Monday, November 26, 2012

SCHOOL ZONE 11-22-12

Please join me in congratulating our employees of the month for November.  To learn more about these special employees, please visit our website at www.vermilionschools.org

 

Vermilion Elementary School honors counselor Buffy Greenawalt.

It takes the combined efforts of all members of the Vermilion Elementary School staff to create the nurturing, caring, learning environment that makes us the Excellent school that we are.  One key player in our quest for Excellence is school counselor, Mrs. Buffy Greenawalt.  She serves all of our students by providing individual and group counseling and delivering programs to classrooms on topics such as bullying, character building, and drug awareness.  She spearheads our many school and community service programs - Operation Christmas Joy, Keep Kids Warm mitten drive, One Bag food drive, Random Acts of Kindness Week, No Name Calling Day, Red Ribbon Week, Big Buddies, Refocus and Rachel’s Challenge.  Mrs. Greenawalt is the standardized test coordinator, the coordinator of the Intervention Assistance Team and the community support coordinator for VES.  Additionally she is involved in Communities that Care, Lorain County Prevention Connection, Vermilion Local Schools Drug Task Force and the Ohio School Counselors Association.

Mrs. Greenawalt is a positive presence and influence in our students’ lives.  She displays a cheerful attitude and a caring disposition taking the time to get to know our children and helping them in all aspects of their lives.  She is knowledgeable of social services providing useful information to parents and families.  Mrs. Greenawalt is a most important part of the Vermilion Elementary Family.
Mrs. Greenawalt earned her Bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling and School Counseling from Heidelberg College. She taught high school prior to working as a Victim Advocate through the State’s Attorney’s Office becoming involved with the victims of crime and the county domestic violence shelter.  She has experience as a parent educator, chemical dependency counselor and social worker assistant through non-profit agencies.  Mrs. Greenawalt came to Vermilion as the school counselor for South Street Elementary and Vermilion Intermediate School in 2004.  She is the mother of six children and lives with her husband, Tom in Huron

SAILORWAY MIDDLE SCHOOL honors three employees this month.
Mrs. Donna Holbrook- Educational Aide
Donna Holbrook serves as an Educational Aide in Sailorway’s Positive Support Program.  Positive is the best way to describe Mrs. Holbrook.  She continually has a smile on her face and is helping her students to be successful.  Aside from the help she provides the students, she is an asset to the teachers she helps through her efforts.  She is also a tremendous baker and plies the staff with baked goods frequently.  Mrs. Holbrook is married and has two children who attended Vermilion Schools.

Mr. Jason Hayne- Intervention Specialist
Mr. Hayne is an intervention specialist serving students in grades 5 and 7.  He is an extremely motivated and creative individual. Mr. Hayne recently developed a project for all seventh grade students, creating a scavenger hunt to further develop their understanding of The Westing Game book.  Mr. Hayne is always looking for ways to motivate his students to learn.  He has been a wonderful addition to our staff and is also serving as the Head Wrestling Coach for SMS.  

Mrs. Kim Duda- 6th Grade Language Arts and Social Studies.  
When you are in need of stimulating conversation a stop by Mrs. Duda’s room will serve you well.  She is a master at facilitating conversation among her students and allowing them to explore their own beliefs and convictions.  Aside from these skills, Mrs. Duda has taken on a student-centered approach this year that the overwhelming majority of her students are enjoying.  Mrs. Duda is a dedicated and driven professional who challenges her students to be their best, both in and out of school.

This month Vermilion High School recognizes Social Studies teacher Kristy Edmison.
Ms. Edmison grew up in North Royalton, Ohio and attended Baldwin Wallace College where she was a 4 year letter winner in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.  She earned many State and National honors and recognition in athletics while also achieving academic honors, including being listed in Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges.  
Kristy came to Vermilion in 1999 as a Social Studies teacher and cross country coach.  She continues to coach cross country, track, basketball and intramurals. Coach Edmison was recently named "District 6 Coach of the Year" following a powerful track season, taking 5 girls to the State Finals this past spring. 
Several years ago Kristy was instrumental in organizing a Veteran's Day luncheon sponsored by the VHS Social Studies classes, a tradition that continues to this day.  Each year she and her students organize and provide lunch to honor Vermilion's heros.  This year over 70 veterans attended the luncheon.  Kristy is a family-oriented individual who cares deeply about her students and helping them learn more about the world around them.  VHS is excited to be able to honor her as our teacher of the month for November.  

Thursday, November 8, 2012

SCHOOL ZONE 11-8-12

FOCUS ON VERMILION HIGH SCHOOL

Continuing our series on activities in each of our school buildings, this week we are highlighting Vermilion High School. 

In addition to the many athletic, drama and music activities that the public is familiar with, VHS students are able to choose from a variety of academic related clubs and activities.  Our high school offers Student Council, National Honor Society, Academic Challenge, Model UN, Mock Trial, Leo Club, Speech and Debate Team, Science Fair, Book Club and Art Club.  A new club offering for students is a technology club in which students play Minecraft, a challenging game using blocks to create and defend virtual worlds.  

For those who may not participate in organized athletics, we offer Intramural activities after school to promote healthy living and an annual Powder Puff charity football game.  Admission to this year’s event is a non-perishable food item that will be donated to the Vermilion food pantry.  Some of the other charity and service activities students actively participate in throughout the school year are the annual Veteran’s luncheon sponsored by the VHS social studies classes, Operation Christmas Joy and Relay for Life.  All of our students are offered points for volunteering with social service agencies or participating in other types of service projects, such as the annual Vermilion spring clean-up. 

Every year administrators and teachers at VHS offer travel opportunities to help teach students about history and culture outside of Vermilion. This year there are several opportunities for students to participate in educational trips with student groups:
  • Grade 8 trip to Washington D.C. to visit historic sites and learn more about the United States government;
  • Spanish students trip to Puerto Rico to learn more about the culture and language in that region;
  • French classes trip to France to study the culture and language of that country;
  • VHS marching band trip to Virginia Beach where they will perform in the Parade of Nations, learn more about percussion performance and tour historic Jamestown and Williamsburg;
  • Participating Seniors will travel to Chicago for the first annual Senior trip where they will be exposed to various artistic and historic sites and will visit Notre Dame University. 
Students who are interested in participating in any of these trips should speak with their teacher or advisor for more information.

Many of our teachers are using hands-on teaching methods in their classrooms.  For example, students in Physics classes are making and testing rockets using precise calculations; Math students are participating in a egg drop activity using bungee cords; and French students are using vocabulary words to write and create their own short film using iMovie.   Students have also embraced the hands-on philosophy and are creating projects to promote their school.  Last year our district created a promotional video for the City of Vermilion and Vermilion schools that was featured on the City website, Vermilion.net.  This year during Spirit Week students in our Film Making class organized the student body to create a promotional video that was later posted to YouTube.  The video shows students enthusiastically supporting all of the many athletic teams we have in Vermilion. 

Parents or community members who are interested in keeping in touch with what is happening at Vermilion High School can view the VHS announcements at the following link:  http://sailornewsnetwork.wordpress.com/category/announcements/ .  It is a great place to see our Sailor News Network team in action, and keep up-to-date on what is happening in our schools.