Schwan’s fundraiser raising money for Akron Elementary

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Akron Elementary School will be partnering with Schwan’s Home Food Services for a Schwan’s Cares fundraiser.  This is an easy way to help our school while getting quality food.  Please see the directions below on how you can help our school.  Contact Deb Miller at Akron Elementary School if you have questions.  574-598-2367. Thank you for helping our school!

There are 3 ways to place a fundraising order:

  1. Via Schwan’s Cares. Find your campaign or fundraiser and (1) choose “Buy Now” to purchase an eGift Card (online only; limit 1 per customer, per campaign) OR (2) choose “Shop Now” to place a food order from Schwan’s. You can support at the campaign level or at an individual fundraiser level.
  2. By Phone. Place your order via toll free number 1-855-870-7208. Make sure to provide your Campaign ID and/or Fundraiser ID when ordering by phone.
  3. Via Schwans.com. During checkout simply type in your Campaign ID and/or Fundraiser ID to contribute to your fundraiser.

When Ordering use the Campaign Code:  34794

Delivery:

For existing Schwan’s customers, you will need to follow one of the 3 ordering steps above to create your fundraising affiliation and have your order contribute to the campaign. Your order will be delivered on your existing scheduled route day.

For new customers, you will choose your delivery date and time during checkout. Form of payment is required when placing fundraising orders, but you can change payment at the door to a preferred method of payment (Check, Cash, EBT, or Credit and Debit Card are accepted). If you are not home during the time of delivery, Schwan’s will leave your items in a protected freezer bag at no cost to you.

Dates:

The fundraiser starts October 2nd and runs for 45 days.  The school gets 40% back on every purchase during those 45 days.  Then for the next 90 days the school gets 5% back on every purchase. 

Libraries offering Valley bracelets for $5

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Tippecanoe Valley High School and Tippecanoe Valley Middle School libraries are currently selling Pura Vida handmade Valley-themed bracelets to help raise money to meet a matching grant from the Dekko Foundation.

The $20,000 Dekko Foundation grant will help transform the school libraries into collaborative learning centers. The project will offer students different types of collaborative learning areas to complement the books and standard tables the libraries currently have. Students will be able to choose from small group areas that vary by size and function. Large technology screens will offer opportunities for students to work on group PowerPoints. White boards will create areas for brainstorming class project ideas and tall tables will be available for students working on art homework or poster boards for class assignments. Soft seating options are also included for individual/paired reading spaces, too.

The Fulton County Community Foundation has also joined in helping to support the project by awarding the school corporation a $10,000 grant to help reach the $20,000 matching Dekko Foundation grant goal. Aside from the Pura Vida bracelets, the libraries are planning other fundraisers throughout the school year. A dance was already held at the middle school to help raise money. The bracelets are $5, with 50% from each purchase going to the TVHS and TVMS library projects.

 

A total of 100 bracelets will be for sale in each Tippecanoe Valley school. A second style will arrive in early October with 100 additional bracelets per building. The goal is to raise a total of $1,000. Bracelets can be purchased in the library.

Football field named in honor of former coaches

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The football field at Tippecanoe Valley High School was officially named on Sept. 22 in honor of former coaches Charlie Smith and Scott Bibler.

Shortly before the homecoming football game against Manchester, members of the Smith and Bibler families, current and past players, coaches, and staff officially unveiled a dedication sign that read “Smith-Bibler Memorial Field – Home of Death Valley Football”.

Smith was hired in 1974 to be the football coach, a time when the school had no football program. The following year, the first varsity team began playing, and in the years that followed, an unstoppable record began to take shape. The team went undefeated at home from 1975 to 1980 and even won a state title in 1979. It was because of this unstoppable success that many people began referring to the program as Death Valley. In those days, Valley was the team many feared playing because they knew their season would come to an end. Making the playoffs without a perfect record or more than one loss was rare back in those days.

Smith coached up until 1982. Bibler started in 1990 and stayed until 2014. Their lives were tragically cut short on October 2nd, 2015. Bibler, Charlie Smith and his son Scott, and Tony Elliott passed away on their way to Clemson to watch Notre Dame play football.

The sign will be mounted on the east end of the football field atop the visitors’ bleachers where the old press box once stood.

TVHS FFA Soils Team places high in area contests

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The Tippecanoe Valley FFA soils team has been very busy this fall competing in numerous different contests.

In mid-September, the team won the county contest. The following week the team competed in the Area 10 contest, which was held at Ransbottom Farms just east of Claypool. The team placed 1st in the contest. Cora Alber placed 2nd High Individual, Raymie Shoop 4th High Individual, and Carissa Ziemek 6th High Individual. Hannah Gibbons was the other participant to make up the team.

The team advanced to state, which will be held Oct. 14th at Vincennes University. Tippecanoe Valley also had three other teams that competed that were 10th, 12th, and 14th out of 34 teams.

The teams are coached by Tippecanoe Valley FFA Advisor Michael Jones.

Picture: Front left: Matt Lazono, Logan Parker, Jerzy Conley, Alexis Evans, Ashley Butler, Hannah Gibbons, Carissa Ziemek

Back: Michael Sexton, Mayson Cooper, Jeremy Gagnon, Makenzie Woodcox, Amber Evans, Hayley Backus, Ava Craig, Cora Alber, Raymie Shoop

Akron Elementary first graders adopting Texas classroom hit by hurricane

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Empathy, compassion, geography and writing. Those are some of the lessons first grade teachers at Akron Elementary School hope their students will learn by adopting a classroom in Texas at a school that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey.

Students in Hayley Cooper, Rhonda Jewell and Kayla Rassi’s classrooms are collecting basic school supplies now through October 12th to send to a third grade classroom at Harmony School of Science in Houston.

“This is the third time in less than three years this particular class has flooded,” said Cooper. “There’s not a whole lot we can do, but every little bit will help.”

Cooper got the idea to collect school supplies for the classroom from a teacher’s blog she follows on social media. The teacher was organizing a community service project in which other teachers across the country could sign up and adopt classrooms in Texas.

“It took a couple of weeks to set up because there were so many teachers wanting to help out,” said Cooper.

Students decorated a collection box for the supplies and a letter explaining the donation drive was sent home to parents. The teachers are asking for pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks, folders, erasers, new or gently-used books of any level, tissues, stickers and other basic classroom items. The students will also write letters of encouragement to send with the supplies.

“We teach our students about kindness and what it means to be kind to others. I just love how the teachers and students are excited to show kindness to complete strangers,” said Chrissy Mills, principal at Akron Elementary School.

Cooper also incorporated geography into her lesson plan by showing students on a map where Texas is and where Hurricane Harvey and hurricanes since have hit. She used a series of elementary-level videos that explained what a hurricane is and how people stay safe during the storm.

“A lot of the kids asked why it happened and if it happened more than once. There were students that were shaken up,” she said.

Jewell recalled a time when she was student teaching at Riddle Elementary School in 1974 and a tornado swept through the Rochester community and surrounding areas. She hopes her students will understand material possessions can be replaced over time and that helping out others when there is a need is important.

“I will never forget how we felt walking into our classrooms and seeing the devastation that had taken place,” said Jewell. “It made a big impression on me when others helped us come together and get back on our feet.  It’s the right thing to do,” she added.

Supplies can be dropped off between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at Akron Elementary School located at 202 East Rural Street in Akron.

Fall book fair dates announced

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Fall book fairs at Akron Elementary, Mentone Elementary, and Tippecanoe Valley Middle School will be open on October 6th and also October 9th through October 12th.

The book fairs at each school will be open during the school day and until 8 p.m. on October 12. During the Mentone Elementary fall carnival on October 6, the book fair at this location will stay open until the end of the carnival.

Funds raised through the book fairs will go towards new book purchases for the library, makerspaces, author visits, and reading incentives for student participation in statewide reading programs.

Drive 4UR School event to raise money for TVHS

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Ford Division and Kerlin Motors are introducing new products to consumers in a unique way that not only helps raise awareness and consideration for the Ford brand, but also helps support community schools.

Participants in the “Drive 4UR School” program can test-drive Ford vehicles and help raise much-needed funding for Tippecanoe Valley. For each test-drive taken at the one-day event on September 22nd, Ford & Kerlin Motors will give $20, up to a total of $6,000.

Kerlin Motor Company Sales Manager, Hugh Janda said, “This is a unique way to showcase a variety of Ford products in a low pressure setting while also demonstrating our dedication to helping the community.”

Janda says the success of the “Drive 4UR School” program is driven by strong collaboration between the dealership and partnering high schools.

Kerlin Motors is planning on having 300 test drives beginning at 5:30pm, just before the Tippecanoe Valley High School football game and going until 9 p.m. Special groups are going to begin earlier in the day and can schedule by appointment.

INvestEd college planning presentation set for Sept. 25

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Parents and guardians of high school students can get their college planning questions answered at an upcoming INvestEd presentation hosted by Tippecanoe Valley High School on Monday, Sept. 25.

Topics will focus on how to find the right college major, selecting the right college for a student’s career path, maximizing scholarship money, understanding college costs and an overview of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

“Many families might be unsure of how to go through the college planning process,” said Stephanie Anglin, counselor at TVHS. “This year we wanted to really open this presentation up to anybody from neighboring schools that would like to come.”

INvestEd helps students and their parents across the state plan for college with the goal of graduating with the least amount of debt as possible. People who attend the presentation will receive a free college planning guide that has a checklist of things students should complete each year of high school.

The presentation will take place in the TVHS lecture room beginning at 7 p.m. and will last about an hour. Refreshments will also be served. Anglin encourages every student in grades nine through 12 to attend.

“My goal is to increase awareness regarding financial planning for college. We want to equip families to have the resources they need to begin preparing and planning for college as early as possible, especially during freshman year,” said Anglin.

A separate presentation focusing specifically on financial aid will take place on Tuesday, December 5, in the TVHS lecture room. INvestEd, the Kosciusko and Fulton county community foundations and the Questa Foundation will be sharing information regarding the FAFSA, scholarships and financial aid.

 

Honeywell Foundation brings history to life at Mentone Elementary

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Students in grades one through five at Mentone Elementary School were recently treated to a fine arts experience thanks to the Honeywell Foundation in Wabash. The school celebrated “Honeywell Week” Sept. 12 – 14.

The Honeywell Foundation Educational Outreach provides curriculum-based arts-in-education experiences through multiple programs to students in more than 80 schools across the Northern Indiana region each year.

Such experiences include the “Fur Trader”, a true-to-life character compiled from a variety of fur-trade sources. The trader, a Scotsman named Jacob McLinden, takes students on a journey from Montreal to the Indian Country and through a year in the fur trade during the mid-1700s. He familiarizes them with many trade goods, fur-bearing animals, voyageur life, fur-trade vocabulary, music, and the ways of Indians and traders 50 years prior to Indiana’s statehood.

Another experience features the “Hoosier Pioneer”, a first-person interpretation of Andrew Amonett, a true-to-life frontiersman of the Indiana Territory. The presentation, complete with tall tales, deals with various aspects of frontier life and dangers faced in the Indiana Territory just prior to the War of 1812. Topics included trapping, militia service, Indian affairs, tools, weapons, and frontier clothing.

The Honeywell Foundation’s artist residencies have evolved this year from a one visit assembly to a sustained teaching model where our artists will make multiple visits into each classroom in order to drive the curriculum forward. The Foundation selected two ELA standards this fall that its artists will be teaching through the integration of either music or theater.

“Because we know how important it is to differentiate instruction, our artists hope to actively engage all students in the learning process. By giving students the opportunity to learn through an art modality, our artists make lasting connections between the art form and the curricular content,” said Kristi Unger, education curriculum coordinator for The Honeywell Foundation, Inc.

Each artist will make four visits over the course of the school year in each classroom– two in the fall and two in the spring.

“Because we’ll have a longer and more measurable impact, our goal is to see retention of knowledge between the fall and spring visits. Our artists will use various assessment models as students actively participate throughout the lesson in order to demonstrate understanding.  Additionally, we hope to demonstrate ways that the arts can be used to teach core curriculum subjects in an impactful way,” said Unger.

The Honeywell Foundation realizes that access to the arts has the power to expand place-based world views while developing 21st Century Skills including critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and the desire to see things outside their immediate focus.

“Unlike many urban areas with growing populations, rural schools face many constraints to integrating the arts into the classroom in a meaningful way to drive forward curriculum standards in core subject areas.  However, multiple studies show that the arts have a place in the classroom as a catalyst for learning.  We believe it is an important part of our mission to provide arts-based educational experiences to students in our footprint. While we started our education program with page-to-stage student matinees and visiting artists’ performances, arts integration residencies allow us to be more relevant and intentional by working side-by-side with our schools to provide the highest quality education to students in this region,” said Unger.

The Foundation’s goal is for each student to engage in the learning process and learn not only the curricular standard being taught, but also to deepen their knowledge and appreciation for the arts.

The purpose of providing arts integration experiences through the Honeywell Foundation is to extend how students process and retain information by combining several fine arts learning modalities to reach a wider range of students.

“Today, teachers are charged with the task of differentiating instruction, but they don’t always have the resources available to do so.  This is especially true in our rural footprint. Through our arts integration experiences, an English Language Arts Standard is taught through an art form, allowing students who may not have made a connection through traditional teaching methods, an opportunity to grow and thrive,” said Unger.

The Honeywell Foundation started the Education Outreach Program in 1996 with two student matinees. By 1999, in-school artist residencies were added, bringing teaching artists to schools to provide arts-focused assemblies and workshops.

Today, more than 40,000 curriculum-based arts-in-education experiences are provided annually to students in the twelve counties surrounding the Honeywell Center.

Educational Outreach programs include page-to-stage matinees, in-school artist residencies, Visual Thinking Strategies instruction, banner and visual arts competitions, collaboration with Carnegie Hall Link Up Music Program, summer camps including theatre, visual arts and vocal arts.

8th graders – Think Ortho Tour is for you

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OrthoWorx recently announced the upcoming Think Ortho Tour, a program for eighth-grade students of area schools and their parents/guardians that encourages students to pursue technical careers in the growing orthopedic industry.

The event will be held on October 5th and will include tours of Ivy Tech’s Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Training Center (OAMTC), the Warsaw Area Career Center (WACC), and a local orthopedic company, Precision Medical Technologies.

Students and parents on this tour will learn about the orthopedic industry, advanced manufacturing career opportunities available in the Warsaw region and the skills needed to pursue those exciting careers. Tour times are 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Registration is required for this event. To register as a parent or student, please contact your school’s guidance counselor.

The Think Ortho Tour is part of OrthoWorx’s Talent Development Initiative to address the skills gap in the orthopedic industry, particularly in advanced manufacturing fields. The program started as a bus tour for local teachers, administrators and guidance counselors, but has now grown to include students and their parents.

“Ivy Tech Community College aims to generate awareness around the various career options available in orthopedic manufacturing here in Kosciusko County,” stated Tom Till, Director of Advanced Manufacturing at the Orthopedic and Advanced Manufacturing Center at Ivy Tech Warsaw. “There is a critical need for people to fill these positions that come with good wages. Many require postsecondary education but not always a traditional four-year college degree. The Think Ortho Tour will provide individuals a chance to see these high-level careers first-hand as well as the local educational resources that can prepare them for these positions.”

This program is open to students from Warsaw Community, Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko Community Schools whose students feed into the Warsaw Area Career Center. The tour is also open to eighth-grade students from Wawasee Community Schools.

Tom Edington, Superintendent of Wawasee Community Schools, stated, “Though our students take advantage of the vocational training and courses of the Wawasee Area Career and Technical Cooperative, I recognize that the skills students learn at our facility can prove useful for careers in the burgeoning orthopedic industry in Kosciusko County. We are excited to partner with other school systems within the county to provide students and parents with this experience.”

Selected eighth-grade students and their parents/guardians will be receiving communications from their respective schools throughout the weeks leading up to the Think Ortho Tour. If you or your student are interested in learning more about how you can participate, please contact the guidance counselor at your middle school.

Formed in 2009 with initial funding from the Lilly Endowment, OrthoWorx is a community-based initiative that works strategically and collaboratively with the orthopedic industry and other stakeholders to ensure that the Warsaw region continues to reap the social and economic benefits that derive from its position as The Orthopedic Capital of the World.®