Blog Bits

United Way
With the PHS student total not included, Plymouth Community School United Way donations and pledges are at $17,727.03 up from $14,679.43 last year. Congratulations and thank you on behalf of all the community agencies and the Marshall County United Way..

Facility Updates
At Plymouth High School lunch will be served in the renovated cafeteria on Tuesday. The canteen will not be available for the first few weeks. The new multipurpose room is being painted. Cabinetry is being installed in the new broadcasting area during the next week. Ceiling grids have been installed in the training room and new locker rooms. The final coat of blacktop is being installed today.

At Menominee, there is some plumbing that remains to be completed. The new parking lot lining and light installation will occur during the next two weeks.

At Jefferson, the steel and metal decking has been erected. Roofers will be installing the new roof and the masons will complete the interior walls during the next two week period.

At the new Menominee, the footers and foundation walls have been completed. The ramp areas are being constructed. Masons continue to build walls in both the A and B wings. As an area is made available, steel is erected and metal decking is installed. Roofers are on-site closing in areas as they are made available.

Contractors are following up on punch lists in all the other buildings.

Town Hall Meeting
PASS and Plymouth Community Schools will be co-sponsoring a town hall meeting on November 14th at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph Hospital Education Room. This will be the first meeting addressing redistricting. Jerry McKibbin, the demographer, will present Re-districting, a Work in Progress. He will review preliminary numbers and explain the process that he goes through as a demographer in developing scenarios. He will share a base scenario and request public input at the meeting. All are encouraged to attend.

Awards
Lane Wiley, a student at Webster Elementary has been selected for the October 2005 Future Leaders Award. Indiana State Treasurer, Tim Berry will present the award and a check for $1,000 to Lane on Wednesday, November 16th.

The State of Indiana has awarded Webster Elementary a Reading is Fundamental Grant. This will provide books for distribution to the students at Webster.

WalMart presented Washington with a computer and printer last week.

Miscellaneous
Angie Becktel has identified an interesting writing website. It contains six trait writing activities http://www.writingfix.com/.

Blog Bits

Cold Weather

The cold weather has set in and we have received several phone calls about the temperature in the school. As we work with new boilers and old boilers, both present a challenge to heat the school evenly and immediately. As you know natural gas prices will be up substantially this winter so the thermostats will be set at 69 degrees to conserve energy. Our recommendation is for staff and students to bring a sweater or sweat shirt with them.

High School Physical Education Blues

Several parents called yesterday with concerns about fumes in physical education class at the high school. The construction manager informed us that the paint fumes from the multi-purpose room were not dangerous; however, he has closed several vents leading from the old school to the new school and that has eliminated the fumes.

Play and Football Game Parking

Friday night should bring lots of students and parents to Plymouth High School to see the drama department's Beauty and the Beast and then see the Rockies beat East Noble. The play starts at 6:30 and patrons should park in the south parking lot. The sectional football game starts at 7:30 and patrons should park in the north and east parking lot.

Changes and Challenges

Fall break for us was a time of reflection. As we have reviewed the school year thus far we see changes and challenges before us.

Primary teachers have been involved in implementing new reading strategies. Members of the elementary and middle school staff have spent time sequencing curriculum for the development of benchmark exams. Several of our staff members have spent time planning the new 5/6 grade building. Other staff members have had to work around construction projects.

As we have observed our staff members working extremely hard; we acknowledge that change can be difficult and frustrating. Thank you to the many staff members working extremely hard for the improvement for our students.

We have also been faced with external changes which have presented challenges. The spiraling cost of fuel for our vehicles and utilities for our buildings create new challenges. Staff members have made difficult choices in selecting field trips. Community members have stepped up to help fund those same trips. We are extremely fortunate to be members of a district and a community where the internal and external forces have come together to provide our students out of school experiences.

The devastating hurricanes and the needs of our community organizations that continue to rise create challenges for charitable organizations. Again, students and staff of Plymouth Community Schools have stepped up to the challenge by contributing to the victims of Katrina and to the Marshall County United Way. Staff members have pledged or given $11,395 to the United Way campaign this year. Thus far, student campaigns have netted $5,456 in donations with two buildings yet to report.

We express our deep appreciation to staff, students, and community members for stepping up to the changes and challenges of this school year.

Blog Bits 10-14-05

Board Highlights
The board met in regular session on October 6, 2005. In addition to conducting its regular business, the board recognized Nate Pearson and Erin Dunning, Plymouth High School Business Professionals of America students who have compete successfully at the state and national levels.

The board approved an agreement with Cyberlink. Cyberlink will provide Plymouth Community Schools with high-speed Internet access in return for the use of the corporation’s towers.

Literacy Conference
Last week 23 teachers and six administrators attended the Literacy Conference sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education. They heard leading experts in the area of reading from throughout the country.

Help
We are in need of substitute bus drivers. Individuals who become a substitute bus driver make themselves eligible for future routes. If interested contact Rick Scott in the transportation department at 936-3115.

Congratulations
The students at Webster Elementary have contributed $1,017.54 to the Marshall County United Way Campaign. In addition, 100% of the Webster staff participated in the drive this year. Campaign chair Jim Wagner and educational campaign chair Larry Pinkerton met with the Webster staff this morning to express their appreciation for the staff’s efforts.

Board Meeting
The October 20, 2005 meeting of the Board of Trustees has been canceled due to conflicts with fall break. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the board will be November 3, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in the board room.

United Way, it's what matters locally

Most of our lives and certainly during recent years all over the world we have witnessed great crisis. We have a great crisis right here in the United States. We think it’s wonderful to look around the Marshall County community and see the outpouring of generosity in helping the victims of Katrina, Rita, and other storms that have ravaged the southern coast of the United States. There are many organizations that are working to help the victims of these disasters, but we think that it is important to remember that we will be confronted with problems here locally especially with the rise in heating costs and other local problems. There are going to be more people in our community that may need help. We are asking everyone to be generous with United Way, which is the center for all the help going to so many people through our local member agencies. We hope as our fall campaign continues, you will remember that the local needs will not go away, they may even deepen. It is important to support the annual community campaign, the United Way – it’s what matters locally.

Principal for a Day

We are still looking for several volunteers for this year's Principal for a Day program. The day of the program is November 18, from 8 - 1. Please see the blog post from September 18 for details of the program. Call Amy Pratt to reserve your spot at 574-936-3115.

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

Anne Gasway


Family
Anne and her husband Casey have two sons, Cooper, 5 years, and Willem, 2 years

Education
Indiana State University, English Education and Creative Writing

Hobbies:
Reading, writing, running, camping, fishing

Your Comments
I was born and raised in Crawfordsville Indiana. I went to college at Indiana State University on both athletic and creative and performing arts scholarships. During my stay I was active not only with the track and cross country teams but also with Students of Fine Arts.

I graduated in the winter of 2001 and started teaching at Northview High School in the fall of 2002. While at Northview High School I taught English in an LD self-contained classroom. I was also head girls track and cross country coach.

After two years my husband and I decided, “Hey you only live once. Let's see what it's like to live somewhere else." So we moved to Colorado. It lasted 6 months. There really is no place like home.

We were glad to get back to Indiana. We're even happier to be in Plymouth. I have taught in my share of high schools, and I know Plymouth is one of the best.

Blogbits

Welcome to the blog-o-sphere! The Plymouth High School Speech and Debate teams have created a blog that currently contains a calendar of all speech events. In the near future, the blog will have a weekly update with information on practices and tournaments. Welcome to the world of blogging!!

New Facility News
The district will occupy the new music wing at Plymouth High School next week. From October 3rd to October 7th, equipment will be moved into the new areas. Classes will begin meeting in the new areas on October 10th. The target date for moving in to the remodeled cafeteria is November 1st.

What is in a name?
Fourth and fifth grade students are having an opportunity to be involved in recommending a name for the 5/6 building. Some of the names that have been suggested from students are Pilgrim School, Liberty Intermediate, Centennial Intermediate, Harrison Intermediate, Plymouth Intermediate, Patriot Intermediate, Independence Intermediate, Hoosier Intermediate, Sally Ride Intermediate, Christa McAuliffe Intermediate,Reagan Intermediate, Kennedy Intermediate, Plymouth Rock Intermediate, Franklin Intermediate, Roosevelt Intermediate, Lewis & Clark Intermediate, Rockie Intermediate, Mayflower Intermediate, Riverside Intermediate, Marshall Intermediate, Tecumsah Intermediate, Potawatomee Intermediate, and Horris Corbin Intermediate. These suggestions are in addition to those that many of you have submitted.

As part of the naming process, students will also be involved in identifying a mascot, school motto, newspaper name, and yearbook name.

Miscellaneous
For those of you who enjoy satire and wish to keep abreast of educational happenings in Indiana and around the country, we invite you to read the Super's Blog. The link is located on the right side of this page.

Career Readiness

As a part of the high school's career readiness program, approximately 200 juniors participated in a mass job-shadow the last three days.

Mrs. Michelle Tanner handled the majority of the work load at the high school's end and deserves accolades for her tenatious approach to making the first mass job-shadow successful. Her job included working with students and their occupational desires, contacting businesses, and then organizing the students to be out of school one of the three days that ISTEP was being given to freshmen and sophomores.

A follow-up thank you letter from the students will be sent and feedback from each student will be examined so plans for next year's juniors can be initated.

A big thank you goes out from the school corporation to Mrs. Tanner and all of the businesses who took part in this very meaningful day. This is the type of partnership that helps students get a first-hand look at a carrer they are choosing. It also helps students focus on jobs in Plymouth and Marshall County to help eliminate part of the brain-drain.

More can be read about this in the South Bend Tribune as Mrs. Ida Chipman is preparing a story. Thank you Marshall County for all you do to help children!

Mock Disaster

The PHS health careers class students were "victims" in the community mock disaster held Tuesday evening. Students used our the moulage kit to plaster themselves with fake burns, embedded glass charts, and actual pumping arterial bleeds. The students screamed in pain, pretended to die, and go into shock. One student actually portrayed premature labor so realistically that they took her by ambulance first to quiet her down!

At the site, the students were to be victims of a school bus explosion. They were doused with diesel fuel and a suspicious white powder, necessitating decontaminating by haz-mat teams.
Dr. Holm, our county medical director, and the EMA's worked with incident command to clear the site. PHS students were all taken by ambulance to SJRMC and put through the decontaminating process. Air Angels and Good Samaritan were there with the helicopters and the students were able to sit in the helicopter and talk to the paramedic.

After the disaster, the students and Mrs. King, the school's health occupations instructor, attended the debriefing at the First United Church of Christ where they learned what the Red Cross does in the event of an emergency. The church became an emergency shelter at that point and students were signed in to the shelter, just as they would have been in New Orleans last month. It was an amazing learning experience for our students.

Enrollments up

Last Friday was the official “count day.” Preliminary results show that Plymouth Community Schools has one hundred five (105) more students than it did at this time last year.

The enrollments are as follows:

Jefferson – 232 students
Menominee – 573 students
Washington – 384 students
Webster – 427 students
Lincoln Jr. High – 833 students
Plymouth High School – 1,026 students
Total Corporation Students – 3,475

The enrollment results will be sent to the Indiana Department of Education and will undergo a reconciliation process. Final numbers will be determined at a later date

New Teacher Biography - Cathy Deardorf

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

Cathy Deardorf



Family
Cathy and her husband Larry have been married for almost 17 years. They have four wonderful daughters, Leticia 16, Ciersten 14, Leah 12, and Cendra 9.

Education
Cathy graduated from DeKalb High School in 1987. She earned her Bachelors degree in Secondary Science Education from Tri-State University (Angola, IN) in 1996. She was licensed to teach biology, general science, and computers. Cathy earned her Masters degree in Administrative Education Leadership from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne in 2003. She finished her K-12 principal licensing in 2004.

Why did you become a teacher?
“When I began college, I chose the field of education because I was influenced by some wonderful teachers at DeKalb High School. They had a big impact on my life. I wanted to be the same type of positive influence for my students. The decision for me to move out of the classroom into administration was a difficult one to make. I loved teaching, but with administration I can work with students in so many different ways and on so many different levels, not just with my curriculum. I also get the opportunity to work more directly with the wonderful staff and community of Plymouth. Since coming to Plymouth, I know I made the right decision.

Cathy's Comments
“I love working with the students and staff at Plymouth high School. Coming into a new position, there is always a lot to learn and everyone has been very supportive. Thank you for making me feel welcome.

Want to be Principal for a Day?

On November 18, Plymouth will host the 5th consecutive "Principal for a Day" program. The day each fall was officially proclaimed by the late Governor Frank O'Bannon to provide greater community involvement and understanding of the principal's role in leading Indiana's schools.

Community members will spend their morning with one of Plymouth's principals starting at 8:00 AM and concluding at 1:00 PM. At that time all participants and volunteers will gather at the administrative building for a luncheon and discussion of the day's events. The press will be invited so pictures will be taken as well.

If you want to be a "Principal for a Day" contact Plymouth Community School Corporation by calling Amy Pratt at 936-3115. All volunteers must be 21 years old and live in the Plymouth School district.

Blog Bits

Highlights of Last Evening’s Board Meeting
The school board met in regular session last evening. The highlights of the meeting are as follows:

- The board approved monthly claims and personnel.

- The board heard a report on the school improvement plan at Washington Elementary. Mrs. Riise explained the use of the DIBELS assessment and the three-tier intervention model.

- Mrs. Riise also reported that the students at Washington Elementary have raised over $1,000 for victims of hurricane Katrina.

- The board gave permission to publish Notice to Taxpayers of Additional Appropriation from the rainy day fund.

- The next board meeting will be on October 6, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. in the Administration Building.


Construction Update
At Washington, Webster, Lincoln schools, the contractors are still working on items that have been identified on the punch list. Principals have contacted the construction manager with unresolved issues in their buildings.

At Menominee Elementary, the interior work is substantially completed. The contractors are installing the new parking lot. Projected completion of this installation is late October.

At Jefferson Elementary, the masons will complete the construction of the load bearing walls during the next two-week period. The pouring of the concrete floors will begin. Trusses are scheduled to arrive on site on November 1st. The new addition should be under roof by the end of November.

At Plymouth High School, the music wing is moving closer to completion. Carpeting has been installed in three of the large instructional areas. Vinyl floor covering will be installed in the choir room next week. Work on the driveway around the music wing is nearing completion. Weather permitting the base coat of asphalt will be applied in another week. The target date for completion of the music wing is October 1. The contractors have completed the electrical rough-ins in the cafeteria area. Wall board is being installed at this time. Target completion date of the cafeteria is November 1. The masons are wrapping up their work in the multipurpose wing. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical workers are installing their equipment. Electrical rough-ins have been completed in the broadcast classroom and studio. Contractors are installing wall board. During the next two week period, painting and installation of ceiling grids will begin in that area.

The construction of the load bearing walls continues in Section A of the new elementary. This process will continue during the next two weeks. All the footers and foundations in the classroom wing will be completed next week.

ISTEP
Students in the Plymouth Community School Corporation will be taking the ISTEP tests next week. Please be sure your children are getting plenty of sleep and a good meal each morning

New Teacher Biography - Grant Masson

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

Grant Masson


Family:
Grant is married to wife Debbie for 15 years. They have two children, Scott 8, and Sean 6.

Education:
Boraughmuir High School (Scotland), IUSB Bachelors in Social Studies, World History, U.S. History, Government, Geography

Why did you become a teacher?
To give back to the Country that has given me so much, namely allowing me to become a citizen in 2003. One of the proudest days in my life.

Your Comments:
"I am so excited to be teaching at PHS! The school feels like a family where both staff and pupils are nurtured to succeed! I believe firmly in the principle, “By Example, We Lead” and hope to foster this in the children I teach. "

New Teacher Biography - Elizabeth (Holmes) Miller

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

Elizabeth Miller
4th Grade Teacher at Menominee Elementary


Family
Elizabeth is married and has one daughter who attends Webster Elementary.

Education
Graduate of Indiana University, South Bend, May 2004

Why did you become a teacher?
I became a teacher to inspire a life-long love of learning in students. My goal is to encourage students to achieve their personal best in all they do.

Thank You!!!

At the football game Friday night, the generosity was overwhelming. The PHS Key and Ambassador clubs raised over $1500.00 to be donated to the Red Cross for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Thank you, to all of you who chipped in to support those IN NEED!!!!Plymouth is a great COMMUNITY!!!

New Teacher Biography - James E. Radican

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

James E. Radican - Social Studies at PHS



Family:
James’ wife is Tammie and she is a Special Education teacher at LaVille High School. James and Tammie have two children, Christian 10, and Ian 8.

Education:
Bremen Senior High School, class of 1983
Ball State University, Bachelors Degree in 1988
Indiana University South Bend, working toward his Masters Degree in ESL

Why did you become a teacher?
Outside of family, teachers have made the greatest impact in my life. Teachers in both public education and religious instruction have been my role models. I have respected the profession and admire those that excel in the field.

Welcome to the Blogosphere!

The PHS library has established a blog, Waymouth's World. A link to the blog is located on the right side of this page. Welcome!

New Teacher Biography - MaryPat Glaub

NEW TEACHER BIOGRAPHY

Mary Pat Glaub - Choral Director at PHS



Family:
MaryPat's husband is John, they have been married for 28 years and have five children, Carrie 27, Patrick 26, Chris 24, Anthony 18, and John 15. Mary and John also have one grandchild, Elija 15 months.

Education:
Bachelors and Masters at Indiana University

Why did you become a teacher?
I want to share my love of music and give students positive musical experiences that will last a lifetime.

Your Comments:
It’s great to be back in the classroom!!