You may not automatically associate Intermediate School and solar energy, but a teacher at Sand Creek Intermediate has done just that. Jennifer Suskovich has secured foundation funding for such a project.  Her students will be using a solar energy to power lights in their own classroom.

The solar project was recognized at the November 20th HSE School Board meeting.

Here is a description of the project from the HSE Schools Foundation news release:

Students will hypothesize locations that provide maximum amount of energy and then use this data to graph the amount of time solar energy illuminate the classroom versus electricity. Ultimately, Ms. Suskovich hopes students will design a system that moves with the sun and provides the maximum amount of solar energy to power the classroom.     

This specific philanthropy project was created through the HSE Schools Foundation and funded by two members of the Fishers City Council, Todd Zimmerman and Eric Moeller.  The fund is aimed at providing high school students with a hands on, real-world community service experience while also benefiting local schools and educators. Students are challenged to work through key learning issues such as conflict of interest, assessment of community need, sustainability and consensus building.

“Combining community support, service learning, and an investment in innovation is a win-win for our students and schools” says Freedom Kolb, Executive Director of the Hamilton Southeastern Schools Foundation. “I can’t think of a more unique or impactful partnership.”

It appears the issue of school calendars in the Hamilton Southeastern District is not over yet.  The school board has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday, November 29th.

Board President Matt Burke says he called the meeting after consulting with HSE Superintendent Allen Bourff and after discussions with a majority of school board members he was able to contact on short notice.

Burke says he called the special session to let the community know they “have been heard” by members of the school board.  Although he called the special meeting, Burke added that he does not know what the result would be if a school calendar reconsideration vote is taken.

The published agenda for the November 29th meeting says the board “will consider taking action” on the school calendar issue, and “will discuss changing and/or amending the 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 calendars.”

At the November 20th meeting, the board voted 4-3 to start school two days earlier than school administrators had recommended and added those two days to the Thanksgiving week break in the coming two school years.

The special board meeting will be held at the administration building on Cumberland Road at 7pm.

Hamilton County Reporter

The Fishers boys basketball team dropped its season opener at Lawrence
Central 70-38 on Tuesday.

The Bearcats led 19-5 after the first quarter, then jumped out to a 45-19 lead
at halftime. Willie Jackson and Luke Hernandez both scored seven points for
the Tigers, with Alex Szilagyi and Jeremy Szilagyi each making one 3-pointer.

Fishers will play its first home game of the season Tuesday, welcoming
Indianapolis Manual to the Tiger Den.  Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Hamilton County Reporter

Hamilton Southeastern’s boys team opened its season on Tuesday with an easy
83-49 victory over Muncie Central.

The Royals got out to a good start, leading 24-8 after the first quarter.
Southeastern enjoyed a 44-28 advantage at halftime, then extended its lead with a
23-point fourth quarter.

Sophomore Chris Grubbs led the scoring with 14 points, followed by Aaron
Etherington with 13 points and Nick Bowman with 11. The Royals were all
over the boards with 48 rebounds; Etherington pulled nine rebounds,
followed by Mabor Majak with eight, Brandon Miller with seven, Grubbs with
six and Chaz Birchfield with five. All 12 players who took to the court scored for
the Royals.

Etherington handed out six assists, with Bowman dishing out four.
Etherington also made six steals.

Southeastern’s next game is at Avon on Dec. 1.

Hamilton County Reporter

Fishers scored a significant upset on Tuesday, beating Class 4A No. 6
Zionsville 54-47 at the Tiger Den.

The Eagles led 14-11 after the first quarter, but the Tigers had the lead back
by halftime, at 27-25. Fishers then had a nice defensive third period, outscoring the
Eagles 12-6 to lead 39-31.

Toni Grace had an outstanding night from the free throw line, making all 14 of
her attempts. Grace finished the game with 21 points. Grace also made four
steals. Tamia Perryman led the Tigers on the boards with six rebounds, with Lydia
Stullken getting five boards.

Fishers is now 6-2 for the season. The Tigers will travel to New Castle Saturday
night for a 7:30 p.m. game.

by

WISH-TV/Hamilton County Reporter

A school bus driver for Hamilton Southeastern Schools has resigned after she tested positive for alcohol in her system.

A spokesperson for Hamilton Southeastern Schools said the school board on Monday night accepted the resignation of the driver, who had tested positive for alcohol after driving her route.

The school district investigated after someone reported that bus driver may have been under the influence while picking up students. 24-Hour News 8 had learned the driver of bus No. 239 had been with the district since 1997.

Earlier this month, parents received an alert from the school district about an investigation involving one of the bus drivers.

“Obviously it was surprise, a little bit of shock. You don’t want to hear about something like that happening,” said Angie Jaynes, a parent of children in Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

The driver had already completed her routes by picking up and dropping off students at Hamilton Southeastern High School, Fall Creek Junior High and Brooks School Elementary when the district took her in for drug and alcohol testing. The spokesperson said the school bus driver tested positive for alcohol, so they contacted police.

Fishers police have not indicated any results from their investigation.

Hamilton Southeastern Schools says their 300 bus drivers are required to submit to random drug tests, as well as training and other activities in compliance with INDOT and the Indiana Department of Education.

When news began to spread about the Hamilton Souheastern (HSE) School Board decision on the school calendar for the coming two school years (for more use this link), social media became very busy around our local school district.  Plenty of people had comments on that decision.

A group of students has launched a change.org page to start a petition aimed at asking board members to reconsider their decision.

You can visit the change.org petition page at this link.

Lindsey Erdody, who covers business happenings north of 96th Street for the Indianapolis Business Journal, has a new listing of business openings and closings.

One new business coming to Fishers will be a virtual reality arcade on 121st Street.

There are several other local developments listed.

You can read the IBJ story at this link

(Updated 11/23/2017)

When ribbons are cut to open a new restaurant in Fishers, everyone is all smiles and it is a happy event.  When an establishment is forced to close, the feelings are much different.

Brixx Pizza in the downtown Fishers Depot Building has served its last meal.  The eatery is no longer in business at the Fishers location after shutting its doors on Tuesday, November 21st.

“It is unfortunate that Brixx has made the decision to close”, said Brian Moore, Vice President, Marketing & Communications for Flaherty & Collins, developer of The Depot.  “We are currently working through the details of their closure. We are confident in the retail options for businesses at The Depot, with all the retail spaces currently leased, and over 90% occupancy in the residential portion, it is a great fit in downtown Fishers. We have no doubt the space occupied by Brixx will find a new tenant soon.”

Ashley Elrod, Director of Public Relations for the City of Fishers, called the closure of Brixx “disappointing” but emphasizes the many new businesses opening during the past six weeks within the same area of downtown in the Depot and Switch Buildings,  They include:

–Shine Home (home goods and design) which opened in October

–Ultimate Home Automation (home technology) which will be opening next week)

–Main Street Poke (Hawaiian-inspired food)

–Another Broken Egg café, which opened Monday.

There is no question that the pizza restaurant scene is one of the most competitive you will find.  Several new pizza places have opened locally in recent months.  It is not surprising one has closed.

I would expect another tenant in the Brixx location.  It is a prime spot.  I will let you know once another business decides to make a go of it there.

Update:  Tim Miner, representing  Brixx, sent me a message Thanksgiving Day indicating Brixx has  been happy with its reception in Fishers.  The current ownership of the  pizza eatery is looking for a buyer in the current location in the Depot Building.  Miner described the current situation as a “suspension.”  So, there is hope Brixx may reopen in the same downtown location with new ownership.  LarryInFishers will keep you up to date.

In the upcoming school years (2018-2019 & 2019-2020) HSE School District students & teachers will be reporting two days earlier to begin the school year in August, and the Thanksgiving Break will be a full week long.  After a long odyssey of votes and confusion over Roberts Rules of Order, the school board voted 4-3 to approve the next two school year calendars.

The evening began with the board voting down the administration proposal that had included input from the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association, that would keep the school calendar close to what it is in the current school year.  Superintendent Allen Bourff’s proposal would have called for teachers to report for school on Monday, August 6th, 2018, with students’ first day of school Wednesday, August 8th.  Thanksgiving break would have been 3 days, Wednesday-Thursday.

The board voted that proposal down 5-2.  That left the school district with no school calendar after the current school year.

Then a motion to reconsider was made later in the meeting, which sparked a long debate about whether the board was following Roberts Rules of Order.  After a lengthy discussion, the board moved toward another vote.

Board members hotly debated the value of data gleaned from an online survey.  Some board members wanted to value the data, while others questioned how accurate the data might be.  Board member Mike Bottorff appeared skeptical that the survey data should be used in making the calendar decision, while Michelle Fullhart argued that the survey results should be a part of the consideration in voting on a new school calendar.

Once all the talking ended, the board voted 4-3 to start the school year 2 days earlier for teachers and students the next two school years.  In the 2018-2019 calendar, teachers report on Thursday, August 2nd, with students starting classes Monday, August 6th.  Thanksgiving break will be November 19th-23rd (Monday-Friday).  Fall Break will be October 15th-19th.  Christmas Break runs Monday, December 24th through Monday, January 7th (teachers report on January 7th, students are off that day).  Spring Break is set for Friday, March 29th through Friday, April 5th, 2019.  The last day of school for students is set for Friday, May 24th, with the final week of May set aside for make-up days, if needed.

In the first vote turning down the administration’s proposal, Matt Burke and Michelle Fullhart were the two votes in favor of Dr. Bourff’s recommendation.  On the 4-3 vote that approved the calendar – Mike Bottorff, John DeLucia, Amanda Shera and Terry Tolle voted yes.  Matt Burke, Michelle Fullhart and Sylvia Shepler cast the no votes