By Kenzie Gamlin | HCCSC Communications Intern
During the most recent school board meeting on March 20, members of Huntington County Community School Corporation were invited to be recognized for displaying HCCSC‘s core values. The members were grouped by Executive Secretary Cindy Gray and thanked and congratulated by Superintendent John Trout and Director of Elementary Education Jay Peters. They also gave a brief summary of the recipients’ achievements.
After being verbally recognized, Director of Secondary Education Chuck Brimbury and School Board Trustees Gary McClellan and Matt Roth gave the individuals an official certificate in honor of their core value and took a picture with the groups to remember the moment.
During the board meeting, 70 members of the community were invited to be recognized for their achievements. These include the Lincoln Elementary School reading buddies, the Crestview Middle School Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) Solo and Ensemble participants who received gold and silver ratings, the Crestview Middle School Indiana Music Education Association (IMEA) Circle the State with Song participants and the Huntington North girls basketball All-State honorees. All of these individuals will receive a certificate, congratulatory letter and a picture of the moment to remember for a lifetime.
The Lincoln reading buddies is a program that has been operating for 15 years. The “buddies” come from members of the community, specifically members of the Rotary, Optimist Club and Kiwanis Club. These members take initiative and establish a positive role in the students' school day. The reading buddies visit the school every other week to read and play a game with each Lincoln first-grader to promote the value of an education, the importance of reading and develop a friendship between students and community members. All of the Lincoln reading buddies were recognized for exhibiting the core value of Stakeholder Focus.
The success of the program has been astonishing and the effects on the students' education has been evident to all involved. And, not only the students have been impacted positively, but also the volunteers, which include Tim Allen, Richard Beaver, Dan Blocker, Joe Blomeke, Ken Brumbaugh, Gwen Burns, Joel and Ashlie Buzzard, Vaughn and Peggy Callahan, Charles Chapman, Erin Covey, Michelle Crone, David Dean, Chris Fleck, Teresa Fruit, Samantha Garcia, Jarret Gray, Michelle Hogan, Dan Host, Daniel Johns, Nicole Johnson, Joy Koch, Cindy Krumanaker, Todd Latta, Bill Miller, Andrea Nightenhelser, Rob Paolillo, Drew Parrett, Megan Reckelhoff, Marshall and Liz Sanders, Christine Sands, Michele Santa, Jim and Jodi Scheiber, Kay Schwob, Mike Skeens, Darlene Stanley, Amanda Stroup, Rose Wall, Billy Winter and Michael Zahn.
Fourteen Crestivew students who participated in a recent ISSMA competition and also received gold or silver solo and ensemble ratings were recognized for their hard work and talent in the music realm. These students were recognized for demonstrating the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability.
The fourteen students that were recognized were Zach Alleman, Noah Bolinger, Rebekah Bruce, Quaid Cannizzaro, Gabriel Colón, Kairi Daniels, Isaac Dinius, Emery Douglas, Collin Eidson, Rayne Lifsey, Rhett Pefley, Kristen Plasterer, Hannah Skiles, Lyric Speiser, Lance Turczi and Serayna Whitney.
On top of their ISSMA success, Crestview also sent 10 choir students to the IMEA Circle the State with Song. The IMEA Circle the State with Song is a program that selected students participate in with other selected students from their area. These 10 students had the opportunity to work with other talented peers and adults to create a show for community members that broadcasted their immense talent.
These students were also recognized for their demonstration of the core value of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability. These students were Lily Campbell, Tyler Cassidy, Rylan Douglas, Keira McCoy, Finley Parsons, Isaac Ringo, Katie Smith, Sydney Taylor, Aubrey Tyler and Serayna Whitney.
The final recognition of the night went to three members of the Huntington North High School girls basketball team who not only played their sport exceptionally well, but caught the attention of Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. First, Taylor Double earned a selection to the Senior Large School All-State list. And following in her footsteps, juniors Gracie Fields and Marissa Trout were named to the Underclass All-State Honorable Mention list.
While Double was not able to attend Monday’s meeting, Fields and Trout represented the team well while receiving their certificates, recognizing their display of High Expectations, High Achievement and Accountability.