Buffalo Island Acclimates to New Changes

Buffalo+Island+Acclimates+to+New+Changes

Erica Hurst, Writer

The turning of the seasons isn’t the only change taking place at the BIC campus this fall.  As construction advances on the new High School building site, students anxiously await the time that they can inhabit the campus’s newest addition that will become their home for the rest of their high school career.  

 

Although the new construction environment at the High School is the most obvious of changes, it is not the only transformation taking place.  The school has also adopted a new homework policy, which states that teachers are not allowed to assign homework with the exception of Advanced Placement classes. This has caused perhaps the biggest upheaval in the daily operations of the school for students. High School Principal, Mr. Randy Rose, is perhaps the strongest advocate of this policy.

 

“We believe the time has come to change how we view homework by looking at the effectiveness, reliability, and benefit of the traditional use of homework.  We believe that a different approach can increase student learning and decrease stress at home,” Rose said.

 

“At the beginning of the year, I was nervous about not having any homework. Now I think it’s better because we can learn everything we need to in one class and have the time to do things that we need to do at home,” stated Junior Katie Lawrence when asked about the new policy.

 

The exclusion of homework has not been the only positive difference in the Buffalo Island halls.  As the former Junior High building is torn down, the students who would have attended school there are instead temporarily migrating into the West Elementary and High School buildings.  The students feeling the brunt of these adjustments are the 8th and 9th grade students who attended school in the old Jr. High building last year and are now having classes in the Elementary and High School buildings this year.

 

“It’s been a little confusing, and it’s been a big transition from last year,” said 8th grade student Dawson Stewart.

 

Students aren’t alone in trying to find their way around in their climates.  The BIC Staff has added a handful of teachers who are navigating the halls for the first time as well. These new teachers are Mrs. Olivia Willson, Coach Michael Kinard, and Coach Tyler Herring.  This is not to mention the teachers who are taking on classes that they have never taught before, such as Mr. Matthew Sills as an EAST Facilitator, Mrs. Kylie Crosskno as a Psychology teacher, and Mrs. Kristen Thomas as a Coding teacher.  The developments have been positive for the people who have had to make these adjustments.

 

“I am really enjoying the BIC community!  Everyone here has been so welcoming and so helpful in so many ways!” said Herring.

 

The school that the Buffalo Island community has known and loved for so long is having perhaps its biggest transitional period since the founding of the school itself. While many are apprehensive about this new path that the school is taking, the people of BIC are thinking positively about the road ahead, and aim to let the school grow and flourish through the years to come.