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. 

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