The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/895273
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, November 1, 2017 C-7 EAST GIBSON NEWS Submit school news: Email: egnews@ pressdispatch.net Deadline: Noon on Friday SUCCESS DURING THE FIRST TEN PLUS WEEKS There have been a num- ber of successes experi- enced during the first ten (10) plus weeks of school this fall. On Wednesday af- ternoon, October 25, 2017, Wood Memorial High School and Wood Memorial Junior High School took the opportunity to pay tribute to those individuals working to create success for our stu- dents with a fall celebration at the end of the school day. During the agenda, Mr. White and our band per- formed a number of songs, including the school song. The Wood Memorial mu- sic department continues to grow, in both numbers and talent, with a terrific group of individuals taking part in ensuring this area of fine arts develops into an inte- gral part of school culture. Members of the 2017 – 2018 National Honor Soci- ety class were introduced. Joining the organization this year were: Canyon Duncan, Chloe Mowery, Ryan Mem- mer, Jaiden Maikranz, Ad- ison Stone, and Gretchen Reel. Congratulations to these outstanding individ- uals. Ms. Shuler and her Spell Bowl team accomplish- ments were recognized during the program. The spell bowl members have ar- ea competitions coming up on October 30 for the high school and November 1 for junior high school. Ms. Shul- er does a great job in her role as sponsor and I wish them the very best of luck in the upcoming events. Wood Memorial was well represented at the 2017 Mole Day activities, with senior Walker Nurrenbern earning a second place over- all finish, while classmates Austin Adler and Cori Pflug were recognized with first place class; and the team of Nurrenbern, Emma Reel and Remington Wilkinson came in fourth. Perhaps the best part of the program was the intro- duction and participation of our new instructors – Nick Berry, Kelly McDivitt, Luke Messmer, Chris Tanner, Sta- cey Strickland, Pat Doug- las, Alec Hensley, and Cas- sie Scraper. They took part in a competition against our students. Needless to say, youthful vigor played a key part in the outcome. The newest instructor at Wood Memorial is Ms. Kel- ly McDivitt. Ms. McDivitt joins us on October 12, 2017 and is serving as instructor for our eighth grade English classes. I appreciate the efforts of Ms. Shelly Casey and every- one involved with ensuring a fun time for our students and staff as everyone head- ed off to fall break. OPEN OFFICE SESSIONS Once again this year, I will be utilizing a collabo- rative opportunity for all members – students, staff, parents, guardians, and community members – of the Wood Memorial School Community. With this said, I believe to be most effec- tive with the development and growth of our students it is imperative that every stakeholder of Wood Me- morial have an opportuni- ty to collaborate and pro- vide input in any area/as- pect of interest involving 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. In keeping with the theme of collaboration and com- munication, I want to invite Wood Memorial stakehold- ers to follow the happenings at the junior high and high school by joining us on twit- ter at WMTrojans1. SENIOR PRIDE DAY On Friday, November 3, 2017 our fall Senior Pride Day will be held. A program has been identified for the day that will have our se- nior students certified in CPR, while also receiving personal finance, and per- sonal safety training. More information will be provid- ed as we move closer to No- vember 3. IMPORTANT SCHOOL INFORMATION • There will be a career and technical education open house on Tuesday, No- vember 28, 2017. The event will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. (EST), at Pike Central High School. • A reminder, as outlined in the East Gibson School Corporation Policies and Procedures, the Wood Me- morial High School and Wood Memorial Junior High School adhere to the Closed Campus philosophy identified in the above ref- erenced policies and pro- cedures. Upon arrival to school, a student may not leave without approval of the building principal and being signed out by the re- spective parent. • The Elks National Hoop Shoot is just around the corner, with Wood Me- morial Junior High School once again taking part. The event, for students ages 8 – 13, will be a part of the JHS physical education classes in the near future. More to come from coach Messmer. • Information on how to join your respective class Remind and Schoology ac- counts has been posted to the Wood Memorial High School website. The ac- counts have been estab- lished as a communication and collaboration tool by the student services orga- nization. By joining you will be able to receive pertinent information such as, schol- arship opportunities, col- lege admission dates, and much, much more. Please contact Ms. Hill or Ms. Carl- ton for assistance. CALENDAR Wednesday, Nov. 1 Red Ribbon Spirit Day, Red Day – Put a Stop To Drugs JHS Area Spell Bowl, Jasper Middle School, 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2 Red Ribbon Spirit Day, Throwback Thursday, Drugs Are Old School SAC Meeting, 11:31am Friday, Nov. 3 Green and Gold, Our School Chooses to be Drug Free Science Field Trip, Vincennes Univer- sity, 8 a.m. Staff PLC Session, 8 a.m. Fall Senior Pride Day, 8:30 a.m. Girls Basketball at Perry Central, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 Boys Basketball Inter-squad Games, 2 p.m. Alumni Basketball Game, 6 p.m. ADDITIONAL DATES OF NOTE Accuplacer – Part 1, Oct. 2 – Nov. 22 Senior Area Spell Bowl, Oct. 30 JHS Spell Bowl Team Practice, Oct. 31 JHS Area Spell Bowl, Nov. 1. Fall Senior Pride Day Nov. 3. Boys Basketball Inter-squad Games, Nov. 4, 2 p.m. Alumni Basketball Game, Nov. 4, 6 p.m. Veterans Day Program, Nov. 10 Principal Open Office Hours, Nov. 14 HS Student Council Meeting, Nov. 15 Staff PLC, Nov. 17 WMJHS Spelling Bee ,Nov. 21 Thanksgiving Break, Nov. 22, 23, 24 ISTEP Retest, Dec. 4 – Dec. 15 Wood Memorial Wood Memorial biology students visit Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife Specialist Heath Hamilton welcomes a group of Wood Memorial High School biology students to the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge. The students took a hike where they viewed various eco- system types and learned about land management, conservation, and other related topics. They also ex- plored the wetland, searching for macro invertebrates and other water quality indicators. Right: Wood Memorial High School environmental science students get a close up look at what lives in the marsh at the Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge. Viewers, nets, and pond guides were furnished by the Friends of the Patoka River NWR. Hazardous Waste Day aims to make safer community By Janice Barniak Chemicals, pesticides, paints and oil—the skull-and-cross- bones in the poison warnings on products at Hazardous Waste Day could outdo a pirate's conven- tion, but that's the point, said Sol- id Waste Director Mike Stilwell, shivering in a tent with two Gib- son County Sheriff's Office em- ployees early Saturday morning; getting dangerous materials off the street and out of garages can make the county safer. Twice a year, the county hosts the on Toyota's grounds, where it's moved since it re-branded from be- ing Heavy Trash Day at the fair- grounds, and transitioned to the hazardous waste focus. "In that last year, we were so overwhelmed with the amount of trash on that one day. We've got 10 sites around the county that take trash every day, so there's still opportunity for people to take it there. Plus the City of Princeton wanted to opt out," he said. "So Toyota kind of sponsored this, which means team members can participate even if they're not from around here. We couldn't do it without Toyota." The hazardous waste focus lets people offload materials that might be dangerous to have around but that can't necessarily be dumped with regular trash just anywhere. The Gibson County Sheriff's Office teamed up with the event to clear another kind of hazard, drugs, in a drug-take-back tent on site. While prescription drugs are the most common type of drug people bring in, there are also over-the-counter and expired pills people don't know what to do with. "A lot of people used to flush them," said Troy Baize, of GCSO. "That just recycles them back in the water system and we end up getting them back in our drink- ing water." He added having drugs around the house can be a hazard for young children. Last year, the GCSO took 50 pounds of pills—and that's with- out packaging—to be incinerated, Baize said. "With this opioid epidemic, it's critical to get them out of the house," added GCSO's Dan Liene- mann. He stressed that for those who missed the take-back day, they don't need to wait for the next one, people can always drop drugs off to the sheriff's office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and they'll get them to the incinerator. Tony Tomassetti passes computer parts to Danny Hum- phreys Saturday morning at Hazardous Waste Day at Toyota in Princeton. Janice Barniak photos CASA seeks advocates for Gibson County kids By Janice Barniak Karen Knapp talks during a brunch to recruit Court Appoint- ed Special Advocate (CASA) vol- unteers Saturday morning about why she is motivated to volunteer. "Parents get attorneys to repre- sent them. Everyone has someone for them in the legal system except the children. We want to make sure they don't fall through the cracks," she said. Gathered at R'z Cafe in Fort Branch for a Buddy Brunch, vol- unteers and CASA employees talk a little about why they are passion- ate about what they do and they try to answer questions for others who might consider volunteering. According to CASA director Joy Jines, 72 children in Gibson Coun- ty currently need advocates, even though there are 28 active volun- teers currently advocating for 98 children. The organization only has three paid staff. Many of the cases involve sib- lings split between homes, and it can be difficult to connect all the pieces and keep everyone in- formed. The time involvement can be as much as a person wants, Knapp said, though they ask for 10 hours a month, and for people who might be intimidated, she adds the train- ing is excellent. Jen Speicher was recruited at a brunch like this one last March, and filled out her application to volunteer the same day. Since then, she said she's become passionate about helping children in foster and neglect situations. "I felt like it was divine interven- tion," she said, adding that it's easy to start caring personally about the children for whom she advocates. She said she even started crying in a reporting session, but stopped, told herself to put on her game face, and to start thinking about what would best help those children. "You have fears for the kids. An- ger for them. You've got to figure out what you can do that would help them, and then do whatever it takes," she said. Ruth Wilson has volunteered for two and a half years and said it's changed her outlook. "I think I'm more accepting of people, less judgmental. More ac- cepting of people's situation...I see how blessed I was growing up, and I see how resilient these kids are," she said. "Imagine someone com- ing to your house, telling you to put your things in a bag, and go with them out of the blue." "That's what happens to them, and it could be the first time it hap- pened, it could be their third time it's happened," she said. When she first started, she said it was hard to believe there was no one looking out for the children's interests, but even DCS is there to track the parents' behaviors. "If the parent doesn't show up for their scheduled visit, they mark it down," she said, but that doesn't mean someone's putting the piec- es together on how those actions affect the child. CASA advocates often act as a bridge to bring everyone togeth- er to talk about what's best for the child. Jines said those who want to volunteer can come to their of- fice from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or call 812-386 - 9305, or can fill out an application at GibsonCountyCASA.com.