The Hometown Treasure May 2012 | Page 18

Shipshewana Town News Town of Shipshewana residents may bring unwanted items to the compost site by the wastewater treatment plant on Friday, May 18 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday, May 19 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Donations will be accepted to off-set the costs of disposal of the items. Tires with rims, wet paint, chemicals, oils, or items with Freon (refrigerators, air conditioners, etc.) will not be accepted. Westview School Board by Luke Pamer The Board announced hiring Randy Miller to replace Paul Johnston as Junior High principal. Mr. Johnston will be retiring at the end of this school year. (Related stories on page 1.) In other junior high news, the choice was made to switch exploratory classes from nine weeks to a full semester. These classes include art, music and agriculture. It was found that class sizes were becoming too small. The board said that the students will lose a little variety in classes, but will gain a better knowledge of that exploratory. A board member stated that the students pg 16 The Hometown Treasure May ‘12 pg 16 · ·The Hometown Treasure · ·May ‘12 were getting a chance to “just put their toes in the water” and then they would be moving on to their next class before really getting into their class. The board was assured that students will still be getting plenty of opportunities. Outside the classroom, it was announced that the new softball storage building is almost completed. The board wanted to issue a special thank you to Rob Yoder for helping make it possible. Electricity was installed in the building at the end of April and that finished the project . There has been a change to the A Town of Shipshewana water utility stub must be presented as proof of residency in the town. Any questions may directed to the Town Hall office, 768-4743. 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school calendars. The Board has been pressured to move the starting date each school year. The semester will be ending before Christmas break instead of traditionally having one week left after students come back from their break. Next school year will begin August 13. Westview is offering a fifty-percent speech teacher position. There are currently two teachers taking on 80-90 students and that is too many for the boards’ liking. They will also be looking to add a full-time special education teacher at Topeka Elementary. There are normally about ten children enrolled, but this year there are about thirty.