The Tiger Update
What's been happening and what's going to happen at BRFHS!
Black River Falls High School
Email: tom.chambers@brf.org
Website: www.brf.org/hs
Location: 1200 Pierce Street, Black River Falls, WI, United States
Phone: 715-284-4324
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRFHS
Twitter: @BRFHighSchool
Welcome to the Tiger Update...the public edition
Dear Parents and Community Members,
For many years, I have been sharing my Tiger Update weekly with the BRFHS staff to let them know what has been happening in our building and what is coming up in the weeks and months ahead.
I think it's time that we give you all another way to hear about all these great things that your kids are doing in the high school and provide you with a frequent reminder about what's coming up. We want to share with you how we are working with your children to prepare them for their future and to let you know how much we always value our partnership with you!
Setting Goals is Essential
Below you will see our building goals for the year and our progress towards them as we hit the halfway mark of the 206-17 school year.
BRFHS Building Goals - 2016-17
75% Percent of HS students will show growth when comparing their current GPA to their cumulative GPA using baseline GPA from the spring of 2016 to the final calculation in the Spring 2017.
Increasing the percentage of staff that say they view the implementation of PBIS as an effective step in managing student behavior, as measured by a staff perception survey.
- The percentage of parents who mark on the Annual Parent Engagement Survey “I engage with my child’s teacher” and “I check on my child’s work” will increase from 63.3% to 75%.
51% of our students increased their GPA...so far
Our goal was for 75% of our students to increase their GPA. Half way through the year, we're not there yet. In fact, the school-wide GPA slipped very slightly, down 0.028.
This means it is very important for all students to work extra hard during second semester to improve their learning and raise their grades. They can do it and we're here to help!
Also, we encourage you to contact your child’s advisor, teachers or counselor any time to request additional help, to provide support and insights or just to get answers.
You can try email, phone 715-284-4324 or send them a message through Canvas or Skyward!
Juniors and Seniors improved their class GPA; Freshmen and Sophomores have a challenge!
Unfortunately, our 9th and 10th graders did not and so we are putting the challenge out their for them to do much better now second semester.
Goal #2 - The Tiger Way (PBIS)
For a number of years we have been working with our staff on ways to address inappropriate student behaviors.
We use a national framework called Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (PBIS). In Black River Falls we call this "The Tiger Way". The Tiger Way, stated simply, explains how we expect students to always behave. We expect them to "Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Safe".
Our entire staff has been receiving training and working with our PBIS (Tiger Way) Team to teach, re-teach and help students to consistently behave appropriately. We do not have data on this goal until the end of the year when we ask teachers how effective PBIS (Tiger Way) has been this year.
Be watching for more information on this and ask your son or daughter about the Tiger Way!
Goal #3 - Parents and Guardians, Are You Connecting with Teachers?
We all know that each of us plays an important role in your children's (our students') journey to becoming educated adults. Without collaboration between all our partners, particularly with you, their parents and guardians, students would be missing crucial piece of support.
With that in mind and in an effort to achieve our goal #3, we encourage all parents and guardians to monitor your child's education and to connect with school as much as needed Below are all the ways you can connect with us. Know that our teachers are requested to reach out to you as well on a regular basis.
These efforts are solid work towards achieving goal #3.
Please be watching...our annual parent perception survey will be sent out in March to measure this goal.
If you’re not connected to Skyward and Canvas yet, do it today with the links below!
Changes We Have Made To Reach Our Goals
- Teacher-Advisors meet individually with advisees once every two weeks.
- Teacher-Advisors contact parents at each grading period if an advisee is failing a class.
- We changed our focus system to build in more incentives to achieve higher (see below)
- We created a Guided Study course to provide struggling students with skills and time to improve their learning
- We have taught and informed students what GPA is, how it is calculated and how it is impacted by their learning and their grades.
How Can You Help?
At the same time, your role as a parent can not be underestimated. You can provide support in the following ways:
- Discuss their learning and their grades (at least every two weeks)
- Attend Parent/Teacher conferences (see dates below)
- Call or email teachers, counselors or school staff any time you have questions
- Assure that your child gets plenty of sleep
- Set aside a quiet area and quiet time for your child to study
- Insist on a study routine every school night
Thanks so much for all you do to support education at BRFHS!
Student Highlights
Nate Eisenhauer participates in MLK National Weather Day
FCCLA - Well Dressed Competitors
A Musical Brush with Fame
Look up and see what you've been missing if you're not connected to our social media!
Get Connected!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BRFHS/ Twitter: @BRFHighSchool, @chambersbrf, #tiGRRpride,
What is focus?
Here is a quick overview:
Our Focus period rewards students who perform well with opportunities such as options to use our Engineering Lab, to meet with their clubs and to study in our wonderful commons or the LMC. Juniors and seniors who earn it, can even leave for work or home.
Students who are struggling, are assigned to structured study rooms where they are provided teacher support and guidance to complete assignments, get questions answered and to “focus” on improving their learning and grades.
Below are the guidelines for how students are divided into the four groups of privilege and intervention. Our teachers post grades every two weeks to Skyward.
Based on the grades earned, attendance and discipline issues, students are assigned to one of the four groups for the next two weeks.
Contact Mr. Chambers with questions about our system.
Click here to see our bell schedules.