Actively Caring for People, or more lovingly referred to as AC4P, is a club offered at Berkshire where students learn how to put others before themselves...
AC4P Kicks Off School Year
By Abby Carlson, AC4P Member
Actively Caring for People, or more lovingly referred to as AC4P, is a club offered at Berkshire where students learn how to put others before themselves. With respect, love, acceptance and compassion, AC4P builds friendships and families, helping to create an empathetic community for, not only our little town of Burton, but our world as well.
High hopes rang out at the first meeting of the year after an appreciative visit was made from honored Virginia Tech friends who brought the program to Berkshire a couple years ago. After some exercises focusing on compassion and the beauty of anonymous help, AC4P members talked about what needs to change to make our world better.
Mrs. Paluf, one of Berkshire’s beloved counselors, discussed with a few incredibly eager students on what AC4P plans to do this year, and how they can make the community a better and more welcoming place to live for everyone. Plans to fundraise for the Women’s Shelter, support the homeless, help the animals at the Geauga Dog Warden and make the holidays special for all Berkshire students were discussed and are eagerly awaited. Anyone wishing to join in helping others may see Mrs. Paluf for more information. AC4P would be ecstatic to see some new smiling faces.
1:1 Tech Initiative
Berkshire has been working toward a district goal of providing each student in grades K-12 a 1:1 technology experience by providing all student with their own device to enhance their learning experience. This is often a difficult task considering the expense of the purchase and upkeep of devices, cases, insurance and other add-ons that create an optimal learning experience for students.
Through participation in the College Ready Ohio grant through The Ohio State University, Berkshire was able to purchase 520 iPad Air II devices, with additional devices, a necessary upgrade to the wireless infrastructure and the purchase of a mobile device management system coming from a combination of the College Ready Ohio grant and an additional iStem grant.
Each student enrolled at Berkshire in grades 9-12 started the 2016-2017 school year with an iPad pre-loaded with Apps such as Google Classroom, Notability, Explain Everything and many more that enhance student learning in and out of the classroom. While the seventh- and eighth-graders are not currently 1:1 with devices, there are carts of iPads available with the hopes of going 1:1 in the near future.
Teachers at Berkshire Junior-Senior High School were also provided with devices as instructional tools and ongoing training initiated by three catalyst teachers who have been working with College Ready Ohio for the past two years to prepare for this transition to a 21st century learning environment. Additionally, the junior-senior high school installed a state of the art Interactive Video Distance Learning (IVDL) lab that can be utilized by staff to connect students to people virtually anywhere in the world.
Throughout the rest of the district, Ledgemont Elementary School is a 1:1 building with students each having Chromebooks, which were a gift from a community member. At Burton Elementary School, the kindergarten classes are outfitted with 25 iPad Minis that were also a gift. Meanwhile, students in third, fifth and sixth grades will experience the roll out of Chromebooks this year, with the rest of Burton Elementary School to follow per the five year technology plan.
Technology in schools is no longer an extravagance for districts, but rather a necessity in order to provide students with a well-rounded education that is relevant to their lives beyond their primary and secondary schooling; the problem often lies with funding and sustaining any 1:1 program. Berkshire Local Schools is taking steps to do so and provide students with the best possible education to prepare them for their futures.
Travel to United Kingdom
By Abby Carlson, Badger Pause editor
If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing the world, visiting exotic places and exploring various cultures, then the 2017 EF Tours trip to the Britannia will be right up your alley. The tour travels to England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland and will feature many interesting attractions such as the Book of Kells, Westminster Abbey, Stonehenge and the London Eye.
The price of the trip as of September 2017 is $3,020 with all expenses paid except for lunch, which students will be expected to purchase themselves. To sign up, go see Ms.Meghan Hull in the library for more details. Or. visit the tour website at: www.eftours.com/1790527uv.
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“The iPads are very efficient and connect us to our teachers easily,” says Berkshire High School senior Samantha Kasar in reference to all high school students receiving an iPad at the beginning of the school year.
