Emotional 3rd Annual Veterans’ Day Assembly By: Christy Weaver, Bugle Editor

S E R V I N G T H E

W O O D R I D G E L O C A L

S C H O O L S C O M M U N I T Y

WMS Clothing Closet Receives Boost

2

Turn Tyson Products into Dollars for Woodridge

2

Second Graders Sing Songs of Love

2

Preserving the Past 2

WMS Students of the Month 2

WHS Awareness Day 2

WMS Participates in Holocaust Art/Writing Contest

3

WPS Students of the Month

3

Chess Champs 3

Box Tops for Education Gets Pumped Up

3

Latin Club Participates in Kiddie Carnival

3

Prevent Blindness Ohio 3

Bulldog Seniors Continue Baseball Careers in College

4

WPS Gets Active 4

Band iPad Raffle 4

Woodridge 300 Club Winners 4

WIS Jumps Rope for Heart 4

Bowlers Awarded for

4

FCCLA Brings Back Gold 4

Inside this issue:

T h e W o o d r i d g e Fieldhouse is a labor of love that started 18 months ago. Funded by donations from private donors through t h e W o o d r i d g e Foundation, the field house received final approval last month from the city. It’s 20,000 sq. ft. will be used for a health classroom, locker rooms, a weight room, coaches offices, and 7,000 sq. ft. of storage for the school. During the day the building will be used for PE and health classes, and at night it will be used for athletics.

An official grand opening is in the works for the first football game of the season in August. The Woodridge Foundation would like to thank all of those who helped financially or with in kind services to complete the building.

Woodridge Field House is Completed!

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the parent meetings on April 29 for parents of current grades K-4 gifted students and on May 6 for parents of current 5-7 gifted students. Both meetings will be held at WMS beginning at 6:00 p.m. Parents planning to

attend the meeting may want to bring copies of the district brochure to the meeting. After the meeting we will be posting cop-ies of the presentations for you to access and view. In the mean-time those of you who will be attending the meeting may want to visit the ALPS publishing website, www.alpspublishing.com, where there is specific information about the Betts Autonomous Learner Model which is what we loosely use to deliver services to our gifted population at the Middle School.

Available online is a tutorial for parents of gifted children that is funded through grant monies and the Ohio Department of Education. Visit javits.etech.ohio.gov and create an account to access several articles, information, and resources for parents of gifted children.

In addition, here are some great reads for parents and gifted youth:

• Parents: Re-Forming Gifted Education by Karen B. Rogers, PhD.

• Gifted youth: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

Laura Rorrer, Challenge by Choice Coordinator, WMS Terri Sigler, Director of Curriculum and Gifted Coordinator Sally Murphy, Gifted Intervention Specialist, WIS

The Gifted Corner

The BugleThe Bugle A P R I L 2 0 1 0

THIS IS NOT A NEW TAX!

Remember to Get Out and Vote—May 4, 2010

Remember to Vote on May 4th!

Woodridge Local Schools will place Issue 13, a renewal levy, on the ballot on May 4, 2010. Issue 13 is the renewal of a levy first passed in 1992. It has been renewed three times since then to continue the collection of $1,055,000. This 2.03 mil levy will not result in any additional taxes to the school district. Some quick levy facts: • Supporting a renewal levy means no new taxes to the

district. • To continue to receive the funds generated from the type of

levy Woodridge Local Schools needs, the state requires a district to “renew” it on a regular basis. This is what we are asking our voters to do on May 4.

• The money generated will be used for the daily operations of our schools.

• The 2.03 mil levy generates $1,055,000.

The Woodridge School District now has a program available to students in need of vision assistance. Woodridge has become a Partner Agency with the Prevent

Blindness Ohio Organization. This means that the District Nurse is able to nominate any students who meet the criteria for a "gift certificate". The gift certificate is to be used for an eye exam and glasses. The criteria to qualify include the following: • Applicant's family income is no more than 200% of the

federal poverty guidelines • Child is not enrolled in Medicaid or other vision

insurance • Child is 18 years old or younger

• Child is a U.S. citizen or documented immigrant with a social security number

The process is quite simple. Once a child is brought to the attention of school staff as a possible candidate, the District Nurse will be notified. The Nurse will talk to the family to gather information and complete the forms. The forms will be forwarded on to the parents or guardians of the student so that they may fill out the family section and sign it. Once they sign it and send it back to the District Nurse, it will be mailed to the organization and the gift certificate will be received within 2-3 weeks. If you would like more information, please contact your school’s clinic staff.

Prevent Blindness Ohio By: Terry Phillips, RN, District Nurse

The second grade musical this year was "The Beatles" Concert! The children learned and memorized 6 kid friendly Beatles songs including Yellow Submarine, Octopus's Garden, Here Comes the Sun, Let It Be, Hello Goodbye, and All You Need Is Love. Some children had speaking parts and shared facts about the Beatles and what the songs were about. These children practiced articulation, inflection, and projection.

Four students were dressed up as the Beatles and did a mock interview at the beginning of the show using a British accent! The children did various movements during the songs reinforcing steady beat and worked on coordination. Some children played the drum and tambourine and several children were chosen to have

solos. One little girl, accompanied the entire second grade on the piano to Let It Be. The messages were about love and friendship which coincide with our WPS building characters taught by our guidance counselor.

The program required teamwork from the 2nd grade and helped the children learn about stage presence and performance practice. The children created colorful submarine artwork with Ms. Davis that was hung in the hallways. The children enjoyed the connections and collaborations between art and music. It was a fun, upbeat show that reinforces many musical concepts and messages that the children will remember for a long time.

Second Graders Sing Songs of Love and Friendship By: Tina Gutierrez, WPS Music Teacher

WMS would like to congratulate their Students of the Month: Vinisha Mittal, Lauren Miller, Joey Horn, Amanda Wojcik, Justin King and Robert Jones.

WMS Students of the Month By: Linda Ocepek, WMS Principal

Mrs. Kalinowski, WMS teacher, recently received the Jim & Betty Coffey Scholarship grant award for the 2010 school year in the amount of $500.00 to help provide supplies for the Clothing Closet at WMS. The grant is awarded by the Lions Club to recognize important work with children and youth.

The clothing closet became an "official" project this school year even though Mrs. Kalinowski has been storing clothes in her classroom for years. The clothes are used to help students in need or who have a clothing emergency at school however, the need and the clothing had outgrown the

space. Mr. Macri graciously donated his office and built a closet so that students have a private place to go with a teacher or staff member and select items they may need. The money from the grant will be used to supplement the closet with items it may need.

WMS Clothing Closet Receives a Much Needed Boost By: Kristen Kalinowski, WMS Teacher

The Woodridge High School Guidance Office sponsored its yearly Awareness Day on the morning of the April 15th. Students attended three breakout sessions throughout the morning, covering the topic of Cyber-Safety.

The first session, conducted by the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, focused on the topic of “sexting”. During the second session, students viewed a video on cyber-bullying and then processed the intense information covered in the video with the counselors. The third session focused on Internet safety and was conducted by a representative from the Federal Trade Commission. She discussed topics ranging from safe use of the Internet to identity protection.

The feedback from Woodridge students and staff was excellent. In addition to support from our teaching staff, the morning was successful because of the hard work of our custodians and our technology staff.

WHS Holds Awareness Day By: Sally Elvitsky, WHS Guidance Counselor

If you eat Tyson products, you can help Woodridge earn money! The PTO has announced that the school is taking part in a national fund-raising program sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc. The program is called Tyson Project A+™, and accord-ing to the coordinator, Shannon Travise, it works like this: “There’s a Tyson Project A+™ label, worth 24¢, on various Tyson products that feature the Tyson Project A+™ logo on the front of the package. Schools earn money from Tyson by collecting and redeeming the labels.”

Participating schools can earn up to $12,000 per academic year, and there are no restrictions on how the funds are used. “We can use the money for anything we need — field trips, computer equipment, sports gear, library books — anything!" said Mrs. Travise.

We have set up a collection site at the Primary and Intermediate Schools where parents and others in the community can drop off their Tyson Project A+™ redemption labels." "If everyone out in the community clips and saves the Tyson Project A+™ redemption labels, we can make this program a huge success for our school."

For more information on the Tyson Project A+™ program, contact Shannon Travise at rtravise@earthlink.net or check out the Tyson Project A+™ Web site, http://ProjectAPlus.tyson.com.

Turn Tyson Products Into Dollars for Woodridge By: Shannon Travise, PTO

Woodridge Middle and High School students and teachers had a rare insider’s tour of the operations of the Peninsula Historical & Education Foundation when they visited there on April 16. The students were invited to tour the home and gardens of the late Robert L. Hunker, the founder of the Foundation and a citizen who worked to preserve and restore the Village of Peninsula. Students also toured G.A.R. Hall & Museum, and the Bronson Memorial Church as an introduction to the work of the Foundation. There will be future opportunities for students to be trained as docents (museum tour guides) and to learn how to take oral histories and to catalogue and archive historical artifacts. This project was built into a grant that the Foundation received to help to preserve the history of Peninsula by creating a collaboration with Woodridge students and staff to teach historic preserva-tion to the next generation.

In the coming month students will also be involved in creating a multi-media presentation about the Peninsula area that the Foundation will show this summer during a traveling exhibit of “Abraham Lincoln: Self Made in America.” The exhibit will be at the G.A.R. Hall from July 3-27 and will feature kiosks of artifacts relating to Lincoln’s life from birth to death. The show is sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, Illinois and is currently traveling all over the country. The exhibit’s stop in Peninsula is the only remaining stop in Ohio. The Lincoln exhibit will be free to the public and available for tours several days a week. During the exhibit the Woodridge student-produced multi-media presentation will be available for visitors to view. For more information about the event go to www.peninsulahistory.org or call (330) 657-2528.

Preserving the Past By: Linda Ocepek, WMS Principal

P A G E 2

P A G E 3

The 2009-2010 Chess Season came to a close in Peninsula on March 22. The last couple months proved to be full of some serious competition as we completed two different tournaments: a normal single-elimination tournament involving all members of from 4th and 5th grade, and a "doubles" tournament where players teamed up together.

Shown here are the top three finishers of the 2009-2010 Chess Club. From left to right: 1st Place - Steven Neveadomi, 2nd Place - Ryan McGuiness, and 3rd Place - Alex Fuller. Also worth noting, Ryan McGuiness took another medal when he teamed up with Andrew Cardenas to take 1st place in the doubles tournament.

Chess Champs By: Don Lathem, WIS Teacher

Middle School students Katrina Folk and Courtney Montecalvo received an Honorable Mention for their submissions to the 22nd Annual City of Akron Holocaust Arts and Writing Contest. On Tuesday, April 13, Mrs. Russo and Mrs. Rorrer accompanied twenty students to the Akron Summit County Main Public Library in downtown Akron to see their classmates in the Awards and Commemoration Ceremony. The twenty students attending the field trip also participated in the annual contest. All students who participate in the contest are invited to attend the ceremony and commemoration. The contest theme this year was Fighting Apathy: The Power of Individual Choice.

Woodridge students submitted entries in all three categories: art, writing, and multimedia. At the ceremony Lici Calderon, a Holocaust survivor, recounted her perilous journey in hiding and her stories about the many individuals who did not choose apathy, to whom she owes her life. At the conclusion of Ms. Calderon's speech, the students then saw an interpretive dance called Spirit Unbroken which showed the struggles of several Jewish women trying to escape the horrors of Auschwitz.

This field experience was possibly a once in a lifetime experience for the students and we would like to take a moment to thank the entire administrative team at Woodridge Middle School, the Superintendant and Curriculum Director and also the Board of Education for seeing the importance in this trip and supporting its implementation. We look forward to offering this valuable experience to our students in the future.

WMS Participates in Holocaust Art and Writing Contest By: Laura Rorrer, WMS Teacher

Congratulations to the Woodridge Primary School Students of the Month for March. These students were chosen from their classrooms for doing an excellent job showing self-control; our Building Character Word of the Month.

Back Row: Marquel Campbell, Evan Wagner, Josh Tompkin, Lilly Cooper, Andrew Mekeal, Owen Kline, Sam Dutt. 2nd Row: Kalo Armoutliev, Paige Lyman, Shelby Rouse, Belle Norris, Andrew Lauck, Natalie Howard. Front Row: Kendra Noonan, Toby Allison, Jenna Ash, Anna Novelli, Betty Sterling, Jackson Sullivan, Riley Ilg. Not pictured: Kaylee Kirchenbauer, Summer Victor.

WPS Students of the Month By: Pat Kennedy, WPS Guidance Counselor

Melissa and Keith Duda are “pumped” about Box Tops for Education. They believe in the program so much that they have donated a FREE party as a

prize for students who bring in the most box tops!

The 25 students at the Primary and the 25 students at the Intermediate schools who bring in the MOST box tops during our summertime challenge will be invited to attend a Pump It Up Party! Students will be asked to save their box tops all summer long. The contest will run from the first day of school through September 30th. Winners will be announced on October 4th.

The party will be held at Pump It Up of Hartville in October. This will be a private party and only Woodridge students will be in the building. They will have access to both party rooms with a total of 7 inflatables. Transportation will not be provided and parents must stay at the party with their child. Siblings of the winning children will also be invited to attend the party.

Our goal for the 2010-11 school year is to raise $5,000 through the Box Tops for Education Program. With the donation of this Pump It Up party, the children will be “jumping” at the chance to donate their box tops. Please ask your friends, neighbors and co-workers to save box tops all summer!

For more information about the Box Top program, contact Shannon Travise at stravise@att.net. For more information about Pump It Up of Hartville visit www.PumpItUpParty.com.

Box Tops for Education Gets Pumped Up! By: Shannon Travise, PTO

On March 5, the Latin Club participated in the annual Kiddie Carnival held at the high school. The club sponsored six events: face painting, Frisbee basketball, pirate shoot, tic-tac-toe, darts, and foul shooting. Supervising students donned togas, tunics, and ancient armor to create an authentic Roman atmosphere. Winners of the contests were awarded colored tickets that could be turned in at the prize t a b l e f o r v a r i o us t y pe s o f c andy a n d t r i n k e t s .

The Latin Club booths proved to be quite popular throughout the evening, as a steady stream of young contestants tried the various games. Commented Latin II student John Slocum, who made a real fashion statement with his Pokemon toga: "I really enjoyed getting dressed up and helping out with the games. All the participants had a great time too."

Latin Club Participates in Kiddie Carnival By: Tom McCaffrey, WHS Teacher

Corbin Griggs, John Slocum, and David Bassett wearing Roman

garb at the carnival.

The Kiddie Carnival was a success this year. The high school invites students in grades K-5 each year for a fun evening. The softball team, yearbook staff and clubs run booths to raise money and to have fun. It is always hard to tell if the little or big kids have more fun.

Kiddie Carnival Another Huge Success By: Cindy Dilley, WHS Teacher

The annual College Knowledge trip for juniors was a great success. 40 juniors left on Thursday March 11 for a 2 day tour of area colleges. The students toured Bowling Green State University, Univer-sity of Toledo, Ohio Northern, University of Dayton, Miami University and Ohio State University. They had admission and financial aid talks so students can begin preparing for life after high school. One of the highlights of the trip is to see alumni who are attending college. The students stayed at Maumee Bay and Hueston Woods State Parks during the trip.

College Knowledge Trip Great Success By: Cindy Dilley, WHS Teacher

In the Classroom and on the Field

P A G E 4

Jump Rope for Heart at WPS—During the week of March 22nd - 26th, WPS students and parents participated in Jump Rope for Heart. Students jumped rope for their heart, raised money for the American Heart Association, and had fun in the process!

Jump Rope for Heart educates students about the effects of exercise on their heart, risk factors for heart disease, and recommendations to reduce their risk.

This year students at WPS collected $4,269.78. All students are commended for their outstanding volunteer service in advancing cardiovascular health & fitness and generating public support for the fight against heart and blood vessel diseases. Each child will receive a sticker and bookmark from the AHA. Also, students who collected money will receive thank you gifts. Gifts included a mini sports water bottle, jump rope, click-n-catch, t-shirt, etc.

Fun Run—April 29th WPS held their Physical Education Fun Run. All students had an opportunity to participate. The Fun Run is designed so all WPS students are successful and winners. They participate at their fitness level, with their friends. Kindergarten children ran, jogged or walked a ¼ mile. First grade children ran, jogged, or walked a little more than a ¼ mile. Second grade children ran, jogged, or walked a ½ mile. After the race the children received water, a popsicle, and a WPS pencil provided by PTO.

Field Day—On May 14th WPS will hold their Field Day. It is an opportunity for students to perform a variety of fun physical activities, using newly acquired and refined skills from physical education class. Activities involve coordination, balance, concentration, cooperation, communication, etc. It is a great culminating activity where students, teachers and parents can finish up another fantastic year!

Kyle Miller jumps rope for his heart!

WPS Gets Active! By: Ty-Ann Gray, WPS Teacher

The Woodridge 300 Club would like to announce their monthly winners. January: Helper, Pete Bartula, Pat Massey, Jeremy Maxa, Dan Schneider February: Andrew Boetto, Karen Nikic, Jim Ackermann, Clair Muscaro, Doug Snyder. March: Ann Edwards, Boys Soccer, Rusty Swigart, Sherri Sitz, Sigmund Wijtkowski.

5 monthly winners are drawn for $100 each. For more information, please call Diane Gilles at 330-926-9834.

Woodridge 300 Club Monthly Winners By: Diane Gilles

Several of the Woodridge bowlers received conference awards for their accomplishments during the 2009/2010 season. District qualifiers (pictured right) were Senior, Michael King, and Sophomore, Arielle Chopka. First Team All PTC County Division were Seniors, Austin Bettio and Michael King; Junior, Dane Myers; and Sophomore Arielle Chopka. Second Team All PTC Couty Division was Senior, Courtney Schneider. Honorable Mentions were Junior, Emilie Ring; Sophomores, Heather Schneider, Nick Freund, and Maxx Myers.

Woodridge Bowlers Awarded for Accomplishments By: Keith Shovestull, WHS Bowling Coach

FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) had some members that advanced from the regional competition in March to the state competition in April. They traveled to Columbus for an exciting week as it was a record-breaking year for Woodridge. Earning silver medals as sopho-mores in National Programs in Action were Shannon Myers and Megan Wojcik. Megan and Shannon worked with first graders in Mrs. Marriner’s class teaching them the importance of exercise and eating healthy. Also earning silver medals for an Illustrated Talk project were sophomores Katie Gilbertson, Catrina Hilling, and Karli Westren. They taught middle school

students the importance of eating breakfast and school performance. Earning gold medals in an Interior Design project were seniors Victoria McIe, Lindsay Rine, and Samantha Harris. This in-depth project earned Samantha a grant in the form of computer software totaling $2200.

The quick hands of Michael Orr buzzed-in in sudden-death overtime for the Financial Literacy Quiz Bowl. The team consisted of Josh Connor, Michael Orr, Zack Bickel, Victoria McIe, and Logan Rice. This is the first time Woodridge has ever been state champs in the Financial Literacy Quiz Bowl. Good job team! Earning a gold medals in Applied Technology for their research on Wii exercise versus regular exercise were Karlie Hepburn, Michael Orr, and Zack Bickel. Karlie, Michael, and Zack were also national qualifiers! It is the first time Woodridge FCCLA has had 2 students take two first places. Congratulations to Michael Orr and Zack Bickel.

FCCLA Brings Back Gold at State Competition By: Leah Norris, WHS Teacher

The band begun selling raffle tickets for a 16 gig apple iPad. Tickets are $5.00 each and 100% of the price goes directly to support band students for the proposed tour to Orlando in the winter of 2010. The drawing will be at the Woodridge Music Festival at Blossom Music Center on May 24. The winner does not need to be present at the concert to win. For more information or to purchase a ticket, contact a band member grades 8-11 or Mr. Krstolic.

Band Raffle for Apple iPad By: Kyle Krstolic, Band Director

In late February, the Intermediate School participated in Jump Rope for Heart to help the American Heart Association fight against heart disease and stroke. Each class actively took part in jump roping activities during P. E. class. Each student was to raise money for the American Heart Association and for their class. The whole school took part in the fundraiser but 61 students raised money. Those 61 students raised $2,178 which topped the total of $1760 from last year.

The top five individual money raising students were Sarah Craven with $145, Vincent Dolciato with $105, Sam Bergdorf with $75, Marissa Bowers with $75, and Brandon Applegarth with $75. These top five money raisers get to write their name on the Jump Rope for Heart Banner that hangs in the gymnasium of the Intermediate School. The top three money raising classes were Mrs. Lamp’s class, which raised a total of $215, Mrs. Bartli-son’s class, which raised a total of $225, and Mrs. Luker’s class, which raised the most with a total of $358. Mrs. Luker’s class will receive a pizza party for raising the most money.

This year we included two different drawings in which students could win extra prizes. The teacher autographed t-shirt drawing was won by Alison Schmeltzer from Mrs. Kirchner’s class. In order to be entered into this drawing each participant must have raised $20 or more. The $10 drawing was for extra prizes and the winner of that drawing was Alyssa Smith from Mrs. Hampshire’s class. Congratulations to all of the students who helped raise money for the American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease and stroke!

WIS Jumps Rope for Heart By: Jason Ciocca, WIS Teacher

Senior Derek Morgan will continue his athletic and academic career at Division I Saint Bonaventure. Derek is a 3-year starter and 4-year letterman for the baseball team. He will play middle infield for the Bonnies. Derek is the son of Monte and Molly Morgan.

Senior Mike Christopher recently committed to continue his academic and athletic career at Grove City. Mike is a 2-year starting catcher for the baseball team. He will play catcher in college. Mike is the son of Dave and Sandy Christopher.

Bulldog Seniors Continue Baseball Career in College By: Dennis Dever, WHS Teacher