School UPDATES

We are still managing COVID-19. Our community, nation and school experiences are changing due to this pandemic. Breckenridge needs to adapt and pivot with the many new ideas and education practices learned last year. Our plan is to be on campus for the 2021-2022 school year. 

Our focus for the 2021-22 school year is to continue Project Based Learning. We are in year five of our project based-learning educational change. We are now asking our public to be active participants. It takes a village to create culture. It takes adults in the community to “buy into” the vision and mission of the school. We as adults need to set the culture and expectations. Be intentional about your relationships and how you treat people. 

General Information:

EFFORT and BEING A GREAT TEAMMATE: We ask our students to do 2 things well at our High School. Effort and Being a great teammate are 2 essential skills we ask our students. Work hard, accountability, effort in the classroom and outside the classroom are essential to being a great citizen. Being a great teammate is a life skill students need to model. Working with other, working out problems, speaking appropriately to others, asking questions to other, empathy and the ability to relate to others.

Google Classroom and Google Reminder: We at Breckenridge use Google Classroom for many assignments, class reminders and for general classroom work. All of our high school staff members use Google Classroom for assignments, communication and for submitting student work. Our high school will use many features in Google including google calendar, gmail, google drive and google classroom.
 

Staying for the 2021-2022 School year

1. Continued partnership with New Tech Network: As a school district, we are in the third official year of our partnership. The New Tech Network (https://newtechnetwork.org/) is a group of schools across the nation that partner with each other to provide project based learning curriculum, active classroom strategies, inquiry-based strategies and 21st century learning models/rubrics for students, staff and community. We are very excited to be the first school in the state of Minnesota to be a part of the New Tech Network! 
2. Continued agreement with NDSCS: Our students have the opportunity to take college classes at NDSCS in welding, agriculture, diesel mechanics, HVAC, culinary arts and many more courses. We at Breckenridge are excited to partner with NDSCS and continue a long-lasting relationship with our neighboring higher education institution.

General Information

Student Agency: Student and Adult Agency will be even more important during the 2021-2022 school year. Twenty first century skills include: seeking challenges, building confidence, growing from setbacks, seeking feedback and building relationships. We want to make sure students are held accountable and work on their agency goals to be a better person. Your help in encouraging your student to have higher agency skills will help  to create the culture we want to achieve at Breckenridge.

2021/2022 Modified-Block Schedule:

We  are going to a modified-block schedule. A modified-block schedule is a 5-6  period day of some classes being 50 minutes and some classes being 90 minute class periods with students and staff having 5-6 classes per semester. We made this change as we felt our course schedule from the last two years could “mold” together. We are excited about the opportunity and how we can impact learning with a different way to schedule classes at Breckenridge High School.

College in the Schools Courses: We offer over 35 college credits at Breckenridge. Courses range from Welding, Manufacturing, Psychology, Speech, Pre-Calculus, English and College Algebra.

Student Accountability: This will continue to be a point of emphasis with administration and staff this year. Student achievement, organization, behavior expectations, and putting forward their high effort in and outside the classroom will be expectations during the year. Your help in encouraging our students in these areas will be greatly appreciated.

Student Attendance: Research states that regular attendance at school is imperative towards student success and student participation at school. Regular attendance at school improves academic skills, social skills, mental health and student accountability. Please make sure your child is at school on a regular basis. If for some reason he/she is absent from school, please make sure to call Melanie in the HS office on attendance

Student Handbook: The 2021-2022 Parent-Student Handbook will be discussed with students during the first week of school. The handbook committee did a great job looking at our high school building and how we as staff can operate the building more professionally and smoothly so that our students achieve at higher levels. We will review changes and the important rules and procedures with all students. A copy of the Parent-Student Handbook will be available to you and your child on-line at www.breckenridge.k12.mn.us or you can pick one up at the office.

Activity Passes: Students, parents/guardians and community members are encouraged to purchase activity passes for all Breckenridge high school events. Supporting our students on the field, on the court, at the rink, in the theater and in the school building is a great item for our students. Please contact Belinda at the activities office for more information.

Activities: Breckenridge offers a wide variety of activities for students in grades 7-12. We have over 14 athletic activities to choose from and over 10 student organizations to participate in. Over 70% of our student body participates in at least 1 activity at Breckenridge high school. Student participation in extra-curricular activities is very important towards the climate and culture of our building. Research shows that participation in a school activity improves academics, time management skills, better attendance and teamwork skills. I would ask that each one of our student’s at Breckenridge high school be involved in at least 2 activities in our building.