Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
LARWILL - The Whitko School Board gave their condolences during their meeting Monday after the tragic passing of a student.
“One of our first-grade Pierceton students lost her life due to injuries she sustained in an automobile accident on Sunday (April 19),” stated Dr. Amy Korus, superintendent for Whitko Community Schools. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family suffering this devastating loss. At this time, we will leave it up to the family to make further announcements, as details become available.”
Korus stated she is aware of the hearts that have been broken by this tragedy. For students at Pierceton Elementary School, there will be grief counseling available to students through the Bowen Center, according to Teresa Carrano, administrative assistant to the superintendent.
JD Maurer, principal for Whitko Junior High School, showed a presentation made by some of the seventh-grade students about the junior high culture.
“I was fortunate enough to have a really good mentor, my dad, who I’ve strived to be like my entire life,” said Maurer about his father, who was also a principal and teacher. “He gives me a lot of good advice. He says, ‘Never forget, you work for the kids … If you ever want to know how you're doing, ask the kids.’”
In the presentation, it was shown that students feel happy, comfortable and, more than anything, a sense of community within WJHS, which is something that Maurer stated he has been trying to build back up in the last several years. Maurer stated that he “is proud of the kids and staff for all they have accomplished.”
Reports
Liz Riggers, principal of Pierceton Elementary School, reported the environment team, which is comprised of a voice from all parts of the school, would help find different areas that need attention or change.
“Our big thing that we focused on this year was building a behavior system,” stated Riggers. “We have spent September until now building this up. During this Friday, and our PD Day, we will roll this out to staff.”
Riggers noted that this was something that they would hope to see positive effects from and could not do without the environment team.
Joel Holsopple, principal of South Whitley Elementary School, stated that they are preparing for end-of-year celebrations. Holsopple stated that there will be “a field day, a moving on up celebration, Kona Ice, a last walk and many more things (we) are looking forward to.”
Professional Learning Teams are looking at schedules and class lists for next year. Holsopple and his team are working to make his team more in sync with students to fit their needs. He also gave a thank you to the PTO from SWES and PES for sponsoring a fifth-grade roller skating party, which students had a great time with.
“We will always be Cubs and Bulldogs, but we can’t wait to be Wildcats,” said Holsopple.
Chris Benedict, director of Whitko Career Academy, congratulated the Criminal Justice Career and Technical Student Organizations students who competed in the Skills USA State Championships, with one student qualifying for the national competition. The Student Venture students competed at Grace College, with several winning silver and bronze award recipients, earning money for their businesses.
Other News At
The WCA
From 11:30 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. Thursday, April 23 will be the Showcase Day at WCA. This will also host a business and college expo for students.
The end of this month will be the interview and application process for the Work-Based Learning students.
At 9 a.m. May 9 will be the tiny home auction with Ag and Construction Trades items also being auctioned.
At 6 p.m. May 20 will be the Work-Based Learning and Capstone banquet.
From 6:30 to 8 p.m. May 27 will be the Career and Technical Education orientation night.
Maurer let the board know that the junior high is prepping for a strong finish, with students and staff working diligently to get to the end. He noted that they are working on adopting a new science curriculum and new options for a reading curriculum.
Maurer also let the board know that summer school would be starting in early June, with registration and other information to be shared on Parent Square May 15. He noted that three teachers stated that they would help out during summer school, so long as Maurer was there, too. He also wanted to give a special thank you to the United Way of Whitley and Kosciusko Counties for the portable grill “and it worked really well.”
Some dates coming up for WSHS:
• May 14 will be Honor Night for the seniors. Longenbaugh noted that for one scholarship, three students applied. When only two would normally get the scholarship, the person who runs the scholarship said he would award it to all three students. Students will be wearing caps and gowns, with the top 10 students getting medallions.
• May 16 will be senior prom, taking place in downtown Fort Wayne.
• May 25-26 will be finals, and on May 27, after the first period finals, seniors will go outside to take the fire truck photo. Graduation practice will also be that day, along with the Walk of Fame at PES and SWES.
Rhonda Snavley, director of transportation, let the board know that this was the best inspection that they have possibly ever had in her time at Whitko. She congratulated Minona Slater on passing her CDL and becoming a full-time driver. She noted that it has been rainy, which has made it difficult, but not impossible when it comes to spring sports being delayed or cancelled.
Joe Jackson, director of operations, informed the board that 9 a.m. May 5 will be the pre-construction meeting to set the date for when the roofing project construction will begin. He noted that one of the WJSHS auditorium speakers did get fixed and they are working on relocating the soundbox. The fire alarm panel work is scheduled for May 18-20, with the majority of the work to be taking place in the boiler room. He is looking for quotes for the parking lot in order to fix some of the problems there and also noted that the custodial staff is working on their summer break and maintenance schedules.
Matt Buchanan, director of technology, updated the board that Powerschool enrollment is open and that they would like to reach 100% of parents updating all necessary information such as medications, allergies, contact, etc., on Powerschool. He also noted that after attending a conference for tech directors in K-12, the big topic was screen time with students.
“Lightspeed (Systems) is a vendor that does filter … and they did a nationwide study on their users and students using student devices,” said Buchanan. “What they found is that middle school is the highest during school hours … at just over two hours. High school is still more than two hours, but a little less. The message is … when a student needs to be on a device, they’re on it. Not all screentime is the same. If they’re involved in a creative thought, that’s different than scrolling through (Instagram) Reels.”
The following business or individuals donated to the school:
• $34,000 from the DEKKO Foundation for the purchase of industrial embroidery machines
• $5,500 from Wildcat Booster Club to support the baseball team
• $1,350 from AG Plus and $1,350 from the Land O’Lakes Foundation to support the Whitko FFA Chapter
• $680 from an anonymous donor to support the criminal justice program
• $500 from M&D Electrical Solutions to support students attending the HOSA Conference
The following were approved by the school board:
• Second and final approval of ISBA Books 5000 and 6000, as presented.
• Whitko Little Cats’ Family Handbook.
• Field trips.
• Approval of ISBA policies: Book 7000 on first reading, with the second and final reading at the May 18 school board meeting.
The fourth Whitko 101 will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the WCA lecture room. This will focus on the journey from early learning to graduation.
The next school board meeting is at 5:30 p.m. May 18 in the WCA lecture room.
