Bullis Charter School

Today's Date: 9/3/2010 News and Events

BCS News and Events 2007-2008

BCS Hosts Charter School Junior Olympics
BCS Sponsors Saphira II in International "Great Turtle Race"
BCS K-3 and 6th Grade Present "Sound of Music"
BCS 4th and 5th Grade Present "For Whom the Bell Rings"
BCS Named Distinguished School
BCS Launches Foreign Language Program
BCS 5th Grade Visits Washington, D.C.
BCS 6th Grade Goes to Costa Rica

News Archive

Bullis Charter School Hosts Invitational Junior Olympics
Groundbreaking community event brings diverse group of young people and families together
Student athletes cheered on by local Olympians at Stanford's Cobb Field

Los Altos, California, June 9, 2008 : More than 700 young people from diverse charter schools and communities throughout the Bay Area joined together on Sunday, June 8, 2008 for a day of fun, competition, and sportsmanship at Stanford University's Cobb Track and Angell Field.

The young people were cheered on and awarded medals by the following group of local Olympians and athletes:

Ms. Susan Jones Roy, a swimmer in the 1968 Olympic Games
Ms. Nancy Lippe, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic field hockey team
Mr. Kerry McCoy, a wrestler in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games
Ms. Sara Lowe, a synchronized swimmer and Bronze medalist in the 2004 Olympic Games
Mr. Vic Moreno, a wrestler and 2008 Olympic Trials Qualifier
Mr. Michael Mitchell, a wrestler and coach at Stanford University
Ms. Courtenay Stewart, a synchronized swimmer for Stanford University and 2004 Olympian

"These Junior Olympics gave so many people the chance to be part of something very special," said Mr. Kerry McCoy, an Olympic wrestler who made it possible for the charter schools to use the Stanford facility. "It was great to see how excited the kids, parents, teachers, and supporters were during the event."

"It was also a great opportunity to build excitement about the upcoming games in Beijing," he noted. McCoy, who was a part of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team in 2000 and 2004, is coaching the U.S. Men's Olympic Wrestling Team that will compete in Beijing in the 2008 Summer Games.

The festivities began at 9 a.m. with students marching with their school banners, reciting a participant's pledge, and enjoying a performance of the National Anthem, with singers and band members from Bullis Charter School (BCS) in Los Altos, which spearheaded the event. Three schools also performed a ribbon dance to "One Moment in Time," the song Whitney Houston sang at the opening of the Seoul Olympic Games.

The program featured running relays (50m, 100m, and 400m), individual track events (100m, 400m, 800m, and 1600m), standard field events (the long jump, the triple jump, the shot put and the junior shot put), and other events that are geared toward the youngest children (the egg and cup race, football kickoff, and basketball shootout).

The ambitious day-long program included over 150 events, including traditional track races (relays and individual (50m, 100m, and 400m, 800m, and 1600m), standard field competitions (the long jump, the triple jump, the shot put and the junior shot put), and other events that were geared toward the youngest children (the egg and cup race, football kickoff, and basketball shootout).

More than 500 medals were awarded throughout the day. Students from all eight schools had the opportunity to enjoy a moment in the spotlight by standing on a medals podium while shaking hand with an Olympic athlete and hearing their names spoken over a loudspeaker in a professional stadium.

"We were so excited to have the opportunity to partner with our fellow charter schools in an event that reached beyond our individual school classrooms and communities to give our students a unique athletic and character-building experience," said Mrs. Wanny Hersey, principal/superintendent of BCS, a K-6 school located in Los Altos.

In addition to BCS, the charter schools that participated in the event were:

Bullis Charter School (Los Altos, K-6)
Charter School of Morgan Hill (K-8)
Escuela Popular Accelerated Family Learning (San Jose, K-4)
KIPP Heartwood Academy (San Jose, 5-8)
Livermore Valley Charter School (K-8)
Making Waves Academy (Richmond, 5th)
Rocketship Education (San Jose, K-3)
Voices-College Bound Language Academy (San Jose, K-1)

For the participants, the value of the day will go far beyond the individual athletic victories. "We have a slogan on our gym uniforms that says, "Strength means nothing without heart," Mr. Walton of the KIPP Academy said, "And this is the mantra that informs our kids' approach to athletic competition."

Hersey and other charter school principals hope that the Sunday's event is the beginning of a tradition that is continued for years to come. As for the work involved in coordinating the day-long program with the participation of eight charter schools that have not previously collaborated in this manner, Hersey was undaunted.

"We are all part of a local charter school community and we share a common experience of forming schools from the ground up. There is a bond that comes from such shared experience and also a fearlessness about breaking new ground and trying new things."

"What an amazing event!" said Nancy Lippe, an Olympic field hockey player who handed out medals to the student athletes. "It was a pleasure to chat with the participants and an honor to award medals. Being there to support the charter schools and encourage youth athletics was a truly rewarding experience."

"I've never run on a professional track before and I've never won an athletic contest," said Sophia Bacon, of Mountain View, 10, who won a gold medal in the 4th grade girls' 800 meter race representing BCS. "But a lot of the fun that I had was just hanging out with the other girls who were in my race, like my new friend Kayden," (who won the Bronze medal in the same race representing the Livermore Valley Charter School). "We hope to run together again!"

Despite the 90 degree heat and the challenge of organizing 150 events with more than 700 students and 200 parent volunteers, all agreed that the strong emphasis on sportsmanship and camaraderie made the day a truly extraordinary one.

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BCS Sponsors Saphira II in International "Great Turtle Race"
BCS was recently featured in the Palo Alto Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News, and on the website for the Olympiad Great Turtle Race for sponsoring of the leatherback sea turtle named "Saphira II" (BCS sponsored a turtle named "Saphira" in last year's inaugural race.) The turtles were migrating from the Monterey Coast and "racing" toward the International Date Line, meeting another group swimming from Indonesia. As part of the kickoff ceremonies for the race, a group of first grade BCS students performed a skit on the many hazards facing these turtles as they attempt their annual migration after laying their eggs on the beach.

UPDATE: Bullis Charter School's sponsored turtle, Saphira II, was declared the Winner of the Great Turtle Race 2008!

Bullis Charter School Wins California State Distinguished School Award

Los Altos, California, April 9, 2008: Bullis Charter School (BCS) announced today that it received the prestigious honor of being a California Distinguished School. The program was put in place to honor the state's exemplary and inspiring schools. State Superintendant of Education, Mr. Jack O'Connell, called BCS to deliver the news.

"I was honored to be able to join in the excitement as these dedicated educators learned their schools earned this coveted title," said O'Connell. "From their stories, it became clear that they share a school-wide vision of excellence where every student can succeed and achieve at the very highest levels of performance."

"This award is a testament to the incredible talents, dedication, and sheer hard work of the entire BCS community", stated Wanny Hersey, BCS principal and superintendant. "Four years ago we set out to implement our vision and are thrilled to be recognized as a California Distinguished School."

Students cheered wildly as they heard the news at a special school assembly. "I think our school is the best school there could be", stated Neel Gupta, a second grade class representative. Parents were on-hand to applaud the school administration, staff members and students. "This is such a great way to honor the hard work of our entire community" stated parent Nadja Jackson. "BCS delivers on a top-notch educational program while creating an atmosphere of leadership, positive school spirit and pride", she added.

This year, the selection criteria for the Distinguished School program were more stringent than ever. A visitation team from the California Department of Education spent a day at BCS evaluating its mission, implementation and award-winning academic programs. Their review committee offered the following observations to the BCS community.

In the site team's combined 65+ years of experience we have seldom experienced the power of a vision so fully implemented. On a daily basis, the whole child is nurtured. Students participate in project-based learning using curriculum that emphasizes problem-solving, inquiry-based instruction and cooperative learning as well as curricular and extracurricular units that highlight the arts.

Most importantly, the signature practice of the school - individual learning plans for each student - sets the foundation upon which the instructional program is developed. The staff works closely with students and parents to set academic, social and emotional goals. Students fully understand and freely discussed their strategies for meeting these goals and it is clear that they are richly supported in these efforts.

This unique learning environment would not be possible without the superior leadership of the principal, the BCS board, the sustained personal and financial commitment of the founding families and the unique constellation of professional expertise by staff and parents.

In addition to the California Distinguished School Award, BCS has received WASC accreditation and has been recognized as one of the leading charter schools in the state of California. Its API scores place BCS in the top 1% of all California elementary schools. The school has become extremely sought-after by parents in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and the surrounding areas. Its open-enrollment period recently ended with a record number of enrollment requests.

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Bullis Charter School Launches Foreign Language Program
School Introduces Mandarin

Los Altos, California, October 24, 2007: Children at Bullis Charter School (BCS) are learning Mandarin as part of their required curriculum. This foreign language program is the first of its kind in a Los Altos public school. The program was rolled out to Kindergarten and first grade classes this year. While BCS has been offering languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Hebrew as electives since the school opened in 2004, this introduction of a formal foreign language program fulfills the part of the school mission that emphasizes using a global perspective to teach about the interconnectedness of communities. Mandarin will be integrated throughout other specialty areas including art, music and P.E.

"With full-time, credentialed specialists teaching these subjects, our students will be exposed to Chinese culture in a variety of ways", stated Wanny Hersey, Principal/Superintendent of BCS.

"This is not an "immersion" program, where students spend 50% or more of their day learning core subjects such as math, social studies, and science in the target language," explains Merry Kuo, Foreign Language Specialist. "The goal of our foreign language program is to encourage open-mindedness, respect for other cultures, and to set the foundation for learning new languages."

The children have already learned simple greetings and songs, can recognize characters representing their teachers' names and members of their families, and are learning to distinguish the difference in a sound's meaning based on its tone. They recently performed a counting song at a school assembly and have recorded themselves speaking Mandarin on the school's website.

Why Mandarin? The staff and board of directors of Bullis Charter School have described several reasons for introducing Mandarin. Logographical languages such as Mandarin and Japanese have been shown to stimulate activity in both the right and left sides of the brain, which may increase appreciation of visual arts while also improving language skills. People who speak languages that rely on pitch and tone for meaning are also more likely to have "absolute pitch", which can help with musical training. In addition, the number of Mandarin speakers is roughly triple the number of English or Spanish speakers worldwide and an exposure to Chinese culture reinforces the goals of the school related to global citizenship.

Current students can access the school's Foreign Language website and a third-party Better Chinese site at home, to supplement and reinforce classroom lessons. "Mandarin is fun! I like teaching my mom and dad words I learned from Guo laoshi (Teacher Kuo) that day," said first grade student Sophia Jackson. Students will continue taking Mandarin through 5th grade, at which time Spanish will be introduced. In 6th grade, they can choose to continue in Mandarin or Spanish.

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BCS vists Monticello and Washington DC!
BCS 5th Grade recently visited Washington DC and Monticello as part of their 5th grade curriculum and field trip.

BCS 6th Grade Volunteers go to Costa Rica
to save Leatherback Turtles
The BCS students were in Costa Rica to help preserve the population of the Leatherback Turtle. These turtles were on their way to becoming extinct. With the dedication and care provided by the researchers at Goldring Research Station, their population is slowly increasing.

Working alongside graduate students, the BCS students were able to excavate turtle nests and assist in releasing of the hatchlings. In all the students released about 70 hatchlings. The students were also able to see a Leatherback lay her eggs on the beach. In addition to their research assignments, the students were able to stargaze to a sky with no light pollution fairly close to the equator, snorkel and tidepool along unspoiled beaches and visit an active volcano.