Graduation

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It has been an amazing year and an amazing journey for our seniors at Tippecanoe Valley. They have put in years of hard work, and as a result, their futures are coming together before their eyes. Some have been accepted to colleges across the country, some are pursuing a specific vocation while others are taking advantage of community college.

We will come together as a community to celebrate these students’ accomplishments together at our annual graduation ceremony on June 4, 2017. We hope to see you there!

Graduation

This entry was posted in News on by .

It has been an amazing year and an amazing journey for our seniors at Tippecanoe Valley. They have put in years of hard work, and as a result, their futures are coming together before their eyes. Some have been accepted to colleges across the country, some are pursuing a specific vocation while others are taking advantage of community college.

We will come together as a community to celebrate these students’ accomplishments together at our annual graduation ceremony on June 4, 2017. We hope to see you there!

Today is the Future at Tippecanoe Valley

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Twenty years ago, Tippecanoe Valley High School offered many hands on programs in the areas of Agriculture, Art, Printing, Drafting, and a few others.  Today classes across the curriculum offer students many more opportunities to work with their hands or with technology. At the high school and middle school all students are one-to-one with laptops or tablets for use in their daily classes. Teachers utilize a program called Chalkable, a learning management system, which is similar to the blackboard programs at the college level, to share assignments, give feedback and collaborate. Classes like Project Lead the Way use specialized computer programs to instruct students as well as give hands on experiences in programming, drafting, architecture, and office systems.

In business classes this year, TVHS offers a programming class in which students learn and use different computer languages and systems to program. In Digital Applications students can earn Microsoft Certifications in different programs like EXCEL, Publisher, PowerPoint, One Note and many others.  We are proudly displaying their accomplishments to both acknowledge them and encourage others to follow this path. Students are better prepared for their future with these skills and leave ready for tasks they need to perform in college or the workplace.

Students experience greater opportunities this year to engage in career path exploration than ever before. Tippecanoe Valley provides daily bus transportation to the Warsaw Area Career Center (WACC) where students participate in a variety of career and technical education programs (formerly known as vocational education). Tippecanoe Valley, Warsaw, and Whitko are all partners in a vocational cooperative which offers classes to students through the WACC.  Students at the WACC are taking part in a variety of courses like Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Development, Precision Machining, Broadcasting, and Health Sciences (this is actually a Certified Nursing Assistant program), Criminology, Aviation, Marketing, and Business Foundations. Tippecanoe Valley has created an opportunity for students who otherwise would not have access to these programs. The result has been the number of students involved has more than tripled from previous years.

TVHS continues to add college level classes to allow students the opportunity to begin their college experience while still in high school. Advanced College Placement Composition was added last year followed this year by Advanced College Placement Literature. Students can also explore possible careers as well as earn dual credit in the areas of business, mathematics, foreign language, US history, engineering, and political science.  As we continue to broaden our class offerings for students, we hope to encourage students to take advantage of the potential opportunities to earn enough credits over the course of their four years at Tippecanoe Valley High School to equal a year of college.  This serves both a financial and time saving benefit for our students and supports Tippecanoe Valley’s vision of doing whatever it takes to equip students to be outstanding – today, tomorrow, and beyond.

At Tippecanoe Valley we are not waiting for the future.  We are making it today.

Book Highlighting Kosciusko County School History Donated to TVSC

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tippy-book-highlightingTippecanoe Valley School Corporation students can now take a glimpse into the past at what life in school was like as early as 1835.

The Kosciusko County Historical Society Genealogy Library recently donated a copy of the book Schools of Kosciusko County 1835-1975 to the school corporation. The board of trustees approved the donation at its Nov. 14 meeting.

The book features hundreds of photos of different schools throughout Kosciusko County over the years. It will be placed in the Tippecanoe Valley High School Media Center for students and faculty to see. The community is also allowed to come in and look at the book during normal school hours.

A thank you note was sent to the Kosciusko County Historical Society Genealogy Library for the donation.

2,774 Pairs of Socks Collected For a Good Cause

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tippy-socksAn idea spurred by a Pinterest post has resulted in hundreds of pairs of socks being collected at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School for kids in need.

Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students spent part of October collecting new and gently used socks to distribute to other students throughout the district.

Guidance counselor, Susanne Siebrase, and sixth grade social studies teacher, Niki Early, noticed last year a lot of students didn’t have winter socks. This year they decided to get the three grade levels involved in a friendly competition to see which grade could collect the most.

“After you pay the bills and put food on the table, a lot of times there is not enough money for socks,” said Siebrase.

Each grade level kept track of donations on a point system. One point was awarded for one pair of gently used socks. Two points were awarded for a new pair of everyday socks. Five points were awarded for a new pair of winter socks.

Thursday, Oct. 27, was Crazy Sock Day at the middle school. Students wore colorful and decorated socks they considered to be over-the-top. Liliana Hernandez, a sixth grade student, was chosen to have the craziest pair of socks out of all three grade levels. 100 points were added to the sixth grade total because she won.

“My mom brought seven bags in. She really wanted to help people,” said Hernandez.

The winning grade level received popcorn and a movie the next afternoon. The socks will now be sorted to make sure there are no holes in them. They will then be offered to students at the middle school first, then to the elementary schools, and then to the pre-schools. Any remaining socks will then be offered to the community.

Friday, Oct. 28, was the last day to collect socks. In all, 4,741 points were tallied, which equaled 2,774 pairs of socks.

Seventh grade came in third place with 486 points. Eighth grade had 2,171 points, and sixth grade came in first place with 2,184 points.

TVMS Spell Team Tops Regional Competition

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Back row, left to right: Abby Bowers, Kennedy Kohler, Mallory Bowers, Emily McGriff, Devan Chandler, Coach Siebrase Front row: Cheney Canada, Thatcher Keesee, Mateo Salazar

A team of eight students at Tippecanoe Valley Middle School recently competed in the Indiana Academic Spell Bowl State Finals at Purdue University on November 12, placing fourth in the class three division of the competition.

The team placed first in their class at the regional qualifications held on November 1. Tippecanoe Valley Middle School and nine other schools throughout Indiana competed in the regional qualification,which was hosted by TVMS.

“We had a score of 45 and we got the top position. We’re all really excited,” said spell coach Susanne Siebrase.

A perfect score is 72 for junior division teams. Students were broken up into classes one, two, three, and four. The class a team falls in is based on last year’s enrollment. TVMS is in class three.

TVMS competed against six other teams in the state competition at Purdue University. The students studied a list of 1,600 words for about 30 minutes a day to prepare.

“We practice really hard. The strategy that I use is that I focus on words that are difficult that they might not have heard before,” said Siebrase.

This was the third trip to the state finals in the last four years for TVMS. The last time the TVMS team went to state was two years ago.

Mentone Fifth Graders Rake Leaves for “Be a Good Neighbor Day”

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L to R: Wade Jones, Jenny Lozano, Tiffany Bullington, Bryauna Clodfelter, and Shelby Olivarez)

Fifth grade students at Mentone Elementary recently rolled up their sleeves to help out their community.

Friday, November 4th, was the school’s inaugural “Be a Good Neighbor Day.” Nearly 75 students went to several homes throughout Mentone to help rake leaves for elderly residents or for people who needed some extra assistance with household chores.

“We would like to increase our involvement in our community. Sometimes as an elementary school it’s hard to come up with things that 10 and 11-year-old children can do,” said Principal Randy Dahms.

Dahms worked with fifth grade teachers to help organize the community service day. He hopes to expand it to more grade levels working on different service projects in the future.

“This is a good opportunity to really do something for your neighbors and your community. That was really the purpose behind it. Our goal is to try to teach our students to be civic minded,” said Dahms.

The kids were split into six different groups. Half of the groups went around to different homes on a bus provided by the corporation while the other half worked at homes within walking distance around the school. Four parents also volunteered their time lead the groups and help rake leaves.

“The weather was beautiful. The kids had a good time and I think we got a lot of good work done,” said Dahms.

Cattle Shelter Construction Complete for Tippecanoe Valley’s Farm-to-Fork Program

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The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation’s Farm-to-Fork program, an initiative that will put beef raised on school grounds into school cafeterias, reached an important milestone Thursday, November 10.

Construction of a shelter for the cattle is now complete. The shelter was officially moved to ground adjacent to the high school football field where the cattle will be raised.

Dan Peters, a local farmer and owner of Scrap Wood Sawmill in Rochester, offered to bring some of his own equipment and donate his own time to the project. Peters worked with students for three days a week over the course of two weeks to build the structure.

“Once they got into the groove of it, just get out of their way. The kids just did an awesome job,” said Peters, who has had a passion for agriculture his entire life.

The Farm-to-Fork initiative started as an idea in a political economic studies class about how to put a better quality meal on school cafeteria tables. The idea eventually turned into a plan to raise four calves to a certain weight, process the meat, and then use the meat in school lunches.

“Five years down the road, hopefully we are able to produce enough that we don’t have to buy any ground beef,” said Mike Jones, agriculture instructor and FFA advisor at the high school.

The school board is committed to supporting the project and funding the start-up costs including fencing, electricity, an automatic water system, calves, and feed. Community partnerships and grant money will be looked at to sustain the program in the future.

“This is the start of learning about where food comes from,” said instructor Jeff Shriver. “It’s the kind of thing I could see expanding from the agriculture classroom to an economics classroom, to a home-ec classroom, and then to a science classroom,” Shriver added.

Farm-to-Fork is something every student can benefit from regardless of their background. Shriver said having cows on the school grounds is a discussion starter within the community about sustainability and where food comes from.

Students taking an agriculture class or who are involved in FFA are sure to benefit, too. FFA members who may not have the space to raise their own animals or crops will be able to use the Farm-to-Fork program as part of their summer Supervised Agriculture Experience project, a requirement for any FFA member.

“It’s an excellent opportunity to use real-life experiences whether it’s balancing feed rations, looking at market prices to see what kind of price we’re buying them at, and then what their value would be if we were selling them even though they’re going to our cafeterias,” said Jones.

Assistant Superintendent Blaine Conley said he would like to have calves brought in by the end of the 2016 calendar year.

TVHS, Burket and Mentone Students Help Feed Those in Need

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Tippecanoe Valley High School Student Council members Cora Alber (left) and Carissa Ziemek (right) work together to fill packs of food at the Feed My Starving Children event at the Gordon Recreation Center on October 5.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, 130 Tippecanoe Valley High School and Burket Educational Center students had the opportunity to join with students from Wawasee High School to pack food for a good cause. The event, which took place at the Gordon Recreation Center at nearby Grace College, benefited Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide nutritious meals to hungry children around the world. The students, after watching an educational and instructional video, had the opportunity to help pack, weigh, and seal bags of food, as well as transport them around the bustling Recreation Center as boxes filled up.

Faith Kamp, a ninth grader who participated in the event, was glad to help out. “I liked seeing the video showing how needy the kids [we were helping] are, and knowing that we helped them made me feel good,” she said. Micah Lukens, teacher at Burket Educational Center, was also proud to see some of his students taking time out of their days to go to the event. “Our students took a moment to see that others are in need,” he explained, “and it really made them appreciate what they have.” By the end of their shift, the combined efforts of all the students had not only had this effect, but also produced enough food to feed many children for an entire year; that is something to feel good about indeed.

This was not the first time this year that Tippecanoe Valley students have come together to help those in need. In September, Mentone Elementary hosted a giving drive that benefitted those who were affected by the tornado in Kokomo. The school collected a total of 1,440 items to be donated to those who needed them most. We are proud of our students’ generosity and willingness to give their time to such worthy causes!

Indiana Department of Education Honors Tippecanoe Valley Middle School

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Tippecanoe Valley Middle School has been recognized by the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) for the success of its Catch-Up Café, a program which ensures that students are completing their homework. As a nod to Indiana’s bicentennial, the IDOE has selected “200 Promising Practices” that are happening in Indiana’s schools; one of these is the Catch-Up Café, where students spend their lunch time eating and working on any missing assignments they have. While Catch-Up Café attendance is mandatory if a student has missing work, many students appreciate the café for helping them improve their grades and get themselves back on track. Since the Café was implemented last year, both the number of students failing classes and attending summer school has decreased, and students are more accountable for the completion of their homework.

The recognition of the Catch-Up Café by the IDOE and Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz means a lot to Tippecanoe Valley Middle School. Principal Scott Backus is especially proud of the Café. “We have worked hard at TVMS to look at our total curriculum.  While we have put the Café in place to help with student accountability, we are also looking at the quality of work being assigned and the skill needs of our students.  Working to eliminate “busy work” and holding kids accountable for the work we do assign is critical to our school improvement plan.  The Café is based on an idea we saw at another school.  We adopted it and tweaked it to make it fit our needs at TVMS.  We are not satisfied that it is the only answer to our students’ success, but it is one tool that we can use to help.  Our goal is 100% completed work for the year.  The Café is helping us get there.”

About Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation

Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation is committed to student success through the development of character, leadership, and literacy. We do whatever it takes to equip all students to be outstanding today, tomorrow, and beyond.