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Your school’s submission will be published in the order it is received and as space allows. There are no guarantees on publication dates.

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Community

Christian

CCS wants to welcome new staff member Desiree Fort. Fort is teaching Community Christian’s 4-year-old prekindergarten class. She brings talent and enthusiasm. The school also welcomes Erin Caldwell. Caldwell joins the school to teach our elementary students art, bringing with her artistic talent and training. Former prekindergarten teacher Mrs. Gleason has accepted the third-grade teaching position.

Again this year CCS will be collecting Box tops for Education. The school invites all friends of CCS to save the Box Tops that appear on many grocery products.

— School staff

Dixie Bee

Off they go to Mexico! This is just one fact that Dixie Bee second graders are learning about monarch butterflies. Despite the drought of this summer and monarch caterpillars being few and far between in this area as a result, students have been observing first-hand the four stages of the monarch’s life cycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult. A tiny egg hatched in class, and students were able to view the miniscule larva through magnifying glasses. In some classes, an Elmo projector was used to display up-close, movie screen sized views of the caterpillar munching on its milkweed. Carissa Lovett, the naturalist from Dobbs Park, will visit Dixie Bee in September to make a presentation to the second grade classes about the monarch.

Science lessons focusing on the monarch butterfly are serving as a springboard for many cross curricular activities. Butterfly songs and stories, both fiction and non-fiction, have been read in classes. Some teachers are using the monarch butterfly as the focus of a sequential writing piece utilizing time connector words such as first, next, then and last. Hook sentences will be written as introductions to these writing pieces with a purpose of grabbing the reader’s attention. Wrap-up sentences will bring closure to each student’s writing. Symmetry has been discussed as it relates to the placement of the butterfly’s wings, antennae, and the matching black dots on the hind wings that indicate that the butterfly is a male.

Monarch butterfly lessons have been exciting and engaging for the Dixie Bee second graders to start the school year. With much anticipation, students look forward to what else the year has to hold. Second-grade scientists will certainly spread their “wings” this year as they explore weather, technology, plants, matter, motion and more.

— Cheryl Thornton

Lost Creek

Lost Creek students earned international honors with their technology projects in the International Student Media Festival. Twenty-three projects were selected as winning projects with five earning participation status.

Three projects were singled out for further honors. Two were rated “Best of Festival,” meaning that the students earned best in the world for their age group and category.

n “Remember,” created by Sarah Behnke, Kate Gauer, Megan Rader, Eric Scott, Morgan Thompson, Mayson Trierweiler and Mason Unger was a live action video created for the Veteran’s Day school-wide assembly. The children researched the events of 9/11 and filmed Lost Creek staff members who spoke about their memories of that day. The students used a green screen technique with images of that day showing behind them. All work followed copyright laws.

n “The Lost Tower of Maiden” also earned Best of Festival but in the category of Podcasts. A group of students from Ms. Berta Cottom’s GT class (Casey Coons, Elijah Page, Nathaniel Williams, Noam Wasik, Olivia Branam, Rachel Kiger, Shelby Mundell, and Sylvie Shock) worked with media specialist, Mrs. Karen Webb, to write a creative story, divide up the speaking parts, record voices, and add sound effects. The International Student Media Festival website calls Best of Festival winners “the best of the best.”

n “Horror Land” by Jadelyn Johnson won a Judges’ Favorite distinction, which recognizes “projects that are unique and capture the judges’ attention”. She created her work in the after school enrichment class, Digital Storytelling Club, sponsored by Mrs. Webb. Jadelyn wrote creative story about a haunted amusement park, drew pictures using the computer program Paint and recorded her voice reading her story.

Nineteen projects earned “Excellence in Media Production” distinction, meaning that the projects exceeded ISMF’s minimum criteria for excellence. They were:

Interactive Stills (These projects came from Lost Creek’s enrichment class PowerClub):

n “Alcatraz” by Alexander Sacopulos, Jimmy Doti, and Colin Balitewicz

n “Eiffel Tower” by Katie Myers

n “Horses” by Ethan Branam and Olivia Branam

n “St. Louis Cardinals” by Garrett Drake and Nick Garthwaite

n “Tigers” by Julianna Ervin and Noam Wasik

n “Willis Tower” by Zackary Bahus, Liam Balitewicz, and Benjamin Jaeger

Sequential Stills (These projects came from Lost Creek’s enrichment class Digital Storytelling Club):

n “Arachnid” by MacNeil Lambert

n “Ashley’s Best Christmas” by Kylie Higham, Allie Ray, and Taylor Rusin

n “The Giant Haunted Toilet” by Garrett Drake and Eian Himes

n “The Gooey Green Monster” by Caroline Effner, Olivia Effner, and Emma Hall

n “The Mystery of the Haunted Library” by Yujin Jang and Mayson Trierweiler

n “The Haunted Teddy Bear” by Katie Myers and Hannah Sutton

Sequential Stills (These came from Lost Creek’s enrichment class Click! Photography Club):

n “Shapes” by Macee Kuhn, Katie Myers, and Madison Myers

n “Nature” by Julianna Ervin and Katie Grogan

n “Autumn” by Tatum Grizzel and Caitlyn Miller

n “Nature Around Us” by Skyla Mahurin and Shea Moloney

n “Playground Shapes” by Casey Coons, Mason Mershon, Brendan Magnuson

Podcasts

n “The Rainforest” by Patrick Corrigan, Brendan Magnuson, Annie Demchak, and Hannah Harvey

n “Superhero” by Emma Hall, MacNeil Lambert, Avery Millington, Brady Newsom, and Luca Simoni

Five projects earned Participation status:

n “Coins” by Adam Bahus (Interactive Stills)

n “The True Meaning of Christmas” by Jennifer Behnke and Renee Sivertson (Sequential Stills)

n “Cars” by Konnor Deverick and Brady Newsom (Sequential Stills)

n “Leaf” by Mary Gatrell and Audrey Jones (Sequential Stills)

n “Repeat” by Hannah Harvey and Noam Wasik (Sequential Stills)

All students have been invited to attend the International Student Media Festival in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 1-3. The event includes technology sessions for children, the Student Showcase to share winning projects and the Awards Ceremony.

Mrs. Webb is currently taking student applications for Click! Photography Club and Digital Storytelling Club.

Davis Park

The history of Davis Park Elementary School began over 100 years ago. The property at 18th and Walnut streets was leased in May 1900 for use as a community school, and was later purchased when the lease expired. The original owner of the property was William Gomer Davis who died in 1898. He and his wife resided in the original Greek revival residence which was built in 1863.

Following the purchase of the property, the school committee on buildings, grounds and improvements decided that the building at “Davis Park” was too small for school purposes. Before construction of a newer building began, the house was relocated to the southeast corner of 16th and Orchard. The new building was named Davis Park School because of the beautiful park-like setting, and it opened in the fall of 1912 under the leadership of Anna Higgins. She had been principal since 1902 and continued to be principal until her retirement in 1942.

Before Woodrow Wilson Middle School opened in 1927, Davis Park School maintained classes for kindergarten through the eighth grade. The 1912 Davis Park building served the community for 75 years and on May 9, 1987, ground was broken for the current Davis Park School. The present building is the third facility to bear the name “Davis Park” and was dedicated on Nov. 14, 1987 under the leadership of then principal George Thompson.

The current students and staff strive to continue the level of excellence that began so long ago.

(Most of the information for this article is from recorded history records at the Vigo County Historical Museum.)

— Susan Pickard

DeVaney

DeVaney Dragons were thrilled to get back into school this year to see renovations that occurred over the summer. New tile flooring replaced hallway and cafeteria carpets creating a cleaner and brighter environment. Open-concept classrooms had walls and doors added, the office was restructured to improve the arrival process, and a lift was added to the stage. Staff and students continue to watch improvements to our school as a new pod is being added. It will include four kindergarten classrooms, a group bathroom, and a computer lab. The lab will be equipped with computers donated to DeVaney at the closing of Chauncey Rose.

Each classroom has elected Student Council members for the 2012-2013 school year. Those students are: Lucee Sauer, Talan Boehler, Alyssa DePasqual, Jacob Price, Allison Spelman, Seongmin Yoo, Jack Halls, Dane George, Alexandra Cognata, Lilly Pence, Seth Browne, Sarah Strecker, Audrey Kirchner, Zada Russell, Katie Collins, Jace Russell, Bryce Coley, Chris Wiemuth, Alex Crabb and Nickelle Maxwell.

— School staff

Farrington Grove

Title 1 teachers passed out information and talked to parents about the Title 1 program and Reading Recovery at Farrington Grove during the school’s open house. The next Annual Title 1 meeting is during the September PTO meeting on Sept. 23 at 5:30. All parents/guardians are encouraged to attend. There will be refreshments. A Parent Breakfast will be on Oct. 11 from 7:30 until 8:30 a.m. Some parents are unable to attend meetings in the evenings. This is an excellent time for parents to meet the Title1 staff and ask questions about the programs.  There will be activities, free books and breakfast.

Cafeteria manager Nancy O’Day retired over the summer. O’Day had been with Farrington Grove for many years, and over 20 years with the Vigo County School Corp.

New student council officers are Teddy Polman-president, Devin Taylor-vice president, Luka Popoff-secretary, Carlei Sapp-treasurer, and Libby Koerner-photographer.

— Title 1 teachers, Lynn Sargent, Jayme McCullough, Karla Smith, Ella Clark

Franklin

Franklin Elementary has been blessed with much needed donations of school supplies and goodies so far this school year, making the start of school especially pleasant for many students and staff.

Mrs. West, Franklin school counselor, announces the grand re-opening of the Every Minute Counts Superstore on Sep. 10. She reminds students that in order to shop in the EMC store students must come to school every day on time. Each student who has perfect weekly attendance will receive a “paycheck” with their name on it to spend in the store. Students may purchase items such as toys, snacks and school supplies each week, or save up for bigger items throughout the store. The tardy bell rings at 8:15 a.m. and students must be in their classrooms at that time to receive a paycheck. Breakfast begins at 7:45 a.m., so if you are eating breakfast, please come to school early enough to eat and get to class on time. H

Franklin Falcons are working on being STRONG each day which stands for Selfless, Truthfull, Respectful, Obedient, Noble and Goal setting.

— School staff



Dances for middle schoolers planned

The Vigo County School Corp. has partnered with the League of Terre Haute and The Terre Haute Boys and Girls Club in an effort to provide all school corporation middle school students an opportunity to attend a winter dance for their grade level.

All tickets are pre-sale; no tickets will be sold at the door for any of the dances. Attire is “dress your best” with themes to be announced.

For more information contact Genine Ireland at the Boys and Girls Club at 812-232-2046.

The following dances are sponsored by League of Terre Haute and the Terre Haute Boys/Girls Club.

n Winter Blast Dance, seventh graders only

Where: Boys and Girls Club at 220 N. Third St.

When: 7 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 30; doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: Go on sale at the middle school during lunch time Sept. 28 through Oct. 12. Ticket price is $15.

n Blizzard Ball Dance, sixth graders only

Where: Boys and Girls Club at 220 N. Third St.

When: 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 1; doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: Go on sale at the middle schools during lunch time Sept. 28 through Oct. 12. Ticket price is $15.

NOTE: The VCSC Middle School sponsored Snowball Dance for eighth graders is from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Hulman Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($21) go on sale Sept. 24 at Hulman Center.