BATTLE MOUNTAIN HIGH SCHOOL

Message from the Principal

     As previously communicated in the May newsletter, we would like to thank everyone for a successful school year and wish you all a safe and relaxing summer break. Congratulations senior graduates and good luck in your college and career pursuits.
     In preparation for the 2008-09 school year please note the following dates and reminders.  The BMHS front office will be open for the entire month of June and will be closed during the month of July.  Summer School will run from June 9-27 from 8-12:00 in the morning.  Please contact Sage Nelson at snelson@eagleschools.net for more information regarding summer school registration and classes   Counselors will be available through June 12.  Fall sports begin August 11.  Students and parents should attend registration on August 20 (11th and 12th graders) or August 21 (9th and 10th graders) between the hours of 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM.  The 9th Grade Academy will be initiated as part of the 8:00-11:30 AM orientation scheduled for August 29.  The first day of school for all students is September 2.
     A cover letter and registration packet of information will be mailed to the parents or all pre-enrolled students during the second week of August.
     Finally, I would also direct you to the attached correspondence outlining the changes in BMHS policy related to substance abuse and extracurricular participation.  Again, have a great summer!

 
Brian Hester
Principal

BMHS Players
The Fall Production for the BMHS Players will be THE MAN WITH BOGART'S FACE, a hard boiled mystery!
 
Auditions will be September 16,17,18 in the BMHS auditorium. Grades 9-12 are invited to audition or to help backstage for this production.
 
The rollicking musical GREASE will run April 23-26. Auditions will occur in early February.

Fall Sports
Fall Sports begin with Boys Golf on August 4th and Football, Cross-country, Boys Soccer, and Volleyball beginning on August 11th.  
 Information on sport physicals, coach contacts, sport schedules and other sport information can be found on our athletic website HUSKYTEAMS.com.

Upcoming Events 
June 3:  9th-11th grade final exams periods 1, 2, and 3.
 
June 4:  9th -11th grade final exams period 0, 4, and 5.
 
For 2008-2009
 
July 28 - August 15:  8th to 9th grade Jump Start at BMHS
 
August 20, 8:30 to 2:00: 11th - 12th grade registration
  
August 21, 8:30 to 2:00: 9th - 10th grade registration
 
August 22, 8:30 to 2:00: New Student registration
 
August 28, 8:30 - Noon: Freshman Orientation/Link Crew
 
September 2:  First Day of School

Speech Team News:
The new captains for the 2008-9 year are:
Sage Buchalter, Nicole Frye, Fiona Jeppson and Shea Wilson.  The outgoing captains met with the new captains to plan the new season.  Contacts will be made via email/onecallnow and personal contact from the captains. 
 
The team members were divided into new teams and will be contacted for these upcoming summer fundraisers:  Eagle Flight Days on June 28; Youth Conservation Corps (TBA) and the EVCF Rummage Sale (ongoing).  The monies raised helps to subsidize travel.  All present team members will get a hard copy of the minutes before the end of the school year.

THIS WEEK @ BMHS 

Parent volunteers needed for Registration this summer.  

Before you change gears for summer, please consider helping us with registration in August. 
We need about 25 volunteers to assemble registration packets on August 11th (tentatively).  The packets will then be mailed to all students.
We also need about 20 volunteers per day for registration.  11th and 12th grade registration is scheduled for Wednesday, August 20, 2008.  9th & 10th grade registration is Thursday August 21, 2008. 
Please contract Lori Brown(lrbrown15@hotmail.com) or Cricket Pylman(pylman@comcast.net) to volunteer.

Important End of the School Year Information from the Guidance Office 
Registration for 2008-2009
The counselors have met individually with each student to plan their course selections for the 08-09 school year. The student planning guide is available in the guidance office and online at [ http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001TbP9FNzcHoVW0PWL-3ttCRxpSjSGzetBepU0JrmfLVqYKvvPbFsOPRgb8djK0fY59v0lMsrHhZ9h8TWTNpVzCNQUb8GndvDclKGWhQ7HtC5RAZonkGpJHjD4X9Tsicdt ]www.bmhs.eagleschools.net. Parents can view student's course choices on PowerSchool (under Class Registration and View Future Courses.) Schedules will be distributed at registration in August. 
We encourage our students to take Dual Enrollment courses. They can test into these courses by taking the Accucplacer, ACT or SAT. We have been giving the Accuplacer to many students to determine eligibility for CMC college classes. If students have not yet tested in on the Accuplacer at BMHS they have several options. They may contact Carol Carlson at CMC to take the test.

 Link Crew is coming to BMHS! Link Crew is a successful mentoring program at thousands of high schools across the nation. Forty-five upperclassmen will be involved in the orientation and mentoring of our incoming freshman class. Applications are being accepted, and we are looking for more boys!  Contact Ms. Abbott, Ms. Nelson or Mr. Warburton for more info!

Summer School
Battle Mountain High School will be offering summer school to all students who need to recover credit in English, Mathematics, History, and Science. Below is a registration form for our 2008 summer session, which will run Monday through Thursday from June 9th to June 26th.  
Students will be able to take up to 1.0 credit (2 classes). 1st period will begin at 8am and our 2nd period class will begin at 10am (both classes will last for 2 hours)

Classes will be $130 per 0.5 credit and must be paid before the start of the first class. A $15 discount per class is offered to those who sign up and pay before May 9th Financial aid is available upon request.
Students will be required to attend the BMHS Summer School if they have failed a core class during the 2007-08 school year or need to make up credit from previous years. 
 
Contact Sage Nelson at 328-7843 or kimberly.nelson@eagleschools.net for additional information.

Changes in Substance Abuse Policies and Procedures for Battle Mountain High School

    Beginning in August of 2008, BMHS will be operating under some new policies and procedures related to student use or possession of illegal substances.  The Eagle County Schools Board of Education approved these changes in May of 2008 in response to the combined study and efforts of the BMHS Parent Accountability Committee, the school community, and BMHS Administration.  
     The Board-approved changes build on previous efforts to ensure a safe and productive school environment in which students and staff can focus on academic learning and the extracurricular involvement that supports this learning.   Beginning in the Spring of 2006, the BMHS Accountability Group assisted the school staff in sending a clear message that the use and/or promotion of illegal substances was negatively impacting student performance in the academic and extracurricular arenas. 
     Since that time,  BMHS Staff and Administration have addressed this issue by implementing the following:  (1) increased communication with students and parents, including a more open atmosphere for student reporting; (2) more effective identification of student use through an awareness of physical and behavioral symptoms; (3) the employment of random canine-led searches, as well as the use of breathalyzers at major events; (4) a strict adherence to consequences related to student and extracurricular participation, (5) increased supervision within the building and on campus, the latter including the employment of a parking lot supervisor; and (6) referrals to counseling services for students and families in need (voluntary). 
Although these measures have helped create a safer school and a more productive learning environment there is still a need to prevent substance abuse and its negative influences.  In order to prevent repeated offenses and to address the increased need for support in the form of prevention, assessment and counseling, the new policy incorporates four major changes. 
First, a Student Assistance Coordinator position will be employed as a BMHS staff member for the purpose of overseeing the referral, assessment and counseling process for students who are at-risk, based on warning signs or substance abuse offenses.  Second, students committing a first "In-School" offense (still defined as on school grounds, associated with a school event, or during school hours) will be referred to the SAC with the parents' cooperation.  A second "In-School" offense committed anytime during the student's tenure at BMHS will result in a recommendation for expulsion from school.  Third, student extracurricular participation in school athletics or activities will require consent to random drug testing (see below) during the season of participation.  This is working effectively for 4,100 other schools in the United States.  Finally, positive incentives will be established for students who demonstrate negative drug test results along with zero instances of substance offenses during their high school career in the form of academic scholarship opportunities, certificates of recognition and/or letters of recommendation.  
We believe that the additional support and resources, along with the consistent consequences, will ensure for the health and safety of all students.  These policy changes will capitalize on the effects of peer pressure by providing a legitimate reason for students to refuse illegal substances.  It will also encourage students who use drugs to participate in drug treatment programs as part of the referral and support process.
     Please take the time to review the attached policies and procedures.  If you have questions, we encourage you to address the BMHS Accountability at rowlandsmail@aol.com, Principal Brian Hester at bhester@eagleschools.net or Counselor Jeanne Hennessy  at jhennessy@eagleschools.net

Battle Mountain High School Random Drug Testing Protocol & Procedure

 Statement of Purpose:
 
1)      To provide for the health and safety of all students participating in extracurricular activities.
2)      To undermine the effects of peer pressure by providing a legitimate reason to refuse illegal substances.
3)      To encourage students who use drugs to seek out support and activities to  participate in drug treatment programs.
4)      To encourage students who are not participating in extracurricular activities, but may be using, to seek out support that is available.
                       
Definitions
 
Drug - any substance considered illegal by Colorado Statute or which is controlled by the Food and Drug Administration (not to include tobacco for random testing purposes).
Student extracurricular participant  any Battle Mountain High School student or other local high school student participating for Battle Mountain High School who is participating in any extracurricular program  sponsored by Eagle County Schools.
Extracurricular Program - any program sponsored by Battle Mountain High School and  Eagle County Schools that does not require attendance in a regular academic course (Band and ProStart are not considered extracurricular programs).
Extracurricular season - the period of extracurricular participation involving sanctioned competition (i.e. CHSAA) or regular practice in preparation for school-sponsored performance.
Competitive participation   the period when an extracurricular participant's team or organization competes against opponent(s) or performs in a formal production (i.e. drama production). 
Extracurricular suspension - for a first or second offense, this is the time during which an extracurricular participant does not qualify for competitive participation, but is still required to attend and be involved in practice or rehearsal.
 
Protocol Specifications
 
Procedures for Extracurricular Participants 
Consent:  Each student wishing to participate in any extracurricular program and the student's custodial parent or guardian shall consent in writing for every extracurricular activity, every season, to drug testing pursuant to the school's district-approved drug testing program. Written consent shall be  part of the  extracurricular consent materials.  Students shall not be allowed to participate in any extracurricular program without such consent.

Student Selection:  At the discretion of the school, extracurricular participants may be randomly drug tested at any time during the extracurricular season. Selection for random testing will be by lottery drawing from the "pool" of all extracurricular participants for that season. The Principal, Athletic Director and/or his designee(s) shall take all appropriate steps to assure the integrity, confidentiality and random nature of the selection process, including but not necessarily limited to: assuring that the person drawing names has no way of knowingly choosing or failing to choose particular students for the testing and assuring, that the identity of students drawn for testing is not known to those involved in the selection process by at least two adults. A student may also be referred for testing by the athletic department, Principal or recommendation from the coach that there is a reasonable suspicion to suspect a violation it is recommended that 6 male and 6 female extracurricular participants will be randomly selected each week.
 
Sample Collection:  Samples may be collected at a mutually convenient time on the same day the extracurricular participant is selected for testing or, if the participant is absent on that day, on the day of the participant's return to school. If a participant is unable to produce a sample at any particular time, the participant will be allowed to return later that same day to provide the sample. Male/Female designated testing will take place with clear guidelines for authorized personnel to administer tests.  Same sex monitors will wait outside a closed restroom stall for the student to produce a sample and "listen for the normal sounds of urination in order to guard against tampered specimens and to insure an accurate chain of custody." (U.S. Supreme Court in Board of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls, 536 US 822 - (2002))
 
Prescription Meds:   Extracurricular participants who are taking prescription medication may provide a copy of the prescription or a doctor's verification in a sealed envelope to school personnel at the time a sample is collected. That envelope will be forwarded (unopened) to the testing lab with the sample, with instructions for the lab to consider the participant's use of such medication to assure the accuracy of the result. Such information provided by the participant will not be disclosed to any school official. Extracurricular participants who refuse to provide verification and/or test positive will be subject to the consequences specified by policy for "positive tests."
 
Scope of Tests:  The testing lab will be instructed to test for the following drugs: amphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and barbiturates.  The Principal, Athletic Director and/or designee may test for additional illegal drugs, to begin with the subsequent extracurricular season; but in no event shall that determination be made after selection of students for testing. Extracurricular participant samples will not be screened for the presence of any substances other than an illegal drug or for the existence of any physical condition other than drug intoxication.  THC (Marijuana) stays in the body a minimum of 30 days, therefore, a student testing positive to a drug test, whether the student used the drug during the activity season or before starting the season, will be considered positive, resulting in the appropriate consequences.
           
Limited Access to Results:  The testing lab will be authorized to report results only to the Principal, Athletic Director and/or to such person as the Principal may designate.  The test results are to be secured in confidential files separate from an extracurricular participant's other student education records and released to school personnel only on a "need-to-know" basis. Test results are not to be shared with law enforcement, unless the extracurricular participant is under diversion or probation, and are not to be used for the purpose of imposing school-related disciplinary measures (separate from Athletic Handbook infractions) or lead to any academic consequences. No other private off-site testing/on-site testing will be authorized by BMHS or the District.
 
Procedures in the Event of a Positive Result: Whenever an extracurricular participant's test result indicates the presence of illegal drugs ("positive test"), the following will occur:

 The extracurricular participant will be asked to provide another sample as soon as possible. If the student refuses to provide another sample, or unduly delays in providing such sample, the results of the first sample shall be accepted as accurate. 
 
The second sample will be submitted to the testing lab for testing 
 
If the second sample tests negative, the student will not be notified and no further action will be taken. If the second test is positive, a custodial parent or legal guardian will be notified and a meeting will be scheduled with the Principal or Athletic Director, the participant, and the custodial parent or legal guardian.  In addition to imposing the sanctions appropriately tied to extracurricular participation, the participant will be referred to the SAC Coordinator for an appropriate assessment and recommendation.
 
Other Related Specifications:
 
Self-Referral:   A self-referral occurs when a student contacts the Student Assistance Team on their own behalf seeking help with a problem including, but not limited to, drug/alcohol use.  This contact will be confidential and may result in a thirty-day removal or exemption from the random testing pool.  A mandatory drug test will be required at the end of the thirty-day period, to include all consequences associated with either a positive or negative test.
 
Extracurricular Team/Organization Incentives:  Incentives will be provided for extracurricular teams and/or organizations whose participants demonstrate 0% positive random drug test results.
 
Voluntary Testing Program:  For non-extracurricular students, a voluntary opt-in for random testing will be available. Incentives for negative test results for a high school career include:  positive criterion for scholarship award, certificates of recognition and/or letters of recommendation.
pqualman@eagleschools.net, by pqualman@eagleschools.net
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