Author Mike Mullin Visits TVSC

             With incredible writing and taekwondo skills on hand, Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall trilogy, visited both the Tippecanoe Valley Middle School and Tippecanoe Valley High School in November. During his time at the schools, Mullin spent time with the TVHS Creative Writing Club, a group where each member’s goal is to write a novel during National Novel Writing Month (November). They learned how to spark their imaginations and improve their writing techniques by creating stories about objects, such as bowling pins and baseball gloves. The group also learned how to publish a story and avoid writer’s block.
            Sophomore Cassie Abalos, a member of the Creative Writing Club, said she really enjoyed Mike Mullin’s presentations. “One of the topics I enjoyed most was the ‘What If?’ discussions. Mr. Mullin basically grabbed a marker and asked us, ‘What if this marker…?’ and everyone in the club pitched in ideas. Some of them were pretty crazy, but everyone had so much fun with it!”
           Abalos, who is currently working on a fantasy novel, learned many valuable things from the author’s presentation. “I think the most valuable lesson I learned from his discussion was to never give up. He said determination is key to writing any good novel. Just remember that it may take some time to polish your idea, but it’s never a good idea to throw it away.”

N.E.W. Career Workshop

              Twenty-five sophomore girls at Tippecanoe Valley High School attended the N.E.W. workshop in Warsaw, Indiana.  N.E.W. (or, Nontraditional Employment for Women) is an annual event which gives high school females the opportunity to learn about career areas that are dominated mostly by males.  Women from various job positions such as a meteorologist, minister, broadcaster, and lawyer were at the conference to talk to the students about their careers and how to deal with gender discrimination.

               The students also got the chance to try their hand at several projects, ranging from building a tool box to welding.  All girls who attended the event learned that there are very many opportunities within their grasp and that all females have the right to pursue their dreams.

Freshman Field Trip: JA Finance Park

Every school year, all Tippecanoe Valley freshmen are required to take Preparing For College and Careers, a course which helps  students learn about different career paths and college expectations. Also, through this class, they gain real-life experience by traveling to the Junior Achievement (JA) Finance Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana; it is a center where kids can learn how to make a budget and use it effectively.  Students from Mr. Darren Parker and Mr. Aaron Engbrecht’s attended the event for one day in October.

JA Finance Park is a not-for-profit organization, which, according to the group’s mission statement, empowers young people to own their future economic success by enhancing the relevancy of education.  Volunteers ranging from Fort Wayne community members to upperclassmen from Tippecanoe Valley helped at the event by supervising each station. After each student is given their marital status and number of children, they are instructed to “travel” to different businesses and create a budget not only for themselves, but their family members as well.   The stations are specific to their own category and are very unique.  From banks, automotive shops, and restaurants, to retail stores and entertainment, the JA Finance Park allows for students to make a budget for everything they will need in the real world.

At the end of the day, after “traveling” to various businesses, students calculate their final budget and see if they have any extra money remaining for either saving purposes or spending on a certain object.  After this, they can see how well (or how poorly) they created a budget.  This event helps students plan for the future and build skills they will need as well.

JAG Program

               JAG is a program and it is short for Jobs for America’s Graduates, and it is a new class offered at TVHS. JAG is a national Non for profit organization that specializes keeping students in school until they graduate and helping them succeed throughout the school year. The program also prepares them transition into the work force. JAG is a student led organization within the class with a focus on community service. Each student has to have a minimum of 10 hours of community service.

 The program is funded through the state, by Mitch Daniels who awarded six million dollars to the Indiana state JAG programs. So far the program is very successful. JAG is led by Mrs. Duran, a new teacher this year; she is in charge of the program and making sure the students are doing well in school. So far the program has eighteen students participating; they are able to have a maximum of forty students.

 The students have already taken a field trip to Wawasee high school and are looking to visit colleges.  Right now the class is launching an anti-bullying campaign through videos and posters.  JAG can also be described as a careers class that helps with business etiquette, appropriate business attire, and the students will learn how to write a resume. The class also helps with employability skills, scholarships, college preparation, and career options. JAG is  a great program that will help students get prepared for the future. 

Internship at TVHS

Internship is a great program that Juniors and Seniors can participate in to help them get prepared for their future career. Students can experience their career choice deeper and then they can decide if it will be a successful choice for them in the future. Most internship sites do not pay but give the students a chance to gain experience. Most jobs need training before you can start and internship helps them get that training. This is the fourth year that internship has successfully been going on.  The program has students leaving for a few hours either in the morning or in the afternoon. Mr. Parker (Darren Parker) is in charge of all the interns and internship sites. He helps make it possible for all the interns to have the experience they do.  

There are twenty-five students from TVHS who are interning this year. There are usually around twenty to twenty-five students every year who are involved with the program. Students can experience different career fields such as the medical field, veterinary science, agriculture, business, IT, journalism, education, ministry, finance, law enforcement, and many more.  The internship sites range from all over our community. Students get to participate in local businesses that accept interns. Any business that wants to have interns is available to, that way it gives students the chance to have a larger choice in internship sites.

               I am in internship myself and I am interning with Mr. Parker, I am experiencing what it is like to write stories and newsletters like journalists do. Next semester I get the opportunity to intern at the hospital. Having these experiences help me find out if the career field I want to be in is best for me. Internship is a great program that more students should participate in!

New Class: Political Sciences-Part One

            Seniors at Tippecanoe Valley High School can now choose to take Political Sciences, a dual-credit course through Grace College.  The class combines three different subjects: U.S. Government, Economics, and Advanced English, allowing students to get a total of four high school credits by the end of their senior year.   But, students get an opportunity to do something no Valley class has had the chance to do: they are going to create their own businesses.

            The Young Entrepreneurs’ Academy (YEA) is a program which helps teach students in grades 6-12 how to launch and run their own real businesses. One of the exciting factors to the class: not only will the seniors be creating and developing their own business/invention for a project; they also have the chance to win a trip to New York City.  Since this class has only just started, more information will be available soon!

Distinguished Alumni Dinner

             Tippecanoe Valley High School hosted the Distinguished Alumni Dinner! For those of you who don’t know, the Distinguished Alumni Association is a group of outstanding graduates that have succeeded greatly in their life. They have great jobs and help out great in the community. They also come to our schools and promote and motivate kids to be successful by telling them their stories. They do great stuff for Students and the dinner is just one way we appreciate them!

 It was held on Thursday, September 12, at 6:30 pm at the Tippecanoe Valley Middle School.  

The dinner included many delectable foods including baked chicken breast, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, salad, dinner roll, cheese cake, and a drink. After the dinner the Rita Price from the local radio station held interviews for all seven inductees.  The seven members they honored were Dr. Cameron Vanlaningham, Kenia Rosas, Chuck Howard, Orville Haney, Dr. Marilyn Kindig Stahl, Ron Newlin, and Brandon Miller. 

          Please come to further events we will have for our Distinguished Alumni!