Beech Tree News Network

Dear Families,
The beginning of a new school year reminds us of all of the possibilities that the future holds.  I hope everyone has had a very relaxing summer that was filled with many adventures.  I feel like we are about to embark on a fantastic school year that will be filled with hope and success.  This year will continue to be focused on teaching and learning.  We will strive to move forward with providing opportunities for each student to become college and career ready.  A large step in allowing this to happen will be the Leader in Me Program.  The students and staff at Morgantown Elementary have done a fantastic job implementing this program over the past twelve months.  We are very excited that Leader in Me will begin at North Butler Elementary in August.  With all elementary students developing their leadership skills, the future looks bright for Butler County Schools.
The Butler County School system is very proud of its incredible staff for many reasons.  Perhaps the most important is their commitment to the success of every child.  We have a few new faces in administrative roles across the district.
•    Mr. Cody Donaldson - Assistant Principal, Butler County Middle School
•    Mr. Michael Gruber – Principal, Butler County High School
•    Mr. Adam Gish - Assistant Principal, Butler County High School
•    Mr. Daniel Ward - Guidance Counselor, Butler County High School
To those that are new to our school community, we are looking forward to your contributions to our students and team.  We are so fortunate to have a school district for which we can be proud of—with families, staff, and the community coming together to support our mission of Building Character, Collaboration With Families, and Shaping the Next Generation!
Our transportation department has been finalizing many of the bus routes so they will be ready to go the first day of school.  The district did purchase some new buses that arrived over the summer and will be joining our fleet in August.  If you have any questions about bus pick up and drop off times or just routes in general, please contact Mr. Jeff Jennings or Mrs. Cindy McCoy at 270-526-5624.
I am also excited to be able to continue our CEP Program at Morgantown Elementary, North Butler Elementary and Butler County Middle Schools.  This program allows all elementary students and middle school students to eat breakfast and lunch for free.  If you have any questions or concerns about the breakfast program or lunch program, please contact Mrs. Kaitlin Harrison, Director of Nutritional Services at 270-526-5624. I would like to extend a special “Thank You” to our great custodians and district maintenance staff.  They have been working extremely hard to make sure all of the schools and district facilities are looking bright and welcoming for every student on August 9th.
As always, I am honored to work with each one of you.  I look forward to meeting all of the parents and partnering with them to ensure the best possible education is provided for our children.  If I, or anyone in the district office, can help with anything at all please let us know.  Please take some to visit our schools and maybe have lunch or breakfast with your children or look at the school or district website.  It is my wish that everyone has a meaningful and productive school year!

Take care,
Scott Howard, Superintendent
Butler County Schools

Butler County High School

     On behalf of the faculty and staff at Butler County High School, I want to welcome all of our high school students back to school and I want to give a special welcome to our incoming freshmen. Butler County High School has high academic standards and strives to be one of the best high schools in this region. I challenge each student to participate in the different types of in and out-of-school activities to make your high school years as exciting and memorable as possible.

     Freshmen, please make an effort to attend freshmen orientation on July 28th.  It will be held from 8:00am-1:00 pm.  This is an important event designed to get them off to a good start.  They do not need to bring anything with them as everything will be provided, including lunch.

     The faculty and staff of BCHS want parents and the community to know we strive to keep an open line of communication. There will be articles in the paper, information on the school website www.bchsbearsonline.com as well as letters and phone calls using the One Call automated system.  Please pay attention to the paper work and student handbook that you receive from the school. It contains important information about school policies and procedures.  If your student has received a free or reduced lunch in the past, you must fill out the paper work for the new school year.  Returning this quickly, ensures continued services for your student. 

     Several staff changes have taken place over the summer.  Due to Mr. O’Driscoll’s retirement, I was selected to be the principal, we hired Adam Gish for assistant principal, Daniel Ward as counselor, Shera Lindsey for math, Ben Phelps for Science, and Hope Hines for English.  Erin Mohon is our new Cross Country coach, Ruthie Minton and Nick Hildabrand are coaching volleyball and Keith Butler will be our new baseball coach.

     *Please note:  Students’ class schedules will be handed out on the first day of school.  Schedule changes are handled during the first 3 days of each semester.  If you wish to make a schedule change, you must call the high school to have your son/daughter placed on a list.  This ensures that parents are aware of any class changes. 

     Our faculty and custodial staff have worked very hard getting everything ready for the start of a new school year.  Please contact us at any time by phone 526-2204 or by email at [email protected] .  As always, thank you for your support of Butler County Schools. Together we can make this one of the best years for our students.

Michael Gruber, Principal
Butler County High School

BCMS Community,
I want to officially welcome everyone to the 2016-2017 school year!  I hope you are enjoying your summer and have exciting adventures to share with us.  Over the summer, the faculty and staff of Butler County Middle School have been working hard to prepare the building for the first day of school. We are honored to have many new faces in the building this year and would like to  welcome Mrs. Fulton, Mr. Napier, Mr. Cardwell, Mrs. Jenkins, and Travor Martin to the BCMS team. 
I am privileged to have the opportunity to continue to serve as the Butler County Middle School Principal, and will be excited to see many incoming 6th grade students.  Our Jumpstart for 6th grade students will be on July 28th from 8:00-1:00 PM.  Information is available on the school website, Facebook page, at the Board of Education, and at Butler County Middle School.  Please complete the registration form and return it to Butler County Middle School or the board of education by July 25th if your child will be attending. Transportation/bus route information is also available. 
It is an honor to work with our highly qualified and dedicated staff, our wonderful students, supportive families, and amazing community.  As you know, the middle school years are such a critical time in the social, mental, and physical development of students.  I look forward to working with each of you to make this school year a success.
This summer many of our staff members have been continuing their professional development to insure that BCMS students are rigorously prepared with 21st century skills. They have attended Professional Learning opportunities, and are prepared to implement many new strategies to differentiate the instruction for all of our student’s needs. Our staff have been working hard in preparing their classrooms and lesson plans that promise to make for another exciting and productive year. We give many thanks to our custodial crew who have been working diligently to prepare our building for the start of the new school year.
BCMS has spent quite a bit of time aligning all aspects of our Vision and Mission with the goals of fulfilling our obligation to our students which is to Building Character, to Shape, and to Prepare students to be successful in all life endeavors in a global community.  
Enjoy the remaining days of summer!  I look forward to seeing all of the new and familiar faces as we return to school on August 9th, 2016.

Mr. Tim Freeman
Butler County Middle School Principal

Butler County Area Technology Center

Butler County Area Technology Center would like to welcome all students back to school! Our primary goal is to prepare our students for a career in one of our exciting technical fields while offering them the skills to succeed in a competitive job market.  As students’ progress through our programs, they will realize that opportunities exist to aid in their transition to WKU or Southcentral KY Community and Technical College while earning a two year degree and job placement.  Our programs have “dual credit” agreements with the Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College in Bowling Green KY. This allows a student to earn “college credits” while in high school at no extra cost to the student or their family. A student who completes a course at the ATC could possibly have one semester completed at SKYCTC prior to their high school graduation.  This would allow the student to save time and tuition costs as well.

We would like to invite students, parents, and the community to stop by and take a look at our school and the opportunities provided by our staff. Programs and courses at the ATC include Air Conditioning, Health Sciences, Carpentry, Automotive, and Industrial Maintenance. If your child is interested in the medical field, construction or carpentry field, refrigeration, residential or commercial air conditioning installation and repair, automotive repair and maintenance, industrial electricity, machining, tool and die, or welding, please consider what the Tech Center has to offer. We teach the latest high tech training techniques in these exciting career fields.  Your child will learn a skilled trade that will remain with them for life while making them employable and qualified for premium wages.

    We want to encourage our parents and community to come by and visit our facility or visit our website at www.butlercountyatc.com .  If you have any questions, you may also call the school (270) 526-2223.

Sincerely,

Ray Hammer, Principal
Butler County Area Technology Center

Welcome to the Butler County Learning Center!!

We Change Lives…One Student at a Time.

On behalf of the faculty and staff at the Butler County Learning Center, welcome to the 2016-2017 school year. We would like to extend a warm welcome to those students and parents who are new to Butler County Learning Center as you continue your educational journey.  This school year is an exciting time and the faculty and staff at Butler County Learning Center is working hard to ensure that every student has a positive and productive start to their school year. 
 
The Mission of the Butler County Learning Center is to encourage and promote student development of behavioral, academic, and social skills in order to be a more productive and educated member of the family, community, and society.  Students at the Butler County Learning Center will focus on three areas:  Respect, Responsibility, and Readiness.  By focusing on these three areas, we will strive to meet our student’s academic and behavioral achievement goals. The Butler County Learning Center also provides an environment of mutual respect. Students are expected to respect others and most importantly themselves and in turn they will be given the respect they so deserve as well.   The Butler County Learning Center encourages students to be responsible for their own actions, inactions, and words ultimately endearing the student to become an active participant in their own education.

Parental involvement is a critical factor in the success of our students and our school.  We extend a warm welcome to all of our parents and encourage them to become an integral part in their child’s education and development during their time there.  As we progress in the development and refinement of our programs, parental input will be key in determining future endeavors for the benefit of their child and for the benefit of all of our students.

Our staff remains consistent for the 2016-17 school year.  Mr. Bryant McClellan will work with both the middle and high school programs as well as delivering Arts and Humanities instruction.  Mr. Sam Hartford and Mrs. Lynda Odriscoll will continue in their roles teaching in the Middle School room and High School room respectively.

            Our Facilities are looking great.  Mike Ryan has put great effort into cleaning and preparing our school for this exciting new school year.  Our teachers have worked to ready their classrooms, creating an inviting and open environment which will further enhance student success.

     Student achievement is our first priority at the Butler County Learning Center.  If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me at school (1-270-526-2264) or on my cell phone (1-270-999-1915). Stop in and visit us at the Butler County Learning Center anytime!!