CPCSC Elementary X-Country!
https://cpxcchampionships2024.itemorder.com/shop/home/
"Be sure to order your shirt by Wednesday, September 11, if you plan to run in the meet. Purchasing the shirt is the registration for the meet."
In Mrs. Lindsay Hackett's classroom, during her table-top Play-Doh activity, students used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices to communicate with peers and practice vocabulary. This is an authentic and inclusive experience for our youngest learners who are learning language skills. This would not be possible without the support and training from CPELC's Speech and Language Pathologist, Erika Sasher.
Some vocabulary we targeted included colors, shapes, core words, and verbs! (Roll, make, cut, play, etc.) What a fun morning it was!
To encourage a love for reading, Ray Crowe Elementary unveiled its new book vending machine this week. All students at RCES can earn a token and “buy” a book from the vending machine each school year. Tokens are earned by reaching academic achievements or growth as determined by classroom teachers. This can be achieved through completing homework, increasing reading levels, meeting writing goals, and demonstrating perseverance with hard work, among other things. The RCES PTO purchased the vending machine using fundraiser money.
Published, Published, Published!!!
Makenzie Anness, a 7th grade student at Clark-Pleasant Middle School, has already published three poetry books. Her first book, "Text Me Back", was published in 2023, followed by "Why I Moved On", and most recently, "Guilty". Makenzie has made a few hundred bucks from sales on Amazon, but she says that earning money is not her primary goal at this point in her career as an author.
She attributes her success to her writing teacher, Stacy Walton, at Clark Elementary, who has been a great inspiration. Walton says, "I am blown away by this girl's talent and I want to nurture her love for writing and her passion for publishing books for as long as I can."
To learn more about Makenzie's passion for writing poetry, tune in to this Friday's Warrior Wrap Up!
Cassandra McQueen: Teaching, with an Artistic Flair!!
Cassandra McQueen graduated from Marian Catholic High School. and attended Purdue University getting a bachelor's degree in art education. She’s been an elementary art teacher for the past 14 years and joined Pleasant Crossing Elementary in April 2022. She and her husband, Marcus have four boys. The oldest attends middle school, a 2nd grader and a Kindergartener are at PCES with mom, and the youngest is a future Warrior on the way.
She says this profession almost didn’t happen for her. “My 7th grade art teacher was also my swim coach’s wife. I had skipped a swim practice to work on my art project, this little pillow. I was so proud of it, brought it in the next day and my teacher asked why I wasn’t at practice. When I showed her the pillow, she looked at it and then looked at me and said, ‘You’re not good at art. You’re good at swimming. Stick to that.’ I therefore didn’t take another art class until my senior year. However, I had a life-changing teacher, Mrs. Gunty, who realized that maybe I wasn’t too bad at art. I keep this pillow around as a reminder of how powerful my words can be to a child and the impact they can have good and bad.
She says her biggest challenge is time or lack thereof. Since she teaches 600 students in grades K-5, she only gets 40 minutes of class time each week with each child. Therefore she’s getting involved in the Robotics Club to help build stronger relationships with the kids. “It’s hard to get to know the kids with so little time, I feel like I’m kind of the fun aunt around here.”
Her biggest joy in teaching is experiencing long-term growth. “I love seeing my students grow up. It’s fun to watch them pick a college, post prom pics, get married, and pick careers.” A couple of her students have gone on to teach and several have come back to shadow as they venture into art education themselves. “Being told you made a difference, especially years down the road, means a lot. It makes the daily grind worth it.”
Mrs. McQueen says the PCES family is amazing. “The staff blew me away last year with their involvement in our art show. So many people showed up to help prepare for the show and helped out the night of the show. Everyone here from the office staff to every educator cares, they’re kind, and they are so supportive. It’s a wonderful group of people to work with. I’m so grateful”.
So what has Mrs. McQueen done that some people might not know? She’s lived in 5 states. She’s lived on a volcano and she says thanks to her father she got to co-pilot a Blimp
Congratulations to Mrs. McQueen for being our CPCSC Staff Spotlight.
Always a Teacher!
Students in Callahan Walts Earth Space Science class at WCHS were pleasantly surprised by their substitute on Tuesday. It turned out to be Dr. Edsell, the superintendent a former high school math teacher. He seemed very comfortable in his role as a substitute.
An impressive day at the Mt. Vernon Invitational for Whiteland XC! Both teams finish third overall and there were five individual top 10 performances!
Road Trip Warriors!
The Warriors are headed North for a "HOT" one in Kokomo tonight.
GO WARRIORS
#BreakTheRock
Taking this show on the road! Whiteland heads to Kokomo for Week 2! It's GAMEDAY! #BreakTheRock
WCHS August Construction Update!
Check out the latest photos from our construction site.
On behalf of Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Adams, and the Spanish Honor Society Executive Board, we are pleased to share with you our newest Spanish Honor Society Inductees. We had 35 new members join us this year and they came with a 3.767 GPA average. We are very excited to see their growth and impact! Please congratulate them when you see them!!!
They are;
Lily Bedel
Giovanna Calderon
Brayden Cantrell
Yazmyn Castillo
Conner Deegan
Lauren Dimock
Maria Fajardo
Brianna Humphress
Gianna Jackson
Jasmine Kaur
Mohanpreet Kaur
Sahib Kaur
Micael Labranche Marin
Gurneet Mahal
Kaydence Majors
Kaitlyn Marchio
Adam McKimmy
Brianna Morales
Angel Nuno
Marie Owens
Luis Parra
Seth Patterson
Kamila Pedraza
Amitoj Randhawa
Sukhman Randhawa
Cathleen Riley
Grady Rouse
Marley Slavens
Kiley Sullivan
William Watson
Emerson Wendling
Cadence Wiggam
Marin Wigginton
Rhys Williams
Abby Zahm
E-Learning Day for Students = Professional Learning Day for Educators!
Wednesday, August 28th is an Asynchronous E-Learning Day.
Students Will:
-work independently at their own pace on assigned work.
-access work through Google Classroom.
-communicate with teachers through email or Google Classroom at designated times during the day.
-Attendance and work completion count.
Tech assistance on E-Learning days: 317-535-3446
CPCSC STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Eric & Desirae Bockelman: Teaching, A Family Affair!
Eric and Desirae Bockelman have known each other since they were freshmen at Southport High School. They’ve been together for 19 years. Both have been teaching for 14 years, coincidentally the same number of years they've been married. For Eric and Desirae, teaching is truly a family affair. Their son Charlie, a 3rd grader at Break-O-Day Elementary where they teach, gets to ride to work early with mom and dad. Their older son Bennett attends CPMS.
Eric is a 5th-grade math teacher and Desirae is a 3rd-grade writing specialist. Their paths to the teaching profession were different. Desirae followed a more traditional route, studying education at IU. Something you may not know is that Mrs. Bockelman did about half of her student teaching in Ennis, Ireland, and the other half at Break-O-Day under Ms. Parry. Mr. Bockelman initially pursued a communications degree at IU and transitioned to teaching after getting hooked on it while working as a substitute. One thing you might not know about Eric is that after graduating college he and his brothers won a contest through the nonprofit, Roadtrip Nation. He spent 2 weeks traveling through New Zealand seeing the country and interviewing people with unique careers and pathways toward their careers. He says that experience was a huge part of he went back to school to get his teaching license.
The Bockelmans view teaching as more than just a job; they see it as a calling to be a resource for kids and to be problem solvers. They believe that the biggest challenge is meeting the specific needs of each student but find support in the close collaborative family environment among educators at Break-O-Day. Knowing that students can check in with other teachers and administrators at critical times provides reassurance for these educators. To see all the high fives and hugs they get as students enter their classrooms it’s obvious that they’re making a difference.
Congratulations to The Bockelmans for being our first CPCSC Staff Spotlight selection of the new school year.
It's a WIN for the WARRIORS!
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IT'S GAMEDAY!!!
FREE Youth Mental Health First Aid training session, made possible by the Project AWARE grant. THIS COURSE IS CURRENTLY FULL HOWEVER WE WILL PULL OFF THE WAITLIST AS SPACE BECOMES AVAILABLE! Access Waiting List: https://bit.ly/3XpLxS9
Grassy Creek Literacy Night!
Thank you GCES families for supporting Literacy night.
Appeals On Wheels!
The Indiana Court of Appeals held oral arguments for the case of Jordan v. State at the WCHS Auditorium on Wednesday. A three-judge panel presided over the case in front of approximately 170 Whiteland and Brown County seniors. State Representative Michelle Davis, along with Dr. Edsell, Dr. Shipp, and local judges, also attended the event. Social Studies Teacher Kaitlin Holton organized the session to provide students with a firsthand understanding of the judicial process.
The Honorable Leanna Weissmann, Peter Foley, and Paul Felix presided over the case. The Appeals Court, which is the second highest court in Indiana, reviews appeals from the state's trial courts and certain state agencies. However, it does not preside over trials and cannot review death penalty and life without parole cases, as these are appealed directly to the Indiana Supreme Court. Students had lots of questions for the judges during a Q and A session which followed.
