The Tippecanoe Valley Community Mental Health Task Force invites the public to attend an upcoming session of QPR suicide prevention training.

QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer – three steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. People trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade and refer someone for help.

The training session will be conducted by Huntter Randall, corporate training coordinator for the Bowen Center. Randall is a highly-skilled trainer who brings a vast background of meaningful and applicable experiences to his training sessions.

The training will take place on Tuesday, September 26, starting at 4:15 p.m. in the Large Group Instruction room at Mentone Elementary located at 301 E. Jackson Street in Mentone. There is no charge to attend. The training will last until approximately 5:30 p.m.

Anyone interested in attending the training should check in at the front office a few minutes prior to the start of the training session. All Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation staff hired since last year’s training will be required to attend.

The Tippecanoe Valley Community Mental Health Task Force is comprised of close to 50 people from several different counties, professions, businesses and non-profit agencies. The task force was formed as a result of two suicides in the Tippecanoe Valley area in December 2012.

The task force met for the first time on February 19, 2013, with the goals of providing suicide prevention training to the community including Tippecanoe Valley staff and students. Its mission is to develop strategies to both increase knowledge and provide support, while reducing the stigma of mental illness. The task force meets once a month during the school year.

Written by Superintendent Brett Boggs

According to the Mental Health Foundation, mental health problems affect about one in ten children and young people.  They include depression, anxiety, and conduct disorder and are often a direct response to what is happening in their lives.  Sadly, 70% of children and young people who experience a mental health problem have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently young age.

Most children grow up mentally healthy, but surveys suggest that more children and young people have problems with their mental health today than 30 years ago.  If left untreated, mental health disorders can impede all aspects of health, including emotional well-being and social development, leaving young people feeling socially isolated, stigmatized, and unable to make the most of their social, vocational, and interpersonal contributions to society.

The emotional well-being of children is just as important as their physical health.  Good mental health allows children and young people to develop the resilience to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into well-rounded, healthy adults.

The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (TVSC) understands the importance of good mental health for its children and young people.  TVSC also understands we serve children and young people whose lives are negatively impacted by mental health issues.  It is for this reason that TVSC has contracted with the Bowen Center to bring a Student Assistance Program (SAP) to Tippecanoe Valley. The Tippecanoe Valley Student Assistance Program is available to all students.  The SAP is a benefit provided by Tippecanoe Valley that provides every student two free prepaid sessions of counseling at any of several Bowen Center outpatient locations.  Services may also be provided at the school if available.  There is no co-pay, deductible, or pre-authorization required.  Following the initial two counseling sessions, the parent/guardian and student may decide if they would like to continue in treatment at their own cost.  There is fee assistance available for those who qualify.

Children and young people may be referred to the Student Assistance Program by a parent/guardian, a school staff member, or the child may refer himself.  Students have access to the free counseling sessions at any time during the school year and summer break.  All sessions are private and confidential.  Parental consent is required for any child under the age of 18.

An additional counseling service available this year to Tippecanoe Valley students is the presence of a school-based therapist one day each week.  This individual is a mental health therapist who can work with students that have gone through the referral process with the school counselor and the child’s parent/guardian.

The Student Assistance Program and school-based therapist services are in addition to those already provided by Tippecanoe Valley’s five full-time school counselors and a full-time mental health therapist.

The mission of the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation is our commitment to student success through the development of character, leadership, and literacy.  TVSC’s commitment to student success is demonstrated by the provision of these programs and services designed to promote the good mental health and emotional well-being of our children and young people.

Valley Insight is a recurring monthly article written by administrators on a variety of topics related to education and the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation. Articles will be posted to the district’s website and also shared with the local media.

Written by Pam Mort, parent of a TVHS graduate

I am the mother of a 2017 graduate of Tippecanoe Valley High School.  I would like to say THANK YOU to all the teachers for doing such a great job with our children and to share my feelings about a couple of the activities and teachers that touched my child’s life in a significant way.

Let’s begin with the Viking Guard. Band is not just a class…it is a way of teaching discipline, guidance, acceptance and being a secondary family. With that thought in mind Miss Janell Riner is the second mother to all of these kids. I want to say thank you to her for making each and every single one of them feel like they belonged and like they should take pride in their work, in their community and in their accomplishments. She will be a part of our lives for many years to come and she should know that she touched each of the kids in the band both in mind and in heart!

The dedication that Mr. Mark Williamson and Mrs. Katie Williamson show and the personal time they take for the students is amazing! From allowing them to be creative and use their imagination to the encouragement and teaching of life skills these two teach our children some of the most wonderful skills needed to make their lives successful and to help change the world for the better. They teach them that all things are possible if you try and that the world is only limited by what limits you place upon yourself. They teach them to be accepting of others and of their own faults. They teach them to laugh at mistakes and yet learn from them at the same time. They encourage the students to use their imagination to see things in ways that maybe others don’t see and to think outside the box. These are important life skills and ones that will allow them to do great things with their lives.

Mr. Jeff Shriver’s total support of the students is awesome! His work with the Archery Club outstanding! He takes these kids and his time before school and teaches them to work as a team! He shows them that people from all walks of life can bond together with encouragement and commitment to succeed. He takes pride in their accomplishments and encourages them to know that no one is perfect and that they don’t need to be as long as they do their best. He supports them, praises them and guides them when they need it while still allowing them to make their mistakes. There is no judgement in his interactions. He shows the kids respect and treats them as young adults, not in a negative way but in a positive way. That respect is mutual and evident in everything they do.

It is the dreamers of the world that will make the changes and growth we need to succeed as a people and it is people like the above mentioned teachers that create those dreamers! THANK YOU!

Valley Insight is a recurring monthly article written by administrators on a variety of topics related to education and the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation. Articles will be posted to the district’s website and also shared with the local media.

The Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation (TVSC) will hold on-site registration for the 2017-2018 school year at each of its schools on July 25 and July 27.

Akron Elementary, Mentone Elementary, Tippecanoe Valley High School and Tippecanoe Valley Middle School will each hold on-site registration from noon to 8 p.m. on those days for new and returning students. Akron Elementary’s on-site registration will take place at the Akron Carnegie Public Library located at 205 East Rochester Street. Registration can also be done online any time after July 17 at http://www.tippecanoevalleyschools.com/enrollment.

Returning Tippecanoe Valley students must have a snap code in order register. Snap codes will be mailed out July 17. Parents and guardians who lost or did not receive a snap code should call the school their child will be attending to obtain one. During registration, parents can also make textbook payments either with cash or check.

August 7 is the deadline for students to have immunizations completed for the upcoming school year.  Students in all grade levels must meet the requirements determined by the Indiana State Department of Health. These requirements extend to children ages three to five that will be attending special education programs, child care, or preschool in a TVSC building.

“In Indiana, the only exemptions allowed are for medical or religious reasons. Each one has specific rules for filing these exemptions with the school,” said Debbie Potter, head nurse for Tippecanoe Valley.

Parents of students enrolling in a school for the first time need to provide a written immunization record. As new immunizations are required for students in six through twelfth grades, parents also need to provide written proof to the school that the updated shots have been completed.

The complete list of immunizations required for the new school year can be found on the Indiana Children and Hoosier Immunization Registry Program website and on the Tippecanoe Valley website. Nurses will be available during school registration hours in July if parents need help.

Enrollment for non-resident transfer students is also currently underway at Tippecanoe Valley. A non-resident transfer student is one whose legal settlement is not within the boundaries of the school corporation and would like to attend any TVSC school. Non-resident transfer student applications can be found on the school corporation’s website under the “easy enrollment” link in the middle of the homepage.

In addition to on-site enrollment on July 25 and July 27, Mentone Elementary is planning an open house on Thursday, Aug. 3, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. This is an opportunity for students and parents to tour the school, meet teachers and obtain more information about the upcoming school year. Akron Elementary will not have an open house this year due to construction.