The Big Bear High School Art Program stepped up once again by helping create individual and unique clay bears for all the riders competing in the Amgen Tour of California that is coming to Big Bear this Friday. The race directors were blown away by the student’s token of appreciation and the Mayor of Big Bear Lake has given the teacher, Julia Seaman, and her students a proclaimation thanking them for their gifts.
Once again, our students are great ambassadors of our community!
To see a video of their work, click on the link below:
Per the prior post about BBHS winning the California region of the Vans Design Art Contest, below is a video put together about the whole process and all the kids involved. Good luck BBHS in the finals!
Big Bear Strings keeps their unbroken Gold Rating streak alive! Equally as important is how well these students represent our Big Bear community! But most important is the dedication of Sharon Rizzo and her supporters in keeping alve a program whose entire funding fell victim to school budget cuts.
Below is a message from Sharon, the orchestra’s director, to her students…
Dear Elementary Orchestra Students,
Thank you for yet ANOTHER AMAZING DAY FOR STRINGS!!!! Not only did you continue our unbroken streak of Gold Ratings, but I was even more impressed that this first time “Clinic with Roger” was such a success… BECAUSE OF YOU KIDS!!! You did EVERYTHING he asked, but what I was so proud of was your ENTHUSIASM. I know you all wanted to get to Knotts after getting up so early, but you all just powered it out and listened to his every word with eagerness!!! I never even asked you to do that, you just did it!!. The same goes for your etiquette as audience members when listening to other schools’ performances…when I heard kids talking during performances, I looked over and you were ALL AS QUIET AND ATTENTIVE AS LITTLE MICE….it was the other schools’ kids that were making all the noise…thanks you for that….again, I NEVER had to tell you all how to behave in a performance, you JUST DID IT RIGHT!
As for the rest of the day, things ran so amazingly smoothly, and to all the parents and chaperones who were there….you are AWESOME!!! I meant it when I said I would take you ANYWHERE…this was a BREEZE!!!
Absolutely amazing! How great was it that Big Bear’s community never gave up on their kids and launched Big Bear High School into FIRST PLACE just 45 minutes before voting closed! I know many supporters who did everything they could to spread the word and make our students the victors. Thank you Big Bear for supporting our students! I know the kids will return the favor by representing us well in Los Angeles at the finals.
This is really cool. Read below. It takes literally 30 seconds to vote. There’s no sign in and you don’t have to give personal info. PLEASE VOTE!
And KUDOS to the kids for their incredible shoe artwork and MUCHOS KUDOS to their teacher for taking advantage of this opportunity to inspire students, publish kids’ work, while potentially earning a substantial amount of money in the process.
The Big Bear High SCHOOL ART program made it to the top 50 semi-finalists out of 1000 high schools in the nation, now we need online votes to make the top 5 to win up to $50,000.00 for our ART PROGRAM.
What is it?
The Van’s Custom Culture shoe design contest for high school art students…
The top prize is $50,000.00 with runner’s up having a chance to win $4,000.00 & up to $9,000.00. for their school’s ART PROGRAM!
Please spread the word for our ART PROGRAM!!! With the current California budget crisis this is an opportunity not to miss for our students in the Bear Valley Unified School District.
The North Shore Elementary School Fashion Club held their 2nd annual fashion show on Friday, April 20. Student designers crafted collections based on their favorite music. Designs were made using recycled clothing and accessories. The models were also students from the high school. FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) donated $1500.00 following the event. This is a wonderful opportunity for student creativity to shine.
Eagles have never looked so chic!
Generous Donations Make Fashion Fun for North Shore Students
Art isn’t dead. In fact, due to dedicated teachers, parents, community members and others, it’s alive and well.
Friday, April 20, was Art Day at Baldwin Lane Elementary School. All grades participated in a variety of volunteer and teachers taught art projects. This is all of the 3rd graders proudly showing their handmade suncatchers crafted from recycled CDs. Go Baldwin Lane!
Just ran across this link online that the Big Bear Middle School’s “Media Tech Kids” put together a few months ago for morning announcements. Looks like there’s a lot of great things going on over there. Also great to see kids having fun while learning 21st Century skills in media production. Check it out!
Today and tomorrow the 6th graders of North Shore Elementary join volunteers and staff with the San Bernardino National Forest Association on a 3-hour hike on the Woodland Tail to learn about winter adaptions of plants and animals, the water cycle, our watershed and how to become stewards of their backyard, the San Bernardino National Forest.
What a wonderful example of collaboration with our community experts to educate our kids as to the intricate environment in which they live.
Melanie Martinez leads the Safe School Ambassador Program
Melanie Martinez is the facilitator of the Safe School Ambassador program at Big Bear Middle School. As Melanie herself put it, “This program works from the inside out.” Unlike traditional programs involving an outside adult providing guidance for children, the Safe School Ambassador program puts the kids themselves in the role of teaching one another about respecting others, themselves and their school. Certain students who are natural leaders within the school community are trained to be examples for those in their very own circles of influence.
After all, what is more important to a middle school aged child – what an adult thinks of them or what their peers think of them?
Under the guidance and direction of Melanie Martinez through the Safe School Ambassadors program, Big Bear Middle School has undergone a cultural transformation this year. As Principal Tina Fulmer noted, last year there were 12 fights on campus by this point in the school year. This year there have been ZERO. But it goes far beyond that. Student respect and morale are at an all-time high.
As BBMS TRAC coach Dena Arbaugh explained, she has seen trendy programs come and go over the years, but this one actually works and is here to stay.
What a fantastic job that Melanie and the students of BBMS have done in making their site more than just their school. They’ve made it their home!
What do these three things have in common? It’s somewhat of a long story, but here’s the short version.
Our local Big Bear Soroptimists organization has been a long-time, ardent supporter of the children in our community as well as our schools. They took it upon themselves to raise and donate enough money to fund a program at Big Bear Middle School called Safe School Ambassadors to make the middle school a safer, kinder place for our children.
But they didn’t stop there. In addition to funding the Safe School Ambassadors, they also donated money for a state-of-the-art security camera system.
According to the middle school principal, Tina Fulmer, the contrast in student behavior and discipline problems to years past has been nothing short of remarkable. Kids are treating themselves, their peers and their school with much more respect while those who are still tempted to do otherwise have learned to think twice knowing they’re being watched and recorded. Because of fewer discipline problems, the staff can focus their energy more efficiently in teaching and counseling the children.
Kudos Soroptimists for recognizing the importance of our valley’s children and for being so proactive and generous in providing help to our schools! You are a fine example of what collaboration and community support can accomplish for our kids!
The young and old sharing some quality time together on Valentine's Day!
We’ve all heard of “Big Brother” and “Big Sister” programs. But Mrs. Topoleski’s 5th grade class from Baldwin Lane Elementary School and Mr. Benson’s Honor’s English class have an even better arrangement. When 5th graders and high school seniors pair together, magic happens. You’ll see admiration in the eyes of the young ones and detect a sense of responsibility in being role models from the elder senior classmen. Today they made Valentine’s together, shared presents, and had some quality bonding moments. What a valuable exchange promoting student citizenship within Big Bear’s school community!
What could be better than a serenade from the talented voices of BBHS on Valentine's Day?
Mr. Thompson and the talented singers from the Big Bear High School music program spread the love by delivering “Sing-O-Grams” to kids throughout Valentine’s Day. Melodic voices, blushing recipients and a general feeling of general happiness and cheer is what it’s all about. And it’s a great fund raiser to help keep the music programs running!
Bonnie Langelier’s Special Education class has their own specialized menu at North Shore Elementary School. For the last few months, students have been eating gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free diets. Courtesy of efforts from Bonnie, students’ parents, and the District nutrition services, all students get breakfast and lunch prepared daily. This is a healthier diet to help children with special needs. What lucky kids to have their own personal in class chef! And all due to the time, effort and contributions of those who pledged to better their students’ and children’s lives!
When teachers and community set their mind to things, anything is possible. A letter writing campaign, planned for February 7th at Big Bear Middle School at 5pm, is focused on letting our elected representatives know how we feel about the staggering cuts to our children’s education. This amazing event was scheduled by an inspiring group of teachers and community members. Kudos to the people for taking action!
I just discovered the polling function! Let’s have some fun.
Please read through the posts below and then VOTE. It only takes five minutes and will bring a smile to your face!
Board prez Randy Putz, Teacher Jim Fipps, Superintendent Kurt Madden, and Principal Melinda Peterson
When they’re not doing their daily duties at the school sites, Teacher Jim Fipps and Principal Melinda Peterson were spending their free time writing grants to support student’s health and physical fitness.
The best part is that they not only wrote the grants, but were awarded those grants as well! Thank you for your AWESOME dedication to making our schools better for our kids!
It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor. ~ Cicero
Student Government never falls short in finding engaging and powerful speakers and activities. But Keith Hawkins and his Day Of Understanding trumps them all. It’s simple – create a forum in which high school students from different races, genders, backgrounds and cliques openly share their life’s triumphs and challenges… then get them talking. It was one of the most effective assemblies I have ever experienced. Great job BBHS STUDENT GOVERNMENT and HIGH SCHOOL STAFF for embracing more than just academics and going out of your way to help your students become better people.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” ~Albert Einstein
“Brought a basket of fruit to my class today..the basics, apples, oranges, banannas..because I am sad to see my students mowing down pop tarts and flamin’ hot cheetos at 9:30 AM.
You should have seen them savor the flavorful fruit instead of that other garbage. I will do it everyday until I can’t afford it…they deserve it. And a few even offered to bring some in to refill the basket. Sweet kids..”
North Shore Elementary students are working together in an amazing way. All our kindergarten students have their very own fifth or sixth grade buddy who helps them three times a week. They are given one-on-one attention and help with sight words, reading, math, and writing. With their help, our kindergartners are really starting to soar! But, it’s not all hard work — we have fun together, too! This year, we had a Thanksgiving feast together, complete with costumes, turkey lunch meat, and pumpkin pie. We are truly thankful for our buddies and think we have an awesome thing going on at our school! Thank you, buddies!
Our school community has adopted “The Peace Builder Pledge” to encourage our children to be the best they can be. The pledge is made every morning at each elementary school site. What an AWESOME way to start the day!
Mrs. Seaman is doing some amazing things in the art department out at the High School. I have to say I was really impressed when I ran across an online album of their work.
But as it turns out, the story behind it is even better.
I guess there has been a huge team effort involving district and site administration, a committed maintenance department, and a lot of work by Julia herself to remodel the art room out at the high school in order to make it a place where kids’ imaginations can soar.
It’s been an ongoing project that’s lasted months and has taken hundreds of hours to complete. MANY of these being UNPAID hours, I’m sure. But the dedication has paid off as can be witnessed by the projects the high school kids have been working on.
Kudos to Tim Larson, Mike Ghelber, Terry Planz and his dedicated maintenance staff, and Julia Seaman for doing what it takes to make school an awesome place for our kids!
Jordan recalls the mural that inspired his journey...
It was a mural in the hallway of Jordan Romero’s elementary school that inspired him to become the youngest person ever to climb the highest peak on each continent. Kristie Bishop gives credit to her 5th grade teacher for inspiring her to excel in math and science. She recently received a full scholarship to graduate school at M.I.T. to study aeronautics with a research stipend to boot!
These are just two of what are surely countless examples.
It is inspiration that may be the most influential and powerful gift our kids receive from our school community!
Twice a year for 10-12 weeks each session and provides English instruction and resources for families who would like to learn English! District-supported and under the direction of Annemieke Stalcup, the FBET program is open to any person who would like to learn English. Families are welcomed and children are provided instruction and care, as well! This program has grown immensely throughout the years and now provides an excellent resource for our EL families! The program is housed at Big Bear Elementary School but is open to anybody in the community. The Spring session will be advertised in local media and on district resources. (FBET – Family-Based English Tutoring)
Whether it was Moving A Million Miles in support of local Olympian Ryan Hall, running to join the 100 Mile Club, or enduring a 100 mile ultra-distance run to raise money for the Baldwin Lane track, Big Bear runs with and for our students. From the Superintendent, all the way down to the youngest child, Bear Valley Unified helps promote an active, healthy lifestyle by embracing a variety of running events and programs.
Mmmm. One of Big Bear Elementary’s best kept secrets is Mrs. Knapik’s Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you’re lucky enough to have been treated to this chocolately goodness, laced with Mrs. Knapik’s loving enthusiasm, you know. Mmmm.
Maryann Lewis taught my son 2nd grade a decade ago when we first moved to Big Bear. And despite retirement and a whole decade passing, she still remembers him and cares enough to ask about him. Mrs. Lewis is not unique in this regard. Many of our local teachers do this regularly, and I know my children can count on a warm Big Bear welcome from former teachers long after they have left their classrooms.
In it’s third year in existence, “The Space Creativity Lab” at Big Bear Elementary School is an on-campus location that serves as a recess alternative and student creativity resource room. Funded originally by the Bobcat Booster Club and maintained and stocked solely on community donations, The Space is the place for students to explore, paint, act, build, tinker, compute, draw, write, and read! The Space was created after the school community realized a need for a location on campus for students to have a creative outlet and has been a wildly popular place to be ever since! Simply AWESOME!
A simply spectacular program run by tireless individuals dedicated to making kids lives better. It is award winning, inspires and challenges students to amazing levels, and is a poignant example of why the arts need to be in our schools. And most impressive of all, surviving and thriving in spite of being a victim of budget cuts!
There’s nothing more awesome than the upbeat welcome you get every day from Mr. Robinson at North Shore Elementary. He is the first person you see every morning and never EVER fails to bring smiles to everyone’s faces. It’s a great way to start the school day. He can even tell you how many days are left before the next school break 😉
My son’s first grade teacher is awesome. She makes my son feel loved every day. The example she sets for my son as a person is far more important than any academic lesson he will learn. Thank you Mrs. Powell!
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Thousands of great things happen in and around Big Bear's schools every day. I thought it would be nice to have a place where teachers, parents, students, support personnel, administrators and community members could share some of those things.
Please submit your "great thing" in the comment section below a post. Or email it to me at Awesome@Zamoyta.com and I will gladly post it for you. Feel free to include pictures if you'd like. I will try to post them too.
Twice a year for 10-12 weeks each session and provides English instruction and resources for families who would like to learn English! District-supported and under the direction of Annemieke Stalcup, the FBET program is open to any person who would like to learn English. Families are welcomed and children are provided instruction and care, as well! This program has grown immensely throughout the years and now provides an excellent resource for our EL families! The program is housed at Big Bear Elementary School but is open to anybody in the community. The Spring session will be advertised in local media and on district resources. (FBET – Family-Based English Tutoring)
Awesome Things In Big Bear Schools 