Last Friday, 30 of our middle school students visited the University of Toledo’s College of Engineering for the "Introduce a Middle Schooler to Engineering" event.
This experience was a perfect reflection of our mission to build thinkers and connections:
**Hands-on Learning: Students rotated through three stations, tackling 30-minute engineering challenges that tested their problem-solving skills and creativity.
**Expert Insights: After lunch, the group engaged in a panel discussion to explore the diverse career paths within the world of engineering.
By connecting our students with collegiate partners like UT, we are ensuring they have the experiences they need to plan for their futures!
It’s Opening Night for our spring musical, The Little Mermaid!
Our elementary students enjoyed a special preview performance this week—they had a blast cheering on the cast and can't wait to come back this weekend to see the full show! We are incredibly proud of our students, from the performers on stage to the crew working behind the scenes, for their hard work, dedication, and the many hours they’ve invested to bring this production to life.
Join us this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, for an entertaining weekend of music, storytelling, and live theater.
Show times and purchase tickets: http://bit.ly/VBMusical26
Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door.
Thank you to Whirlpool Corporation for generously donating a new range for Mrs. Hailey Cunningham’s agriculture education classroom. This valuable addition will support hands-on learning experiences for our students, and the donation saved the district $1,500.
We would also like to extend our appreciation to the Deshler American Legion for their $1,000 donation for appliances to our kitchen staff. Their generosity made it possible to purchase a new clothes dryer, which will be used to dry towels and other materials essential to our kitchen operations. The remaining money will be used to purchase a new clothes washer.
Support like this makes a meaningful difference in our schools. Thank you for investing in the success of our students and staff!👏
In episode 110, Alyssa shares how her love of sports led her to become an athletic trainer instead of a physical therapist, how CCP classes affected her college academics and athletics, the wide variety of places where an athletic trainer can work, and much more.
To watch on YouTube, visit bit.ly/JoustAboutCareers. To listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other podcast platforms, search Joust About Careers.
Have a great week!
#BeABlackKnight
Ms. Nicole Schneider, Charities and Service Chair of the Findlay Service League, presented a $1,500 donation to middle school principal Mrs. Jenn Barrett today to help purchase T-shirts that all students will wear during the first round of the Amazing Shake competition on March 27.
“We appreciate this donation as it will allow both the students and judges for the first round of the Amazing Shake to focus on skills rather than appearance,” Barrett said.
Thank you to the Findlay Service League for supporting our students and helping create an environment where professionalism, confidence, and character can shine. 👏
VB Musical Tickets are LIVE!
Dive under the sea with us March 19-22 at our production of The Little Mermaid! 🧜♀️🐠
🎟 Purchase tickets here and pick your seat:
https://onthestage.tickets/show/van-buren-local-schools/6938c9aad9c2ad0d3d32e68b
Thursday, March 19 - 7:00 pm
Friday, March 20 - 7:00 pm
Saturday, March 21 - 7:00 pm
Sunday, March 22 - 2:00 pm
Bring your friends, bring your family, and come celebrate the incredible talent of our students from 5th grade through high school. Let’s pack the house and support the arts at Van Buren!
During their visit, students spent the majority of the day exploring the special exhibition "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away." The exhibit features authentic artifacts from the Auschwitz concentration camp and recorded testimonies from Holocaust survivors.
While the experience was understandably somber, it provided students with a deeper understanding of the realities of the Holocaust. Seeing historical artifacts and hearing the voices of survivors helped bring history to life in a way that cannot be replicated in the classroom.
Experiences like this encourage students to reflect, learn, and remember, ensuring that the lessons of history are never forgotten.
We appreciate Ms. Burden offering this opportunity to students and the students for taking advantage of this unique learning experience.
Fourteen Van Buren students participated in the Ohio History Day regional competition at Bowling Green State University on Saturday, March 7, showcasing their historical research and analytical skills through original papers, exhibits, documentaries, and websites.
Congratulations to Taylor Smith, who advanced to the state competition at Capital University on April 18 with a paper titled “The Battle for a Level Playing Field: How reforms made during World War II contributed to a less patriarchal society after the war.”
We are proud of all of our students who represented Van Buren through their hard work, thoughtful research, and dedication to exploring history! 📚⭐
Middle school English teachers Mrs. Karen Dishong and Mr. Adam Greer received $1,200, and high school Spanish teacher Mrs. Alyssa Leddy received $700 last year from HancockREADS grants to improve student literacy. Here's how those grants are positively impacting our students this year.
Dishong (sixth grade) and Greer (eighth grade) purchased non-fiction reading materials to use with the students during their ELA Growth time, a targeted, data-driven time for students to work on specific standards and skills based on their needs for support, reinforcement, or extension. Their first purchase was a one-year subscription to Scholastic SCOPE, allowing students to access both the paper version and online resources. They also bought class sets of the books My Survival - A Girl on Schindler’s List and Into the Clouds to help their ELA Growth students develop their reading skills.
“This grant helps us develop and push students to maximize their learning through the use of non-fiction materials. We are always looking to give students more opportunities to show mastery of non-fiction because it is a life skill they will utilize throughout the rest of their lives,” Dishong and Greer said.
In the high school, Leddy used the grant to purchase 72 Spanish readers across four levels. While the books are written in Spanish, they cover topics of interest to high school students in fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novel formats. Students have time for a portion of the period on Tuesdays and Thursdays to read the books of their choice for pleasure to gain vocabulary and fluency.
Senior Madison Hedrick-Craun, who is in Spanish IV, said, “Interpreting Spanish words by reading twice a week has not only helped me learn new words but also increased my interest because I am reading about topics which are familiar to me but written in Spanish.”
In addition to the HancockREADS grant, Leddy used $200 from the PTO to purchase shelves and organizational items to display the books.
We appreciate the work Mrs. Dishong, Mr. Greer, and Mrs. Leddy put into applying for this grant to create these learning opportunities for our students!
