12
SATURDAY, SEP TEMBER 19, 2020 • KOKOMO TR I BUNE PROGRESS EDI T ION
TAYLOR MOVES TO THE FUTURE
NEW FIELDHOUSE, PLANETARIUM, SAFETY TOP TITANS LIST
Harjashan Singh looks up
at the constellations,
as
seen from Earth, at the Taylor
High School planetarium.
(Kokomo Tribune file photos)
PERU
COMMUNITY
SCHOOLS SERVE
COMMUNITY
BY ADAM GILBERT
KOKOMO TRIBUNE
P
eru Schools’ Summer Feeding
Program has adapted this year
to make sure Miami County
children were still getting nutri-
tious meals while out of school.
Over the summer, every Monday
through Friday, Peru Community
Schools Food Services Director
Terry Fuller and her team were
hard at work preparing, bagging
and loading the roughly 1,300 daily
meals for area children. Tradition-
ally, the meals would be served
to students at different buildings.
With regulations and social dis-
tancing in effect due to COVID-19
precautions, the program had to
make changes in how everything is
handled.
“A shed that was donated ... they
hand out the lunches from there,”
Fuller said regarding changes.
“There are two buses from the
YMCA that deliver to different
apartments and a school bus which
travels to different neighborhoods.”
Fuller noted a great aspect of the
program is that it catered to more
than just Peru students, and was
open to anyone under 18 in Miami
County. Parents were also able to
come and pick up food for the day
or for the week if needed, an option
previously unavailable due to eating
in a building.
“It’s amazing that we can feed
so many people during all of this,”
Abigail Briley said during a break
between talking to parents in cars.
“It makes me feel good to work for
a corporation that can do that – not
just for Peru, but for surrounding
cities.”
Cafeteria workers Deb Siders,
left, and Abigail Briley
place
food in a trunk as Peru Schools
hands out lunches and breakfasts
drive-thru style in front of Peru
High School June 1.
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FinishYourDiploma.org.
BY ADAM GILBERT
KOKOMO TRIBUNE
T
aylor Community School
Corporation [TCSC] is in
the endgame of complet-
ing the new fieldhouse.
Construction started on the
new gym last October and a
ribbon cutting ceremony was
held Sept. 9.
The new fieldhouse will
have three full-sized basket-
ball courts, a three-line track
and area for batting practice.
Superintendent Chris Smith
said the gym will be able to
allow more teams to utilize the
space.
“I will be able to have every
boys’ and girls’ basketball
practice done by 6:30-7 p.m.,”
Smith said in a release when
discussing the capabilities. “I’ll
never have to have practices
at 6 a.m. and I’ll never have to
have practices going until 8-9
p.m.”
The fieldhouse will not only
be open to the students but
also the community. Accord-
ing to Smith, the corporation
is working on putting proce-
dures together to allow that
community to use the field-
house for activities such as
walking or renting the space
for line dancing and other
activities.
The fieldhouse will have air
conditioning as well, a decision
Smith said was made when it
was discovered the cost would
be just $50,000 and could
connect to the current system.
The fieldhouse can also be
used in case of bad weather
since it can handle up to 125
mph winds and can hold
the fans in attendance while
waiting for the weather such as
rain or snow to pass.
EMPHASIZING SAFETY
The school corporation
also spent $3 million on new
security – to be completed
in the next year - for all the
buildings to keep up with
modern technology Smith
called the “most up to date.”
According to Smith, when
entering school buildings,
visitors will enter into a
secured location, give their
reason for being there and
swipe their driver’s license
which the school will get
information from – all before
being allowed into the main
part of the building.
Every door will now have
swipe technology for staff
as well as for their ID cards.
There will be limited access at
different times. For example,
if a teacher wants to come in
and do lesson plans at 1 a.m.
they can get it approved and
then have access specifically
to that teacher.
A WARM WELCOME
The corporation has experi-
enced growth and welcomed a
number of new educators and
administrators over the last
year.
Football coach Josh Ousley,
basketball coach Dennis
Bentzler and baseball coach
Chris Dill are all welcome
additions to the Taylor Schools
community along with Robert
McGuire and Conner Leicht –
head of girls softball and boys
tennis, respectively.
A SPACE TO LEARN
Students at Taylor High
School can reach for the
moon and stars while taking a
celestial trip at the school cor-
poration’s virtual planetarium.
Prior to the COVID-19
pandemic, students were being
shown the atmosphere, stars
and the planets beyond – a
unique experience students
and teachers were looking
forward to when school
resumed. Taylor Schools are
offering a combination of
in-class and virtual learning
this year.
TCSC Director Patrick
Bernotas said school board
members attending a con-
ference saw the Digitalis
planetarium system in action
and thought it would be a great
asset to Taylor Schools and its
students.
“It’s a better way to teach
stuff about the planets instead
of just on a [chalk] board,”
student Colin Bridgewater said
prior to remote learning took
effect, adding that being able to
sit down and view the stars is
an interesting experience.
EDUCATION
SPOTLIGHT
