New Track

Just wanted to provide some information about the new track.  The six lane track is 400 meters and has all running events marked on it and will make a great place for our teams to practice.  The track was used by our track teams this spring and is available for the public to use.  We do have some rules, we would ask that no bikes, skates, or motorized vehicles be on the track.  We are attempting to keep the track open for public use but we have already had some vandalism on the sidewalks.

We have had one issue with the track.  The outside lane is narrower than the other five lanes.  This does not affect regular running events as runners run to the inside of the lane.  What it does affect is when we place hurdles on that lane.  There is not support for the outside leg of the hurdle.  The other issue is the taxpayers are paying for and expect a full width track.  How is this issue solved?  The present solution is to place a six inch wide concrete curb around the outside of the track, level with the rubber surface.  This creates a surface for the hurdles to stand on.  This is a positive in that the curb will protect the integrity of the outside edge of the track for many years.  For example, it would be like an asphalt roadway that does not have curbing.  The outside edge of the road begins to crumble  over time depending on traffic.

PAC Groundbreaking

The groundbreaking for the new Performing Arts Center took place this morning at 8:30 am.

During the ceremony, Superintendent Dorathy shared that the new Performing Arts Center will serve two purposes. It will provide a high quality educational space for not only students and staff of USD 348, but the Baldwin City community.  It will also serve as a storm shelter for up to 1800 people capable of withstanding an F5 tornado.

Funding for Baldwin City’s new Performing Arts Center is two-fold: partially through the Nov. 6, 2008 bond referendum and partially through a grant by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C. The $3.4 million FEMA grant funds a 16,000 square foot safe room which can accommodate 1,800 students and faculty in Baldwin City’s Junior High and High Schools, as well as guests attending performances at the Performing Arts Center. The safe room will be designed and constructed to specifications outlined in FEMA 361 guidelines.

Construction on the project should begin within the next few weeks.

Marion Springs students launch rockets

Recently, Marion Springs students and teacher Doug Woolery built rockets for a school project.

The project was based off of Newton’s laws of physics, which the students applied to building a rocket. The rocket was supposed to launch an egg into the sky and then bring the egg back to Earth, unbroken.

After constructing a rocket, students were required to provide a description of the experiment, complete with the scientific process, including question, hypothesis, procedure, materials, observations, and conclusions. Students then presented their rocket to the class.

Woolery said that the students spent two weeks on the project.

“We spent the better part of a week to a week and a half learning about rockets, Newton’s laws, etc…before beginning rocket construction,” Woolery said.

Students then completed the final part of their project on Monday. Students tested their rockets to see which ones were the best designed.

Carter Wintermantel thought that this was a great experience.

“I liked designing it. It was cool to see it fly,” Wintermantel said.

Teacher Doug Woolery helps two students prepare their rocket for launching.

Ellis Baughan was not very happy with his rocket’s performance.

“The only bad part was how it didn’t go very high.  But everything else was good,” he said.

Story by Josh Hanson, BHS Journalism

School Lunch Week

To promote National School Lunch Week, teachers and staff shared their favorite meals from when they were in school.  Each school then randomly selected a participant who won a free school lunch!