SYRACUSE – Wawasee School Board’s meeting was mostly about good news at its monthly session Tuesday night.

Milford School Principal Cindy Kaiser led off with a pair of accomplishments at her school. Students partnered with Polywood of Syracuse, trading 1,200 milk jugs for a new bench inside the school. Tonya Haywood secured a KEYS grant for current event magazines with a lower reading level. The publications are for seventh- and eighth-graders and are in the resource room.

At Syracuse Elementary, the staff has been raising funds for a scholarship in memory of Kim Conrad. Staff members in the corporation, regardless of which building they work in, can wear jeans to work on Thursday in return for a $15 donation. Superintendent Dr. Tom Edington reported many staff members gave more than the requested amount, and more than $600 was raised.



[[In-content Ad]]

North Webster Elementary fourth-graders collected loose change in November and worked with North Webster Community Services to purchase toys for less fortunate families. Along with parents and PTO members, students participated in a wrapping party to prepare the gifts for giving.

In addition, the students read the book “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio and took the time to hear the meaning of “always choose kind.” T-shirts were made and sold and, over the course of the holiday project, raised more than $1,300.

Three North Webster third-graders read to the board e-books they had written for kindergarteners on digital citizenship to meet the state standard for media literacy. Chaz Dahm read his book “Super Rules Of Online Safety,” Sarah Cheng read “Keyboard Courage,” and Cienna Vickery read “Online Safety.” Teacher Shellie Miller said students who wrote books read them to three to four kindergartners each.

Wawasee juniors Luke Griner and Sarah Pritchard went to Leadership Day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Edington said the two spent a day learning how things work at the academy.

A Dekko grant for $1,500 was awarded to Wawasee’s Spanish Club. The money is earmarked for students to go to Chicago and attend the Hispanic Leadership Conference for high school students.

Isaiah Metcalf was recognized by the board for earning the Lilly Endowment scholarship. The North Webster native was asked to briefly tell the third-graders from his former school about the things he did to win the scholarship. He cited hard work, extracurricular activities and community involvement as ways to earn college scholarships.

North Webster Principal Lee Snider gave a short report regarding the school’s improvement plan. Snider said they will use reading, math and technology as well as instructional coaches in reading and math.

On the business side of the meeting, the board pre-approved expenses for athletes or teams in semistate or state competitions.

An art class and art club field trip to the Oriental Institute in Chicago was approved. There will be two trips, with half the students going at a time.

Edington said school nurses were especially busy in January with more than 2,000 student visits for influenza or strep throat.

The 2018-19 school year calendar was approved. It had been delayed while waiting on the state legislature that would have changed the way the school year was planned out. With e-learning available, there are fewer snow make-up days built in to the schedule, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Presidents Day are now days off.

The first day of school will be Aug. 18. Winter break will run from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4, with the last day of school set for May 30, 2019.

The board will next meet at 7 p.m. March 13.