Lazy Days of Summer

Well here we are. Only seven school days for our seniors and nine days left for our juniors. It is always hard to believe when we get to this time of year, I just can't help but wonder how the year went so fast. As everyone gets ready for this summer, I realize there are a lot of different paths that people will be taking. Many of our seniors will be starting their new careers, some will be getting ready for college and some starting their basic training for the military. Some of our juniors will be working hard over the summer or just looking forward to some time off. No matter what plans any of you may have, I hope that you will find some time to just relax, enjoy some sunshine and re-charge yourself for whatever it is you will be doing next.

I don't know about you, but there is nothing like a warm summer breeze and the sun splashing off a crystal clear body of water. How often have you thought back to those innocent times when you were real young and didn't seem to have the worries or concerns you have now. For me, the end of the school year was a time to put all the books away and jump on the bike and head to my friends house. We were always outside playing or just hanging around. I remember going down to a local park by our house and playing baseball for hours and hours. I also remember that if you hit a ball on top of the car wash, it was a home run. We didn't have cell phones but knew we had to be home at a certain time for dinner. We also had a swimming pool at our house and spent a lot of time swimming with all the neighborhood kids. There also was always a vacation thrown in with the parents. We would jump in the car and head to Northern Michigan, Canada or visit relatives in their home state. It was such a great time and created so many great memories.

I hope somewhere in your summer plans you will create some special times and some special memories. Whether it is a long vacation, time on a boat, hanging with friends or enjoying your own backyard, I truly hope that you will find time to soak up some sunshine. Let the warm summer breeze blow through your hair or let your toes dig into some warm sand by the ocean.
Whatever you choose, please be careful and always make wise choices. This is my last blog for the year so I will catch you next August. Have a great summer!

Outstanding Students

This past week has seen some of our Vantage Students really excel at events around the area and the community. In Delphos, the Delphos Area Art Guild (DAAG) recently hosted their 3rd annual High School/Middle School art show. This art show was also hosted by the Delphos Area Public Library. This annual show is a way to showcase the different talent that our students possess but don't necessarily get the chance to show. Several of our students ended up placing art or literature in the show and several came away with first or second place prizes. I would like to congratulate William Steele (Sr. Building & Grounds) who placed second in the Literacy Poem contest. Sam Roughton (Jr. Networking Systems) finished first in the photography contest. In the metals division, we had Alex Fisher (Jr. Welding) and Greg King (Jr. Welding) both finishing first. Second place in the metals contest went to Aqiyl Moore (Jr. Welding) and Brandon Smith-Yaeger (Jr. Welding). This year, the US Bank took over sponsorship of the event and also created a brand new award that is the "Best Representation of the Youth for 2015", and that was won by Aqiyl Moore & Brandon Smith-Yaeger. Congratulations to all of our outstanding students who not only participated but came away with first or second place prizes. The show will continue through May 14th at the Delphos Area Art Guild located at 201 N. Main St in Delphos with the entrance off second street. Their hours are Wednesday from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Thursday from 1:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Friday from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm and Saturday from 9:00 - noon. Please stop by if you get a chance and see the wonderful exhibits our students have submitted.

This past weekend, we also had two of our Vantage students, Jeremiah Dealey (Sr. Industrial Mechanics) and Jordan Wilhelm (Sr. Auto Tech) compete up in Norwalk, Ohio, at the Summit Motorsports Park, in the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) High School Nationals Race. The event was advertised as the chance for students from all over Ohio to compete with any street legal vehicle and a drivers license. The grand prize for this event is a $10,000 scholarship to UNOH. There were over 300 vehicles entered in this competition and I am proud to say that Jordan Wilhelm not only competed but was the overall winner and took home a $10,000 scholarship to UNOH. This worked out great for Jordan who was already planning on going to UNOH in their High Performance program. Jordan also will get the honor of being an honorary crew member for the day for the Amalie OIL/UNOH Top fuel team of Terry McMillen at the upcoming Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals to be held at Summit Motorsports Park, July 2 -5, 2015. Congratulations Jordan on a great race and an outstanding accomplishment.