Van Buren Local Schools

Congrats to Mrs. Parsell's class for their Positive Behavior Referral! #BeABlackKnight

Happy Last Day of School! #BeABlackKnight

Students in the high school health classes spent their exam period yesterday earning their CPR certification. This is a valuable certification for any citizen to have, and many students use it in their summer jobs. Health teacher Mrs. Bethany Archer led the training using manikins from Owens Community College and Van Buren High School, allowing students to have a realistic experience giving chest compressions and breaths for both adults and infants. Using lights on the manikins, students could tell if they were giving the compressions at the proper speed and depth so they will be ready if they ever have to apply their training.

Today was an informative day for the fifth graders as they participated in the Building a Bridge to Middle School event. After meeting with middle school principal Mrs. Jennifer Barrett and middle school counselor Mrs. Allison Limes in the auditorium, they ate lunch in the HS/MS cafeteria. A panel discussion with sixth and eighth grade students followed lunch so the fifth graders could ask them questions about teachers, classes, and what they can expect next year. Finally, they visited all of the sixth grade classrooms to participate in activities and figured out how to use the stars in the hallways to guide them to the fine arts wing. It was a great experience for everyone and evidence that the fifth graders' move to the middle school will be happening soon!

Van Buren High School is extremely proud to announce that ten seniors and two juniors have earned the prestigious Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and English! Through rigorous assessments in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, these students have demonstrated high proficiency in the Spanish language. The students earning the seal are Tori Schroeder, Bel Oliveira, Duda Oliveira, Aliah Van Scyoc, Tanner Bahn, Lucas Harrington, Nigel Woodall, Diego Rivera, George Thomas, and David Cavera (not pictured: Lily Grady & Anakin Ortega)! Bel and Duda also earned the Seal of Biliteracy in Portuguese! The graph represents our Spanish IV students' 2025 scores in comparison to the national average after four years of language learning. Congratulations to everyone for this amazing achievement!

The seventh graders participated in OSU Extension's Real Money, Real World simulation last week to get their first taste of some of the topics they will face in the future: budgeting, insurance, and more. After four days of lessons in class, the simulation provided an opportunity to apply what they had learned and hopefully make it to the finish line with money to spare. We appreciate OSU Extension and volunteers from Hancock Federal Credit Union, State Bank, Habitat for Humanity Financial Opportunities Center, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague's office, and Hancock County 4-H for making this experience available to our students.

Elementary Field Day 2025!

Elementary Field Day 2025!

Congratulations to the high school art students and art teacher Mr. Derek Frey for the outstanding artwork displayed in the 2025 Van Buren Juried Art Show which wrapped up earlier this week. Tanner Bahn earned the Best of Show trophy for his work titled "Albert the Alligator," while Ginny Lewandowski was awarded Best of Ceramics for her work titled "Vincent." Travis Carey earned the Best of Drawing award for his work titled "The Glorious Bald Eagle." Bahn also earned the Best of Varied and Mixed Media, Best of Painting, Rockstar Award, and People's Choice Award, and Carey was awarded Rookie of the Year. We appreciate the work these students put in to develop their artistic skills and the guidance Mr. Frey provided to them!

The FFA held its annual Farmyard Fun Day on Tuesday, May 20, exposing students to the wonderful world of agriculture. Whether it was interacting with animals, planting vegetables, or using water-soaked newspaper to create wildflower seed packs, it was a great learning experience.

Big congrats to our ESL graduates! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats to Calvin for his Positive Behavior Referral! #BeABlackKnight

VB & LB raised over 7K for LLS this year for the Bring the Change event! Thanks to all who contributed! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats and thanks to Principal Gunder for helping Mr. Newcomer today! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats and thanks to Principal Gunder for helping Mr. Newcomer today! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats to our May Knights of the Round Table! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats to Sammy for her Positive Behavior Referral! #BeABlackKnight

Students can check out this week's Volunteer Opportunities of the Week to get involved and work toward the Community Service seal!

During their May meeting, the Van Buren Local School District Board of Education recognized two local businesses, Bowman Electric and Aqua Lawn Irrigation, for their strong support of Van Buren Local Schools. The companies were honored as part of the Ohio School Boards Association’s (OSBA) 2025 Business Honor Roll program. The program gives school districts a way to thank local businesses and recognize them for their valuable contributions to schools. OSBA provides personalized certificates and other resources to help school districts with their recognition activities. Board member Michael Leifheit presented the awards to Chris Bowman of Bowman Electric and Ken Willey of Aqua Lawn Irrigation. Van Buren Local School District and its board members, administrators, staff, and students would like to express their sincere appreciation for all these businesses do for our district.

This week's Joust About Careers episode features the 10-minute highlights of the interview with 2011 Van Buren graduate Hannah Shank, a Transport Operations Supervisor at Marathon Petroleum Corporation. The highlights focus on a typical day for Hannah, how women are breaking barriers in the transportation field, how valuable career skills can be developed in high school, and much more. The highlights and full interviews are available on YouTube at bit.ly/JoustAboutCareers, or full interviews can be found on various podcast platforms by searching Joust About Careers. This is also the last episode of the 2024-2025 school year, so look for new episodes in September. Have a great week!