Indian Creek Marks 50 Years
WINTERSVILLE-One local school system is recognizing 50 years of existence and recalling its historical founding, which occurred this month.
Dr. T.C. Chappelear, superintendent of Indian Creek Local Schools, said the district was looking back on the consolidation of three other districts and leaders would recognize the milestone.
“We will be celebrating and recognizing 50 years of excellence throughout the year,” Dr. Chappelear said.
It will be a half century next week that officials first gathered to unite the three school districts and form what is now known as Indian Creek. According to district records, the Cross Creek, Mingo, and Wayne school districts officially consolidated on June 13, 1966, with representatives from those districts being appointed by the Ohio Board of Education.
The first official meeting took place on June 20 of that year in the office of the Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools at the county courthouse in Steubenville. Among those present were C.D. Clauss, Joseph Glaub, Sanford Lawrence, R.W. Robertson, and George Yingst. At that time, county Superintendent of Schools Norman Sommers administered the oath of office to the new board members. Secret balloting was held to elect officers and Clauss was named president with Robertson as vice president. Officials next decided, in lieu of a district clerk, to give authority to the president and vice president and all three clerks of the dissolved school boards to sign checks for the present panel. A meeting date was selected for the next session on June 23.
Among the highlights of the inaugural session were decisions to pay members of the defunct school boards their remaining salaries, establishing salaries for the newly united board, and temporarily adopting county board policies for local boards of education as their own. Items of discussion included the naming of the new district and qualifications and salary for the new superintendent action was taken at later meetings.
The next meeting occurred on June 23, where details were explained on the bid opening for a new building at Mingo. In addition, Margaret Staib, E.C. Murray, and Charles Galbraith, the three clerks in the former districts, presented financial statements and board members nominated Staib and Martha Sisler as clerk for the new school system. Staib was later selected by a vote of 3-2 to serve through Dec. 31, 1966. Meanwhile, Murray and Galbraith were named assistant clerks.
By the third meeting on June 27, leaders had completed the transition by giving the district a new name.
“Discussion was held on a name for the newly organized school district,” the minutes stated. “It was moved by Mr. Robertson, seconded by Mr. Glaub that the name will be Indian Creek School District. Votes: All yes, motion carried.”
The district would spend the remainder of their summer sessions finalizing details on operations while applications were taken and interviews conducted for a new superintendent. The board would select Troy Penner for the post that Aug. 15.
Today, the district yields Wintersville and Hills Elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school and instructs an estimated 2,180 students. Dr. Chappelear said it was important to take a look back in order to show how far things have actually come.
“I think the high point was how the residents of the three communities have come together to form and support Indian Creek,” he concluded. “It’s important to recognize the contributions of the educators over the last 50 years for creating a culture of excellence and great opportunities for students in the Indian Creek Local School District.”
(Photo Cutline: Indian Creek Local School District officials are marking a significant milestone this summer with the 50th anniversary of the district’s formation and said the anniversary will be recognized throughout the year. Current leaders include, pictured front from left, Treasurer Denise Todoroff, Superintendent Dr. T.C. Chappelear, and board President Kim Mark. Back: Board Vice President Bob Smith, board member Dr. Ted Starkey, board member Dr. John Figel, board member Daniel Bove, and Assistant Superintendent John Belt.)
Engineering Class among Winners of National Challenge
WINTERSVILLE-A team of Indian Creek High School students earned a $1,000 grant after being selected as one of three winners in a national engineering competition.
Senior Zach Brown, junior Jared Harvey, and freshmen Kody Cottis and Logan Wilson, all students in Barb Turner’s pre-engineering technology class at ICHS, were selected for their entry in the 2016 Fluor Engineering Challenge U.S. Drawing. The contest, which was conducted by Fluor Corporation of Irvine, Texas, also yielded winners from California, South Carolina, Texas, and Canada. The Indian Creek A Team, as it was known, was among five teams in Turner’s class to submit an original design. The students were tasked with creating an efficient marble sorting machine using a limited number of materials and were scored on their efforts.
“They were given a short supply of popsicle sticks, a plastic cup, copy paper, and a cardboard base,” Turner explained. “[The design] would basically use gravity to sort large and small marbles and imitate rock and gem sorting. They were scored based on Fluor’s requirements. There were 600 teams that made these machines worldwide and Fluor separates them based on the area.”
A total of 10 winners were named across the globe and the entrants had to be part of a school to participate. There were seven winners across North America based on Fluor Corporation’s operational sites in Texas, California, South Carolina, Canada, and the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The A Team was included in the latter category while other Canadian teams were listed as international recipients.
Turner said about 20 students in her class took part and were given a month to do the project and submitted it by the March 11 deadline. She learned of the winning team following the recent spring break and was excited to learn the good news. Even more impressive is that it marks the first year for the engineering program at ICHS, which also made it the first time they took part in the challenge.
“I thought it was a good idea to learn the engineering design process, and because it was a competition it created interest,” she said. “I was walking on air. I was thrilled [to win a grant]. We will put it back into the engineering program so we could do future projects.”
She anticipated receiving the grant by late spring. For more information on this year’s challenge and recipients, visit http://www.sciencebuddies.org/fluor-challenge.
Fluor Corp. is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds, and maintains capital-efficient facilities and serves clients in the energy, chemicals, government, industrial, infrastructure, mining and metals, and power market sectors. The Fluor Engineering Challenge was created to help educators meet the latest standards for science and engineering literacy, while this year’s challenge was originally developed by engineers at the firm’s Al Khobar office in Saudi Arabia as part of an annual employee competition in observance of Engineers Week in February. An expert team of scientists and educators from Science Buddies helped adapt the competition to provide students with an opportunity to experience how real-life engineers design solutions and to show how fun engineering can be.
(Photo Cutline: Indian Creek High School students Jared Harvey, Kody Cottis, Logan Wilson, and Zach Brown earned a $1,000 after being selected one of three national winners of the Fluor Engineering Challenge. The grant will be used for the school’s engineering program, which began this school year.)
WINTERSVILLE-A team of Indian Creek High School students earned a $1,000 grant after being selected as one of three winners in a national engineering competition.
Senior Zach Brown, junior Jared Harvey, and freshmen Kody Cottis and Logan Wilson, all students in Barb Turner’s pre-engineering technology class at ICHS, were selected for their entry in the 2016 Fluor Engineering Challenge U.S. Drawing. The contest, which was conducted by Fluor Corporation of Irvine, Texas, also yielded winners from California, South Carolina, Texas, and Canada. The Indian Creek A Team, as it was known, was among five teams in Turner’s class to submit an original design. The students were tasked with creating an efficient marble sorting machine using a limited number of materials and were scored on their efforts.
“They were given a short supply of popsicle sticks, a plastic cup, copy paper, and a cardboard base,” Turner explained. “[The design] would basically use gravity to sort large and small marbles and imitate rock and gem sorting. They were scored based on Fluor’s requirements. There were 600 teams that made these machines worldwide and Fluor separates them based on the area.”
A total of 10 winners were named across the globe and the entrants had to be part of a school to participate. There were seven winners across North America based on Fluor Corporation’s operational sites in Texas, California, South Carolina, Canada, and the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The A Team was included in the latter category while other Canadian teams were listed as international recipients.
Turner said about 20 students in her class took part and were given a month to do the project and submitted it by the March 11 deadline. She learned of the winning team following the recent spring break and was excited to learn the good news. Even more impressive is that it marks the first year for the engineering program at ICHS, which also made it the first time they took part in the challenge.
“I thought it was a good idea to learn the engineering design process, and because it was a competition it created interest,” she said. “I was walking on air. I was thrilled [to win a grant]. We will put it back into the engineering program so we could do future projects.”
She anticipated receiving the grant by late spring. For more information on this year’s challenge and recipients, visit http://www.sciencebuddies.org/fluor-challenge.
Fluor Corp. is a global engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and maintenance company that designs, builds, and maintains capital-efficient facilities and serves clients in the energy, chemicals, government, industrial, infrastructure, mining and metals, and power market sectors. The Fluor Engineering Challenge was created to help educators meet the latest standards for science and engineering literacy, while this year’s challenge was originally developed by engineers at the firm’s Al Khobar office in Saudi Arabia as part of an annual employee competition in observance of Engineers Week in February. An expert team of scientists and educators from Science Buddies helped adapt the competition to provide students with an opportunity to experience how real-life engineers design solutions and to show how fun engineering can be.
(Photo Cutline: Indian Creek High School students Jared Harvey, Kody Cottis, Logan Wilson, and Zach Brown earned a $1,000 after being selected one of three national winners of the Fluor Engineering Challenge. The grant will be used for the school’s engineering program, which began this school year.)
ICMS Part of TechGYRLS Program
MINGO JUNCTION-Indian Creek Middle School is providing girls with a fun way to hone their skills by participating in the TechGYRLS program.
Led by science teacher Austin Cable, the program is a first for the area and includes about 16 females in grades 6-8. It also provides opportunities to learn through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)-related projects. Cable said the group meets each Wednesday from 2:30-4:30 p.m. and sessions extend through the end of April. TechGYRLS is a progressive program offered through the Greater Pittsburgh YWCA and sponsored by Huntington Bank.
“They meet once a week and are doing great hands-on projects,” said ICMS Grade 6-8 Principal Dr. Holly Minch-Hick. “It’s to expose students to fields of science, technology, engineering and math and gives girls more confidences in those areas.”
Cable said the first session included making holograms and slime but the intent was to make learning fun.
“There is going to be a ‘Survivor’ theme, and there is going to be some cooperation but there will be a little competition at the same time,” Cable added. “They will build rockets, make lip gloss, and create a hot air buggy made of LEGOS and powered by a balloon.”
He continued that the activities have spurred a great amount of interest among attendants.
“I was most impressed with when the eighth-grade girls were very lively,” Cable said. “The girls in my class are generally quiet but they come out of their shell with TechGYRLS. They are very studious and serious.”
The older students are paired with underclassmen to spur interaction between the classes, but he hopes it also builds friendships and bonds they otherwise may not have. Cable said the number of participants may grow because current members are inviting their friends to join.
“The idea is that science is meant to be fun and this is to get them engaged and maybe generate interest to drive them into taking science classes. It’s also meant to empower girls [and grow interest in the field].”
The Greater Pittsburgh YWCA works closely with the Steubenville YWCA and ICMS officials were approached about joining the program, which is a first for the area. Meanwhile, there is potential for the local portion to grow.
“[There is potential] to have field trips and having teams enter competitions,” Dr. Minch-Hick added.
(Photo Cutline: Indian Creek Middle School is the first area site to provide TechGYRLS, a program designed to grown interest in STEM activities. Pictured are, front from left, participants Jordan Means and Kaitlyn Turner. Back: Rachel Barnett, Erin Beegle, and Madolyn McDonald.)
New Sensory Room Aids Students at Hills
MINGO JUNCTION-Hills Elementary School has taken steps to help soothe overstimulated students by creating a new sensory room at the site.
The room provides a series of activities geared towards calming students through their senses. It includes laser lights, swings, a textured sensory wall, weighted blankets and vests, massage chairs, pillows, and fidgets, among other features. Jamie Kovalski, director of federal programs and special education coordinator for Indian Creek Local Schools, said the room was a first for the district and it has already gotten some use.
“This is to help desensitize children and have calming strategies if they become overstimulated,” she said. “We started it this year. [Intervention Specialist] Kayla Becca uses it with her multi-handicapped class and she brings them in for instruction and for calming.”
“I have a student that this has helped a lot,” said Becca. “I’ve seen an improvement.”
School Guidance Counselor Lois Pate said it was also suitable for any class at Hills.
“It’s not just for students with special needs, just those who become overstimulated,” Pate explained. “It uses lights, sounds, touch, and smells and it calms them.”
Students will use the room until their behavior deescalates or they will have a limited time, but officials said it can also be opened to students as a reward. Some of the items have also been used at Wintersville Elementary and plans were to have the room finished this month. Kovalski said special education funds defrayed costs for the project and in time other schools could include their own sensory rooms.
(Photo Cutline: Jamie Kovalski, director of federal programs and special education coordinator for the Indian Creek Local School District, shows preschooler Sonny Adams some of the activities available in the new sensory room at Hills Elementary School. The room helps calm overstimulated students by using materials pertaining to the five senses.)
Computer Program Builds Math Skills
MINGO JUNCTION-Kindergartners are bolstering their math skills through a new computer-based program at Hills Elementary School.
Teacher Susan Hammack has implemented the IXL computer program through a Best Practices Grant she received from the Jefferson County Educational Service Center. The program assists 19 students and supplements her math curriculum and also connects them with state learning standards. The students already utilize Chromebook computers at the school, but the program helps children hone their abilities with the high-tech tools.
“IXL is a comprehensive learning program that has unlimited math practice problems in thousands of skills all aligned to the Common Core,” she said. “The best think about IXL is that the students can access it from home as well as at school. It is designed to help the children learn at their own pace.”
The program is adaptive and adjusts based on the children’s demonstrated learning of the material. In addition, all of the students’ results are saved so parents and teachers can monitor their progress. Hammack said parents can also download IXL’s free table apps for their iPad, Android, or Kindle for on-the-go practice.
Moreover, the experience has led to improvements in student learning.
“Since we started the program, the students are more excited about working on math skills and want to spend more time on the computers,” she added. “The reports generated have shown the students are spending more time on the program with higher performance.”
(Photo Cutline: Kindergarten students at Hills Elementary School are honing their math skills with the IXL program that ties into state learning standards and can be used at school and at home via Chromebook, iPad, and Kindle technology.)
WES Collecting Box Tops for Education
WINTERSVILLE-A contest is under way to raise money for education at Wintersville Elementary School.
Second-grade teacher Sarah Hayes is leading the charge for the annual Box Tops for Education campaign, in which the items are gathered from hundreds of food and non-food products and submitted to the General Mills company in exchange for funding. The collection, which began at the beginning of the month, is being done differently this time and Hayes said a competition was being held between classrooms with the top class receiving a chocolate fountain party for their hard work.
“We’ve always collected box tops, but this is the first time we’ve had a contest,” she said. “This contest runs until the end of January and we’re trying to collect as many as we can.”
Students have been giving the box tops to their teacher or putting them in bags in the main floor hallway. The bags correspond with their classroom and the students have been encouraged to obtain as many box tops as they could from neighbors, friends and family members. At the end of each week, Hayes counts the items and announces the leader the following Monday. Hayes noted that other prizes were being given to motivate the students.
She said the box tops help acquire supplies for the school, but one wish was to raise enough to earn more high-tech gear. So far, more than 2,000 box tops were collected.
“The box tops cost 10 cents apiece and we are paid twice a year. One check was for $1,889 so the box tops really add up,” Hayes continued. “The money we get from the box tops goes toward purchasing art supplies and gym equipment. We’d like to get extra funding to purchase tablets for the students to use, but it’s a hope.”
Box Tops for Education has generated more than $719 million for schools across America since the program was first created in 1996. The latest box tops are due to be submitted around March 1.
(Photo Cutline: Le-Asia Hawkins, a first-grader at Wintersville Elementary School, is helping to improve her school by participating in a Box Tops for Education contest to acquire supplies for the site. The event ends later this month and the winning class will be treated to a chocolate fountain party.)
WINTERSVILLE-A contest is under way to raise money for education at Wintersville Elementary School.
Second-grade teacher Sarah Hayes is leading the charge for the annual Box Tops for Education campaign, in which the items are gathered from hundreds of food and non-food products and submitted to the General Mills company in exchange for funding. The collection, which began at the beginning of the month, is being done differently this time and Hayes said a competition was being held between classrooms with the top class receiving a chocolate fountain party for their hard work.
“We’ve always collected box tops, but this is the first time we’ve had a contest,” she said. “This contest runs until the end of January and we’re trying to collect as many as we can.”
Students have been giving the box tops to their teacher or putting them in bags in the main floor hallway. The bags correspond with their classroom and the students have been encouraged to obtain as many box tops as they could from neighbors, friends and family members. At the end of each week, Hayes counts the items and announces the leader the following Monday. Hayes noted that other prizes were being given to motivate the students.
She said the box tops help acquire supplies for the school, but one wish was to raise enough to earn more high-tech gear. So far, more than 2,000 box tops were collected.
“The box tops cost 10 cents apiece and we are paid twice a year. One check was for $1,889 so the box tops really add up,” Hayes continued. “The money we get from the box tops goes toward purchasing art supplies and gym equipment. We’d like to get extra funding to purchase tablets for the students to use, but it’s a hope.”
Box Tops for Education has generated more than $719 million for schools across America since the program was first created in 1996. The latest box tops are due to be submitted around March 1.
(Photo Cutline: Le-Asia Hawkins, a first-grader at Wintersville Elementary School, is helping to improve her school by participating in a Box Tops for Education contest to acquire supplies for the site. The event ends later this month and the winning class will be treated to a chocolate fountain party.)
Wintersville Elementary Holds Bully Prevention Week
WINTERSVILLE-It was all about kindness at Wintersville Elementary School’s during Bully Prevention Week.
From Sept. 21-25, an estimated 548 PreK-4 students took part in a series of activities to promote positivity and discourage bullying. Members of the fourth grade student council, led by teacher Toni Voltz, conducted daily events under the theme “Be the Good in the World.” They included anti-bullying announcements, motivational tips, and prevention and safety information. Principal Lorrie Jarrett said one high point was the popular “Stick Up a Put Up Day,” where students hung Post It notes with words of encouragement for their peers and school staff. The week also featured Random Acts of Kindness Day, where kids would hold the doors open and help their fellow schoolmates; Make A New Friend Day; Unity Day; and Red and Gold Day, where they donned Indian Creek T-shirts to show their school spirit.
“There were anonymous pick-you-ups and positive comments and they put them on the lockers and doors,” Jarrett said. “The staff and student did it. That was the biggest thing because it goes over very well.”
She continued that the children performed kind acts without being asked and helped others.
“The little ones walked together and the older ones would help little ones who got lost. During the morning announcements, two members of the student council would do the Pledge of Allegiance, a character pledge and read a topic of the day. The bulletin board has bucket fillers that we will fill throughout the year with positive affirmations.”
Jarrett said the event was both fun and friendly, while it stresses an important message.
“If students are being bullied, there’s help around. Bullies don’t think [victims] will say anything, so speaking up is important. This week really reinforces that we’re here to help them when they can’t help themselves.”
Voltz said the goal was to build a “family environment,” and she planned to draw awareness across the community by soliciting local businesses to have employees wear blue on Oct. 5 for Blue Shirt Day in commemoration of the World Day of Bullying Prevention. At that time, she plans to link hands made of construction paper around the school that bear messages and decorations from the students.
(Photo Cutline: Wintersville Elementary School Principal Lorrie Jarrett stands in front of a display full of ideas promoting kindness during the school’s Bully Prevention Week event. Kids were encouraged to befriend and help others as part of the activity.)
Gifted Program Returns to ICMS
MINGO JUNCTION-It has been more than five years since a gifted program existed at Indian Creek Middle School, but now it is back to challenge students on a higher level.
Six teachers have either been certified or are in the process of doing so to implement the program, which made its return for the first time since 2010, and emphasis is being placed on Language Arts and mathematics. Teacher Staci Copeland said the program has been available at ICMS for grades 5-8 since fall, but students are actually identified much earlier through intelligence or aptitude tests.
“They are identified in third-grade and the program starts in the fourth-grade and follows through high school,” Copeland said. “The classes include a cluster of children. Right now, we’re serving gifted students in English/Language Arts and math. At the high school, students are served through Advanced Placement.”
The gifted students remain integrated with other classmates but their curriculum is much more rigid.
“They get personalized instruction based on their specific needs,” she noted. “When we look at how they tested, we give them more rigorous instruction in areas where they are achieving so they are achieving them at higher levels.”
School leaders worked with the Jefferson County Educational Service Center (JCESC) to restart the program following its five-year hiatus.
Linda Lenzi, gifted coordinator at JCESC, had once led the program at ICMS and was pleased to see the level of teacher involvement to get it running. She said Grades 7-8 Principal Dr. Holly Minch-Hick had approached her about bringing the gifted program back last year, and now there are talks to grow it even more.
“We talked about cluster groups in a regular classroom and differentiating with a rigorous course for reading and math. Six of the teachers do the gifted program at Indian Creek and two have gifted intervention supervisor (GIS) certification, while the others will be done [with training] in May,” Lenzi explained. “They are under the guidance of the Jefferson County Educational Service Center and they are meeting and expanding ideas.”
Principal’s Club Building at ICMS
MINGO JUNCTION-Indian Creek Middle School students are picking up a book outside of the classroom to take part in a new Principal’s Reading Club.
Grade 5-6 Principal Toni Dondzila began the lunchtime meetings in September and now it stands at 20 participants. Sixth- and eighth-graders gather in the school conference room each Monday at lunchtime to read and discuss a selection of novels based upon their grade levels. Dondzila said interest has been building in literature as an extracurricular activity.
She was inspired to start a similar group while principal at Wintersville Elementary but revisited the concept at the middle school following a request by a student.
“A sixth-grader came to me wanting to start a reading club. I asked an eighth-grader I knew loved reading,” she said. “I asked the sixth- and eighth-grade teachers to recommend books.”
Ten sixth-graders and 10 eighth-graders meet up to read and discuss novels and Dondzila said the experience has inspired her, as well.
“They push me, especially the sixth-graders. It’s a highlight for them,” she continued. “It was student driven.”
But she hopes the idea of reading for enjoyment continues well into their future.
“Research shows that test scores go up the more they are exposed to reading. My hope is for them to have a lifelong love of reading and be part of a book club.”
(Photo Cutline: Indian Creek Middle School Grade 5-6 Principal Toni Dondzila meets with 20 sixth- and eighth-graders for a regular lunchtime Principal’s Reading Club to inspire students to enjoy reading literature for pleasure.)
ICHS Marching Band Going to Disney World
WINTERSVILLE- The Indian Creek High School Marching Band will be making sweet music in the Sunshine State as they perform at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom later this month.
A total of 138 students will be joined by parents and chaperones as they head to Orlando, Fla., on April 20-24 to play at the legendary attraction for the first time in more than a decade. Band Director Donald Llewellyn Jr. said they will appear in a nighttime performance at the Magic Kingdom’s “A Dream Come True Parade.”
“We’re going to perform a Disney medley of ‘Hi Ho, Hi Ho,’ ‘It’s a Small World,’ ‘Hakuna Matata,’ and ‘Under the Sea,’” Llewellyn added. “We last performed there in 2005. We haven’t been there in over 10 years and wanted to go. We’re looking forward to going back.”
He said the band was required to submit an online video of its performance and began fundraising efforts about two years ago. They began holding a series of fundraisers including gift card raffles, candy bar sales, and tag day events.
“We learned in January that we were selected. We knew when we were going but we didn’t know where,” Llewellyn added, saying they will join high school bands from around the country.
The group will be lodged at Disney’s Pop Century Resort and has a full slate of events over the four-day stay. Time will be divided between Disney World and Universal Studios, where they will enjoy the likes of the Magical Midway Thrill Park and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Meanwhile, chaperones, parents, and some siblings will also be on hand for the experience.
During his 15 years with ICHS, Llewellyn has traveled with the marching band to the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Dollywood at Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and the Branson Belle showboat and Silver Dollar City Theme Park in Branson, Mo. He hopes to next take the band to the Pearl Harbor Day Parade in Hawaii over the next three years.
(Photo Cutline: The Indian Creek High School Marching Band is bound for the Sunshine State as they perform at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando later this month. Nearly 140 band members will play a medley of popular Disney movie tunes and also get a chance to enjoy the attractions at Disney World and Universal Studios. Photo/Newbrough Photo.)