Free prom dresses and more school news, Feb. 24, 2024

Feb. 24—Free prom dresses are available

Free prom dresses will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 2 at the Miami County Community Center, through the Fairy Godmother Project.

The annual event for high school girls offers prom dresses, shoes and corsages for free. The dresses are often donated by the community.

There will be over 2,000 dresses to choose from, sizes 0-24. Items are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The Fairy Godmother Project tends to draw hundreds of people and not just from the local area.

The Miami County Community Center is at 10120 W. 200 North, Peru.

Program facilitator being sought

Kokomo CEO, the high school entrepreneurship program, is looking for its next leader.

The organization announced Tuesday the search for the next facilitator of the program.

Kokomo CEO Board is looking for for someone who "possess exceptional relationship-building skills, excellent communication abilities and a strong inclination to engage with business investors and partners," according to a news release.

Interested candidates can learn more about the facilitator position and apply at kokomoceo.com.

Applications should be turned in by March 7.

Students in the program learn networking, business and entrepreneurship skills. The class culminates with a trade show each spring where students create their own businesses.

Brandon Bishop, the current facilitator, has been in the position for four years.

Upcoming Kokomo schools events

Kokomo School Corporation will host its annual Early Education Fair from 5 to 7 p.m. March 6 at Memorial Gymnasium.

The free event is for families with students in preschool through fifth grade. Those who attend can learn about and visit with representatives from Kokomo schools' five preschools, eight elementary schools, along with its community partners.

The event is meant to help families find the best fit for their student within the Kokomo school district.

Kokomo High School will host a transitions fair from 5 to 7 p.m. March 6.

Families with students in kindergarten through 12th grade are welcome to attend.

The transitions fair will feature local support services, advocacy organizations and resources for students who are transitioning into adult life.

Families with special needs children or those who require additional supports are encouraged to attend.

Bids OK'd for Peru stadium

PERU — The Peru School Board approved bids for the resurfacing of the track at Bengal Memorial Stadium, as well as for new grandstands and press box Monday.

Fort Wayne-based Shawnee Construction was awarded the resurfacing project for about $2 million.

The track project is long overdue and will allow Peru High School to host track events. The disrepair of the track has prevented the school from hosting track events in recent years.

The board also approved a bid of about $1 million for new grandstands and press box.

Work is expected to be done before the start of the 2024-25 school year and football season.

Peru schools OKs partnership

PERU — Peru High School students interested in the medical field will have the opportunity to intern with Parkview Health.

The Peru School Board approved a memorandum of understanding with the health system.

The agreement will allow students who are interested to intern with Parkview while in high school.

Students will have to provide their own transportation. Where they would be placed will depend on their interest and where Parkview can accommodate them.

This week's school board meetings

Kokomo School Board meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday, for a work session, in the Administrative Service Center, 1500 S. Washington St., Kokomo.

The board will discuss upcoming agenda items. No action will be taken.

Maconaquah School Board meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the administration building, 7932 S. Strawtown Pike, Bunker Hill.

Local interns at statehouse

Northwestern High School grad Brayden Scering is serving as an intern this legislative session for the Indiana Senate Majority Caucus.

Scering is a junior at Indiana University Kokomo studying history and political science.

As a legislative intern, Scering tracks and analyzes bill data, provides constituent services, staffs Senate committee hearings and meetings, and conducts legislative policy research.

"Working at the Statehouse is the opportunity of a lifetime," Scering said in a statement. "I am thrilled and grateful to be a part of this experience."

Interns work through the entire legislative session.

Ivy Tech offers manager class

Ivy Tech Kokomo will offer a one-day training course to prepare leaders for supervisor positions in the workplace.

The course, Essential Skills for Managers, will be offered March 6 at Ivy Tech's Kokomo campus at 1815 E. Morgan St.

The class is from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Cost is $199 and includes class materials. A 45-minute working lunch is provided.

The class is designed to equip supervisors with tools and skills to effectively manage their teams and develop trusting and respectful relationships with staff.

In-class work will include identifying ways to de-escalate problems or issues. It will provide tools to better utilize a Strengths Based Leadership Approach to understand preferences in communication and conflict management.

A new section has been added to help supervisors know and understand their own strengths and how to utilize them in a team setting. Supervisors will learn to diagnose situations and identify appropriate leadership styles and strategies using the Situational Leadership model

To register, contact Bonnie Devers, program manager for Ivy+ Career Link , at bdevers3@ivytech.edu or 765-252-5497.

Or contact Bonnie Devers at bdevers3@ivytech.edu or 765-252-5497.

Corteva donates to Purdue Extension

Purdue Extension's chicken embryology program is getting a boost, thanks to Corteva Agriscience.

The ag company donated $5,000 to Purdue Extension Howard County. The donation will go toward the chicken embryology program, where local students learn about the lifecycle of chickens.

In 2023, the program reached over 900 students in grades K-12 in Howard County. Funds will go toward updating equipment and expanding the program to more schools, including those outside of the county.

The donation will also benefit Purdue Extension's ag Day where fifth graders learn about where all the ingredients of a pizza come from. It serves as a lesson about agriculture.

Church donates to area schools

PERU — St. Charles Catholic Church in Peru donated 10% of sales from its annual September bazaar to Miami County schools to address youth homelessness.

This 10% is always donated back into the community.

The donation was honorarily presented Wednesday following a presentation from the Indiana Youth Institute about youth homelessness, which took place at the church.

Bona Vista gets donation

Bona Vista's Early Head Start location was the recipient of 12 air purifiers, thanks to Motili, a Colorado-based HVAC company.

The air purifiers were delivered last week.

FFA competes at career events

Middle and high school members of Tipton's Future Farmers of America chapter have competed in a number of career development events this school year.

FFA members Ada Schulenburg, Vanessa Lee, Arden Dunn, Katie Wolford, Kennedy Ripberger, Sophia Ripberger, Alyvia Whitworth, Ava Higginbotham, Claire Cloud, Darci Dunn, Brogan Foerg, Lillian Cloud, Ethan McCorkle, Charlotte Crouch, Eli Wolford and Jack Fettig competed in September in the Area VIII Livestock Skill-a-thon Career Development Event at the Cass County Fairgrounds.

There they competed in a livestock industry quiz, a quality assurance scenario, equipment identification, meat identification, breed identification and feedstuff identification.

Also in September, the team of Dylan Rockwell, Jude Rockwell, and Ada Schulenburg placed 16th in the FFA senior division at the state horticulture competition at Purdue University.

The event is designed to teach youth skills necessary in the horticulture and landscape industry. Students identify ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, evaluate plants based on their structural correctness, and complete a knowledge exam.

Cooper Altherr and Dakota Foerg placed second in a district welding competition in December and advanced to the state contest this month.

Teams had to complete welds based on a diagram, complete a knowledge test and pass safety evaluation.

The junior team of Oliver Stewart, Wyatt Dunn, Lincoln Rodibaugh and Clair Cloud placed second at an area crops, forestry and entomology class in November. They qualified for the state contest.

Teams identified crop/weed seeds, identified crop/weed plants, determined plant diseases/damages, took an agronomy quiz and completed a grain grading exercise.

FFA members also competed in a soils evaluation competition in October.