Please join us this Tuesday, October 5 for our next Master Facilities Plan meeting at 6:30 at Belpre High School. This will be the third meeting of the committee and is an important one: we will be discussing community concerns and focusing our attention on which site would be idea for a future campus. Don't miss this opportunity to express your opinion on an important decision for the future of Belpre City Schools.
If you haven't been able to make it to our previous meetings, you can catch up by reading the slides and minutes available here: https://5il.co/zg86 and https://5il.co/z1we
We hope to see you there!
The Belpre Elementary Scholastic Book Fair ends tomorrow, Friday, October 1, 2021. Your child can shop throughout the day, as scheduled by his/her teacher. Please make sure you send your student’s money in a sealed, labeled baggie or envelope. Thank you to our Belpre PTO volunteers for their hard work and kindness - we love the Book Fair!
This week in the Life Skills Training class, Mr. Leasure and Mr. Seebaugh taught the unit 'Social Skills' to our 7th grade students. To help the students understand some key concepts, they were asked to participate in a game called 'Conversation Web.' To play the game, the students had to have a bunch of different conversations with all of their classmates around the room. Every time someone added to the conversation, the yarn was to be tossed to them. Since there were a bunch of conversations going on at once, the yarn eventually ended up spread everywhere and tangled up. This was an effective technique used to keep the students engaged in actual conversations with their peers.
Come And Show Your Support! You have 2 opportunities to see the Pride of Belpre Marching Band perform this weekend. Hope to see your there!
This week we would like to introduce our new Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Tkiersten Sams! She was hired to be a teacher at Belpre during the month of May, and started her first day with the rest of the new hires on August 11, 2021, at which time she participated in professional development days that were focused heavily on Project Based Learning and Curriculum. Ms. Sams graduated high school from Parkersburg South in 2016. She then furthered her education at West Virginia University in Parkersburg, WV, where she obtained her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education in 2021. In addition to completing her student teaching, Ms. Sams taught summer school in Wood County prior to becoming a BES staff member.
Ms. Sams’s mentor is Christa Benson, who is our other Kindergarten teacher, both working with children between the ages of 5 and 7. Ms. Sams is located in the Elementary building, room 102. She would love for you to stop in and introduce yourself! When asked why she chose a career in teaching, she talked about how she moved around and missed school a lot when she was younger. She remembers specifically how her first grade teacher took her under her wing and made her feel safe and loved, despite her circumstances. This made her want to be that teacher for other children. Ms. Sams also mentioned how much she loves being here at Belpre because it is like a close-knit family, with teachers and students that are supported equally. She loves how our Superintendent, Mr. Greenly, is eagerly involved by being in our school buildings every chance he gets. She stated that Belpre is always trying to find new ways to learn, and she is super excited to further her career here. We are ready to watch Ms. Sams grow as a teacher and look forward to seeing the positive impact she has on our students.
In the 7th grade Life Skills Training class, Mr. Ryan Leasure and Mr. Mike Seebaugh covered the topic “Alcohol: Myths and Realities.” With alcohol- related instances being so prominent in today’s society, we wanted to spend some extra time going over the risks and dangers of being under the influence. Chief Williams and Sgt. Kirby of the Belpre Police Department graciously agreed to come to our school on September 16th to provide information to our students, along with allowing them to wear several alcohol and drug impairment goggles that were designed to mimic different levels of impairment due to blood alcohol levels. The students were asked to perform different activities while wearing the goggles. Some of these activities included shooting basketball, walking a straight line, writing their names in a notebook and directing a steering wheel along a road map. The students were fascinated with how hard it was to do these simple tasks while wearing the goggles! This fun, hands-on technique was very beneficial and eye-opening for the students. We want to thank the Belpre Police Department for being so willing to take time out of their day to come to BHS and work with our students! We hope to do this again next semester with the second half of the 7th grade class!
BES is full of first grade math stars! Our students are sharpening their skills with daily independent center practice and small group instruction.
Watch out! Marshmallows are flying in fourth grade! Students engaged in a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning challenge by working together to build a marshmallow catapult. The learners made changes to their design throughout the process to get the marshmallow to travel as far as possible!
Fifth grade geographers in training used latitude and longitude coordinates to locate hidden review riddles while preparing
for their geography quiz this week. Great job locating the fun in learning!
CONGRATULATION VOLLEYBALL!!!
“Congratulations to our Volleyball team. Last night they defeated Wellston in a thrilling match of four sets. Belpre lit the night up with intensity and set the court on fire. Emmi Dowell put it all on the floor with the game high of 10 total digs! Jaylynn Wright set our team up for success with 23 assists and Halee Williams was relentless at the net, scoring the game high of 17 kills. Great job Belpre! The volleyball team heads into four games next week, good luck!”
Congratulations to our Cross Country Team:
Last night the cross country team competed at Federal Hocking High School on a wet, muddy course. Congratulations to Blake Rodgers who won his race and Nick Diaz, Carter Norman, Maddie Sprigg, Shyanna Miller, and Gracie Bills who all medaled. Special shout out goes to Nick, Sonny Britton, Nikki Gogan, Trista Harpold, Alex Parker, Kennedy Stevens, Madison Lauer, and Chloe Brumbaugh for all running personal best times. Congratulations to all!
Educational Trip to Puerto Rico:
We are excited to announce that we are planning another educational trip to Puerto Rico in 2023. All students currently in grades 8-12 are eligible to attend. There will be an informational meeting at 7pm tomorrow, September 23rd, in the High School Library. Parents and students are welcome to attend. If you have any questions or are interested in the trip, but unable to attend, please contact Ms. Morgan. Thank you,
This week we would like to introduce Ms. Mya Contillo! Ms. Contillo joined Belpre last January as our online 6th grade English and Social Studies teacher. Ms. Contillo attended Ohio University where she obtained a Bachelor's Degree in AYA Integrated Language Arts and a Minor in English. Ms. Contillo was able to observe many classrooms throughout her time at Ohio University. She stated that this gave her the opportunity to adjust to the environment of an English classroom. During the last two semesters of her senior year, she completed her full time professional internship at Athens High school, where she taught 11th-12th grade English.
Ms. Contillo’s mentor is Mrs. Kelly Krason, our media specialist. Ms. Contillo is located in the high school building, room 139. She would love for you to stop in and introduce yourself! When asked why Ms. Contillo chose a career in teaching, she mentioned that her mother is a dance instructor who conducts classes with a lot of school teachers in them. Growing up, she would attend these classes, and she always loved being surrounded by educators. This inspired Ms. Contillo to become a teacher so she, too, could help students find what they are passionate about!
Belpre Elementary first grade students are shining bright while they study the movement of the sun! First graders investigated how and why their shadows change throughout the day and used the Sun’s power to create “Sun Art”. Our first graders are super scientists!
Belpre Middle School teachers have so much wisdom and love to share!
High School & Jr. High students
Student pictures for grades 7 through 11 will be Wednesday, Sept. 22. All students will be photographed for the yearbook and will receive a proof back in a few weeks. Any off campus students are asked to arrive to the high school gym at 7:00am.
We are excited to have our homecoming week for our High School and Jr High students
Monday: PJ day
Tuesday: Beach Luau
Wednesday: Country vs. Country Club
Thursday: Tie Dye
Friday: Neon Out
Sixth grade BES students dig in to science class to sort soil particles to determine whether their soil sample is mostly biotic or mostly abiotic.
This week we would like to introduce Ms. Katherine Austin! Ms. Austin joined our Belpre staff at the end of July and started her first day on August 11, 2021. She expressed how much she enjoyed learning about the history of Marietta and Belpre during professional development days; Ms. Austin is not originally from Ohio, having graduated from high school in Tampa, Florida in 2012. Ms. Austin then furthered her education at Southeastern University in central Florida, where she obtained a Bachelor's degree in Communications, along with two minors in English and Theatre. After graduating with her Bachelor’s degree, Ms. Austin attended Ohio University where she obtained a Masters degree in Film Studies and a Masters degree in English Education.
Prior to coming to Belpre, Ms. Austin taught Mental Illness Representation in Film and was a Teaching Assistant for a Film Analysis and Documentaries class at Ohio University. Ms. Austin has acting and backstage experience, along with production experience including producing a feature length film during her time at Ohio University. For part of her internship at OU, Ms. Austin was a part of the Disney College Program where she worked at Universal Studios for one semester. For the other part of her internship, Ms. Austin interned at the Athens Video and Film Festival. She also was an Arts and Crafts counselor at Camp Micah in Maine (along with a Sunday School volunteer and nanny). Ms. Austin completed her student teaching experience at Southern High school in Meigs County during the 2020-2021 school year.
Ms. Austin's mentor here at Belpre is Stacey Moore, who is one of our phenomenal 6th grade ELA teachers. Ms. Austin will be teaching 8th grade ELA, along with a high school drama elective. She hopes to make her drama elective a club in the upcoming years. Ms. Austin is located in the Lawton Building, room 307, where she invites you to stop in and introduce yourself! Ms. Austin’s goal as a teacher is for each student to leave her classroom with more skills, their needs met, and an enhanced desire to learn. She aims to create lifelong learners who can apply the critical, skill-based learning required in English to every area of their careers, relationships and worldview. We are very excited that Ms. Austin joined our staff here at Belpre, and we look forward to seeing the impact she has on our students!
Show us your smiles Belpre Elementary students! BES Picture Day is THIS WEEK! Pictures will be taken over two days, and follow the schedule below:
Tuesday, September 21st - Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade and Third Grade Students
Wednesday, September 22nd - Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, and Sixth Grade Students
Photo order forms will come home soon after your child's picture day. These photos will also be used for our 2021-2022 yearbook.