To prevent the dreaded summer slide, please plan to attend our summer reading program kick-off 6-7:30 p.m. June 5 at the Bucyrus Elementary School. Students and families will learn about summer reading programs being offered by Bucyrus City Schools and the Bucyrus Public Library. Each student attending will choose a book to keep and read over the summer. Come to ask questions and receive tools to keep your child growing as a reader over the long summer months. Enter the school through the main office entrance. This opportunity is being funded by the B.E.S.T Program through a 21st CCLC Grant.

Don’t let your child lose reading ground over the summer!

For more information contact Becky Prenger at 419-562-6089 or Deb Hoover at 419-562-4045.

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Contact Mr. Kimmel at 419-562-4045 or kkimmel@bucyrusschools.org with any questions or concerns.

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When: Monday May 21st. (Make up Tuesday May 22nd)
Times: 11:15 a.m. to approximately 1:30 p.m. (Lunch 10:30 – 11:00 a.m.)
Where: Bucyrus High School Stadium
What: Each grade will compete as homerooms against each other in 8 events: 50 yard dash, 100 yd dash, 200 yd dash, 50 yd dash relay, 3 legged race, ball balance race, egg toss, and tug o war.

To help assist in supervising students, we would like to have 10 parents volunteer to help with the day’s activities. If you are interested in helping, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher. Thank you for your help.

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For more information call Mark Burke at 419-562-4045 ext. 3244 or email mburke@bucyrusschools.org. Registration packets can be found online.

Informational tables will also be set up at at the District Arts Festival May 3, as well as the Bucyrus Elementary School Fun Night May 12. Both events will take place at the Bucyrus Secondary School. Stop by the table to learn more!

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The food service department will be busy in May,  providing sack lunches to students going on field trips and providing a picnic lunch for the sophomore class for winning the spirit award, sponsored by the student council. The fifth-grade students will be eating lunch at the secondary building on May 21 prior to the field day activities.

As the end of the school year comes to end, the food service department would like to remind parents of PreK-5th grade students that negative balances should be paid by the last day of the year. If there are any negative or positive balances on their student’s account, the balance will transfer to the next school year.

The food service department would also like to remind all students and parents who qualify for free and reduced lunches that a new free and reduced application will need to be completed only if they DO NOT receive a letter from the food service department prior to the 2012-2013 school year stating they have already qualified due to direct certification. The current free and reduced benefits will carry over next year for the first 30 days of school or until the new application is processed.

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First of all, I would like to congratulate the middle school vocal ensemble who traveled to Marion on Tuesday, April 17 to compete in the Marion Area Solo & Ensemble Contest!  The ensemble earned a “I” which is a superior rating–the best rating you can get, in fact!  Congratulations, Luke Smith, Alex Rule, Anthony Eidson, Rebekkah Amerine, Breanna Fry, Logan Kissling, Kayleigh Seiber, Abby Hoskins, Ashley Keener, and Haley Clingman!  Also an extra special congratulation to Kayleigh Seiber, who also earned a “I” on her vocal solo, “Shenandoah.”  Way to go, Kayleigh!  The students represented B.M.S. in a great manner, both musically and behaviorally.  I’m incredibly proud of them and would also like to thank their parents for supporting them in their musical endeavors.

The next big upcoming event will be the district Arts Fest, next Thursday, May 3.  The high school Concert Choir, combined with the 8th grade choir, and the Players will perform in the Little Theater throughout the day.  The performances will culminate with a full concert at 6 pm.  The concert will feature a variety of songs and styles, and will include some short solos by Rita France, Traci Lohr, Matthew Hopkins, Brie Johns, Jamie McCombs, and Kayla Hopkins.  Some favorite songs you’ll hear include “Come Sail Away,” “Superstition,” “Homeward Bound,” “Save the Last Dance for Me,” and so many more.  In between the Concert Choir’s performance and the Players’ performance, I will honor our graduating seniors through a short senior ceremony.  Don’t forget to head to the gym after our concert to see the Concert Band as well as the X-Band… and then check out the art exhibits!

After the Arts Fest, we will begin looking forward to the fifth grade concert on Tuesday, May 15 at 7:45 pm at Bucyrus Elementary School.  This concert will feature the Fifth Grade Choir and all of the fifth grade general music students.  Also, this concert with feature Mrs. Martin’s new musical group, The Bucyrus Elementary Bell Choir.  The theme of this concert is Broadway songs, so you can expect to hear all your favorites like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, “Seventy-Six Trombones” from The Music Man, “Footloose,” from Footloose, “Seasons of Love” from Rent and so many more.  Choir solos by Mirande Mee and Haley Thomas will, without a doubt, make you smile!

The final spring concert of the school year will be performed by the 6th and 7th grade choirs as well as the Vocal Motion show choir.  This will take place on Thursday, May 17 at 7 pm in the Little Theater at B.S.S.  This concert will feature an eclectic mix of music, including “Twist and Shout,” “Rockin’ Robin,” “I’m a Believer,” “Seize the Day,” and more.  Don’t miss the 7th graders’ version of “Reflection,” featuring a sparkling duet by Audrey Neubacher and Victoria Adams!

Other upcoming dates to be aware of include Players show choir auditions on May 14 after school in the Little Theater and Vocal Motion show choir auditions after school on May 21.  Any students/parents who have questions about these auditions may stop in and see me anytime.

I’m really looking forward to all of the upcoming spring concerts and hope that you will come support these young singers.  They’ve been working hard all semester and can’t wait to share their songs with you!

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To learn more about the dress code, call Mr. Henderson at 419-562-7721 or visit our website.

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The theme for this year’s after-school program was, “Getting to Know Crawford County.”  In addition to homework help and extra practice with math and reading skills each week, the after-school program also partnered with several local business and organizations to help the students learn more about their community.

October’s partner was the Crawford County Park District.  The students studied local animals and then took a field trip to Lowe Volk Park where they participated in a scavenger hunt and learned about local animals and plants.  Other activities included computer skills, kitchen safety and interpersonal skills.

November’s partner was the Crawford County Harvey School, a restored one-room schoolhouse.  The students studied pioneer history and had a speaker that discussed the way of life in Crawford County, as well as throughout Ohio during the years of the school’s operation.  The students then visited the school and learned about lessons and games during the 1800s.  The second annual “Math and a Movie Night” was also held in November. The event, which was open to any BCS student, featured the theme, “Cars and Route 66,” in which stations of math activities were set up for students of all ages.  The Disney movie “Cars” was also shown.

December’s partner was the Bucyrus Little Theater.  The students studied theater etiquette and watched the movie “The Christmas Story,” as well as attended a live dress rehearsal of the play.  During intermission students distributed the hand-made cookies, activity books, and Christmas decorations to distribute to local nursing home residents in attendance. The middle school students also put on their own theater production, a talent show for parents and community members.  They made special invitations and baked cookies for those in attendance.

In January morning hours were added to the program so that students could be better prepared for their school day.  Two additional adult volunteers, Pastor Don Krapps and Mr. Dan Webber, were also added.  In addition to their help with social skills, they continue to be great role models for the boys in the program.  Throughout the month of January, the students also learned more about hobbies and tried their hands at activities such as knitting, cooking and scrapbooking.  January partners included the school district’s food service department and the local food bank, resulting in the students learning good nutrition habits.

February’s partner was the Crawford County Red Cross, with the main theme focusing on disaster survival.  The students made tie blankets for the disaster kits, which were put together during the February evening parent night program.  Students also made valentines for their friends and family members and planned a valentine party. Students also received a visit from members of the Mansfield Astronomical Society; they brought their traveling planetarium so that the students could learn about the stars and planets.

March continued the students’ study of animals and included a visit from the local park district naturalist and a field trip to the local Alpaca farm.

Another component of the after-school program included parent and family education.  Once a month family members of our students enrolled in the program were invited to the school for educational activities.  Activities focused on a wide variety of topics that looked to improve family bonding and life styles.  Items were also given to the families to take home for each theme.

In October the topic was home safety.  The local police and fire departments, along with the State Highway Patrol, explained important safety issues; smoke detectors and a car seat were raffled as prizes.

In November a local Sheriff detective discussed technology safety with computers and phones.  A list of helpful websites for homework was given to each family; they were able to investigate these sites with their students in the school computer lab.  Families also received a flash drive, donated by North Central State College, to use at home for their files.

December focused on family fun with a spaghetti dinner, donated by the district’s food service department, and tickets to the varsity home-opening basketball game.  Raffle prizes included cookie sheets and cookie mix so the families could bake holiday cookies together at home.

January’s theme was nutrition. The evening program included information about the local food bank with a casserole demonstration, healthy snacks made by a local 4-H member, My Plate healthy portions, a safe hand washing activity done by the local hospital’s infectious disease control office, as well as information regarding the district’s Future Chef Program.  At the end of the evening, each family took home baking dishes, a casserole recipe and all the ingredients for that casserole so they could make the dish at home.

February’s theme was disaster preparedness.  The local Red Cross presented information on possible local disasters and how to prepare for each if they were to strike residents in Bucyrus.  Each family put together a disaster kit which included tie blankets made by the students during the after-school program.  Raffle items included tool kits, a radio and a first aid kit.

March’s focus was on the importance of physical activity.  The guest speaker was the director of the local YMCA.  After the presentation, athletes from an array of Bucyrus High School sports teams demonstrated their skills; parents and students also got to participate in each of the sports.  All families received a Frisbee or a utility ball to take home.  Badminton sets were also raffled that evening.

The program’s culminating activity will feature a family picnic at the city park pavilion where all participants and program partner organizations will be invited for a free cook out; each family will be able to make their own ladder golf set to take home.  Prizes will also be awarded for attendance to our evening family nights.  Any family that attended 5 of the 7 events will receive a summer family pass to the city pool; any family that attended all 7 events will also receive an all expense paid trip to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.

To learn more about the Bucyrus  After-school Program, contact Mark Burke at mburke@bucyrusschools.org or call 419-562-4045.

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We at Bucyrus Schools are happy to announce that, in an effort to help our struggling readers to boost their ability to decode new words, we have begun using a new reading intervention program called Fast ForWord by Scientific Learning. It is a program that has many of our students in grades K-7 spending 30 minutes per day on the computer for a period of 12 to 16 weeks.

Children struggling to decode unfamiliar words, usually do so because they do not really hear the sounds in language as well as they should hear them. With this program, the computer offers the students six different games to choose from during their session each day. Each game provides activities for the student to listen for sound changes, to distinguish high sounds from low sounds, to hear letter combination sounds in a particular order, etc.

The goal of the program is to retrain the brain to hear the individual sounds in language and to encourage children to develop better listening and attention skills. The last two are important to comprehension, adding to overall reading improvement.

If you have questions about this exciting new program, just email Debra Hoover at dhoover@bucyrusschools.org or call her at 419-562-4045 ext. 3250

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Registration packets are now available at our central office, located at 170 Plymouth Street, or on our website.  Enrollment packets will be sent home with our current students, as well as distributed to Head Start and Help Me Grow families.  If you or a family member would like to know more about the Bucyrus Preschool please contact me at 419-562-4045 or mburke@bucyrusschools.org.

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