them while inside Reality Day. Students will pay for insurance, utilities, daycare, and many other monthly expenses. Reality Day will be held at Bloomer High School on Wednesday, March 14 th approximately 8-11 a.m. Volunteers do not need to be experts. We are looking for individuals who can work a station and help students determine the best option for their chosen life status. For more information about the event, or to volunteer, please contact members of the Reality Day Committee at Bloomer High School by February 23 rd : Jaime Otto (jaime.otto@bloomer.k12.wi.us) or Julie Anderson (julie.anderson@bloomer.k12.wi.us) or call either committee member at 715-568-5300.