KUDOS!!!
- Thanks again to Stacey Steeples, Pam Bauer, Michele Pulera, and Kim Moss for all of your help within the office and library! You do so much behind the scenes and we all want you to know how much we appreciate you all!
- Kudos to a great start for our Forward testing! Though we know we don't want to ever use a full day for testing in the future you all did a GREAT job making the best of the situation for our students. Thank you all for troubleshooting, maintaining an even keel, and providing strong testing environments for our students!
- Students who were here on the 22nd for the most part completed all the tests slotted for the day! GREAT news when it comes to makeup testing needs.
- Please get any student testing completion questions to Steve Berezowitz or Annie Phillips!
- Congrats to Barb and Steve Berezowitz as their oldest daughter, Maddie, is on the University of Kentucky volleyball team who WON the NCAA National Championship this past weekend!
- Maddie also was selected as the NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner!!! Read below... SO AWESOME!!!
- Congrats again Barb and Steve!
In lieu of an article:
Below is an email from a 7th grade student. Her words provide us all with great reminders of why we need to continue to ensure students and ourselves keep masks on throughout the school day!
Good afternoon,
I'm writing to you regarding stronger enforcement on masks. Many others, myself included, believe that Burlington Area School district must do a better job on this.
I am currently in the 8th grade, and am attending school in-person and full time. I have found that an average of 9 people per class are wearing a mask incorrectly. I decided to write this when 7 people are wearing no masks at all in my 6th hour class with Mr. Crammer as a substitute. Seeing this happen makes me feel unsafe in class, and uncomfortable. I am proposing higher action done on this, or punishments for those who do not comply. Though the mask mandate for Wisconsin is no longer in action, Covid is, and it is a school rule to have a mask on. It has been proven that when a carrier of Covid is wearing a mask, the chance of contamination for others is significantly lower than without one. Seeing this being disregarded so much is very concerning to me. I do see every teacher with a mask on correctly, though when they see people not wearing one or one incorrectly, nothing is done.
From what I can see, I would estimate around 65% of students wearing masks incorrectly. I am requesting we do something other than a "reminder" for these people. It is true that students are able to say something, but they have. Many students are told inappropriate and bad things when telling others to fix their mask, and many students deal with social anxiety. Of course there are people who are medically incapable to wear a mask, but this is disregarding them. I suggest students be given detention for not having masks, or students be moved when having masks on incorrectly.
I hope you can see where I'm coming from, and I anticipate a solution. I completely understand if you are not in a place where you can do something, though I am concerned for the health for my teachers and classmates. I do appreciate whats already been done, though there really needs to be more.
Thank you so much for your time,
(Student)
Information/Reminders:
- Monday, April 26 - Continuation of Forward Testing for our 8th grade students.
- Testing will be taking place in Social Studies, Science, and ELA this week.
- So... as a reminder... keep the noise level down to continue providing a strong testing environment for our students!
- Monday, April 26 - BLT Meeting to finalize P/T Conferences starting at 2:40 via Zoom. This BLT meeting should be a quick one!
- Annie will send the Zoom Link!
- Monday, April 26 - District K-5 Essential Skills team will be meeting again to review and strategize about how the instructional minutes will look for K-5 so that we have consistency across the district within all 5 elementary schools!
- Meeting in the Karcher library from 3:45-5:15.
Additional End of the Year Items!
- SLOs & PPGs - Should be submitted by Monday, May 10th.
- Thursday, May 20 - 8th Grade Recognition @ 7:00pm
- Friday, May 21st - Early Release Times for each building:
- 12:00 - BHS/Karcher (7-8)
- 12:50 - Dyer & Karcher (3-5)
- 1:00 - Waller & Cooper
- 1:10 - Lyons & Winkler
- School Keys - End of the Year Return!!!
- EVERYONE... across the whole school district will need to turn in their keys to the head secretaries in each building. Each secretary was sent a list of all staff and all the issued keys you should have. At some point, it is suggested that you take the time (prior to the end of the year) to check-in and see if all the keys you have are the ones the district says you have. That way, if one is missing you have time to locate the key!
- Key turn in will be part of the staff check-out at the end of the school year.
- "Closing of Karcher"
- Below are additional dates (besides May 1 & 7) that are important dates for you to be aware of when it comes to the "Closing of Karcher". As you know, the current building we are all in will be coming down this June. Prior to that we have a series of events/needs to honor the memories and ensure the district has what it needs from old Karcher before it comes down. Below is the series of events that will unfold in the weeks to come!
- Salvaging Mementos - June 4 & 5
- Both of these dates are set for staff and the community to purchase items of interest prior to demo. Think of this as a "rummage sale". The "why" behind taping items BASD wants with the colored tape in old Karcher especially was needed so we know what we have interest in selling and determining prices for items.
- We will most likely have set locations in the building where all items for sale will be housed for the community to look through, again, still in the planning stages of this but wanted to share what we have determined so far!
- Police & Fire Training
- Following June 5th we have agreed to partner with the Burlington Police and Fire Departments for them to use old Karcher for necessary trainings prior to demo starting on June 14th.
- New Karcher Open House
- The new buildings interior will be completed this May with the furniture going in the building in May as well.
- The site, however, will not be completed, therefore, the new building will not be open for use until the start of the school year. We might use the office area for some district office staff throughout the summer as we work to remodel the 209 building for the new District Office location and remodel Lincoln School (where the current DO is located). However, student activities (camps, etc) will not be allowed to use the new building this summer.
- 6-8 Student Open House will take place artthe startof the school year for the incoming 6-8th grade students and their families on August 31st.
- The dedication of the new building, with the Community Open House, will take place on September 25th. Perhaps you are wondering why after school starts? The desire is to have the building have some life to it... staff and student items in the building!
- 2021-2022 Start Times for K-5
- School Start Times K-5
- Dyer, Waller, and Cooper (in the city schools)
- 8:10-3:20
- Lyons, Winkler (neighborhood schools)
- 8:15-3:25
- May 24th and May 25th
- May 24th is an inservice day where the focus of that day will be checkout - you won't be able to check out on Friday, May 21st. The second thing we will be focusing on for the 24th is ensuring everything is ready for all of the moves that have to happen across the school district.
- Staff handbook language regarding the use of personal days:
- "personal leave will not be granted during the first or last week of a semester, or on an in-service day.”
- “personal leave during these periods may be approved for personal business that cannot be rescheduled for a different time at the discretion of the District Administrator or his designee.”
- May 25th is a comp day for certified staff.
Pictures from this week!
Might seem like a silly picture but this shows the carpet and double doors that a are installed for the gym entrance from Robert Street!
(closed as they are working on cleaning the building!)
Lockers and TVs are being installed. There will be a waterfall counter (maple) on top of the lockers that will go to the floor on both ends. This was a "Jill" design as the architects have never done something like this before!
Whiteboards in the large academic corridors! Basically EVERY space in this building is an instructional space!
Academic classroom with the TV installed (not totally finished here but cool to see the progress)
SGI Room (Small Group Instruction Space in an academic wing)
Cool viewpoint!
Main Entrance by the main office. Showing the progress of the double door secure entrance along with the carpet at the entrance as well.
Bench in the main entrance corridor. The maple wood was installed that makes up the seat, side walls, and top of the area. The white box is a location for a TV for signage to always be on, etc.
Entrance to the gym!
Students in 8th grade ELA with Alyssa Riggs! Working on the development of a theme!
Different view of "Karcher Middle School". You can also see the stained concrete in the commons area here.
