(by Don Meador, Public Information Officer, Allen County Schools)
James E. Bazzell Middle School students will start the 2018-19 school year with few changes from the time school dismissed in May.
“Our logistic things will remain the same,” explained school principal Melissa Towery said. “Kids are dropped off in the front and times are the same.”
Parents are reminded to review the student dress code, conduct policy, and guidelines with their students.
“We relaxed the dress code last year a little,” Towery said. “We do allow holes in jeans as long as the holes are not high. Modesty is always a priority. Shorts and things like that have to touch fingertips. If we see something that we feel is inappropriate, we will talk to the student. Since safety is a continued priority, when we get into colder weather, heavy coats have to be kept in the lockers. Backpacks have to be kept in the lockers.”
The middle school will also retain the services of their fulltime School Resource Officer. Having the SRO in the building from the start of the day brings added relief.
“My fear has always been the first half hour of school,” Towery explained. “I feel like that was our most venerable time period. Now we have the SRO here from the beginning of the day. He is in the building from the time kids start coming in. He’s all through the building and in and out of classrooms throughout the day. He is in the cafeteria. Kids are used to him. Just having that presence has created a much better piece of mind. I feel a whole lot better having him here all day.”
Towery adds that her school is constantly reviewing safety, examining ways to keep the building as safe as possible.
“We run through drills and at almost every faculty meeting we talk about safety,” Towery said. “The more prepared we can be, the better. We are always looking at ways to make the school safer.”
From an academic point, the 450 Bazzell students will again be asked to focus on daily learning goals and targets.
“We have high expectations of our students and ourselves,” Towery added. “We are always looking for ways that we can get our kids more engaged in lessons, get them thinking more, and really involved. We are looking to up the rigor of the lessons to take the students a step further. Curriculum wise, you will not see a lot of changes. We will continue to do the things that we know are working. We will work with our literacy strategies, do formative assessments, and look at our data to help guide our instructions. Our instructional coach, Sherry Long, continues to work with the teachers. They are so open to her coming in and watch a lesson and tell them the good things she sees and offer suggestions.”
Students will start to see a greater emphasis placed on finances in the real-world.
“We are going to see some components of financial literacy throughout the curriculum” Towery noted. “We are looking at threading that through especially with our math. We do that somewhat but we are looking at being more international with that. We are also looking at incorporating that in our practical living class as we shift to more of a career-consumerism class.”
The 30-year old school will see a few new teachers in the building. Caleb Anderson replaces retired educator Angel Bonds in science. Megan Wolfe will be teaching seventh grade math. Anderson and Wolfe are out of the SKyTeach program at Western Kentucky University. Lesley Cagle will be the new reading interventionist. Wanda Morgan will be an MSD instructional assistant.
Towery reminds parents that daily communication with their child is very important during the middle school years.
“Parents need to stay involved,” Towery explained. “Sometime middle school students will try to keep you out. Parents should keep asking questions like ‘what did you do in math today’ or ‘how was PE today.’ Parents can help by encouraging their child to get involved in something. It could be an athletic program, or chorus or band. We have clubs like Jr. Beta or Science Olympiad.”
Last year, soccer was introduced to the sports at the middle school. The program will shift into its second season this fall with several matches scheduled. This year, one of the new areas that students will see is also sports related.
“We are taking baby steps with an archery program,” Towery said. “We are looking at practicing at the Intermediate Center to start or turning our cafeteria into a practice room. This is a new opportunity for our students.”
The middle school will have Seventh Grade Orientation and Open House on Thursday, August 2 starting at 5 p.m. in the school’s gymnasium. Eighth Grade Orientation and Open House will be Monday, August 6, starting at 5 p.m. at the school. Students and parents are encouraged to attend to receive schedules and information.