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Calendar of Events
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PAC Meeting
September 20
Help Desk Elluminate
September 21
Professional Development
September 26
COSI Open House
September 30
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Race to the Top News | |
The School Improvement Grant Building team has met twice with Melvina Torbert, the Transformation Specialist from ODE, to discuss the structure of the SIG grant and to the review the School Improvement assurance documents. Ms. Torbert will be meeting with Dr. Teeters twice monthly, throughout the year to monitor the progress of VCS in meeting the goals of the SIG grant.
In addition, VCS has met with the regional Race to the Top representative Mark Yoho, to discuss the structure of the VCS transformation team and will be meeting with VCS monthly to monitor the progress of the VCS RTTT grant. |
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Greetings! |
I hope you're having a great school year so far! I know there were some hiccups during the first few days of school, but that often goes hand-in-hand with upgrades like we made to Moodle this year. I hope things are going smoothly now. Always remember that you are making a difference in the lives of many students!
In just a few weeks, we'll have our fall picnic again at Hoover Y Park in Lockbourne. I hope to see you there! The families that attend really appreciate meeting their teachers and classmates. See the article below for more details.
I also want to remind you that the next professional development meeting is coming up on Monday, September 26. We will cover the common core standards. In a change of plans, this meeting will now be virtual. However, it will not take place in Elluminate.You will receive instructions and a link to the meeting at a later date. Watch for more details on this soon.
Go Wolves!
Jim McCord
Superintendent |
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Help Desk will continue monthly Elluminate sessions |
Help Desk Elluminate sessions will continue this year, with the first session being held on Wednesday, September 21 at 10 am in the Help Desk Elluminate room. This session will cover printer installment and other printing issues. Please share this information with your students!
Remember, the Help Desk hours have been extended! Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Help Desk has extended their hours and will be open from 9 am to 6:30 pm with phone lines open until 7 pm. Monday, Wednesday and Friday the Help Desk will remain open during their normal hours from 9 am to 5 pm.
To contact the VCS Help Desk, call 866-501-9473 ext. 5124 or email vcshelpdesk@vcslearn.org.
You can also visit the new Help Desk web site at http://help.vcslearn.org/.
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VCS implements Facebook advertising campaign |
- Facebook has more than 750 million active users, with 50% of those users logging in daily. VCS created a fan page in 2009 and now has almost 350 fans. To increase our presence on Facebook and in an effort to recruit new students, we have implemented a Facebook advertising campaign.
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- Facebook is a great platform to advertise, as it allows us to pinpoint the exact audience we would like to reach and shape an advertising campaign that caters to their specific wants and needs. We started this campaign advertising the P.A.S.S. program and launched our Earn and Learn advertisement yesterday. So far, our results have been excellent. See an example of the P.A.S.S. advertisement below.
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Teachers and staff: Don't forgot to RSVP for the fall picnic! | |
 The fall picnic will be held on Saturday, October 8. Will you be in attendance? If so, please let us know! Constant Contact offers a cool new feature to let registrants know who else has already registered. If you are planning on attending the picnic, please fill out the registration form by clicking below and let your students know that you'll be there!
This year, we will feature an attendance board, so students and families can see the names and photos of teachers and faculty who are present at the picnic. Please make sure to sign-in at the registration desk. If you need to get a photo taken, please see Jill Workman at the next professional development. We hope to see you at the picnic!
Click here to RSVP!
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VCS celebrates Opening Day! | |
The VCS staff celebrated Opening Day on Monday, August 22. Teachers, directors, office staff and site tutors were all in attendance. The agenda included activities such as keynote address from Mr. McCord, strategic plan overview, new staff induction and an awards and recognition ceremony. It was a wonderful way to kick
off the school year. See the award recipients below. Congratulations to all the award winners!
Student Services Award - Linda Lineback and Sherry Kuehnle
Distinguished Educator Award- Gabriela Linik
Distinguished Classified Staff Member - Jill Workman
Innovation Award - Cheryl Akers
Inspiration Award - Mary Callicoat
Distinguished Leader Award - Rick Teeters
Technology Implementation Award - Denny Hammond
Best Practices Award - Heidi Varner and Shane Foglesong
Teacher of the Quarter - Laura Barlage
External Services Site of the Year - 21st Century sites at COSI and the Boonshoft
Once A Wolf, Always A Wolf Award - Barb Litzinger
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Online yearbooks now available!
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The 2010-2011 yearbooks are now available! If you ordered one, you should have received it by mail. For everyone else, please check out the online yearbooks below!
To view the K-8 yearbook, click here.
To view the high school yearbook, click here.
If you would like to order a hard copy of either yearbook, we have extras! Contact Jill Workman at 866-501-9473 ext. 2045 or jill.workman@vcslearn.org. The cost is $20 per book.
 
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Boonshoft Learning Center relocates |
This year, the 21st Century Learning Center in Dayton will relocate from the Boonshoft Museum to the Miami Valley Regional Center. The hours will remain the same. Grades 1-6 can attend Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and grades 7-12 can attend from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The center will open on Tuesday, September 6.
The Miami Valley Regional Center can be found at 4801 Springfield Street, Riverside, OH 45431. Contact Stacey Whittaker at stacey.whittaker@vcslearn.org for more information.
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COSI Learning Center to host Open House
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 VCS students and their families are invited to visit the VCS 21st Century Learning Center at COSI in Columbus for an Open House on Friday, September 30 from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m.
- Learn about the services offered at the Learning Center
- Tour the COSI exhibits during the Family Fun Night
- Partake in craft making
- Take the messy desk challenge
- Listen to the guest speaker who will discuss study skills
Admission is free and COSI bucks for refreshments will be provided by the 21st Century Learning Center grant funds. Please register by Tuesday, September 27.
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New DEAR time program coming this fall for grades K-8 | |
Last year, the elementary grades started Drop Everything And Read time, and the DEAR online discussions. DEAR time will continue this year but add something new! Starting in October, we will begin reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Sound interesting? See all the new ways to participate below!
Read the book: It's only 17 chapters. Try to spend 20 minutes each day so you can be finished before October 25.
Come to the book party: On October 3 at 2 p.m., visit with your VCS friends in the Story Cove in the Main Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, eat cookies and milk, and if you're really brave, try Turkish Delight.
Columbus Metropolitan Library- Main Branch
96 S. Grant Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43215
October 3, 2011 at 2 p.m.
Listen to the story: At the book party, you can listen to Mrs. Coffey read the first three chapters of the book. On the Principal's Course and the DEAR web site, audio recordings of Mrs. Coffey reading the entire book are posted.
Watch the movie: Come to the Elluminate DEAR classroom at 9 a.m. each Tuesday from October 4 through October 25 to see the movie. On October 25 we will start the movie from the beginning at 7:25 a.m. Students who tune in at 9 a.m. will see the last section of the movie that they haven't yet seen.
Talk about it: On October 25, after the movie is finished, you can talk in Elluminate with your VCS friends about the book and the movie.
Remember, DEAR time is just for fun, not an assignment! Participate as often as you would like. To join in on the fun and to RSVP for the book party on October 3, please contact Miriam Green at 866-501-9473 ext. 2011 or miriam.green@vcslearn.org.
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| STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Adrian Weist |
Name: Adrian Weist
From: Cuyahoga Falls
Grade: 5
Picture: Adrian with Mrs. Varner
What is your favorite thing about VCS? Learning!
What is your favorite subject? English
What do you want to be when you grow up? A builder for the Lego company
What do you like to do in your free time? Play Roblox, Lego Universe and Portal
What is your favorite movie? Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
Do you have any siblings? I have a brother named Willy and a sister named Amanda
What is your favorite food? Pizza
What did you do over the summer? I went to the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum, went to Bible school and I played with my cousins and friends
What made you choose VCS versus a traditional school? I like being at home for school!
Any advice you would like to share with your fellow students? Read!!!
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| TEACHER SPOTLIGHT: Mrs. Barlage |
Mrs. Barlage teaches third grade
What is your favorite thing about VCS? My favorite thing about VCS is being able to work with students and parents all over the state that I would never have had the chance to know if I were teaching in a traditional environment. I love making relationships with families and helping them learn to be 21st century learners. Another thing I love about VCS is it allows me to work from home doing what I love- teaching!
What do you want students to accomplish while they attend VCS? I want my students to develop a love of learning, to develop confidence in themselves, and to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. I also want them to discover the joys of reading and realize the importance of how we encounter math in the real world.
What advice do you want to pass on to students? Stay current with your work and turn in assignments on time so I can know right away what skills you need extra help with. Always call me for help whenever you need it. There is no such thing as a "silly question!"
Favorites
Food: Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl and Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip ice cream
Book: Anything by Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, or Jodi Picoult. If I have to pick just one, I would say that Jodi Picoult's book, My Sister's Keeper, is my all time favorite!
Movie: I love all the movies in the "Twilight Saga", "Bad Teacher" made me laugh, "Inception" made me think and question reality, and "Pretty in Pink" and "Dirty Dancing" are my favorite "80s flicks."
TV Show: The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Jersey Shore, Days of Our Lives
Hobby/Interest: Gardening, animals, reading, learning new technologies, and spending time with my family
Season: Spring- I love when the world comes back to life after the dreary winter and the weather is just perfect.
Vacation Destination: Cancun, Mexico
Childhood Memory: I have lots of great childhood memories. Every summer I would take a sheet outside and tie it between two maple trees and make my own hammock, where my dog Benji and I would lay for hours reading in the shade. (Benji enjoyed me reading out loud to her, and always appeared to be very interested!) Then, at night, I would run around catching fire flies in a jar. Also, on rainy weekend days, my dad would back his pickup truck up to the garage, and we would spread a blanket out it the truck bed and play board games all day. Of course, the truck had a cab, so we didn't get wet!
Quote: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." AND "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Both quotes are by Dr. Seuss.
Anything else interesting that you want people to know? I am not only a teacher at VCS, but I am also a VCS parent. My son is in high school and is loving being a VCS student! I have a unique perspective of VCS, because I can see it from both the teacher and and parent view points.
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Watch for The Pack Press to arrive in your e-mail the third Thursday of each month. If you have any content ideas, send them to Lori Berkheimer or Jill Workman.
Go Wolves!
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