Transcription
TheIssue 2School BellA Pickerington Local School District PublicationTussing ElementaryPickerington High School CentralCTRead Across Americaan you say, “Happybirthday, Dr. Seuss”? Yes,you can! And yes, they did!Maybe not in a boat nor witha goat, but Tussing Elementarystudents and staff celebratedNEA’s Read Across America onMarch 6, 2014.were selected as one of onlytwo schools in the Central Ohioarea to be visited by NEA’sRead Across America Cat-a-VanTour.Read Across America Day is anationwide reading celebrationthat takes place annually theweek of March 2 - Dr. Seuss’sbirthday.Tussing Elementary studentsRead continued on page 12he Pickerington HighSchool Central Mock TrialTeam once again advanced tothe state competition for thethird year in a row.Ohio High School Mock Trialoffers an innovative approachto learning about law and howour legal system functions.Guided by teachers andvolunteer legal advisors,students participate in anoriginal, unscripted simulatedtrial written by attorneys.Professional Development ConferencePPickerington Local SchoolDistrict’s Teaching & LearningDepartment hosted the firstever large-scale professionaldevelopment conferencefor 650 teachers andadministrators.The conference included akeynote presentation by DaveBurgess, author of Teach Likea Pirate, and 55 concurrentsessions.The message to teachers was toturn lessons into an experiencethat students will alwaysremember. His outrageouslyenergetic presentationsencouraged teachers tobecome more creative andpassionate about instruction.Burgess modeled hisengagement strategies leavingteachers with many ideas ofhow to create that uniqueclassroom experience. Theconclusion of his keynotepresentation was met with astanding ovation from the entirePLSD staff.In addition to the keynotepresentation, teachers andadministrators were given thechoice of 55 different relevantconcurrent sessions.The sessions were led byindividuals from The Ohio StateMarch 2014Mock Trial Team advancesPickerington Teachers and Administratorsrofessional Developmentwas the agenda of the dayfor teachers at the end of thefirst semester.ServingPickeringtonSince 1964University, Ashland University,the Educational Service Centerof Central Ohio, EdWorks,Ohio Department of Education,Apple, Lightning Grader,Columbus MuseumPirate continued on page 8High school students argueboth sides of the case in realcourtrooms across the state.The state finals are held inthe Ohio Statehouse, andthe winner advances to thenational competition.This year’s case scenario wasnamed Phillips School Districtv. Jesse Springfield, et al. andinvolved the following:Phillips High School agreesto license naming rights of itsfield to a large corporation. Inresponse, students organizeprotests both in school and onthe field.The school district respondsby installing security cameras,searching lockers of thestudents involved and filinga lawsuit seeking an orderauthorizing the school toremove the students from thefield. The students claim thatTeam continued on page 12InsideThis Issue . . .Message from theSuperintendentpage 2District FinancialInformationpage 3Celebrating the Middle Schoolsand Junior Highspages 4-7Pickerington CommunitySchools New Facilitypage 9Athletic Signingspage 102014-2015 SchoolCalendarpage 11
The School BellPage 2March 2014Superintendent Leaving DistrictPickerington High School Central and NorthTime to retireNational Merit FinalistsBPy the time you’re readingthis edition of The SchoolBell, the announcement of myretirement, effective August1, 2014, will be known tomost, if not everyone in ourcommunity.My plans are to spendmore time enjoying myfamily, focusing onstaying healthy,and volunteering . . .In retiring, I’m concludinga fulfilling 37-year career inpublic education throughoutfive districts across the state ofOhio.My plans are to spend moretime enjoying my family,focusing on staying healthy,and volunteering throughoutthe area.During the past two years,the district has been hardat work implementing theCommon Core and aligningour instructional practices toachieve our new motto of EveryStudent, Every Day, WhateverSuperintendent Rob WalkerIt Takes while continuingour tradition of excellenceboth inside and outside theclassroom.I would like to thank ourstudents, teachers, andadministrative team for a trulygreat experience during mytenure as superintendent.We have a great group ofstudents and parents that wantthe very best for their children,a very talented and dedicatedstaff, along with a team ofadministrators who are focusedupon student achievement forevery student.I wish everyone in the Districtgreat success in the future. nThe School BellThe School Bell is a publication of the Pickerington Local SchoolDistrict. For more information about The School Bell, contact BettyConley, Pickerington Local Schools, 90 N. East Street, Pickerington,Ohio 43147; phone (614) 833-2110.2013-2014 School Bell StaffBoard of Education:Jim Brink, presidentLori Sanders, vice presidentVanessa Niekamp, memberCathy Olshefski, memberLisa Reade, memberSuperintendent: Rob WalkerTreasurer: Ryan JenkinsEditor: Betty Conleyickerington Local SchoolDistrict has two NationalMerit Finalists in the 58thAnnual National MeritScholarship Program.Pickerington High SchoolNorth senior Alex Sherry andPickerington High SchoolCentral senior Seetha Kollihave met the requirements toadvance to Finalist standingin this prestigious scholarshipcompetition.In addition, Pickerington HighSchool Central senior AishaSharif advanced to Finaliststanding in the NationalAchievement Scholarshipprogram.Alex Sherry, PHSNMathematics or EconomicsOriginally in a pool ofapproximately 16,000 NationalMerit finalists vying for 8,300scholarships in 2014, Kolli andSherry advanced to the finaliststanding.The National Merit ScholarshipCorporation will begin mailingscholarship offers to winners bymid-June.Seetha Kolli, PHSCMechanical EngineeringAs one of 1,300 NationalAchievement Scholarshipfinalists, Sharif hopes to beone of the 800 scholarshipsgranted to outstanding AfricanAmerican students nationwide.After graduation, all of theseexceptional students plan topursue fields that complementtheir academic strengths.Copy Editor: Mindy TroutContributing Writers: Rob Walker,Ryan Jenkins, Brian Seymour,Mindy TroutAs of the printing of thispublication, all three finalistswere undecided on theirchoice of universities. nAisha Sharif, PHSCPolitical Science orInternational Relations
The School BellMarch 2014Page 3District Financial Statements andAudit Available for Public View“Accountability breeds responsibility.”-Stephen R. CoveyAll school districts in thestate of Ohio compilebasic financial statements.These financial statements,which are materially similar tothe basic financial statementsof a company or corporation(e.g., statement of cash flows/income, balance sheet,statement of net assets, etc.),show the financial position ofa district as of the close of agiven fiscal year.Additionally, all school districtsare audited each school year bythe Ohio Auditor of State.This involves a thoroughexamination of the district’sbasic financial statements, aswell as an audit of the pastRyan JenkinsTreasurerfiscal year’s financial activities-- that is, the way the districtreceipts and expends funds ischecked against all pertinentdistrict-level policy and controlprocedures, as well as beingchecked against all pertinentlocal, state and federal laws.The audit also examines boardand administrative actions andother decisions, as measuredagainst board policy and allpertinent local, state andfederal laws over the pastschool year.In short, the annual auditprovides the residents of thestate of Ohio with assurancesthat their local governmententities are accountable withthe valuable resources that theyare given through tax leviesand other governmental fees,and that they are operatingwithin the parameters of policyand law.link:The Pickerington LocalSchool District completedthe compilation of its FY13(2012-2013 school year)basic financial statements inNovember. Additionally, FY13Audit (covering the 2012-2013school year) was conductedand completed by the firmClark Schaefer and Hackett,and Independent PublicAuditor (I.P.A.) contracted bythe Ohio Auditor of State’soffice.Additionally, a link to auditreports can be found on theTreasurer’s web page forthe District at http://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/dept/16/. This link is foundon the right-hand side underLinks, under the heading“Pickerington LSD AuditReports.”A copy of the audit can befound by using the ts.aspx?ReleaseDate 02/13/2014If you have questions aboutthe audit report or need helplocating it, please contactTreasurer Ryan Jenkins at (614)834-2140, or by email at ryanjenkins@plsd.us. nFrom the Ohio Department of Education WebsiteNew Expenditure Standards Released for Pickerington /Expenditure-Per-Pupil-RankingsAmong the many provisions of the 2012-2013 Budget Bill, House Bill 153of the 129th General Assembly, was a new requirement for ODE to ranktraditional school districts, join vocational districts, and community schoolsbased on the percent of their operating expenditures for classroom instructionalvs. non-classroom purposes, as well as their overall operating expenditures perpupil.The classification of expenditures used in the rankings is based on standardsapproved by the full State Board of Education’s Capacity on December 11, 2012.The expenditure standards address exclusions from operating expenditures andclassroom instructional vs. non-classroom expenditures, and were used as thebasis for all the FY13 expenditure calculations.Many of the details needed to implement the standards have been developedthrough a working group chaired by ODE, including representation from thefollowing: traditional school treasurer, community school treasurer, JVSDtreasurer, OASBO, Auditor of State, and the Governor’s Office. Prior to theworking group, stakeholders contributed ideas and feedback to ODE for thecreation of the expenditure standards.For data specific to Pickerington Local Schools, please visit the Treasurer’s webpage at ?cid 40668.If you have questions, please contact Treasurer Ryan Jenkins at (614) 834-2140,or by email at ryan jenkins@plsd.us. n
Page 4Middle SchoolDiley Middle School&The School BellMarch 2014Lakeview Junior HighJunior HighWelcome to the TSM Fraction MuseumIntegratedScience andArt newsDiley Middle School fifthgrade teachers Mrs.Melissa Turner, Mrs. JodySchwartz and Mrs. KellyMatthews (Ohio Universitystudent teacher) planned andco-taught a Common Coremath unit on fractions.Student artwork is consistentlyplaced in the halls of Lakeview.Gone are the days of studentteachers entering the classroomand teaching in isolation.Today’s student teachingmodel trains new educatorsto collaborate and co-teach inorder to more effectively meetstudents’ needs.Students learned aboutfractions through the use ofhands-on activities includingPopcorn Fractions, TabooFractions, Guess WhoFractions, and Fun FractionFriday.This approach is a part of21st Century teaching whereteachers engage students moredeeply in the content. Thismethod allows students toapply what they’ve learned andby the end of the unit, manystudents willinglybecame part of a clubthey affectionatelycalled“FractionFreaks!”Both two and threedimensional artwork is alwayson display for everyone toenjoy throughout the year.The unit culminated with anexciting, real-world activity. Thestudents had an opportunityto demonstrate what they hadlearned about fractions bycreating a Fraction Museum(The Turner/Schwartz/MathewsFraction Museum).Teams of students workedcooperatively to create real-lifeexhibits connected to the use offractions in daily life.The parameters of the students’exhibits included participationand collaboration with apartner, use of technology,mathematical concepts, visualaids, written components, anduse of math terminology duringtheir presentation.Students were permitted tochoose any real-world topicto create an exhibit for thefraction museum. Exhibitsincluded bakeries, party kits,hair salons, clothing stores,pizza shops, a dog park,fraction games and more!The application to a real-worldexperience was an essentialand fun method of teachingstudents how important math isin our world! nImportant 7th Grade Immunization InformationThe Ohio Department of Health requires all students entering 7th grade to show documentation ofreceiving an immunization called Tdap before being allowed to enter school next year. Sixth gradestudents recently received a letter explaining this requirement with their grade card. It also containeda Physician Documentation of Vaccine form for your convenience.At the end of each schoolyear, the principal’s arthonorarium selects 3-5 piecesfor the building’s permanentcollection. n***Integrated Science studentshave been working hand-inhand with motion and energy.Students “tweak” their ramp togain points based on the heightof their hills after the loop.A marble had to pass throughthe entire length withoutleaving the track. The trackrequired a loop and two hills.Students first achieved theminimum standard andthen were engaged in theadjustment process. n
The School BellMarch 2014Page 5Students are getting ready totake the flipped classroomto the next level. Instead ofteacher made videos, studentswill engage in the videomaking process.Ridgeview Junior HighMathematicsFF ll ii pp pp ee dd !!SIn order for this to happen,Ms. Furlong applied for andreceived a grant from theTechnology Grant Committeeat PLSD and was recentlyawarded a class set of iPadMinis to use on a daily basis inher flipped classroom.eventh grade students atRidgeview Junior High areexperiencing math differently.In the past, students haveencountered challenging,difficult and complex mathproblems to attempt at home.This often ends in frustrationof the student and the parent,but students at Ridgeview aretaking a creative approachto learning math by havinga productive struggle in theclassroom.Students in Ms. Furlong’s Core7 and Advanced Core 7 Mathclasses have flipped theirclassroom. In Ms. Furlong’sflipped math class, students areassigned videos to watch two tothree times a week that coverwhat is typically taught in theclassroom.By watching the videos athome, students have the abilityto work collaboratively andhave unlimited access to reachout to Ms. Furlong for help.The videos are created by Ms.Furlong and students can workat their own pace. This allowsthe students to pause, rewind,and re-watch the videos asmany times as they want.The videos come in handyespecially for students thathave been absent. Students canaccess the stored videos on aLearning Management Systemcalled Schoology.Students have access tothe site 24/7 and are ableto communicate with theirpeers in a format similar toFacebook. In addition, theycan communicate via personalmessage with Ms. Furlongafter school hours within theLearning Management System.This new system allowsstudents to access not onlythe videos, but the notesdocuments, problem setsand performance tasks.Students even have access to“misconception videos” afterevery four lessons, whichexplains common mistakesthat have been made on theassigned in-class problem sets.In addition to the TechnologyGrant, Ms. Furlong appliedfor a grant through thePickerington EducationFoundation (PEF) to fund thepurchase of headphones forclassroom use. The recipientsof the PEF grants have not yetbeen notified.By flipping the mathematicsclassroom, students are taughtto work through their strugglescollaboratively. This processwill help students in the futureto be college and careerready. nHarmon Middle SchoolHarmon Middle SchoolPTO sponsoring ACES programTarget GrantHarmon Middle School’sPTO is again sponsoring theACES recognition program forstudents.ACES is an acronym forAttendance, Character,Excellence, and Scholar. Theseare the four qualities studentsmust possess and demonstrateon a daily basis to qualify forthe program.AttendanceStudents cannot have frequentabsenteeism or be tardy duringthe second nine weeks gradingperiod.Harmon Middle School wasrecently chosen to receive a 500 grant through Target’s“Books for Schools” program.CharacterStudents must demonstrate,on a daily basis, the school’sPillars of Character which are:Responsibility, Caring, GoodCitizenship, Trustworthiness,Fairness, and Respect.ExcellenceStudents must achieve a gradepoint average of 3.75 or higherduring the nine weeks.ScholarA student must exemplifythat they have a true love oflearning which equates tobeing a true scholar.To date, the PTO has hostedtwo special breakfasts for allfifth and sixth grade studentswho have qualified for theprogram. nMiddle SchoolThe program was designed tohelp schools provide neededresources to bring learning tolife and put kids on the path tograduation.Money from the grant was usedto purchase 146 new books forthe Media Center. n&Junior High
Page 6Middle School&The School BellMarch 2014Lakeview Junior HighJunior HighHarmon Middle SchoolHistory comes aliveRecently, the social studiesclasses of Mr. DeVoe and MissBillirakis’ asked their studentsto debate the following:Did the military expansion ofthe Roman Republic mostlyhelp or hurt the people ofRome?Students were divided intogroups, and each group wasassigned a historical characterwho lived during the RomanRepublic. Students were thengiven background informationon their character.Each character represented aparticular viewpoint on thedebate topic. Four studentsadvocated that it helped, andfour advocated that it hurt thepeople of Rome.for the character by helpingthem answer questions duringthe debate.Another student from the groupserved as a supportive audiencemember who had the task ofwriting and asking questions fortheir group’s actor by helpingthem prepare their position onthe topic.The final member of the groupserved as the critical audiencemember whose position wasto ask difficult questions of theactors on the other side of theargument.Discussions would requireeach student to understandboth sides of the argument andbe able to present persuasivediscussion on their behalf.The Harmon Middle School Renaissance Team has been busyworking on various projects this year. A few of the activities andevents on tap this year are: Designing and creating a birthday bulletin board forstudents located in the cafeteria; Creating posters for events throughout the school year; Organizing and keeping track of recess supplies andgames; Students serve as hosts for luncheons and specialprograms sponsored throughout the year; Coordinating a staff appreciation, no bullying activities,and food drives; Assist staff members with projects throughout the year; Preparing for the Academic Pep Assembly slated for theend of the year; and Separating and distributing thank you notes from“Thank You Thursdays.”Thank You Thursdays are a big hit with the staff and students. Afterthe morning announcements, blank note cards are passed out toeveryone asking them to write a note to a student or staff memberthanking them for any act of kindness they may have shownsomeone.Renaissance students stay after school to separate and distributethe notes. The following morning, students and staff members arepleasantly surprised to receive their note cards. nEach group took on the role oftheir character with one personplaying the character. Thatperson dressed in character andanswered questions from thecharacter’s point of view.Another student from eachgroup served as the PublicRelations Advisor. This personwas responsible for writing anddelivering the opening remarksof their character’s position inthe debate and acted as supportAfter the prep work wasdone, students presented theiropening statements.During the critical questionperiod, students had todemonstrate a high level ofthinking skills since the
Mar 06, 2015 · is a publication of the Pickerington Local School District. For more information about The School Bell, contact Betty Conley, Pickerington Local Schools, 90 N. East Street, Pickerington, Ohio 43147; pho
