Video:

Transcription:

Blanker School Students: Welcome to Monday, Maria. Here’s our Superintendent. 

Announcer: Presented by ADDITION Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi everyone. You can see this is a little bit different than our normal set. We are here today at Blankner School. We're so excited to be here. We have our principal, Derek Knappins, and two incredible people at Blankner. We have our teacher of the year, Stephanie Villiotis, and our support person of the year. Deb Murray. Welcome. I'm so glad we're so happy to be here. Blankner is one of our K-8 schools, and as you can see, we have some third graders that are with us today. And then we have some of our middle schoolers who are here. So, we're excited to learn a little bit more about Blankner and hear why this is such a great place. So let's start off with you, our wonderful principal. Mr. Knappins, could you tell us some of the things that you're so proud of about our school?

Derek Knappins, Principal: Yeah. Blankner is a very special place. This is my second year as the Principal here. And the things that make it special are one, the community. You know, we have such a strong support and foundation with our PTSA, the number of volunteers that we have every day. And then also our Blankner Foundation. We have amazing kids, amazing students. And then also, we have a great staff. We just have a great group of individuals who come here every day to support our kiddos. 

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, there are some unique programs here, and we'll get to that in just a little bit. But let's start off with our Teacher of the Year. Congratulations. Tell us, what do you teach?

Stephanie Villiotis, Art Teacher: So, I teach middle school art. And I've been here at Blankner for five years.

Dr. Vazquez: Wow. And Ms. Murray, tell us your role here at Blankner. 

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: I'm an ESE Para.

Dr. Vazquez: Oh, wonderful. So, you are able to work with our students with unique abilities?

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: That's correct.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. Great. So, Ms. Murray, would you tell us, like, why are you here? Why do you work at Blankner?

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: Well, I started in ‘92 with my oldest daughter at Blankner, entering kindergarten. So, I did about 23 years as a parent. My five children all went here and then decided to go back to work. I'd been at home for all those years. So, somebody who worked here actually asked me to apply for the job. So I applied and I got hired. So about 10 years with the district now.

Dr. Vazquez: Wonderful. Thank you for being here. So, Ms. Villiotis, tell us about some of the special programs and clubs that are available to the students who come to Blankner.

Stephanie Villiotis, Art Teacher: Absolutely. That's one of the things that makes Blankner so special: there really is something for every single student here. So many different clubs that we offer. I host the crochet club, and I also do the sketch club. So it's a place for creative artists to come and gather and find fellow like-minded classmates. I'm not only a teacher here, I'm a parent as well, of a fourth grader and a sixth grader. My fourth grader is so involved in all kinds of clubs here. He attends a chess club, which is an award-winning club here. Garden club, where they do hydroponics. He also does a board game club, which is, he's a little competitor, so he loves that. My sixth grader just joined Cheer Club this year. So it's a great place for our students to show support for the school.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, that's amazing. So, we've heard from the incredible staff here at Blankner. So, let's hear from our students and what some of the things they really like about the school. So, go ahead. Tell us.

1st Blankner Student: Okay. So, the thing I like about the school is the sports teams because they're very passionate about the sports, and they help you become better at each sport you try for. So that's why I like sports.

Dr. Vazquez: And which sports do you have at Blankner?

1st Blankner Student: So, we just passed soccer season, and now we're going into volleyball, and then basketball, and then track.

Dr. Vazquez: Alright, great. Yeah.

2nd Blankner Student: Good morning. My name is Valen. Like Ms. V. said, I do really enjoy the clubs. I've been here since kindergarten. Every single club I've joined has just been amazing.

Dr. Vazquez: Do you have a favorite?

2nd Blankner Student: Probably the Creature Club.

Dr. Vazquez: Oh yeah.

2nd Blankner Student: That's a great one.

Dr. Vazquez: That’s a great one. The Creature Club. If you have not seen the Creature Club at Blankner, you have to pop in. It's amazing. Thank you.

3rd Blankner Student: I love the musical programs that Blankner has.

Dr. Vazquez: The music programs, do they get to put on performances and plays?

3rd Blankner Student: Blankner gets to go to different places to perform sometimes.

Dr. Vazquez: Wow, that's great. Okay.

4th Blankner Student: I enjoy the athletic programs that we have. The intensity and how much work we put into winning.

Dr. Vazquez: Oh, right. I can see they're very competitive.

5th Blankner Student: One of my favorite things is the music program because we have a lot of different kinds of music. We have chorus, orchestra, steel drums, and band. And so, it's just a way to express yourself through music.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. That's wonderful. Well, thank you guys for sharing. So, I'm going to say just a little bit about the Critter Club because that sticks in my mind from one of my visits. So there, there's a room, an area where there's different critters, right? There's a bearded dragon. There was a chinchilla, and I think there are snakes. And they can be checked out as class pets. And so the class gets to learn about the critter and how to take care of it. It's I know it's very popular and it's definitely unique. So, hats off to all of you. So, Mr. Knappins, right? So, you said you've been here for two years, and you talked about the incredible support from the community. Is there anything else you want to share about this very special school?

Derek Knappins, Principal: Yeah, I feel like I could talk forever about it, but I think one of the unique things here is you'll talk to some of our kiddos, and they've literally been a part of the Blankner community since they were kindergartners. And as they as they grow through the programs, they have a level of appreciation for the younger kids. And I think that that's why our community's so tight, is that the the older kids have a level of empathy for the younger kids. And we're just very thankful for that. And it's just a great model. So.

Dr. Vazquez: Well, thank you all for being here with us and sharing the great things about Blanker K-8. Now we didn't get to hear from any of you. These are our wonderful third graders. Is there anything that you would like to say about your school?

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: Come on. Katie

Dr. Vazquez: No?

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: It's my granddaughter. 

Dr. Vazquez: Yes. Tell us, go ahead.  

3rd Grade Blankner Student: P.E.

Dr. Vazquez: You Like P.E.? 

3rd Grade Blankner Student: Because you get the run exercise.

Dr. Vazquez: And that's very good, right? Yeah. All right, great.

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: How about “Smile Mile” in the morning?

3rd Grade Blankner Student: Yeah. That's good. You are running and walking.

Deborah Murray, ESE Para: Walking each day of the week. There's a grade level that goes out to the track in the morning. Yeah.

3rd Grade Blankner Student: So, we're there on Monday or Friday

Dr. Vazquez: Monday or Friday. Okay. Yes.

3rd Grade Blankner Student: I like all the teachers here.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. It seems like a very special place. Thank you all for watching. Thank you all for being on the show and sharing the great things about Blankner. Thanks to all of our wonderful students. We will be back next week with another episode of Mondays with Maria.

3rd Grade Blankner Student: But wait, here's a slice of positivity

Student at Pershing School: How was your weekend?

Avery, Pershing School Student: This is peer counseling, and we go out and help younger kids, and we also plan school activities. Sometimes, younger kids just need a break, and so we can take them on a walk. We also plan Spirit weeks, and we also help make the classroom better for the people who come in here later.

Cayci Molina, Pershing School SAFE Coordinator: Chelsea and I started working together last year, and we really wanted to help Mr. Brown and his mission to really integrate the middle school and the elementary school levels. So, we created an opportunity for the Panther Den to host a peer counseling class.

Chelsea Vandergrift, Pershing School Counselor: They're learning nonverbal communication, tone of voice, body language, minimal encouragers, things like that.

Cayci Molina, Pershing School SAFE Coordinator: These are skills that you can take into high school. These are skills that you're going to take into your future.

Rocco, Pershing School Student: I think when we go to the doors and they smile, I think it's really nice because it makes us feel special, and they're happy to see us come in and help them.

Chelsea Vandergrift, Pershing School Counselor: Kids will listen to other kids more than they listen to adults. And so, having students go in and support the younger kids can sometimes just be more meaningful to them.

Avery, Pershing School Student: I love helping younger kids and being a part of something.

Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic, listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at AdditionFi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.OCPS.net. I'm your announcer. Emily Hannon, a student at Audubon Park School. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.