Volume 7, Number 17 December 18, 2015

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!” The Blanco ISD

State Ranked FFA Junior Chapter Conducting Team—Jackson Hunter, Cooper Riley, Chance Horton, Tyler LaRue, Zach Collins, Hanna Srackangast, Brynn Kirkland, Molly Edmondson, Cade Felps, FFA advisor Felice Marek.

Blanco FFA Junior Chapter Conducting Team Finishes Sixth at State Blanco Dominates Area VII Leadership Development Events Competition

Board of Trustees Kirk Felps, President

Darrel Wagner, Vice President Bernie San Miguel, Secretary

Matt Herden Larry Kuebel Tim Nance

Charles Riley

Superintendent Dr. Buck Ford

Blanco FFA’s Junior Chapter Conducting team finished sixth at the FFA’s State Leadership Development Events held December 4th at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. “I’m very proud of what these kids have accomplished,” said Blanco FFA advisor Felice Marek. “Most people do not realize how much work it takes both in and out of class to be a state Finalist.” The Junior Chapter Conducting Team qualified for the state competition by finishing first in one of the state’s 57 district competitions and first in one of ten area competitions. A total of 5,973 entries from 1A to 6A schools began the statewide-tournament in 13 different events which reflect classroom instruction in basic leadership skills.

Team members includ-ed: Hanna Srackangast, Cooper Riley, Tyler LaRue, Zach Collins, Cade Felps, Brynn Kirkland, Jackson Hunter, Chance Horton and Molly Ed-mondson. Sam Houston State Uni-versity has partnered with Texas FFA in hosting these competitions for 80 years.

Area VII Competition On November 18th, Blanco High School hosted the Area VII FFA Leadership Development Events. More than 600 students competed in various contests representing over 50 schools from across Area VII that placed 1st or 2nd at their respective districts to earn the right to advance and compete at Area with hopes of advancing to the state contests in Huntsville. Overall, Area VII consists of more than 150 schools from across Central Texas ranging in size from 1A to 6A. After winning the Hill District FFA Sweepstakes Title the week before, the Blanco FFA Chapter qualified teams in 10 of the 13 events with all 10 teams ranking in the top 10 by the end of the day. Highlighting Blanco’s success was the Junior Chapter Conducting team which placed first and advanced to the State FFA LDE’s at Sam Houston State University. “It’s a great feeling to know that all of our hard work has paid off in the end and that we are the best in our Ar-ea,” said team member Chance Horton.

Continued on Page Three...

The Bell, Vol. 7, No. 17 Page 2

Vanessa Skillman, Katie Struck Recognized at School Board Meeting

Casey Hollomon, Vanessa Skillman, Katie Struck.

Seniors Vanessa Skillman and Katie Struck were recognized by principal Casey Hollomon at Monday night’s Board meet-ing. “These two ladies are highly involved on campus in clubs, sports, and organizations, are highly academic and successful, and are leaders among their peers,” said Hollomon. “They exemplify what it means to be a Panther and BHS is so proud of their accomplishments thus far.”

Retiring Technology Director Thomas Cozzi Honored

Retiring Technology Director Thomas Cozzi was honored Monday night for his service to Blanco ISD. Cozzi began his career in Blanco in 2003 as a technology teacher at Blanco Elementary. In 2007, he was named the dis-trict’s Technology Director. “We wish you the best on your retirement,” said Superinten-dent Dr. Buck Ford.

BOARD BRIEFS

The school board met on Monday, December 14. Among the items addressed at the meeting: “Spotlight on Students—High School”: Principal Casey

Hollomon recognized seniors Vanessa Skillman and Katie Struck.

Facilities and Operations—Technology Update: Technol-ogy Director Thomas Cozzi gave an update on the Dis-trict’s technology program.

District Recognition: Superintendent Dr. Buck Ford rec-ognized retiring Technology Director Thomas Cozzi.

Received notice of the members elected to the Blanco County Appraisal District.

Received notice that the Texas School Survey on Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drug Use is scheduled to be administered in February, 2016.

Received an update on a review of language in the Student-Parent Handbook regarding discipline of students in ex-tracurricular activities.

Received an update on the TASB Winter Governance and Legal Seminar, scheduled for February 25—27, 2016, in Corpus Christi.

Received a planning update on the District’s CTE pro-gram.

Approved the financial audit for 2014—2015 as presented by Keith Neffendorf of Neffendorf, Knopp, Doss & Asso-ciates, P. C.

Approved a revision to Board Policy FNF (Local) address-ing drug testing of students in extracurricular activities.

Approved a revision to the 2015—2016 school calendar. Received notice of the disposal of some instructional mate-

rials. Received notice of a request for a low-attendance day

waiver for Blanco High School for the day October 30, 2015.

Received a Board Member Training Re-port.

Adjourned to Executive Session.

Reconvened from Ex-ecutive Session.

Accepted the resigna-tion of Technology Director James Campo-lo.

Approved the appoint-ment of James Caudell as Interim Technology Director.

Adjourned.

Dr. Buck Ford and Thomas Cozzi.

Greenhand Area Qualifiers.

Blanco FFA Competitions Cont’d from Page One...

The Bell, Vol. 7, No. 17 Page 3

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

Blanco FFA Leadership Development

Other Blanco FFA teams and their placings, along with team members were as follows: Jr. Skills: 3rd – Luke Atchley, Kendelle John, Asher

Haack and Lane Lowak; Public Relations: 5th – Kenzie Warner, Carly Haack, Alli

West and Taylor Kotfas; Jr. Creed Speaking: 5th – Kendelle John; Sr. Quiz: 5th – Jon Lovingood, Lance Reinhard, Garrett

Seales, Jacob Fuller, Jacob Robinson, Dalton Savanich, Will Granberg, Kendall Hartmann, Hayden Hunt and Lo-gan Parker;

Job Interview: 7th – Brenna Wallace; Sr. Skills: 8th – Noah Wheeler, Jessica Sevilla, Alexis

Bates and Kaylin Gaskamp; Sr. Creed Speaking: 8th – Bret Leigh Nance; Sr. Chapter Conducting: 9th – Brenna Wallace, Molly

Edmondson, JoMac Crofts, Cassidy Wagner, Wade Robin-son, Madison Kneese, Ty Preiss, Emily Biggs and Kendall Brock;

Jr. Quiz; 10th – Skylar Wagner, Brock Nichols, Wes Ad-amson, Lyndoll Hope, Jazmine Bible and Chris Osteguin.

Senior Quiz Team Member Garret Seales said, “To finish in the Top Five at our Area is a tremendous accomplishment when you look at the schools we have to compete against.” The Texas FFA is the nation’s largest state FFA association with a membership of more than 113,000 active FFA members. FFA programs teach skills in leadership, career development and personal growth. FFA gives students the opportunity to practically apply classroom knowledge to real-world experi-ences through local, state and national competitions. Advisors for the Blanco FFA are Felice and Jason Marek.

Senior Area Qualifiers.

Basketball Teams Travel to Florence Tonight

FCA Christmas clothing drive.

The FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) sponsored a Christmas Clothing drive at the High School and had an excel-lent turn out. Thank you to everyone who helped support the true meaning of Christmas-giving. Submitted by Vanessa Skillman and Emily Romero.

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“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

Fellowship of Christian Athletes Sponsors Christmas Clothing Drive

Blanco’s girls and boys basketball teams are on the road to-night, as they travel to Florence to take on the Buffaloes in a District 25-AAA matchup. “Florence is just like us,” said girls head coach Stuart Schultz, referring to both schools’ inexperience. “We are in a slow process of trying to figure out how to be successful. We’re still trying to figure out what it takes to win a ballgame.” “We’re making some bad decisions on the floor, and it will take much repetition to iron out those decisions to make us successful.” “We are getting the shots we want; we just can’t deliver yet.” The Lady Panthers are 0—1 in district play.

Boys The boys open up district play tonight, and hope to come out with a win against a scrappy Florence bunch. “Florence graduated a lot last year, but had a very good JV team,” said head coach Derrick Hernandez. “They are very active and play extremely hard. Anytime you head to their place, you know you’re in for a dogfight.” The Panthers start district play with a 5—4 record, after playing through a tough pre-district schedule. Big wins on the team’s resume include victories over Fredericksburg and Can-yon Lake. “We have shown some serious resilience so far this year, and we are looking to build on that,” said Hernandez. “On Tuesday we went to 15-6 Boerne Geneva and were able to come away with a 51—39 win over a quality team that has played a lot of games.” “That was a huge win and we are looking to carry that mo-mentum into district!”

Coach Stuart Schultz talks to Lady Panthers. (photo Diana Schwind)

Holiday Notice

The Bell will not be issued for the next two weeks, in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s school holiday.

The Bell’s next issue will be Fri-day, January 8, 2016. The editors and staff of The Bell wish all their readers a safe and happy Christmas and New Year’s holiday.

Blanco’s school board approved a revision to the District’s 2015—2016 school calendar at its regularly scheduled meeting last Monday night. House Bill 2610, passed during the last Legislative Session, converted the requirement of 180 school days to 75,600 minutes of instruction. “Several district have revised their school calendars to take advantage of the flexibility this conversion provides,” said Su-perintendent Dr. Buck Ford. The implications of this conversion was discussed with the District Site Based Decision Making Committee on October 27. Based on discussions, an alternative calendar was created that would: End school for students in May; Change the graduation date from June 3 to May 27; Provide an opportunity for teachers to close out their em-

ployment responsibilities on May 28 instead of June 3; Provide an opportunity for teachers to earn comp time by

completing designated online professional development trainings.

Employees were surveyed as to their preference of either the district’s original school calendar, or the proposed revised cal-endar. The proposed revised calendar was preferred by a vote of 3:1.

The Bell, Vol. 7, No. 17 Page 5

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

School Board Approves Revision to 2015—2016 School Calendar

As part of our effort to reduce substance abuse by our young peo-ple, The Bell will be running Public Service Announcements each week to educate students and parents in regards to substance abuse.

Blanco ISD Adopts Drug Testing Policy

At its regularly scheduled December meeting, the Blanco ISD school board approved revisions to Policy FNF (Local) that implements drug testing of students who participate in extracurricular activities in grades 9—12. “This policy represents one strategy in our overall goal to have drug free schools,” said Superintendent Dr. Buck Ford. Ford noted that the District has already had a strong and comprehensive program in place, which included: Student Code of Conduct policies reinforcing drug free

schools; Extracurricular policies regarding substance abuse; A strong extracurricular program; Drug dog searches; Observances such as Red Ribbon Week; Outside speakers as appropriate; Positive student supports; Individual campus education programs, both in and out of

the classroom. In addition, the District has been actively involved in a com-munity coalition dedicated to supporting students and their families in their battle against substance abuse. The coalition is named CoAPT—Coalition on Awareness, Prevention, and Treatment of Substance Abuse. “The coalition is a work in progress,” said Ford, who added that CoAPT will turn its attention in early 2016 to applying for a Drug Free Communities federal grant.

Link to Policy FNF (Local):

http://www.blancoisd.org/images/policy.pdf

Link to Revised School Calendar:

http://www.blancoisd.org/images/2015-2016%20school%20calendar_revised_12.14.15.pdf

Week of December 18—January 10 Fri, Dec. 18 Cheryl Tesch Tues, Dec. 22 Nonie Beard Wed, Dec. 23 Jerlynn Martinez Thurs, Dec. 31 Bonita Langley Sun, Jan. 3 Colton Clark Tues, Jan. 5 Debby Caudell Wed, Jan. 6 Janie Salazar Thurs, Jan. 7 Edit Quintanilla Sat, Jan. 9 Lisa Kuyrkendall

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Band Christmas Concert Photos by Kay Campbell

“Hear Ye, Hear Ye!”

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