Out of an abundance of caution, all extra-curricular activities have been cancelled for today; this includes after school programs, tutoring, practices, athletic competitions (whether home or away), etc. Thank you for your continued support!
Ms. Blakey’s 7th grade Science class had a little visitor Tuesday! The students used the baby goat and its pedigrees to discuss genetics and artificial selection. 🐐💜
The Gilchrist County School calendar for the 2022-2023 school year was approved by the school board on March 15, 2022. The calendar is available on the district's website under "Menu" - "Documents" - "School Calendars".
WHY TRY 2022!!!!
CareerSource Florida Crown is happy to announce The Why Try program for children ages 11-15 will take place this summer. The Why Try program was created to provide simple solutions for: Dropout Prevention, Increasing Academic Success, Violence Prevention, Drug and Alcohol Prevention and Truancy Reduction, and more. See flyer for important registration dates!
Good morning, this is Jim Surrency, Superintendent of Schools.
Overnight, our school district received additional threats that resulted in Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Deputies sweeping all four school campuses to ensure the safety of every student and employee this morning.
Law enforcement found no evidence of a physical threat to our schools and has given the “all clear.” However, multiple agencies including Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement are continuing to monitor the situation closely and are continuing the ongoing investigation to determine and prosecute the source of these recent threats.
Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office has been and will continue to provide an increased presence in and around our schools out of an abundance of caution.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this situation.
All schools are open and are being monitored closely by law enforcement and our district safety team.
Thank you for your support.
As many of you know, there was a bomb threat to Bell High School this morning which resulted in the school being closed for the day. I have been and will continue to work in unison with Sheriff Schultz so that all precautions are taken to ensure the safety of our faculty, staff, and students.
Although law enforcement found no evidence of a bomb or any other threat and has given us the “all clear,” a thorough and aggressive investigation has been launched with multiple agencies including Gilchrist County Sherriff’s Office, Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office has been and will continue to provide an increased presence in and around our schools out of an abundance of caution.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we work through this situation.
All schools will resume normal schedules on Monday!
Florida Gateway College College Night will be Thursday, March 10 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Richardson Community Center located at 255 NE Coach Anders Lane in Lake City. Information will be provided regarding programs available at FGC for students. For more information, visit: www.fgc.edu/collegenightatrichardson.
Seniors & Parents: There will be assistance on campus on Tuesday, 3/1 to aid students in completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) from 11:30-2:00. Please let Mrs. Langford know if you have any questions.
Seniors: Education Foundation Scholarship applications are due on Monday, 2/28. Please see Mrs. Langford if you have any questions.
The BHS Debate team, led by Ms. Blakey, participated in the FCDI Regional Tournament on Saturday. Marissa L. took first in original oratory, Stella P. took second place in original oratory, and Riley W. took first place in declamation. Congratulations to all!
Bell High School AVID is excited to announce our first annual AVID College Week March 7th – 11th. This week is being designed to allow our AVID students the opportunity to showcase the AVID elective to the entire student body and recruit students to apply for the AVID elective next year. The students have been busy planning and creating activities for the week.
All week – College Spotlight each day on the announcements, decorate your door with college or career theme,
Monday, 3/7 – College Pennant/Presentation (AVID students will display information about various colleges throughout the school on pennants. AVID elective students will be doing presentations for our middle school students during their elective classes. We will provide a detailed schedule.)
Tuesday, 3/8 – Dress for Career or Success (Students can dress in shirts, ties, dresses, or as a career that they are interested in).
Wednesday, 3/9– Alumni Day and I wish a would have known (please wear your college alumni colors or shirt, and display words of wisdom on your white board in class. Things that you wish you would have known going into college).
Thursday, 3/10 – What Do I Need to Be College Ready – We will share the best AVID strategies that students use to be successful.
Friday, 3/11 – Door Decorating Contest.
We will hand out AVID applications to interested students starting Wednesday. They will be due back by Thursday, March 17th.
Congratulations to BHS students Sandra L. and Vicki L. for their recently won writing awards! Sandra won the Polyphony Lit Fall contest in 2021. Her work is featured in the magazine linked below:
https://www.polyphonylit.org/copy-of-vol-17-fall-index
Sandra and Vicki also received awards for the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. In the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards - Regional level
-Sandra - 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 4 honorable mentions
-Vicki - 2 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 honorable mention
The Gold "Key" writing entries will now go on to the national level. There is a website below about the program.
https://www.artandwriting.org/awards/
Congratulations to the 2021-2022 Valedictorian, Taylor Tompkins, and Salutatorian, Mikayla Trantham. We are proud of you both!
Ms. Blakey’s 6th grade Science class has been working on making models of cells. Today they made slime to represent cytoplasm.
Friday, 2/25 is the last day to register for the April 2, 2022 ACT Test Administration in order to avoid late fees.
Register at:
https://my.act.org/account/signin?location=https://my.act.org
Celebrate National FFA Week! ~Feb. 19-26, 2022~
Each year, FFA chapters around the country celebrate National FFA Week. It’s a time to share what FFA is and the impact it has on members every day.
On Wednesday, 2/16/22, 11 BHS 911 Telecommunication students traveled to the Gilchrist County Emergency Operations Center to tour the facility and obtain their CPR certifications with Gilchrist County Emergency Management Director, Ralph Smith. A special thank you goes out to Dr. Joel Rowe, GCFR Medical Director, who came and spoke with the students during CPR.
On Thursday, 2/17/22, Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handlers came to BHS to do a K-9 demonstration for Mrs. Jones’ 8th and 9th grade Criminal Justice classes. We appreciate the deputies for taking the time to come up to BHS with their K-9 partners and talking to the students and answering their questions.
Sergeant R. Whitaker and K-9 Dutch
Acting-Sergeant G. Frier and K-9 Basko
Corporal B. Langford and K-9 Ace
On 2/10/22, 33 of the BHS Criminal Justice Academy students traveled to Cabana Bay Beach Resort in Orlando to compete in the North Florida Alliance Leadership Training against Newberry High School. The students were able to participate in 14 different events and 1 team building event which combined both Bell High School and Newberry High School by grade level.
Help us in congratulating the following BHS students for bringing home the following medals:
*Prepared Speaking:
1st place- Kiara C.
*Criminal Justice Exam:
2nd place- Kiara C.
*Job Seeking Skills:
1st place- Kiara C.
*Extemporaneous Speaking:
2nd place- Kiara C.
3rd place- Jeanine F.
*Extemporaneous Opening Statement:
3rd place- Hannah C.
*Forensic Crime Scene:
3rd place team- Maci A., Kayla G., Hannah C.
*Prepared Bulletin Board Display:
1st place- Jeanine F.
*Traffic Stops:
2nd place- Shaun C.
*Prepared Poster Display:
1st place- Addie L.
*Ideal Prison Model:
1st place- Jeanine F. and Skyler S.
2nd place- Addie L. and Yuridia L.
*Prepared Recruiting Poster:
1st place- Addie L.
3rd place- Autumn C.
*Incident Report Writing:
1st place- Addie L.
*Scrapbook: 2nd place
*Team building event:
1st place Seniors (Both BHS and NHS students combined)
Our BHS CJ students stated that they loved the competition, made new friends, and can’t wait to return next year.
BHS CJ would like to also like to recognize the following 2021-2022 Bell High School Criminal Justice Academy sponsors for their gracious donations which helped make this event possible:
Akins BBQ
Badge Envy
Burger Spot
Connie Sanchez
Cremation Only
Cypress Inn
Dale Anderson
Damon Leggett
Debbie Dembo
Drummond Community Bank
Florida Agricultural Crimes Intelligence Unit/North Florida Chapter
Friends of the GCSO
Fun 4 Kids
Gary and Vanessa Beach
Grace Restore
Harvey Building & Construction
Heidi Cannon McDowell
Hunt’s House Moving
Jeff Davis
Julie Jaramillo
Kimberly Davis
Langford Farms
Marton Concrete & Utilities, LLC
Marvin Graham Transport & Removal Service, LLC
McDavid & Company Wealth Management
Michael McElroy
MPH Alignments and Off-Road
New Millennium Building Systems
Newberry Animal Hospital
Norfleet Homes
North Central Florida Tree Services
S&S Pest Control
Sheffield Farms
Sheree & Howell Lancaster
Silverback Concrete
Trenton Floral / Marty’s Designs
Wilkerson Farms
Free Statewide Webinar: 8th Graders & Parents
Thursday, February 24
Your students have big dreams. They need a plan! Designed specifically for 8th graders, this free webinar will help students to begin thinking about their futures and discover key steps to take in high school to prepare them for success.
The webinar’s presenter is Matthew Fritzius, Curriculum Supervisor, Career, Technical, Adult & Community Education Department, Broward County Public Schools.
Please share this information and encourage your students and their parents to register for this free online event today at:
www.FloridaShines.org/college-101.
This free College 101 webinar is sponsored by Florida College Access Network, FloridaShines, Florida Dept. of Education, School District of Osceola County, Broward County Public Schools, Clay County Education Association, Polk County Public Schools, Florida PTA, AVID Florida, Florida TRIO, Positive Pathways, Take Stock in Children, Florida School Counselor Association, Office of Student Financial Assistance, and the Florida Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
