ALICE Coming to Belle Plaine CSD

As Belle Plaine Schools strive to maintain the safety of students and staff we have began the process of implementing the ALICE program within our schools.  ALICE stands for- ALERT, LOCKDOWN, INFORM, COUNTER, & ECAVUATE.  The ALICE program is already endorsed by law enforcement across the country and in line with recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The ALICE program is changing how schools, universities and businesses respond to armed intruders.  Developed after Columbine, ALICE teaches strategies to survive a life-threatening event. Supported by educators and law enforcement organizations, ALICE is quickly becoming the new standard of care across the nation.

School Administrators recently met with local and Iowa County law enforcement to create a plan for training school leaders, staff, and students.  The first step in the process will be to train the leadership teams at each school and then work with staff’s from both buildings.  The program is designed  to help prepare staff and students on a room-by-room basis to understand options and strategies that can be used depending upon the location.  Conversations and discussions about options can help staff react more quickly should an event ever occur.

As more information about the training becomes available, parents and community members will be informed.

Today @ Belle Plaine

It's that time of year again, Homecoming!  Students get to dress crazy, act a little crazy, and enjoy some fun activities with their friends.  I often tell students that high school is the last time in their lives when they will get to take part in activities or events with friends they grew up with.  There will be no other time in their lives were they will get to do things with the people they've spent a large percentage of their life with since they were five years old.  They often look at me like I don't have a clue, but every once in a while I get through to a few and that is worth the effort!  With that, I wish everyone a great Homecoming week!!

Conratulations! to the BP Boy's Cross Country team on their victory at the BGM Invite!  The team has run well this year against some very good competition and it was great to see their hard work rewarded.

The Homecoming parade will be Thursday starting at 6:30, followed by the pep rally at 7:00.  A bonfire will be held south of the school immediately following the pep rally.

Go Plainsmen!

PBIS at Belle Plaine

Today a team of teachers from all levels at Belle Plaine attended PBIS training at Grant Wood AEA in Cedar Rapids.  Belle Plaine is in year three of implementing the PBIS system that is designed to reinforce positive behaviors and enhance the learning climate of a school.

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are a multi-tiered continuum of supports for all students in the school environment. Supported by the Iowa Department of Education, PBIS provides schools with the framework and organizational plan to promote and maximize academic achievement and behavioral competence for all students.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs Technical Assistance Center on PBIS indicates there are 13,300 schools implementing PBIS in the United States and other countries including Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, and Canada. Since 2002, PBIS has continued to grow in Iowa. Currently, more than 300 schools are implementing PBIS in 107 districts around the state.

I'm anxious to learn more about PBIS and work with the PBIS team to promote positive student behavior and enhance the opportunities to succeed for every student at Belle Plaine.

Belle Plaine Athletics

This past week several teams from BP were busy competing at various locations.  On Tuesday the Volleyball team won their own 4-team invite by defeating Valley Lutheran 2-0 in the first round and then followed that up with a well played 2-0 victory over North Tama in the championship match.

JV Football won their second straight game with a victory over GMG.  The Plainsmen began the year with a win at North Tama.

The Girls and Boys Cross Country teams ran their first meet of the year in Williamsburg this past week as well.  Competing against many larger schools the boys team finished a respectable 7th out of 12 total teams.  Among schools of comparable size and other SICL schools, BP finished 1st.  Without the required numbers the girls did not post a team score but ran well and finished strong as individuals.

Good Luck to all BP teams as the seasons move forward!

Off to a Great Start!

The 2013-2014 school year at Belle Plaine Jr./Sr. High School is into week 2 and everything has started off very well.  Despite the extremely hot weather outside and the occasional warm classroom around the media center, students and staff have done an outstanding job maintaining the focus on learning.  In less than two weeks I've already seen growth and progress and know we are certainly capable of more!

The football team started the year of well with a 21-14 win at North Mahaska.  Despite 8 fumbles and some untimely penalties that Plainsmen were able to overcome the mistakes and come through with the win.  The BP volleyball team began the season on Monday at Keota.  With several new faces in the line-up the Plainsmen finished 4th for the night.  Coach Stull was pleased with the effort and excited about the potential growth of the team.

Friday August 30th will be the first home football game of the year versus Montezuma.  The Belle Plaine marching band will perform at halftime and it is also Parent's Night.

New To Belle Plaine Jr./Sr. High School

It's an exciting time at Belle Plaine Jr./Sr. High School as another school year approaches.  The first day of school is August 20th and there will be several new faces among the staff this year.  New in the Science department will be Ricky Kremer.  Mr. Kremer will be teaching Physical Science, Physics, Chemistry, and Astronomy.  Mr. Kremer has previously taught at Wapsi Valley and he is very eager to get the year started.  In the Englsih department, Susan Mattmiller joins the staff having previously taught in the Iowa City school district.  Ms. Mattmiller will be teaching English I, II, and II, along with Honors English.  Also new in the English department will be Kathleen Bird.  Miss Bird is a recent graduate of Valley Forge Christian College and is originally from the Des Moines area.  She will be teaching Junior High Language Arts and Literature.  The last new face at the Secondary is Todd Werner who will serve as the 7-12 principal.  Mr. Werner was the Jr./Sr. High School principal at WACO Schools the past four years and is originally from Williamsburg.

We are very excited to have all the new faces at Belle Plaine and welcome them to the community.  We look forward to a great year.  All parents and community members are welcome to visit the Secondary building anytime to meet the new staff or catch-up with returning teachers and staff.

Let's have a great year!