The Cardinal News
Newsletter for Parents & Students - October 2014 Live Right...Learn Right...Southside Hello Benton Community! We are thrilled with the start of our new year here at Benton. We have some absolutely awesome Students and Staff and the year has really started well. You’ve probably heard lots about attendance this year. We are really working to improve attendance and I want you to know why. Attendance has been shown to be the leading indicator to making good grades. We want each and every Student to graduate and be prepared for their post-high school experience. They can not do this unless they pass the required 25 credits. In order to pass those classes, good attendance is a must. What is good attendance? To go to Prom or to be certified for A+, which gives you great Scholarships at numerous Colleges, programs, and free tuition at some, you are required to have 95% attendance. That means you can not miss more than approximately 56 hours of School, or about 8 full days. Attendance is taken by the minute and reported to the State. If you have to be gone for an appointment or you are sick, we want you to call in so we can verify your absence. We want, but more importantly, need all absences to be called in and verified so that we know where you are. But when figuring absences, all absences affect your hours and minutes attended (unless you are gone for School business). For example, if you have to miss 3 hours (120 minutes) once a month for an Orthodontist appointment from August thru April, that adds up to 27 hours missed for the entire School year. If you attended every other minute of the year, your attendance would be close to 97.5% for the year. But should you become ill and need to be out of School for one week along with the Orthodontist appointments, that would take you under the 95% threshold. Progress Reports are given every 3 weeks. We give them to Students who are to bring them home. You are also able to check grades and attendance anytime by logging into your Student’s Parent Portal Account. If you need help with this program or need more information, please call Debby Fry at 816-671-4030. We have a couple of dates that I want to make sure you have. October 15th will be a 1 hour early out for Benton only. Students who ride the Bus can still ride the bus that day, but they will have to stay at School in the Springer Gym until the normal ending time of 2:50. Parent/Teacher Conferences in all SJSD Schools are the same this year. We will host our Parent/Teacher Conferences in the Springer Gym on October 21st and October 23rd from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. There will be no School on Friday, October 24th. If you have ideas, issues, concerns, or would just like to talk about how things are going, please stop by or call us at 671-4030. We might not be able to talk with you when you call, but we will certainly call you back. Thank you for your involvement and support of our Students and Staff of Benton High School. Live Right...Learn Right...Southside, Beery Johnson Principal Michele Thomason Asst. Principal (Student’s with Last Name beginning with A-K) Luke McCoy Asst. Principal (Student’s with Last Name beginning with L-Z) Mike Ziesel Activities Coordinator 1
SCHOOL AND ACTIVITIES HAVE BEGUN WITH A GREAT START TO THE 2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR Coaches will be focusing on trying to increase participation in each of their respective Sports.
Fall Sports Starting Date Monday August 4, 2014
Meet our Fall Coaches: Football - Coach Matthew Tabor Boys Soccer - Coach Joey Hendrix Volleyball - Coach Ron Allen Cross Country - Coach Daniel Benz and Coach Katie McCullough Softball - Coach Greg Reynolds Girls Tennis - Coach Wes Sanger Girls Golf - Coach Brett Goodwin
On August 4th, Athletes from all around the State began the Fall Sports Season. MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Activities Association) along with Benton High School would like to remind all Athletes and Parents of the importance of the following information: 1. Your Student Athlete must have a Physical dated after February 1, 2014 in order to practice and participate in the 2014-2015 School Sports Season (No Exceptions)
Fact: Those Students that involve themselves in School related constructive activities provide for a positive and enjoyable School experience. Benton High School encourages participation in some form by all Student.
2. Although MSHSAA provides a catastrophic insurance, every Athlete must have an insurance provider. Unfortunately, if you do not have Insurance, Student will not be able to participate.
As always, Benton High School thanks Parents and Patrons for all you do for the Students of our School.
3. Athletes and Parents will need to sign a MSHSAA Participation Form and a SJSD Activity Participation Rules Form that will be provided by the School.
Mike Ziesel BHS Activities/Athletics 2
SAVE THE DATES!!
October 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri
Sat
1
2
3
4
October 15th 1 Hour Early Out (Benton Only)
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
October 17th End of First Quarter
26
27
28
29
30
31
Sat
October 21st and 23rd Parent/Teacher Conferences 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. BHS Springer Gym
November 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri
1
October 24th No School
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
November 26th, 27th, & 28th Thanksgiving Break
Sat
December 19th End of Second Quarter / End of Semester 1
December 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
November 10th No School - Professional Development
December 22nd thru January 2nd Christmas Break January 5th No School - Professional Development
COUNSELING CENTER ON TWITTER Follow the Benton Counseling Center on twitter - @BHS_Counseling for information, news, and updates. 3
HOMECOMING WEEK - FAMILY MATTERS OCTOBER 6th THRU OCTOBER 10th Spirit Days Monday – Generation Day Tuesday – Nothing Brings Family Together Like the Holidays (Class Competition) (12th Gr = Christmas / 11th Gr = Halloween / 10th Gr = 4th of July / 9th Gr = St. Patrick’s Day / Staff = Thanksgiving)
Wednesday – Twin Day Thursday – It’s a ....... (Gender Switch Day -- School Dress Code will still be enforced) Friday - It’s all about big RED (Show your School Spirit) Iron Man Volleyball Competition Tuesday, October 7th at 6:00 p.m. - Springer Gym Powder Puff Football Wednesday, October 8th starting at 6:30 p.m. at Spratt Stadium Varsity Football Game Friday October 10th at 7:00 p.m. – Benton vs Cameron Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned during half-time Homecoming Dance after the Football Game Friday October 10th from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. $5.00 to get in Dance or $4.00 for the Class that wins Spirit Week please note: Activity Ticket does not get you into Homecoming Dance
DON’T MISS OUT STAY INFORMED...CONNECTED...INVOLVED!!!! Access daily announcements from Benton High School about events, meetings, activities, and sports news by accessing any of the following: BHS School Calendars at: http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/Page/10 BHS Announcements given to students http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/domain/1312 Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bentoncardinals SJSD Mobile App: Receive school cancellation notifications directly to your mobile phone. Have all your updates and calendars in one place. Go to your Google Play or iTunes store and search “St. Joseph School District” for the free app. Then choose which school(s) to receive notifications and updates from.
4
TEST AND REGISTRATION DEADLINES Test Date October 25, 2014 December 13, 2014 February 7, 2015 April 18, 2015 June 13, 2015 • • • •
•
Registration Deadline September 19, 2014 November 7, 2014 January 9, 2015 March 13, 2015 May 8, 2015
Late Fee Required September 20 - October 3, 2014 November 8 - 21, 2014 January 10 - 16, 2015 March 14 - 27, 2015 May 9 - 22, 2015
Photo Upload Deadline October 17, 2014 December 5, 2014 January 30, 2015 April 10, 2015 June 5, 2015
To register for the ACT students must go online to www.actstudent.org Benton High School is a testing site please use this code 211020 when signing up for the ACT Please use our school CEEB code 262890 to send your scores to Benton High School Remember...Colleges/Universities require that all students have their standardized test scores sent directly from ACT or the College Board (SAT) to the University. These schools are no longer taking test scores from high school transcripts. It is the student's responsibility when registering for the ACT and/or SAT to designate which Colleges and/or Universities they wish to receive their scores. A fee will be assessed if a Student requests scores be sent to a College or University AFTER taking the test. ACT and College Board (SAT) both allow you to send your score to four (4) Colleges or Universities for free at the time of registration. Test Fee: ACT No Writing $38.00 / ACT Plus Writing $54.50 (check the ACT Website to see if the Colleges and/or Universities you are considering require or recommend the ACT Writing Test). Students who have qualified for free/reduced lunch can request a fee waiver form from their friendly counselor. There is a limit of 2 waivers per student during their high school career.
COMMUNITY SERVICE All Student’s in the Saint Joseph School District are required to have at least 10 hours of Community Service in order to graduate and walk with their Senior Class. Verification forms can be picked up and turned back in to Mrs. Ulmer in the Counseling Center. It’s never too early to complete your hours!!!
BHS SEASON PASS In order to accommodate our Cardinal Families, we are now selling Season Passes. The cost of Season Passes are $35 per person and $20 for 7th and 8th Graders. These passes will get you into all Home Sports Events. There is no charge for Children 12 and under but they will need to be accompanied by an adult.
5
MY SUCCESS EVENT On October 8th, Sophomores will be attending the My Success Event. The My Success Event is a highly interactive and region-wide Student focused opportunity for area Businesses to introduce our future workforce to the multitude of employment options and their corresponding educational/training requirements that can lead to well-paying careers in St. Joseph and Northwest Missouri.
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
STUDENT FEE PAYMENT PLAN INFORMATION Reminder: If you have chosen the payment plan the 1st payment was due at registration and can be made anytime. The next payment will be at parent teacher conferences. Thank you very much for being on time with your payments. Mrs. Carlene Vining Benton High School Finance Officer
BENTON CARDINELLE POM CLINIC Benton Cardinelle Pom Clinic will be held at Benton High School in the Springer Gym the evenings of Monday (October 6th) and Wednesday (October 8th) from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The girls will then perform during the half time show on October 10th, at Sparks Stadium (Benton High School) where the Benton Cardinal's take on the Cameron Dragons. Please be at Benton by 6:30 p.m. to help make a tunnel for the Team to run through. Girls will be released to their Parents after the tunnel and expected to return on the East part of the track by the start of the 2nd Quarter. The cost of Benton Cardinelle Pom Clinic is $30.00, which includes a T-shirt and poms for their performance, as well as instruction from the Cardinelle Pom Members. Black pants and black sneakers are recommended for the performance. Deadline for registration is Wednesday, October 1st, in order to ensure your daughter gets a T-shirt in time for their performance.. For more information, please contact Annie Roseberry or Ebeny Smith at Benton High School (816-671-4030).
6
HEALTH CORNER Welcome to the 2014-15 School Year! To start off the new School year, we have seen several illnesses. I just want to remind everyone the number one defense against most illnesses is hand washing. Other great ways to avoid catching a virus is to cover your mouth when coughing and/or sneezing; keep hands away from your face, and again...WASH your hands!!! Drink plenty of fluids, preferably water, no caffeine or energy drinks...and lastly, get plenty of rest. Please keep your child home if they are ill, DO NOT send them to School!!! I also want to encourage everyone to get a Flu shot this year! A website that has good and reliable information regarding cavvines, illnesses, and all around health information is the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) http://www.health.mo.gov It has the latest information about the respiratory ilness due to Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) in Missouri. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns you might have. You can reach me via email carol.stephenson@sjsd.k12.mo.us or call me at 671-4030 (extension 142). Carol Stephenson, RN Benton High School Nurse
BHS THEATRE NEWS Benton's Music and Theatre Departments have teamed up to present this year's musical, "Glitz: The Little Miss Christmas Pageant Musical." This comedy is a parody of Toddlers and Tiaras mixed with A Christmas Carol. Come laugh with us on Friday (November 14th), Saturday (November 15th), Friday (November 21st) and Saturday (November 22nd) with Showtimes beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8. For a complete list of Cast Members, visit Benton's website (www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/benton) and click on the Theater Department under Activities.
SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION Visit our website (www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/benton) then under Departments, select the Counseling Department. On the left hand side of the screen, click on Scholarship Applications. This will pull up a list of Scholarships available to our Students, which are arranged by Month. Be sure to look ahead for deadlines
7
DRUG FREE SUPERSTAR The 2014-2015 Drug Free Super Stars have been selected! They are: Fall: Gaige Reynolds
Mikyla Murphy
Winter: Tanner Dredge
Mallory McAndrews
Spring: Dade Wheeler
Hayley Spence
Please help us in congratulating each of these Students!!!
COLLEGE RECRUITERS AT BHS Juniors and Seniors have the opportunity to meet with College Recruiters to answer questions they might have if they are interested in going to that particular College upon Graduation. Currently those Colleges and University’s that are scheduled to visit Benton during CAMP are: October 17th - Highland Community College October 21st - Missouri State University October 23rd - Northwest Missouri State University October 28th - Missouri Western State University November 17th - University of Missouri
A+ NEWS Debbie Fite is now serving as A+ Coordinator for Benton High School. All students who are planning to attend college or technical school should participate in this valuable program. Missouri’s A+ Schools Program is a win-win situation for schools, students, and our community. This program encourages Students to stay in School, make career plans, tutor younger students in school, and graduate with the skills and knowledge required for career success or further education. Ms. Fite is available in the Counseling Center on Tuesdays. She can be reached at anytime with questions or concerns you might have about the A+ Program via e-mail at debbie.fite@sjsd.k12.mo.us. 8
JOSTENS CALENDAR FOR BHS STUDENTS Mark your calendar’s for important visits from our friends at Jostens that you don’t want to miss. October 22nd - Senior Class Meeting (Graduation information give to Senior Class) October 28th - Order date for Senior Announcements, Cap and Gown November 6th - Additional Senior order date December 4th - Junior ring deliver December 17th - Additional Junior ring delivery March 11th - Senior announcement delivery March 18th - Additional Senior announcement delivery April 28th - Senior Cap & Gown delivery
PARENT AND STUDENT PORTAL Students and Parents have access to grades, attendance, assignment descriptions, Teacher’s comments, and more by accessing the PowerSchool Parent and Student Portal. Students - please see your CAMP Teacher for your log-in information. Parents, if you have forgotten what you have used as your password or login ID to the Parent Portal, there is a link that you can click on at the log in screen which will remind you by e-mail what was set up to log in with. If you have not created your own account, you will need the original web access password that is assigned to Parents to create this account. Please contact BHS at 816-671-4030 if you have questions or need more information on how to gain access.
MUSICAL NOTES Congratulations to the following Students who recently made it into the All-District Choir!! Lindsey Ewart, Mitchell German, Jarod Haynes, Marissa Henderson, Hannah Herring, Jordan Kurtz, Derrick Moore, Cynthia Morse, Cannon Peterson, Rriel Richey, Alex Tillman, and Dylan Walters. This is the largest number of BHS Students that has ever been selected to be a part of the All District Choir. In order to be selected for this honor, each Student was required to sight-read and sing a solo, then only the top 40 of each section was selected. An all-day rehearsal will take place at the Platte City High School Auditorium on Saturday, October 25th. Following the rehearsal, the Students will perform a Concert at 7:00 p.m., which will be open to the Public. 9
SCHOOL TO BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM The School to Business Partnership Program allows one more way for the District to be engaged with and reach out to the community for assistance. These Partnerships provide opportunities for students to receive various time, energy, and resources from the business community to enhance their educational experiences. Partnerships encompass many activities from employees serving as volunteer mentors in classrooms and internship programs to financial assistance for field trips and student rewards. There are 8 businesses that are actively involved with Benton High School. They include Buffalo Wild Wings, Drury Inn & Suites, LifeLine Foods, J McBee Photography, Panda Express, Rolling Hills Auto Plaza, Triumph Foods, LLC and Wal-Mart. Thank you to each and everyone of you!
Check out some of the sites Benton High School has on the web: Website: http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/Domain/8 Power School Parent/Student Portal: http://ps.sjsd.k12.mo.us/public/home.html Calendar of Events: http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/domain/3819 Announcements: http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/domain/1312 Scholarships: http://www.sjsd.k12.mo.us/Page/9004
10