Brantley Christmas Parade

The town of Brantley held its Christmas parade on Monday, December 16.  The BHS girls basketball team served as grand marshals. There were many participants including the BHS homecoming court, Emerald Wave Marching Band, BHS Varsity & JV cheerleaders, BHS FFA.  Many churches and businesses also participated, including Covington Electric who had their well-liked Mickey & Minnie Mouse float.  The parade was originally scheduled for December 14, but rained postponed it until Monday night.  

Legislative Session to Begin Tuesday

The Legislative Session begins next week in Montgomery.  Below is a list of pre-filed bills relative to education as presented to superintendents via the School Superintendents of Alabama. Alabama Ahead Act HB1 (McClendon) and SB1 (Dial) Bond for this was approved in 2012 session. Deletes pen-enabled requirement and the phase-in provisions Revises the advisory committee Provides an option for participation Requires a 25% funding match (unless waived or reduced by SDE) No longer restricted to grades 9-12 Funding may be used for: Infrastructure Devices, digital content, management systems, debt service and support Upgrades, expansions and maintenance Sovereign Immunity HB17 (Jones); HB64 (Jones); and SB55(Holley) House Republican Caucus Priority Legal immunity for civil cases (i.e., restraining a student, breaking up a fight, etc.) Goal is to reduce legal fees to 1 motion and 1 short bench hearing before a judge; no witnesses Constitution currently grants absolute immunity to the state and state officials in their official capacity                                                                                                                                     Traditional Winter Celebrations HB15 (Weaver) and SB18 (Allen)               Would allow each school system to educate students about the history of traditional winter celebrations and to allow traditional greetings regarding the celebrations. Schools may display scenes or symbols associated with traditional winter celebrations IF the display includes a scene or symbol of: more than one religion; one religion and at least one secular scene or symbol; does not encourage adherence to a particular religious belief.   Unfunded Mandates HB26 (McClurkin) and SB7 (Brewbaker) Constitutional Amendment Prohibits a new or increased expenditure of funds without enactment of a local ordinance or resolution and available funds An exemption is made for any state law that passes with 2/3 of those voting in each chamber and anything LFO determines to have an insignificant fiscal impact (in this case, less than $50,000) Warrantless Arrests for Educational Institutions Trespass HB33 (Poole) Authorizes a law enforcement officer to arrest a person without a warrant under certain conditions for trespassing on the property of an education institution.  Current allowable conditions include: “breach of the peace” felony committed reasonable cause that a felony committed knowledge of an arrest warrant when a charge has been made that a person has committed a felony domestic violence trespass on educational institution (new condition added through this bill) Remove SDE from Private School Oversight SB38 (Brewbaker and Marsh) Clarifies that private, non-public, and church schools are not subject to licensure or regulation by SDE. Prohibits any two-year or four-year institution of higher education from denying admittance to a qualified student because that student was home-schooled or attended private, non-public, or church school Prohibits the SDE from denying certification to a qualified person on the basis that the person was employed by a private, non-public, or church school Tax Exemption for Private Schools SB39 (Whatley) Exempts private schools from any state, county, and municipal sales and use taxes on the purchase of tangible personal property Kyle Grady Act SB41 (Whatley) Allows the possession and self-administration of auto-injectable epinephrine by a school student to treat life-threatening allergic reactions Defines “auto-injectable epinephrine” as a “disposable delivery device….that contains a pre-measured single dose.” Competitive Bids SB42 (Dial) Allows contracts to be let for 5 years (an increase from the current 3-year limit) for the purchase of personal property or contractual services Alabama Safe at Schools Act SB57 (Waggoner) Provides for volunteer training of persons in the delivery of diabetes care to a student with diabetes in a public, private, or charter school according to a diabetes care management plan. Bill limits the liability of schools, school personnel, and volunteers providing care under this act. Open Meetings Act SB58 (Orr) Allows members of governmental bodies to participate in meetings and deliberations via electronic communications under certain circumstances. Must still maintain a “public” meeting site.

LHS Team Tiger for December 2013

December Team Tiger:

K: Zarina Hill, Linkin McKnight

1st: Chloe Park, CJ May (not shown)

2nd: Amber Morse, Javin Thigpen

3rd: Luz Rascon, Jailen Jones

4th: Summer Waters, Noah Daniel

5th: Madison Reynolds, Gage Morrow

6th: Riley Marchand, Dontavious Presley

Cassidy Catrett Wins National Grant

A $1,000 grant has been awarded to FFA member Cassidy Catrett of Brantley, AL, by the National FFA Foundation.

The SAE Grant is designed to help FFA members create and enhance their supervised agricultural experience (SAE), a requirement that all FFA members must complete. An SAE requires FFA members to create and operate an agriculture- related business, work at an agriculture-related business or conduct an agricultural research experience. Upon completion, FFA members must submit a comprehensive report regarding their career development experience.

Catrett is a member of the Brantley FFA Chapter and was selected from hundreds of applicants nationwide.

The National FFA Organization provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 579,678 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,570 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

The National FFA Foundation is the fundraising arm of the National FFA Organization, which provides leadership, personal growth and career success training through agricultural education to 579,678 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,570 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

For more, visit the National FFA Organization online at www.FFA.org, on Facebook, Twitter and the official National FFA Organization blog.

There were 76 winners out of 690 applications. Cassidy was the only one from Alabama awarded the national grant this year.  Great job,  Cassidy!

Operation Stocking Stuffer

"Operation Stocking Stuffer" was a success!  Ms. Gayla's students stuffed stockings and collected toys and stuffed animals to donate to children in need.  Mrs. Jennifer and Mrs. Alicia (DHR representatives) collected the items.  The students prepared lunch for the ladies as well. Ms. Gayla's students had a great time and were proud that they have made a difference in helping those less fortunate. This was a meaningful way to address a need within the community (a 10th grade transition goal)

Ms. Gayla's Students

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Staying Close

Although thousands of miles apart, the students in Teresa Smith’s classroom are staying close to one very special soldier in Afghanistan, Ricky Beck.  Ricky, along with Mrs. Sherry Sport's husband, Michael Sport, left in early September for training in Texas and then departed for Afghanistan in October for an extended stay in that country.  Shortly after their departure to Afghanistan, Ricky's wife, Connie, mentioned that she tries to let LHS student Lezlee Beck facetime with her dad at night but it was difficult because of the time difference.  Afghanistan is 10 ½ hours ahead of us.  Mrs. Smith responded that her classroom’s new iPad had a facetime app on it and wondered if it would work.  Mrs. Teresa’s class now spend 2-3 minutes a few days a week communicating with Lezlee’s dad.  This experience has brought the students together as little else can.  Mr. Ricky tries to speak to each student and they love it!  Mr. Ricky always speaks encouragement to the class and it is always the highlight of their day.  He even sent the students a beautiful carving for the classroom.  Ms. Teresa spoke with Ms. Lisa Adair and Ms. Sandy Owens about this opportunity and they suggested the school participate in sending them a care package for the holidays.  With the help of HOSA and several classrooms, LHS collected over 300 pictures, letters, and cards along with lots of candy, cookies, can-goods and toiletries to send them.  In our preparation for this event, it was discovered one of the kindergarten student’s mom and former student of Luverne School, Nolita Harris, was working as a civilian in Afghanistan. So LHS sent her a care package too!  Thanks to technology, even if Lezlee’s dad is in another country, she can still see him frequently.  We want to publicly thank all of our service men and women for keeping our country safe, especially those from home! 

Scale Back Alabama

The 2014 competition is starting soon!

Now in its eighth year, Scale Back Alabama is a statewide, weight-loss contest that encourages Alabama to get healthy and have fun while doing it. The 2013 campaign drew nearly 30,000 people in almost every county. The total statewide weight loss since the beginning of the contest is more than one million pounds! The Scale Back Alabama school program also had impressive numbers with 91 schools and over 2000 school personnel participating last year.

The campaign is geared toward adults and is primarily operated with the help of local employers (companies with 10 employees or more), schools, hospitals and health departments. Each organization appoints one person to serve as the coordinator for the contest, and individuals compete on teams of four to win the chance at cash prizes. There is no charge for participating in the program. The program kicks off on January 16, 2014, and teams weigh in during the week of January 18-24, 2014.

The Scale Back Alabama School program is an additional component of Scale Back Alabama that gives school personnel the opportunity to be healthy role models for their students and for the school to be entered into a drawing to possibly win nutrition and physical activity oriented prizes.

Becoming a Scale Back Alabama School is easy.

·      Go to www.scalebackalabama.com for instructions on signing up for Scale Back Alabama. Your school will need a coordinator to get started.

·      All schools (K-12) participating in Scale Back Alabama will automatically be enrolled in the Scale Back Alabama School program. Students are not allowed to participate and weight loss for students is not being encouraged.

·      Scale Back Alabama Schools receive special recognition and are entered into a school drawing for prizes that promote good nutrition and physical activity habits for the students.  These prizes are in addition to the team and individual drawings for cash prizes.

It’s a win-win for the schools. School personnel work to achieve a healthier lifestyle while their students cheer them on and learn the importance of healthy habits. 

Scale Back Alabama is a joint project of the Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Hospital Association with generous underwriting from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama.

For more information, contact Molly Killman at 334.206.5646 or molly.killman@adph.state.al.us.

Important Scale Back Alabama 2014 Dates

January 16

Statewide Contest Kickoff

January 18 - 24

Team Registration/Weigh-in Week

March 8 - 18

Voting for Team Name Contest

March 19

Announcement of Team Name Contest Winner

April 5 – 11

Participant weigh-out week

April 25