WEATHER CHALLENGES CONTINUE
With the continuing low temperatures and snow conditions, we have had
many questions about how decisions are made to open or close school. We have a team of people that work together
to check conditions and make the decision on bad weather days. Our decision making includes everything from
watching weather reports to actually driving our bus routes. The weather conditions can change rapidly, and
we must be mindful not only of what the weather is in the AM, but also what it
will be later in the day. Student safety is our primary concern.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTION
Vermilion High School announced the names of the 2013 Hall of Fame
members last week. This year’s inductees
all have a long history of service not only to the schools, but also the
community.
Daniel Dropko was active at
Vermilion High School in varsity tennis, speech competitions,
and received the Arion award for outstanding Senior Class musician. He graduated from Vermilion High School in 1965 as a National Merit Scholar. In
1966, Dan’s life took an unexpected turn when an auto accident left him a
paraplegic who relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Later, Dan earned a
Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and a Masters in
foreign language teaching. He taught for
many years in Florida, eventually earning a law degree, and serving for 13
years as Assistant Public Defender in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2002 he returned to Ohio to teach at
Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He
currently resides in Vermilion.
Ralph Mayer was a record-setting
athlete at Vermilion High School and at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska. After college he returned to his hometown and
spent the next 29 years as a teacher, coach and administrator. Ralph coached baseball, tennis and football,
and still holds the record for most wins in the VHS football program. Ralph was selected as the
Lorain County Coach of the year in football six times, was selected to coach
the Big 33 All-Star game in Pennsylvania in 1994 and was inducted into the
Lorain County Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
He was also instrumental in forming other area leagues including the
Principals and Athletic Directors league and the West Shore Conference. He was named the Lorain County Athletic
Director of the Year 2007-08.
Thomas G. Williams was an honors graduate of Vermilion High
School in 1929, where he participated in basketball and football. In 1927, he was the quarterback and captain
of the school’s first undefeated football season. After graduating from Ohio University in 1932
and John Marshall Law School in 1936, he joined his father’s law office in
Vermilion to serve the local community.
As a member of the Erie County Bar and Ohio State Bar Associations he
was on many county and state legal committees during his 50-year career. Tom
served Vermilion as postmaster for 29 years, and was a charter member of the
Civic Club and served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He served as a Boy Scout leader, a Sunday school teacher and
was one of the founders of the Athletic Booster Club. He nurtured youngsters to have the
opportunity to play baseball and basketball.
Tom and others coached the first Little League teams for Vermilion and
the first pre-high school basketball teams that played between the JV and
varsity games.
This year’s induction ceremony for the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 was
cancelled due to the weather on Saturday and will be rescheduled soon. We hope you will plan to join us as we
celebrate the accomplishments of these three fine individuals.
JANUARY EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
The employee spotlight at Vermilion Elementary for
January is 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Lynn Call. Mrs. Call was chosen for her
dedication to all of the VES students, her infinite patience with young people,
willingness to be open to new ideas, and creativity in making learning engaging
and fun. Mrs. Call is a team player, working cooperatively with her
fellow teachers to improve instruction. She always displays a positive
attitude, no matter what the situation, and has an awesome work ethic.
Mrs. Call has lived in the area most of her life. She began working
in Vermilion as a kindergarten teacher in 1984, eventually moving to Vermilion
Intermediate School. She and her husband reside in Vermilion and raised a
daughter here.
This Sailorway spotlight is on head building
secretary Denise Zielske. Denise will be retiring effective January 31,
2013. During her career in the Vermilion Schools, Denise has worked in
almost every building, and with many different administrators. She began
working full time in 1983 as an educational aide at Valley View Elementary
School under then principal James Reutener. Following consolidation of the
elementary buildings in 1988, Denise accepted a position as educational aide at
Vermilion Intermediate School in 1989, working under principal George Harizal.
She later accepted the position of secretary to the principal at VIS,
where she worked for 10 years. When Vermilion's buildings were again
consolidated in 2010, Denise spent one year as secretary to Mike Colatruglio at
Vermilion High School before moving to Sailorway Middle School in 2011 under
Principal Brian Zeller. Denise lives in
Vermilion with her husband, John. She has two children (both graduates of
VHS) and four grandchildren.
English teacher Jennifer Higley is in the VHS
spotlight this month. Visitors to Mrs. Higley's classroom can easily see her
passion for English and literature. Her rapport with students allows her
to build relationships that are extremely important to the educational setting.
Her lessons are designed to prepare students for college and career readiness.
They are filled with interesting topics and readings designed to teach high
schoolers that reading is important to lifelong learning, but can be fun, too.
Mrs. Higley willingly serves on the VHS SLO committee and the
building Crisis Response team. Last year she was instrumental in the success of
the VHS Twitter challenge. She truly is an example of the type of 21st
Century teacher our students need if they are to be successful in college and
future careers.
You can learn more about these outstanding employees
on our district website.
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