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November 2014
New Success Sites in NE Ohio!
Help VCS through your holiday purchases
Holiday supply drive to help fire victims
Get ready for the Hour of Code Challenge!
Good Things!
Contests - Recent Winners
Student Spotlight: Beth Sones

Calendar of Events

 

Fit Club Meeting
Mon., Dec. 1st

Cooking Club Meeting
Wed., Dec. 3rd

Photography Club Meeting 
Wed., Dec. 3rd

Impact Club Meeting
Patriot Club Meeting
Thurs., Dec. 4th

Hour of Code Kickoff
Mon., Dec. 8th

Picasso Club Meeting
Tues., Dec. 9th

VCS Board Meeting
Mon., Dec. 15th
 
Quick Links

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Going above and beyond!

You expect a school guidance counselor to arrange college visits (ours does) and help students manage challenges which impact their studies (ours does also), but how many would drive an hour just to share some time management and study habit tips with students face-to-face? Answer:  Not many.  

Thanks to Mrs. DePompei for taking time out of her schedule to make the drive to Newark in order to meet with our ProTeen students to help them stay on track!

Two new Success Sites open in NE Ohio

We are thrilled to announce the opening of two new VCS full time Success Sites!

 


 
Burning Bush Learning Center
1104 Johnston Road
Akron, OH  44305

Reggie Ray, Site Director
Shannon Robinson, Tutor

(330) 451-9061

 

 Deep Water Learning Center
191 College Street
Wadsworth, OH  44281

Wendy Rydarowicz, Site Dir. 
Tom Rydarowicz, Tutor

(330) 242-9453

 

Success sites offer a place for students to come for learning and tutoring.  Tutors help make sure students are on-track and provide help with VCS coursework.

 

Site directors and tutors never lose site of our mission to make a difference in the life of our students!

 

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Giant Eagle and Target purchases may help VCS






 

Click here for info on Target's
Take Charge of Education program 


SCHOOL ID CODE: 

153893


 


 

 

 


 


 

Click here for info on

Giant Eagle's

Apples for Education

program

 

SCHOOL ID CODE:

5198


As you get ready to make your holiday purchase, can we ask you to think about VCS of Ohio?  

If you have a Target Red card (you get 5% off all purchases when you use!) or a Giant Eagle Advantage card, you can register our school to earn cash and prizes when you use them!

We use this money to fund our Student Awards Assembly at the end of the school year.  Monies will be used for prizes, food and other costs associated with celebrating our students' successes...

Won't you please help?

 

 

Holiday Community Service


This fall several families in the Columbus area were devastated by apartment complex fires: one in September in Northeast Columbus, another in October in Reynoldsburg and a third just over a week ago in Southeast Columbus

Over 125 people were affected, many lost all they owned.  

Many 'Good Samaritans' have stepped up to help, including our amazing Franklin County Red Cross as well as other private parties.  Facing these kinds of losses so close to the holiday season touched us here at VCS.

So, we've decided to help...

We will be holding a supply drive for these families which we are coordinating with our local Red Cross organization.  Supplies needed include household items such as towels, dishes, countertop appliances, pots and pans, bedding (sheets, blankets, pillows), lamps, electronics, office supplies, rugs, brooms, tools and other such items.  Additionally, we're looking for gently-used larger appliances and furniture.  

If you would like to help, you may bring your donations to us here in Reynoldsburg.  We have secured the help of Great Value Storage here in Reynoldsburg; they've offered us a storage unit free-of-charge for 30 days.  The drive will run now until Fri., December 19.  Franklin County Red Cross will pick up the donations from there.  

Thank you for your generosity and care in making the holiday a bit brighter for so many who are struggling.
 
 

Hour of Code challenge at VCS! - Participate and win $$$


The U.S. Labor Department projects that in ten years there will be 1.4 Million Computer Science jobs but only 400K college graduates ready for 
them! 
 
The Hour of Code program is a nation-wide challenge to introduce programming concepts to students in grades 6-12 in public education.

Click here for more information.

       What about at VCS?   Are WE taking part?   The answer is YES!

How do I start?
Attend a blackboard meeting on Monday, Dec 8th to learn more.  (There are several easy tutorials to help you get started which you will learn about.)
CLICK HERE
 TO LINK TO THE BB SESSION ON 12/08/14

What's next?
Take part in a 1-hour tutorial session which will introduce you to different ways of coding. In the end you will have produced your own mobile app, graphic animation sequence, website page, etc.  AND you will earn a certificate that proves you have particiapted and coded something!

Then what?
Share your resulting project with others at another blackboard meeting on 
Friday, Dec. 12th.

What's in it for me?
The VCS student completing the coolest coding project will win a $25 gift card!  (Mrs. Linik will be the judge.)
 
CLICK HERE to learn more or check out some of the tutorials that are available.

"Good Things" - Spotlighting good things happening at VCS


Heidi Kuhn
Few 16-year-olds have the confidence to poke fun at themselves.  For the sake of some children at her church, Heidi decided to play along with a Halloween service project by sporting her "anti-costume."  Though she didn't win our costume contest, we wanted to acknowledge her bravery.  
                      Click here to see her photo.

 

Anonymous Parent (?)
We frequently visit feedback sites to see what parent's are saying about online schools.  Here is a post one of our directors recently found.  We don't know who you are, but we thank you for your kind words and that you noticed some of the changes at VCS this year!
Click here to see it!

ProTeen students:
Through their partnership with Denison University, our ProTeen students helped pack up leftover food items for the Licking County Salvation Army and other area agencies which offer food to the community
Click here to see it! 
 
Gabrielle Wurtsmith
Talk about generations of sucess... Ms. Wurtsmith a 2004 VCS graduate enrolled her daughter Aeris with VCS this year! Aeris, a second grader, was being bullied and it was affecting her school work.  Gabrielle had a similar issue when she was in school so she decided that if online education worked for mom, it could work for daughter too.  We appreciate your trust Ms. Wurtsmith.  We won't let you down. 
Click here to see the Wurtsmith family!

VCS Gratitude Gallery:
Taking a few minutes to stop and reflect on the things for which VCS staff and teachers are thankful.
                  Click here to see our photos! 
     
HAPPY  THANKSGIVING  EVERYONE!

 

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Halloween Costume contest winners announced!


  null
First Place
Jordan Wooden,
Indianna Jones
Second Place
Makenzie Nininger, Mob Wife
Third Place
Kaytlin and Justin Bradley,
Popeye & Olive Oil

 

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Student Spotlight:  Beth Sones                                   

 

VCS senior Beth Sones loves children!  On 

 
 Beth Sones reads to first-graders at Crossroads Christian
 Academy where she volunteers each week.

Fridays, when you might find other VCSers 

watching TV and relaxing, you'll find this eighteen-year-old sitting cross-legged amidst a group of Hispanic children, sharing a favorite story or helping them with a craft project.  That's because Beth chooses to end her school week working with the children of parents attending an ESL (English Second Language) program at Rose Avenue Community Center in Washington Courthouse.  "It's hard to predict how many will come each Friday," Beth recently shared.  "I've had as few as one and as many as twelve."

 

The program, an outreach ministry of World Gospel Missions, provides ideas and supplies to Beth for the children, but it is up to her to coordinate each Friday night program and keep the children, who range in age from 5 to 9, occupied as their parents practice English.  When asked how much her Spanish classes help in communicating with the children, Beth replied," actually a good bit, but many of these children are in school so they are bilingual already."

 

In addition to providing programs for the children of ESL students every Friday night, Beth also offers tutoring and assistance to first and second-graders at Crossroads Christian Academy every Friday afternoon.  CCA is a K-8th grade private Christian school affiliated with her church.  "I'm kind of like a teacher's aide," she explains; "sometimes I'll help with reading, other times it might be math - just whatever the students need help with!"

 

Beth, along with her brother Nathan, a tenth-grader, have been students at VCS for two years.  Beth's Spanish III teacher, Mrs. Gabriela Linik, describes Beth, a straight-A student, as both "brilliant" and "compassionate."  Beth is currently taking advantage of VCS's dual-credit college partnership with Ohio Christian University, where she takes two courses this semester and plans to take another two or three courses next semester.

 

Beth says she plans to pursue a teaching degree after graduation. "I'm currently planning to get my major in middle education (grades 4-9), but that is not yet set in stone. I'm still researching and trying to decide," she confessed.  Certainly these types of volunteer experiences are helping shape Beth's future career goals and develop an early understanding of the needs of a wide variety of children.


Way to go, Beth!  We applaud your dedication to both learning and serving others!
 

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Watch for The VCS Voice to arrive in your e-mail.  If you have any content ideas, send them to Ginger Kehler
 
Go Wolves!