New Hall of Fame Sign in Shewmaker

The new Dallas County Hall of Fame sign has been installed in the Shewmaker Center.  There are a few "finishing touches" that will be need to be added until the project is complete, but, we're already proud of its appearance.  As you'll notice from the photo, the sign is lighted at the top and features the names of those that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame below.  Next time you're on the BHS campus, stop by and take a look!  To read more about the Dallas County R-I Schools Hall of Fame click here.

Partnership With City Brings New Sidewalk

A new project that is a partnership between the City of Buffalo and the school district will bring new sidewalks near Buffalo High School along Main Street.  City staff began work this week removing badly broken sidewalks just north of the high school parking lot.   After this demolition is completed, the school district will replace the old sidewalk with a new sidewalk.  Teamwork is a great thing!

1 Day Down....173 Left to Go

By first reports, the first day of school was a good one.   We seem to have strong enrollment numbers this year which point to a possible growth in enrollment for the new school year. 

Back to School Registration

The "one stop" back to school registration seems to be a great success.  As of noon on the first day, most families report they were able to complete registration for all of their students in 10 minutes or less!   Registration will continue for the rest of the week with registration for all campuses being held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on August 1, 2, and 3.   An evening registration will also be held on Thursday evening, August 2 from 5:30 until 7:30.

New Flooring in Mallory

Some classrooms at Mallory Elementary School are getting new floor tiles.  The new flooring will feature a much more colorful design (as compared to the solid colored flooring it replaces).  There was a need for new flooring to replace tile that has come up recently due to moisture in the floor.

New Doors for BPMS

The new front doors for Buffalo Prairie Middle School have been installed and the new doors at the ends of the building are in progress.   The new doors are all glass, which not only improves the "looks" of the entrances, it also brings in much needed light to a rather dark hallway.

New Doors for BPMS

One of our current projects for the summer we're working on this week is the replacement of entrance doors at Buffalo Prairie Middle School.   Both the external doors and the internal entrance doors will be replaced as part of this project that will improve both security and the appearance of the building.

Football in the Air

You know the start of school can't be far off when there are football players on the practice field!   Summer football camp started on July 16 and the men were helped with pretty good morning temperatures!

White Bison in History

OK, this has nothing to do with Dallas County Schools, but, we're all Bison!  Here is an interesting article about a white bison born in Connecticut and the history of white bison in American Indian culture.  To read this story from the New York Times, click here.

New Banner Reminds Families of Upcoming School Registration

Dorothy Loges, an instructor at the Dallas County Technical Center, has created a sign that has been installed on the middle school campus that reminds families of the all school registration that will be held this year on the middle school campus on August 1-3.  We're trying something new this year and students from all campuses will register at one location.  We're hoping this will make it easier on families, especially those with students on multiple campuses.

Summer Mowing Fun

Some folks don't realize that the school district is one of the major land owners in the county.  During the summer months, mowing of school property is a major undertaking.  For example, a full mowing of the middle school campus takes approximately 18 worker hours to complete.  With weekly mowing during wet weather, that adds up to a lot of time.  Only the high school football field and practice fields are irrigated during the summer months, so, with the dry spring and summer (so far) that has reduced the mowing, but, it's still a lot of work.

School Offices Closed for July

So that school staff can get a much needed break and so that custodial staff can do some deep cleaning, all school campuses are closed the month of July.  The school district central office is open year round, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.   School building offices will reopen August 1.

New Back Porch at Long Lane Elementary

When it's pouring rain (which we wish it would) at Long Lane Elementary, it's often a tricky deal to get out of the building without getting drenched.   The back porch covering out of the kitchen was really beginning to show its age, so, the custodial staff recently rebuilt the back area.  Doesn't it look nice!

Progress on Field House Rennovation Project Continues

The painters working on the field house floor renovation project are making good progress.   At the moment, they have most of the lines repainted with only some minor work left to do on the COC logos and the Bison that will appear at center court.  You'll notice the new design features the word "BISON" at each end of the court.  In addition, the boundary lines are bolder than the paint job that it is replacing.  After the painting is completed, the goals will be replaced with regulation goals (our current ones do not meet new MSHSAA standards) and the final step will be the refinishing of the floor.

Buffalo High School Weather Station

Did you know that the Dallas County R-I School District has its own weather station?  The weather station is part of the "Weather Bug" network and data from the station is available on the internet.  The school district purchased the system a few years back because of a lightening strike that happened on the Buffalo High School campus on Halloween Day 2010 where a few students were injured.  The weather station has a lighting detection system that sets off an alert when lightening is in the area.  When the alert goes off, we lock down campuses and keep students and staff indoors until the weather clears.  Many time lightening is in the area and you can't tell unless you have a system like this.  It is similar to equipment used on many golf courses.  On the internet link to the station you can see live weather data from Buffalo and you can even look at weather data for anytime in the past year.   Visit our weather station stream on the internet by clicking here .   A link can also be found at the top of the school district website.

Spring Cleaning

You think spring cleaning at your house is difficult, you should try it at a school.   What can we say, school folks collect lots of "stuff", so, it makes it a challenge when you have to deep clean classrooms over the summer months.  In most cases, all classrooms in all buildings have floors redone over the summer, which requires everything to be moved.  It's a challenge, but, it's just part of the fun of keeping a school clean and in repair.

New Tile for South Wing of Mallory Elementary

One of the largest projects of this summer is the replacement of the floor tile in the southern wing of Mallory Elementary.  Over the years many tiles in the hallways and classrooms at Mallory have begun to "pop up" and were in need of replacement.  This summer a crew will replace most of the tile in the southern wing of the building so that the new floor will be ready for our staff and students when they return in August.  The installation process requires the floor to be blocked off for an extended period of time, so, crews began the project literally hours after the end of summer school.  The photo shows the really cool machine used to peel up the old tile.

Progress on Field House Floor

Lots of projects include surprises, but, one of the biggest of this summer is the fact that the field house basketball court at BHS is not regulation sized for basketball.  Our gym floor, under its current configuration, is approximately 5 feet longer than regulation.  So, at the board meeting on June 18 the school board made the decision to reduce the floor to regulation size.  With that decision, some other complications related to moving the backboards has brought the floor painting/refinishing project to a stop.  Contractors are being hired to move the backboards and then painters can finish the floor project.  The new floor will feature black lines and letters outlines, with the natural wood used on the interior portion of the lettering.  The new paint job will also add the Central Ozarks Conference logo along with a bison at mid-court (photo taken June 19).

Restoring A Classic

As part of a recent maintenance project to repaint the Agriculture building at Buffalo High School (which had been painted white many years ago), the maintenance staff power washed the building prior to repainting the building.   School staff appreciated the look of the original stone appearance so much that a decision has been made to return the building to the "traditional look" rather than repaint the building.  After the entire building is power washed to remove the old white paint, the building will be sealed with a sealant to protect the building from moisture.  The building was constructed in 1936 and has served as the high school agriculture building since that time.

New Sidewalks at BPMS

The maintenance crew of the school district has recently completed a new sidewalk that runs from the middle school to Locust Street.  This sidewalk will eventually join up with the sidewalk project just being started by the City of Buffalo.  Eventually walking students will enjoy the safety of a sidewalk all the way from the middle school to Highway 32 along the west side of Locust Street!!!

Building Trades Home Nearing Completion

The new home that was constructed over the last two years as a project of the building trades program at Dallas County Technical Center is nearing completion.  It is hoped the project will be finished early in the new school year.  The home is located on Locust Street, just south of Highway 32,  in Buffalo and has already been sold to a lucky family in the community.

New Technology in Dallas County

Back in the fall, the Dallas County R-I School District sold a piece of property on the southeast corner of the middle school campus to Show-Me Technology.  The land sale allowed Show-Me to begin the initial phase of a federal grant initiative that will bring new enhanced broadband internet access to Dallas County.  The project will benefit the county by bringing higher speed internet connections to homes and businesses.  It will also allow community leaders to market our community as a 21st Century work place.  The project will benefit the school district by reducing our cost for internet service, which is a growing expense for schools.  In addition, when completed this project will allow the school district to "hard wire" the Long Lane campus to the internet rather than using a wireless internet connection.  The current system that connects Long Lane to the internet uses a tower on the Long Lane campus that connects with an antenna located on a water tower in Buffalo.  The expected project completion date is late 2013, however, you can already see progress with the recent construction of the Point of Presence (POP) building on the extreme southeast corner of the middle school campus (photo shown) on Locust Street.

School Staff Participate in Relay for Life

Many of the school staff members participated in the Dallas County Relay for Life held on the Buffalo square on June 8-9, 2012.  The project is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.  The team shown is the "Fighting for Pink" team that includes Superintendent Robin Ritchie, Head Bookkeeper Nancy Packard, Assistant Superintendent Jon Turner, Director of Transportation Diane Cowden, and teachers Kim Jackson and Goldie Potter.  The team raised over $7,000 for the cause!

Floor Refinishing at BHS Fieldhouse

The school district is very busy over the summer months as we work on projects that are difficult to complete during the school year.  One of our projects for this summer is the resurfacing on the field house floor at Buffalo High School.  The new floor will feature a bolder, more modern design that will feature our school colors, a COC conference log, and the words "Bison" at the end of the court.  As of June 14, this photo shows this floor project in progress.