Wednesday, July 11, 2018

July Announcements

The +10 Mindset
I hope your summer is going great.  We are a little over one month until the start of school, and there are lots of things happening to prepare for the upcoming year and to build support for our students, teachers and school.  First, the Faith Jech, Dana Pierson and Dina Brown are leading the Chamber of Commerce in hosting a Back to School event on Saturday, July 28 from 10-2 p.m. in the HS GymCarolyn Wink and Denise Avery are creating a clothes closet at the administration building for students who need clothes, and the BRISD Food Pantry has been in full service this summer providing food to families in the community.  We are so thankful for everyone for their support and service to the district.  If you would like to contribute, I encourage you to go to this link and sign up to be a volunteer for the upcoming year.

We have a lot going on with our student organizations and booster clubs.  Coach Terra Mathers and Kevin Wiggins have done a great job providing lots of workout opportunities for our athletes, and now they are working with parents to restart the BR Athletic Booster Club.  Coach Bailey and Coach Christenson have done an outstanding job offering an unprecedented number of athletic camps, open gyms, and growth opportunities for our athletes.  Band Director, David Terry along with Krysta Cates, Chris Dwyer, Crystal Childers, Tracy Gonzales, Joni Lawrence, Korbie Lewelling, and Kim Lacalle are leading the Band Boosters to make preparations to support the band this year, and our FFA officers under the leadership of our new teachers, Jaci Baker and Shelby Lee have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming year.

In addition to summer opportunities for the kids, we are gearing up for another fantastic year academically thanks to our teachers, support staff and administrators In 2017-2018, our students made tremendous gains from last year and are now ahead of the state and regional performance on STAAR in 13 of 20 tested areas.  That is a huge increase from 6 of 20 areas in 2017 and 5 of 20 in 2016.  Almost every grade level saw tremendous gains from the students' performance in the previous year.  That means that BRISD is on track to reach its goal of surpassing state and regional averages on STAAR and other academic tested areas such as MAP and iStation by the year, 2020.  More information on these great gains will be shared throughout the upcoming year.

Last, I know many people are interested in how we are protecting our students in light of the Santa Fe shooting.  This summer, we have been working to upgrade our exterior doors and fencing, and many discussions have taken place with Collin County Sheriff's department to ensure safety and security is our top priority. 

There will be an increased focus on preventing an incident at BRISD this year, and more information will be shared in August.  As a parent, I also share your concerns, and we will be doing everything we can to provide and safe learning environment for your children.  If you have concerns, please feel free to email me or call me anytime at 972-752-4351.











Did you know?
When it comes to education funding, did you know that state has increased the local taxpayer's responsibility to pay for 50% of the state's education in 2017?  This is an increase from 46% 5 years ago (2012).  Also, did you know that the state has decreased its share over the same period of time from 39% in 2012 to 36% to 2017.  The remaining portion of education funding, 11%, is paid for by the federal government.  The source of this information is the Texas Education Agency which shared this information in this month's Public Finance Hearing.

Upcoming Events

  • Sat, July 14 - BR Athletic Booster Club Meeting at 9 a.m. at the gym
  • Mon, July 16 - BRISD Board Meeting
  • Tue-Wed, 7/24-7/25 - Revolutionizing Learning Conference at Royse City
  • Mon, July 30 - Summer Band begins
  • Wed, Aug 1 - BRES Registration from 10:30 - 6:30 at Elementary
  • Wed, Aug 1 - BRMS Registration from 10:30 - 6:30 at HS/MS Cafeteria
  • Wed, Aug 1 - BRHS Registration for Juniors and Seniors from 10:30 - 6:30 at HS
  • Thu, Aug 2 - BRHS Registration for Freshmen and Sophomores from 10:30 - 6:30 at HS
  • Mon, Aug 6 - District New Teacher Orientation at Administration Building
  • Tue, Aug 7 - Campus New Teacher Orientation at campuses
  • Wed, Aug 8 - All staff report to campuses for professional learning
  • Thu, Aug 9 - All staff report to campuses for professional learning
  • Fri, Aug 10 - BRISD closed
  • Mon, Aug 13 - District-wide Staff Development Day (Staff Picture Day)
  • Tue, Aug 14 - District-wide Staff Development Day
  • Wed, Aug 15 - Campus Staff Development Day
  • Thu, Aug 16 - Teacher Work Day & Meet the Teacher
  • Fri, Aug 17 - Football Scrimmage vs. Cumby at 6 p.m. HOME
  • Mon, Aug 20 - 1st Day of 2018-2019 School Year
  • Mon, Aug 27 - BRISD Board Meeting




Calendars
Welcome to our new BRES Assistant
Principal, Shelley Reeves
District Calendar
Elementary School Calendar
Middle School Calendar
High School Calendar
Blue Ridge Community Calendar



Your Input Matters
If you have a question, suggestion, or comment, please leave 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.