Our agriculture education students recently gained valuable real-world experience making apple butter to support the Van Buren Lions Club ahead of this weekend’s Apple Butter Festival!
From picking fresh apples at Haslinger Orchards to slicing and cooking them to make applesauce before boiling the sauce down in copper kettles over an open flame, our students played a key role in every step of the process.
We appreciate our dedicated students and ag teachers, Mrs. Hailey Cunningham and Mrs. Kyla Miller, for putting learning into action and demonstrating what it means to be responsible, community-minded Black Knights. 🧡🖤
🚌 Spotlighting Safety on the Bus! 🚌
All of our bus-riding students recently participated in morning fire and safety drills upon their arrival at school.
The goal of these drills was to help students identify and remember every exit route available on a bus so they are prepared to act in an emergency situation. Drivers also reviewed the rules for loading and unloading and the hand signals they use to help students stay safe.
Since riding the bus is a brand-new experience for our kindergarteners, they received extended instruction about the rules and hand signals.
We want to thank our incredible bus drivers for everything they do to keep our students safe every day! 🧡🖤
Students have been brainstorming possible topics related to this year's OHD theme, "Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change," and today’s visit exposed them to potential topics tied to our local history.
Students’ next steps include crafting working thesis statements, using primary and secondary sources to find evidence to support their theses, analyzing evidence and integrating it into their projects, writing a process paper, completing an annotated bibliography, and creating a final project that will be a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website.
Thank you to the Hancock Historical Museum for opening its doors, sharing our local history, and supporting our students' learning today! 🤝✨
On Friday, October 2, our eighth graders took an exciting step toward exploring their future paths at Owens Community College for the Raise the Bar-Hancock County Career Connections event!
Before the event, our students reviewed their YouScience assessment results to pinpoint the specific career clusters aligned with their personal aptitudes and interests. This allowed them to purposefully connect with local businesses and organizations in fields they are naturally drawn to while still keeping an open mind to explore potential opportunities outside their results.🔍
Throughout the event, students jumped into interactive, hands-on activities that allowed them to test out real-world career tasks firsthand.
Thank you to Raise the Bar-Hancock County, Owens Community College, and all the participating organizations for partnering with us to help our students learn, connect, and grow into responsible, future-ready leaders! 🖤🧡
From start to finish, students in all three buildings brought incredible energy to the spirit days all week long!
On Tuesday, the seniors rolled to a win over the juniors in the annual powderpuff football game.
Friday’s homecoming pep rally took the excitement to the next level. The Rock, Paper, Scissors Showdown matched high school students and teachers throughout the day, culminating in an epic championship match between two seniors at the pep rally. Congratulations to Evan Hutton for winning the competition!
The homecoming court was also introduced at the pep rally, and they brought top-tier entertainment to the event as they made grand entrances dressed as characters from Rocky to Frozen to superheroes.
Thank you to our students, staff, and school community for helping us have a great homecoming week. Have a fantastic and safe homecoming weekend! 🖤🧡
Five of our high school students participated in the SheDig Ohio event at the Ohio Operating Engineers Apprenticeship and Training Center in Cygnet on October 1.
During the event, students explored career pathways in the skilled trades, gained insight into apprenticeship opportunities, and experienced operating heavy equipment, including cranes, forklifts, backhoes, and more.
We appreciate our students taking advantage of opportunities to experience future career options so they can make informed decisions about their post-high school lives. We are committed to building experiences and building connections that help our students discover their passions and develop into respectful, responsible, and resilient future leaders. 🖤🧡
Learn more about this outstanding achievement at https://www.vbschools.net/article/3164920.
Our CCP Spanish III students have been practicing how to talk about the past, and today they put their language skills into practice with a classic childhood activity - show-and-tell.
Students brought in childhood treasures, including Legos, special stuffed animals, and Shopkins, and shared stories and favorite memories entirely in Spanish. It was a fun, interactive trip down memory lane that allowed them to refine their language skills while building strong connections in Mrs. Leddy’s classroom.
A message from our school district's CFO/Treasurer Mrs. Cathy Schuller that appeared in The Knights' Ledger portion of the September 2026 Knights in the Know:
Our school district is excited to now offer breakfast to all of our students in the elementary, middle, and high schools for $2.00. Providing convenient access to a nutritious, balanced morning meal ensures our students arrive in their classrooms focused, energized, and prepared to achieve academic excellence.
We also want to encourage families eligible for free and reduced-cost meals to participate in the USDA's National School Lunch and Breakfast Program (NSLP). This federal program is meant to be used, and we want to assure you that having families participate in it does not negatively impact the finances of our district. On the contrary, student participation directly strengthens our school community. When one of our students in the NSLP receives a free/reduced breakfast or lunch, our school district is reimbursed, bringing essential funds back to our food service department while ensuring every child receives proper nutrition. Students receiving a free/reduced lunch can also receive a free/reduced breakfast on the same day throughout the entire school year. We want to encourage students in the program to eat a breakfast and lunch daily.
Increased participation in the pilot breakfast program assists the food service department in maintaining a balanced budget. We want to serve students and their families by contributing to the development of our students' physical, emotional, social, and intellectual well-being, and the NSLP is just one tool helping us achieve that goal.
Applications for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program are completely confidential and may be submitted at any time of the school year if a family’s financial situation changes due to job loss, medical expenses, changes in household size, or any other qualifying circumstance. Student confidentiality is maintained by having NSLP students use the exact same PIN system as paying students, so no one knows who is or isn’t part of the program.
Families can apply for NSLP at PaySchoolsCentral.com. Anyone needing assistance with the application for any reason, including identifying a student’s ID number, can contact Mrs. Chelsea Griffith, food service supervisor, at cgriffith@vbschools.net or 419-299-3578 x240.
Click to learn more about our breakfast program.
Click to access breakfast and lunch menus.
Homecoming week has finally arrived, and we are excited to celebrate our school spirit, traditions, and students all week long.
Congratulations to the 2026 Homecoming Court, which includes Kayla Bowman, Jordan Patton, Ellie Scoles, Brooklyn Wilkin, Lilli Wilson, Brayden Howard, Trace Kisseberth, Talan Konwiczka, Zane Marquette, and Jake Schroeder! 👑
Mark your calendars to come out to support our students at this week's homecoming events:
🏈 Powderpuff Game: Tuesday at 7:00 P.M.
👑 Coronation Ceremony: Friday at 6:00 P.M.
🏈 Homecoming Football Game Kickoff: Friday at 7:00 P.M.
Bring your school spirit, cheer loudly, and let’s make some great memories together! 🖤🧡
Students from every grade level loved showing off our school and jumping into fun games alongside their guests. Watching all ages play, connect, and enjoy quality time together in our school was one of the highlights of our week.
With building connections as a cornerstone of our district mission, today’s event was a reminder of how strong our Black Knight community is when generations come together.
Thank you to the grandparents and VIPs who spent a portion of their day with us and made unforgettable memories with our students. We appreciate you!
Van Buren has been a CORAS member since the 2024-2025 school year, and there are more than 150 districts across 46 Ohio counties participating in the coalition.
Superintendent Dr. Jason Inkrott is one of the coalition’s six board members led by Executive Director Dr. Richard Murray.
In addition to superintendents from around Northwest Ohio, other participants in the meeting included former Ohio Senator Mr. Randy Gardner, President of the State Board of Education Mr. Paul LaRue, and Ohio State Superintendent of Public Education Dr. Philip Wagner.
We are proud that our district is playing a role in advocating for our students and those around the state!
