Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - Sally and Jon Ocock announced their retirement and were recognized for their years of service to the Tippecanoe Valley Community Schools' corporation at the TVCS board meeting Monday.
Sally Ocock, second-grade teacher; and Jon Ocock, physical education teacher at Akron Elementary School, both officially announced their retirement and were given their farewell from the school district.
Sally Ocock has taught for nearly 33 years, 31 of which at TVCS. She began substitute teaching in 1993 and was hired as a teacher in 1995. She said she will miss “the energy of the school, the staff, the students” and described Akron Elementary as her “home.”
Superintendent Blaine Conley got choked up as he described how when he first started working for TVCS 25 years ago as a fifth-grade teacher at Akron Elementary, Sally was one of the teachers he was able to lean on, who provided him with support.
Jon Ocock was a teacher for 27 years and spent 25 of them teaching at schools in the Tippecanoe Valley school district. Jon began as a sixth-grade language arts teacher at the middle school. He thanked Susan Walker for “putting up with him for the last 18 years.”
Sally and Jon plan to move to Arkansas after this school year ends.
Sally was also awarded the Fantastic Flyer Award by fifth-grade student council member Eli Martin. The Fantastic Flyer Award is given to staff members who are, as Martin put it, “kind, polite and a lot of other things.”
Akron Elementary Students Recognized
Students from Akron Elementary School were recognized for their academic and extracurricular achievements.
Third-grade student Jonas Lukens was recognized as a National Math Star. To qualify, Lukens was in the top 2% of students in Indiana on the Grade 3 ILearn Math. Lukens will qualify for the elite National Math Stars program because of this achievement.
Second-grade students Parker Fisher, Cash Koenig and Mason Ward were all recognized for receiving perfect scores on their IRead 3 tests. IRead 3 is a state-standardized language arts test given to second- and third-grade students in Indiana and is meant to show readiness to move from third to fourth grade. Students who pass the test in second grade are exempt from taking it in third grade.
The following students had perfect attendance: Georgia Alber, River Baker, Brinley Bradford, Calix Bradford, King Burke, Braden Burnough, Harper Cabrera, Luca Cabrera, Lily Calcutt, Kenley Carruthers, Zuri Crowser, Jordan DeLeon, Marin Eden, Liberty Harshman, Katy Hartzler, Serenity Hughes, Aiden Luva, Cormac McFarland, Harper Nelson, Chloe Nunez, Silas Pena, Jaylani Reyes Garcia, Serenity Rosas, Paisley Rouch, Bailey Simpson, Savannah Winslet and Madison Wright.
Joseph Engle, Easton Green, Amira Rivera Roche and Micah Swihart were recognized for their performances in the Tippecanoe Valley High School production of "Shrek the Musical."
Fifth-grade student council member Lily Calcut said a few words about being on the student council: “In my opinion, student council is a great thing for our school, with so many benefits, not just for those we help, but for us too. I’ve enjoyed my experiences in student council very much.”
Other Business
Last student day will be Friday, May 22.
Baccalaureate and Tippecanoe Valley High School graduation will be Sunday, May 31. Baccalaureate will begin at 2 p.m. Graduation will begin at 2:45 p.m.
TVHS prom will be Saturday, May 2.
Burket graduation will be 10 a.m. May 14 in the Burket gymnasium.
Building Trades Open House: Kierpaul House will be from 1 to 3 p.m. May 17 at 1210 N. 700W, Warsaw.
Summer school will run May 28 through June 17. Summer school is only available for elementary and high school students.
The next TVCS board meeting will be 6 p.m. May 16 at Mentone Elementary School.
