FPS staff report
September 14, 2009
Although the first day was a struggle, students at Bell-Herron Middle School have adjusted to the new cafeteria change location.
That’s what Mrs. Tricia Green, Bell-Herron Middle school principal told members of the Carrollton Board of Education at their Sept. 8 meeting, noting the biggest change for Bell-Herron students was the new cafeteria location.
Beginning this school year, students in grades 6, 7 and 8 are eating their lunches in the Bell-Herron auditorium where packaged meals are being served and eaten at tables arranged on the auditorium floor. Ovens and freezers have been installed on each side of the stage where renovations have been made to accommodate the new procedure. The stage, which was a controversy, was basically left intact.
Mrs. Green explained the first day confusion included students needing to pay money and not knowing their pin numbers. “However, the second day they went through the line O.K.,” she added.
According to Mrs. Green, students in grades 6 and 8 are eating by themselves and grade 7 overlaps between the 6 and 8 lunches. The average daily feed is between 220 and 230 students who are fed packaged lunches provided by Preferred Meals based in Illinois with distribution locations in Loosic, PA., and Canton.
In her report, Mrs. Green also told the Board two new courses have been added this school year at Bell Herron.
They include an Enriched Science course for 8th grade students taught by Mrs. Abra Neeley and Mrs. Karen Emerick and a Distance Learning American Sign Language course for 8th graders. She said 18 are enrolled in the Enriched Science course and 12 in the sign language course.
“Successful participation in the sign language course will earn a high school foreign language credit for the 2009-10 school year,” Mrs. Green said.
The sign language course is taught by Lois Frame, a teacher in the Zanesville City School District who holds a K-12 deaf education license. “The goal is to have additional courses in the future to offer our students,” Mrs. Green added.
She also pointed out the Bell-Herron library has been updated to include a computer lab.
“We brought our 13 computers from the computer lab under the stage to the library which gives us a total of 28 desk top computers in the library. We also mounted an LCD projector to the ceiling and installed an electric projector screen to the wall,” she said.
“These updates provide both the teachers and students with a place where they can all work together on major projects. Last year, we didn’t have enough computers on the carts for a whole class to use them, so half of the class would go to the library with the librarian and the other half would stay in the classroom with the teacher,” Mrs. Green explained.
She also briefed the Board on a $1,000 grant received in April 2009 by Karen Curry from Target, Inc. which will enable the transporting of students to see two live theatre performances. She said each performance will be offered to the same student beginning with the students in Mrs. Curry’s speech classes first and second semesters.
If room remains, the field trip will be offered to the Speech team at Bell-Herron and the general middle school population on a first come, first served basis, Mrs. Green noted.
Tickets have been reserved for an April 7, 2010 performance of Bat Boy at the Great Lakes Theater at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. Mrs. Green said the group is presently on a wait list for “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” for Sept. 23. However if the show does not materialize, we will consider “A Christmas Carol” at the same theater during December.
“The only requirement to meet for this grant is that Target gets recognition for donating the money,” Mrs. Green added. |
