Week of February 27

The +10 Mindset
Over this past year, we have experienced approximately 10% growth in student enrollment.  With that in mind, our goal is to ensure that we provide the best to our staff so that we can in turn provide our best to our students.  This spring we are planning for the needs of our students and staff, and in the coming weeks, we will
communicate those changes to you.

BRISD Board members learned about the great instruction at BRES.
In the pictures, Mrs. Mayfield's 4th graders taught the board a lesson
on editing and revising their writing.

At the February 20 board meeting, the board of trustees approved the hiring of an assistant band director.  In our survey of approximately 20 high performing 2A and 3A band programs, Blue Ridge was the only band with only 1 band director.  In order to compete at the highest level, additional support for our band program is essential.

To better support our staff, an additional change was made to our DEC Local policy regarding the number of local days our teachers can use.  Currently, teachers have 2 local days that can be used for sickness or absences, and the board agreed to increase that safety net from 2 to 5 days beginning next year.  This will be beneficial to all employees especially those who have small children that are more susceptible to illnesses.

Additionally, the board heard potential district goals regarding the following areas for improvement:

1. Increasing student performance academically,
2. Creating a 5 year facility plan,
3. Creating a college and career plan in all grades
4. Developing a personnel plan to recruit and retain the best staff for our kids.

The spring is a very busy time of year for our students and it is no different for our board and central office who are working tirelessly to raise the bar for next school year.

In our board election, seats for Place 3 and 6 were up for election.  As of the deadline, Gary Lillard was the only person to sign up for Place 3, and Amanda Voirin was the only person to sign up for Place 6.  They will assume their positions at the May board meeting.  We are most thankful for Brad Duncan who has served on our board since 2006.  We wish him the best and appreciate all he has done for Blue Ridge ISD.

Upcoming Events

• Thu-Sat, 2/23 - 2/24
• Baseball at Sam Rayburn Tournament
• Softball at North Texas Invitational Tournament
• Fri, 2/24 - End of 4th 6 Weeks
• Fri, 2/24 - Elementary Spring Pictures
• Sat, 2/25 - HS Powerlifting Girls Regionals
• Mon, 2/27 - Blue Ridge JH Track Meet
• Tue, 2/28 - #TxEdTuesday & #PowerofPublic (Tell your story on social media)
• Wed, 3/1 - HS One Act Play
• Thu, 3/2 - 3 /4 -
• Blue Ridge HS Baseball Tournament
• Softball - Van Alstyne Tournament
• Fri, 3/3 - HS Powerlifting Regionals
• 3/6 - 3/10 - SPRING BREAK
• Tue, 3/7 - Softball vs Bells AWAY
• Tue, 3/7 - Baseball vs Tom Bean HERE
• Fri, 3/10 - Softball vs. Sam Rayburn HERE
• Mon, 3/13 - Student return from Spring Break

Calendars

District Calendar
Elementary School Calendar
Middle School Calendar
High School Calendar


The Blue Ridge Bazaar is coming on March 18.  Several vendors will be here to sell their products, and proceeds from the booth rental and concession will go to our Science club and Food Pantry.  Set your calendar to come out and purchase awesome items.



In the Texas Legislature

Several people are asking questions about the legislature, so I decided to keep you abreast of what is going on each week in my blog.  Below are links of interest that will help you stay informed of the legislature's actions, and how you can contact your legislator.

Contact your Legislator

Should Texas use the Rainy Day Fund?

Survey - Should Texas use state money for private / parochial schools?

TexasStudentsMatter.com

1st grade students working hard on their penguin research #BRISDpride pic.twitter.com/Wej5fLLuPA

— Blue Ridge Elem (@BlueRidgeElem) February 17, 2017

Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please let a comment below. Comments are not published immediately. Please do not leave negative comments about individual people. If you have a negative comment, please email the principal, superintendent or call 972-752-5554.

Week of February 20

The +10 Mindset

Charlotte Todd's HS Culinary Business class did a
fantastic job leading her  students to sell chocolate
covered strawberries to our community.

Next week will be our regular testing for 4th 6 weeks.  The data from this testing week yields very important data in all grade levels, but this week will be extremely important in the following areas:  4th grade writing, 5th grade math and reading, 7th grade writing, 8th grade math and reading, English 1 and English 2.  These subjects will be taking tests that cover all of the knowledge and skills that will be assessed on the STAAR test, which will be administered on March 28-30.

To help your child reach their +10 Goal on their 4th 6 weeks assessments, please talk with your child about the importance of hard work, showing your work, and taking their time on the test.  Your conversation with your child will go a long way.




Upcoming Events

• 

  Our HS students learned about important reminders
  for Teenage Driving in the ThinkFast session.

  Fri, 2/17 - BR Softball Tournament (Schedule)
• Fri, 2/17 - HS Baseball v Commerce HERE
• Sat, 2/18 - BR Softball Tournament (Schedule)
• Sat, 2/18 - HS Boys Powerlifting - Howe HS
• Mon, 2/20 - Student Holiday and Staff Development Day
• Mon, 2/20 - BRISD Board Meeting at 6 p.m.
• Tue, 2/21 - 4th 6 Weeks Formative Assessments begin
• Thu, 2/23 - #DLDay - Digital Learning Day
• Thu-Sat, 2/23 - 2/24

• 

  Small group instruction in Mrs. Keywork's
  4th grade math class accelerates learning for kids.

  Baseball at Sam Rayburn Tournament
• Softball at North Texas Invitational Tournament
• Fri, 2/24 - End of 4th 6 Weeks
• Fri, 2/24 - Elementary Spring Pictures
• Sat, 2/25 - HS Powerlifting Girls Regionals

Calendars

Our 2nd grade students have adopted the
Haiti School Lekol Lespwa

District Calendar
Elementary School Calendar
Middle School Calendar
High School Calendar









Blue Ridge is Growing

6th graders are learning about
inclined planes.

Student enrollment has consistently increased in every grade level this year.  As of last week, student enrollment grew from 702 in May of 2017 to 770 students this past week.  The district is experiencing approximately 10% growth this year, and it appears that this trend will continue.  To predict how much growth the district will experience in the future, BRISD has contracted with demographer, Bob Templeton, and Mr. Templeton will work to determine how much growth the district will experience in the coming 10 years.  More information will be shared later this spring.

Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please let a comment below. Comments are not published immediately. Please do not leave negative comments about individual people. If you have a negative comment, please email the principal, superintendent or call 972-752-5554.

Week of February 13

The +10 Mindset

Congrats to our CX Debate team for
winning 2nd at District which qualifies them
for competitions that UIL State this spring.
Congrats to our kids and coaches for
their hard work.

Part of our +10 Mindset is creating a competitive spirit in every student, for that will help them become successful in life. At BRISD we are pushing ourselves to focus on academic excellence through student growth in learning as well as through academic competition. The pinnacle of competitive excellence was Vince Lombardi, and he said the following:

"Winning is a Habit".

Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs.

Watch your beliefs, they become your words.

Watch your words, they become you actions.

Watch your actions, they become your habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

We will focus on building character in every student by promoting and teaching positive beliefs, words, actions, and habits in our students in our extracurricular programs. This week, an example of our quest for academic excellence spotlights our CX Debate team.

Our HS UIL team began their district competition season with CX (Cross Examination) Debate this week.  Our CX debate team of Gavin Lacalle, Pamela Garcia, and Gage Robertson won 2nd place and will advance to State.  Congratulations to Coach Paige Jacobson. We are looking forward to our students continuing to succeed throughout the semester.

Another example of the +10 Mindset is our Lady Tiger Girls Basketball Team which made the playoffs this year.  Under the guidance of Coaches Terra Mathers and Greg Morrison, the Lady Tigers compiled a record of 14-15 with a record of taking 4th place in our district.

#TxEdTuesday - Valentine's Edition
Join us and help us tell the story about Blue Ridge ISD on Facebook and Twitter.  Share what you love about our school and what it means to be a Blue Ridge Tiger.  We are a school on the quest for excellence.  Remember to use the hashtag, #TxEdTuesday and #BRISDPride when posting your thoughts.

#TxEdTuesday Valentines Day. Show the ❤ for #TxEd Public Schools https://t.co/6FiZREbL24 via https://t.co/6fEvzdQjmC pic.twitter.com/CBu0H39kur

— John Wink (@JohnWink90) February 8, 2017

Upcoming Events

• Fri, 2/10 - HS Boys BB vs. Wolfe City HERE

  

  BRISD teachers and staff presenting
  at the TCEA convention last week.

• Fri, 2/10 - Father/Daughter Softball Game
• Fri, 2/10 - MS Dance in Cafeteria
• Sat, 2/11 - V Softball at Community
• Sat, 2/11 - Girls Powerlifting at Whitesboro
• Sat, 2/11 - V Baseball Alumni Game at 1 p.m.
• Mon, 2/13 - BRES Math Night at 6 p.m.
• Mon, 2/13 - Girls BB Playoff Game vs. Martins Mill at 6:30 in Greenville
• Tue, 2/14 - #TxEdTuesday - Tell the story of BRISD on Twitter and Facebook, using the #TxEdTuesday Hashtag
• Tue, 2/14 - Boys BB vs Trenton AWAY
• Thu, 2/16 - BR Softball Tournament (Schedule)
• Thu, 2/16 - HS Girls Powerlifting - Howe HS
• Fri, 2/17 - BR Softball Tournament (Schedule)
• Fri, 2/17 - HS Baseball v Commerce HERE
• Sat, 2/18 - BR Softball Tournament (Schedule)
• Sat, 2/18 - HS Boys Powerlifting - Howe HS
• Mon, 2/20 - Student Holiday and Staff Development Day
• Mon, 2/20 - BRISD Board Meeting at 6 p.m.
• Thu, 2/23 - #DLDay - Digital Learning Day

Here are just a few BRES kids who met their +10 Goal.

Calendars
District Calendar
Elementary School Calendar
Middle School Calendar
High School Calendar





Additional Information
Check out why @BlueRidgeISD 's Google Classroom



The yearbook is ready to be ordered.  Contact the school for more info.

Buy your 16-17 Yearbook NOW!!! #BRISDPride pic.twitter.com/LQZ15VocKU

— Blue Ridge ISD (@BlueRidgeISD) February 8, 2017

Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please let a comment below. Comments are not published immediately. Please do not leave negative comments about individual people. If you have a negative comment, please email the principal, superintendent or call 972-752-5554.

Week of February 6

The +10 Mindset
Growth depends on where you spend your time but also where you waste it.  When it comes to growing strong relationships, it is important to remember that relationships live and die by the minutes we choose to expend or not to expend on others. If we want relationships to grow, being protective of your minutes is probably the most important thing you can do.

Jason Price, BRHS Senior and student in Mrs. Raymer's AVP class, created this really powerful video called "Time".  The video depicts how relationships thrive or die simply by the choice between using our time with purpose or simply wasting it away.  When we use time to focus on ourselves, we lose those we care about, but when we invest our minutes in helping others, we notice that our time becomes filled with joy.

With our children or those that we care about the most, we must remember that time is all we have.  But when we invest our minutes in others, our minutes become more valuable to both yourself and those you care about.  This week, take some time to invest in the people you care about the most.  All you have is time, so use it well.

Upcoming Events

• Fri, 2 /3 - HS BB vs Celeste HERE (SENIOR NIGHT)

  

  Reading is critical to your student's
  success.  Please ensure that your child
  reads everyday for at least 15 minutes.
  This will increase their performance in
  all subjects at school.

• Fri, 2 /3 - End of 3 Weeks
• Sat, 2/4 - JH BB District Tournament - Dodd City
• Tue, 2/7 - District Visioning Committee Meeting at 4:15 at admin
• Tue, 2/7 - HS BB vs. Honey Grove AWAY
• Wed, 2/8 - HS UIL CX Debate Competition at Honey Grove
• Thu, 2/9 - HS Powerlifting Meet at Whitesboro HS
• Thu, 2/9 - Varsity Softball vs. Roxton HERE
• Fri, 2/10 - HS Boys BB vs. Wolfe City HERE
• Fri, 2/10 - Father/Daughter Softball Game
• Fri, 2/10 - MS Dance in Cafeteria
• Sat, 2/11 - V Softball at Community
• Sat, 2/11 - Girls Powerlifting at Whitesboro
• Sat, 2/11 - V Baseball Alumni Game at 1 p.m.
• Mon, 2/13 - BRES Math Night at 6 p.m.

Our new baseball lights are now up.  They will be on 24 hours per day
 throughMonday in order to break in the new bulbs.  Construction
by Qualite Inc. was paid for with funds from the current budget.

Calendars
District Calendar
Elementary School Calendar
Middle School Calendar
High School Calendar







#TxEdTuesday
With our legislative session under way, there is a new way to find out all of the great things

happening around the state.  All you have to do is search the hashtag, #TxEdTuesday.  Schools around the state including Blue Ridge ISD will be promoting public education, and what we are doing to build our Bridge to Excellence.  I encourage you to tell your story about Blue Ridge ISD and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter and use the hashtag, #TxEdTuesday.


Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please let a comment below. Comments are not published immediately. Please do not leave negative comments about individual people. If you have a negative comment, please email the principal, superintendent or call 972-752-5554.