Blackford County Schools

At the February School Board meeting, students from the BIS were recognized for their accomplishments as Character Ed recipients. Students attending included (from left) Joel Keys, Jace Fox, Eylijah Lovelady and Jusaina Hernandez. The Character Ed Trait for November was "The Classroom Cheerleader." Joining Joel Keys as a recipient was Charlie Pauley. December's Character Ed trait was "Strong and Steady" with recipients Ellie Barnes and Jace Fox. In January, the Character Ed trait was "Diversity and Inclusion" and recipients were Eylijah Lovelady and Jusaina Hernandez. We are #BruinProud of all of our Character Ed recipients! Congratulations!

We're celebrating the blue and gold of FFA Week! Students at BJSHS had a fun time during yesterday's convocation with a number of creative challenges. Keep up the good work, Bruins! We are #FFAProud! #BetterAtBlackford

Check out what the students in Mr. Rich Uggen's 8th grade Manufacturing Class have been up to! Nice work, Bruins! #BetterAtBlackford

BJSHS sophomore Evelyn Gulley earned a Silver Key award in the 2024 Scholastic Art Awards of Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio. According to Art Teacher Sydney Walter, 1694 artworks were entered and only 400 received awards. Evelyn is pictured with the portrait she drew of her great grandmother, Waunita Leona Godfrey, which will be on display with the other award-winning artworks at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art until April 7. Congratulations, Evelyn! #BruinProud

How about a shout-out for BJSHS senior Cate Wolfe for taking home a gold medal at this weekend's State Vocal Solo and Ensemble Contest! Great job, Cate! You can catch Cate sing live and in-person with the BJSHS Blue Felt Jazz Band on Thursday, February 29. Come out and enjoy a great show! #BruinProud

The Blue Felt Jazz Band was in action over the weekend at Northside High School and according to Director Mr. Holden Berlin, "The jazz band killed it!" Don't miss your opportunity to catch Blue Felt Jazz Band live and in-person at the BJSHS Band Concert set for Thursday, February 29. The junior high kicks off the music at 6 p.m. with the high school musicians taking the stage at 7:30. Come out and support these talented students! #BruinProud

BJSHS Robotics Coach Mrs. Jen Gallatin reports that the Junior High Robotics Team that was in competition this past weekend: "Not the day we expected, had a lot of technical difficulties, but 35473A managed a fourth place finish today. Pretty good season for both teams with a very difficult task. Looking forward to next year and moving these guys up to VRC." Way to go, Bruins! #BruinProud

Wow and brrr...! We can't thank enough the kind-hearted folks who braved the cold this weekend to participate in the 2024 Polar Plunge! Over $2000 was raised to go towards the Blackford Jr.-Sr. High School Unified Sports program and Special Olympics. A big thank you to all of the "Polar Plungers!" You are the best! We are #BruinBroud #BlackfordSheriffsDepartment

More scenes from Freaky Friday at BPS. What a fun time! #BetterAtBlackford

Here are more scenes from Freaky Friday at BPS! Thanks to everyone for making this such a fun day for the students! #BetterAtBlackford

It was a little freaky at BPS today! Students and staff were told to dress like each other for a fun Freaky Friday. As you can see, they had a blast with this! Check out some of our "newer (younger) teachers" teaching class! #BetterAtBlackford

Meet Blackford County Sheriff's Deputy Devin Cavanaugh! He currently serves as the SRO for our schools and students. We are giving Deputy Cavanaugh a shout-out because today is National SRO Day! We appreciate all he does for BCS! #BruinProud

Lucky seventh grader Janelle Slusher took home a 5-pound box of chocolate during the kick off of the BJSHS 7th/8th grade fundraiser. Students are selling candy bars to help raise money towards the 8th grade Washington D.C. fieldtrip in the spring. So, if you are looking for candy bars, we know just the students to contact! #BetterAtBlackford

Are you ready for some football??? The excitement level is high at BPS today! Principal Craig Campbell welcomed a surprise guest this morning when Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid stopped in on his way to Las Vegas. He took time to discuss Xs and Os with Mr. Campbell and Taylor Swift Jr. Then he took some time to meet with some fans in the hall. #BetterAtBPS #Superbowl

Check out BJSHS sophomore Chloe Smith, one of the guest speakers at today's State of the City luncheon sponsored by the Hartford City Chamber of Commerce. Great job, Chloe! #BruinProud

It was a busy start to professional development at the BIS today. Mr. Chris Painter taught staff how to use some new online tools in their classrooms. Mrs. Kylee Redford conducted a workshop on the teacher effectiveness rubric. The teachers discussed how to improve instruction in the classroom to help support student learning and outcomes. #BetterAtBIS

BPS teachers were deep in thought during PD this morning. Mrs. Jessica Shroyer presented highlights from the High Ability Conference. Mrs. Amber Crabtree presented on Fluency work for comprehension and grade level teams worked to develop Tier Two Vocabulary lists. #BetterAtBPS

Teachers learned how to make their lessons "stick" during professional development Wednesday morning. Assistant Superintendent David Parker led BJSHS staff in a session on the science of successful learning and applying those lessons in their own classrooms. #BetterAtBlackford

If you are looking for a way to make a difference in the life of a Blackford County youth, BCS has several opportunities available. BIS is currently seeking an Instructional Assistant - contact Mr. Fox. There are also several open coaching positions at BJSHS in Cross Country, Boys Soccer and Junior High Track. If you, or someone you know, is interested in any of these open positions, please reach out to the contact listed below. Join us! https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1299/BCS/3979780/Job_Opportunities_2-6-2024.pdf

The staff at Blackford Primary School was glad to see the sunshine today but we will be even more happy if we see you at the February food pantry. That's right! it is the first Monday of the month and that means it is food pantry night. The doors are scheduled to open at 5:00 pm. We hope to see you here.