The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/870146
C-6 Wednesday, September 6, 2017 The Press-Dispatch EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday Email egnews@pressdispatch.net GOT NEWS? net edition yeah, it's that fast! Z M www.PressDispatch.net/Subscribe It's The Press-Dispatch. No matter where you live. Delivered every Wednesday morning! Add it for $5 to your current print subscription or stand-alone for $35/year. Wood Memorial TECHNOLOGY IN CLASSROOMS Mr. Bartley and his student tech services team have been diligently working in prepa- ration of the rollout of our new 1:1 Technolo- gy initiative, including the distribution of our devices. During the first two plus weeks of school their time has been spent preparing the iPads for instructional use. Along with this, Mr. Bartley has launched training and development sessions with our instructional staff. This training is aligned with our strat- egy to launch the device utilization through the engagement of Schoology and Formative Assessment tools. Device distribution is scheduled for the immediate period following Labor Day. I am confident you are going to share my excitement around the strategic use of tech- nology in the classrooms being rolled out this fall. Our program is in the best of hands, with Mr. Bartley and his team of students. SUNRISE SCHOOL SPIRIT Our school community has an exciting opportunity to be a part of Sunrise School Spirit this fall. WFIE, Channel 14, will be on our campus Friday, September 8, 2017, to feature our students and staff. The pro- gram is planned for the high school football field, barring severe/inclement weather, be- ginning at 6 a.m. Everyone in our school community is invit- ed to take part in this program. Please join us as this is a wonderful opportunity to show- case our wonderful children and the special communities of East Gibson. In order to assist those in need of trans- portation, Dr. Brewster has graciously de- veloped a plan for the utilization of East Gib- son school buses. For those needing a ride to Wood Memorial, the following pick up loca- tions have been established: Francisco Ele- mentary School, Barton Township Elemen- tary School, The Oakland City Fire Station, Oakland City First Church of the Nazarene, City Hall, in Oakland City, and the nursing home. Buses will pick up passengers at 5:15 a.m. on Friday, September 8. COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS OPPORTUNITIES For the 2017 – 2018 school year, Wood Memorial will be providing opportunities for our students in grades 8 – 10 to experi- ence a college campus. This is a part of our focus to enhance opportunities around col- lege and career readiness. The dates for the visits are as follows: 10th Graders – Septem- ber 13, 2017 (Indiana University), 9th Grad- ers – September 26, 2017 ( Vincennes Uni- versity), 8th Graders – October 3, 2017 (Uni- versity of Southern Indiana). Ms. Elizabeth Hill has done a great job of coordinating and scheduling the events. TROJAN PRIDE PERIOD The "Trojan Pride" period has been estab- lished to allow for students to have the oppor- tunity to participate in a number of opportu- nities during the school day. These will in- clude, but not be limited to: Peer Mentoring, Peer Tutoring, Faculty Mentoring, Faculty Tutoring, Extra – Curricular Club Participa- tion, Assignment Make – Up, Conflict Medi- ation, Additional Remediation, Character De- velopment, Work Force Development, Staff Development, Response – To – Intervention and Continuous Improvement. OPEN OFFICE SESSIONS Once again this year, I will be utilizing a collaborative opportunity for all members – students, staff, parents, guardians, and com- munity members – of the Wood Memorial School Community. With this said, I believe to be most effective with the development and growth of our students it is imperative that every stakeholder of Wood Memorial CALENDAR Wednesday, Sept. 6 Blue Chip Conference Fall Meeting, Montgomery, 9:00 a.m. iPad Distribution, Juniors, 11:31 a.m. Tennis at Vincennes Rivet, 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7 High School English Formative As- sessment iPad Distribution, Sophomores, 11:31 a.m. High School Spell Bowl Practice, 11:31 a.m. iPad Distribution, 8th Graders, 2:25 p.m. Boys Soccer vs. South Spencer, 5:00 p.m. Girls Soccer at South Spencer, 5:00 p.m. Volleyball at Barr Reeve, 5:30 p.m. Junior High School Volleyball vs. Ho- ly Family, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 Sunrise Spirit Friday, WFIE, 6:00 a.m. Spirit Theme, Pajamas iPad Distribution, 7th Graders, 8:00 a.m. iPad Distribution, Freshmen, 11:31 a.m. Football vs. North Knox, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9 Girls Soccer vs. Evansville Bosse, 10 :00 a.m. Boys Soccer vs. Evansville Bosse, 11:45 a.m. ADDITIONAL DATES OF NOTE 1:1 Devices Issued, Sept. 5 – 8 Sunrise Friday – WFIE – 14, Sept. 8 Fall Sports Pictures, Sept. 13 State ADM, Sept. 15 IHSA A Fall Meetings, North Daviess High School, Sept. 18, 9:30 a.m. Professional Development Day, Sept. 20 Jostens – Freshman Class Ring Or- der, Sept. 21 Jostens – Freshman Class Ring Od- er, Sept. 28 Accuplacer – Part 1, Oct. 2 – Nov. 22 Blue Chip Spell Bowl, NE Dubois, Oct. 4 College Night, High School Cafete- ria, Oct. 5, 6:00 p.m. 2017 – 2018 National Honor Society Induction Oct. 23, 6:00 p.m. Jostens, Senior Graduation Order, Oct. 30 Senior Area Spell Bowl, October 30 have an opportunity to collaborate and pro- vide input in any area/aspect of interest in- volving our school(s) they may have. Thus, I will conduct monthly "Open Office" ses- sions, focused on providing time for such collaboration to occur. I encourage you to come meet anytime to review items of interest you may have. You may schedule a meeting by calling 812-749 - 4757 and requesting a time. The September "Open Office" session will be conducted on Tuesday, September 5, 2017. In keeping with the theme of collaboration and communication, I want to invite Wood Memorial stakeholders to follow the happen- ings at the junior high and high school by joining us on twitter at WMTrojans1. Tour looks at overcrowding, understaffing, mental health By Janice Barniak State Senator Jim Tomes, of District 49, toured Gib- son County Jail to look at is- sues facing the jail, includ- ing overcrowding and lack of mental health help. As a member of the Cor- rections and Criminal Law Committee, he helps make decisions that affect jails around the state, and said he's toured multiple coun- ty jails and prisons to learn about their challenges. Like Gibson County, he said most county jails are facing overcrowding, he said. While sheriffs and staff are doing what they can to accommodate inmates, it's a balancing act, he said. In Gibson County, the jail is not just overcrowded, it's understaffed, according to an audit by the state that recommended 11 more jail personnel. "I don't know of a business that could operate that un- derstaffed and stay in busi- ness," Tomes said. Complicating that issue is that some inmates are both criminals and untreated mental health patients. "The jail staff are not par- ticularly trained for mental health issues; they're more trained to prevent crimi- nal activity," Tomes said the staff told him. He also spoke with inmates while he toured. On top of their current staffing difficulties, Tomes said Sheriff Tim Bottoms told him all felons would have to be DNA tested, with no extra funding to do so. "That costs money; it takes manpower," he said. "They're already cramped on trying to provide bed space to accommodate in their limited rooms they have...The numbers of peo- ple coming in are just going to increase."a When asked, in his capac- ity as a member of the Cor- rections committee, if any funding or legislation was coming up that would allevi- ate the jail problems, he said today (Tuesday) he will be in a meeting on jail overcrowd- ing, which he sees as an indi- cation that the problem is be- coming better known. "I think we're at a point where it's come to the at- tention of the people who should have been paying attention all along," Tomes said. Two weeks ago in a meet- ing with Indiana Sheriff's Association, he said lack of a mental health facility in our region was a big topic. "One component we're hearing about is in this part of the state, we don't have a mental health institution like what we need to relieve the burden on our commu- nity corrections," he said. "Maybe we can look at pos- sibly, perhaps getting some funding for something like that in this multi-county ar- ea...I'm certainly going to do everything I can." When asked if he feels people are reluctant to spend money on prison- ers because of their offens- es, he said he thinks people are more likely to not know there's a problem. "Across the state, there's a lot of money spent on de- velopments in their area. Bicycle trails, ball parks or things like that. That's nice. But sometimes, you maybe want to think that it might be better to focus your capital and funding on something that might, in the long run, be costing you a whole lot of money, like the criminal ac- tivity and drug addictions in your area...it might be better economically." State Sen. Jim Tomes (R-Wadesville, right) meets with Sheriff Tim Bottoms (left) and Jail Commander Darryl Chamberlain (center) at the Gibson County Jail in Princeton Wednesday, Aug. 30. Poker Run More than $800 worth of door prizes were given away at the annual Labor Day Association Poker Run. Bikers were also rewarded with beautiful weather. The celebration was held at Princeton's Gibson County Fairgrounds this year and a record crowd attended. Photo courtesy of Pat Douglas.