Vandercook Families,
Shortly before 1:00PM today, as some of the Townsend Elementary students were out for recess, a student reported that he saw "a man in the woods with a gun." The student also indicated that the man climbed up in a tree and pointed the gun at him. At that time all students were brought inside. Additionally, in an abundance of caution, all recess for the remainder of the day will be indoors. Once brought inside, a few other students reported that they saw "the man" in the woods, while others reported that they saw "something" but didn't know what it was they saw.
I was in the building at the time it was reported, so I went out to the woods. Officer Collins arrived about five minutes later and joined me. We walked the woods for about 25 minutes. We saw two deer, but nothing else. Officer Collins is currently in the process of interviewing students. We have had varying accounts from the size of the man to the color of his skin and the decriptions and colors of his clothing, along with varying reports of the "weapon" he had. We've been told it was a small handgun, a large shotgun and a crossbow like the guy in the walking dead.
While we are taking this situation seriously, I do not have anything concrete. We will continue to monitor the situation and while a decision hasn't been made yet, there is a possibility that we may keep students in for recess at tomorrow (Wednesday) to be certain that there aren't any other challenges.
Whenever students return to outdoor recess,, Officer Collins and I will be present in some capacity along with our usual allotment of Parapros and Teaching Assistants on the playground when students are allowed to go back outside. Please know that whenever that happens, it will be because we know it is safe to do so.
TL
Vandercook Lake evening Food Pantry coming next week for Vandercook Lake School District families.
Thank you to our donors VL Lions Club, Drumhiller Farms, Brookside United Methodist Church, F & K Holding and all of our individual donors. We could not make any of this possible without your generosity!

ShopRat is here with our middle schoolers teaching how to build, code, and program robots!




Townsend Weekly Announcements:
https://youtu.be/fkcBZgI3n1o
We're trying something new this winter at the MS/HS- adult indoor volleyball league! (HS students allowed also). Check out the "Area 517 Volleyball" Facebook page for more info and the team registration form.
Today Ms. Stanley got to come in and read a story to Mrs. Johnson's 2nd grade class! What a wonderful surprise! Thank you Ms. Stanley for the gift of a great story and conversation!



Be a part of something great!

5th grade students in Mr. Kouba's social studies class had the chance to play a stick game from the Nez Perce tribe.





Here's a look at what is going on at the College and Career Access Center for the month of November.

A few students spending their hard earned Vandy bucks in the Soar Shop.



Townsend Super Star winners!






Jayhawk Claw Birthday Celebrations







Our drum line elective class sounded awesome tonight at the JC Percussion Concussion. Go Vandy!
https://youtu.be/WxS-5ZUgWXw?feature=shared

Students in Mrs. Russell's room became inventors to try and create umbrellas that won't fall over when the wind blows.







K-2nd graders enjoyed our international storyteller today! Huge thank you to Jackson District Library for collaborating with us!






Students completed a lab today in Forensics- Blood spatter analysis.



This morning, Mrs. Salenbien's 3rd graders examined common grocery produce. They took a close look at the slices of the produce and searched for seeds. They enjoyed discovering if the produce was a science fruit or science vegetable. After, they enjoyed a healthy morning snack!










Big "Thank you" to Kathy Raymond for making winter hats for our students! We raffled them off at lunches this week just in time for the cold weather!




Thank you Summit Orthodontics and Dr B for creating this fun competition. We won $1,500!

Remember to recharge after Halloween 🫶🏻🧡

