SCHOOL ZONE 11-14-13

WINTER WEATHER = WARMER CLOTHING

Principals at Vermilion Elementary School and Sailorway Middle School would like to remind parents that outdoor recess is scheduled every school day, except in extreme weather conditions.  All students are expected to go outside for recess, and proper dress is important to keeping kids safe.  Please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, gloves and leg coverings, if necessary, so that they can feel comfortable on the playground.  For parents who may be struggling financially, local community groups are distributing coats, hats and gloves for young children.  Please contact your school counselor, or check the parent resource section of our website for more information.

ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

Attendance at school is important to the success of every student.  This year Sailorway Middle School and Vermilion High School have been offering Attendance Incentive Programs to students, with rewards for perfect attendance. 

Sailorway students who have a full week of perfect attendance earn tickets for weekly prizes and a chance to win the Grand Prize.  The grand prize each quarter is a bicycle!   Bicycle Bill's Bike Shop is cooperating with Sailorway on this project.  At the end of the first quarter 138 students had perfect attendance for the entire quarter, with over 2,000 entries for the bike. 

The Vermilion High School attendance incentive program is aptly named “SAILORS”, which stands for “Success, Attendance, Importance, Leadership, Opportunity, Respect, and Self-discipline”.  There are two parts to the program.  Students can earn attendance incentives through the “Sailor Card” part of the program.  Each teacher is given six Sailor Cards at the beginning of each month.  Teachers will distribute the cards to students they see demonstrating one or more of the “SAILOR” characteristics.  The student is responsible for placing the card into a box in the office.  A card is also placed in the box for any student earning perfect attendance that month.  At the end of the month a drawing is held for attendance prizes.  Prizes so far are gas cards, gifts cards from local vendors and waterpark passes.  The second part of the program started on November 1.  Each day attendance is calculated and charted by grade level and gender, with the winning group posted on the office window.  The grade level and general with the most points at the end of the grading period will win a pizza party during lunch.  The Vermilion Teacher’s Association is seeking grant funds through the NEOEA Community Involvement fund to help cover the cost of the SAILORS incentive program.

NEW SALAD BAR AT SAILORWAY IS A HUGE SUCCESS! 

Sailorway cafeteria manager Evelyn Hess reports that SMS students love the new salad bar option offered on Tuesday each week.  The cafeteria staff has also added additional nutritional choices daily as a second choice.  Some of the new second choice options are assorted vegetarian salads, chef salads, and assorted wraps.  Students continue to have options of assorted cold sandwiches, including lean turkey, lean ham, tuna, egg salad and subs.  On Thursdays the cafeteria offers DOMINOS PIZZA DAY.   This pizza is different, as it is made just for schools.  The sauce has 35% less sodium, the crust is the Dominos Smart crust with 51% whole grain, the cheese contains 1/2 the fat and the pepperoni is reduced fat and reduced sodium.  This pizza has the approval of the School Nutrition Association and the National Dairy Council.

Last year Mrs. Hess organized the SNAC Team (Student Nutrition Advisory Council), a group of students who work with Mrs. Hess to choose salad bar items and sample other nutritional choices.  Team members get together to try new recipes and healthy lunch items offered by vendors, then vote on whether the new choices should be added to the school menu.  This team has proven to be a great way to get students involved in nutritional planning and making healthy food choices every day.  Mrs. Hess is very involved with the School Nutrition Association and has been a leader in keeping our district compliant with new State and Federal nutritional guidelines for schools. 

SCHOOL ZONE 10-31-13

VHS HALL OF FAME NOMINATIONS

Vermilion High School is seeking nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013.  The application and nomination details are posted on our district website.  November 15 is the deadline to submit applications for consideration this year.   The recognition ceremony will be held in late January. 

ANDROID VERSION OF POWERSCHOOL AVAILABLE

We are pleased to announce that PowerSchool for Parents and PowerSchool for Students mobile apps are now available for Android devices.  Features include real time access to your child’s information in PowerSchool, including attendance, grades, assignments, school announcements and many more.   To learn more and view a video tutorial, please see the article posted on our district website. 

OHIO’S THIRD GRADE READING GUARANTEE

With the Ohio Achievement Assessments for third-grade reading just completed, parents of struggling readers may be wondering how the Third Grade Reading Guarantee will affect their child. The Ohio Department of Education’s three-minute “Third Grade Reading Guarantee” video can be a great resource for you.  The video explains the intensive help that each child will receive and why early reading is so important. Ohio Achievement Assessment results will be sent to parents in the near future.  These results will contain a short letter explaining what you can expect and ideas to help your child be a successful reader.   The video can be found on the Ohio Department of Education website at http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Early-Learning/Third-Grade-Reading-Guarantee .  A link to the video can also be found on our district website.

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

Please join me in congratulating the following employees who were chosen for our Spotlight this month.   

Vermilion Elementary spotlight employee is physical education teacher Ms. Stacie Smith.   Mrs. Smith is being recognized for her dedication to our district.  She is always willing to be involved in district-wide initiatives to help the school achieve its goals.  She is flexible with her schedule and frequently steps up to help when extra hands are needed.  Mrs. Smith has incredible patience with elementary students. She believes in the importance of physical activity for children and creates exciting and detailed lesson plans to help her students understand why physical fitness is important for them now and as they grow older. 

Spotlight employee at Sailorway Middle School is Mrs. Joy Sigrist, English/language Arts and social studies teacher in 6th grade.  Mrs. Sigrist is being recognized for her sunny disposition and approach to teaching.  She always goes above and beyond to take care of her student's needs, while also holding them to the highest standards of achievement.  She is a great asset to our 6th grade team.   Mrs. Sigrist  believes that the most important aspect in teaching is to connect with the students.  She tries to incorporate humor into her teaching and make sure everyone has some fun.  She is dedicated to mastery of each concept and encouraging students to continue practicing until they succeed. 

The VHS employee spotlight this month is Counselor Cara Habermehl.  She was chosen for her emphasis on improving student relationships.  Mrs. Habermehl feels strongly that upperclassman can and should make a positive impact on students who are new to VHS.  This year she reintroduced the "Link Crew" program, in which upperclassmen are trained to be mentors for younger students.  During the summer Mrs. Habermehl trained 40 juniors and seniors who volunteered to be Link Crew members.  Link Crew’s proven high school transition program trains these student mentors to be positive role models.  The upperclassmen leaders welcome new students and make them feel comfortable as they enter high school. They guide 8th and 9th graders to discover what it takes to be successful in high school and help to facilitate student achievement. 

For more about our spotlight employees, please visit our website:  www.vermilionschools.org