Van Buren Local Schools

Students in Señora Leddy's Spanish II classes acted as meteorologists and shared information about the climate and weekly forecast for various cities in Spanish-speaking countries. #BeABlackKnight

Thanks to Keith Krantz for coming in today to talk about his welding, pipefitting, and plumbing career that started with an apprenticeship at the Piping Industry Training Center of Northwest Ohio. Mr. Krantz is now the lead supervisor and planner for winterization projects at the BP Refinery near Toledo. Over 80 students were able to hear his story today as he spoke to all of the English 10 classes and juniors and seniors interested in learning about his career. This is one of many careers available to our students who will be graduating in the near future (apprentice pay starts at $25/hr.), so if you know of anyone interested in learning more, please have them connect with VB career advisor Brian Bratt (bbratt@vbschools.net or bit.ly/VBCareerAdvising).

Congrats to our Respectful, Responsible, & Resilient Black Knights! #BeABlackKnight

Congrats to Cohen and Mrs. O'Toole's class for their Positive Behavior Referrals! #BeABlackKnight

Mrs. Heitkamp's science classes had the opportunity to work with electrical circuits this week! #BeABlackKnight

We would like to welcome our new additional Agriculture teacher back to the VB family, Hailey Cunningham! She is a former student of Van Buren and has taught in the surrounding area for 4 years. Now, she is back and ready to keep Van Buren’s Agriculture classes growing! #VB1Team

Yesterday, middle school students participated in the Mr. Yunker Day of Service by raking leaves in the Van Buren community. Thanks to Mr. Greer and his fellow teachers for organizing this project! #BeABlackKnight

This weekend at the volleyball state semi-final, Coach Mark Bunn received the 2022 Jim Muth Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Award. We're proud of Coach Bunn and thankful for all he does for Van Buren Schools! #BeABlackKnight #2022Volleyball

Congrats to our Respectful, Responsible, and Resilient Black Knights! #BeABlackKnight

Last Friday was the first day of Buddy Reading this year! High school students started their day by reading with elementary students. The program was introduced last year, and it created many lasting memories for HS and elementary students! #BeABlackKnight

The latest episode of the Joust About Careers podcast features a conversation with Ryan Brauneller, a 2013 Van Buren High School graduate who is now the Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager for ICU Medical. Ryan shares about what an EHS manager does, how he changed career paths halfway through college, the personal characteristics which make EHS managers successful, how a former coach helped him on his career path, and much more. Anyone interested in an environmental, health, or safety career will find information related to getting started down those paths in this episode, so feel free to share it. To watch on YouTube, visit bit.ly/JoustAboutCareers. To listen on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other platforms, simply search "Joust About Careers" to find the podcast and listen to this episode and others. Have a great week!

Another good day for the Senior Class Trip. Wendella boat cruise, Navy Pier, Gangster tour, Chicago style pizza, and the Hancock 360 observatory. #vbchi23 #BeABlackKnight

Day 1 of Senior Class Trip - Travel, Shedd Aquarium, Hard Rock Cafe, and Blue Man Group. Off to a great start! #VBchi23 #BeABlackKnight

For this weeks Throwback Thursday, look at this Preschool farm trip from 2012! #TBThursday #BeABlackKnight #Goats

Congrats to our Respectful, Responsible, & Resilient Black Knights! #BeABlackKnight

Van Buren Middle School will be observing Veterans Day with a special event tomorrow afternoon. Thank you to all who have served or are serving! #BeABlackKnight

Last Friday, middle school students and staff celebrated the end of our middle school fundraiser with whipped cream pies! We were able to raise roughly $2,500, which will benefit middle school clubs and future events. Students were randomly selected to pie their teachers as a reward for choosing to participate in the fundraiser. #BeABlackKnight

My name is Stephanie Carr and I am so happy to join the VB team this school year! I graduated from the University of Findlay in 2022 with a dual degree in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. I am originally from Avon Lake, Ohio (a small town outside of Cleveland.) Aside from teaching, I love watching football, working out, reading and playing sand volleyball. So far it has been a great school year and I have absolutely loved teaching fifth grade!

November 8 was a busy, career-focused day at Van Buren! The youngest participants, the sophomores, were out of the building participating in a shadow day. Thank you to all of the businesses, organizations, and individuals who hosted students to give them insights into potential future careers. The juniors took a practice ACT test in the morning to prepare for the real test in the spring, and in the afternoon VB graduate Alexis Kelley spoke to them about how she has utilized LinkedIn both personally and professionally to advance her career. Students then had the opportunity to create LinkedIn profiles to start creating a professional social media presence as they continue preparing for their post-high school lives. Finally, the seniors had three career-focused options: go on a college visit, shadow someone in a career of interest, or visit three local businesses to learn about potential employment opportunities after high school. Thank you to Adrea Spoon of Bowling Green State University for hosting a large contingent of seniors and to Kendra Lortz-Lenz of Rowmark, LLC, Kristina Van Buskirk of Werk-Brau, and Michelle Obenour of Whirlpool Corporation for giving students tours of their facilities today.

Congrats to Greysen & Lilybeth for their Positive Behavior Referrals! #BeABlackKnight