Legacy High School Student Publication Named Best in Nation
Legacy High School Media students and their advisor Nicholas Hornbacher traveled to Boston to attend the semi-annual National High School Journalism Convention held by the Journalism Education Association (JEA) and National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA). During the Best of Show competition, Legacy’s Uncut student publication won first place in the category of newsmagazine at a school with under 1,800 students.
The National High School Journalism Convention brings students from across the country together to hear from high-profile speakers, engage in hands-on workshops, and enjoy a variety of learning opportunities. More than 4,800 high school journalists and advisors attended this year’s convention. Best of Show is a competition at the convention that invites schools to submit their most recent publication to be judged against others in their category. The Uncut staff submitted their October Issue, which earned them first place for newsmagazine at a high school with under 1,800 students.
Legacy’s Uncut received a prestigious First-Class rating from the NSPA earlier this year. Issues of Uncut are released monthly throughout the academic year.
BPS Educators Receive Spotlight Recognition
The Teacher Spotlight Award was rolled out last year in partnership with Active Life Chiropractic. Several businesses in the community donate to the program, which provides teachers with a generous award of items that promote self-care and encourage them to treat themselves. This program serves the Bismarck-Mandan community and honors several teachers per academic year.
Luke Mellmer was presented with the Teacher Spotlight Award on November 7 after being nominated by several students. Mr. Mellmer is a welding teacher at the Career Academy. In their nominations, his students spoke about how he inspires them to learn and always goes above and beyond to help.
Crystal Trefz was awarded the Spotlight on November 21 at Horizon Middle School. Students and administrators gathered outside of her classroom to help surprise her. In their nominations, students spoke about her kindness and sense of humor.
Students district-wide can nominate their favorite teachers by filling out this form.
BPS would like to thank Active Life Chiropractic for spearheading this program, along with the many community donors who have helped make it a reality.
Pioneer Promotes Gratitude, Commemorates Past Principal
Last November, Pioneer’s late principal, Mr. Jim Jeske, organized a White Out Walk for students and staff before Thanksgiving break. Mr. Jeske had lung cancer and shared his message of gratitude with the people in his lives any time he got the chance. November is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month. He wanted to spread awareness and tell people that no matter what you may be going through, reminding yourself what you are grateful for can bring you peace and positivity. He would tell you that this is important every day of the year, and not just on Thanksgiving.
Pioneer staff wanted to keep the tradition alive, so last week students and staff participated in a gratitude walk. As each grade level came to the gym, they talked about what gratitude means and what/who they are grateful for. They decorated gratitude posters and then spent time reflecting and walking around the gym with their classmates and teachers. Pioneer’s PTO funded gratitude bracelets for everyone to wear as a reminder.
“I don’t want to be an influencer; I want to be an inspirer. What I’m selling costs you nothing out of your pocket, it’s a mindset for change.” - A quote Mr. Jeske shared often. We are so grateful for our Pioneer family, and hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃 - Shared by Mrs. Nikki Schaff, Pioneer Instructional Coach
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is an ongoing focus for Bismarck Public Schools.
Middle School Involvement
On November 21, some middle schoolers had an opportunity to visit the Career Academy. Students participated in hands-on activities in program areas including aviation, engineering, design, horticulture, carpentry, robotics, and much more. Students had a great time and were inspired to start thinking about their potential future educational pathways.
Earlier in the month, 8th grade students, as part of the Stepping Into STEM career awareness initiative, got to participate in hands-on activities while exploring careers like meteorology, forestry, energy, veterinary science, and more, hosted by Gateway to Science. It was an awesome opportunity for them to get a taste of what STEM professionals do in their careers.
Looking ahead, providing classroom programming to middle schoolers in CTE areas is a priority for the district. As we consider the future of education at BPS, opportunities for learners to begin exploring their CTE interests in middle school are a key part of the district's ongoing vision of career-ready students.
CTE at Hughes
Grant funds and community partnerships have helped BPS to begin repurposing Hughes Educational Center, which previously served as the BPS Central Office, to offer CTE programming to students. This semester, students began taking Health Science classes in the building. Learning opportunities are available in a number of areas, including athletic injury care, advanced med, CNA courses, and more.
The medical careers program provides interested students with opportunities to participate in job shadows and earn their CNA license. A strategic partnership with Sanford has helped to provide students here with some exciting educational opportunities. As work on Hughes Educational Center continues, additional programming will be added.
2024-2025 School Calendar
Each fall, the district consults with a variety of stakeholders to create a calendar that best meets the community's needs. Surveys in the past, along with ongoing feedback, suggest that our stakeholders prefer to begin school in late August and end prior to Memorial Day. The 2024-2025 academic calendar is very similar to the current school year.
View the calendar here.
Survey Results
Earlier this month, BPS stakeholders were surveyed about their preferences for virtual learning and storm days. We build two storm days into the calendar to use as make-up days if we miss school due to a weather-related emergency. We also must adhere to state law and provide a minimum number of instruction hours each year -- if we are unable to meet those hours for whatever reason, then we would have to extend the end of the school year. Living in North Dakota, it's always a possibility that we will encounter severe weather during the winter season. Virtual learning allows us to provide instruction in the event that safe travel is not possible.
We had 2,267 people chime in to share their preferences. Overall, over 70% prefer virtual learning to the use of built-in storm days in a severe weather event. Over 90% prefer virtual learning instead of an extension to the school year in the event of a cancellation after the built-in storm days have already been used.
A huge thank you to everyone who responded. Let's hope that this winter makes this conversion unnecessary!
Honor Roll
Congratulations to our quarter one Honor Roll students! Click here to see a complete list of our high-achieving Honor Roll students! Keep up the great work!
BPS Foundation - Kids' Kicks
To help our struggling BPS families and students, the BPS Foundation is hosting Kids’ Kicks, a fundraising effort for cold weather gear.
Donations ranging from $10 to $70 can help the BPS Foundation ensure that a student in need stays stay warm this winter. Donations can be made online or mailed to the BPS Foundation. https://bpsfoundation.com/donations/kidskicks/
Parents who are in need of winter supplies for their children should contact their children’s schools as soon as possible with the grade levels of each child and request any items needed.
Thank you to our partners SCHEELS, Hot 97.5 and 103.3 Country that make this program possible!
BPS Board
Information about the School Board, including agendas and a meeting schedule, may be viewed at the Bismarck Public Schools website.
Friday Flier
Every two weeks, BPS sends out a newsletter created in collaboration with community organizations. The purpose is to share things going on in the community that may be of interest to district families. You can view the most recent publication here. You can view our submission guidelines and share something with us here.
Now Hiring
BPS is currently hiring for a variety of positions:
- Assistant Cooks
- Bus Monitors
- Custodians
- Instructional Aides
- Substitute Teachers
For a comprehensive view of all listings, click here.
