Oregon-Davis Schools On Lockdown Following Weekend Threat

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School
Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High School

A local school is on lockdown today after officials discovered some disturbing graffiti in a boys restroom over the weekend after a basketball game. Oregon-Davis Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney says school officials met yesterday with officials from the Starke County Sheriff’s Office and are taking the incident very seriously. He says officers from the sheriff’s department are at the school and all students are remaining inside the building.

Disney says the campus will remain on lockdown throughout the day. He stresses that school officials cannot take any threats lightly in this day and age. Disney adds that he wants parents to be aware of what’s going on and says he understands if they want to keep their children home today. The graffiti incident remains under investigation by the Starke County Sheriff’s Office. Stay tuned to WKVI throughout the day for more on this developing story.

NJ-SP Academic Super Bowl Team Places Third at Lowell Invitational

Posted on Author WKVI

The North Judson-San Pierre High School Academic Super Bowl Team placed third at the Lowell Invitational Academic Super Bowl Competition on Thursday, March 7. Answering questions about “The Glory That Was Greece,” the Bluejays placed second in Mathematics and Fine Arts and third in Interdisciplinary and Science. The total score for all NJ-SP teams earned them a third place finish behind Lowell and Munster. They will travel to River Forest High School tomorrow for the Conference Super Bowl Competition. NJ-SP will host the area competition on Tuesday, April 16. It will see 16 area schools competing for a chance to go to the state competition on May 4.

Plymouth Hires O-D Ag Teacher, FFA Sponsor

Posted on Author WKVI

A local high school will soon be looking for a new agriculture teacher and FFA coordinator. Jacob Riley is leaving Oregon-Davis at the end of the school year to take a job with Plymouth Schools. Riley has taught a number of agriculture classes at O-D for the past nine years including courses in the school’s new tech model for the past two years. He holds three degrees from Purdue University. Riley will begin his teaching duties at Plymouth in June with summer agricultural experience classes.

Knox High School Closes Due to Electrical Issues

Posted on Author WKVI

Knox High School is experiencing electrical issues.  Students with permission from parents are being dismissed at 11:30 a.m.  Students who do not have permission to leave will be at the middle school until school is dismissed for the day.  Elementary and Middle School students will be dismissed at the end of the regular school day.
NIPSCO will be shutting off the electricity at the high school this afternoon in order to make necessary repairs.
Saturday night’s dance in the Knox High School Cafeteria has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.

Culver Board Eyes Spending Cuts

Posted on Author WKVI

Culver Community School Superintendent, Brad Schuldt
Culver Community School Superintendent, Brad Schuldt
The Culver School Board is looking for way to bridge a $500,000 deficit during the next school year. Superintendent Brad Schuldt says the shortfall is a result of cuts in state funding. He said that might be offset by retirements or people leaving for other reasons. The school board passed a resolution this week to set the target expenditure at $500,000. They also passed a resolution stating they will not offer retirement incentives this year. Of the corporation’s 78 teachers, Schuldt says between 10 and 15 are eligible for retirement. If additional reductions in force are necessary, state law requires the school corporation to notify targeted teachers between May 1 and July 1.

Knox Science Teachers Praised for Rafting Trip

Posted on Author WKVI
Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board was given information about a recent outing by the advanced science classes to the Tippecanoe River State Park. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said science teachers Laurie Simmons and Marge Wood take the students on this rafting trip every year.

“It’s kind of a fun trip but it’s also educational,” explained Gappa. “They studied the environment, the ecology of the river and they did testing of water samples as they moved down the river to different stations. Different rangers were there to give demonstrations and lectures on different parts of the river.”

Three students gave a presentation to the board and gave praise to the teachers and for the opportunity to participate in this trip.

Knox School Board Approves Logging Request Near Washington Twp. School

Posted on Author WKVI
Superintendent A.J. Gappa

The Knox Community School Board approved a request made by Washington Township Trustee Shelly Kemble. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the request was to make some changes on the property where the old school is located.

“At a previous meeting, the trustee from Washington Township was in to ask the board’s permission and approval to do some logging out at the woods at the east end of the property and to use some of that money to help pay for the demolition of the old school in Washington Township. At this last meeting, the board did approve that request of the Washington Township trustee,” Gappa explained.

Rock the Belt and Red Ribbon Weeks Promote Student Safety

Posted on Author WKVI

The past two weeks have been full of activities for Knox High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions Program Director Carrie Stone. Last week was dedicated to the nationwide “Rock the Belt” campaign for raising seat belt awareness, and this week is the annual “Red Ribbon Week” to raise awareness on drug and alcohol abuse in high schools.

The main point that Stone brought forth about Red Ribbon Week was that teenagers are really ignorant to the fact that their brain is not yet fully developed. Therefore, they aren’t necessarily aware that they do not have the brain capacity to handle alcohol consumption. Red Ribbon Week is designed to bring that point to the attention of high school students. There will be a rock concert on Wednesday at the middle school for the students there and high school SADD members.

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Monsanto to Present O-D Schools with $10,000 Check

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney

The Monsanto Company will be at the Oregon-Davis Schools this morning to present the school with a grant check for $10,000. Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney said this was a tremendous effort by two teachers.

“This is terrific,” said Dr. Disney. “I think it’s a reflection of two dedicated professional teachers. Mr. Jacob Riley, our Agriculture teacher, and Mrs. Debbie Awald, our Biology teacher, approached me last spring with an idea to put together and apply for a regional Monsanto grant. I think we were one of ten school corporations within the whole Midwest area that received this.”

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Culver Schools Adopt RISE Evaluation Model

Posted on Author WKVI
Culver Community School Superintendent, Brad Schuldt

The Culver Community School Board at their meeting this week heard a presentation from High School Dean of Students Brett Berndt and Elementary Principal Chuck Kitchell regarding the adoption of the RISE evaluation model. Superintendent Brad Schuldt explained that the board decided to formally approve the use of RISE to comply with state laws passed last year regarding teacher evaluations.

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North Judson School Board Approves Purchase of Three Buses

Posted on Author WKVI
North Judson-San Pierre Superintendent Lynn Johnson

The North Judson-San Pierre School Board approved a motion this week to advertise for the purchase of three new school buses. The bids will be opened in December and they will be delivered in the summer.

The board also learned that students involved in the FFA program will be attending the National Convention next week in Indianapolis. Superintendent Lynn Johnson said the organization has grown to 40 members which is the largest it’s been in several years.

Johnson said the next school board meeting on Nov. 20 will feature a representative from AdvancED who will be discussing the corporation-wide accreditation process. The individual schools were accredited in the past and now the entire corporation will go through the process as a whole. If the corporation passes, the accreditation will be good for five years. The process is part of a school improvement initiative.

Bomb Threats Made at Eastern Pulaski Schools Last Week Were Hoaxes

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Corporation is currently investigating a fraudulent bomb threat made at the school on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that they had been alerted by a student that a threat had been written in one of the stalls in the high school girls’ restroom indicating that a bomb was in the school and would go off at a specific time.

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Oregon-Davis High School Awarded Bio-Ag Grant

Posted on Author WKVI
Oregon-Davis School Superintendent Dr. Steve Disney

Oregon-Davis School Superintendent Steven Disney proudly announced this week that Oregon-Davis High School received a $10,000 grant from Monsanto Fund to help with the school’s bio-agriculture department.

According to Disney, the school will use those funds to purchase necessary equipment for the program and integrate it into the classroom. The BioAg course combines the curriculum of both Biology and the fundamentals of Agriculture, and the grant will help to purchase items like probeware, Proscopes, graphing calculators, and other equipment.

Disney says teacher Debra Awald from the Science Department and Jacob Riley from the Agriculture Department teamed up to apply for the grant. Their project, “Biology and Agriculture Technology for 21st Century Learners,” was awarded the grant alongside ten other schools in Indiana that were awarded grants.

Eastern Pulaski Community Helps Helping Hands With $500 Donation

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

The Eastern Pulaski School Board accepted four donations to the corporation that were made by the community. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman says the program that received monetary donations was that of Helping Hands.

“It’s designed to help students who have a need in the area of textbook rental and also for their lunch program and breakfast program,” explained Dr. Klitzman. “Our community donates money anonymously and as students have this need, we go ahead and provide the funding for that and let the parents know that this was provided by our Helping Hands Program.”

More than $500 was donated toward that fund to help students with their needs at school.

No School For Eastern Pulaski Students on Sept. 24

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

There will be no school for students at the Eastern Pulaski School Corporation on Monday, Sept. 24. That day has been set aside for parent/teacher conferences and professional development opportunities.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman explained that it will be a full day of conferences at the elementary school, but only a half day of conferences at the middle school and high school.

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Eastern Pulaski School Board Discusses Harmony Program

Posted on Author WKVI
Dr. Robert Klitzman
Dr. Robert Klitzman

Winamac High School Principal Rick DeFries discussed the Harmony program with the Eastern Pulaski School Board. Superintendent Dr. Robert Klitzman commented that it’s a great way for parents to keep track of how their child is doing in school.

“Harmony has a lot of information for parents,” said Klitzman. “If they can get on the internet, they can actually get into a teacher’s grade book and see their child’s scores, grades, absences and discipline. Harmony is a great feature. Parents can get in there and keep track, on a daily basis, of what their children may be doing.”

Wind Turbine Billing in Question at West Central

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon told the school board last week that he has been in touch with NIPSCO and Performance Services concerning the net metering with the wind turbine. He says the billing just isn’t right.

“There doesn’t seem to be any means of reconciling some of the billings that we’re getting from NIPSCO,” said Mellon. “I think we need to be able to reconcile the number of kilowatts we’re producing with what we’re using and what we need to bring in from the grid and when we’re overproducing. We need to get a standardized process.”

West Central, Eastern Pulaski Schools Discuss Enrollment

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

Although the Average Daily Membership, or ADM count, isn’t officially taken until Friday, West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon discussed the preliminary enrollment for this year with the board last week.

“We like to keep track of that because the number of students equals the amount of money we receive from the state,” said Mellon. “As far as the number of students we have currently, it’s identical to last year. Some of these people are migrant students that will not be with us all year and they may not be with us on Sept. 14, but they are in the count at the current time.”

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West Central School Improvement Plans Approved

Posted on Author WKVI
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon

Principal Don Street presented the West Central School Board with the middle and high schools’ School Improvement Plan which was approved. Superintendent Charles Mellon said Elementary Principal Dan Zylstra also presented the elementary school’s School Improvement Plan which outlined interventions and curriculum alignment.

“Those plans outline improvements because our performance on the ISTEP is not where we want it, so we’re taking different steps there as required by the state,” said Mellon.

Those plans are for the current school year.

South Central High School To Receive $25K Grant For Greenhouse

Posted on Author WKVI

The Agricultural Collaboration Education program at the South Central Junior-Senior High School will receive a $25,000 grant through America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, the school decided to lean to greenhouses and was able to get the support. The grant will be used to build and maintain a greenhouse at the school.

Students will apply math and science concepts to practical, everyday agricultural activities while studying elements at the greenhouse. The greenhouse will also be used by FFA members during their supervised agricultural experiences during which students will be given responsibility of short-term entrepreneurial ventures and will develop a plan, grow plants, and sell them for profit.

The greenhouse will serve as an integral part to South Central’s Farm to Table Program as fruits and vegetables from the greenhouse will be served in the school cafeteria’s fruit and vegetable bar.