Blog Bits

This is a reminder Plymouth Schools is embarking on a major effort to create a new strategic plan. This educational think-tank will start Monday, October 6, 2008 in the high school cafeteria. While some received a written invitation, please understand everyone is welcome to attend. All meetings are open to the public except for the October 20, 2008 meeting at Christo’s Banquet Center due to the limited seating. Please print this schedule and plan to attend as many meetings as you can.

• Monday, October 6, 2008, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Plymouth High School Cafeteria, Orientation

• Monday, October 20, 2008, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Christo's Banquet Center, Ed Barlow, Futurist

• Monday, November 3, 2008, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Lincoln Jr. High School Cafeteria, Jerry McKibben, Demographer

• Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Plymouth High School Cafeteria, Characteristics of a Plymouth High School graduate

• Monday, December 8, 2008, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Plymouth High School Cafeteria, Programming needs

We understand that schedule conflicts may keep you from attending all meetings. Please do not let that stop you from attending some of the meetings. All input is valued and appreciated.

Webster Wins Title 1 Award

Congratulations to the staff and students at Webster Elementary School for winning the State of Indiana Title I Distinguished School Achievement Award for 2008! Specifically, Webster was lauded for their flight plans, parent involvement and the many ways Webster has built partnerships with the community. The honor also extends to their ability to create a climate conducive to learning and growing.

Webster will be honored on Friday, September 26 when the Indiana Title I Department comes to Webster Elementary. They will also be honored at the State of Indiana Title I Administrative Conference at the South Bend Century Center on October 27th and the National Title I Conference in San Antonio in February, 2009.

2008-2009 New Staff

Eric Knebel is our new 6th grade math teacher at Riverside Intermediate School. He is a graduate of IUPUI.

Eric is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because he thinks Plymouth is a great community. He has felt very welcomed by the school family and the people of Plymouth. He feels that Plymouth Community School Corporation sets up all teachers to be the best they can, and together we will make our students great.

2008-2009 New Staff

Kimberly Burns is our new 5th grade teacher at Riverside Intermediate School. She is a graduate of Purdue North Central University. She is married to Neal, and they have a dog and three cats.

Kimberly is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because it is a very close-knit community with wonderful residents. She feels she can learn a lot from her fellow teachers and future students.

2008-2009 New Staff

Chelsea Bennett is our new 8th grade social studies teacher at Lincoln Junior High School. She is a graduate of Ohio Northern University.

Chelsea looks forward to working with an eager corporation focused on student education and well being. She feels the support the community, teachers, and families provide will create a great first year teaching.

2008-2009 New Staff

Jesse Evans is our new Instrumental Music teacher at Riverside Intermediate School and Lincoln Junior High School. He is a graduate of Valparaiso University. He is married to Jennifer, who is a nurse.

Jesse is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because every step of the way he has been met by caring and helpful people who seem to want the best for the community.

2008-2009 New Staff

Stephanie Wezeman is our new Language Arts teacher at Plymouth High School. She is a graduate of Indiana University.

Stephanie likes the sense of community here at Plymouth, and she looks forward to further developing her professional relationships with other teachers, as well as students and their families. Stephanie says it's good to be back at Plymouth.

2008-2009 New Staff

Chris Kirkum is our new Industrial Technology teacher at Plymouth High School. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University.

He is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because it is a nice, closely-knit community of students and teachers who are dedicated to student excellence.

2008-2009 New Staff

Andy Hartley is our new assistant principal at Plymouth High School. He is a graduate of Manchester College and Butler University. He and his wife, Erin, have a daughter, Mia, who is one.

Andy is pleased to be a part of the Plymouth Community School Corporation because of its commitment to excellence and its dedication to meeting the needs of all students.

2008-2009 New Staff

Ben Snyder is our new Physical Education/Health teacher at Plymouth High School. He is a graduate of Grace College and is married to Lauren.

Ben enjoys working with high school students and believes Plymouth has the desire for excellence in the school and in the community.

2008-2009 New Staff

Rebecca Ippel is our new ENL (English as a New Language) at Plymouth High School. She is a graduate of Covenant College and Ball State University and is married to Dirk.

Rebecca is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because she loves working with high school students, and she is excited to be in a close-knit school community.

2008-2009 New Staff

Ruthie McCollough is our new Family and Consumer Science teacher at Plymouth High School. She is a graduate of Ball State University. She and her husband, Larry, have two ganddaughters, two grandsons, horses, and one great dog.

Ruthie is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because of the vision Plymouth has for students, from the administration down through the teachers ... and all for the students.

Board Meeting

The Plymouth Community School Corporation Board of Trustees met last night at the Board Room of the Administration Building at 611 Berkley.

The following business items were discussed and/or approved.

Transfer Tuition Rates were set through December 31, 2008.
1. PHS, LJHS, and Riverside $3,010.00
2. K-4 $2,330.00
The Board received copies of each school's extracurricular financial report.

Mr. Roy Benge gave a year-end report on the high school athletic department.

Mr. Dan Tyree gave a report on the opening of school. Enrollment as of Thursday, Aug. 21 was as follows:
K-4 1362
5-6 555
7-8 549
9-12 1047
At this date the student count is up 21 students.

The Board approved credit cards for Dr. Rodger Smith and Lori VanDerWeele.

The Board approved affidavits for payment as follows:
PCSC Phase I $483,408.03
Vision 2020 Phase I $69,380.30
Vision 2020 Phase II $117,600.00

Mr. Tyree reported that the service center's parking lot paving is now finished.
He also reported that the soccer team has played on the soccer field and that it is in excellent shape. Finally, he reported that because of a donation a soccer field ticket booth is being erected.

Mr. Tyree congratulated Webster School for being a finalist in the Indiana Title I School Improvement Award. He also recognized Judy Harness, Vickie Cook, and Monty Peden for participating in the Teacher Creativity Extended Learning Workshop this summer.

In other business the Board regretfully accepted the retirement of Director of Maintenance and Grounds Bruce Hite. They also hired three new teachers, Kari Kennedy, Bev Woods, and Phil Scott.

2008-2009 New Staff

Dianne Jeffirs Himes is our new media specialist for all the elementary buildings. She and her husband, Todd, have two children, Audrey and Andrew.

Dianne is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because the Plymouth schools value their students. She feels the Plymouth Schools realize the importance of the library media centers in helping to teach lifelong learning skills and also provides teachers a variety of professional development opportunities.

Blog Bits

Webster School Recognized

Webster Elementary School has been selected as one of the top 3 Title I schools to be considered for the National Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Program. One school will represent the state’s Title I schools that have exhibited exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years and one school will represent the state’s Title I schools that have made the most progress in significantly closing the achievement gap between student subgroups.

As part of the selection process, a team of Title I specialists will visit Webster Elementary School to tour the school, observe instruction, and talk with teachers on August 27, 2008. .

The two schools that are ultimately selected will be recognized at the National Title I Conference held in San Antonio, Texas from February 19-22, 2009.

2008-2009 New Staff

Aimee Rooney is our new 3rd grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary. She is a graduate of Indiana University South Bend.

Aimee is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because she feels the Plymouth Community School Corporation family is a team-oriented environment that looks at the whole child to meet each child's educational needs and ensures that the staff is provided with the resources to do so.

2008-2009 New Staff

Lauren Cooper is our new 2nd grade teacher at Washington Elementary. She is a graduate of St. Joseph's College. She is married to Zane.

She looks forward to working with a great group of students and teachers. She loves teaching and is very anxious to start.

2008-2009 New Staff

Lisa Rizek is our new autism teacher at Jefferson Elementary. She is a graduate of Indiana University and Indiana Wesleyan University. She is the proud mother of a delightful 14 year old son.

Lisa is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because of the opportunity to teach children and work with a community of professionals within our schools.

Board Meeting

On August 7, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the administrative board room, the Board of Trustees, Todd Samuelson, Frank Brubaker, Ron Gifford, and Larry Pinkerton met for their bi-monthly meeting. Melissa Christiansen was chaperoning the cross country camp.

Business transactions

• School lunches will remain the same in the 2008-2009 school year, although prices may have to be increased for the 2009-2010 school year.



• The Board agreed to move $708,521.79 from the construction fund to the capital projects fund. This was done to reimburse the Capital Projects Fund for money used before the building project started in order to inform the community about the scope of the project.

• Mr. Tyree gave a short report on the teacher induction program. This was the third annual induction program. There were 13 new teachers and one assistant principal at the program. Presentations included the evaluation process, goal setting, technology, differentiated instruction, IEP’s and ILP’s, and poverty training. Teachers were taken to four different restaurants for lunch during the four-day induction.

• The Board authorized the central office to publish the annual financial report in the Pilot News.

• The Board established the date of September 17, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. in the administration office board room to meet with a facilitator in executive session and administrators to set corporation goals.

• The Board approved a motion for a resolution for the 403(b). The plan document will be presented to the Board at a later date.

• The Board approved the M.A.S.E. Trust agreement.

• Mr. Tyree updated the Board on projects including the high school soccer field, auditorium, the science room, and the cafeteria serving lines. He also gave a brief report on the damage that was done to the Washington Elementary air conditioning units. More information concerning that will follow.

• Mr. Tyree gave a report on enrollment as of Friday:

K-4: 1,362 (up 23 students)
Riverside: 555 (up 13 students)
Junior High: 549 (up 24 students)
High School: 1,055 (down 32 students)

This is an increase of 28 students at this time.

The Board will meet again on August 21, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. in the administration office board room. The budget workshop will follow approximately ten minutes after the meeting.

Alumni Blog

Class of 1973 alumnus Ann Kleinke Sherrick has created a new Plymouth High School alumni Blog. Her aim is to help alumni keep in touch with each other. Alumni should take a look at this Blog and hopefully it will give you a tool to rekindle old friendships. Thanks for your work Ann!

www.plymouthhighalumni.com.