Spring Edition 2018

TWIN VALLEY COMMUNITY LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWSLETTER

SUPERINTENDENT’S CORNER – Mr. Robert Fischer

While spring is the season of renewal and new beginnings, in education spring is a time of conclusion

and closure. In the beginning, an academic year is frequently perceived as a daunting long-term endeavor,

yet as we move into March and April, we usually wonder where the time has gone. Our seniors who are

so excited to begin their next phase of their life will soon reflect on how extraordinarily fast their high

school experience passed. No matter how exhausted the instructional staff and students become by the

end of an overwhelming semester, there is still that prevailing question of how the year vanished so

quickly. Ultimately, for everyone in education, spring becomes a time of urgency as well as completion.

As we move towards the summer and look at the future, the Twin Valley Community Local Board of

Education and Administration is working on our next steps to continue to make the community proud of

their school. After completion of the roof project in January, the district moved on to our next project that will protect and upgrade

our building. At the February 26, 2018 Board of Education Meeting, the district passed a resolution to pursue an energy savings

and safety project with Energy Optimizers USA. The project would allow for the following changes; replacement of ALL Interior

and exterior lights with LED lighting, replacement of ALL exterior windows and doors, replacement of our stadium lights and

poles at Vaughn Field and replacement of our current hot water boiler. This project would also allow the District to upgrade

several other components of our electrical system throughout the district as well as the opportunity to continue to improve district

safety options for each classroom and the district as a whole. Such options would include; safety mechanisms for each classroom,

some form of protective glass leading into the main offices as well as each classroom door and potential communication options

in the event a safety event took place. If TVS pursues this opportunity, it WOULD NOT require the school district to ask the

community for ANY new monies to pay for the $1.8 million project. The funding of the project would come strictly from the

savings earned by making the afore mentioned energy changes.

During the 2017-2018 school year, Twin Valley South Staff focused on Trauma Informed

Care and learning more about what we can do to ensure that our students feel like an active part

of the educational process. While this is never a finished product, we continue to make strides

and I’ve been pleased with the development and the atmosphere change that is taking place in

the hallways of TVS. I look forward to continuing our work in 2018-2019 and hope that all look

at Twin Valley South as a place where students come first!

As a reminder, if you have not yet taken time to connect to any of our communication

avenues, please do not delay. School information can be found on OneCall texts, Twitter,

Facebook, the TVS Website and my weekly update. I have made it a goal to make sure ALL

are aware of what is happening within the classroom and the district.

TREASURER’S CORNER – Mrs. Tearalee Riddlebarger

As the district’s treasurer, I would

like to thank the community for their

continued support of the district,

students, and staff. We all appreciate

everyone understanding the needs of

the district. On November 6th the TVS

Community will be voting to renew an

EXISTING .75 Income Tax Levy

previously approved in November of

2013. When passed, this levy will raise approximately

$806,000.00 ANNUALLY for the School District's current

operating expenses. School operating expenses include

classroom instructional materials, salaries and general day to

day bills of the district. It is a renewal which means no new

taxes. Please remember to vote November 6th!

Additionally, I wrote about the Current Agricultural Use

Values (CAUV) in the last few newsletters but I want to

address the issue again as the community has now witnessed

the effect on their property tax bills. The state of Ohio passed

legislation that reduced CAUV in the spring of 2017. Due

to this change, tax bills for those citizens who do not have

agricultural land may have shown an increase. The district

wants to make taxpayers aware that any increase was not

due to the addition of new levies, taxes or bonds. This

increase is the result of needing to meet the generated amount

previously voted by the community. Our goal is to make sure

we keep our citizens informed and want to be as forthcoming

as possible. If at any point you have ANY questions, please

feel free to reach out to either the county auditor’s office or the

TVS district office.

TECHNOLOGY CORNER – Mr. Derrick Myers

Twin Valley is getting closer and closer to a 1:1 ratio for students to computers. We currently use 943

district owned staff and student devices. We provide Wi-Fi for hundreds of visitor, student, or staff owned

devices. We have a robust network of 60 wireless access points throughout the campus. As always safety

is also a top priority. Large monitors are currently being installed in each office to publicly display live

cameras. Grant funding recently provided TVs for public and student communication, staff meetings, and

sporting events in the HS Commons. We are always looking for inventive ways to use technology. Mrs.

Weldy is currently working with students to create stop motion clay animation. They use an app on

Chromebooks that records individual photos as students move their clay characters. They can then add

voiceover to make them talk. These photos are saved as video and can be shared later. Students are having

fun being engaged using the arts and technology to produce movies!

TRANSPORTATION & MAINTENANCE - Mr. Jeff Tully

It’s hard to believe the 2017-2018

school year is almost over! The

maintenance department has kept busy

with repairs and additional

improvements to the facility and

grounds. Here is a small list of our

accomplishments and upgrading

activities.

Recently completed projects include:

• Painted Media Center walls over Christmas break

• Replaced loose floor tiles

• Painted stripes in Elementary Halls

• Assisted two FFA students, Nathan Espey and Austin

Baker with a project; painted blue and yellow stripes

and end walls in the Vo-Ag Hall

• Added and replaced signage in the parking lot

Future projects include:

• Replacing the library carpet and additional painting

• Adding FFA emblems/FFA history to the Vo-Ag Hall

• Improving visibility and security in the playground

• Painting exterior areas of the building

The variety of color and stripes in the building will help bring

in the school’s history and add an additional security measure

by making it easier to identify areas of the school.

Mr. Snyder has been busy preparing the bus fleet for the

Highway Patrol Inspection this spring. The fleet is inspected

each year to ensure they are safe for our students. All buses

have been serviced with a few receiving new tires and brakes.

Thank you to my hard working staff for cleaning and

maintaining the building and for safely delivering the students

to and from school each day this year.

PUPIL SERVICES - Mr. Daniel Lewis

Twin Valley South is constantly looking for new ways to better serve our students. A recent trend in

servicing students is a framework known as Trauma Informed Care. This framework recognizes that

students can experience traumatic events from a broad range of sources. Their ability to process traumatic

events is in turn impacted by a number of resiliency factors. Each child will process events differently.

Traumatic events can lead to issues in a school setting including minimal academic progress, an inability

to focus and social/behavioral concerns.

Our staff had the chance to work with Dr. Tim Callahan from the Greene County ESC during

professional development. Dr. Callahan showed how trauma literally changes the biology of the brain.

He also shared that proper interventions can help repair the damage these events cause. Trauma Informed

Care relies on existing frameworks, like Positive Behavior Intervention Supports, to provide universal

supports for all students. Directly teaching positive behaviors and self-regulating strategies, like deep breathing, allow students

to handle the anxiety that traumatic events can cause without conflict.

The framework for Trauma informed Care fits well with other professional development our staff has participated in this year.

We continue to work on building positive rapport with students, providing engaging lessons and allowing for non-confrontational

ways to handle anxiety and stress.

HIGH SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL

Mr. Scott Cottingim, 7-12 Principal

We have begun the last nine

weeks of 2017 - 2018 school year.

As we head toward spring break,

students will soon be leaving for

trips including the 8th grade who will

be heading to Washington DC. The

7th grade students are excitedly

planning their trip to Camp

Campbell Gard in May. Spring

sports are well underway, and

student participation numbers are the highest that we have

had in years.

School safety is always a concern at Twin Valley South.

In an effort to continue a safe learning environment we are

encouraging students and staff that if you

See Something, Hear Something, SAY Something!!!!

State testing is under way; we will be administering the

ACT, ELA, Science, Math, and Social Studies tests this

spring. Scheduling for next school year has begun and will

be finalized in the next few weeks.

The junior class will once again sponsor our

Junior/Senior Prom April 14th which will be held at Miami

University. The junior class parents will host the after prom

at TVS High School.

April 20th marks the return of a drama production to

Twin Valley South, with our 7-12 students performing

Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon.

Please mark your calendars for the 8th grade promotion

ceremony on May 18th at 6:00 PM and the High School

Graduation on May 24th at 7:00 PM.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Ms. Patti Holly, K-6 Principal

Spring is in the air and the next

few months will bring a lot of

activities to the elementary. Our

students are gearing up for testing,

and our teachers are working hard to

ensure they are ready for spring

assessments.

We Read Across America this

month with Read for the Gold

Challenge through the end of March. Many classes

recognized Dr. Seuss Birthday with lots of fun activities this

month. Students ate green eggs and ham and dressed up as

his/her favorite Dr. Seuss character. And yes, the “Cat in

the Hat” was in the building!

Once a month the elementary staff attends professional

development after school with the Kid Whisperer, Scott

Ervin. What he is teaching our staff is not a system or

program, put simply, a way in which adults can calmly and

assertively set limits with students through systematic and

explicit skill and procedural instruction.

The elementary is patiently awaiting notification of a

literacy grant we applied for last month. This literacy grant

money will be used to provide much needed

intervention/enrichment for our kindergarten through third

grade students.

School safety has been a topic of discussion throughout

the year. We are encouraging students with the slogan: “If

you see something, if you hear something, say something.”

This slogan applies to bullying as well. We encourage

students and parents to report incidents of bullying to staff

members, the counselor, and/or the principal. It is our goal

to teach anti-bullying procedures/strategies as an everyday

classroom morning meeting routine.

In our effort to keep you informed of the activities at

TVS Elementary, we will continue updating our website and

sending home classroom newsletters. I know how busy you

all are as parents, but your dedication and support shows

how committed you are to your children and their education.

With all of us working together, we will certainly achieve

all of our goals this year.

Go Panthers!

FOOD SERVICE – Mrs. Megan Fields

The Food Service Department continues to have a very productive 2017-18 school year! We teamed up

with Galactic Ice to provide 100% fruit juice slushies for our Middle and High School students. In March,

we anticipate to extend this to our elementary students! In hopes to increase breakfast participation,

elementary students who came for breakfast on Friday, March 16th, 2018, each received a ticket to get a

free slushie with lunch that day!

As a benefit to students that qualify for reduced meals, breakfast is served at NO COST. This is

a $0.30 per day savings! This cost is not reimbursed to the district by the state or federal government, it is

a cost picked up by the food service department.

Our High School students have been buzzing over “Pizza Friday’s” with tasty recipes such as Buffalo

Chicken Pizza with Blue Cheese Crumbles, BBQ Chicken Pizza, Mexican Taco Pizza, Cheeseburger Pizza and more! These

yummy and nutritious pizzas are made from fresh dough and meet the USDA guidelines.

All grades have been excited over the smart snack compliant Hershey Ice Cream options including ice cream cones, fruit

freezes, ice cream sandwiches and more! We continue to spice up school lunch with Walking Taco Thursday’s for all grades as

well as adding a very popular item, “Pulled Pork Sandwich.” Our delicious 4oz. Pulled Pork sandwich is served on a wholegrain

bun and students are able to use the sauce of their choice to make it their own.

Students with special dietary needs should consult with our school nurse, Mrs. Unger. Food service will work with the nurse

to modify breakfast and lunch menus based on written orders from the student’s family physician.

Our Middle School and High School students participated in Aramark’s Viewpoint Survey and received a free snack. This

survey questioned the students their likes and dislikes when it comes to school lunch. We are highly anticipating the results!

On Tuesday, March 13, 2018, a committee of eight high school students met with Mrs. Megan Fields to discuss menus, food

topics and ways to improve TVS school lunch.

Free and reduced applications may be filed at any time during the school year. The application covers both breakfast and

lunch and is available in the school offices or on the District web page. If your financial situation has changed, please fill out an

application. We want everyone to enjoy a healthy meal!

Check out the Food Service web-page for monthly menus, 2017-18 price list, and a link to MySchoolBucks.com our on-line

payment service. Please note there is a fee for on-line payments (paid to a third party, not the school). You may use the site for

free if you just want to check your child’s account balance or view his/her transactions.

The Food Service Department works with TVS in supporting, See something... Hear Something...SAY Something!!!

SOUTH STRONG – PANTHER PROUD

SUCCESS LIAISON – Allie Shafer FFA ADVISOR- Alison Derringer

The Preble County Success

Program removes non-cognitive

barriers to learning by building

bridges between home, school and

the community to improve school

success. The Success Program is

currently in its second year at

Twin Valley South. Students and

families enrolled in Twin Valley

South Schools are eligible to participate.

The Success program is having another very exciting

year. Currently there are 22 TVS families being served

by the Success Program. Success is able to bring

programs into the District such as our annual Shoes 4 the

Shoeless event, Christmas for Kids, Hunger and

Homelessness Awareness Week, and a new program

coming this fall. Success will be hosting a Back to

School Fun Fair on August 10th! This will be fun

opportunity for families to receive support before they

return to school.

If you are interested in the Success Program, have

questions, or know a family who could benefit, please

contact Allie Shafer at ashafer@tvs.k12.oh.us or 937-

839-4688.

Go Panthers!

Shoes 4 the Shoeless Program

Hunger & Homeless Awareness Week

As the year has progressed, in

addition to the monthly meetings and

various contests, our FFA program has

been part of these activities:

The Bistro -On March 3rd seven

FFA members made a trip to The

Bistro at Eagles Point in Eaton to

volunteer for the day as bussers, hosts

and waitresses in an effort to give back

to our community.

Ag Ball - In an effort to raise money for Children's

Hospital in January and February, we participated in FFA

Basketball throughout the area. Each player and members

gained pledges in order to raise money and awareness for the

Children's Hospital. Luckily, our chapter held our first ever

Ag Basketball tournament at TVS as well as attending the

National Trail and Preble Shawnees tournaments.

National FFA Week - February 17th-24th we asked FFA

members as well as the rest of our school to participate in a

week of dressing up to promote agriculture. During the week,

we held themed days as well as National Blue and Corn Gold

day. In addition to the planned activities, we made a

breakfast for the TVS Staff to show our appreciation.

The Wall - If you have walked down the Ag hallway

recently, you may have noticed the new paint job! We are

ecstatic to announce our wall of fame. This wall was made to

give recognition to State and American Degree recipients

over the history of the TVS FFA Program.

8th Grade Recruitment – As we look to the future of our

program, on March 16th our chapter held the 8th grade

requirement for all upcoming HS students. During the day,

the FFA students gave an overall presentation of what Ag

means. The 8th GD students split into 3 groups to tour the

greenhouse, shop and FFA classroom. At the end, the 8th GD

students met together in the gym to play a fun, engaging

game. This event was a great success and was a great way to

invite new members to join our growing family.

Twin Valley Community

Local School District

@Superintend1Tvs

@TVS_Athletics

tvs.k12.oh.us LIKE

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PANTHER/BULLDOG/TIGER PROUD

Do you have any memorabilia celebrating the history of

the Twin Valley School district? Would you like to

clear up a little space in your home and help share that

history? TVS is currently accepting donations and

loans of memorabilia from Lanier and West Alex

schools to help decorate the TVS halls.

If you are interested in making a contribution,

please either contact Mr. Fischer or drop your items

off at the TVS District Office.

2018-19 COMMUNIITY PICNIC

The West Alexandria Celebration Committee will be

holding the annual Community Picnic at Twin Valley

Community Local Schools on Thursday, August 16, 2018

from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm in the Commons.

Mingle with the teachers, staff, and local businesses, enjoy

burgers or dogs with chips and a drink for a $1.50, and

maybe win a door prize or

two.

There will also be an Open

House for all grades the

same evening beginning at

5:30pm.

KINDERGARTEN 2018-2019

• Kindergarten Registration:

Need to register? Contact the ES Office

at 937-839-4315

• Kindergarten 101:

April 19, 2018 @ 6:30 pm

Sign up at Kindergarten Registration

• Kindergarten Screening:

May 2 & 3

Sign up at Kindergarten Registration

• Kindergarten Stagger Start Day 1*:

August 20, 2018, 8:20a-3:30p *Letter sent home in August with details.

• Kindergarten Stagger Start Day 2*:

August 21, 2018, 8:20a-3:30p *Letter sent home in August with details.

• Kindergarten Orientation:

August 22, 2018 @ 1:00 pm

• Kindergarten First Day:

August 23, 2018 – 8:20a-3:30p

MS/HS TESTING DATES

April 10, 12 - ELA April 17, 19 - Math April 24, 26 - 8th GD Science and Biology April 24, 26 - American History and Government

Twin Valley South Schools presents

April 20, 2018 & April 21, 2018

At 7:00 pm TVS Auditorium

Would you like to receive text messages from One Call?

If so, text ALERT to 22300.

Mark Your Calendars

May May

May 1 – Percussion Ensemble & Jazz Band

May 2 – Band Field Trip

May 2-4 – 5th Grade at Camp

May 2 – CP Science Field Trip

May 3 – 6th Grade Field Trip

May 3-4 – FFA State Convention

May 5 – FFA Spring Plant Sale Open House

May 5 – Special Olympics

May 7-11 – Book Fair

May 7 – Choir Concert

May 7 – ES Art Show

May 8 – Elections

May 8 – 8th Grade Band & Wind Ensemble

May 10 – 3rd Grade Field Trip

May 10-12 – CCC Track Tournament

May 11 – FFA Ag. Awareness Day

May 15 – Energy Team Recognition

May 16-18 – 7th Grade Camp

May 18-19 – Choir @ Kings Island

May 18 – ES Field Day

May 18 – MVCTC Sr. Last Day

May 18 – 8th Grade Promotion

May 18 – MS Farewell Dance

May 21 – Senior Awards & Memory Walk

May 21 – Senior Lunch

May 21 – HS Athletic Awards

May 21 - 4th Grade Field Trip May 22– MVCTC Jr. Last Day

May 22 – ES Band Concert

May 23 – Underclassmen Awards

May 23 – Last Day Students

May 23 – MS Spring Athletic Awards

May 24 – Students Last Day

May 24 – TVS Graduation Ceremony

June/July

District Office Summer Hours:

Open: Mon-Thu – 6:30am-4:30 pm

Closed Fridays during June & July

April April

Apr 2 – MVCTC No School

Apr 2-6 – Spring Break – No School

Apr 9 – Classes Resume

Apr 9-10 – All County Band

Apr 13 – Fred Durkle Invite

Apr 14 – FFA State Officer Interviews

Apr 14 – TVS Prom

Apr 14 – TVS After Prom

Apr 17 – Spanish Class Field Trip

Apr 18 – FFA State Veterinary Science

Apr 20 – 2nd Grade Field Trip

Apr 20 – Kindergarten Field Trip

Apr 20-22 – Play/Drama Performance

Apr 21 – Band @ Kings Island

Apr 24 – Senior Citizen Dinner

Apr 24 – Envirothon Team Event

Apr 26 – 5th Grade Field Trip

Apr 26 – Rotary Honor Scholars Banquet

Apr 27 – Choir Field Trip

Apr 27 – 1st Grade Field Trip

Apr 27 – FFA State CDE Finals

Apr 30 – Faculty Recital

MISSION STATEMENT of Twin Valley Community Local School District

“…is to provide a safe learning environment where all children are challenged to achieve their maximum potential, based on

individual needs and abilities, utilizing a team effort among parents, educators, staff, and community.”

BOARD OF EDUCATION

James Pemberton Tim Beneke Christine Bitner Jason DeLong Matt Lunsford

President Vice President Member Member Member