Speaker 1: Good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome, welcome, welcome time
Speaker 1: for part two of our community connection right here on
Speaker 1: K one, the one you trusted, and we are talking
Speaker 1: with Martinsville Public Schools and Public Schools Foundation. Loadonna Lar,
Speaker 1: How are we doing? Today's doing great? Wow? You know
Speaker 1: some people would say, well, we're about halfway through summer,
Speaker 1: but really it's a little bit more than half.
Speaker 2: Right, Yes, literally, we have four weeks from tomorrow is
Speaker 2: the first day of school. Oh I thank you August fourteenth,
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, sakes, that was a fast summer.
Speaker 1: Yes, oh my goodness. What can we expect new this year?
Speaker 2: So the first thing that comes to mind is Ranch Heights.
Speaker 2: The expansion project at Ranch Heights will be completed, so
Speaker 2: have some new classrooms. Our early childhood classrooms will be
Speaker 2: new there with pre k and kinder gardens. So and
Speaker 2: then a new library. So that'll be very nice, very nice,
Speaker 2: looking forward to that.
Speaker 1: Oh right, what's the what's the We're going to get
Speaker 1: back to this year a little bit, but I want
Speaker 1: to even know what the foundation has been up to.
Speaker 1: How is it your?
Speaker 3: Yeah, So summer is kind of our planning. We're in
Speaker 3: planning mode for summer and gearing up for stay of
Speaker 3: the schools. So that's coming up on August the sixth,
Speaker 3: that's the Wednesday, the week before school starts, and you
Speaker 3: might remember, but it's a great opportunity to kind of
Speaker 3: get together and kick off the school year as a community.
Speaker 3: Our superintendent will give his annual update on kind of
Speaker 3: a review of what's been going on this past school
Speaker 3: year and what's coming up for the current school year.
Speaker 3: So just a great opportunity, whether you've been before or not,
Speaker 3: whether you have kids in the district or not, to
Speaker 3: come together and hear about what's going on in our schools,
Speaker 3: figure out how you can get engaged. It is a
Speaker 3: fundraiser for the foundation. It's our biggest fundraisers, so a
Speaker 3: great way to kind of get us in the position
Speaker 3: to fund all those teacher grants and bruins on the
Speaker 3: run and all the things that we're doing for our
Speaker 3: students and teachers every year. So again, that's August the
Speaker 3: sixth at the Bartlesvielle High School. Comments Tickets are available
Speaker 3: on our website Bpsfoundation dot org and we still have
Speaker 3: some sponsorships available. But with that event comes an online
Speaker 3: auction where we have a lot of Bruin themed activities
Speaker 3: and experiences like exploring our aviation's flight simulators. We've got
Speaker 3: a beach house in North Carolina from one of our
Speaker 3: retired teachers this year. I know, and go ahead, and
Speaker 3: but your been in on that now, so it's our
Speaker 3: biggest auction yet. But again all kind of related in
Speaker 3: some form to our Bruins and alumni. And then we
Speaker 3: have che Chef Nook is our executive chef for the district.
Speaker 3: I know everybody in Bartlesville knows Chef Nook, so he's
Speaker 3: now our executive chef with child Nutrition and so he's
Speaker 3: going to be putting together a great meal for all
Speaker 3: of our guests.
Speaker 1: My goodness sake, I don't know how you got that done,
Speaker 1: but wow, that is that is really something else, so ladatta.
Speaker 1: Besides you know, buying a ticket for the Silent Art.
Speaker 2: Right this year. So we have excited about some of
Speaker 2: our programs expanding at the high school. So our construction
Speaker 2: program that we started new last year, if you remember that,
Speaker 2: so we already have grown enough that we've added a
Speaker 2: second teacher to that program. So yes, so we're looking
Speaker 2: forward to that, and of course they already outgrew the
Speaker 2: space that we put them in initially, so we're going
Speaker 2: to be moving them out to the original AG building,
Speaker 2: so we'll have a bigger shop area and bigger classroom
Speaker 2: space to accommodate the growing program. And then our aviation
Speaker 2: program is going into its fourth year this year, so
Speaker 2: we continue to see growth in that. We have over
Speaker 2: one hundred students who are enrolled in that program, so
Speaker 2: this will be since it's year four, this will be
Speaker 2: the first year that we'll have students who have participated
Speaker 2: in that program for all four years of high school,
Speaker 2: who would have started as freshmen and get to work
Speaker 2: at the whole program.
Speaker 1: That is really nice, a little bit different that I
Speaker 1: think it's going to be quieter around school.
Speaker 2: Yes, thank you. We are updating our cell phone policy
Speaker 2: and the biggest difference that students will see is at
Speaker 2: the high school level. So we had already had this
Speaker 2: policy in place at the elementaries and the middle schools,
Speaker 2: but at the high school is going to be a
Speaker 2: change this year. So following new state legislation, we will
Speaker 2: students will not be allowed to have their cell phones
Speaker 2: out from Bell de Belle and Bell de Belle is
Speaker 2: defined as from the first bill of the day until
Speaker 2: the last bill of the day, so throughout the whole
Speaker 2: school day, cell phones will be put away. The only
Speaker 2: exceptions are emergencies or if a student has a medical
Speaker 2: need that's tied to their phone. There's some health monitoring
Speaker 2: some students. Okay, so those would be the exceptions. But
Speaker 2: that's definitely a big change, you know, it'll be an adjustment.
Speaker 2: Change is not easy, but looking forward to the results
Speaker 2: that our students and teachers will see in the classroom
Speaker 2: once they get in this new habit, I really think
Speaker 2: everybody is going to find that the classroom experience is
Speaker 2: going to be better for everybody, students included.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah. The first thing is going to prove is
Speaker 1: the posture, absolutely, and then the second thing is that
Speaker 1: kids are going to remember that the reading is fun
Speaker 1: to mental. They'll rediscover actually taking a look at a
Speaker 1: textbook again.
Speaker 3: Well, and hopefully their intention spans will improve, they won't
Speaker 3: have all those distractions. I know, as a parent of
Speaker 3: incoming sophomore, I'm thrills. It's kind of just reinforcing what
Speaker 3: we're trying to do at home, right, It's reinforcing that.
Speaker 3: And I like that you said it was a habit.
Speaker 3: So I think it is about breaking a habit, and
Speaker 3: at first it might be rocky, but I know I'm
Speaker 3: going to start talking to my kids about it now
Speaker 3: so that they can start, you know, getting that expectation
Speaker 3: in their head. Hopefully that will help. But my middle schooler,
Speaker 3: when they kind of made the transition to not having
Speaker 3: cell phones, that went, I think much smoother than maybe
Speaker 3: anybody expected, just because if everybody does it together, then
Speaker 3: you know you're on the same boat.
Speaker 1: So well, this is going to be interesting. I really
Speaker 1: hope this pays off because I had our last one
Speaker 1: just graduated.
Speaker 2: Yes, congratulations, thank you made it empty nest after seven
Speaker 2: kids you all day.
Speaker 1: I have no clue what I'm going to be doing world. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I wasn't paying for college for her and her sister anyway,
Speaker 1: but I witnessed with the last I guess the three
Speaker 1: girls that we that changes took place, like attention span
Speaker 1: and getting worried about this that or the other that
Speaker 1: really was meaningless or unimportant, and being anxious about missing
Speaker 1: something on their phone. Right, And I am very thankful
Speaker 1: that this policy is kicked in so that these kids
Speaker 1: can learn how to breathe. It can relax, forget about anxiety,
Speaker 1: and then you know, maybe just enjoy being a kid.
Speaker 2: Completely agree. So I mentioned the classroom experience. You know,
Speaker 2: I think that we'll see a better classroom experience for
Speaker 2: both students and teachers. But I also think, you know,
Speaker 2: reading the research and around the impacts of so much
Speaker 2: time spent on screens and social media that just personally kids,
Speaker 2: I'm looking forward to seeing the change in their relationships
Speaker 2: with other students.
Speaker 3: You have to talk to people, right, awkward.
Speaker 2: That's another thing that's going to be a change, and
Speaker 2: it is probably going to be a little bit awkward.
Speaker 2: What is lunch going to look like? It's going to
Speaker 2: look a lot different than it has, you know, the
Speaker 2: last several years. I think that's a good thing. It
Speaker 2: will be a challenge, though, but we're up for it.
Speaker 2: That's right, We're up for it.
Speaker 1: Right up there. Give them a little bit of a
Speaker 1: face masks the food fight, you know, because kids got
Speaker 1: the jitters and never mind, I don't think that's going
Speaker 1: to happen. But I think probably with it about six weeks,
Speaker 1: you're going to find a bunch calmer good.
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, completely agree. I think probably the first three
Speaker 2: weeks will be the toughest, right, that's you know, that'll
Speaker 2: be the toughest for everybody. And then after that, hopefully
Speaker 2: it becomes routine and becomes a little easier. But maybe
Speaker 2: I'm being optimistic and shooting for just three weeks things. Yeah,
Speaker 2: the test.
Speaker 1: I just think the idea is wonderful. Whatever it takes,
Speaker 1: it's going to work. And I got nothing but high
Speaker 1: praise for our lawmakers putting that together and for our
Speaker 1: schools for implementing it.
Speaker 2: Yes, thank you.
Speaker 3: I do appreciate the work.
Speaker 2: That the legislature did this year in supporting this policy change.
Speaker 2: So it's needed and it gets everybody. I mean, I
Speaker 2: think it's what's goes for our kids, so I appreciate
Speaker 2: their support for that.
Speaker 1: And once again in the big.
Speaker 3: Event, stay to school super cool.
Speaker 1: So we're going to get that taken care of. Folks.
Speaker 1: Thank you for being with this year on Community Connection
Speaker 1: on K one, the one you trust.
Speaker 2: This note that the COPE and Senior Citizens Center will
Speaker 2: be closed for the