Buckeye Local School District
BLHS Students Learn About Life Near South Pole
CONNORVILLE-Students at Buckeye Local High School got a glimpse of life near the South Pole during a recent Skype session with a local alumna.
Students in the Foreign Language Club, took part in a session with Natalie Ylizarde, a 2000 graduate of Buckeye Local and early childhood educator who is currently at Palmer Station, Antarctica, as a teacher liaison assisting a five-person team researching the Belgica antarctica, the world’s southernmost free-living insect. Ylizarde is also the sister of BLHS teacher Bonnie Soos, who co-advises the school organization.
“This is her second time in Antarctica. She went in 2012,” said Soos. “It’s a way for her to reconnect with her alma mater. The Skype session lasted for an hour. She took us through Palmer Station. They are trying to determine how the fly adapts to harsh weather. She was asked to go again for six weeks and may go back next year.”
During the session, Ylizarde discussed her experiences and the research itself, which centers on how such insects tolerate freezing and extensive dehydration amid the loss of 70 percent of their body water. The goal is to understand seasonal adaptations of insects and how they respond to climate change, but also to gain valuable insight into more general mechanisms that might be exploited for cryopreservation and long-term storage of human tissues and organs for transplantation and other medical applications.
Soos said it was also a means for the Foreign Language Club to learn about travel and culture. Many of the estimated 105 club members took part in the session, as well as students from other classes. As part of her sojourn, Ylizarde had to fly to Chile in South America and then travel aboard an icebreaker to reach Antarctica. Altogether, it took 10 days to reach her destination.
According to her profile, Ylizarde holds a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education from Kent State University and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree in Biological Science from Miami University in Oxford. She became involved with the polar study after working with Dr. Richard Lee Jr., a University Distinguished Professor at Miami University and entomologist who directed an environmental science course she took at Yellowstone-Grand Teton Parks. She was the first elementary schoolteacher to go on the initial six-week polar excursion around 2012 and incorporated a program to connect with schools about research called the Crestwood-Antarctica Connection, which is named for her home school of Crestwood Primary in Mantua.
Ylizarde has achieved much success in her field, including 11 years’ experience in public education, STEM teacher leadership, and national education policy. According to her blog, she has chronicled her experiences in
Antarctica through the Crestwood-Antarctica Connection, a program with her home school in Ohio, and developed several studies and programs that were published in national science teaching journals and other publications, including the National Science Teacher Association’s periodical Science & Children. Ylizarde also was recognized with an Antarctica Service Medal from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching from President Obama in 2012. The latter is the highest honor bestowed upon math and science teachers with more than 4,400 educators earning the distinction since 1983.
Additionally, she has twice served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the NSF, which is a highly competitive professional development opportunity for K-12 STEM educators to temporarily serve with a federal agency or Congressional office in Washington, D.C. Her role was to provide practical teaching expertise to help inform and support federally funded educational programs and policies. She contributed to NSF programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Division of Research on Learning (DRL). She is currently working on her doctorate in science education at the University of Maryland in College Park and her research interests include STEM early learning, climate change education, and teacher leadership.
Soos said it was a unique experience for both her and her students, plus it provided a valuable lesson for everyone who attended.
“We wanted to show the Buckeye Local students that this is what you can achieve if you work hard and are successful,” she said.
More information about the team’s research is available on the blog www.aflyonthepole.com.
(Photo Cutline: Students in the Buckeye Local High School Foreign Language Club held a Skype session with Natalie Ylizarde, an educator and BLHS alumna who is currently working in Antarctica with scientists to research the world’s southernmost free-living insect and understand its ability to adapt to harsh temperatures.)
CONNORVILLE-Students at Buckeye Local High School got a glimpse of life near the South Pole during a recent Skype session with a local alumna.
Students in the Foreign Language Club, took part in a session with Natalie Ylizarde, a 2000 graduate of Buckeye Local and early childhood educator who is currently at Palmer Station, Antarctica, as a teacher liaison assisting a five-person team researching the Belgica antarctica, the world’s southernmost free-living insect. Ylizarde is also the sister of BLHS teacher Bonnie Soos, who co-advises the school organization.
“This is her second time in Antarctica. She went in 2012,” said Soos. “It’s a way for her to reconnect with her alma mater. The Skype session lasted for an hour. She took us through Palmer Station. They are trying to determine how the fly adapts to harsh weather. She was asked to go again for six weeks and may go back next year.”
During the session, Ylizarde discussed her experiences and the research itself, which centers on how such insects tolerate freezing and extensive dehydration amid the loss of 70 percent of their body water. The goal is to understand seasonal adaptations of insects and how they respond to climate change, but also to gain valuable insight into more general mechanisms that might be exploited for cryopreservation and long-term storage of human tissues and organs for transplantation and other medical applications.
Soos said it was also a means for the Foreign Language Club to learn about travel and culture. Many of the estimated 105 club members took part in the session, as well as students from other classes. As part of her sojourn, Ylizarde had to fly to Chile in South America and then travel aboard an icebreaker to reach Antarctica. Altogether, it took 10 days to reach her destination.
According to her profile, Ylizarde holds a Bachelor of Science degree in early childhood education from Kent State University and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree in Biological Science from Miami University in Oxford. She became involved with the polar study after working with Dr. Richard Lee Jr., a University Distinguished Professor at Miami University and entomologist who directed an environmental science course she took at Yellowstone-Grand Teton Parks. She was the first elementary schoolteacher to go on the initial six-week polar excursion around 2012 and incorporated a program to connect with schools about research called the Crestwood-Antarctica Connection, which is named for her home school of Crestwood Primary in Mantua.
Ylizarde has achieved much success in her field, including 11 years’ experience in public education, STEM teacher leadership, and national education policy. According to her blog, she has chronicled her experiences in
Antarctica through the Crestwood-Antarctica Connection, a program with her home school in Ohio, and developed several studies and programs that were published in national science teaching journals and other publications, including the National Science Teacher Association’s periodical Science & Children. Ylizarde also was recognized with an Antarctica Service Medal from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching from President Obama in 2012. The latter is the highest honor bestowed upon math and science teachers with more than 4,400 educators earning the distinction since 1983.
Additionally, she has twice served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the NSF, which is a highly competitive professional development opportunity for K-12 STEM educators to temporarily serve with a federal agency or Congressional office in Washington, D.C. Her role was to provide practical teaching expertise to help inform and support federally funded educational programs and policies. She contributed to NSF programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Division of Research on Learning (DRL). She is currently working on her doctorate in science education at the University of Maryland in College Park and her research interests include STEM early learning, climate change education, and teacher leadership.
Soos said it was a unique experience for both her and her students, plus it provided a valuable lesson for everyone who attended.
“We wanted to show the Buckeye Local students that this is what you can achieve if you work hard and are successful,” she said.
More information about the team’s research is available on the blog www.aflyonthepole.com.
(Photo Cutline: Students in the Buckeye Local High School Foreign Language Club held a Skype session with Natalie Ylizarde, an educator and BLHS alumna who is currently working in Antarctica with scientists to research the world’s southernmost free-living insect and understand its ability to adapt to harsh temperatures.)
Buckeye Local High School will set the stage for a mock drill to test response in case of a real emergency.
The school district is partnering with Special Tactics and Response Training (S.T.A.R.T.), the Mingo Junction-based firm with which it has worked to improve security measures, to review response and communication between the school and local safety forces. The event is set for May 12 at noon and will involve district students and personnel as well as multiple agencies.
“I think it’s time after the many years of hard work and dedication our staff have put in to increase safety,” said Superintendent Dr. Mark Miller. “This drill is to show what we could do and how hard we have worked. If we find some things, we can put them to the test and work on our system some more.”
Safety forces from throughout the area were invited to participate and, for now, those involved include the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, county 911, East Ohio Regional Hospital, Ohio Valley Medical Center, the Wintersville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Yorkville, Tiltonsville, and Wells Township Police Departments, plus fire departments from Yorkville, Tiltonsville, and Rayland.
School board member Rusty Cominsky, who also works with the county 911 and sheriff’s office, is organizing the drill and said it was a way to put the district’s safety measures to the test.
“It will be an active shooter drill with an unknown number of threats and an unknown number of patients,” Cominsky said. “Public safety officials will only know the time of the event but not the scenario. It’s always a good learning experience.”
Dinero Ciardelli, president of S.T.A.R.T., added that the participating students are either seniors or those whose parents permitted them to be involved. BLHS Principal Coy Sudvary will send an all-call message to district parents alerting them that the event was occurring and was only a mock drill.
Ciardelli said the scenario has been in discussion for some time and local responders also agreed there was a need for it. Law enforcement would be responsible for neutralizing the situation while EMS squads would perform triage, and in addition the district would ensure that staff and students were safely out of harm’s way.
“We want to see everything come together,” he noted. “If we have an active shooter, we will have a plan and know who is in control. We want the building to be 100-percent cleared by the end of the drill.”
Buckeye Local has added security features over the past few years such as NaviGate Prepared, which provides views and details of school buildings that are available online to school officials and safety forces in the case of an emergency, and 360 Safe Solutions, which gives users the ability to communicate on a secure platform with teachers, administrators, first responders, parents, and others; account for visitors, students, teachers, administrators, and school support personnel; and provide all school personnel with the means to conduct pre-emptive planning. The district also implemented the Zonar ZPass card-reading system used aboard school buses and is the first in the nation to provide FN-303 less-than-lethal launchers to help immobilize attackers. Educators in each school building have been trained to use the launchers to help de-escalate a situation.
“[The school officials] are prepared. They’ve been attending different trainings with S.T.A.R.T.,” noted district Administrative Assistant Scott Celestin, who oversees safety for Buckeye Local Schools. “The bus drivers have also had numerous trainings with S.T.A.R.T. on blocking intruders and active shooters on the bus.”
“The teachers have tools in their toolbox to lock down or get out safely,” Ciardelli interjected. “We’re testing our operators in the buildings on the deconfliction process and on the law enforcement side we’re looking at the response time. We want to use our resources.”
“We want to test the products and we want to make sure the [360 Solutions] app is functional, plus we want to test the responses of the teachers, EMS and police departments,” Hoagland continued, and he applauded the efforts on the part of the school district to get the community involved.
Frank Hoagland, owner of S.T.A.R.T., said the objective was to enhance the overall reaction to any extremist situation. He added that S.T.A.R.T. officials spoke with school leaders in Chardon, Ohio, and Newtown, Conn., where schools faced real-life active shooters, and Buckeye Local was taking steps to prevent a similar tragedy.
“We can help eliminate any gaps and close them,” Hoagland concluded.
BRILLIANT-Buckeye North Elementary School Principal Susan Nolan is in a class all her own after earning the Alpha Delta Kappa’s Excellence in Education Award for Ohio.
Nolan, who received the honor in April, will now head to the sorority’s regional convention this July for a chance to represent the organization at the international level. Alpha Delta Kappa, or ADK as it is known, is an honorary organization for women educators and Nolan co-founded the local Beta Epsilon Chapter nearly 15 years ago.
“I received the award at our state convention on April 30 in Columbus. The Excellence in Education Award recognizes members of Alpha Delta Kappa for their outstanding contributions to education,” Nolan explained. “I am very humbled and honored to have received this award for the State of Ohio.”
To be eligible, the nominee must be an active member in good standing, be actively engaged in the education profession, and be under contract in teaching, administration, or some specialized field of education. They must also exhibit professional dedication, knowledge, and skills. Nominations can be made by colleagues, students, and parents and nominees also must have exemplary contributions to education, show evidence of professional achievement and success, and demonstrate school and community collaboration.
Nolan has been an educator for the past 39 years, spending 20 of them within the Buckeye Local School District and the past decade as principal at North. She was nominated by Belinda Boyce, a teacher at Buckeye Local High School who also helped her co-found the local chapter of the service organization. Since its inception, the group has grown to 23 members and meets monthly to plan projects for the community. Among them are contributing to the Linus Project to provide blankets for critically ill children; donating toys to an area hospital’s pediatric ward; treating foreign exchange students to dinner and gifts; contributing to Shoeboxes for Soldiers; and providing meals for the Ohio State Highway Patrol SRT Team that trains at Buckeye North. Nolan was one of two state contenders and was chosen to represent Ohio at the regional convention on July 17-21 in New Hampshire.
“Our region consists of 11 states,” she added. “At the regional convention, which is this July at Portsmouth, N.H., the winner will be announced and will receive $200 to help defray the cost of the convention. Then that person’s application and information will be sent on to an international committee.”
The selected representative will be announced in July to attend the international convention to be held in New Orleans next summer. Nolan said the international recipient and her school will receive a $5,000 monetary award and an engraved plaque and trophy. Half of the amount will be payable to the recipient’s school and used for professional development of staff members, while the other half and a plaque or trophy will be given to the recipient during the convention. The recipient will indicate how the other portion will be used as she accepts the award at the convention.
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(Photo Cutline: Buckeye North Elementary Principal Susan Nolan received the Alpha Delta Kappa’s Excellence in Education Award during the state convention in Columbus and now heads to New Hampshire in July for the regional event. She will compete against representatives from 11 states for a chance to attend the international convention in New Orleans and earn an award and $5,000 for herself and her school. Nolan is pictured at left with Denise Sontag, Excellence in Education chair.)
Nolan, who received the honor in April, will now head to the sorority’s regional convention this July for a chance to represent the organization at the international level. Alpha Delta Kappa, or ADK as it is known, is an honorary organization for women educators and Nolan co-founded the local Beta Epsilon Chapter nearly 15 years ago.
“I received the award at our state convention on April 30 in Columbus. The Excellence in Education Award recognizes members of Alpha Delta Kappa for their outstanding contributions to education,” Nolan explained. “I am very humbled and honored to have received this award for the State of Ohio.”
To be eligible, the nominee must be an active member in good standing, be actively engaged in the education profession, and be under contract in teaching, administration, or some specialized field of education. They must also exhibit professional dedication, knowledge, and skills. Nominations can be made by colleagues, students, and parents and nominees also must have exemplary contributions to education, show evidence of professional achievement and success, and demonstrate school and community collaboration.
Nolan has been an educator for the past 39 years, spending 20 of them within the Buckeye Local School District and the past decade as principal at North. She was nominated by Belinda Boyce, a teacher at Buckeye Local High School who also helped her co-found the local chapter of the service organization. Since its inception, the group has grown to 23 members and meets monthly to plan projects for the community. Among them are contributing to the Linus Project to provide blankets for critically ill children; donating toys to an area hospital’s pediatric ward; treating foreign exchange students to dinner and gifts; contributing to Shoeboxes for Soldiers; and providing meals for the Ohio State Highway Patrol SRT Team that trains at Buckeye North. Nolan was one of two state contenders and was chosen to represent Ohio at the regional convention on July 17-21 in New Hampshire.
“Our region consists of 11 states,” she added. “At the regional convention, which is this July at Portsmouth, N.H., the winner will be announced and will receive $200 to help defray the cost of the convention. Then that person’s application and information will be sent on to an international committee.”
The selected representative will be announced in July to attend the international convention to be held in New Orleans next summer. Nolan said the international recipient and her school will receive a $5,000 monetary award and an engraved plaque and trophy. Half of the amount will be payable to the recipient’s school and used for professional development of staff members, while the other half and a plaque or trophy will be given to the recipient during the convention. The recipient will indicate how the other portion will be used as she accepts the award at the convention.
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(Photo Cutline: Buckeye North Elementary Principal Susan Nolan received the Alpha Delta Kappa’s Excellence in Education Award during the state convention in Columbus and now heads to New Hampshire in July for the regional event. She will compete against representatives from 11 states for a chance to attend the international convention in New Orleans and earn an award and $5,000 for herself and her school. Nolan is pictured at left with Denise Sontag, Excellence in Education chair.)
Students at Buckeye Local High School have an inventive way to learn about science and nutrition as they combine their education in a new garden project.
Fifteen freshmen through seniors from science teacher Crystal Fluharty’s Envirothon team and Luke Fabry’s foods classes have constructed four large wooden garden beds behind the high school with plans to grow a vegetation to study and eat. The garden will include tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, lettuce, pumpkins, squash, zucchini, watermelon, flowers, hanging plants, strawberries, and herbs while potatoes will be grown in buckets between the beds. The classes gathered on a sunny April day to construct the wooden five-foot-by-10-foot raised beds, erect posts, and add plenty of soil to prepare for the May planting. Fluharty said math teacher Jeff Merrill also assisted with the boxes and taught pupils how to square and measure the beds. She added that hopes are to expound upon the garden and occupy even more of the ground.
“We’ve been planning this for a few months now,” Fluharty said. “Our goal is to expand it and add birdhouses with wildlife cameras.”
Fluharty said items from the garden could be used in the classrooms as learning tools, while the project began as a request from the students themselves. Fabry interjected that both he and Fluharty were pondering ideas when Principal Coy Sudvary encouraged them to work together.
“At the beginning of the year, the students asked if they could add a food garden. We’d like to try to get into food preservation and the science behind what’s going on—the plants and the soil and what they need,” she continued. “Eventually over the next couple years we’d like to keep adding gardens and we’re applying for a state grant to do an outdoor class in the middle. Each year we hope to expand and in the fall we hope to create a hoophouse to start the seeds earlier.”
The youth also learned such science tips as insects that are beneficial to production, and any earthworms found during construction were saved and added to the raised beds. Fluharty’s team is gaining some knowledge that will help them during competition, including the regional matchup on April 27 at Dillon State Park near Zanesville in Muskingum County.
“The Envirothon team studies five topics all year: wildlife, aquatics, forestry, soils, and invasive species. We have two teams of five for each category [and will compete against] 50 schools.”
Students will help tend to the garden during the summer and the crops will be picked and frozen to use in the food classes. Meanwhile, other hopes are to use any produce grown in the future as a fundraiser. The classes are thinking green in the process by using solar energy to make the project self-sustaining.
On the nutritional side, Fabry said his classes would utilize the produce for canning and use in class and any seeds would be planted for the next crop.
“It’s something that’s useful for the rest of the kids and is very practical,” he added. “It’s awesome to harvest the food themselves.”
(Photo Cutline: Students at Buckeye Local High School build raised beds to plant vegetables, herbs, and flowers as part of a new learning garden for their foods and science classes. Hopes are to expand the site and add an outdoor classroom, birdhouses, and wildlife cameras for further education.)
Some programming students are getting a high-tech lesson at Buckeye Local Junior High School.
Teacher Kathy Yocum’s seventh- and eighth-grade classes have been using some futuristic gadgets known as Spheros as part of their education. The small, robotic orbs can be controlled by iPads and Smartphones using special apps. The programming class, which was implemented this year along with a technology basics class, provides pupils with a look of the innovations made and the career opportunities available.
“It’s our venture at the junior high into career tech education. We have programs that have been offered at the high school and this is the second year at the middle school-level. We felt we should get on board and expand the curriculum,” Yocum added. “These are skills students need to be exposed to…and I’ve had eighth-graders say they were not aware it was out there. There are four C’s for 21st Century learning: critical thinking, creativity, communication and cooperation. The students use that in developing different software and the Spheros. They work individually, but when they need help they work together.”
She explained that programming is the structure behind video gaming technology and the class learns how to create a game using real programming language.
“The seventh-graders work with the same software as visual programming and come back next year at the next level, and then they are exposed to the robotic balls.”
The Spheros are a new addition and eighth-grade students use Bluetooth technology that attaches to iPads and apps on their cell phone to operate movement and lights, among other commands, and they are having fun while learning how the process works. The phone apps are free to download and pupils perform missions to earn points, which are then cashed in at a coin store to receive more apps with advanced capabilities. Yocum said the class will eventually learn to complete an obstacle course with the orbs.
“They have been running programs already developed by someone else and will use different languages to create their own program,” she said. “I knew we needed to see some applications of what we’re teaching in class in the real world. The high school uses Lego robots and I wanted the kids to see what the company developed and how they are being used in the real world and in movies.”
Yocum continued that the same technology behind the Spheros is being used for the character BB-8 in the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” movie.
“This is what businesses are looking for and this is what CTE will try to do—give them skills to get a job. This is the students’ introduction to it and we need to continue into high school,” Yocum said.
(Photo Cutline: Buckeye Local Junior High School eighth-graders Marley Basich, Alexis Scott, Maisie Dowell, and Michael Buksa have fun learning about computer programming by working with Spheros, which are small, robotic orbs that use iPads and Smartphones with special apps to control movement and lights. The programming class is new to the school and introduces students to career technical education and potential future careers.)
Schooler Takes New Post as Principal
Longtime Buckeye Local School District official Cindy Schooler is going back to school in a new role as principal at Buckeye South Elementary.
Schooler spent the past eight years in the district, most recently as a Title I parent volunteer coordinator, but opted to take the position at the Tiltonsville building and oversee some 360 students. She has experience working in the elementary school level and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to head the building.
“I like the idea of being a school principal because I like encouraging and supporting excellent teachers who make a positive impact on children,” she said. “I have a wonderful staff at South Elementary and I believe we are going to work together as a team. Our team doesn't only consist of teachers because I have a great support staff of aides, custodians, cooks, and bus drivers, and our secretary is amazing. I couldn't ask for more.”
Schooler graduated from the University of Akron with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a reading certification in grades K-12. She obtained her principal’s license for grades PreK-6 from Franciscan University and a master’s degree in educational administration. Schooler served as an elementary school teacher for several years and was also a state director of Christian education for Ohio Ministries. While at Buckeye Local, Schooler acted as 21st Century Grant coordinator for all of the after-school programs and has been the Back-to-School Bash coordinator, Family Fun Night director, Counselor Grant coordinator, and a grant writer.
In addition, she is a freelance writer who authored several Christian education books. She resides in the area with her husband, Marvin, who is pastor of the Meadowbrook Church of God.
“I worked previously for Buckeye as a substitute teacher while my children were growing up and taught school at another district before coming back to Buckeye Local. Both of my children graduated from Buckeye Local Schools,” she commented. “I was born in Charleston, W.Va., but I have lived in Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Greentown, Ohio. I used to say that if you wanted to see the United States, then marry a preacher. But I can't say that anymore because we have found our home in the valley and love the people here and stayed. It is a great place to live and raise a family. We love our church family.”
She also appreciates the positive response she’s received from the community and is eager to delve into her new role. Schooler said the school is only successful as a team effort and she was excited to work with her staff to inspire the youngsters.
“As a team I hope we are able to help children get excited about learning. I want them to read every day, dream big dreams, overcome the negative by choosing to be positive, and do their best. I love what Eleanor Roosevelt said:
‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’ I want us to always discuss ideas.”
Schooler also plans to continue working with the central office and principals on projects, adding that their support has helped ease her transition.
“We all have the same goal: to make Buckeye Local School District the best that it can be and our students the most successful they can be.”
Superintendent Dr. Mark Miller said Schooler was a perfect fit for the job.
“We are very excited to have Cindy Schooler join the administrative team. Her expertise and years of experience in public and non-public education will enable to her bring a new perspective and change in climate to not only South Elementary, but the district as well.”
West Elementary in Pilot Program
ADENA-West Elementary School in Adena has a unique opportunity to help kids get fit through a pilot program designed for physical education.
Since the beginning of the school year, West Elementary’s estimated 300 students have been participating in a program that utilizes an updated version of Ohio Physical Education Standards. These standards have been updated to include specific skills that each student is required to demonstrate. Paul Fillipovich, physical education teacher at West Elementary, said the equired student evaluations have also been updated to reflect the revised standards, which include a grading rubric for each skill.
“The Ohio Department of Education was looking for all physical education teachers interested in piloting the updated physical education evaluations,” Fillipovich added. “Volunteering to take part was on a teacher-by-teacher basis. I volunteered and implemented the program on Sept. 1, 2015.”
The Ohio Board of Education adopted the standards and benchmarks from the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) in 2007. Last July, the state board approved an updated version of state physical education standards that will officially go into effect during the 2016-17 academic year. The required evaluations will go through piloting to provide feedback and modifications before they are finalized.
“The purpose is to have a concrete way to evaluate the progress of students’ physical abilities and knowledge of skills at each grade level,” said Fillipovich. “I like to stay on the cutting edge of what’s taking place with physical education on the state and national level, and I believe I’m the only one [in the district and area] participating in the program.”
Students routinely touch upon standards during each class, and he noted that some activities may focus more specifically on a standard or certain set of standards. Standards include physical motor skills and movement patterns; knowledge of movement concepts, principles, strategies and tactics; participating in a physical activity; health-enhancing level of fitness; personal and social behavior; and valuing physical activity. The state’s content standards are also identified in grade bands of K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.
“For example, one standard is to exhibit personal behavior and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings. I would be observing each student as they performed a basketball, bowling, hockey or other activity and watch for consistency in following the rules and safe practices; engaging in appropriate cooperative behaviors in partnerships or groups; respecting the rights and feelings of other students; demonstrating good winner or loser behaviors without prompting or direction; and resolving conflict and demonstrating fair play.”
Fillipovich said recorded assessment data on the students will be submitted to a committee that will update and finalize the evaluations for the 2016-17 school year. In the meantime, he said students will continue enjoying the class while also staying active.
“For most of the skills, they don’t necessarily realize they’re being evaluated,” he commented. “Sometimes they do seem to feel the stress of performing certain skills in front of others. For some students with cognitive difficulties, it can be challenging to follow all the steps involved in certain skills. But for the most part, P.E. class is fun and they all enjoy learning to be fit.”
Milestone Marked with OVETA Graduates
RAYLAND-A major milestone was marked on May 27 when the first class of the Ohio Valley Energy Technology Academy received their diplomas.
Four of the five graduates were on hand and were joined by family members and OVETA officials for a banquet and commencement ceremony at Meadowbrook Church of God. OVETA Governing Board member Dr. Marvin Schooler, pastor of Meadowbrook, led the invocation and Angela Hicks, director of federal programs for academy sponsor Buckeye Local Schools, welcomed the group.
“It’s my honor and my privilege to welcome each of you here this evening,” she said, adding her pride in the inaugural graduates. “Inaugural—you are the first. Graduates, I want you to think about how special you are. Never again will we have an inaugural class of the Ohio Valley Energy Technology Academy.”
She also thanked the parents for supporting the program by allowing their students to get involved, as well as the governing board for creating the academy.
Guest speaker Jeremiah Kinsey, a 2000 Buckeye Local High School alum who came home to share his experiences about the oil and gas field. Kinsey, a St. Clairsville native, obtained a degree in petroleum engineering and currently works with Houston, Texas-based Baker Hughes as an area manager. He congratulated the graduates and offered some advice about finding success beyond OVETA’s doors. Among his tips were to have a mentor or sponsor as a support system as they navigated through their career and develop short- and long-term goals. Mostly, they should remember that they were the only ones who could limit their success. Kinsey said his career has taken him around the world from Southeast Asia to Alaska and throughout parts of the continental U.S. While the work has meant long hours in various climates, he’s been up to the challenge. Moreover, he was glad that a program was in place to prepare students for the industry and he wished it had existed while he was still in high school.
“This is a very exciting program you’ve started. It’s something I would have loved to have been part of growing up,” he added. “You guys are steps ahead.”
Kinsey prepared for his career by taking math courses at Ohio University, which allowed him to have 20 credit hours under his belt when he headed to Marietta College. He got his chance to work abroad with the Schlumberger STAR Program Integrated Project Management (IPM) Division and traveled in the likes of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Alaska. Kinsey eventually joined Baker Hughes on the fast track to management, which took him throughout Texas and Oklahoma before returning to the area in the Canonsburg, Pa., office.
“The time was right and the industry got to the point where I was working on projects [here]. The infrastructure is here now and I moved back,” he said. “It is possible. The opportunity is there within the industry. You know you can sustain a good income and stay in the Ohio Valley. I think we’ve been blessed in the Ohio Valley and with the program at Buckeye Local High School. The hands-on experience and training you have now is what will get you ahead in the field.”
Co-instructors Anthony Barsch and Kevin McCain then presented the graduating class, which included Jacob Billingsley, Christian Ingram, Michael Kelley, Cleveland Starr, and Kevin Wilson. The instructors also noted their pride and appreciation in the students and their families for supporting OVETA during its first year.
“Each one of you young men is destined for greatness,” Barsch said as he thanked them for taking a chance on the program.
He also expressed appreciation to the governing board, Hicks and Buckeye Local School Superintendent Dr. Mark Miller for their work with the program, as well as to the school board for sponsoring the academy. More accolades went to BLHS Principal Coy Sudvary and Assistant Principal Gus Hanson for their help, as well as guidance counselors Jami Cammer and Krista Kinyo, the Buckeye Local Classroom Teachers Association, and community partners Gulfport Energy, Thru Tubing, JLE Industries, MarkWest Energy, Momentum Midstream, the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, and the Laborers International Local. 809 and Pipeliners Local 798, among others.
McCain said the program came at an opportune time with so much growth eyed in the area.
“We made some big steps and accomplished a lot of things. One thing we consistently heard [from the community] was they were glad there was a program and how can they help. It’s a unique opportunity. We are sitting on this great amount of energy that’s right under our feet. There’s so much talk out there about how much is going to be done here,” he said, noting plans for the cracker plant in Belmont County and impending growth of subsidiary businesses.
Dr. Miller, who also acts as OVETA director, said graduation was a time to reflect upon high school experiences and to plan for the future; a time that opportunity comes knocking on their door. He referred to inventor Thomas Edison and American author Orison Swett Marden, who spoke about hard work and overcoming challenges to attain success.
“Thomas A. Edison, who is known as one of America’s greatest inventors, was quoted as saying, ‘We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.’”
He said life could be difficult, but many people in the midst of their daily struggles failed to seize opportunities because they are disguised in an unfamiliar form.
“No one truly knows what is around the next corner or what tomorrow has in store for each one of us, but rest assured whatever the challenge presented, it is also an opportunity,” Dr. Miller added. “Class of 2016, it is my hope that you use today as an opportunity to begin a new chapter in your life, a chapter that you will look back and reflect upon your successes and how you planned for the future. Your journey begins today, so use the challenges presented before you as opportunities for a successful tomorrow.”
New alumni Jacob Billingsley and Michael Kelley said their time at OVETA would prove helpful as they moved on to their chosen paths.
“I’ve always been interested in [the oil and gas industry]. Being in class helps you learn and opens up a lot of opportunities,” said Billingsley, a Rayland resident. “I learned a lot more than I ever thought I would about it.”
“I think it got our foot in the door with a lot of the great [opportunities],” added Kelley, a Dillonvale resident who is eyeing plans to study at Marietta College.
Enrollment is currently under way for OVETA’s next term and the program is open to students in Jefferson, Belmont, Harrison and other surrounding counties. For more information, call (740) 769-7395, ext. 1150, or go online at www.oveta.net.
(Photo Cutline: The inaugural class of the Ohio Valley Energy Technology Academy graduated on Friday and now have the tools to give them an edge in the gas and oil field. Among the newest alumni are, from left, Cleveland Starr, Michael Kelley, Christian Ingram, and Jacob Billingsley. Not pictured is Kevin Wilson.)
South Promotes Reading with ELO Program
TILTONSVILLE-Buckeye South Elementary School is promoting reading efforts with a new afterschool program.
Principal Cindy Schooler said the Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) program is available to grades K-6 and offers a variety of activities for the students. It began on Nov. 1 and about 40-60 students meet Monday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30 p.m. while their parents provide the transportation.
“Grades K-3 work on phonics, reading skills, and vocabulary,” said Schooler, adding that they work with teachers and take part in interactive learning. “Grades 4-6 have a book club and the first book they are reading is ‘Larger-Than-Life Lara.’”
The book sends an anti-bullying message while also showing readers how they can create their own stories. The club’s 20 students spend nine weeks on each novel, and the kickoff event will have an added bonus as the students will get a chance to meet its author, Dandi Daley Mackall, when she visits the school on Dec. 8. Mackall, an Ohio resident and author of an estimated 450 youth and adult tomes, will be on-site throughout the day speaking to the entire school body and staff and sharing lunch with the book club members. The book club program is overseen by Title teacher Donna Todoroff and the books were purchased using part of a contribution from the Mary L. Snider Trust that Buckeye Local and other school districts in Jefferson County received last year to promote literacy. Schooler said youth who attend a certain amount book club sessions will receive the book for free and have it autographed by Mackall. Parents also have an opportunity to pre-purchase copies, purchase them the day of the author’s visit, or even order them online. Mackall previously visited the school and autographed more copies that are kept in the library.
Meanwhile, Schooler said the goal of ELO is to promote literacy among students.
“We’re focusing on improving reading skills because reading is the basic building block for learning. [This program] was a way to get kids excited about learning,” she commented. “Our goal is for them to develop a love of reading and want to go to the library as lifelong learners.”
Buckeye North is “Too Good for Drugs”
BRILLIANT-Buckeye North Elementary is spreading the word about the dangers of substance use and abuse through a new venture with the Family Recovery Center.
“Too Good for Drugs” is a series of programs aimed at all grade levels and touches upon emotional and other aspects which may lead someone to use drugs and alcohol. Rose Bensie, prevention specialist for the agency, is conducting the 10-week session each Monday through Wednesday until late November.
“I think its good exposure to kids. It tells them how to say no and it teaches right from wrong and about making good decisions,” Bensie noted. “The fourth-grade learns peer pressure refusal strategies. It gives them a better way to deal with peer pressure by doing scenarios and role play. With the younger kids, we identify emotions.”
Each program is more advanced, beginning with puppets and reading activities with kindergartners and moving into more interactive sessions with the upper grades. Sessions range from stress to peer pressure and the dangers of taking prescription medicine, the latter of which could easily be mistaken for candy.
“This is age-appropriate and research-based,” she said. “We building on their social skills and give them the tools that they need. It’s not just about knowledge; it’s about acquiring life, communication and decision-making skills and goal setting. We will eventually get to talking about substances, such as alcohol, drugs and tobacco. We try to give them some generic awareness about not touching medicine since it’s not safe.”
She said the children enjoy the interaction, while talks at the high school level revolve around relationships, communication skills, and particular substances.
“We’re trying to break down the barriers about communication so they can talk. We give facts so they can make informed decisions. There a lot of substances that can be extremely dangerous. When it comes to alcohol and tobacco, we need to put the message out.”
The Lisbon-based Family Recovery Center expanded its services into Jefferson County and is working on assisting students in local schools. The center aims to help both youth and adults with substance abuse, mental health and other issues through such programs as the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT). Prevention programs are offered to students in grades K-12, but services are also available for children ages 3 and under.
(Photo Cutline: Rose Bensie, prevention specialist with The Family Recovery Center, conducts activities with students at Buckeye North Elementary School as part of the “Too Good for Drugs” program. The 10-week session, which concludes in late November, uses research-based, age-appropriate topics to build esteem and reduce peer pressure.)