Beaverton Schools -

BUILD CHAMPS: The mission: Take some tools, a stack of lumber and three-and-a-half hours and build a five-foot-by-five-foot deer blind. And build it better than everybody else. That's what four young men from Beaverton did today, capturing first place in the annual MCTA Deer Blind Competition at their CTE Construction Trades lab in Clare. Juniors Lincoln Stoike, Talan Jensen and Landin Woods and senior Reese Longstreth out-sawed, out-drilled and out-assembled students from Lapeer, Muskegon and beyond to win the competition, displaying exemplary skill and teamwork in the process. In winning, they also brought home an excellent cache of construction tools for their efforts. Well done, gents. Congrats and #GoBeavers.

DID YOUR PRINCIPAL EVER DO THIS? If you ever wondered how far a principal would go to get kids fired up about state testing, we may have found the answer this afternoon. Not only did BES leader Shawna Hartwell dress up as Wonder Woman for the superhero-themed assembly, but the bleachers shook with fury as select representatives from each class were chosen to...SLIME THE PRINCIPAL! It was an uproariously good time and a great way to bring winning energy to next week's testing. Here's hoping for a repeat of last year, when Beaverton students in grades 3 through 6 outperformed their counterparts in neighboring districts by an average of more than 10 percent. Let's do this, Beavers. #Slimed

SUPERSTAR ROUNDUP: Put your hands together for your Beaverton Schools Students of the Month. At BES, they are (l to r) Emma Knake, Dean Vaughn, Ben Griffin, Briar Whittington, Alyvia Snyder, David Holder, Lily McLaren, Jaxton Longstreth and Chasity Hect. Not pictured: Jaxson Defore. And at BJSHS, we've got (back row, l to r) Dakota Knake, Daya Gillette, Kaelyn Fischer, Ford Kingry, Hermes Madurga and John Walgren, and (front row) Emma Sherman, Emily Skotynsky, Ashton Proffitt and Adam Krzyzaniak. Not pictured: Austin Colvin and Ashliegh Sites. Congrats to all and #GoBeavers.

RIGHTY, TIGHTY: Sixth-grade STEM students have spent the whole week tearing stuff apart and putting it back together, and it's been just as fun as it sounds. The reverse-engineering curriculum is designed to help students think about how things work and spark an interest in related careers. #BreakItDownAndBuildIt Up #GoBeavers

DELIBERATE ACTS OF KINDNESS: Congratulations to our latest batch of champions in the BES Kindness Challenge. #KindnessIsContagious @GoBeavers

IT'S TEST TIME: Attention, Parents, Guardians and Families - State-mandated SAT, PSAT and ACT WorkKeys testing for students will be held on the following dates: * SAT - 11th Grade: Wednesday, April 10 * ACT WorkKeys - 11th Grade: Thursday, April 11 * PSAT - 8th Grade: Tuesday, April 16 * PSAT - 9th Grade: Thursday, April 18 * PSAT - 10th Grade: Tuesday, April 23 Please keep the following guidelines in mind: * Attendance on these days is required * Students must bring their charged Chromebooks with them on their assigned testing days * Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided, but students may bring their own food if they prefer * No electronic devices (phones, smart watches, Fitbits, tablets, etc.) are allowed in the testing sessions; all devices will be collected until the end of the testing session * Please make sure your student gets a good night’s rest * Please make sure students arrive at school on this day no later than 7:55 a.m. As you know, state testing is vital for a number of reasons and its impact is felt not only by your particular student, but by future students and the entire Beaverton Schools family. Thanks for doing your part to help put our kids in the best possible position to succeed.

SHHH! DON'T TELL THEM THEY'RE LEARNING! - Nothing drives home a science lesson like a good visual aid, and Monday's solar eclipse is going to be pretty hard to beat in that department. Kids from the fourth grade up were spread throughout campus, taking in the awe-inspiring splendor of space. #ThanksMotherNature #GoBeavers

LOOK SMART: Monday’s total solar eclipse promises a rare and special opportunity for learning, and we want to make sure everyone does it safely. Thanks to the generosity of BHS alum Jim Looker, we’ll be able to distribute proper eyewear to all BJSHS students, and we're supplying glasses to kids in grades 4-6 as well. Please communicate to your kids the importance of not looking directly at the sun during Monday’s event without protection. This fact sheet explains the science and the safety behind the eclipse: bit.ly/49qdxrx. These videos are helpful as well: bit.ly/49o6wHp and bit.ly/3xoAYE6. Stay safe and #GoBeavers.

INSTANT HISTORY: The Beaverton girls soccer team took the field tonight for the first time in school history and fought through the frigid rain and wind at Gladwin to leave their fans more than satisfied. The Gs might've won the game, but Beaverton Athletics won the night. The home opener is Wednesday; c'mon out and give this group a look. Well done, ladies. #GoBeavers #Represent

IT'S TEST TIME: Attention, Parents, Guardians and Families - State-mandated SAT, PSAT and ACT WorkKeys testing for students will be held on the following dates: * SAT - 11th Grade: Wednesday, April 10 * ACT WorkKeys - 11th Grade: Thursday, April 11 * PSAT - 8th Grade: Tuesday, April 16 * PSAT - 9th Grade: Thursday, April 18 * PSAT - 10th Grade: Tuesday, April 23 Please keep the following guidelines in mind: * Attendance on these days is required * Students must bring their charged Chromebooks with them on their assigned testing days * Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be provided, but students may bring their own food if they prefer * No electronic devices (phones, smart watches, Fitbits, tablets, etc.) are allowed in the testing sessions; all devices will be collected until the end of the testing session * Please make sure your student gets a good night’s rest * Please make sure students arrive at school on this day no later than 7:55 a.m. As you know, state testing is vital for a number of reasons and its impact is felt not only by your particular student, but by future students and the entire Beaverton Schools family. Thanks for doing your part to help put our kids in the best possible position to succeed.

NEVER TOO EARLY: It's April, but Beaverton Youth Football's already thinking about next fall. Registration for Youth Tackle Football for grades 3 through 8 is open. See all the details below.

IT'S GETTING REAL: As our seniors continue their march toward graduation, today marked another milestone in the process with cap-and-gown portraits. May 23 is closer than you think, seniors - just ask any adult. #GoBeavers #GoSeniors

Good afternoon Beaverton. In our earlier post, we had a slight typo. Classes will resume after Spring Break on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Have a great break!

Beaverton Schools will be closed on Friday, March 22, 2024. This is due to the pending forecast of snowy road conditions and more snow throughout the day that will impact the morning and afternoon commutes. Have a great Spring Break! Classes will resume on Monday, April 1, 2024.

ACROSS THE MICROVERSE: New video: Beaverton Schools Presents...Tour de Force. Step inside to take the Cell Factory Tour, where BJSHS Integrated Science students do the teaching. Your ticket is right here: bit.ly/3PwL6B7

STATEMENT FROM THE BEAVERTON SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION - March 20, 2024 - At its meeting Wednesday night, the Beaverton Schools Board of Education announced it had reached an agreement with Superintendent Joseph Passalacqua to part ways, effective March 31. At the same meeting, the board appointed Tom House as the district’s interim superintendent beginning April 1. House, a longtime educator in the area, was superintendent at Harrison Community Schools from 2008 until 2015 following a distinguished career as a teacher and principal in that district. Since then, he’s presided in interim leadership roles at Farwell Area Schools and the Career & Technical Education department at Clare-Gladwin RESD. House’s responsibilities in Beaverton will include overseeing day-to-day district operations and assisting the board as it conducts a thorough search for the district’s next superintendent. The board wishes to assure community stakeholders, staff and students that its focus remains squarely on continuing to provide the best possible learning environment for students while maintaining its fiduciary responsibilities to the community. The board has no further comment at this time.

DISSECTION AFFECTION: What do owls eat? Students in Mrs. Lyons’ Science classes answered that question in the second-grossest way possible today as they performed dissections of owl pellets. (For the uninitiated: Owl pellets are regurgitated prey, producing whole or partial skulls, skeletons, fur and feathers of rodents, insects, lizards, rabbits, bats, snakes and birds.) The initial disgusted reactions to the premise eventually gave way to the undeniable coolness of science, and by the end of the session, the young faces had shifted from horror to curiosity. #GoBeavers #GoScience

"WHY ASK PI?" or "JUST A SPLATTER OF TIME": We can't exit this week without paying tribute to the highly-regarded and now-annual Pi Assembly, held every March 14. Spirited sessions of duck-duck-goose and musical chairs eventually gave way to the main event: the BPA fundraiser in which students paid for a chance to put a pie square in the face of any number of staff luminaries. And boy, did they keep that promise. #WhoWantsPi

SOFTBALL CLINIC: The BJSHS Softball team will host a Pitching & Catching Clinic Sunday, March 17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the BES gym. The cost is $10 per athlete and the clinic is open to students in the fourth grade and up. Pay at the door and checks can be made to Beaverton Softball. (This event is rescheduled from its original date of March 10.)

**Reminder** All high school spring sports start Monday, March 11th. Students participating will need a physical on file in the office.