Belle Plaine Runs Well at State Track Meet

This past weekend the Belle Plaine boys and girls track teams ran at the State Track Meet held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.  The highlight of the weekend for the girls was the shuttle hurdle relay team of Larissa Fowler, Shannon Murray, Brialy Carlson, and Justice Yilek who won the event in a time of 1.07:16 which was also a new school record.  The link below shows highlights of area teams at the State Meet and a brief clip of the girls shuttle hurdle relay at the 1:30 mark.

KCRG Sports State Track Highlights

Also performing for the girls were Kameo Pope in the discus and shot put finishing in 17th and 15th in each of those events with throws of 33-02 in the shot put and 102-06 in the discus.  Justice Yilek also ran in the 400 M Dash finishing 20th in a personal best time of 1:03.58.  Congratulations to the Girls track team and coaches on a great season.

The Belle Plaine Boys Track team also had a strong showing at the State Meet scoring 26 team points in four different events placing them 8th overall.  Highlights were in the 4 x 800 M Relay with Josh Long, Trey Squiers, Robert Brown, and Orie Brown placing 2nd overall in a time of 8:17.07 and Distance Medley also finishing 2nd in a time of 3:39.51.  The Distance Medley team consisted of Vance Bohlen, Trenton Young, Josh Long, and Trey Squiers.  Also scoring points were Justin Jacobi in the 110 M High Hurdles finishing 3rd in a time of 15.46 and Trey Squiers placing 5th in the 1600 M Run in a time of 4:37.99.  Congratulations to all the coaches and team members on a great season.

Win With Wellness

Working Towards a Strong Finish

While some might think the school year winds down at most schools, at Belle Plaine things have certainly geared-up the last few weeks.  After SICL conference meets in track and golf we had the NHS Inductions and the Underage Drinking Forum, followed that up this past week with Senior Awards Night, hosting the State Qualifying Track Meet, hosting Sectional Golf, and Graduation.  All went great, and a big thanks and job well done to all who worked so hard to organize, plan, and manage those events.

Senior Awards night was held at the Kings Theatre in downtown Belle Plaine last Wednesday night in front of a full house of family and friends.  Many awards were presented to the graduating class of 2014 and seniors class members received in excess of $135,000 in total scholarship money.  What a great night for our seniors and their families.

On Thursday, Belle Plaine hosted the State Qualifying Track meet for Class 1A boys and girls teams.  The Belle Plaine girls team finished 3rd as a team and qualified 4 events for the State Meet.  The Belle Plaine boys took 1st place as a team and are sending 10 events to the State Meet.  The Coed State Track Meet will be held May 23-25 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The Belle Plaine Boys and Girls Golf teams also participated in conference and sectional golf meets in the last week.  At conference the boys placed 4th while the girls took 6th.  At the Sectional Meet held at Belle Plaine the boys team placed 4th and completed a very good season.

The week wrapped up on Sunday with Graduation ceremonies held in the gym at the High School.  41 seniors received diplomas and Cailtin Kithcart was awarded the Henry B. Tippie Scholarship to the University of Iowa.  Lane Bachelder and Matthew Mengler were recognized as Valedictorians and Ross Henning as the Salutatorian.  Congratulations to all the graduates and best of luck in the future.

The 2013-2014 school year comes to an end with all students on May 29.

A Good Week at Belle Plaine!!

As the year begins to wind down there are all kinds of events occurring in a variety of areas at Belle Plaine Schools.  It's an exciting time for students and staff and I jet want to highlight a few of the things that took place this week.

National Honor Society Induction:
On Monday night the Belle Plaine National Honor Society Chapter welcomed three new members in the 2014 class.  National Honor Society Sponsor Leah Mast and the current NHS members held a brief ceremony in the high school cafeteria to honor this years inductees.  Added to the chapter were senior Lane Bachelder and juniors Kayla Toennies and Josh Long.  Congratulations to our new members and we look forward to working with them in the future with NHS activities.

SICL Conference Track Meet:
On Tuesday night the SICL Conference Girl's and Boy's Track Meet was held at Iowa Valley.  The Belle Plaine boys team had a strong night in Marengo as they took 1st place in the team standings out distancing 2nd place Lynnville-Sully by 28 points.  The Track championship follows-up a Cross Country Title the boys took in the fall and provides the teams a good deal of momentum as the prep for the State Qualifying Meet to be held next Thursday, May 15 here at Belle Plaine.  Congratulations to the entire team and coaching staff.

The Belle Plaine Girl's team also had a good showing at the conference meet finishing in 4th place overall.  This years squad has many new individuals filling key spots and is making good progress toward a very strong finish this season.  The girls team will also be running at the State Qualifying Meet here in Belle Plaine next Thursday.

Underage Drinking Openhouse:
This last Wednesday night Belle Plaine hosted a community conversation about underage drinking in the high school gym.  The event was organized by the Belle Plaine Win With Wellness students in cooperation with the Benton County Area Substance Abuse Council.  The primary goal of the event was to raise awareness of the issue of underage drinking in our community and deliver a message to students, parents, and the community that we as a community truly value our young people and are committed to supporting them.  Presentations were given by members of the Win With Wellness group and a mock bedroom was set up to help parents recognize signs of possible drinking or drug abuse.  Prior to the event, Mr. Yilek and I agreed that if 50 people came it would be a successful event.  When nearly 150 were in attendance we definitely declared the night a huge success.  David Condry of ASAC shared that the same event a week earlier in Vinton drew about 35 people.  The number of people who came shows that we do have a great community that cares about what our kids are doing and want to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.  I just want to say "GREAT JOB" to Mr. Yilek and all the students in Win With Wellness who did such an outstanding job with this.  With great leaders like this we are going to make a difference in the lives of students at Belle Plaine.

Students and Technology

Ever since I became a school administrator, technology and the use of it and access to it has always been a hot topic.  It becomes even more debatable when you talk about students who have their own devices in school.  Every day students bring cell phones, I-pods, I-pads, laptops, kindles, and other electronic devices that provide unlimited amounts of information at any time.  The big question that always comes up is how much freedom should students have to use these devices within the school day?  The world today's students know, even the seniors, has always had cell phones in it.  They do not remember life and society without them.  District philosophies differ on the amount of access students have to electronic devices and the internet.  Some open everything up including access to social media sites such Facebook and Twitter and students can move freely in and out of these places as they wish.  Other districts continue to restrict use and access to everything that is not deemed educational.  The trend that I see most schools moving toward is allowing access to devices and sites with the purpose of teaching students how to be responsible, safe, appropriate, and purposeful with the devices and how they use them.  Students who are taught and prepared to use these tools effectively and efficiently may be more prepared and equipped with technological skills and savvy that employers and the workforce want.  As we have discussed this at various times this year during staff meetings or during informal conversations I feel that most staff members agree that we have a role to teach students how to appropriately work within the guidelines established by the school.  Provided the freedom to use devices and access most sites, we would provide the support and training they need to carry these skills and habits into the workplace.  

The article below comes from a Blog written by Scott Newcomb summarizes his belief on this topic and a philosophy that is becoming much more common in schools.  Scott Newcomb Blog 

Are You Leading with Fear? #BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)

  

As the temperature begins to rise, I reminisce back to a warm summer day while sitting on a bench next to the pool watching my five-year-old son climbing the never-ending ladder of the high dive.  As he reached the summit, he casually walked to the edge of the board with a smile on his face. Without a care in the world, he leapt into the water! His confidence and tenacity allowed him to complete this act with faith in his ability.  As he plunged to the surface, several questions formulated in my mind. When does fear creep into our consciousness?  Is it a learned behavior?  Or are we innately born with these trepidations?

            

Throughout the world of education, I feel as though many are leading with fear.  There are major concerns regarding social media and the fear of allowing students to use their cell phones for educational purposes.  As an educator and parent, I have come to the realization that, like it or not, social media and mobile learning devices are going to be an integral part of our children’s lives.  Aren’t we supposed to be preparing today’s youth for the real world?  Should we allow our fears and apprehension to hinder the technological education our children need to advance in their field of study?

            

Some of the uneasiness in allowing students to bring their own devices to school revolves around cheating, stealing, broken devices, and the inability of some students to bring a device.  In reality, these challenges have always been present within the classroom.  We cannot move forward technologically based upon the “what ifs.”  Instead, we must find solutions to these possible dilemmas and move forward to allow our students the ultimate learning experience.  We must maximize student usage of mobile learning devices to encourage the safe and meaningful use of technology within the classroom setting.  It is up to the school district to set clear and stringent guidelines. Some simple ways to do so includes requiring students to keep the devices flipped over on top of their desks while taking a test.  Also, having a “responsible use policy” in place is a must.  The students and parents should have a clear understanding of what is appropriate use in the classroom.  They should also have a clear understanding of consequences of misuse.  When teachers give students the opportunity to be responsible, the results are inspiring. Teachers modeling proper usage are also beneficial. It is important to understand that “bring your own device” allows the students the opportunity to learn in a way that is most conducive to them.  It allows them to think independently and critically in a manner in which they are most familiar.  We are allowing them to bring the technology they are comfortable with at home into the classroom setting.  It is not a replacement for a 1:1 initiative; instead it provides students with opportunities to enhance their learning while incorporating the necessary technology skills to compete in our rapidly changing world.