School Bus Driver Appreciation Day Feb 22.

Students & staff from Ottawa, Moccasin, the Middle and High School signed a banner that was presented to the transportation department showing our THANKS!

Yesterday evening, we were able to enjoy the concert pieces our band students will be preforming at next week's festival in St. Joseph. Our choirs will also be participating in festival next week. Good Luck, Bucks!

Band and Orchestra Festival is an opportunity for ensembles from member schools to perform a program of three pieces for adjudication, one of which must be from MSBOA's (Michigan School Band & Orchestra Association) required list. Each group is evaluated by three performance judges and one sight-reading judge.

Nominees included:

Amanda Horton, BHS Kitchen Manager

Amy Cowart, 1st Grade Teacher

Andrea Wilgus, Moccasin Behavioral Specialist

Angie Smith, BMS Cook

Aubrey Hall, Ottawa Paraprofessional

Beth Hannon, Moccasin Paraprofessional

Deanna Tinoco, Food Service Assistant

Heidi Holloway, 4th Grade Teacher

Jane Mitchell, Bus Driver

Joseph Kemp, District Computer Technician

Julia La Mar, Ottawa Interventionist

Kara Barrett, Moccasin Special Education Teacher

Kari Chase, GSRP Teacher

Mark Frey, BHS Assistant Principal & CTE Director

Mary Mitchell, BMS Kitchen Manager

Melissa Seddon, Kindergarten Teacher

Michelle Trail, Moccasin Custodian

Patricia Robinson, Superintendent

Congratulations to all!

Did you know you can nominate a staff member at Buchanan Community Schools for our Buck Staff Appreciation staff member of the month? You can! We value the passion and efforts of our staff members in all departments who strive to make our district a great place to learn and work! Make your nomination here! https://forms.gle/LQuBE2HLfGQsxQqq6

Speech Sounds Development Chart

Articulation is the production and clarity of how speech sounds are produced. These typically occur in a sequential process as outlined below.

Note: Each stage of development assumes that the preceding stages have been successfully achieved.

How to use this chart:

Review the skills demonstrated by the child up to their current age. If you notice skills that have not been met below their current age contact one of Buchanan’s speech and language pathologists:

Maggie Patnoudes Ottawa School 695-8409

Anizbeth Contreras Moccasin School 695-8408

Shelley Lietz Middle School 695-8406 and High School 695-8403

Visit the Smithsonian Institute's website for access to online events, resources and podcasts. The 2025 theme is "African Americans and Labor" with a focus on the various and profound ways that work of all kinds intersects with the collective experiences of Black people. https://www.si.edu/events/black-history-month

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and the Library of Michigan worked with educators to showcase Black authors and their literary works, creating calendars in celebration of Black History Month. In addition, the 2025 resources are recommended by the members of the MDE’s Student Advisory Council who showcase Black authors and their literature with Book Talks. The Book Talks feature books nominated and recommended by students.

https://www.michigan.gov/mde/services/academic-standards/literacy/michigan-celebrates-black-history-month

Linked here are the inclement weather guidelines for Buchanan Community Schools.

Students encouraged they if they... “See Something, Say Something.” We want everyone in our community to be better informed and aware of the behaviors that a child often demonstrate when they need help:

• Lack of interest or poor performance in school

• Absence of age-appropriate anger control skills

• Seeing self as always the victim

• Persistent disregard for or refusal to follow rules

• Cruelty to pets or other animals

• Artwork or writing that is bleak or violent or that depicts isolation or anger

• Talking constantly about weapons or violence

• Obsession with violent games and/or TV shows

• Lack of enthusiasm, energy or motivation

• Carrying a weapon to school

• Overreacting to criticism

• Restlessness and agitation

• Bullying

• Misplaced or unwarranted jealousy

• Involvement with or interest in gangs

• Withdrawal from friends and activities

The more signs you see the greater the chance the child needs help. If you need assistance, you may call your child’s guidance counselor or building principal. You can always make reports to the Herd Hotline (269-409-1153) or Ok2Say.

Adapted from Mental Health America (MHA), Talking To Kids About School Safety and National Association of School Psychologists (2006). Tips for school administrators for reinforcing school safety. Bethesda, MD: NASP

Buchanan Music Boosters are having a Giveback Night on Feb 25! Come out for Taco Tuesday and help raise money for the BHS spring musical, The Addams Family. Make sure to show your server the coupon below when dining at the Portage Road location.

Please attend this important update regarding the downtown infrastructure project.

The meet is scheduled for Monday March 3rd at 6pm at Buchanan City Hall.

Stay informed of project updates by visiting this website.

Open to the Public!

Ottawa Elementary
Moccasin Elementary

Buchanan Middle School

Buchanan High School

Homeless Liaison

The homeless liaison will coordinate services to ensure that homeless children and youth enroll in school and have the opportunity to succeed.

Brandon Flowers, BCS Homeless Liaison

bflowers@buchananschools.com

269-695-8403 ext. *20018

We pledge our best efforts to make Buchanan Community Schools a premier school district, and we strive to create safe, welcoming, engaging, and innovative schools that develop all students’ academic, athletic, artistic, and social growth. We take pride in our community and we appreciate the support of our stakeholders! Thank you!

But we do realize that sometimes something might not go right, or you might have a question about what we do or how we do it. We welcome that communication, and we will work to solve your issue for you as efficiently as we can.

In order to do that, we ask that you follow our Chain of Command process shown in the diagram. On the left side of the process chart, you will see the common areas of district programming, and then following to the right would be the next step(s) in the Chain of Command for that district program area. Please start by contacting the staff member listed in the second box of each program area. The contact information for our leadership staff members with responsibility for addressing concerns is listed at the top of the diagram. Other contact information for building staff is available on our website in the “Staff Directory” section of each building’s web page. It is expected that most issues should be able to be resolved at these initial steps in the Chain of Command.

Buchanan Community Schools is a school district located in Buchanan, Michigan. In 2020, Buchanan was named the Nicest City in America and is known for its community concerts and parades. Buchanan Community Schools has over 1500 students and over 200 employees. The school district has four schools based on grade bands, Ottawa- PreK-1, Moccasin-2-4, Buchanan Middle School 5-7, and Buchanan High School 8-12.

Email: probinson@buchananschools.com
Website: https://www.buchananschools.com/
Location: 401 West Chicago Street, Buchanan, MI, USA
Phone: 269-695-8401
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100065665262514

To develop responsible, resilient, creative citizens capable of succeeding in a global society.