The Paw Print

Burke County Public Schools Official Newsletter

November 2021

Welcome back to everyone's favorite newsletter, The Paw Print! These have been a rough few weeks with Jack Frost already starting to nip at our noses. Fortunately, the cold weather gives us all a chance to snuggle up in a warm hoodie in warm desks to gain some good ol' knowledge! So grab some hot cocoa (or warm green tea, if that's more your style) and a pencil, and do your thing (be successful, that is)!

Since Thanksgiving is creeping right around the corner, the Paw Print is so THANKFUL for all of our hardworking students! Stay warm and winning, Burke County! As always, Stay #BearBuilt!

The Paw Print can be viewed every 2nd and 4th Wednesday. The newsletter features sports updates, events in the community, and fun activities for the family... so stay tuned!

What's Happenin' in the DEN?

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Making a Scene!

The Burke County High School Theatre Department will be presenting their One Act Competition play, "Me, My Selfie, and I," to the public TOMORROW, Thursday, November 11, 2021, at 6 PM at Burke County High School in the J.D. Smith Auditorium! So come on out to show your support and express your inner theatre kid!

Admission is $5 and all proceeds will benefit the Drama Club. Run time is approximately 50 minutes. Thank you for supporting BCHS Fine Arts.

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Perfect AP Scores!

Burke County High School alumni, Morgan Chancey and Sophia Dye have earned all of Burke County's admiration through their exceptional artistic performance. These girls made the score of 5, which is the highest on a 1-5 scale, on their 3-D Art and Design AP exam in May 2021. They are only 2 out of 46 other people in the WORLD that made a perfect score. We all offer them a large round of applause.

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BCHS Football

The Bears Football Team took a 42-7 win this past Friday night, November 5, against their region opponents, the Academy of Richmond County Musketeers to earn their title as second in the AAA region!

Listen to the Bears Broadcast, hosted by Dan Wiggins, Ben Roberts, and Earl Huddleston, and be a part of all the Friday Night Action from a distance! The Live broadcast can be found on 92.9 "The Soul Mine," or the official Burke County PS App.

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All BCHS Students - Make Plans to Attend

Career & College Fair at BCHS

Friday, November 19

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

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Wall of Gratitude

If you have served or currently serve in the Military and are an Alumni of Burke County High School, please complete this form so your name can be added to our Wall of Gratitude.

Bears Basketball Schedule

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In it for the long run.

Our Bears Cross Country Team put their feet to the test this Wednesday, October 27. The Bears competed in their GHSA region meet against opponents, Cross Creek High School, Harlem High School, Thompson High School, Hephzibah High School, Morgan County High School, and Academy of Richmond County. The Lady Bears placed an overall of 4th in the region, and our Bears placed an overall of 6th in the region. Way to keep those feet loose, Bears!

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Accreditation Review

Cognia, formerly AdvancED, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that accredits primary and secondary schools and systems throughout the United States and internationally. Using their research based analysis, engagement review teams are able to help school districts identify areas of strength and potential growth in three overarching domains- Leadership Capacity, Learning Capacity, and Resource Capacity. During Burke County Public Schools’ recent Accreditation Engagement Review on October 25-27, 2021, a Cognia Engagement Review Team noted several strengths, including a strong and pervasive positive culture built on a shared set of values and beliefs, a clear and consistent curriculum with an intentional focus on literacy, and a system-wide response to the pandemic despite the challenges associated with our large county. Additionally, the team noted areas of potential growth, including the use of data to leverage improvement along with systematic and systemic processes for all programs and services with common protocols and procedures and formalized evaluation and monitoring. This information will be vital for BCPS as we strive for continuous improvement in support of our students, families and community. The official report is expected to be available to the district within 30-45 business days.

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Downtown Open House

Downtown welcomes all families November 21 to the annual Downtown Open House! Whether you are interested in getting a head-start in much-dreaded Christmas shopping, or you simply want to engage in a neighborly convo, then the Downtown Open House is the place for you!

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Christmas on Liberty Square

Don't be square and experience Christmas on Liberty Square! There are refreshments, decorations, free activities and crafts, and local shopping- you name it! Christmas on Liberty Square offers fun for every age group. Christmas on Liberty Square is being scheduled for Friday, December 3rd from 5-9 PM, and there will be Christmas Laser Light Show starting at 8 PM. Don't miss out on the fun!

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Christmas Parade

To top off all of the Waynesboro Christmas festivities, the annual Christmas Parade will definitely leave you and your family in a holly, jolly mood. This year's theme is "Christmas Carols," and now is the time to brainstorm float ideas! The parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 11 to get all of Waynesboro in the Christmas spirit!

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'REACH'-ing for the stars

Congratulations to Burke County Middle School's REACH Scholars! Crislynn Evans, Altoria Habersham, Jamya Price, Quentin Terry, Jr., and Kaitlyn Young, for their outstanding achievement. Because of their exemplary academic behavior, they have been rewarded $10,000 in college scholarships through Georgia's prestigious REACH program. Burke County is excited to see what these students will accomplish in the future!

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They Sure can CAN

Burke County grants a huge shout-out to Jessica Horne's 5th Grade class at Blakeney Elementary! They were all hands on deck when it came to the canned food drive community event, and they all worked together to lead their classroom and school.

"From Day 1, we have worked and striven towards being a 'family.' We take time to learn about each other and love one another no matter what the day throws at us. We encourage each other literally every day through every up and down you can imagine. From the moment I began telling them about the canned food drive, they ALL pitched in! I want to show each of you what students CAN do with some love, encouragement, gentle words, and telling them every day what you appreciate about them as unique individuals"

Keep it up, room 518!

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Keeping our students in GEAR!

Burke County wishes a big happy National School Psychologist Week to our much appreciated school psychologist, Ms. Linda Rich-Mason.

This year's theme is "Let's Get in Gear," and it demonstrates our school psychologist's success in growing, engaging, advocating, and rising for our students to make sure they are equipped with the emotional and mental support needed for success!

Burke County Public Schools appreciates everything you do for the students, faculty, and the county!

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OTE Program Completion

Congratulations to the educators who have completed Middle Georgia RESA's Online Teaching Endorsement Program.

The Online Teaching Endorsement Program required educators to participate in a set of three rigorous courses around best practices for teaching and learning in online and blended environments. An essential framework for effective online instruction is built upon the ability to design instruction and select strategies and resources to meet the needs of all learners.

Burke County Public Schools appreciates the educators who participated:

Connie Bulfinch

Pamela Cook

Rebecca Cook

Alicia Golphin

Adrianne Griffith

Renee Hickman

Lakesha Lane

Lynda Moore

Jennifer Oglesby

Kimberly Stevens

These trailblazers will share their learning with other educators as we continue to optimize learning experiences in our schools.

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Discounted Internet?!

The Federal Communications Commission is offering a program for discounted internet and electronics for families in need! Your family has to meet a small list of criteria to be eligible for the benefits.

The link to view the requirements and the application is in the above graphic, so don't miss out on this helpful opportunity!

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SAVE THE DATE

Community-Wide Listening Session

Thursday, December 2

This event has been added to our district calendar which is available on our website www.burkeschools.org and BC App.

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NURSES CORNER

OUR NUMBERS CONTINUE TO DROP!

Each Monday, we provide a report disclosing the number of positive COVID-19 cases within our school system. This report can be easily located on the homepage of our district website, www.burkeschools.org, or by clicking on the image above.

The Delta Variant is continuously on the rise so we continue to require our students and staff to wear their masks in and out of the building. Vaccines are the most efficient way to keep our community safe.

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National Day Calendar

November 10 commemorates the United States Marine Corps Birthday, National Forget-Me-Not Day, and National Vanilla Cupcake Day! Burke County families can celebrate this holiday by giving a vanilla cupcake to your favorite soldier of the military (preferably the Marine Corps) and telling them that you will never forget all of the hard work they have put towards this country.

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Word of the Day

The Word of the Day is Soporific! Soporific is an adjective (a word that describes a noun) that means "causing sleep." Be careful wearing a warm sweater on a cold day because it can be soporific, and you won't be able to get any work done!

We challenge you all to use this word as many times as you can this week, extra points if you use it in the right context, EVEN MORE points if you have to explain to somebody what it means!

Kidz Korner

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More Cupcakes, please!

What's a better way to celebrate National Vanilla Cupcake Day than MAKING VANILLA CUPCAKES? Attached to the graphic on the left, is a super sweet recipe to share-or not share- with the whole family! We would love to see the cupcakes you guys come up with.. so you can share with them with us on the Burke County Public Schools' Instagram and Facebook!

Instagram: @burkecountyps

Facebook: Burke County Schools

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White Squirrel Sighting!

The BCHS White Squirrel has been spotted... I repeat! The BCHS White Squirrel has been spotted! Can you spot the white squirrel? Take a picture and let us know!

Instagram: @burkecountyps

Facebook: Burke County Schools

If you don't have a picture, that's okay! White squirrels are known to be symbols of good luck and peace so you will receive some kind of prize in due time!

Download our free Burke County Public School App today!

Our district app is intended as an on-the-go information source for parents & families. With the BC App, all information is brought together and delivered to one platform.

One feature of the app is that those without social media can access the district’s social media posts via the News section of the app. Additional features include access to breakfast & lunch menus, individual school calendars, push notifications, sports scores, one-click email to staff via the Directory section, and much more!

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Website News

From our district website, www.burkeschools.org

You can easily access Calendar Events, Transportation, Registration, Nutrition, or ClassLink.

Check out the 5 blue buttons located in the center of our homepage.

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THE PRIDE OF BURKE COUNTY

D'Wayne DuBose, Jr. Director of Bands, is asking for strong community support for the band this year as they prepare to represent GA in the Capital City Parade, Washington DC Summer 2022.

Check out this photo taken over the weekend during their participation in the CSRA Battle of the Bands event.

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Parent Notification

The Blackboard mass notification system is useful to BCPS families and our faculty/staff because of its ability to deliver district-level and school-specific notifications.

The school system and schools use your student's information in Power School to send email, phone calls, text messages, and emergency notifications to families.

Efficiency depends greatly on parents/guardians providing us with correct phone numbers and email addresses.

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Short Videos for Parents

Check out our short instructional videos so you can help your child succeed in a virtual learning environment. The image above is a link to a short instructional video.