By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Five new classes were added to the Great Bend Middle School schedule during Monday's USD 428 Board of Education meeting. Assistant Superintendent Tricia Reiser asked the board to vote that evening given the urgency of scheduling. After hearing proposals on each of the five courses, the board voted 7-0 to add them to the GBMS curriculum for next year.
Library Media Specialist Holly Tittel said she and Michelle Barber, a secretary at GBMS, have been tasked with putting the entire yearbook together. With a new yearbook class geared toward approximately 10 eighth-grade students, the students will now contribute to the yearbook in a year-long class.
"Her and I do the yearbook all by ourselves," Tittel said. "Two people doing a yearbook is a lot, so this year we've kind of given the camera to a few of our eighth graders at some sporting events. They really have enjoyed it. They fight over the cameras."
Tittel has written a grant to cover costs associated with the new class. The total price tag for two new cameras, four computer monitors, and a project table is approximately $3,481.
Instructional Coach Stacey Magnett proposed a coding, robots, and drones class for seventh graders. The goal is to increase student interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, including computer science, aerospace, and artificial intelligence. There are no additional costs to the district for the new course.
"It's going to be a project-based learning class where the kids will be doing hands-on activities based on the STEM concepts," Magnett said. "The big draw is they get to code and fly drones, and we'll also have some robots they can learn to code as well."
Keith Moeder, a seventh-grade math teacher, pitched a SOAR curriculum designed to make students more efficient. The semester-long class will teach students to be better learners by improving organization, time management, and other soft skills for learning. The board approved up to $3,990 in estimated costs for 150 students to use a workbook and licensed app for Chromebooks.
JoAnn Gaunt will teach a new music appreciation class that will examine popular American music from 1970-2020, and how those songs connect with and reflect culture. The estimated cost of the new course is $500 per year.
The board also approved Peggy Haag's proposal for a geometric constructions class. Through art projects, the class will give students a hands-on spatial awareness of how geometry is present all around. Supplies are expected to cost $150.