Van Devender Middle

We have been receiving phone calls and messages about school options for this coming school year. Currently Wood County Schools is offering the following options: Brick/Mortar (Normal School), Distance Learning Academy (Virtual Learning Offered by Wood County Schools Teachers) and WVLEARNS (Complete Virtual self-paced learning). Please visit the following link if you want to do Distance Learning Academy or WVLEARNS. Keep in mind that some students may be denied WVLEARNS due to past poor performance in this program. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLnG7RDOztclG4BAlP_pEDH2XklWn0K61S9vPfu-C7UE6yyg/viewform

Vandy Volleyball Open Gym will take place on Tuesday August 10, 2021-Thursday August 12, 2021 from 3:30pm-5:30pm. Practice starts the week of August 16th (Monday-Friday) from 3:30pm-5:30pm. Tryouts will take place on Wednesday August 18, 2021. Student Athletes will need to bring water, appropriate clothes/shoes and must have an up to date WVSSAC Sports physical (Students cannot participate in official practices or tryouts without a sports physical on file). Sports physicals can be picked up at the school or by visiting the following link https://www.wvssac.org/end/?endpoint=file&file=physical%20form.pdf

Camp Vandy will take place on August 9th from 3pm-4:45pm. Camp Vandy is for incoming 6th graders. They will get the chance to tour the school and meet the Vandy staff. Please contact Vandy with questions.

Vandy Extracurricular Update: We are currently looking for student athletes. The West Virginia Department of Education has waived the 2.0 grade point average to allow all students to participate in practice and conditioning. On August 11th they will have another meeting to decide if they will waive the 2.0 grade point average to participate in regular contests. Please remember that a WVSSAC sports physical is required to participate. The physical form can be found at https://www.wvssac.org/form-downloads/ Contact me if you are interested in any of the following Fall sports: (All students are welcome even if they are new to the sport). Football (Coach Dennis Craig) Volleyball (Coach Jennifer Johnson) Cross Country (Coach Cody Ratliff) Tennis (Coach Dino Lyons) Golf (Coach Eddie Staats) Cheer (Still searching for a coach) We are looking forward to a great school year. (Email is best as I will be out of the building until July 30) Mr. Echard Kwechard@k12.wv.us 304-420-9645

Yearbooks are in and can be picked up at Vandy Monday-Friday between 8am-2pm.

8th to 9th grade: All incoming PHS freshman who are scheduled for Honors English 9 will be required to complete summer reading. Lists were sent to your schools, but if your student does not have their Honors reading list, it can be found by going to the Parkersburg High School website at https://www.woodcountyschoolswv.com/o/ph and clicking on the menu tab. We look forward to seeing you next month.

Good evening. We invite you to contribute to our ARP/ESSER plan by providing input to the ideas generated in spending funds provided by the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER), targeting K-12 education. Your input will guide our plan to meet the needs of our students, staff, and community which will be presented to the West Virginia Dept. of Education on July 19. Your input is vitally important. To provide input, please click the following link or visit our website. Thank you. https://tinyurl.com/yfs5cvgh

This is an updated message from Friday about Summer School: Due to the high demand of summer school requests at Parkersburg High School, it has become necessary to divide summer school into two daily sessions. There will now be a morning session from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm, and an afternoon session from 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Students with last names beginning with A-K, ALL students taking Driver's Ed or PE, and ALL STUDENTS WHO RIDE A BUS, should report to the morning session at 8:30 am, starting Monday, June 14th, in the auditorium. Students with last names beginning with L-Z should report to the afternoon session beginning at 12:00 pm, starting on Monday, June 14th. In the auditorium. Students will be provided with a grab and go lunch that may be picked up after the morning session, or before the afternoon session.

With the 2020-21 school year wrapping up, I would just like to say “Thank You!” Thank you to everyone: Students, parents, teachers, staff and community members. Thank you to everyone who has helped others get through this often challenging and frustrating year, and thank you to everyone for your patience and resilience. Even as we head into summer break, Wood County Schools is hard at work finalizing preparations for our summer programs which are set to begin later this month. These eight programs are unlike anything we have offered before and are sure to be engaging and fun for students at all grade levels. More than 1,500 students are enrolled and more than 200 teachers and staff have been hired to help make these programs a success. Wood County Schools’ summer offerings have been called a model for the state, and we intend to show everyone why we deserve to be called the best school system in West Virginia. I want everyone to have a wonderful summer and a well-earned break. Most importantly, though, I want everyone ready for this fall. Throughout all of our challenges, we have learned and we have grown, and it is time for us to put that hard-earned knowledge to work for our students. We want to provide all of our kids with the best possible opportunities in first-class facilities staffed by top-level teachers and caring adults. So as we say goodbye to the 2020-21 school year, let us look forward to the wonderful things we can accomplish together in the months and years ahead. Thank you everyone, and have a great summer!

All uniforms for all sports need to be returned on Friday June 4, 2021 or Monday June 7, 2021. A replacement fee will be added to the student account if they are not returned. The replacement fee will follow the student through high school. Please contact Vandy with questions.

Good afternoon, This is Mr. Hardman principal at Van Devender Middle School. There will be no live classes next week for the distance learner students. You will need to complete all assignments by June 3rd. All distance learners and virtual students need to complete the iReady diagnostic. This will need to be completed by Wednesday June 2nd. This will be the final benchmark for the year. Please have students take their time and give their best effort. IPads will be turned in for distance learners and virtual students by June 3rd unless other arrangements are made. For everyone, I hope you have a great holiday weekend.

Exciting news from Wood County Schools! Off Campus Learning Options are now available for the fall. Learn more at woodcountyschoolswv.com.

Attention Parents: Please take some time to take this tech survey. Your student will need to log in with their email address and email password. We appreciate your participation. https://wveis.k12.wv.us/device-and-internet-access-survey

Hello this is Mr. Hardman from Van Devender Middle School. Today we opened the iReady diagnostic benchmark in reading and math. All students will need to take these benchmarks. These are particularly important as we will be comparing student learning growth from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. This benchmark will also be used to help determine student schedules for next year. The better a student performs the likelihood of them getting the electives they want next year. All distance learning and virtual students will need to go into their clever account and take these. We will be in contact with students that did not show growth and might need to re-take the benchmark. So encourage everyone to take their time and give it their best effort. Thank you Jeff Hardman

Important Dates June 8, 2021 First Day of Summer Conditioning Summer conditioning is not mandatory, but HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Summer Conditioning will occur every Tuesday and Thursday from 9am-10:30am at Van Devender Middle School Field. If it will be at an alternate site (City Park, etc.) you will be notified well ahead of time. We will be focusing on speed, agility, and endurance. We will be continuing to lift at the Rock Family Worship Center on Mondays from 4-5:30 with Coach Yaden. ALL SUMMER WE WILL MEET ONE SATURDAY A MONTH FOR SOME FRIENDLY FLAG FOOTBALL. THESE DATES WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU ASAP. This will give players a chance to meet and get to know each other, as well as see how we are progressing with our conditioning and athleticism. July 12-16 and 19-23 Two Week Football Intensive (You will receive the playbook for the upcoming year and be given non-contact instruction in football basics and plays for the upcoming school year) August 2021 Official start of practice. (Official date TBD) If you have any questions, please contact Coach Craig at (304)488-6788

West Virginia DHHR, WVU and WVCTSI are coming together to offer free Covid testing on Thursday, May 20th from 2p - 6p. Testing is located at Downtown Parkersburg, 315 Market Street, Parkersburg, WV.

Good evening, Tomorrow we will start our state testing for all grade levels. We will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week. Please encourage your students to get a good nights rest, have breakfast, and give their best effort. Next week we will be giving the county benchmark to compare student learning from the beginning, middle, and end of year. We look forward to seeing how far we have come during this school year. Have a great night!

Yesterday, the FDA approved the use of the Pfizer - COVID vaccination for 12 to 15 year olds in the U.S. The West Virginia Department of Education has asked all counties to compile a list of students interested in receiving the vaccination (12 and up). Vaccinations could start as early as next week. If you are interested, please complete the following survey. Thank you. https://forms.office.com/r/WhNUycrKju

Hello this is Mr. Hardman. The last day iPads will be sent home with students is today May 10th. Please have your child return their charging block and cord with their iPad by Thursday May 13th. Any iPad not returned will result in the student being invoiced for the missing iPad. Replacement cost is between $250 - $394. Any student not returning chargers (brick and USB cable) will be invoiced $25 replacement cost. If your child has not returned their green culture survey form checking yes to allow them to participate or no for them not to participate, please return these as soon as possible. The parent survey has been texted and emailed to parents as well. Thank you and have a great evening!

Students are to keep cell phones and other electronic devices in their lockers prior to going to their homeroom. Cell phones cause disruptions to the learning environment. If a student is caught with a cell phone during the school day it will be confiscated and sent to the office. A parent/guardian will need to come to Vandy to pick up the device. Please contact the school with questions.