Blackford County Schools

Will the real Coach Aaron Murphy please step forward??? Murphy's assistants Cate Bennett (left) and Faith Gephart had a little fun with Coach on Halloween! Come see the real Coach Murphy, his staff, and the Lady Bruin Basketball Team at their home opener on November 11 when they take on Cowan! JV starts at 6:00. Varsity starts at 7:30 p.m. Let's go, Bruins! #BetterAtBlackford

Happy Halloween from the Pre-K crew at BPS! #BetterAtBlackford

These amazing BPS staffers dressed up today to make Halloween festivities fun for their students! Thank you to the minions (and Gru) for all you do! We appreciate you! #BetterAtBlackford

There are all kinds of characters running around BJSHS today! Goofy (aka Mrs. Monica Myers), her son Max, (aka Mr. Austin Cochrane), and Batman (aka Mr. Randy Sehy) keeping the halls of BHS goofy and safe! Happy Halloween! #BetterAtBlackford

Oh, it's cuteness overload in Ms. Bre Heine's preschool class at BPS today. Her students have been busy making their own masks as well as modeling them! Nice work, Cubs! #BetterAtBlackford

Join us in making a difference in the life of a Blackford County student! #BetterAtBlackford

Here are more scenes from last night's Family Literacy Night at BPS. Thank you to everyone who come out for the festivities! #BetterAtBlackford

What a great turnout! We sure appreciate everyone who came out to the Family Literacy Night at BPS. Special thanks to Mrs. Amber Crabtree for planning and executing such an incredible night. We thank you for continuing to support child's path to literacy! #BetterAtBlackford

Do you have littles (ages birth to 5) at home and can use some support? Check out the Blackford County Early Childhood Expo and Safety Fair this Saturday, November 2 at BPS. This is a family-friendly event so feel free to bring the kids! Join us! #BetterAtBlackford

(Let's show our support, Bruins!) Small towns with big deals are the focus of a new shop local initiative. Blackford Directory announces the 'I Shop Blackford' campaign launch. HARTFORD CITY, IN, OCT, 26, 2024 - Posts on the Blackford Directory and Shop Blackford Facebook pages in recent weeks have hinted at a new shop local promotion to replace the '2023 Blackford County Gift Guide'. The 'I Shop Blackford' promotion, like the predecessor, intends to connect shoppers with local products and services they may not be aware are available here in our community. The social media posts included graphics from Anna Norris (Sirron Resource Partners) that feature the 'I Shop Blackford' logo, and incorporate their 'Small Towns, Big Deals' slogan. These graphics are available to Blackford County businesses and organizations on the Blackford Directory website at iShopBlackford.com. A new Facebook group will accompany the site. The new 'I Shop Blackford' Facebook group allows local entities to share sales, specials, and events, directly with consumers. Select posts from this group will also be shared on the Blackford Directory and Shop Blackford websites and social media pages. According to the iShopBlackford.com website, this project includes a continued collaboration with Purdue Extension Blackford County, Blackford County Business Group meeting participants, and Hartford City Chamber of Commerce members. Tim Norris Jr., from the Blackford Directory said "The (2023 Blackford County) Gift Guide was a great start, but this will streamline getting information directly from businesses to potential customers." He added, "By encouraging businesses and organizations to post in the 'I Shop Blackford' Facebook group, I can collect and share information a lot more efficiently to the websites and other social media pages." Businesses and members of the press who were present for the October 24, Blackford County Small Business Group meeting received advance copies of the press release and an info packet about the 'I Shop Blackford' launch. Plans for this 2024 holiday shopping season promotion include yard signs, free promotional materials featuring the 'I Shop Blackford' logo, featured product videos, live videos from local events, and a special iShopBlackford Celebration, downtown during the November 30th Shop Hop. For more information, or to contact the Blackford Directory, visit iShopBlackford.com # # # ABOUT THE COMPANY: The Blackford Directory, Shop Blackford, and I Shop Blackford, are provided to Blackford County businesses and organizations at no cost, by Sirron Resource Partners (Anna & Tim Norris Jr).

HCPD held a "change war" amongst BPS classrooms for a chance to win credit to shop at the BPS Book Fair! All proceeds from the coin wars go to the HCPD Shop with a Cop Fund. Congratulations to Mrs. Cristi Aulbach's second grade class! They were very thankful for their books! Thank you to all of our students for your donations! Don't forget, you can still set up an e-wallet for your child to shop at the book fair....here is the link! https://www.scholastic.com/bf/blackfordprimaryschool

How about some really great news on a Friday afternoon?

It was "No power, no problem!" in Mrs. Rachael Shadiow's 3rd grade classroom at the BIS yesterday. According to Mrs. Shadow, " When the power went out yesterday, my 3rd graders discussed author’s purpose and wrote a persuasive constructed response. We want to persuade our readers that headlamps are important for school!" Keep up the good work, Bears! #BetteratBlackford

They're decorating pumpkins in Ms. Kiley Eppard's preschool class at BPS today! Looks like fun! #BetterAtBlackford

If you are looking for some spooky fun... don't miss this!

Thank you, Dawn Winger, the Flip Flop and the Blackford County community for coming out to support our Bruins United athletes! The Flip Flop generously donated a portion of their proceeds this past weekend to the Bruins United teams. Thanks, everyone! #BetterAtBlackford

BPS students learned about 4-H last week thanks to a visit from Ms. Kyli Penrod, Blackford County's 4-H Extension Director promoting 4-H Youth Development. During the visit, Kyli met with students during their library class to introduce them to 4H. In addition to talking about all things 4H, they also read the book, Creepy Carrots, and built a fence using toothpicks and marshmallows. Our students had a blast! #BetterAtBlackford

Thank you to local resident Kathryn Fenstermacher for sharing her amazing musical talents with Mrs. Erika Miller's 2nd grade class at BPS last week. Mrs. Fenstermacher is from Arts Place and provided a harp demonstration for the students. They even got the chance to play the harp! Mrs. Fenstermacher also shared info about an Arts Place scholarship opportunity for anyone interested in playing the harp. Interested? Call 765.348.4154. #BetterAtBlackford

United States Senator and Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun stopped by Blackford Jr.-Sr. High School on Friday to review the successful programs currently underway in the district. Braun was joined by Blackford County Schools Superintendent Chad Yencer and BJSHS Principal Jason Ridge for the tour, which included stops in JROTC, Tech Ed, Health Careers and the Agriculture program. Braun was keen to learn more about these programs and stressed he was looking for ways to keep Indiana’s students working in Indiana upon graduation. The tour was student-driven by representatives from each of the programs sharing about it with the senator. He visited the JROTC complex, a tech ed. class and a health careers class, as well as the BJSHS greenhouse. Superintendent Chad Yencer welcomed Braun to Blackford County. "Senator Braun visited BJSHS today, and we enjoyed showcasing the great things happening in Bruin Country. Thanks to Senator Braun for visiting BCS!" Photo 1 - Senator Mike Braun meets the BJSHS JROTC class Photo 2 - BJSHS student Hannah Rich explains her duties to become a certified Nursing Assistant in her Health Careers class. Photo 3 - Abigail Slentz greets US Senator Mike Braun at BJSHS Photo 4 - Jacob Shroyer explains some of the features of the BJSHS greenhouse to US Senator Mike Braun.

Health Heroes will be at all Blackford County Schools on Monday, Nov 4, 2024 for flu shots. Permission slips will start going home with all k-6 students soon and any student in grades 7-12 may pick one up at the front office or health office. The permission form is also linked here. Just complete the form and return it to your school. Questions? Contact Corporation Nurse Amy Sargent at 765.348.7560 ext. 2000 https://core-docs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/1299/BCS/4937444/Health_Heroes_2024-2025_Indiana_Flu__1_.pdf