Monday, March 23, 2015

SCHOOL ZONE 3-19-15



KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION
Come join us for the inaugural year at our new school! Children who will be 5 years old by September 30, 2015 are eligible to attend Kindergarten for the 2015-2016 school year.  Parents should completed the online pre-registration process and schedule an appointment with the District Registrar to complete registration.  All those who complete this process will be invited to the “Sail into Kindergarten” program to be held in late April at the new Vermilion Elementary School.

Online registration for Kindergarten is completed by logging into the district website at www.vermilionschools.org .  Under the “Parents” tab, scroll to “New Student Registration” on the left side of the page.  Follow the directions for on-line pre-registration.  Any device with access to the Internet can be used to complete this process.  If you need help, please visit the Board of Education office at 1250 Sanford Street from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM for assistance. 

In August 2015 Vermilion Elementary School will move to the new location at 1285 Douglas Street.  We are proud of our new 21st Century State-of-the-Art K-3 school!  Vermilion Local Schools offers open enrollment to students who live in every school district in Ohio.

VERMILION ART GUILD FEATURES STUDENT ART
Artwork by several Vermilion High School students will be featured in the 2015 Vermilion Arts Guild Community Art Show.   Please stop in to see some of the wonderful work our art students are creating.  The Arts Guild Gallery is located in the Main Street Vermilion office, 685 Main Street.   VHS student artwork is on display and can be viewed on weekends from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 P.M. Congratulations to all of our students who were chosen for this special honor!

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GRADUATING SENIORS
There are only a few weeks left for graduating Senior students to submit applications for Scholarship opportunities available from VHS.  Students should be sure to contact teachers or other references soon so the application can be submitted on time.  Information and the application can be found on our website at

TECHNOLOGY AND TEACHING
Occasionally while driving I listen to audio books or talks by inspirational leaders.  Recently I came across a talk by Dr. Chuck Swindoll about students adapting in a computerized age.  It included a humorous and interesting commentary between Bill Gates and General Motors.  Bill Gates, while speaking at a technology show, made the comment that if General Motors had kept up with changing technology as the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars and getting 1000 miles to the gallon.  General Motors, in response, issued a press release that said, “If General Motors had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics”:
1.     For no reason whatever, your car would crash twice a day.   
2.     Every time the road lines are repainted, you would have to buy a new car.
3.     Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no apparent reason.  You would have to pull over to the side, close all the windows, shut the car off, re-start it and re-open the windows before you could continue.  And for some strange reason you would simply accept this.  
4.     Occasionally executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down, and refuse to restart, in which case you would simply have to re-install the engine.
5.     Macintosh would make a car powered by the sun.  It would be reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive.  BUT, it would run on only 5% of the roads.

6.     The oil, water temperature, alternator and other warning lights would be replaced by a single light that reads, “This car has performed an illegal operation”.
7.     The air bag system would ask “Are you sure?” before deploying.
8.     Occasionally, for no reason whatever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna
9.     Every time a new car was introduced, car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would even remotely resemble the controls in the old car. 
10.   You would have to press the start button to turn the car off. 

While technology is important in every industry, we can’t solely rely on technology in education.  The teacher is still very much relevant and important to young learners.  In Vermilion we hold our teachers in very high esteem.  Their role might have changed from lecturer to more of a coach or facilitator, but teachers are still an essential part of teaching and learning.  Technology will continue to evolve, and is at times challenging to use.  This is why we must continue to support our teachers and value what they do for our students every day.  Technology will always be part of what we do, but teachers will always be needed to facilitate and enhance learning. 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

SCHOOL ZONE 3-5-15



FUN EVENTS CLOSE TO HOME

If you are feeling the need to get out of the house and beat the winter doldrums, please join us for some great entertainment options that are close to home! 

Tomorrow (Friday, March 6) the VHS Winter Guard will host their annual Winter Showcase beginning at 7:00 PM at Vermilion High School.  Tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and senior citizens.  Twelve area high school and college groups are participating this year.  This is always a fun evening.  The group will offer basket raffles, a bake sale and concessions, but the best part of the evening is watching the performers.  It is great fun to see the variety of routines and unique talents of each group.   

Parents of seniors will host a delicious fish fry dinner at Sailorway Middle School prior to the Winter Guard Showcase on Friday.  Dinners are $15.00 and are available at the school or for take-out from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. Proceeds from the dinner will support Prom-to-Dawn.  

On Saturday, March 7, Vermilion High School will host the OHSAA Boys Basketball Sectional tournament starting at 7:00 P.M.  Come out and support our Vermilion Sailors as they take on the winner of the Firelands-Padua game.  Since this is an OHSAA tournament, all tickets are $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for senior citizens and students.  No passes will be accepted for this event. 

Next Saturday, March 14, National Honor Society is offering an opportunity for residents to enjoy the outdoors by participating in their 2nd annual 5K run/1 mile walk to support the Vermilion Food Pantry and NHS.  Registration is $15 plus one non-perishable food item.  The registration form and more information is available on our website. 

The VHS spring musical is always a great community activity, and is popular with residents.  The show this year is “Anything Goes” featuring music and lyrics by Cole Porter.  We have some really great performers in this show, and I encourage you to come out to see the talent that VHS has to offer.  Performances will be on March 19, 20 and 21 at 7:00 PM.  Tickets are $9.00 for adults and $7.00 for senior citizens and students.  They can be purchased at Vermilion High School, or by contacting Marianne Prete at 440-396-7149. 

MANDATED TESTING

As discussed in a previous article, State and federal mandated testing is here.  Testing started last week at Sailorway and Vermilion Elementary, and is ongoing at all schools.  Despite the controversy surrounding these tests, we have tried to create a supportive environment for our teachers and students. Our support team, led by Testing Coordinator Heidi Riddle and Technology Coordinator Shawn Bergman, planned well in advance to insure technology tools and training were available and the testing was efficient for all.  Heidi spent many hours planning test schedules, organizing materials and training teachers.  She created easy to follow Keynote instructions for teachers that made sense of the complicated instructions provided by PARCC.  Shawn and his team made sure the technology was ready, and have dedicated their time to supporting students and teachers on each day of testing.  All of this advance preparation was important to reduce the stress on our administrators, teachers and students.  While there has been much negative publicity about these tests statewide, the reality is that the tests are mandated by law and schools must comply. I would like to thank Heidi, Shawn, and our entire staff, for their professionalism and dedication to making our testing experience as positive for our students as possible. 

On a related note, we have received communication from two area legislators asking for our input and support as they look for alternatives to the current testing mandates.  I am encouraged that these individuals are listening to parent and educator concerns.  It appears they are ready to revise the process to make the assessments effective while reducing the time needed to prepare and administer the tests.  It is important that we come to a more realistic compromise so that teachers can focus on teaching, developing instruction and offering curriculum that will reach everyone’s ultimate goal:  preparing students who are college or career ready when they graduate.    

FISCAL MANAGEMENT

Recently the online news source “Huffington Post” shared some graphic demonstrations of the size of the national debt.  The graphics are interesting and somewhat disconcerting.  They can be viewed at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/26/us-debt-visualized-graphic_n_906239.html . 

This article caused me to think about the management of public schools as opposed to what is happening at the federal level.  Public school funding is constantly scrutinized by the media, in both positive and negative articles. Many times I am told that schools should run “like a business”. There are many differences between the requirements for managing public funds and the rules that businesses must follow to manage their money.  As public officials, we must always be cognizant of the fact that we are supported by taxpayer dollars.  It is our responsibility to do everything possible to maximize the use of those funds.  Public schools in our area do a good job of managing their affairs and using funds efficiently.  We have to, because what we do is transparent.  Fiscal reports are public documents and are closely monitored by your elected Board members.

You have heard me say several times that I do not want to ask the taxpayers for additional funding, and will do everything possible to operate the schools with current voted millage.  While we must, by law, ask the community to renew existing millage, I would like to emphasize that we are working within our means to provide Vermilion students with the best facilities and educational opportunities available.  Over the past 5 years our leadership has developed and implemented a plan to improve facilities while reducing costs for taxpayers.  Our goal is to reduce the cost for operating and maintaining buildings so that we can divert those dollars toward educational growth.  Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in learning more.