Search Institute Visits BHS

    Four members of the Search Institute from Minneapolis, Minnesota visited Bucksport High School this week for two full days.  The objective for the visit was to see how BHS is doing overall as a school with a concentration on the freshman BARR program.  Search Institute gave BHS a four year federal grant and this is the second year of the grant.  Four high schools in the U.S. received this grant and the Search Institute conducts visits to all the grant schools twice a year.
   Verbal feedback from all four members is they are very impressed with our school's academic level, the positive energy in the school, the student centered hard working faculty/staff members and the great attitudes and manners of our students.  The academic data of our freshman for the first quarter showed steady improvement in student performance throughout the quarter.  The same Search Institute team will visit again on March 29th and 30th and Commissioner Bowen of the Maine Department of Education will also be visiting BHS at that time.
   The Search Institute visit team, superintendent Jim Boothby and principal Dan Clifford met with Commissioner Bowen in Augusta to give some background on the federal grant and to report out the progress of the freshman program at BHS.  The Commissioner seemed very impressed and had a lot of questions which leads to his visit in March and also next October when BHS hosts the other three grant schools for three days.
   

1ST Quarter Highest Honors Announced

Congratulations to the following students for their academic achievement of Highest Honors for the 1st quarter of our school year.

Grade 12                                      Grade 11                                
Silas Fitzgerald                            Cassidy Adams             
Chris Powell                                Chloe Carmichael         
Seth Raymond                             Katelyn Hanson             
Megan Smith                               Kacie Hurd                   
Kaylie Trasco                              Katy Jones                     
Jennifer Wight                             David Kelly                    
Sadie Wight                                                  
Janelle Winship

Grade 10                                      Grade 9
Kelli Alley                                   Sarra Bridges
Samantha Boothby                      Nicholas Chouinard
Anna Boyle
Danica Brassbridge
Kayla Gray
Ila Grindle
Morgan Sorey

Sadie Wight Named October Student Of The Month

Sadie Wight has been named Student of the Month for the month of October.  Sadie currently holds an amazing 101.32 grade point average for her high school career.  She has narrowed her college choices to Boston University, Northeastern University, University of New Hampshire and the University of Maine to study Biology. 

Sadie is a member of the BHS Outing Club and Math Team.  She also participates in soccer where she is a two year captain and member of the All-PVC Team, a two year captain in basketball and was Big East 2nd team as a junior and member of the 2011 Softball Eastern Maine Champions team where she played second base and was named as the PVC Most Outstanding Player Award as a junior.  Sadie has great leadership qualities and has a will to achieve in the classroom and in competition.  Congratulations Sadie.

BARR Grant Schools Meeting In Hemet, California

The four high schools in the United States that received the Building Assets Reducing Risks grant for our freshman St. Louis Park High School (Minnesota), Sanford High School (Maine),  English teacher and site coordinator Maryanne Mytar, English teacher Matt Morrison, math teacher Michelle Grindle and Principal Dan Clifford will meet at Hemet High School November 5-9 to report out how the freshman program is going so far.  Hemet High School has a population of 2400 students, St. Louis Park has 1200 students and Sanford High School had 1200 students.  The workshop will give each high school an opportunity to share experiences and help each other with issues they have dealt with.  A workshop in the spring is also planned at St. Louis Park High School to report out information on the first year of the grant and plans for next year.  The grant pays for all expenses while traveling and BHS has the grant for the next three years.

Chris Powell Named September Student Of The Month

Chris Powell has been named Student of the Month for the month of September.  Chris is ranked number ten in the senior class with a grade point average of 96.03.  Chris is a member of the BHS National Honor Society, Student Council and Outing Club.  Chris plays football and was a state champion in wrestling last year.  Chris possesses great leadership skills, is self motivated, always respectful, is responsible and seems to always be smiling.  Chris is interested in attending the University of Maine, Husson University, University of New Hampshire or Plymouth State College.  Great job Chris and well deserved.

BHS ART STUDENTS RECOGNIZED

Adrian Appleby, Terra Ashworth, Tristan Crawley, Katy Jones, Schyler Phillips, Brandon Snow, Ashleigh West and Sadie Wight will be honored on September 27th at the Blaine House in Augusta.  The Maine Department of Education is hosting a celebration to recognize the artists whose work is currently exhibited at the Department of Education offices.  Thank you to our art teacher Mrs. Bertrand for submitting our student's work.  Great job and congratulations BHS students!

BHS FALL OPEN HOUSE

Our Fall Open House is scheduled for Wednesday September 21st.  The annual freshman dinner is from 5:00-6:30 in the gymnasium.  Mr. Cloutier's special spagetti will be on the menu.  The grades 9-12 Open House will be from 6:30-8:30.  Parents/guardians will have ten minutes in each of their child's class to meet teachers and go over expectations for the course.  We hope to have a great turnout.

COMMUNITY SERVICE-NOW A GRADUATION REQUIREMENT

Forty hours of community service as a BHS graduation requirement passed through the school board on Tuesday August 16th.  The new graduation requirement will start with this years freshman only, the class of 2015. 

Through community service Bucksport High School students will be given opportunities to become contributing citizens by helping others while learning responsible citizenship and fostering growth.  Our students will learn at an early age how important it is to be an active citizen in the community they live.  Students will complete 40 hours of community service throughout their high school career, an average of ten hours per year.  The 40 hour requirement will be prorated for students entering Bucksport High School after their freshman year which would be equivalent to ten hours per year.

Community service activities are those students perform to benefit at least one other unrelated person and for which they receive no compensation or academic credit.  Community service may be performed at any time during a student's high school career, from the first day of school their freshman year to the last day of school their senior year.  This includes non-school times during the week, weekends and vacations within the freshman-to-senior time frame.  We hope this new graduation requirement will add to the overall educational experience at BHS.

NEW SPANISH TEACHER HIRED

Sarah Vigneault has been hired as the new Spanish teacher at Bucksport High School to replace Johanna Bridges who accepted a teaching position at Bangor High School.  Ms. Vigneault comes to us with a deep background in the Spanish language and traditions.  She is a graduate of St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire where she was a Spanish major.  Ms. Vigneault also studied abroad for a year attending Universidad de Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain.  This will be her first year of teaching high school and we are looking forward to her great attitude and enthusiasm to be at BHS.

BHS CHANGES FOR THE 2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR

                                             SAT PREP COURSES WILL BE OFFERED

SAT PREP English and Math will be offered as a full year pass/fail elective credit during period 4 this year.  These classes will better prepare our students for the SAT which is the state of Maine educational assessment and very important for college acceptance.  Mrs. Pelletier is teaching the English class and Mr. Cowing will teach the math class.  We are very excited to offer these classes during the school day, we did offer the two last year after school and our numbers were very low.

                                                              FALL OPEN HOUSE

We will have a Fall Open House this year instead of our customary spring Open House.  We feel it is important that parents/guardians have a chance to meet their child's teachers and know expectations before we get too far into the school year.  Parents/guardians will go through a modified version of their child's schedule so you can meet the teachers and as questions you may have.  The open house is on Wednesday September 21st from 6pm-8pm.

                                                             FRESHMAN DINNER

Our annual freshman dinner will be on Wednesday September 21st at 5:00pm in the BHS gymnasium.  This is a good time for parents/guardians to get to know your child's teachers and we can answer any questions you may have.

                                                             DAY 1 CELEBRATION

BHS is going to celebrate the beginning of the school year on September 7th with many educational and fun activities.  Students should dress to be outside and in casual clothing so they can enjoy the events.

                                      POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION SYSTEM

Our new Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Mr. Hatch is introducing a new behavior program.  The philosophy of the program is to reward good behavior and to encourage students to make good decisions.  We hope this new program will limit class/school interruptions so students will be in a learning environment at all times.

Class of 2011 At A Glance

The class of 2011 is deep in academic talent and we look forward to tracking their success throughout their post high school careers and beyond.  The students have left us with terrific memories and we have enjoyed watching them grow.  Congratulations to all graduates and parents for their hard work and commitment to Bucksport High School.  Good luck to all graduates!

What are our graduates doing next year?

4- year college-33 students
2-year college-18 students
Military-3 students
Work Force-13 students
Undecided-10 students

Student of the Year-Lucy Webster
Perfect Attendance for four years-704 days-Warren Weaver

Class Officers:
Samantha Klyce-President
Shawn Hanscom-Vice President
Nikki Manning-Secretary
Lucy Webster-Treasurer
Mrs. Ruth Grindle-Class Advisor

Honor Parts:
Lucy Webster-Valedictorian
Molly Hunt-Salutatorian
Joe Goodin-First Honor Essayist
Daniel Grindle-Second Honor Essayist

STUDENT OF THE YEAR CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

We are proud to announce the finalists for the "Student of the Year" award for the 2010-2011 school year.  The winner will be announced next week.  Here are the finalists and their incredible accomplishments.  All five seniors are deserving of the award and represent BHS very well.  Here are your candidates:

Joe Goodin:  Ranked third in the class, won Principal's award, Baush and Lomb Science Award, student of the month for September, NHS President, Captain for the basketball team 9-11, attending Hartwick College in New York.

Warren Weaver:  Co-owner of a lawn care business, perfect attendance 2007-20011, student of the month in October, volunteer fire fighter, volunteer at Bangor YMCA Spring Fair and Bucksport Bay Festival.

Dan Grindle:  Ranks 4th in the class, Treasurer of NHS, captain of the boy's varsity soccer team, Vice President of band, leader of the Youth Summit, head of recreation for the summer camp at his church, Dirigo Boy's State.

Shawn Hanscom:  Highly enthusiastic but modest young man who cares a lot about BHS, in charge of the wave at all assemblies this year, captain in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.

Lucy Webster:  Valedictorian, NHS Vice President, senior class Treasurer, member of student council, participates in track and cross country.

The winner receives the most votes from the faculty and staff.

Academic Wall of Fame Inducts Thirteen Members

Saturday May 7th is a night that will be remembered for a long time by members of the Bucksport community, BHS faculty and staff and family and friends of thirteen inductees.  One hundred and twenty people were present to be part of a nice dinner followed by an induction ceremony.  People traveled from distances of Seattle, Washington, Chicago, Illinois, Covington, Georgia, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be a part of this special night.  The philosophy of the Academic Wall of Fame is to recognize alumni, faculty/staff and community members that have been a part of Bucksport High School and have shown excellence in their field.  BHS wants our students we have now to look up to the Hall of Famers as role models and understand BHS can help them get on the road to success.  The following members have done this and have accomplished some extraordinary things.

Angela (Bennett) Cushman-1990 graduate, Engineering Degree at the University of Maine, Master's in Business Administration from Georgia State University, she is the quality Engineering Manager for C.R. Bard Inc. in Covington Georgia.

James Bigl-1988 graduate, Business Degree at the University of Maine, Master's Degree of Business at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the CEO/President of a health organization that has quadrupled its revenue under his leadership.

Donald Bowden-1935 graduate, founded the first workers union at the St. Regis Paper Mill in Bucksport, owned several businesses in the Bucksport community including the first car wash, a bill collection agency and a tax preparation agency which is still going strong.

Jessica (Braun) Archer-1988 graduate, Education Degree from the University of Maine, Master's in Special Education from the University of Maine, voted as one of the top teachers in Maine and a "Teacher of the Year" finalist.


Thomas Crocker-1954 graduate, Economics Degree at Bowdoin College, Doctorate degree in Economics at the University of Missouri, is now a college professor of Economics at the University of Wyoming.


Robert Harriman-Teacher of English and drama at Bucksport High School, served as BHS Assistant Principal from 1980-1992.


Peter Harvey-1962 graduate, Master's and Doctoral degree from the Hartt School of Music, wrote many musical compositions that now are used throughout our country.


Leila (Marks) Burgess-1959 graduate, Health degree from the University of Maine, taught health, PE and math at BHS, a well respected member of the education profession during her time at BHS.


Donald McCann-1995 graduate, earned two Bachelor Degrees from Cornell in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Ithaca College, received his Doctorate Degree from the University of Maine in Electrical and Computer Engineering.


Jason Shaffner-1995 graduate, Business Degree from Harvard, an informational technology consultant and project manager for the Exeter Group, director of financial systems at Harvard University.


Andrew Silvernail-1989 graduate, Dartmouth graduate and Business Degree at the Harvard School of Business, CEO and Corporate Officer of the IDEX Corporation in Illinois.


Joe Sulya-Taught Science at Bucksport High School for 37 years, graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Chemical Engineering, known as one of the best science teachers BHS has ever known.


Jana (Wardwell) Gray-1997 graduate, Biology Degree from the University of Maine, Doctorate Degree from Franklin Pierce University in Physical Therapy, is a Physical Therapist for the Fusion Medical Staffing Company.

BHS Students Helping Teachers' Nephew

Bill Tracy, a well respected Bucksport High School social studies teacher has had a tough year watching his nephew suffer on a daily basis since he was born.  Fin Tracy was born with a chronic lung disease, was born with two holes in his heart and has had two surgeries to close both of them.  He has kidney issues because of both of these issues.  He suffers from Tracheomalacia which means his wind pipe doesn't stay open, so he is currently trached to stent his airways open so he can be constantly supplied with oxygen.
According to Mr. Tracy Fin is an amazingly happy child and has been out of the hospital for the last five months but is constantly on antibiotics to fight off every little thing that pops up.  He has two sisters Lydia and Ruby.
Our freshman class under the leadership of BHS staff member Heather Saucier is sharing Fin's story and is setting up fundraising activities in May and June to help the Tracy family with medical costs.  Freshman Chris Grindle has taken a leadership role in planning activities for the family.  Thank you in advance to the freshman class for all their hard work and making a difference in a child's life.

Fundraising activities will be announced on this blog.

BHS Schedule of Events in May

May 1st-Junior class yard sale
May 4th-AP Calculus Exams
May 5th-English Literature Exams
May 6th-AP US History Exams
May 6th-Andy Silvernail addresses BHS student body-1:45-2:20
May 7th-SAT testing-Good luck to all juniors!!
May 7th-Academic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner-6-8pm
May 11th-English language exams and AP Statistics Exams
May 14th-Prom
May 19th-Spring Concert-7:30pm
May 20th-Blackout Dance-8-11
May 21st and 22nd-Senior Class Trip
May 23rd-Seat Belt Convincer is visiting BHS
May 26th-Academic Banquet at MMA
May 27th-Student Council Blood Drive
May 28th-Battle of the Bands-6:30pm

James Potter Named BHS Student Of The Month

James Potter was recognized this morning in our Star Assembly as the Student of the Month based on high academic achievement, leadership and citizenship.  James holds a grade point average of 88.2 through three years and three quarters of his high school career.  James competes in Golf and Baseball for athletics and activities include winning the 2010 Mr. Bucksport, competing for the BHS Envirothon Team, has great humor, very sensitive to others and overall a terrific kid.  James plans to attend Husson University next year.  James, the Bucksport community is very proud of you and continue the great work.

Freshman Success Academy Attend BARR Grant Workshop in Minneapolis

The four high schools in the United States that recieved the Building Assets Reducing Risks grant met in Minneapolis from Sunday April 3rd to Thursday April 7th to attend a workshop.  The schools are Bucksport High School, Hemet High School of California who have an enrollment of 2400, St. Louis Park High School of Minnesota who have an enrollment of 1400 and Sanford High School of Maine who have an enrollment of 1200.  Maryanne Mytar, Bob Cloutier, Bill Tracy, Josh Tripp and Dan Clifford represented BHS at the workshop along with teachers and administrators from the other four high schools.

Monday April 4th
The workshop was kicked off by a presentation by each school to see the progress that has been made since receiving the BARR grant.  BHS learned that we are ahead of most schools because Maryanne Mytar our site coordinator, has been instrumental in leading our effort into this grant.  Our freshman team of teachers have been chosen, our budget for the year is almost complete, and our freshman step-up night and eighth grade visits were very successful.
The highly respected Peter Benson who is the President of the Search Institute from where the BARR grant was established spoke to and met with each group about his 40 Assets model of successful teens.

Tuesday April 5th
All schools met at St. Louis Park High School just outside Minneapolis to observe their model of the highly successful freshman teaming program.  St. Louis Park High School is recognized as one of the most successful public high schools in all of Minnesota.  We spent the day observing classes, teacher meetings, therapist meetings and interviewing administration, students and teachers of St. Louis Park.  They have about 380 freshman and right now their failure rate for freshman is about 15% which is much better than it was the first quarter of the year.  St. Louis Park has had freshman teaming the last twelve years and now they are adding the teaming concept in grades 10, 11 and 12.  The BHS members learned that St. Louis Park although very successful has issues like any typical high school.  The freshman teaming concept will give BHS positive results just like it has for St. Louis Park.

Wednesday April 6th
All four high schools met at the Search Institute again and debriefed the last two days and worked with members of the Search Institute and St. Louis Park to review implementation plans and next steps.  BHS is in a great place and the Freshman Success Academy members have done a lot more work than the other schools.  The people BHS met with were very impressed and in some ways we have better data than other schools right now such as class failures, BHS freshman are at about 3-4% through three quarters.  The workshop was a great learning experience for everyone and BHS left feeling really good about our school and our Freshman Success Academy.  There will be more training on the 40 Assets and the BARR grant this spring and summer to get ready for the 2011-12 school year.

8th Grade Step-Up Night A Huge Success

About 120 people visited Bucksport High School and they walked away with big smiles on their faces.  Faculty, staff and students decorated the school and especially the gymnasium with student work, co-curricular activites information and extra-curricular activites information.  Parents and students were greeted by the playing of our pep band under the direction of Mr. Neslusan.  A total of thirty tables were used to display information of programs offered at BHS.  Parents and students went through four different informational learning activities about Bucksport High School that rotated every twenty five minutes.  Guidance was in the cafeteria where they talked about freshman classes and electives offered.  The six core BARR grant teachers were in the library talking about the Freshman Success Academy we have in place next year.  BHS students gave tours of the school and the last learning activity area was the gymnasium where the chorus sang and at the end Zumba was demonstrated by Mrs. Audibert's PE class.  The feedback we have gotten has been very positive and we showed Bucksport High School is a great place to be!

8th Grade Step-up Night Planned At BHS

Bucksport High School with host a step-up night on Wednesday March 30th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.  A team of BHS teachers, guidance department members and administrators have spent the last two weeks speaking at nearby middle schools about attending Bucksport High School next year.  Each eighth grade student was given an invitation to attend on March 30th.  Eighth grade students and parents will be given tours of the school, meet the four core freshman teachers, guidance will show them what a freshman schedule looks like and the gym will be filled with elective class information, core class information, co-curricular activities offered and extra-curricular activities that are offered.  There will be refreshments available for all that attend.  No matter what your future plans are BHS can help you get there.  The BHS band will play from 5:40 to 6:00 so get there early and enjoy the music.

SAT Prep Courses Offered At BHS

All junior students at Bucksport High School have the opportunity to take SAT prep courses from for the next six weeks before they take the Maine Assessment on Saturday May 7th.  English teacher Bre Pelletier and math teacher Aaron Winslow will be teaching the classes after school on Wednesdays for math and Thursdays for English.  The classes are from 2:30 to 3:30 and all after school activities will not start until 3:35 on those days so all can attend.  The classes will give our students strategies to take the test and examples of higher level thinking questions.  We hope our students take advantage of these opportunities that start this week. 

Lilly Harvey Named Vice President Of State NHS

BHS student Lilly Harvey has been selected at  the Vice President for the state of Maine National Honor Society.  Lilly is the first BHS student to accomplish this honor and represent Bucksport High School on the state NHS executive board.  Congratulations Lilly, we know you will represent us well. 

Mr. Bucksport Contest This Weekend

The much anticipated Mr. Bucksport contest is this weekend, Saturday March 19th at 7:00 in the BHS gymnasium.  Partcipants are Evan Eldridge, Zach Hall, Shawn Smith, Jacob Chase, Alan-Mickel Abbott and Joe Ladd.  Saturday night promises to be entertaining and great family entertainment.

2011 BHS Academic Hall of Fame Members Announcement

Congratulations to the Class of 2011 BHS Academic Hall of Fame inductees.  Please join us for a night of celebration on Saturday May 7th from 6-8pm at the Bucksport High School gymnasium.  Come listen to the life stories of some of BHS's finest alumni.  Here are our first members:
Angela Bennett-Business Manager
Jessica Braun-Teacher
James Bigl-CEO
Donald Bowden-Business
Thomas Crocker-Professor
Jana Wardwell-Physical Therapist
Peter Harvey-Music Director
Donald McCann-Engineer
Jason Shaffner-Financial Director at Harvard
Andy Silvernail-CEO
Leila Burgess-BHS Teacher
Robert Harriman-BHS Administrator/Teacher
Joe Sulya-BHS Teacher

Important dates in March

March 7-BHS Boosters meeting-6:30 in the school library.
March 15-BARR grant visit from Minnesota
March 16-PVC Scholar-Athlete banquet at Jeff's Catering in Brewer.
March 17-Spring sports parent meeting-6:00pm in the BHS gymnasium.
March 19-Mr. Bucksport at 7:00pm in the BHS gymnasium.
March 21-First practice for pitchers and catchers.
March 24-Kim Leland benefit concert from 7-10pm in the BHS gymnasium.
March 28-Spring sports start.
March 30-8th grade step-up night from 6-8pm.

Welcome to the blog of Bucksport High School

The reason for the Bucksport High School blog is to give parents, community members, students and faculty and staff a way to ask questions and find out the great things that are happening at Bucksport High School.  Comments that are submitted will be reviewed before being published on the BHS blog.  I look forward to hearing from you and answer any questions you may have.