District 87 enewsletter 12/14/06

BHS to expand AP program to sixteen courses

BHS' Advanced Placement program will expand to 16 courses next fall with the addition of AP Computer Science, AP Psychology and AP Music Theory. Four additional courses will be also be added to the general curriculum, including: Techniques in Algebra, Trigonometry, Applied Statistics and Problem Solving with Computer Programming. The Board also approved year long classes with the same teacher to facilitate relationship building and transitioning Essential level courses out of the BBA.

BHS currently offers 13 AP courses - already the largest offering of any private or public high school in the area - the program will expand to 16 courses next fall.

Summer district-wide project proposals outlined

At the December 11 Board of Education meeting, Colin Manahan proposed to the Board that several projects take place in our schools this summer. If approved, it will mark the fourth year of comprehensive summer renovations/additions. During previous years, infrastructure work was addressed and included electrical upgrades, air conditioning and misc. other work at each of our schools. This past summer, more noticeable work was performed as BJHS' addition was completed and Irving, Washington and BHS received much needed landscaping improvements. Indoor improvements are proposed to occur at many of our schools this summer, including new exterior doors, painting of classrooms, installing new carpeting and replacing blackboards with marker boards. However, the most visible proposed work is set to occur at Bent School and at the north entrance and parking lot of BHS, as each is slated to receive extensive streetscaping work.

At Bent School, architect Russell Francois proposes redesigning both frontal stairwells, planting shrubs and trees around the perimeter of school and playground, having defined entrances for the playground area (including moving the parking lot entrance to Walnut St), resurfacing the playground and replacing the existing fence and playground equipment. Additional lighting will be also be installed. At Bloomington High School, Francois proposes to redesign and landscape the north entrance (off Empire St.). A courtyard and lamp posts, similar to the courtyard by the north gym, will be added to the existing entrance and the parking lot will be reconfirgured. New exterior signage will replace the existing Locust Street i-beam and new signage will be added to the exterior wall of the auditorium - visible from Empire St. In addition, a new entryway and lamp posts will be installed at the back entrance to the AVC. The design is intended to mirror the the existing south courtyard as much as possible.

If approved by the Board, this work will be funded by the O&M fund as well as by revenue generated from capital improvement bonds that were issued by the district a few years ago. The Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the approval of these projects at their January 10th meeting.

Bus survey conducted; focus group to study results

Also at the meeting, David Wood summarized a Bus Survey that was conducted in October. Surveys were mailed to 375 parents - representing approximately 10% of the students riding buses. One parent was randomly selected for every 10 students and each of the 88 bus routes had at least one parent selected. Results of the survey will be discussed with the formation of a focus group that will include parents, an administrator and representatives from First Student.

2007-2008 Calendar

Barry Reilly presented the first draft of the 2007-2008 School Calendar to the Board of Education. The calendar proposes the following:

August 15th through 17th - Teacher Institute Days

August 20 - 1st day of school

December 21 - End of 1st Semester (finals would be held the week prior to Winter Break)

December 24 through January 4th - Winter Break (school to resume on the 7th)

March 20 - Good Friday/no school - now a legal school holiday defined by the IL School Code

March 24 through March 28 - Spring Break (school to resume on March 31)

May 27 - Last day of school if no emergency days are used

A copy of the 1st draft may be downloaded HERE.

BHS Scholastic Bowl Team ranked #1 in State

The Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association's pre-season poll ranks Bloomington High School as the #1 ranked team in the State for AA (large schools).

BHS student scores perfect SAT

Kristina Warren, a 17 year-old senior at Bloomington High School, recently scored a perfect “2400” on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).

The SAT is a three-hour and forty-five-minute test that measures critical reading, writing and mathematical reasoning skills. The highest possible grand total score is 2400 – 800 points per section. According to the College Board, the average SAT score for 2006 high school graduates was 1518. Warren’s perfect score places her in the top 99.98 percentile of all students who take the SAT.

BHS girls, boys win Intercity Basketball Championships

Congratulations to the BHS Girls' Basketball team and the BHS Boys' Basketball team for their 1st place finish at Intercity. Each team ended the tournament with perfect 4-0 records.

Generosity of students, staff appreciated

Thanks to everyone who contributed toward the many clothing and food drives recently held at our schools. Your generosity is much appreciated.

Sheridan School fundraiser at Barnes & Noble this Saturday

This Saturday, Sheridan School will receive 10% of all purchases (including cafe) made at the Bloomington store from the hours of noon to 3:00 p.m. Each sale must be accompanied by the following voucher. Download it HERE.

Introducing our newest staff members

Charlotte Carlos...BJHS, Food Service	Rose Hotz...BHS, Library Program Assistant
Lilia Castillo...Raymond, Program Assistant	Susan Mohr...BHS, Food Service
Tara Davis...Bent, Bilingual Kindergarten teacher

Back issues of e-news available online

Back issues of the District 87 e-news are available HERE.