Akron Elementary collects $2,589 for Riley Children’s Foundation

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Students at Akron Elementary had a successful campaign for two weeks in March to raise money for the Riley Children’s Foundation.

“Our goal was to collect $2,000, which we exceeded by $589.55,” said Ryan Adams, Akron Elementary student council advisor.

Beginning March 13 through March 24, students took part in several activities to raise money. The school held special days in which staff and students could donate money to wear hats or sunglasses, or use electronic devices for a certain amount of time in class.

A large portion of the fundraising total came from a penny drive. Students brought in money to vote on the teacher they wanted to see get hit in the face with a pie at the end of the campaign. Pennies were counted as one vote, but other coins and bills took votes away to make it more competitive.

Students threw pies in the faces of teachers and the principal during a convocation on March 29. The whole school also got to celebrate with a pajama day and a movie for meeting the fundraising goal.

Picture: Akron Elementary kindergartner Derek Craft shoves a pie into the face of Principal Chrissy Mills

 

Public invited to attend elementary spring music programs

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Elementary school students throughout the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation are gearing up for their annual spring music programs.

Akron Elementary’s spring program is planned for Monday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m. in the school gymnasium. Doors will open at 6:30.

The Akron program will feature first, third and fifth grade students singing songs, dancing and playing instruments. The theme this year is “Here We Grow,” which relates to spring growth, the new school construction and students’ personal growth in school.

Limited parking is available because of the new school construction. Shuttle service will be provided for people willing to park at the Akron Community Center. This will be the last program held in the current Akron Elementary gym, as it will be demolished this summer.

Students in preschool, kindergarten and second and fourth grades at Mentone Elementary are also preparing for their annual spring music program. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 13 with the program beginning at 7:00 in the gym. The preschool will lead the program with a sing-a-long with Poppy, a troll from the movie Trolls.

Both music programs are open to the public. There is no charge to attend.

Spring music program set for April 13

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Students in preschool, kindergarten and second and fourth grades at Mentone Elementary are preparing for their annual spring music program.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 13 with the program beginning at 7:00 in the gym. The preschool will lead the program with a sing-a-long with Poppy, a troll from the movie Trolls.

The program is open to the public. There is no charge to attend.

TVHS senior to continue academic and baseball career in Illinois

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A Tippecanoe Valley High School senior will continue his academic and baseball career at Danville Area Community College in Illinois.

Alec Craig was TRC All-Conference in baseball the past two years. He plans to major in business.

Seated with Alec are parents Jay and Shelly Craig and sisters Emma on left and Lydia to the right. In the back row from left to right are TVHS Athletic Director Duane Burkhart, TVHS Baseball coach Justin Branock, TVHS Assistant Athletic Director Scott Smith and Principal Dr. Michael Bendicsen.

TVHS 3rd Nine Weeks Honor Roll | 2016-2017 School Year

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Freshman All A Honor Roll 3rd 9 Weeks:

Quintin Allen

Amy Baca

Shelby Baker

Alyssa Bell

Colt Demske

Amber Evans

Faith Kamp

Aleesa Marshall

Jace Potter

Luke Prater

Mercedes Roszak

Tanner Trippiedi

Kirstyn Yoder

 

Freshman A & B Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Allison Atwell

Allison Betten

Cade Brouyette

Caleigh Byrer

Jaydin Conley

Emma Craig

Bryce Fisher

Nathaniel Heckman

Mason Jackson

Valeria Jimenez

Bethany Johnson

Jakob Jones

Paulina Jurado

Jadyn Kolesiak

Zachary Landis

Kaitlyn Lewis

Olivia Livengood

Tahya Lybarger

Brette Manns

Austyn McCord

Maya McCord

Alexis Michael

Allison Miller

Emily Murphy

Roni Newsome

Jalen Potter

Misael Ramirez

Jorge Rosas-Jimenez

Delaney Sandbakken

Aleesya Shelpman

Tucker Shull

Mason Stephen

Alivia Taylor

Jaxon Torpy

Dortha Tucker

Shakira Vail

Jillian Walls

Daulton Webb

Jessy Weitzel

Makenzie Woodcox

 

Sophomore All A Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Sophia Bussard

Hannah Durkes

Olivia Ellenwood

Billy Gillman

Sydney Howard

Hannah Jansma

Marlea Myers

Sarah Myers

Emily Peterson

Rachael Randall

Shayleigh Shriver

Sarah Tucker

Dylan Wood

Kamile Yocum

 

Sophomore A & B Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Damian Banghart

Laura Campos

Shae Clingerman

Alexus Cooper

Jasmine Davis

Madison Francis

Alexandra Gomez

Brooke Gothan

Annabell Gutierrez Eberly

Tiphanie Hodge

Elijah Holder

Jonathan Humes

Hannah Lewallen

Haley Lewis

Bryce Madeford

Sierra Marshall

Kylee Masterson

Brianna McBrier

Wesley Melanson

Noah Miller

Isaac Norris

Makenzie Oldham

Cameron Parker

Justin Peconga

Hanna Prater

Kinzie Prater

Kelly Randall

Grace Revere

Jose Rivera

Alex Salas Morrison

Kaitlin Shepherd

April Slone

Olivia Smith

Lauren Sponseller

Maria Vargas

Anna Walters

Lucas Walters

 

Junior All A Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Hannah Ames

Brenna Baney

Alyssa Brito

Chase Brower

Alejandra DeLaRosa

Macy Engstrand

Hannah Gibons

Trent Houchin

Jalyssa House

Hunter Hyden

Kelsey Justice

Gary Klinger

Jacob McDonald

Addy Miller

McKenzie Murphy

Susan Nickerson

Asia O’Connor

Cheyene Oldfather

Angelica Ortega

Amy Ortiz

Dakota Parker

Gretchen Runyon

Makayla Sandbakken

Olivia Trippiedi

Carissa Ziemek

 

Junior A & B Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Cora Alber

Daisy Arroyo

Olivia Bell

Cody Craig

Bryce Cudney

Grace Grosch

Drew Hartman

Seth Hoffman

William Johnston

Jordan Krotke

Gracie Manns

Adam Myers

Michael Paseka

Bradly Shepard

Kaleigh Shumaker

Lea Stouder

Camden Tucker

Jack Utter

Jade VanMeter

Brittany Wilhite

Eric Wright

 

Senior All A Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Victoria Biddle

Meredith Brouyette

Hannah Brower

Madison Conliff

Alexia Durkes

Amanda Heltzel

Guadalupe Hernandez

Alexander Kromkowski

Ponesupuk Mahamat

Jared Mikel

Andrea Moquete

Laira Myers

Braydon Ott

Kaitlyn Prater

Angela Ramirez

Sierra Rudd

Anne Secrest

Christopher Secrist

Aerin Shewman

Kaitlin Shoemaker

Yarley Smalley

Dylan Sponseller

Morgan Thomas

Adrian Velazquez

Cole Walters

Dylan Warner

Riley Weitzel

Christopher Wilhite

 

Senior A & B Honor Roll 1st 9 Weeks:

Joseph Alspaugh

Caitlyn Atwell

America Baca

Samuel Bell

Abigail Betten

Courtney Combs

Alec Craig

Hannah Dunn

Hunter Early

Mael Ferrier

Ethan Freant

Lindsay Gamble

Alvaro Gutierrez

Brianna Haney

Cheyenne Holmes

Audrey Jackson

Jeremy Julian

Santha Keckler

Baylee Kolesiak

Keegan Larimer

Adam Lowe

Thane Madeford

Dylan Manwaring

Monika Marshall

Sierra Mast

Blake McBrier

Lucas Mills

Nikita Nelson

Kennedy Niedbalski

Noah Prater

Diana Ramirez Fosas

Elizabeth Salazar

Sydney Schaeffer

Melissa Schmidt

Noah Smith-Fletcher

Motoko Tsuzuki

Avander Wimsatt

Keith Wright

John Young

 

1976 TVHS grad inducted into Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame

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A 1976 graduate of Tippecanoe Valley High School was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Indianapolis on March 22.

Ron Newlin received the Indiana Pacers 2017 Silver Medal Award for serving as executive director of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame from 1987 to 1995. The award is given each year to a person who has made some contribution to the game other than as a coach or player.

Armed with four years’ experience developing exhibits at the Indiana State Museum, Newlin, at age 28, became heavily involved in the process to relocate, design, build and open the new Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum in New Castle.

Part of his role was to oversee a $1.7 million statewide capital campaign to help fund construction of the museum, as well as grow the organization’s membership and donor base. Newlin was also instrumental in launching the Indiana Basketball History quarterly magazine.

Newlin and his family moved to Indiana his sophomore year. He found success in baseball and cross country, but ironically, didn’t make the cut when he tried out for the basketball team.

“High school sports, for me, weren’t about exceling. They were about learning self-confidence and redefining myself as something other than a nerd,” he joked.

Although he wasn’t on the court, Newlin got to tag along with the basketball team as a manager and statistician. He recalls Akron winning the 1974 sectional his first real exposure to the excitement of a state tournament, a story he would often share as museum director.

“I tell it because everybody who played basketball in Indiana has a story like that,” said Newlin. “That’s what the Hall of Fame tries to do is give everybody who loves basketball a place to find something meaningful to them.”

Newlin and the 13 other inductees will be part of a main display at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame over the next year. Inductees can be nominated by anyone year round, but have to be out of high school for at least 25 years.

Picture: 1976 TVHS graduate Ron Newlin (left), receives a plaque from former Indiana Pacers player Darnell Hillman (right) at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame men’s banquet held March 22 in Indianapolis.

Valley Hometown Fund grants $4,000 to community and school programs

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Four school and community projects were awarded a total of $4,000 in funding at a Valley Hometown Fund grantmaking event held on March 21.

The Valley Hometown Fund was created by Tippecanoe Valley graduates with the mission of connecting alumni with their schools and hometowns in support of education and community development.

The fund is designed to collect donations and make grants for projects that specifically benefit the students and residents of the Tippecanoe Valley area.

“The whole idea behind this was not for there to be one more thing for the people who live in this community to be paying for, but instead, to give people like me who grew up in this community, love it and don’t live here anymore, one central way to give back,” said Ron Newlin, a 1976 Tippecanoe Valley High School (TVHS) graduate who now lives in Indianapolis.

A request for grant applications was sent out in early January with a March 1 deadline to apply. Groups or organizations charitable in nature were encouraged to apply for a grant.

The Valley Hometown Fund Advisory Board then selected four of the organizations that applied to present their request for funding at the grantmaking event.

After the presentations, alumni in attendance were divided into four groups to decide how much money would be granted to each organization. Each group of alumni had $900 to divide between the projects. $100 in funding was guaranteed to each organization that presented.

Graduates of Tippecanoe Valley High School, or any of the high schools that preceded it – Akron, Beaver Dam, Burket, Mentone, or Talma were invited to be involved in the grantmaking process.

“We hope to make similar grant funding available every year and encourage people to consider applying again next year.  This year we simply had more grant applications than funds available for granting,” said Superintendent Brett Boggs.

The Valley Hometown Fund Advisory Board hopes to make the grantmaking event an annual tradition. In previous years, the fund has granted money for events such as Prill School Pioneer Day and the TVHS Special Needs Prom.

“Our hope is to grow this fund in the future so it can become an endowment fund,” said Brian Johnson, director of development for the Fulton County Community Foundation.

All donations made to the Valley Hometown Fund are tax deductible and are made securely through the Northern Indiana Community Foundation.

This year’s recipients of Valley Hometown Fund grants were:

  • A group from the Fulton County Leadership Academy was awarded $1,025 in support of their project to build a picnic shelter at Akron’s Cutshall Park
  • Akron Fourth Grade Teacher Chris Rassi was awarded $650 to purchase graphic novels for his classroom
  • Tippecanoe Valley High School’s T’s Boutique was awarded $950 to purchase a closet organizing system, rolling garment racks, bi-fold doors with mirrors for a changing area, a garment steamer, and an area rug
  • The Jack & Jill Preschool was awarded $1,375 to purchase furniture for their new classroom at the Burket Educational Center.

Picture back row left to right: Chris Rassi, Scott Backus, Tony Christman, Dawn Ziemek. Front row left to right: Karissa Cody, Beth Landis, June Yazel, Kelly Bradley

MAKE A DONATION:

To make a donation to the Valley Hometown Fund, visit the Northern Indiana Community Foundation website or make a check payable to:

Northern Indiana Community Foundation

715 Main Street   P.O. Box 807

Rochester, IN 46975

*Be sure to put “Valley Hometown Fund” in the notes section.

FOLLOW VALLEY HOMETOWN FUND:

For updates, follow the Valley Hometown Fund on Facebook.

TVHS claims ‘Big Wally’ title for third straight year

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A team of Tippecanoe Valley High School students once again ate their way to the top spot in Penguin Point’s 38th Annual Big Wally Eating Contest.

The contest was held March 21 at the Penguin Point restaurant on Detroit Street in Warsaw. A team of three TVHS students competed, eating a total of 19 Big Wally sandwiches. Junior Michael Paseka ate eight sandwiches, senior Jerrid Edmonson ate six and senior Noah Prater ate five.

The team of three that eats the most sandwiches in 15 minutes wins. Three area high schools participated this year. This is the third consecutive win for Tippecanoe Valley and the fourth win within the past five years.

“We let upperclassmen try out for the team. The last few years, our cafeteria staff has made cheeseburgers that we use for the tryouts. The contestants get to eat a certain number of cheeseburgers on the cafeteria stage during the lunches and the fastest three make the team,” said TVHS instructor Darren Parker.

Only three of the four schools that were supposed to participate showed up this year. With the extra spot open, high school students in the crowd were asked to form a team at the last minute. Two girls from TVHS stepped up to participate.

“They held their own even though they had just both eaten supper,” said Parker. The winning team received a $400 check donated to its school’s prom fund.

Picture from left to right: Abby Betten, Michael Paseka, Jerrid Edmonson, Noah Prater and Hannah Dunn.

Mentone Elementary 3rd Nine Weeks Honor Roll | Winter 2017

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3rd Grade

Isaiah Ault

Dalton Baldridge

Anna Bradley

Cyan Bradly

Hailey Borsa

Nash Bouse

Dalynne Bussard

Tatum Carlin

Kinsey Davis

Branden Drummond

Jake England

Arianna Francis

Jasmine Fuller

Emmalie Grossman

Karley Hallstrom

Jamal Hamilton

Harvey Hayes

Noah Henson

Payton Hobbs

Alejandro

Jimenez

Sadie Keirpaul

Will Kelley

Camarah Kimble

Kyra Kiser

Wyett Knight

Payton Kohler

Gavin Leininger

Jaicey Long

Cadence May

Cassandra McVay

Karina Meade

William Mellott

Grady Moriarty

Abril Murillo-Sosa

Nyomi Ortiz

Autumn Parker

Landon Patrick

Sopia Pearson

Lindsay Petersen

Camdin Phipps

Lyric Plew

Makayla Smith

Aaron Stump

Carol Swanson

Abbigail Taylor

Eric Threlkel

Lola Vick

Morgan Yates

 

4th Grade

 

All A’s

Colton Crabb

Chloe Haussmann

Remington Rickel

Madison Thompson

 

All A’s & B’s

Blaine Baney

James Bartley

Evan Bolinger

Lily Bradley

Brooklyn Cooper

Mackaylie Costello

Lydia Craig

Kacie Davis

Brock Derf

Kade Francis

Marisol Gonzalez

Riley Hale

Nekiana Hamilton

Braylee Hughes

Reed Jones

Rayne Kensinger

Renea Kline

Amber Kluesener

Hugo Lopez

Emma McKenzie

Matthew Owens

Taylor Owens

Emma Patrick

Kinsey Sanders

Blain Sheetz

Noah Spangle

Brooklynn Swindell

Austin Wallace

Isaac Whetstone

Ayden Yaprak

Ethan Young

 

5th Grade

 

All A’s

Lorna Apt

Devin Boggs

Kynan Cords

Cody Eastgate

Sidney Nelson

Macy Petersen

Makynna Rentschler

Evan Richards

Jessa Schroeder

Kiera Smythe

Adriana Vargas-Hernandez

 

All A’s & B’s

Dalton Alber

Damion Brown

Tiffany Bullington

Bryauna Clodfelter

Carson Craft

Jorge DeLaRosa

Nate Engstrand

Abby Goble

Olivia Jones

Wade Jones

Aiden Kohler

Trent Marshall

Shelby Olivarez

Madison Poe

Carissa Stoneburner

Hailey Swope

Erin VanMeter

Braedon Wallace

Mentone Elementary presents $1,400 check to KC Riley Kids Fund

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Mentone Elementary presented a check in the amount of $1,400 to the Kosciusko County Riley Kids Fund on March 17 during WRSW Riley Radio Days.

The student council sponsored a coin drive from Feb. 13 – 17 to raise money by filling a large jug with pennies. Check and cash donations were also accepted. This year’s goal was to raise $1,000.

Half of the money raised will to the Kosciusko County Riley Kids Fund, while the other half will go to Riley Hospital for Children. Right after the check presentation, Mentone Elementary staff member Lacey Jones and Mentone Elementary parent Kacey Shock talked live on the air about their personal experiences with Riley. Both have kids who have received treatment from Riley.

You can watch part of the interview on the Mentone Elementary School Facebook page.

Picture from back row left to right: WRSW Radio Personality Rita Price, Mentone Elementary Student Council Sponsor Rebecca Hartzler, and KC Riley Kids Fund Co-Founders Alan Alderfer and Mike Bergen. Front row left to right: Mentone Elementary teacher Lacey Jones and her son Kade, and Mentone parent Kasey Shock holding her daughter Rylan.