Welcome Back Middle Schoolers!

Bon Air Middle School reopened on August 7th as the district's first one-to-one technology school. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held during the school's open house festivities. 

Middle school classrooms underwent renovations over the summer  to prepare for the reopening. This included new furniture to increase student collaboration and engagement, brighter paint jobs, and brand new Lenovo laptops for every student.  It also included the addition of a graphic design/creative arts class to student's rotation options.

Superintendent Jeff Hauswald shared with the Kokomo Perspective his thoughts about reopening the school, "The reopening of Bon Air Middle School as a one-to-one technology school is another exciting step in Kokomo Schools’ continued growth and progress as a district,” he said. “I thank the teachers and staff who have worked so hard over the past year to prepare for this opening.”                                  

Interactive 100 Chart from ABCya.com

Students in Mrs. Enoch's second grade class have been using an interactive version of a 100's chart from ABCya.com. Students in this class used the chart on their daily math problems and were also encouraged to use this resource on their final test. The chart opens and allows the user to manipulate the chart to solve problems. Students can also select their color options, include their name, and print if needed. While visiting their classroom I saw many students using both their fingers and the painting option to discover their answers to math problems. This is a great tool to help our visual learners understand math computation facts.

Click on the link below to start using an Interactive 100 Chart in your classroom today!
http://www.abcya.com/interactive_100_number_chart.htm

LifeSkills Students Using iPads

Not all students at Bon Air’s One-to-One Technology School have laptop computers!  The younger students in the Life Skills classes have been making great strides in their learning with the introduction of less complicated and extremely appealing IPADs.  With a simple finger swipe to the touchscreen, students can easily interact with free or inexpensive downloadable applications that improve not only academic skills, but communication, fine motor, self-help, visual and social/behavioral skills.  Some favorite apps of our students include “Match It Up” 1, 2 &3 (from My First Apps), Dexteria Jr. (from Binary Labs, Inc.) and the Peekaboo apps (from Night and Day Studios, Inc.)

-Article submitted by Janet Harrison, Life Skills teacher

Doughnuts with Dad

The line spanned nearly down an entire hallway as dad's, stepdads, uncles, and grandparents joined their student for a morning filled with fun! Students entered the cafeteria to celebrate together by enjoying a doughnut and juice. After breakfast they worked as a team on various paper airplane designs. After some brainstorming on the perfect airplane model and some precision folding they took their planes to the old gym to test their flying capability. Students climbed step ladders and tested their planes to try and acquire the longest distance. Some planes flew over 16 feet across the gym! Once flight testing concluded, groups got their pictures taken together and showed their guests their classrooms. Below are some pictures from the event. Mom's mark your calendar, Muffins with Mom's starts this Thursday May 9th. :-)

 

 

 

Bubbles for Autism

Giggles, cheers, and laughter filled the air, along with thousands of bubbles, at the Bon Air Elementary playground area Monday afternoon (April 22nd) as 531 students and staff joined a nation-wide effort to set a Guinness World Record for Autism Awareness by blowing bubbles.

Bon Air Elementary School students and staff were part of a national effort spearheaded by Faces 4 Autism, a non-profit organization in New Jersey, which wanted to spread hope to families and individuals with Autism by blowing bubbles.

“Smiles were in abundance on the faces of the students and staff as we enjoyed our sun-filled event outside blowing bubbles,” Mrs. Monica Schuck, who organized the event at Bon Air Elementary, said. “The bubble event was the first of a week-long of activities planned to help increase our students’ understanding of people with Autism.”

Mrs. Schuck, who is a special education teacher in the Autism support classroom at Bon Air, noted that April is Autism Awareness Month.

Sum Dog Mathematics

Students in all grade levels have been practicing their math skills using a free online site called SumDog.com. Students aim to score well on educational games covering a variety of mathematics skills. Teachers can select specific skills for students to work on over the course of time. Sumdog also includes a variety of games to engage all styles of learners. One Bon Air teacher said, "My kids had a wonderful experience with Sumdog this year. They were highly-motivated competing with the world while having a friendly competition with classmates. They loved when I made up competitions and also when they were entered in Sumdog's weekly contests."

These pictures were taken earlier in the semester when Mrs. Catt's third grade class participated in their first Sum Dog competition. "The kids cheer if I let them have a few minutes to get on Sumdog!," said another teacher. Watch the movie to learn more about Sum Dog competitions. Bon Air will be participating in the May 10th- 16th competition....will you? See you on the leaderboard!

VOTE FOR BON AIR ON FACEBOOK!

Vote for BON AIR on

 

Bon Air Elementary is applying for the “Share the Good” grant offered from the Seeds of Change program in hopes to win $25,000 to put towards creating a community garden. Our students will learn where food comes from, the importance of a healthy diet, the process involved in food production, and the preservation of food for later use. The students will participate in the planning and construction of the school community garden, nurture the garden, and harvest healthy foods. The harvested fruits and vegetables will be a fresh and healthy addition to the “Buddy Bags” that are provided by a local church and sent home with our students to provide nutritional meals to our students on the weekends. Additional produce would be donated to local families and community food pantries.

We need your help to be selected!! Please visit the Seeds of Change Facebook page (link below) and LIKE their page. Then visit the “Share the Good Area” and type in Bon Air’s zip code (46901). Open our application and vote! You can vote one time per day. If you have any questions or you cannot access our application please call Bon Air for help. Also share this on your own Facebook page so your friends and family know to vote for us too!

Seeds of Change Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/seedsofchange?fref=ts#!/seedsofchange