By Madeleine SutherlandRecord Staff WriterStudents at Black Hawk Middle School who had 90 percent or better attendance for the semester were rewarded with an afternoon of special events Dec. 19.This year the school has taken steps to stress the importance of good attendance in creating a healthy, productive learning environment more than ever before. Staff focuses on daily attendance as well as cumulative attendance in order to reward students for coming to school, according to school administrators.“Every day, if we have an average daily attendance of 94.1 percent or higher, we celebrate by adding an award to a wall where everyone can see,” stated Lisa Pirrung, Black Hawk Middle School principal. “We want to let our students know when they are doing a good job.”In addition, students are encouraged to track the school’s overall percentage of attendance in their planner, as well as their individual attendance.“This way, a student can know what percentage of days they are in school, and whether they are meeting our goals,” said Pirrung.The school has set a goal for students to be in attendance at least 90 percent of days. Those who met this goal by the end of the first semester were allowed to attend incentive events Dec. 19. Approximately 650 students met the requirement.These students were then allowed to choose from a range of events to attend.Craft rooms were set up in the art room and industrial technology room. A balloon man made animals for students. A dodgeball tournament was held in the gymnasium, and there were a total of eight movie rooms as well as multiple game rooms. Students were also able to sing Christmas carols, make and decorate Christmas cookies, play their instrument in the band room, or attend a dance and trivia event in the school commons.“Our goal was to have 90 percent of students at school 90 percent of the time,” Pirrung stated. “Right now we are sitting at about 88 percent of students at school 90 percent of the time. We are making progress, and we hope that next semester we will see even better results.”Pirrung also asks that the community be committed to helping students meet goals for attendance.“When students are here, they are learning and making relationships. It is important to be at school, not only for the individual student’s own learning, but for the learning environment as a whole,” said Pirrung.The school plans to host attendance incentive events during the spring semester.Black Hawk Middle School, from left, Trinity Barnhill, Zoe Whitaker, both seventh-graders, and Keyon Wilder, eighth-grader, create Christmas tree ornaments during an attendance celebration held Dec. 19. Students had the option to make ornaments and other Christmas crafts if they met the school’s attendance requirement.
