The TCSD VETTS Clinic is a Twinsburg City School District program generously funded through the Twinsburg Schools Foundation. This program is an exciting collaborative initiative between the staff and students of the Wilcox Primary School and Twinsburg High School, a program fully funded through the generosity of the Twinsburg Schools Foundation.
Through the TCSD VETTS Clinic - an acronym for Veterinary Experiences Through Twinsburg Schools - our high school students are harnessing the power of our THS Makerspace to create interactive activities about veterinary career awareness reflecting core-curriculum standards.
The TCSD VETTS Clinic, housed in the Wilcox Library, consisted of six centers that our young Tigers rotated through during the months of January and February. Our plan is to have the Clinic return annually, adding age-appropriate hands-on activities to an additional building each year.
Currently, the centers included are:
The Dramatic Play Center where students role play as a "vet" complete with an ID badge, stethoscope, and lab coat. Students diagnose the condition of their “furry” patients and then treat them. This center opens up a world of hands-on experiences to future animal caregivers!
The Pharmacy Center allows students an opportunity to explore math to compare and think logically! Students use either addition or subtraction to complete “color by number” activity sheets! Animal shaped math manipulatives are on hand to help our younger Tigers!
At the X-Ray Center students use a lightboard to examine real animal x-rays and match them to animal photos. Worksheets are available so our X-ray technicians can document their work! This exploration is a means of learning what is hidden underneath the surface of an organism!
The "Write the Room" Center showcases library skills that gets our young Tigers up and moving! Students will search the library for animal icons and record a book title about the animal pictured. Exploring library vocabulary and team-building teaches important literary and communication skills!
At the Discovery Center, "Researchers" will dig through a bin of rubber mulch to discover butterflies, snakes, turtles, insects, plants, and more! The Discovery Box offers students a fun way to explore and discover, helping them build important sensory skills while stretching their curiosity.
The MakerSpace Center offers a variety of activities. Students can be creative with an "animals with hearts" coloring page; while learning to suture…aka practice the skill of shoelace tying; learn anatomy through puzzles; and treat "Twinny the Twinsburg Tiger Mascot." Helping fellow Tigers…that's the Twinsburg way!
The most important component of the TCSD VETTS Clinic is the collaboration between our students. Uniting individuals with different interests began with our students from the THS MakerSpace. We then acquired the talents from THS classes such as Marketing, Digital Design, Fashion, Photography, Interactive Media, Art, Anatomy & Physiology, Environmental Science, and more. To afford them an opportunity to better serve their young clientele, we brought some of our THS students to Wilcox where they worked with a select few of very excited first graders to test pilot the program! This experience proved to be rewarding for all our students from youngest to oldest.
For our high school students, they are totally immersed in the program. Many have taken on unexpected leadership roles, and they are already working to bring this program to both Wilcox AND Bissell. They are learning grant writing skills, re-working each center’s components, and I quote of THS student, “we want to make the VETTS Clinic bigger and better, while we learn to work more efficiently.” They truly are Tiger Strong, and I could not be more Tiger Proud.
NOTE: The TCSD VETTS Clinic will be coming to Bissell Elementary January 2025! Details to follow!
The following are videos that have been made to talk about the VETTS Clinic in more detail: