NORTH CENTRAL PARKE NEWS

New teachers include front- Marci Graves, Vincent Eldred, Alexa Gilman; middle- Travis Hart, and Noah Guerra; back- Anna Lorenze.

With the start of the 2025-26 school year, North Central Parke Community Schools welcomed several new staff members.

New to Parke Heritage High School are Vincent Eldred- language arts teacher and Travis Hart- automotive technology teacher. Noah Guerra will be teaching band and choir at both Parke Heritage High School and Parke Heritage Middle School.

At Parke Heritage Middle School, Anna Lorenze joins the special services staff and will also be teaching reading literature. Alexa Gilman will be teaching the computer science and art class at both Rockville Elementary and Turkey Run Elementary Schools. Marci Graves will be teaching the three-year-old preschool class at Turkey Run Elementary School as well as serving as the preschool coordinator.

New instructional assistants are Bethany Frink, Whitney Scott, and Amanda Phillips. Joining the custodial staff are Michelle Smith and Jessica Wolford. New bus route drivers are Dawn Crowder, Tiffany Trissel, and Porshe Shaw.

Starting a new school year is always an exciting time for both staff and students. The anticipation of new experiences, new challenges, and new friendships creates a sense of energy and excitement. As the buses arrived, the staff members were eager to welcome the students back to school. For kindergarten students, this was a particularly special day as they began their academic careers.

NCPC staff members gathered on Monday, August 4 in the Parke Heritage High School Cafetorium to begin the 2025-26 school year.

A big thank you to Jessica Lynk and Nate Eslinger of Edward Jones Investments for providing donuts for the staff. Drinks were provided by the athletic department.

Following meetings, staff members are working in their classrooms to get them ready for when students arrived on Tuesday, August 5.

Rockville Elementary School staff members welcomed students at back-to-school night held Monday, August 4. This was an opportunity for students to bring in their classroom supplies and to see their classrooms as well as meet the teachers.

Students who attended the check presentation from Parke County REMC were Hutson Wilson, Brooke Busenbark, Jaxton Shannon, Vivian Busenbark, McKenna McCann, and Henry Overpeck along with Beth Faust.

Rockville Elementary School is set to receive exciting updates to its playground, thanks to generous grants from Parke County REMC and the Parke County Community Foundation. These enhancements are the result of a collaborative effort by students and staff, aiming to create an inclusive and enjoyable play space for all students.

This spring, Mr. Steven Hartman's class, in partnership with Mrs. Beth Faust, embarked on a project to explore ideas for improving the RES playground. The students worked in groups, each assigned to focus on different areas of the playground. They brainstormed innovative ideas, researched costs, and crafted detailed plans.

Each group presented their proposals to staff members and Colleen Engle of the Parke County Community Foundation. Through their presentations, the students demonstrated creativity and a strong passion for enhancing their school environment.

After thorough consideration, the students and staff narrowed their focus to one key area. Their goal is to install a wheelchair accessible merry-go-round, ensuring that the playground is safe and inclusive for all students. "They were very passionate in their designs of new playground spaces," said Faust.

This summer, Faust wrote grants seeking funding for the playground updates. The effort paid off with the Parke County Community Foundation awarding $5,000 and the Parke County REMC Round-up grant fund contributing an additional $2,000.

With these grants, Rockville Elementary School is on its way to transforming the playground into a more accessible and engaging space for all its students. This project not only enhances the school's facilities but also fosters a sense of pride and accomplishment among the students who played a pivotal role in its realization.

Belinda Rivers was recognized at the NCPC School Board meeting, where she was presented a certificate honoring her dedication and service by School Board President Scott Ramsay. After serving 24 years as part of the custodial staff at both Rockville Elementary School and Turkey Run Elementary School, Belinda retired on August 4.

School picture days are coming soon!

Picture days are:

Parke Heritage Middle School- Thursday, August 21

Turkey Run Elementary School- Thursday, August 28

Parke Heritage High School- Wednesday, September 3

Rockville Elementary School- Thursday, September 25

Parents are encouraged to order online at the Pettit website

School codes are
Turkey Run Elementary- TRES
Rockville Elementary- NCRES
Parke Heritage Middle School- NCPHMS

Parke Heritage High School- NCPHHS

Students will still need to bring an order envelope on picture day even if you order online. For those who want to order using the paper forms, checks need to be made out to Pettit Photo.

Order forms are being sent home with students.

A new app for NCPC Schools!

• Event dates
• News items
• Athletic schedules
• Daily menus
• Download for Android https://aptg.co/bbnN88
• Download for iPhone https://aptg.co/yr2RqQ

As a part of the new NCP app is Rooms our NCP messaging system.

The same NCP app will keep you informed across your child's classes. This app and Rooms feature replaces ClassDojo that was previously used for the elementary schools.

Look for your personalized invite to access Messages, Announcements, and Stream.

To learn more about the Rooms App or for assistance, visit the App: Rooms Support page.

NOTE: If the Cell Phone field is empty in a parent’s Harmony Family Access account, you will not be able to access Rooms. If you have listed your cell phone number in Home Phone and left the cell phone blank, Rooms will not be available. Please make sure you add your phone number to the cell phone blank.

• SENIORS: The Parke County Community Foundation Lilly Endowment Scholarship is now open. Applications are due Monday, September 15. The Lilly Community Scholarship provides full tuition, required fees, and a special allocation of up to $900.00 per year for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis, leading to a baccalaureate degree at any Indiana public or private college or university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Click on their webpage for more information and to apply: Scholarships

• PHMS YEARBOOKS: The 2025 Parke Heritage Middle School yearbook is ready for students to pick up in the MS library. There are a limited number of copies available for sale at $35. See Mrs. Harbison in the library to purchase a copy.

• WATER BOTTLES: Water bottles need to be sent daily. Plastic reusable bottles are best so that they can be refilled easily. Also, please send plain WATER ONLY. No juices, gatorades, caffeinated or carbonated drinks please.

• ATHLETIC SCHEDULES: Printable athletic schedules can be found on the NCP webpage: Schedules. Athletic schedules may be constantly changing. To stay updated, download the Event Link app or go to their website at https://eventlink.com/ Parents can subscribe to daily emails that are sent out daily to remind you of upcoming events.

• SCHOOL COMMUNICATION:

• E-mail is one of the main ways that the schools now have for communicating with students and parents. Please make sure your e-mail address is up-to-date so that you can receive important news updates. You can check your student's email address in your student's Harmony account. Continue to watch social media sites for updated information.

• An added means of communication this year is the new app for NCPC Schools! This app communicates event dates, news items, athletic schedules, daily menus and more. Android download iPhone download

Tuesday, August 12

MS football scrimmage at North Putnam- 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, August 13

Girls golf at Seeger- 5:00 p.m.

Senior meeting with Parke County Community Foundation- 8:15 and 12:09

Thursday, August 14

Volleyball at Danville Scrimmage- 6:00 p.m.

Friday, August 15

Football Jamboree at Riverton Parke- 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, August 16

Varsity volleyball at Crawfordsville Invite- 9:00 a.m.

Boys tennis at Northview Season Kick-Off- 9:00 a.m.

Note: A complete schedule of events can be found on the NCPC Website and on the new NCPC app.

August 20

School board meeting

August 21

Parke Heritage Middle School student portraits

August 27

Scheduled two-hour delay day

August 28

Turkey Run Elementary School student portraits

September 1

Labor Day- no school

September 4

Parke Heritage High School student portraits

September 12

Deadline for Lilly scholarship

September 19

PHHS Fall Homecoming

September 24

See You at the Pole event

September 25

Rockville Elementary School student portraits

Email: webmaster@ncp.k12.in.us
Website: www.ncp.k12.in.us
Location: 602 Howard Avenue, Rockville, IN 47872
Phone: 765-569-4190
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northcentralparke/
Twitter: @NCPSchoolCorp