BCA April Newsletter
Congratulations to our newest BCA members. We had 128 students apply and accepted 91 new members with 80 being in the Class of 2020.
Senior Spotlight: Allisyn Pinkston
Plans after high school: To major in psychology or neuroscience/neurology.
Applied to: Middle Tennessee State University, University of Kentucky
Sports: Competitive dancer at DC Dance Factory
Leadership roles: involvement at BHS: EPIC, senior company at DC Dance Factory
Capstone Project: To research motor development in children to utilize dancing as a way to improve fine and gross motor skills.
Why did you choose that project?: To help benefit children with motor skill deficiency, so that they are hopefully perfected by their teenage years.
Favorite teacher: Mrs. Febles
All-Time Favorite Class: Theatre III
Senior Spotlight: Madelyn Chappelear
Plans after high school: Will be attending UTK at the college of business and communications for marketing
Accepted into: University of Tennessee Knoxville
Leadership roles and involvement at BHS: Senior VP of DECA, Ultimate Frisbee
Capstone Project: Organizing a walk-a-thon to raise money for the art programs (band, choir, theatre, etc.).
Why did you choose that project?: She’s constantly surrounded by the arts all throughout church and school, and has always been passionate and interested in the arts.
Senior Spotlight: Heath Creel
Plans after high school: To go to Harding University in Arkansas to major in community development because the campus life is fascinating and active.
Leadership roles and involvement at BHS: Ultimate Frisbee, National Honor Society
Capstone Project: Making Blackman High more welcoming by decorating the outside of the school to make it more aesthetically appealing.
Hobbies: Coffee, Running, Photography
Senior Spotlight: Monica Nelson
Plans after high school: To major in commercial music and mass communications.
Applied to: Belmont University, Lipscomb University, University of Kentucky, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Leadership roles and involvement at BHS: Clarinet Section Leader, EPIC, Student Council, Co-President of Prom Committee, and Marching Band
Capstone Project: A music video showcasing each fine art to encourage student participation.
Why did you choose that project?: To help benefit the collaboration of art programs at BHS.
Favorite teacher: Mr. Patton
All-time favorite class: Select choir
Senior Spotlight: Christine Monchecourt
College Major: Actuarial Science
College of Choice: Middle Tennessee State University
Capstone Project: My project is creating Blackman's save driving week in hopes to raise awareness for eliminating driving distractions.
Clubs: EPIC Mentoring, National Honor Society
Sports: Ultimate Frisbee
Favorite Teacher: Ms. Wilson
All-Time Favorite Class: AP BC Calculus
Most Influential Person: Ms. Bryan
Senior Capstone Reception
Here are some stats on these 24 amazing seniors:
- ACT- 27.57 avg
- 494 AP/Adv Honors/Honors/Dual Enrollment courses taken
- Involved in over 207 Clubs/Sports
- 3.8 Avg GPA
- 3 Valedictorians
- 16 graduating with distinction
- 21 graduating with honors
- 13 Summa Cum Laude
- 8 Magna Cum Laude
- 2 Cum Laude
- $1,979,000 in scholarship money
Shout-outs
- Crystal Dangerfield was named the 2016 AAA Tennessee Miss Basketball. This is the second year she has won this honor. Crystal has also won the Morgan Wootten award. The Morgan Wootten Award recognizes the nation's top high school basketball senior who demonstrates outstanding character, exhibits leadership, and embodies the values of being a student-athlete in both her school work and community affairs. This ultimately means, she was named NATIONAL player of the year!
- The following BCA students competed in the State Competition March 3rd- 5th: Cameron Almonrode, Alexandria Bartoszek, Nathan Bryan, Madelyn Chappelear, Madison Childers, Timmy Gardner, Paula Gonzalez, Jenna Kleinschmidt, Hanna Nordin, Jared Robinson, Taylin Spurlock, and Chandler Vongphachanh. The students who advanced to Nationals are Madison Childers, Paula Gonzalez, Taylin Spurlock, and Colton Tincher.
- Our Blackman Science Bowl Team competed in Knoxville, TN and out of 58 teams they were in the top 16. We had 3 BCA students: Nathan Bryan, Evan Daman, and Madison Fabber on the team.
- Madison Huffine, Mary Hartman, and Savannah O'Kelley got accepted to the Governor's School of the Arts.
- Marisa Graham got accepted to the Governor's School for Humanities.
- Griffin Collins got accepted to the Governor's School of the Sciences.
- Madison Flannery has been selected as the winner from Blackman High School for the MTEMC writing contest. She has won $100.00 and a Washington Youth Tour.
- Madison Childers was named one of two Tennessee's top youth volunteers of 2016 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. Read the full story here. Congratulations Madison!
- Weston Hollins was accepted to the United States Military Academy at West Point and the United States Air Force Academy. What an exceptional honor!
- Nia Morris was accepted to the American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA). AMDA is a very prestigious college for the performing arts in New York City!
Junior and Senior Field Trip to SOAR Adventure
For more information about SOAR Adventure, visit https://soaradventure.com/.
Registration Suggestions for 2016-2017
- Upcoming freshmen: Honors English I, Honors Biology, and Honors World History or AP Human Geography
- Upcoming sophomores: Honors English II, Honors Algebra II or Advanced Honors Geometry, and Honors Chemistry
- Upcoming juniors: AP English III, AP U.S. History or Dual Enrollment U.S. History, and Speech or Critical Thinking (highly recommended junior year before capstone)
- Upcoming seniors: Speech or Critical Thinking (if not already taken) and Capstone
Extra-Curricular Hours Reminder
BCA Speaker Series
Here are the remaining speakers for second semester:
- Friday, April 8th: MTSU Psychology Professor and former MTSU football player Dr. Corey Teague will be speaking during Prime Time.
- Thursday, April 14th: Mr. William Epps, Educator at Blackman High School will be speaking during Prime Time.
If you get an idea for a future speaker, we would love to hear it! Email Mr. Seadorf at seadorfb@rcschools.net.
Do you shop at Publix or Target??
Want to help the school with something you already do? Do you shop at Publix or Target??
Through the Publix Partners program, you can get a Publix card and enroll as a member of Blackman High School. A percentage of any purchase you make at Publix will come back to Blackman High School!
Through the Target REDCard program, Target will donate 1% of your purchases back to the school. Just ask your local Target to get signed up!
Extra Help
Academic Probation
Semester grades for Fall 2015 were checked on Jan 6th. BCA students were notified in writing if they have been placed on Academic Probation for the Spring 2016 Semester.
Also note that it is the responsibility of the BCA student to notify BCA Administrators if the student receives either ISS or OSS. BCA students have 72 hours to notify either Ken Reed, BCA Dean, or Andrea Holder, Academic and Disciplinary Committee Chairperson, of any suspensions.
Below are the policies for both Academic and Disciplinary Probation from the Collegiate Academy:
Academic Probation from the Collegiate Academy
Students in the Collegiate Academy are expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA and passing grades in all classes. If a student 's GPA falls below a 3.0 or if a student fails one or more classes, he or she will be placed on Academic Probation from the Collegiate Academy for the following semester. At the end of the probationary semester, the student's membership will be reassessed. If the reason for the probation has been corrected, he or she will be reinstated as a member in good standing. If the reason for the probation has not been corrected, he or she will be dismissed from the Collegiate Academy.
Students in the Collegiate Academy are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with Blackman High School’s Student Code of Conduct. Violations of the Code of Conduct, in which disciplinary action is taking by BHS administration, will result in one semester of Disciplinary Probation. At the end of the probationary semester, membership will be reassessed. If there have not been any additional violations of the Student Code of Conduct resulting in disciplinary action, the student will be reinstated as a member in good standing. If additional violations of the Student Code of Conduct resulting in disciplinary action have occurred, the student will be dismissed from the Collegiate Academy.
MTSU News
FREE 5-Day Language Summer Camps at MTSU
Take advantage of this opportunity by applying for a Jennings & Rebecca Jones Foundation scholarship at www.mtsu.edu/cala/scholarships.php (complete details on website). Awards will be issued on an ongoing basis through Friday, May 20th. Consideration will be given to applications submitted after this date as funds are available. Questions? Contact Brian Roberts, CALA Assistant Director, at acceleratedacquisition@gmail.com.
Innovation J-Camp
Innovation J-Camp is a five-day workshop held at the Center for Innovation in Media in partnership with the College of Media and Entertainment at Middle Tennessee State University. Innovation J-Camp is perfect for high school students interested in telling stories for mobile, social, digital and video audiences. There are only 25 spots in this year’s camp. Cost is $150, which includes lunches and all materials. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from July 11th-15th.
Register for Innovation J-Camp online at: innovationjcamp.org.
MTSU Summer Camps
Here is a link for MTSU summer camps: http://www.mtsu.edu/camps/. There are a ton of great opportunities!
Dual Enrollment
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Dual Enrollment program, students must:
1. be a junior or senior in high school;
2. have a minimum 3.0 high school GPA; or
3. have a minimum composite of 22 ACT (SAT composite of 1020); or equivalent ACT Plan test score
**Admission to MTSU and the Dual Enrollment program does not guarantee eligibility for all courses. Some courses require prerequisites and/or certain test subscores, including Math and English courses.
Cost
The tuition cost of a Dual Enrollment class is $166.00 per credit hour. This cost can be offset by the Dual Enrollment Grant, if the student applies and is ruled eligible. Students must maintain a 2.75 GPA for dual enrollment courses taken to stay eligible for the grant. The student should be prepared to pay the tuition cost in advance and then be reimbursed. Other anticipated costs include textbooks, $25 application fee, online course fees, and any applicable lab fees.
Dual Enrollment Grant
The total amount of grant money per student is $1200 total for their high school career. Current juniors get $500 for class one and two, which will cover the cost of a 3 hour class ($498 total per class). Current seniors were only set to get $300 for course 1 and 2, but MTSU decided to scholarship the additional $198 for the first two classes so that they too could have class one and two covered in full.
- Current seniors
Current seniors who have not taken two DE classes in the fall can still take advantage of this additional money provided by MTSU ($198) for the Spring term to cover class one and two in full. For class 3 and 4 they will receive $100 per credit hour leaving them a balance of $198 for class 3 and 4.
- Current juniors
Current juniors who have already taken two classes will receive $200 for class 3 (leaving a balance of $298) and nothing for class 4 (leaving a balance of $498).
*Although class 3 and 4 seem like a lot of out-of-pocket money, in-state undergraduate tuition cost is currently $1,011 for a 3 hours course, resulting in a savings of $513 when paying the full tuition amount for a dual enrollment course.
Textbook Rentals
BCA Contacts
Principal - Dr. Leisa Justus, justusl@rcschools.net, ext. 22901
Assistant Principal - Ken Reed, reedk@rcschools.net, ext. 22973
School Counselor - Christine Bryan, bryanc@rcschools.net. ext. 22906
Academics - Andrea Holder, holdera@rcschools.net, ext. 22960
Communication - Lois Walker, walkerlm@rcschools.net, ext. 22701
Electronic Portfolio - Ken Hardison, hardisonk@rcschools.net, ext. 22988
Extracurricular - Tim Pedigo, pedigot@rcschools.net, ext. 22995
Events - Hollye Dabney, dabneyh@rcschools.net, ext. 22738
Life Experience - Geneva Cook, cookg@rcschools.net, ext. 22942
Monthly Speakers - Brian Seadorf, seadorfb@rcschools.net, ext. 23036
Research - Rebecca Jones, jonesre@rcschools.net, ext. 22993