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www.newbuffalotimes.com
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2022
SCHOLASTICS
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New Buffalo school board hears update on middle school sports merger, elementary school happenings
ction by members of the New Buffalo Area Schools Board of Education with regards to forming a possible co-op with River Valley School District for middle school football and wrestling may take place at the end of this month. At the board’s Monday, April 11, meeting, superintendent Dr. Jeff Leslie said that he spoke with Dr. Steven Disney, superintendent at River Valley School District, and said that Disney said that members of the River Valley School Board would likely be voting on the matter at their next meeting, which is April 25. “He didn’t seem gung-ho about having a joint meeting with us - so that’s kind of where we’re at,” Leslie said, adding that he would “ideally like to get everyone in a room and go from there.” He said that New Buffalo’s school board will probably vote on the middle school co-ops at their April 25 meeting and “go from there.” New Buffalo Elementary School Principal Adam Bowen gave an update on the elementary school. Among the goals this year is to focus on Positive Behavioral Supports (PBIS). Bowen said that, while the school has been a PBIS school for many years, it’s recently been revamped, and the focus is now on letting students know their expectations: to be respectful and to be safe. Students are rewarded for following these expectations, such as by being given tickets where one half goes into a bucket for special drawing every month (one student per class). Another goal is integrating social
BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
studies into the school’s ELA (English/Language Arts) learning. This was the first year the school has had a full day of prekindergarten. Of the 22 students, 18 are full day and four are half day. The school has received new book vending machines thanks to the New Buffalo Parent/Teacher Organization, the Rotary Club of Harbor Country and The Pokagon Fund, during which each student will receive five books this year: one when the vending machines first arrived in November, one before winter break, one for their birthday, one during March is Reading Month, and one before summer break. Teachers have also been utilizing Bloomz (which Bowen likened to Facebook for schools), which is an elementary platform where they’re required to make weekly posts and specials teachers are required to make monthly ones. Bowen also gave an update on some test scores, including mid-year NWEA scores for reading and for math. The national normative score for this past winter for kindergarten in reading was 146.28, and New Buffalo’s score was 155.33 – which Bowen said is “very consistent within each grade level.” The scroe has improved since before the pandemic, as it was at 153.6 in 2020.
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oard members did a second reading of and approved the following board policies: 1616 - Staff Dress and Grooming, 3216 - Staff Dress and Grooming, 4160D - Bus Driver Qualifications-Diabetes, 4216
- Support Staff Dress and Grooming, 5511 – Dress and Grooming, 6110 Grant Funds, 6114 - Cost Principles - Spending Federal Funds, 6325 Procurement - Federal Grants/Funds - 0142.3 Term. Board members approved the request to relinquish federal funds for Title III (Immigrant, LEP, Immigrant Carryover, LEP Carryover) for the current fiscal year. Leslie said that since the amount of money they’d receive is so small and the district would need to go through an audit for those funds, it wouldn’t be worth it to go through the effort to accept them. Board members approved the request to relinquish federal funds for Section 41 (Bilingual Funds), for the current fiscal year. Business manager Pano Arvanitis added that the district spends a “lot more money” than what they’d be given on bilingual supports; however, they spend it through the general fund. After reading a resolution, board members approved the change from BD of EDUC BERRIEN CO, to the legal name of the school district, New Buffalo Area Schools, P.O. Box 280, New Buffalo, with the Internal Revenue Service. Leslie said that 20 of advanced Spanish students and five chaperones spent spring break in Seville, Spain. The robotics team, Bionic Bison, has qualified for the state competition and will be heading to Saginaw this week. If all goes well, they could be heading for Houston next week.
NEW BUFFALO LIBRARY TO PRESENT PROGRAM ON LA SALLE’S LOST SHIP
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ew Buffalo Township Library will host a program at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, about Le Griffon, French explorer La Salle’s lost ship and arguably Lake Michigan’s first shipwreck. Shipwreck hunter and author Valerie van Heest, a popular speaker at the library, will tell the story of the holy grail of Great Lakes shipwrecks and the many false discovery claims that have emerged since its disappearance in 1679. She will share her ideas of what really happened to Le Griffon, formed as she set out in search of the legendary ship with the Discovery Channel’s Josh Gates to film an episode of “Expedition Unknown.” Van Heest has spoken previously at the library on a range of subjects, from the mysterious crash of a Delta Airlines flight to early passenger travel in the Great Lakes. Her program is part of the Friends of the New Buffalo Library’s Community Forum series of presentations, which is now in its eighth year. All are welcome to attend this program and, as with all Community Forum programs, there is no charge for admission. New Buffalo Township Library is located at 33 N. Thompson Street in downtown New Buffalo. Use of face masks is requested at this event. — STAFF REPORTS
