WRV Board of School Trustees honors students with special recognition

WRV juniors and BPA winners Jonathan Clevenger and Brandon Wood.

submitted photo

The White River Valley School Board met in regular session April 18 and the evening’s agenda included the recognition of some special WRV students.

WRV juniors Jonathan Clevenger and Brandon Wood recently competed in the Business Professionals of America state competition held in Indianapolis. Clevenger placed third in the ‘Network Administration Using Microsoft’ event and Wood placed sixth in the ‘Fundamentals of Spreadsheet’ event. Both students will represent the state of Indiana in their respective competitions at nationals in Dallas, Texas, May 9-13.

The cost to attend nationals in Texas will be approximately $1,000 per student. Any person or business wishing to make a donation may contact Chapter Advisers Ruan Fougerousse or Lisa Mihlfeld at the White River Valley School 659-2274.

Next, the Board gave recognition to White River Valley Middle School students Shawnee Easterwood, Stormie Kilgore, Jarin Shake and Patricia Solliday, who took part in the 2018 Team Crane Science Fair held at WestGate on March 21, with WRV Middle School seventh/eighth-grade science teacher Amy Coons.

Easterwood and Kilgore placed second in the Chemistry Junior Division with their project, in which they examined the effects of different drinks on human teeth. Shake and Solliday brought home a first-place win in the Biology Junior Division with their project, which analyzed the relative cleanliness of shopping carts. The pair took samples from several local shopping centers, transferred the bacteria into sterile Petri dishes and analyzed the results.

The Board also showed their appreciation to WRV’s Student Leadership Group, made up of 17 WRV students. Sophomore class vice-president Ian Staggs presented the board members with bracelets reading “No more silence, end school violence” and told the board of an event planned for April 24 which would bring students of WRV, Eastern Greene and Bloomfield schools together in a rally designed to raise awareness of and provide solutions for school violence and bullying.

By Patti Danner WRV sophomore and Student Leader Ian Staggs

Board members and guests then listened to a live demonstration from Kathleen Chelminiak of the Indiana Rural Schools Health Network, who explained and demonstrated a new program coming to WRV Elementary this October.

Called ‘TeleClinic’, the program will provide a new level of healthcare at WRV Elementary, which will join 60 schools nationwide when they implement the program.

Using software called ‘Agnes Interactive,’ school nursing staff will be able to communicate in real time with a health care provider at Greene County General Hospital. The software and related hardware will allow the healthcare provider to record vitals, examine ears, noses and throats, examine skin rashes and take temperatures, among many other features. The software includes a chat feature for clinicians and school staff communication and the medical staff can zoom and move the camera as they need in order to conduct their examination.

“Parents won’t have to miss work to take their child to see a doctor, and the child can stay in school,” explained Chelminiak.

GCGH CEO Brenda Reetz said the session with the clinician would be billed to the proper insurance provider and that resources would be available for children with no coverage. The optional program will require parental approval to be used, and the system is intended for use with common school-age illnesses rather than wellness checks.

No patient information is stored on the system, but the information can be sent to the child’s primary care physician if the parent would prefer to follow up with a doctor’s visit. The program is offered at no cost to the school system.

The Board approved implementation of the program, and WRV Schools Superintendent Bob Hacker said the district may consider implementation in all three WRV schools.

The board next discussed a new video surveillance system to be installed at White River Valley Middle School. The new system will allow remote viewing of all hallways and rooms at the location as well as parking areas and the gymnasium and will allow school SRO’s to more effectively monitor activity.

In other business, the Board approved several resignations and hiring recommendations, which are listed below:

Resignations

• HS art teacher Daniel Zapata

• ES head cook Karen Firestone

Hiring recommendations

• Linda Cornelius as HS cheerleading coach

• Michelle Ellett and Taylor Blanton as HS Asst. cheerleading coaches

• Kathy Campbell as HS Freshmen volleyball coach

• Payton Franklin as HS volunteer varsity asst. volleyball coach

• Joel Baker as HS volunteer varsity cross-country coach

• Jason Chestnut as HS girls’ golf coach

• Jerry Wilson as HS volunteer asst. soccer coach

• Jessica Pemberton as HS art teacher

• Travis Hutchens for summer school APEX/credit

• Sam Zuckschwerdt for HS SAE agricultural summer program

• Tim Baker for HS English lab summer school

• Amy Wadhwan for MS English lab summer school

• Jana Benham for MS mathematics lab summer school

• Grace Cross as ES summer school reading and math teacher

• Tracee Dixon and Samantha Mason as HS summer school PE teachers

The next meeting of the White River Valley Board of School Trustees will be on Thursday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in room 110 at WRV.