The Knox Community School Board approved the hire of a new Middle School Guidance Counselor.
“The Board appointed Sonia Hensley to take over the Middle School Counselor position,” said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “She’s a 1990 graduate of Knox High School and has previous Counselor experience at the Mooresville School Corporation. We look forward to bringing her on board. She will begin on October 17th.
The Knox Community School Board has been meeting with members of a committee and the community about the possible construction project of the Palmer Wing of the Elementary School. The Palmer Wing is nearing 60 years in age and is in need of upgrades and repairs.
The Knox Community School Board members discussed the Corporation’s Average Daily Membership (ADM) at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the count was done on September 16th and he discussed the enrollment with the Board.
“This year our ADM count for the entire corporation is 1,929 students,” said Gappa. “That is compared with 1,931 students last year so we are two students less. The State had forecast us to be eight students down so in relationship to what the State forecast us, we’re ahead of that game. Of course, we would like to grow in attendance, but I think we’ve held our own in comparison to many of the neighboring corporations.”
Knox High School Principal, Dr. Elizabeth Ratliff; Middle School Principal, Dave Miller; and Technology Coach, Chris Ross, appeared before the School Board last week to present them with projects the students have been doing on their new computers, thanks to the One-to-One Computer Initiative.
“From the High School, they had a student demonstrate how to solve an Algebra problem, running it through an iMovie plan, said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “We had an English teacher show who they prepared for the reading of a story by doing research on the author, the story and different topics from the story that they were going to read. Mrs. Berkshire was here to show some of the projects that those students had done.”
The Knox Community School Board created a new technical position and filled it at their meeting this week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa gives us the details on the new position.
“This year, we had a teacher retire from the Middle School in the Industrial Tech area and rather than fill that position, the Administration felt that with the One-to-One Computer Program which we have undertaken, we would best be served by a teacher/coach that could go in and help teachers with the computers and the programs and different objects that they could use in their classroom,” he said.
This spring, the Knox Community School Board met with a committee to discuss issues with the east end of the Elementary School, known as the Palmer Wing. The committee has found that there are some issues that need to be fixed with the 60-year-old infrastructure and building. The infrastructure is not built for today’s technology needs in terms of electric capacity and space. and water lines need to be replaced.
The Knox Community High School has been under construction this past summer. The Corporation received a Qualified School Construction Bond and Superintendent A.J. Gappa said the money was used to fix several issues at the High School:
“The main part of the project was to replace the water pipes throughout the building,” said Gappa. “The building is a little over 35 years old and many of the pipes had become clogged, water pressure at the east end of the building was pretty weak and in some places hot water was just trickling out of the pipes instead of streaming. It was due to be finished this week before school started and the majority of the work will be finished. The last part of the project in the main part of the building are the sinks and the restrooms. They are due to arrive today and will be installed this week and so everything will be ready to go for school.”
We’re nearing the end of July already and pretty soon kids will be getting ready to go back to school. In fact, the Knox Community School Board recently reviewed the registration dates and times for students that will begin next week.
Knox Elementary, Middle and High School students will register beginning Tuesday, August 2nd through Thursday, August 4th. Superintendent A.J. Gappa highlights a couple of back-to-school events in August.
“We’re going to hold Back-to-School Night on Monday, August 15th and that will be in all three buildings from 4:00-6:00 p.m.,” said Gappa. “Freshmen Orientation will take place on Wednesday, August 10th from 8:00-11:00 a.m. and students will report for the first day of school on Tuesday, August 16th.”
The Knox Community School Board members approved a memorandum of understanding with Porter/Starke Services at their meeting last week. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says the memorandum was possible due to the work of High School Assistant Principal, Mike Bendicsen, who sits on the Board of Porter/Starke Services.
“If they have a student who is receiving services from Porter/Starke and if the parents agree that they can, they would like to have permission to meet that student on school property,” said Mr. Gappa. “What that would do for our students is save travel time from possibly going to Valparaiso or meeting out of school time. We’re just trying to make it as easy as possible for our students to meet with their counselors.”
The Knox Community School Board started a discussion with the Teacher’s Union last year to try and offer more Professional Development for the teachers during the school year. The State requires that schools be in session for 180 days which doesn’t allow much extra time for Professional Development opportunities without conflicting with contract terms. Superintendent A.J. Gappa says that some neighboring schools had a plan that the Knox Schools will implement this school year.
The renovation project is progressing at Knox High School. A Qualified School Construction Bond in the amount of $1,970,000 was approved for the replacement of water pipes, construction in the pool area, new lockers and more at the High School.
“All the water pipes throughout the High School are being replaced and that’s a major project,” explained Superintendent, A.J. Gappa. “All the ceiling tiles had to be removed to get to the water pipes. Many of the cement block walls had to be cut into and blocks taken out to replace pipes and then put back into place. We have some major work going on in the pool area because of the changing of the ceiling and the lighting in addition to the deck lining and so forth. Everything is torn up, there’s dust everywhere, but work is progressing. It appears that a couple things may be a little ahead of schedule and a couple of other things are just barely behind, but everybody thinks it will be done on time, which is mid-August.” Continue reading
The Spotlight on Success fell on the Knox Middle School students and their video news program at the recent meeting of the Knox Community School Board. The news program that contained school news and the weather forecast aired on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the beginning of the day. Middle School Guidance Counselor, Chris Ross, helped the students edit and record their program in the school’s “green room”. Danielle Slomka and Tyler Simola-Wallingford answered questions from the Board and explained the news program.
The Knox Community School Board approved a small increase in cafeteria prices for the 2011-2012 school year:
“This year the State is requiring schools to increase by at least a dime,” said Superintendent, A.J. Gappa. “We’re going to hold our breakfast the same but we’re going to increase our lunch price at the Elementary, Middle and High Schools by $.20. Next year, our breakfasts will still be $1.10 for each student at all of the buildings, but lunch at the Elementary School will be $1.70 and lunch at the Middle School and High School will be $1.95.”
Elementary Principal, Glenn Barnes, brought in members of the fifth grade choir to be recognized during last week’s Knox Community School Board meeting.
“He brought in some of the the fifth grade choir to receive certificates and the Board got to see a video that Miss Guzman and the choir students put together where they sang three of the songs that they have been practicing,” said Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “Keep in mind that the fifth grade choir is not a requirement and it’s not all the fifth graders. It’s a volunteer group that came in early in the morning one day a week for the last semester on their own time to practice and pick out songs. They did a nice job singing on the video they presented to the Board.”
The Knox Community School Board members approved a lease agreement with Apple, Inc. to provide a one-to-one computer program for students in grades six through twelve.
“The computers are not going to take the place of teachers as some people fear,” explained Superintendent A.J. Gappa. “They’re just a modern tool that teacher have to use so students can improve their learning throughout Middle School and High School. Under this program, the student will get a computer that will be his computer for the next four years. The plan is that the student can take it home because that just extends their learning day. After four years, we will reevaluate the lease.”
The Indiana Department of Education has released a preliminary budget estimate for schools and according to Superintendent, A.J. Gappa, the Knox Community School Corporation looks to be in better shape than its neighboring schools. He said that the School Corporation could see an increase in the next two years.
The Knox Community School Board member discussed entering into a lease agreement with Apple computers at their recent meeting.
“That program would involve having an Apple Macbook computer for each of the students enrolled from grades six through twelve,” said Superintendent, A.J. Gappa. “We’re looking at a four year lease program that Apple promotes through different school corporations throughout the State of Indiana and also throughout the country. Apple representative, Joseph Lee, was here to help answer questions that the Board members had about the program. Many questions have been answered, but there are some other items that the Board wants to look at before they make a commitment because it is such a large commitment. We anticipate getting some of those questions answered before the next Board meeting.”
The Knox Community School Board approved the purchase of one new school bus at its meeting Monday night.
Transportation Director, Mark Jensen, asked the Board to approve the purchase of two new buses and trade in a bus. Superintendent, A.J. Gappa, encouraged the Board to purchase one new bus and no trade-in. The bus that would have been traded could be used a spare. The Board approved the Superintendent’s recommendation. A 2011 International CE will be purchased with a camera system, storage compartments and additional warranty for $85,498. The Board could purchase another bus later in the year if they so choose.
The Knox Community School Board received bids on January 11th to purchase buses. The Board received two bids – one from International and one from Thomas. The Board members took the bids under consideration and will approve a bid at their next meeting.
Knox Middle School teacher, Amie Flora, was approved to be the school’s representative on the Starke County Library Board.
Knox Community School Board members Gary Dulin, Mary Lynn Ritchie and Mike Yankauskas were sworn into office by Knox City Court Judge Charlie Hasnerl on Monday night. The three candidates were reelected into office in the November 2010 General Election.
During the Spotlight on Success portion School Board meeting, the Board commended 5th grade students, Haley Wilkinson and Cheyenne Arrendondo. They submitted Christmas ornaments and a story about their ornaments to Indiana’s First Lady, Cheri Daniels, and their submissions were selected to be hung on the Statehouse Christmas tree. Continue reading
