WEATHER RELATED CLOSINGS
On bad
weather days our school district has the option of closing for a full day, or
implementing a 2 hour delay. I believe that a 2 hour delay can be
inconvenient for families and disruptive to the school day. It is my
intention to utilize this option only as a last resort, or in the event of an
emergency. The decision to close school is difficult, and we take this
responsibility very seriously. We communicate with local law enforcement
and plowing crews, consult weather reports and have personnel driving roads to
determine if closing is necessary. Official notification of school closing will
be posted on our website, Facebook, Twitter, and local television and radio
news stations. An automated phone call is sent to students and staff using the
contact information in PowerSchool. The
closing notice will be communicated to news media and families as early as
possible after the decision is made. We
have been experiencing a rise in message and questions posted on our social
media sites, but responses to these messages will be our last priority as we
work to ensure information is communicated to all students and parents in a
timely manner.
In the event
it is necessary for us to use the 2 hour delay option, students will be
expected to report to school exactly 2 hours after the normally scheduled
report time. School buses will leave the bus garage 2 hours later, and
will follow their established routes. Students can expect buses to be at
bus stops 2 hours later than normal. Some students may experience a delay
in pick up, depending upon weather and road conditions. Student safety is
our priority. On these days, school will be dismissed at the normal time.
ART SHOW WINNERS
We are very proud to announce that VHS art students
were the recipients of the largest number of awards in recent history for their
entries in the Scholastic Art Show. VHS
entries received 3 American Vision Awards, 9
Gold Keys, 14 Silver Keys and 58
Honorable Mention awards. Students
that received a piece in the show are: Tessa Lee, Allison
Gossett, Jaron Nestor-Blackman, Madison
Paden, Christiana Leonardo, Hannah
Kanavel, Jared
Jones, Eric McGuinn, Jordan
Murray, Bryan Martin, Nicole
Feigi, Megan Gercak, Clare
Faley, Sierra Lyons, Lauren
Harcula, Joey Rini, Blaine
Gasdick, Kaitlin Day, Andrew
Volzer, Lauren Pawlowski, Jeremy
Brinker, Seth Hurd. The American Vision Awards went
to Allison Gossett with 1 and Tessa Lee with 2. Congratulations to all of the award winners,
and their teachers Christen Schneid and Whitney Brown for this outstanding
achievement. More information on this
show will be published in the Photojournal in the coming weeks.
CRISIS PLANNING
This year our district has been working with an outside consulting
company, Common Sense Defense, and the Vermilion Police Department to review
and update our procedures for response to a violent-intruder incident, should
one occur here. The implementation of
training will be phased in to each of our schools over the next two years. Our
focus this academic year is on training the high school teachers and students
on the response plan. High school teachers participated in a practical and
realistic training drill in the fall and we are now prepared to educate our students
on the plan.
Our violent intruder procedure empowers students, staff, visitors and
administrators to make decisions that will allow them to increase their chance
of survival in the event a violent intruder threatens to cause harm. Those in harm’s
way will be provided with several options that allow them to make decisions
that are best for them given the circumstances. The options available include
lockdown strategies, evacuation alternatives, and countering techniques. On February
9 we will be educating the high school students on our violent intruder
and lockdown procedures and allowing them to practice what they learn. The
training will be conducted by Common Sense Defense and the practice will be
coordinated with Common Sense Defense and the Vermilion Police Department. We know that some parents may be concerned
about the training and drills that the high school students will participate
in, so we are offering an information night for parents of high school students
on Tuesday, January 27 at 7:00 PM in
the High School Auditorium. The
information night will allow parents to participate in the training their
students will receive as well as allow time for questions to be answered. All parents are invited to join us for this
important event.
END OF FIRST SEMESTER
Today marks the end of the first semester of school for the 2014-2015
school year, and are looking forward to starting the second half of the
year. Some exciting and positive things
are happening in our classrooms this year through our emphasis on center-based,
learning, blended learning and co-teaching.
I hope that you have an opportunity to visit us and see what we are
doing.
VISITOR PARKING
Last week we
were notified by City officials that complaints were made about parking around
Vermilion High School. Some of our event
visitors are ignoring the posted “No Parking” signs and are creating a hazard
for cars traveling on Sailorway Drive. Parking
lots are available around the high school, and it is only a short walk from the
designated parking areas to the gymnasium or the stadium. This is a reminder that all residents should
park in designated parking lots only.
The Vermilion Police Department is authorized to ticket cars parked in
the “no parking” zones if they receive a citizen complaint. We appreciate your cooperation to keep both
visitors and community members safe.
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