Blog Bits

Plymouth Schools have not been alerted to any present danger that has caused Union North (LaVille) to go into a lock down.

We will continue to monitor the situation in St. Joe County for a possible impact to Marshall County and Plymouth Schools.

2009-2010 New Staff

Zane Cooper is a new 6th Grade Teacher at Riverside Intermediate. He is a graduate of IUSB and holds a bachelors degree in elementary education.

Zane is the son of Robert and Karen Cooper. He has a brother and two sisters. Zane is married to Lauren Cooper, who is a 2nd Grade Teacher at Menominee Elementary.

Zane is pleased to be teaching in Plymouth because the school corporation, along with the overall community, make it a great place to call home.

2009-2010 New Staff

Amy Schmeltz is the new English teacher at Plymouth High School. Mrs. Schmeltz received her Masters degree from Indiana University and Olivet Nazarene University.

Mrs. Schmeltz lives in Plymouth with her husband, Dan. She is excited to be working in her community.

Mrs. Schmeltz looks forward to being a part the Plymouth High School English Department.

PHS Speech Results at NFL Nationals

The PHS speech team just returned from NFL Nationals and brought back a School of Excellence Award. It is an outstanding tribute to our kids and the work all of you have put into them over the years. Believe me, our coaching staff realizes that it does "take a community."

Andy Langdon led the way in main event finishes with a 4th place finish in Humor. Rebecca Moberly finished 13th in International Extemp. John Patrick and Cam Robertson advanced to the top 30 in Drama and Original Oratory respectively. Bryt Hiatt advanced to the top 60 in USA Extemp. Rick Elm and Andy Sanchez narrowly missed advancing to the top 60 in Duo (by one point). Chad Griewank - with only two days of practice - finished in the top 100 in Humor. (Chad was an alternate who moved into a qualifying spot right before the tournament when a Munster student had to drop.)

There were between 220 and 250 entries that qualified for the national tournament in each event.

2009 BPA Nationals

Congratulations to the 2009 BPA National Qualifiers for an outstanding performance at last week's National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. They did an outstanding job, representing their school and community with class and quality performances.

Members who were National Finalists (placing in the Top 10) in their respective events.

Payroll Accounting

Kasey Greer

Spreadsheet Analysis

Stefan Baird

Entrepreneurship

Ben Kraszyk

Extemporaneous Speech

Tim Gordon

Small Business Management Team
Doug Booth
Bailey Capper
Tim Gordon
Ben Kraszyk


Medalist Winner in Open Events:

Administrative Support Concepts
Kasey Greer

2009 Distinguished Alumni Award

The 28th Plymouth High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Award was presented at the Plymouth High School Alumni Banquet held on Friday, June 19th.

Recipient of the award is Raymond A. Roth, Class of 1963.

Raymond Albert Roth, a 1963 graduate of Plymouth High School, was born on Nov. 21, 1945 in Plymouth to Albert and Mary Ethel Roth. He completed his grade school education at St. Michael Catholic School in Plymouth. The son of a longtime portrait photographer, he graduated from the Ray Vogue School of Photography in Chicago in 1966.

Ray served in the Indiana National Guard from 1966-1972. During his service, he trained as a paratrooper with the 151st Infantry Battalion at Fort Benning, Ga. He had the honor of training with John Wayne, who was learning to parachute in preparation for the filming of the movie The Green Berets.

In 1967, Ray was hired as a photographer at WSBT-TV; the CBS affiliate station in South Bend. He worked as a staff photographer, chief photographer, assignment editor, and finally as an on-air reporter/photographer until his retirement on Nov. 30, 2005. During his career at WSBT, Ray reported news stories on U.S. presidents, senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, sports stars and other newsmakers. He filmed and interviewed presidential candidate Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford, President Bill Clinton, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy a month before his assassination. He also interviewed baseball legends Mickey Mantle and Ernie Banks. In addition, Ray interviewed General William Westmoreland, Vice-President Dan Quayle and comedian Jerry Lewis. He also met Ronald Reagan during his term as governor of California.

As a broadcast journalist, Ray earned acclaim for his investigative reporting of the Four County hazardous waste landfill in Fulton County. His breaking news coverage revealed the landfill was operating without a legal permit and was polluting ground water as well as the Tippecanoe River. As a result of his exposé, the landfill operators were tried in federal court and ordered to pay a substantial fine and close the facility.

In 1974, Ray joined reporter Dick Maginot on a trip to Recife, Brazil to film a documentary financed by Church World Services on the country’s widespread destitution and suffering. He also traveled several times to Washington, D.C. to report on congressional issues of local interest. In 1988, he earned the Indiana Best TV Documentary of the Year Award from the Associated Press for his production of the 25th anniversary of the 1963 closing of the Studebaker automotive plant in South Bend. He also earned a second-place news award from the Associated Press for his 1990 documentary on the 25th anniversary of the deadly Palm Sunday tornadoes in northern Indiana in April of 1965.

He is a lifetime member of St. Michael Catholic Church in Plymouth and a 25-year member of the Knights of Columbus. He also was a member of the Indiana News Photographers Association for many years.

Ray was married to Dawn Ann Travis for 30 years until her death. Ray is the father of Amy Knapp and Daniel Roth, both of Plymouth. Ray has three grandchildren. Ray and Rebecca Rudd Tyree were married in 2005.

For thirty-eight years, Ray was well-known and respected for his accuracy in news reporting. He enjoyed covering feature stories and sporting events in northern Indiana, especially in his home town of Plymouth.

Previous winners of the award are: Major General Larry N. Tibbets, Class of 1952; James L. Parsons, Class of 1933; Dr. Foster and Louise Link Montgomery, Class of 1930; Commodore Schuyler F. Heim, Class of 1902; Mearl D. Strombeck, Class of 1918; Walter A. Glaub, Class of 1932 and Charles O. Glaub, Class of 1935; Noble E. Kizer, Class of 1919; Lt. Col. Lewis L. Hawkins, Class of 1948; Donald R. Minx, Class of 1940; Florence Hoham, Class of 1922; George F. Stevens, Class of 1920; Dr. Edith Boyer Schuman Tackitt, Class of 1923; Dr. Ruth Mangun Holland, Class of 1942;
C. Arthur Thomas, Class of 1926; Dr. M. Sue Pifer, Class of 1957; Marshall F. Kizer, Class of 1925; Dr. James Harley Kellar, Class of 1939; Frederick C. Morrow, Class of 1941; Robert L. Hileman, Class of 1940; Scott Skiles, Class of 1982; Lester D. Read, Class of 1943; Francis W. Johnson, Class of 1933; Clifford L. Linedecker, Class of 1950; Don Aker, Class of 1949; Max Frederick (Fred) Kehoe; Class of 1946, and Steve Yoder, Class of 1958.

Where are they now?

April DeLaPaz had a perfectly good job at the Marshall County Courthouse in Plymouth. She graduated from Plymouth High School in 1998 and had a child. She worked full time and was raising her son, Caleb. But there was something that drew her back to education. Thinking back, she said, “It was office work. It was so confining. I knew I had to go back to school.”

She started to take one class per semester in 2003 at Plymouth High School where IU South Bend classes are taught in the evenings.

It has been a long time in coming but she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. Through her studies she has acquired a passion for the earth, ecology and research. She plans to attend graduate school to earn a Ph.D. in marine ecology and to teach at a university someday.

When she first came to IU South Bend, she was intending on pursuing an education degree. However, through three summer study trips abroad – two in Belize and one to Africa – she became excited about research. “I get a lot of satisfaction out of field work. I like to plug in the numbers,” she said. “I learned so much from the trips. I wish every student could do a study trip.”

April had a few second thoughts about pursing a degree in biology. “I didn’t think I could do it but (biology) Professor (Ann) Grens said I could to it and she was right.”

There were adjustments to becoming a student and a full-time parent. She is first generation in her family to go on to college. Her mother, Irma, is originally from Mexico. Both her mother and father, Chris, have supported her educational cause and have helped with Caleb.

Her son will turn 11 in August and he is so proud of his mother’s accomplishments that he also is thinking of becoming a biologist.

2009 PHS Academic Hall of Fame - 5-17-09

Row 1 (left – right) Doug Booth, Business Education, Mark Danielson, Mathematics, Chad Griewank, Performing Arts, Andrew Sanchez, English, Jeremy Renz, Health/Physical Education

Row 2 (left – right) Serena Constable, Vocal Music, Krista Krpan, Science, Bailey Capper, Instrumental Music, Sarah Griewank, Student Publications, Kasey Greer, Social Studies, Erin Galt, Broadcasting.

Sorry

I would like to apologize for being down the last 48 hours. Blogger had detected that we might be a spam blog site and shut us down. We wrote an appeal and now we are open for business again.

Summer Food Program

Anyone under 18 years of age eats free! Adults may eat - Breakfast $1.00 and Lunch $2.00

Plymouth High School
June 1-July 31, 2009

LUNCH ONLY
12:00-1:00

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Lincoln Junior High
July 20-31, 2009

BREAKFAST
7:30-8:30

LUNCH
11:30-12:30

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Riverside Intermediate
July 20-31, 2009

BREAKFAST
7:30-8:30

LUNCH
11:00-12:00

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Washington Elementary
July 20-31, 2009

BREAKFAST
7:30-8:30

LUNCH
11:00-12:00

Bus Information for 2009-2010 School Year

There will be NO new buses for next school year.

THEREFORE all students will be riding THE SAME BUS and time as this year.

Reminder slips will be sent with the drivers for handouts later this month.

IF they move over the summer - we need to be contacted with this new information.

Thanks for your help!!

School Lunch Program - Update

2009-2010

Elementary and Riverside School Lunch Program

As an incentive for students to participate in the school lunch program, we will be offering a 3rd option.

Presently, we offer the lunch tray with an entrée, vegetable, fruit, milk & grain item.
Also, a chef salad is the 2nd option for students.

We are introducing a 3rd option:
PBJ Uncrustable & string cheese.

Students may take this option in place of the entrée item & can still take all of the items listed on the menu for that day.

We encourage all students to eat breakfast and lunch everyday to keep them healthy.

Washington Parent Academy

A Washington Elementary committee completed the Indiana Academy for Parent Leadership this year in Fort Wayne. The committee included Michele Riise, Brenda Lewis, Barb Peden, Shannon Whitley, Carol Anders, and Brandy Babcock (not pictured). Superintendent Dan Tyree joined the committee for the Graduation in Indianapolis.

2009 Jefferson Fun Fair

The 2009 Fun Fair at Jefferson School was a big success. Mr. Remenih got involved!

Blog Bits

Plymouth Community School Corporation is proud to announce a new partnership with Purdue University. At this stage, the partnership is involved in a grant writing proposal to the federal government that will focus on science lessons in grades three through six. These lessons would include the use of mathematics, technology, and engineering. If this partnership’s grant proposal is accepted, Plymouth Community Schools will provide students with a great advantage over other schools our size. We look forward to working with Purdue University.

PHS Speech Team Garage Sale

The Annual PHS Speech Team Garage Sale is scheduled for Saturday, May 9th only, 7 a.m. -2 p.m., on the Plymouth High School Stage. Please enter through loading dock doors on the north side of the building.

All proceeds go to the PHS Speech, Theatre, and Broadcasting Departments.

Furniture, clothes, shoes, toys, house wares, tools, holiday decorations, nick-knacks, and more!

4th Diamond Key Coach Recognition

The National Forensic League is proud to announce that Charlotte Tyree from Plymouth High School, has earned a fourth diamond. Ms. Tyree attained a total of 10,038 points on March 31, 2009, (more than one hundred thousand points in debate and contest speaking). Coaches receive 1/10th of their student’s points. Under Ms. Tyree’s instructions, her students earned over 100,380 credit points. Coaches qualify for membership and advanced degrees according to the same schedule provided for students and must apply and pay a membership fee. Coaches who obtained membership as a student can request their points be added to their coaching record. One-tenth of the points earned as a student will be transferred without application or fee.

On attaining a total of 1,500 points, coaches are entitled to wear a diamond-set NFL key or pin; additional diamonds accrue at 3,000, 6,000, 10,000 and each 3,000 points thereafter. Minimum time for each diamond is five years as an NFL member coach. Also the degrees for three coaches within each chapter count towards district standings and tournament apportionment.

In June, Charlotte Tyree will receive special recognition at the Lincoln Financial Group/NFL National Tournament for her devotional dedication in training effective leadership skills. This year’s Stars Fell on Alabama National Tournament will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, June 14-19, 2009 and will draw 2,700 students and 1,500 coaches, school administrators and parents. The National Speech Tournament has been held continuously since 1931 (except for the W.W. II years) and has appeared on the approved list of the National Association of Secondary School Principals National Advisory List of Contests and Activities since origination of the list.

The National Forensic League is a non-partisan, not for profit educational honor society founded in 1925 by Bruno E. Jacob at Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin. Its purpose is to encourage and motivate high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts: debate, public speaking, and interpretation.

Since its founding, NFL has enrolled over 1,307,458 members in all fifty states, U.S. possessions and several foreign countries. Currently over 93,000 high school students and over 6,500 high school teachers are active members.

Where Are They Now?

Morgan Mead graduated in 2000 from Plymouth High School and went to Ball State University. Before graduating, he left to go to a film school at the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, California. In his short career, he has already produced or directed several documentaries including Say Goodbye to Granddad's Retirement, The Bible Wheel, and The Alpha and the Mega.

Morgan's most recent project is the premiere of his first feature film, My Name is Jerry, on Thursday, May 7th at 8pm at the Horizon Convention Center in Muncie, Indiana. For the premier, Morgan has partnered with M Magazine for the event to coincide with their anniversary issue. We are expecting a huge turn out!

Morgan will be at the premier along with a few other cast/crew, and will use this as an opportunity to get his first feedback from viewers about the film. And, as in all good business plans, Morgan is also trying to use this event as part of his plan to raise money for the marketing of the film (film festivals, etc.) by charging $10 for admission.

For more information see, www.mynameisjerry.com.

Blog Bits

Plymouth High School was represented well in the Northern Indiana District Speech Contest at Chesterton on Saturday. Rotarian Dan Tyree dusted off his speech coaching responsibilities and took three students to compete in the contest. Rebecca Moberly won $400 in the Four-Way Oratory Contest by placing first. Bryt Hiatt won $200 in the Impromptu contest by placing second. Cam Robertson won $100 by placing fourth in the oratory contest. Mr. Tyree was impressed with the preparation of the students and gives much of the praise to the PHS Speech Coaches. "The students are well prepared to speak in any situation. This is the skill that gives them the edge when they leave Plymouth High School." Speech Coach Carol Anders and former team member Greg Anders served as Plymouth Rotary judges for the contest.

Top 5% Banquet

Last night Plymouth High School held its 23rd Annual Academic Excellence Banquet honoring the top 5% of the graduating class and each student's most inspirational teacher. Students and teachers were given plaques and certificates.

The following students and teachers were honored:

Mr. Doug Booth / Miss Judy Newberg
Miss Bailey Capper / Mr. Bryan Ames
Miss Mae Christiansen / Mrs. Allison Hargrove
Mr. Timothy Gordon / Mr. Mike Mercer
Miss Kasey Greer / Mrs. Beth Webster
Miss Krista Krpan / Mrs. Judy Edison
Mr. Andrew Kurtz / Mr. Ryan Rust
Miss Amber Large / Mr. Larry McCollough
Mr. Jeremy Renz / Mr. Jack Edison
Mr. Andrew Sanchez / Mr. David McKenzie
Mr. Thomas Young / Mr. Chad Miley

Where are They Now?

Justin Clevenger graduated from Plymouth High School in 1992. Justin played varsity football, swimming, and soccer all four years. As a stellar athlete, Justin was awarded all-conference nearly every year and qualified for the State Tournament in swimming his junior and senior years.

After high school, Justin attended Butler University on a swimming scholarship and majored in Public Relations and Marketing. Justin graduated from Butler in 1996 and went on to work for The Indianapolis Star, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Powerway, DaimlerChrysler and now works for CDW. Justin has also earned his MBA from Butler University.
Justin is married, and as of last week, they have 4 children Connor, 12, the two-year old twins, Ada and Owen, and the newest arrival, Elliott, born on April 2, 2009. Justin and his family live in Carmel.

Justin has two passions in my life: child philanthropy and flying. In college, Justin's fraternal philanthropy was Riley’s Children’s Hospital and so every year they raised money to donate to this cause. Justin made a commitment to continue helping these kids. In 1998, Justin, along with another pilot friend, formed a NFP flying company with two very old Piper Arrows. Today they have 5 planes and over $1.3M in assets and a zero dollar debt sheet. They are part of Riley Aviation providing free flights to children who require frequent testing or medical attention and who live too far to commute via car. They are also part of Angel Flights and Wings of Mercy who use aviation as a means of travel for those individuals who require medical attention who have an annual income below $40k.

As a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force Auxiliary Indiana Wing, Justin serves as a mission pilot responsible for a multitude of supporting roles within the DoD, DEA, State Police and Homeland Security. He sees this as a fantastic experience and a way to give back to his community, state, and country.

We can all be proud of Justin and his accomplishments since leaving Plymouth. He may be 100 miles south, but we never know when one of our children might need one of Justin's airplanes.
Good job, Justin. Plymouth is proud of you!

Blog Bits

Riverside Intermediate School will hold a meeting for parents of current Plymouth fourth graders on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 7:00 P.M. in the Riverside cafeteria.

At this meeting, the principals will share information about the school program for fifth graders. Parents and students will also have a chance to tour the school that evening. The school will also be hosting a book fair that evening in the school library.

Mary Beth Hunter Honored

The Marian Archer Award is an award established by the Archer Family in 1979 to honor Marian Archer for her outstanding work in promoting girls’ athletics. Marian Archer was the owner of Sports Togs in Carmel – a sporting goods business that dealt exclusively with uniforms for female athletes, and was one of our earliest exhibitors at our ICGSA Spring Conference. The recipient of this award should have been or is actively and positively involved in the promotion of girls’ athletics, and they may be in any field where he or she may promote girls’ athletics in Indiana. A complete list of past Marian Archer winners can be found on the ICGSA website (www.icgsa.org) by looking at Conference Awards.

An accomplished tennis player herself, Mary Beth Hunter joined the Plymouth High School coaching staff as the head girls’ tennis coach in 1980 and in 1982 she also began coaching the boy’s tennis team. During her 19 year coaching career of girls’ tennis her teams won 8 Northern Lakes Championships, 16 Sectional Championships in a row, and 3 Regional titles closing out a career record of 275-64. Her 12 year boys’ tennis coaching career saw her teams win 4 NLC Championships, 4 Sectionals, 1 Regional, 1 Semi-state, and a Final Four appearance with a career record of 173-54. She was honored as the Northern Lakes Conference Coach of the Year 9 times and was the District One Coach of the Year 4 times. In 1995, Mary Beth was inducted into the Indiana Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame. As an outstanding tournament director, she has served as the Plymouth City Tennis Director for over 30 years and has conducted the Northern Lakes Conference tennis tournaments for both boys and girls for over 25 years. In 1987, our recipient became the secretary for the Plymouth High School Athletic Department, and in 2000 her title changed to read Assistant Athletic Director/Secretary. Under her guidance the Plymouth High School girl’s athletic programs in all 10 IHSAA sports are first class in performance and sportsmanship in northern Indiana. Mary Beth serves as an excellent role model for other female athletic administrators with her dedication and commitment to the athletic programs at Plymouth High School and in the Northern Lakes Conference.

The Executive Secretary of the NLC, Mary Hurley, who is a past ICGSA president, says this about our winner – “this is such a deserving award for Mary Beth Hunter. I join all the Northern Lakes Conference Athletic Directors in congratulating her – what an honor to work along side Mary Beth. Her love of athletics and the passion she carries for the values of sport in a student’s life transcends in all she does. We are all proud to call her a colleague and a friend.”

The ICGSA Executive Board also recognized her contributions, dedication, and commitment to girls’ athletics in the State of Indiana, and that is why they chose to honor Mary Beth Hunter of Plymouth High School as the 2009 Marian Archer Award recipient.

Where Are They Now?

Joe Harner is a Plymouth High School graduate of the Class of 2000. In high school, Joe excelled in speech and debate and was an active member of FFA. Recently, Joe auditioned for OUT OF THE WILD: THE ALASKA EXPERIMENT an eight-part Discovery Channel series that looks at our fascination with and the exploration of one of the most inhospitable terrains on earth. Forty thousand tapes were submitted to the producers. After emails and telephone interviews, 27 people were sent to Hollywood for 1 week (all expenses paid). From that group, 12 were sent to Anchorage, Alaska for a week. (again FREE) Nine were finally selected for the show and stayed in Alaska for taping. All gear was provided and Joe was paid for his time. The show will premier on April 14, 2009 at 10:00 p.m. EST on the Discovery Channel. Below is a link for more information about the show. Joe is the one with the beard! Joe and his fiancée, Cari Manson, also a Plymouth graduate live in Ashland Wisconsin.

http://realitytvwebsite.com/RealityTVNews/Discovery-Channel-Announces-Series-Premieres-Of-OUT-OF-THE-WILD-THE-ALASKA-EXPERIMENT.html

Blog Bits

Nominations are now being accepted at Plymouth High School and until April 17, 2009, for the PHS Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Award which will be presented at the 2009 Alumni Association Banquet on June 19, 2009.

After all nominations are received, the committee will review the nominations and select a PHS alumnus who has made a significant contribution in his/her field or has been of exceptional service to his/her profession either locally, statewide, and/or nationally.

A nomination form may be obtained at PHS, Marshall County Historical Society, WTCA, Plymouth Library, Chamber of Commerce, Marshall County Convention and Tourism Bureau or from any committee member. A form also appears in THE PILOT-NEWS.

The Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame committee members are James Condon, PHS Principal; Larry Pinkerton, retired PHS principal who originated the award in 1984; Jack Greenlee, Class of 1947; Sally Johnson Greenlee, Class of 1966; Larry Holloway, Class of 1962; Beverly Kelso Brummett, Class of 1965; Mary Lee Williams Rudd, Class of 1951; Karen MacLain Liedtky, Class of 1977; and Jane Faulstich Nelson, Class of 1985 and Laura Jeffirs Kruyer, Class of 1988, PHS teachers and co-chairpersons.

Previous winners of the award are Major General Larry N. Tibbetts, Class of 1952; James L. Parsons, Class of 1933 and Dr. Foster and Louise Link Montgomery, Class of 1930; Commodore Schuyler F. Heim, Class of 1902; Mearl D. Strombeck, Class of 1918; Walter A. Glaub, Class of 1932 and Charles O. Glaub, Class of 1935; Noble E. Kizer, Class of 1919; Lt. Col Lewis L. Hawkins, Class of 1948; Donald R. Minix, Class of 1940; Florence Hoham, Class of 1922; George F. Stevens, Class of 1920; Dr. Edith Boyer Schuman Tackitt, Class of 1923; Dr. Ruth Mangun Holland, Class of 1942; C. Arthur Thomas, Class of 1926; Dr. M. Sue Pifer, Class of 1957; Marshall F. Kizer, Class of 1925; Dr. James Harley Kellar, Class of 1939; Frederick C. Morrow, Class of 1941; Robert L. Hileman, Class of 1940; Scott Skiles, Class of 1982; Lester D. Read, Class of 1943; Francis Wilson Johnson, Class of 1933; Clifford Linedecker, Class of 1950, Don Aker, Class of 1949; Fred Kehoe, Class of 1946, and Steve Yoder, Class of 1958.

A display of Hall of Fame winners is visible in the North Lobby at PHS.

There are many PHS graduates who qualify for the award. Please consider someone and submit the nomination. Nominations not selected are kept permanently to be reviewed for the following years.

For further information, call:
Laura Kruyer or Jane Nelson, PHS, (574) 936-2178

Birmingham Bound

Seven Plymouth High School students qualified for the NFL National Tournament that will be held in Birmingham, Alabama this June. To qualify for the national tournament, students needed to finish first or second in the national qualification tournament that was dominated by Plymouth and Munster. Plymouth won the tournament with a total of 107 points to Munster's total of 80. Elkhart Central was a distant third with 17.

Duo - Richard Elm and Andy Sanchez (2nd place)
USA Extemp - Declan Fox (1st place)
Humor - Andy Langdon (1st place)
International Extemp - Rebecca Moberly (1st place)
Drama - John Patrick (2nd place)
Original Oratory - Cam Robertson (2nd place)

2 Hour Delays and More

Many county roads were flooded this week due to the flood. In addition Garro Street was closed Wednesdy - Friday and Jefferson was down to one lane Thursday afternoon. It was very difficult to safely navigate the roads in the morning due to daylight savings time taking away our sunny skies.

So, my first intent is to insure that students are safe. Thus, the two-hour delays allowed for busses, parent drivers, and student drivers to navigate roads in the daylight.

My second intent is to keep students in school if possible. We used the staggered release from the high school on Thursday to create safer roads on Jefferson and Baker.

So, in final reflection, I'm not sure if the staggered release was perfectly executed, but it did allow us to be in school on Thursday and I believe it was safe. It might have been inconvenient for some families, but that's a sacrifice I was willing to accept.

Hopefully, we are now done with snow, fog, ice, wind chills, and floods for the year. The only thing we have to worry about now would be swarms of locusts. Have a good weekend.

Alternative Meeting Place for Boys and Girls Club

Due to the current flood conditions, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall County will be using Washington Elementary School for their meeting place on Monday, March 16, 2009.

Please pick your students up at Washington Elementary by 6 p.m.

Spring Break Reminder

Monday, March 23, 2009, through Friday, March 27, 2009 school will not be in session due to Spring Break.

Friday, March 13, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Friday, March 13, 2009, with no morning preschool.

Staggered Early Release - Thursday, March 12, 2009

Current flood conditions warrant a staggered early release for the Plymouth High School today.

At 2:45 p.m., Plymouth High School students who are being picked up, who walk, or who drive will be released and ask to leave campus safely, but quickly.

This will allow the students to leave the high school and clear the intersection of Baker and Michigan before the buses leave the school at 3:25 p.m.

Staggered Early Release

If Jefferson Street is covered Thursday afternoon before school is out, the high school will use a staggered early release. At 2:45 p.m., students who are being picked up, who walk, or who drive will be released and ask to leave campus safely, but quickly. This will allow the student to leave the high school and clear the intersection of Baker and Michigan before the buses leave the school at 3:25 p.m.

The danger we encounter by releasing all at one time is the huge bottle neck of cars and buses using Baker and Michigan. Last year we experienced such back ups that emergency vehicles would have had a difficult time to navigate an emergency on the east side of the river.

Why didn't we use this last year? Quite honestly, we didn't think about it as a possibility. Over the summer we were involved in reflection on the flood, what we did right, and what we did wrong. Keeping kids in school, but safely in school is always our mission.

Boys and Girls Club - Thursday and Friday Schedule Changes

Due to the current flood conditions, the Boys and Girls Club of Marshall County will be using Washington Elementary for their meeting place on Thursday and Friday after school. Please pick your students up at Washington Elementary by 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 12, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Thursday, March 12, 2009, with no morning preschool.

If Jefferson Street is closed at the end of the school day on Thursday, we will initiate a staggered dismissal at the high school Thursday afternoon.

Flood Update

Current flood conditions DO NOT warrant a staggered early release for the Plymouth High School today, Wednesday, March 11, 2009.

Academic Teams Excel

Speech
The speech team won another sectional tournament last weekend. Plymouth finished in 1st place with 227 points while Canterbury finished in 2nd place with 64 points and Concord finished in 3rd place with 61 points. Thirty-five entries qualified for the state tournament. Sectional champions included Andy Langdon in Drama and Humor, Ricky Elm and Andy Langdon in Memorized Duo, Cam Robertson in Original Oratory, Rebecca Moberly in International Extemporaneous, Bryt Hiatt in USA Extemporaneous, Chad Griewank in Scripted Duo, Nick Houin in Scripted Duo and Original Performance, Zach Wendt in Poetry, and Declan Fox in Impromptu. The team will compete in the national qualifying tournament this weekend at Plymouth and the following weekend at State in Indianapolis.

BPA
The BPA Chapter competed successfully at the State Leadership Conference and now will advance the following students to the National Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. Students advancing to the National Leadership Conference include Tom Young and Gage Egierski in Fundamental Accounting, Stephan Baird and Kasey Greer in Payroll Accounting, Stephan Baird in Spreadsheet Analysis, Doug Booth and Ben Kraszyk in Entrepreneurship, Tim Gordon in Extemporaneous Speaking, Doug Booth, Baily Capper, Tim Gordon, and Ben Kraszyk in Small Business Management Team, and Evan Skirvin in Economic Research Project.

Yearbook Orders
Please visit the Plymouth High School website to order your yearbook. New this year is a link to purchase a yearbook and pay with your credit card. http://www.plymouth.k12.in.us/phs/index.html

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 2 Hour Delay

With the flood waters now expecting to crest at 15'2" at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, Plymouth Schools will operate on a 2 hour delay for Wednesday, March 11, 2009 with no morning preschool. There is the possibility that we will initiate a staggered dismissal at the high school Wednesday afternoon.

We are working with the city and emergency services to stay in school as long as possible, but maintain safety for all students and staff.

The footbridge behind Riverside Intermediate is closed and the footbridge across from Plymouth High School is also closed.

Blog Bits

On Friday, March 6, 2009, 34 students from Plymouth High School attended the ASCE 30th Annual Bridge Bust Competition at Purdue University.

PHS had three teams that ranked in the top 1/3 out of 87 teams. Cody Benjamin and Josh Phillips came in 12th (196.93 structural efficiency), Santiago Ibarra and Jeff Overmyer came in 15th (189.54 structural efficiency), and Logan Woodward and Sean McClellan placed 30th (129.58 structural efficiency).

For the Aesthetics portion of the competition, the students were judged using a 5 point scale, where 5 was a perfect score. The three categories were Appeal, Structure, and Design. Joel Hartung and Josh Obracta's bridge scored 4 out of 5 placing them with the 3rd highest score given. Santiago Ibarra and Jeff Overmyer scored a 3.67, scoring them with the 4th highest score. Nikkie Chalk and Shani Horvath scored a 3.17 placing them with the 7th highest score.

Blog Bits

This past weekend, the PHS Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combo both earned the top honors (Gold Awards) at the annual ISSMA Jazz Contest @ LaPorte H.S. Both groups gave great performances and represented our music department at PHS well.

Also over the weekend, our Winter Drumline competed against 14 other schools at the Warsaw I.P.A. Winter Drumline Contest. The group placed 5th out of all participants.

This coming weekend, the Winter Drumline will compete at the State Prelims in hopes of another trip to the I.P.A. State Finals.

Also this weekend, the PHS Winter Color Guard will compete in the IHSCGA Divisional Finals with expectations of a great final performance of the season!

Blog Bits

The PHS Boys' Swim team experienced the most successful season they've had in a long time this year. They topped off a great 7 - 5 season with a hard-fought second place finish in the Warsaw sectional.

Advancing from there to the State Swim Meet were Senior Alex Eads in the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Medley Relay Team of Seniors Alex Eads, Jesse Sullivan, Josh Scott, and Rick Wise, Juniors Riley Senter, Kevin Garrity, and Joe Portteus, and Sophomore Poaolo Palmitessa.

Blog Bits

Congratulations to all ISSMA State qualifiers! This past Saturday PHS took 8 soloists and 4 ensembles to Indianapolis to compete at the State Solo and Ensemble Competition.

In the solo division the following students received a Gold rating: John Patrick, Tayler May, Matt Slaydon and Shelly Ortiz. Shelly received a PERFECT SCORE! Finishing with a Silver rating was Nicole Beguin, Scott Read, Angelina Jung and Kayla Clemons.

In the ensemble division we took 2 Golds and 2 Silvers.

The following students received a Gold rating in the large ensemble: Heather Rohr, Serena Constable, Courtney Harris, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, and Diane Sarna. The following students received a Gold rating in the small ensemble: John Patrick, Nicole Beguin, and Heather Rohr.

The following students received a Silver rating in the large ensemble: Nicole Beguin, Serena Constable, Kendall Cooper, Jessie Gibbs, Courtney Harris, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, Amy McLiver, Nicole Menser, Shelly Ortiz, John Patrick, Scott Read, Heather Rohr, Diane Sarna, Matt Slaydon, Tyler Switzer. The following students received a Silver rating in the small ensemble: Nicole Beguin, Shelly Ortiz, and Diane Sarna.

Two-Hour Delay

Because of the dense fog, Plymouth Schools will operate under a two-hour delay on Thursday, February 26.

Blog Bits

Congratulations to 32 band members that qualified for and performed at the ISSMA Solo and Ensemble State Finals this past Saturday!

The students that earned a Gold Medal (top honor) at this event were:

Katie Shaffer - flute solo
Cassie Eberly - flute trio
Mae Christiansen - flute trio
Krista Krpan - flute trio
Doug Booth - trumpet trio
Zack Heet - trumpet trio and brass quintet
Tim Gordon - trumpet trio and brass quintet
Sam Shafer - brass quintet
Jacob Shafer - brass quintet
Andrew Kurtz - brass quintet
Caitlin Jung - marimba ensemble
Sam Kemp - marimba ensemble
Leah Cook - marimba ensemble and vibe solo
Lindsey Holloway - marimba ensemble

Girls Basketball

Our girls won the morning game. Good luck tonight!

Go Swimmers!

The Pilgrim swimmers claimed 4 sectional titles at Warsaw and are sending a strong group of girls to the State Swim Meet. Qualifying for state are Kenzie Miller, Mae Christiansen, Allyson Gergely, and Calley Cook. Good luck girls!

Washington Elementary's Winter Picnic

Come join the fun at Washington for our 2nd annual Winter Picnic on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. There will be games, crafts, and other fun, along with pizza, cookies and a drink for a small fee if you choose to eat at school.

If you would like to help, please call Julie Youngs (936-4072). We are also asking for “White Elephant” items for Bingo prizes. Please have the White Elephant items in by Friday, February 13, 2009.

Blog Bits

Debate
The Plymouth Debate team wrapped up its season the last two weekends with the NFL District and IHSFA State tournaments. At the NFL district tournament, a youthful team competed against many of the top teams in the state. Bryt Hiatt led the way with an 8th place finish in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. At the state finals held last weekend in Kokomo, a similar youthful team narrowly missed the top ten. Jon Tyree earned a state championship in the Congress presiding officer competition and chaired the State Super Senate. Two Plymouth students placed in the Super Senate as well. Rebecca Moberly finished 5th, and Bryt Hiatt finished 13th in the state competition. The Public Forum teams of Zach Wendt and Andy Langdon as well as Austin Craft and Sam Compton notched two victories in regional competition. Novices Patrick Felke and Sean Hatfield also picked up one win against the varsity opposition. Congratulations, once again, to Jon Tyree for bringing another individual speech and debate state championship to PHS.

Wrestling
The following wrestlers advanced through a tough regional to qualify for the Semi-State Tournament this Saturday at Merrillville:
Chuck Holmquest
Chase Lewendowski
James Letsinger
Brock Vermillion
Damon Howe

The competition in Merrillville will be intense, but each of them now stands two matches away from a chance at the State Competition at Conseco.

Winter Guard
The PHS Winter Guard performed in exhibition and would have placed in the top 5 schools in our class (4th out of 12).

The event ran very smoothly and the visiting schools commented frequently on the cleanliness of our school grounds and facilities! The Broadcasting department received NUMEROUS compliments on the "Live Feed" of all performances showing on the televisions throughout the building.

2 Hour Delay

Because of dense fog in certain sections of our school district, we will operate under a two-hour delay on Wednesday, February 11.

Voicing Concerns

Recently I received a question about the proper procedures for voicing concerns about a high school coach. Any concerns about a high school coach should be given to Mr. Jim Condon, the principal, or Mr. Roy Benge, the Athletic Director.

REMINDER - Make-up Day

The following will be used as a make-up day:

February 16, 2009 – President’s Day



Plymouth Schools will be in session all day on February 16, 2009.

Principal for a Day

Plymouth Schools hosted its Eighth Annual Principal-for-a-Day on Thursday, February 5, 2009. Each principal and assistant principal hosted a visitor from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the individual schools and then met at the corporation office for a light lunch and discussion. Each visitor experienced various aspects of a principal’s daily life. Pictured are the visitors who participated in Principal-for-a-Day.

From left to right, front row: Mary Holm, Nelson Chipman, Jr., Carol Anders, Beth Styers, and Linda Rippy. Back row: Bill Walters, Andy Metsker, Art Jacobs, Kathy Bottorff, Dr. Ron May, and Rev. Ollie Dongell.

PHS Choir Solo and Ensemble Results

The PHS Choir Department took 39 entries at last Saturday's District Solo and Ensemble Contest. They captured 29 Gold, 9 Silver and 1 Bronze awards. Of those Gold's they will take 10 soloists and 5 ensembles to the state competition on Feb. 28th.

The following students will be taking solos to the state competition: Nicole Beguin, Kayla Clemons, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, Nicole McLain, Shelly Ortiz, Samantha Overmyer, John Patrick, Scott Read, and Matthew Slaydon.

The following students will be taking ensembles to the state competition: Nicole Beguin, Serena Constable, Kendall Cooper, Casey Faricelli, Courtney Harris, Angelina Jung, Tayler May, Shelly Ortiz, Samantha Overmyer, John Patrick, Heather Rohr, and Diane Sarna

Charles Ratliff Publishes Children’s Book

Charles Ratliff, ENL and Language Arts teacher at Lincoln Junior High, published his first book entitled The Hideout at the Abandoned Fish Hatchery. The children’s book is somewhat based on a location at Bass Lake where Charles and his family spends much of their summer vacation. The co-author, Leslie J. May, is a colleague from Arizona where Charles taught previously.

PHS Band and Orchestra Qualifies 30 for ISSMA State

From the orchestra, sophomores Cameron Pifer and Addie Palmer will advance to state with string solos. Cameron earned a Gold Award on her cello solo and Addie earned a Gold Award on her violin solo.

From the band, the following students will advance to state finals with a solo performance: Cassie Eberly and Katie Shaffer (flute solos), Jacob Pritchard (oboe solo), Doug Booth (trumpet solo), Leah Cook (mallet solo).

The following students will advance to state finals with an ensemble performance: Cassie Eberly, Elizabeth Oviedo, Mae Christiansen (2 ensembles), Krista Krpan (2 ensembles), Katie Shaffer, Bailey Capper, Brittany Halsey, Amy McLiver, Chris Eberly, Calvin Cook, Faith Fish, Tom Wilson, Sam Kemp (2 ensembles), Kayla Wentz, Ben Kraszyk, Lindsey Holloway, Caitlin Jung, Doug Booth, Tim Gordon (2 ensembles), Zack Heet (2 ensembles), Jacob Shafer, Sam Shafer, and Andrew Kurtz.

Plymouth Grapplers win Sectional

Individual Sectional Champions for Plymouth were Chuck Holmquest, Chase Lewendowski, James Letsinger, and Damon Howe. Nolan Ludwig and Brock Vermillion finished 2nd, Caleb Kelly finished 3rd, and Trent Keyser and Chris Erickson finished 4th. These wrestlers will advance to the Regional Competition this Saturday in Rochester.

Also scoring points for Plymouth were Austyn Lee, Blake Gaines, Scott Barry, and Sam Tomasik.

Plymouth Students Excel at the Scholastic Art Show

Plymouth High School was well represented by their artists and can be proud of their accomplishments.

The following students received GOLD KEY AWARDS:
Fletcher Craft - Computer Art
Federico Cuatlacuatl - Computer Art
Federico Cuatlacuatl - Drawing

The following students received SILVER KEY AWARDS:
Megan Good - Drawing
Christina Green - Drawing
Jordan Harner - Drawing

The following students received HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS:
Nikki Chalk - Drawing
Megan Good - Drawing
Kelsey Houin - Drawing
Daryl Huff - Computer Art
Deidre Johnson - Drawing
Krista Krpan - Sculpture
Kirsten Thomason - Printmaking

Also, two students received awards for their PORTFOLIO submissions, which contained 10 pieces of their finest artwork. Federico Cuatlacuatl received a GOLD KEY PORTFOLIO AWARD and Nikki Chalk received an HONORABLE MENTION PORTFOLIO AWARD.

The Gold Key Awards will advance to the National Scholastic Awards in New York. The Exhibition can be seen at the Century Center January 31st thru February 14th. The Awards Ceremony and Reception is on February 8, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. in the Bendix Theater at the Century Center.

In-Service 1/2 Day

Friday, February 13, 2009, is scheduled as a corporation in-service day.

All Elementary, Riverside, and LJH students will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m.

PHS students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

BPA Excels Again

Congratulations to Plymouth High School’s BPA Team for an outstanding performance at Saturday's District Leadership Conference at Warsaw High School. Twenty three members advanced to compete at the State Leadership Conference and twelve of them will compete in two events. Many members won medals in Open Events and many members were medalists in multiple events. Alex Eads competed in seven Open Events and won 7 medals.

To cap off a great day in competition, Gage Egierski was elected District 2 President for the 2009-2010 School Year.

School Activities - Update

The Boys varsity basketball game scheduled for this evening at Concord has been cancelled. A make-up time/date for the game will be announced at a later time.

The BPA District Leadership Conference scheduled at Warsaw has been postponed. The gymnastics meet at Lowell has been postponed until February 24, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. All other Saturday activities for Plymouth High School are still scheduled to take place. This includes the speech tournament, wrestling super dual at Clay, 9th grade boys basketball tournament at Tippy Valley, home swim meet vs. Wawasee, home girls JV/Varsity basketball games vs. Concord, and home boys JV/Varsity basketball game vs. LaPorte.

The boys basketball tourney at Lincoln Jr. High is also still on schedule for Saturday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m.

Activities for Friday Night and Saturday

We will post between 12 - 1 on Friday to let students and fans know about the status of activities on Friday night and Saturday. Decisions will be based on wind chill and the location of the activity.

School Closed

Plymouth Schools are closed Friday, January 16 because of the extreme wind chills. Announcements concerning weekend activities will be made at noon on Friday. The Administration Office will be open until 1:00 PM.

2 Hour Delay for January 16, 2009 (Friday)

Due to the wind chill predictions of -34 by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, we are calling a two-hour delay for Friday, January 16, 2009.



Mr. Tyree uses the following websites when determining wind chill and weather predictions.



http://www.weather.com/outlook/driving/interstate/local/46563?from=hrly_topnav_driving



Once you navigate to the site, you can choose to look at an hour by hour forecast that will show temperatures, wind chill, etc.



http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Plymouth&state=IN&site=IWX&textField1=41.347&textField2=-86.3145&e=0



The NOAA website also gives a tabular forecast by the hour. To find this report, go to the right side of the web page and at the bottom will be a link for "tabular forecast". After clicking that link, you will see a table showing various elements...and you can define the elements that you would like to see and hit submit.

Schools Closed

Plymouth Schools are closed on Thursday, January 15 because of the extreme cold conditions. At 7:15 AM wind chill gusts were blowing as low as -23 degrees. The prediction from the National Weather Service illustrate that temperatures will not get any better throughout the day. We have been notified that the Boys and Girls Club will be open today.

Snow Days

The process for determining delays often starts at 4:00 AM or sometimes the night before. I've gone to bed at night when a blizzard-like storm has been predicted only to wake up early the next morning to find that there was a wind shift and the storm missed Plymouth, but hit Warsaw and Wawasee.

We have employees that drive our roads in the morning and during the day if warranted. We communicate with the State and County Highway Departments concerning the conditions of the roads and if they believe they can keep the roads open and safe for our busses. We have several good web sites that give us an hour-by-hour forecast weather specific to the Plymouth School District and not a general forecast for the the Michiana area. We use all of these resources to make a decision and the final decision is made by me the Superintendent of Schools.

In regards to today's call, the roads were in acceptable shape this morning when we delivered children to the schools. It was -9 degrees wind chill, which according to the National Weather Service, children can stand outside waiting for a bus for at least 30 minutes without the worry of frostbite. As the day passed we continued to monitor the weather web sites and the county and state plowing schedules. I determined that the safest time to take children home would be at the end of school. This would give the county and state time to remove and snowfall or drifts caused by this morning's snowfall. In addition, by waiting until the end of the school day we aren't afraid that we'll send a young child home to an empty house.

Tomorrow morning the forecast is for heavy snow and wind chills over -20 degrees. These wind chills predictions decrease the outside time to only 10 minutes before the chance of frost bite. Also by calling a delay the night before we give parents a chance to line up child care for their children if needed.

School Cancellations

The 6:00 p.m. Adult Education Classes are cancelled for this evening.


All activities after 6:00 p.m. in ALL buildings are cancelled for this evening.

2 Hour Delay for January 15, 2009 (Thursday)

Due to the wind chill predictions of -26 by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, we are calling a two-hour delay for Thursday, January 15, 2009.

In-Service 1/2 Day

Thursday, January 22, 2009, is scheduled as a corporation in-service day.

All Elementary, Riverside, and LJH students will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m.

PHS students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.

**REMINDER**
If there is a two-hour delay on any in-service day, school WILL be in session the FULL day.

School Cancellations

The 6:00 p.m. Adult Education Classes have been cancelled for this evening.

The PHS girl's basketball game scheduled for this evening has been cancelled.

All activities after 6:00 p.m. at ALL buildings are cancelled for this evening.

2 Hour Delay

On the West side of the corporation, we are experiencing high winds and blowing snow that leads to poor conditions for driving. With the impending wind, cold, and snow that is predicted to continue, we are calling for a 2 Hour Delay.

Where are they now?

Most of us remember Jenelle Palmer, a 2001 Plymouth graduate, as one of the sparkplugs of that 2001 state runner-up girl’s basketball team. Since graduating from Plymouth she has also graduated from Ball State University, spent one-year in an accelerated program at IUPUI, and now is in her 3rd year of Optometry School at Indiana University in Bloomington. Jenelle is getting ready to start her rotations and has already gone through her "White Coat Ceremony." We are proud of Jenelle and her accomplishments.

Where Are They Now? is a new feature for the Plymouth Truth. We are pleased to partner with the Pilot News to bring you stories about Plymouth High School graduates and their life after high school. While Where Are They Now? will concentrate on writing snippets about graduates, the Pilot News may pick up a story now and then for their feature Small Town, Big World.

If you have a story you would like to report about a son, daughter, brother, sister, any relative or even a neighbor, send their story in an email and make sure you include the person's email or phone number, the graduation date from PHS and we will feature the person in one of our weekly Blog entries.

Send emails to sdodson@plymouth.k12.in.us

Severe Cold Weather Bus Route

January 12, 2009

The weather forecast for the Plymouth area causes some concern for morning (AM) travel to Plymouth Schools this week. Tuesday through Friday we will offer a Severe Cold Weather Bus Route for walkers. Listed below are the pick up points for students to catch the Severe Cold Weather Bus:

7:17 Baker and Fairbanks
7:20 Walnut and Novelty
7:22 Walnut and Harrison
7:24 Walnut and Monroe
7:26 Walnut and Washington
7:28 Walnut and Lewis
7:30 Pierce and Gilmore
7:32 Gilmore and Dickson
7:34 Pearl and Conger
7:36 Thayer and Nursery
7:38 Miner and Ewing
7:40 Bayless and Charles
7:42 Liberty and Pennsylvania

Any questions concerning the Severe Weather Route may be directed to the Transportation Office at 936-3169.

Gas Leak

Plymouth Schools has been notified of a natural gas leak. As a result, Liberty Street from LaPorte Street to the railroad tracks and Pennsylvania Street from West Street to Michigan Street is closed. Students cannot walk to or be driven to these areas by a school bus. Parents will be notified to pick up their student(s) at 3:10 p.m. Parents who cannot be notified will have their student(s) taken to the after school program at Webster Elementary. The after school program will be open until all parents are notified. If there are any questions, please call (574) 936-3115.

Blog Bits

Where Are They Now? is a new feature for the Plymouth Truth. We are pleased to partner with the Pilot News to bring you stories about Plymouth High School graduates and their life after high school. While Where Are They Now? will concentrate on writing snippets about graduates, the Pilot News may pick up a story now and then for their feature Small Town, Big World.

If you have a story you would like to report about a son, daughter, brother, sister, any relative or even a neighbor, send the information to an in an email and make sure you include the person's email or phone number and we will feature the person in one of our weekly Blog entries.

Send emails to sdodson@plymouth.k12.in.us

PHS Boys Basketball Game

The PHS Boys JV and Varsity Basketball games scheduled for this evening at Whitko have been cancelled due to a power outage. The games will be rescheduled at a later date.

Basketball Game

The boys basketball game against Northwood has been postponed until Saturday, December 20, at the PHS gym. Game time is 6:15. At the same the the girls basketball team will play Northwood at Northwood.

Closed December 19

Freezing rain and other conditions have led to us closing Friday, December 19. Please be safe and enjoy your Christmas and New Years Holiday time.

2 Hour Delay

Because of freezing rain, Plymouth Schools is operating under at 2 hour Delay on Friday, December 19. Further determinations will be made by 8:00 AM.

Congratulations Plymouth High School

In the last several days, Plymouth High School has received two very prestigious awards.

First, Plymouth High School was awarded the Bronze Award from US News and World Report. This award is for the following:

1. Standardized Test Performance
2. Proficiency Rates of all Students (Including the Least Advantaged)

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/indiana/plymouth_high_school

Second, the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce named Plymouth High School as one of Indiana’s Best Buy Schools. Best Buy schools are those that give taxpayers the most for their money.

http://www.indianachamber.com/media/pdf/IndianasBestBuys2008.pdf

Congratulations Plymouth High School! We will have a community celebration for Plymouth High School when we return from Christmas Vacation.

REMINDER

With the chance of freezing rain and / or fog for Tuesday morning, please remember that IF we have a 2-hour delay, Plymouth Schools will cancel the scheduled in-service and students will attend school the entire day.

Riverside Takes First Place at District Spell Bowl

Riverside Intermediate 6th grade Spell Bowl team earned first place in Class 1 at the district spell bowl competition held at North Liberty Elementary on Thursday, November 20, 2008. Allegra Davis led the team with a perfect round. Brandon Milligan and Cody Gamble earned ribbons for near perfect rounds. Other members of the Riverside Spell Bowl team include Emma Trappe, Korie Rice, Nick Walker, Tyler England, Kennedy Schnieders, Andrew Gerard, Brantlee Joseph, Zach Ballard, Denise Altheide, and Ashley Clemons. The Riverside Spell Bowl team is coached by Sharon Scott. Angie Stults of Edward Jones Investments is the Riverside Spell Bowl team sponsor.

Apology

I have to apologize to the faithful Blog readers for not posting the delay and cancellation last Friday. I was struggling with my computer to get Internet and then I was struggling with a new form of technology that we were using for the first time. With click on weareclosedtoday.com all media outlets in the area, both radio and TV should be contacted. Once I got on the Internet, I spent the next 20 minutes trying to check radio on TV stations. To my dismay WSBT was the only media outlet contacted. This feature will work immediately and so will my memory. Once again, please accept my apologies.

School Board Meeting Notes - 11-20-08

The following is a summary of the Plymouth School Board of Trustees meeting’s Business Transactions held at Menominee School on Thursday, November 20, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.

1. Mr. Dunn presented the Menominee Elementary data results and growth plan.

2. Mr. Samuelson, Board President, presented certificates to school volunteers. In all 80 volunteers were honored.

3. The Board appointed Todd Samuelson to the Athletic Council.

4. An appointment to the Safety Committee was tabled until January.

5. The Board entertained the second reading of the Non-Resident Student Admissions Policy. A few changes were made. The Board will adopt this policy at their December 2nd meeting.

6. One student activity request for the high school choir was approved.

7. Donation reports were accepted for Menominee Elementary, Riverside Intermediate, and Webster Elementary.

8. Mr. Tyree updated the Board on the handicap ramp at Lincoln Junior High and several other projects in the corporation.

Blog Bits

Congratulations to Washington Elementary for being awarded a grant to provide all second grade students with a laptop computer. This $30,000 grant will benefit over 80 students at Washington Elementary this year and for years to come.

Congratulations to the Junior High Spelling Team. The team placed 6th in the State Junior High Spelling Bowl.

Thanks to the teachers and administrators at Lincoln Junior High for inducting their first group of students into the National Junior Honor Society last week. Nearly 30 students from Grade 8 were inducted. Students from Grade 7 are scheduled to be inducted in the spring.

Kudos to the Plymouth School Board of Trustees for being named an Outstanding Indiana School Board. A special congratulation also goes out to Board Member Frank Brubaker who has achieved Level 1 status as a Board Member

Condon Named Principal of the Year

Plymouth Schools is proud to announce that Jim Condon, Principal of Plymouth High School, has been named District Principal of the Year. Jim is in his second year at Plymouth after a long stint at Knox High School.

Jim’s strengths include both curriculum development and organizational management. However, what made Jim an outstanding choice for this award was the way he works with students, staff, and community members.

Jim will receive the award on November 23, 2008 in Indianapolis. He will also learn that evening if he is named Indiana Principal of the Year. Jim and eleven other principals from around the state are up for that award.

Blog Bits

Nearly 40 people attended Dr. Jerry McKibben's presentation on future demographics for Plymouth this past Monday night. From his numbers, it is obvious that the economy has put a small dent in our enrollment, but he believes our numbers will stay fairly stable. He also addressed the number of graduates who leave our community and never return and talked about the economic development role in our enrollment growth.

Our next meeting is December 1, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the Plymouth High School cafeteria. Remember, all stakeholders in Plymouth Schools are invited to attend.

http://www.updatesoftware.com/plymouth/attachments/Plymouth%20presentation%2010-26-08.pdf

Superintendent's Advisory Committee Meeting

The third meeting of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee will meet tonight at Lincoln Junior High’s Cafeteria. Tonight, demographer, Jerry McKibben will present his calculations on future enrollments in light of the recent economic problems that have taken hundreds of jobs from this area.

The meeting is from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. and all are invited to attend, ask questions, and be involved.

Blog Bits

RE: THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

On Thursday, November 27th and Friday, November 28th school will not be in session due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Blog Bits

Re: In-Service ½ Day

Wednesday, November 5, 2008, is scheduled as a corporation in-service day.

All elementary, Riverside, and LJH students will be dismissed at 12:20 p.m.

PHS students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.




Re: PHS ½ Day


On Friday, November 7, 2008, Plymouth High School students ONLY will attend ½ day.

Plymouth High School students will be dismissed at 11:00 a.m.


Lincoln Junior High, Riverside Intermediate and all elementary schools will attend a full day on November 7th.

Strategic Plan Meeting #2: The Futurist

Over eighty educators and stakeholders met at Christo’s Banquet Center to hear a three hour presentation by Ed Barlow, Futurist, titled “Engaging the Future: It’s a Journey, Not a Destination.” Twenty-one of the audience members represented Plymouth Schools and the Superintendent’s Advisory Council.

Barlow organized his talk around eight areas of change we will all go through. They include:
1. Change Continuum
2. Economic Change
3. Global Change
4. Environmental Change
5. Science and Technology Change
6. Demographic Change
7. Organizational Change
8. Human Resources Change

If you would like to see notes from Ed Barlow’s presentation, they will be online starting October 28, 2008 at www.creatingthefuture.com and the password is MCEBS.

Our final three meetings are scheduled on the following dates:

November 3, 2008 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. LJHS Café Demographer
December 1, 2008 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. PHS Café Focus Group
December 8, 2008 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. PHS Café Focus Group

Please plan to attend and bring a friend with you. We need to snowball our small group into a large group.

Strategic Plan Meeting #1

Approximately 30 citizens attended the first meeting for the development of Plymouth School’s Strategic Plan last night in the Plymouth High School cafeteria. Those assembled listened to Plymouth Administrators paint a snapshot view of the Plymouth Community School Corporation.

Meeting #2 will feature futurist Ed Barlow who will address the eight stages of change for the future in education. The second meeting is scheduled for October 20, 2008 from 5:30 – 9:00 p.m. at Christo’s Banquet Center. There are still a few seats available for that presentation. If you would like to attend, please call Rosalie Babcock at 936-3115.

Blog Bits

Lady Pilgrim Golf Team “3-peats”

The Lady Pilgrims Golf Team will compete at their third consecutive state finals today at the Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Indiana. Members of the team include Rebecca Moberly, Alex Starr, Allison Bayley, Ashley Lenne, and Erin Kinney. Coaches are Julie Stauffer and Jack Kinney.

Good luck girls! You too, Jack!

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.