Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to spend time working directly with members of our support staff.  I spent a half a day with the wonderful women who staff the Day Care Center at Normandy and I certainly gained a greater appreciation for the job they do.  Imagine two employees tending to ten babies who alternately need to be fed, changed, clothed, and held and that's just what's going on in one of several rooms at the center. As much overall work as there is, it is truly rewarding.  The Day Care facility is a terrific asset and service for our staff members.

This past week, I enjoyed a day as a cafeteria worker at Pleasant Valley Elementary School. I felt like Lucille Ball in the famous “I Love Lucy” episode when she was eating the chocolates that poured onto the conveyor belt as I had hundreds of hungry hands looking to be handed a tray with pizza on it.  It was quite an experience.  Once again, the cafeteria staff people proved to be dedicated and skilled at their jobs.

My hope is to share part of a workday with other members of the support staff, and in the future spend part of a day with a cross section of students and teachers.  If I am going to accurately represent aspects of the jobs which all of you do as I report to the Board of Education and the community, I need to better understand your jobs and your concerns.  I want to thank all those who shared their jobs with me in the past few weeks.

Tuesday is Election Day and for those who live in the district, this is an important election.  Three school board seats are up for election and all three cities have council seats and issues on the ballot.  Also, Tri-C has an issue on the ballot.  Many of our graduates attend Tri-C for either an associate’s degree or to complete their first two years of a four-year degree.  The polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. 

A MESSAGE FROM DIANE BYRNES, CENTRAL OFFICE CHAIRPERSON FOR THE WELLNESS COMMITTEE CONCERNING THE HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

It is time to begin thinking about joining the Holiday Challenge.

The goal of the program is to stay within 1-2 pounds throughout the holidays.

Weigh in at Central Office will be on Thursday, November 17, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. in Conference Room C.

Weigh out will be sometime the beginning of January 2006 - date and time to be determined. The Weight In and Weigh Out are CONFIDENTIAL.

You will receive weekly newsletters with information to help you reach your goal!

This year, incentive prizes will be based on a point system. For every event we offer, you will receive points. For participating in the Holiday Challenge, you will receive one point. If you maintain your weight (not gain more than 2 pounds) on completion of the Challenge, you will receive another point.

Another new twist this year is that this will not only be an individual effort, but a team effort. Our team will be C.O. employees. The team is encouraged to not gain more than 2 pounds as a team based on the team average weight gain, loss, or maintenance.

I, as a C.O. Representative, would like to encourage everyone to join the Holiday Challenge and also continue it throughout the remainder of the school year. You will receive another point for continuing on in the program after the Weigh Out in January 2006. We will have monthly Weigh Outs - you can do this on your own. Then we will have a final Weigh Out in May 2006 before our final Wellness Meeting.

If you are interested in joining in the Holiday Challenge, please let me know by November 10, 2005. I will get your Holiday Challenge packets to you.

NEW BACK THE SCHOOLS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN

After several years as chairperson of the Back The Schools Committee, Wanda Ullman has resigned her position.  Wanda has been a tremendous asset to the district both as an administrator and through her work with the BTSC.  She wants to assure everyone that she will remain an active committee member, she just felt it was time for a change.  We express our sincerest thanks and gratitude to Wanda for her years of service to the district and the community.

Congratulations to Parma Heights Councilman Bob Sepik for being chosen as the new chairman of the Back The Schools Committee.  The BTSC has been instrumental as a both a booster organization and fund-raising group for several years.

The ALP TOO program is in full swing for fall.  The 7^th and 8^th grade students recently studied Mozart and attended a performance of AMADEUS at Playhouse Square. They will soon be completing learning style inventories for self-discovery and will also have the opportunity to discover how a man named Scrooge uncovered his true passions in life through self-examination at a performance of “A Christmas Carol”.

ALP TOO has also begun a holiday service project to be completed during lunch bunch meetings to benefit preschoolers attending programs at Normandy High School and Arlington Elementary. 

NEW METHOD OF ENTERING REPORT CARD DATA

Following a lengthy study by a committee of district administrators, we have begun to implement electronic entry of report card information at John Glenn, Green Valley, and State Road schools.  These three buildings are testing this new form of data entry as a way of making the reporting process more efficient and effective.  We hope to be able to eventually use the system at all of our buildings should it prove to be beneficial.

PERMANENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS UPDATE

Many outdoor construction projects are taking place throughout the district and as the winter weather approaches, several of them will soon be completed.

The parking lot renovation at Parma Park is finished and similar work at Renwood, Parkview, Pearl Road, Green Valley, and Greenbriar is scheduled to wrap up this month.

The pool at Valley Forge has reopened and will be available for the swim team competitions.  We are currently assessing the condition of the pool at Parma Senior High and will be making recommendations to the board sometime in 2006.

As always, we appreciate the patience shown by all of our staff, students, parents and guardians concerning the various projects that arise.  We trust these improvements will benefit everyone associated with our buildings as well as the community.

As the fall sports season comes to a close, we wish to thank everyone who attended an event this year.  Your patronage is truly appreciated and benefits not only our district but the community as well.

Congratulations to the Normandy Invaders football team for an outstanding season.  Making consecutive playoff appearances is quite an accomplishment and we look forward to next year.

HOLIDAY TREE SPONSORSHIP DRIVE

EDUCATION LIGHTS UP THE HOLIDAY!

 The holiday season is quickly approaching!  It is time for the annual Holiday Tree Sponsorship Drive which culminates with an “official” tree lighting ceremony immediately following the Jaycees Christmas Parade on December 4, 2005.

This year’s theme is “Education Lights Up The Holidays” and we are seeking representation for all of the educational institutions within the Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills area.  This includes public, non-public, and community schools as well as institutions like Parma Community General Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, Bryant and Stratton College, Cuyahoga Community College, and other fine learning establishments.

For $125, you can sponsor an educational organization by purchasing a lighted tree complete with a sign featuring the name of your school, business, congregation, family or individual.  We will attempt to match your sponsorship with the institution of your choice but please realize that due to the anticipated number of sponsors, this may not be possible.  Trees will be displayed along Ridge Road between Ridgewood Drive and Day Drive.

Payments must be received by the morning of Thursday, November 17.  A portion of your sponsorship fee will be used to help the Parma City School District transport students to and from community events including the annual holiday presentation of vocal and musical groups at Parmatown Mall.

Please contact any of the following individuals for more information:

Kevin Brennan                                  440-887-4889

Linda Halfacre                                  440-885-8311

Pat Pell                                           440-886-1700

FREE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET OFFER

Cox Communications is extending an offer to all of our students and staff members living within the district enabling them to enjoy free high-speed internet service for the remainder of the school year!

Sign up as a NEW subscriber for Cox Internet Service, show proof of registration or residency and enjoy free high-speed internet until May 31, 2006.  All you need is a cable modem and you can install it yourself at no cost.  Professional installation is available for a fee through Cox.

Fliers will be distributed to all buildings this week which contain full details.

Get your research and studying done faster with Cox High-Speed Internet Service!   

FUTURE PUBLICATION DATES FOR IMAGES ONLINE FOR THE 2005-06 SCHOOL YEAR ARE:

November 21, December 5, January 9, January 23, February 6, February 20, March 6, March 20, April 3, May 1, May 15, and June 5.

ALL INFORMATION PERTAINING TO IMAGES ONLINE MUST BE SUBMITTED BY THE THURSDAY PRECEDING PUBLICATION.  DEADLINE TIME IS 12 NOON.

The Parma Board of Education will recognize the district's August 2005 graduates at its November 7 work session to be held at 7 p.m. in the Little Theatre at Parma Senior High.  We would like to congratulate the graduates for their dedication and hard work and wish them the best of luck.

Also being recognized by the board that night are:

The Valley Forge students who were winners in the Parma Area Fine Arts Council's 2nd Annual Student Art Contest

The Sigma Chapter of the Alpha Delta Kappa sorority for their donation of treasure boxes to the district to help needy students

PRINT SHOP OPEN HOUSE FOR PRINCIPALS AND SECRETARIES

The Production Printing Department will sponsor a "Show and Tell" tour for building principals and secretaries on Thursday, November 17, 2005 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.  The purpose of the tour is to acquaint buildings with the equipment and capabilities of the Production Printing Department.  Should the tour prove successful and helpful additional tours will be scheduled for other staff members.

CURRENT PRINT SHOP STATS

The Copy Center continues to run ahead of projections on "clicks" for this school year.  Currently the Copy Center has run about 1.7 million copies more then anticipated (totaling 4,289,614 clicks) at this point in the school year.  The total annual allocation district-wide for the Copy Center is 9,871,875 copies. At the end of the first quarter the Copy Center should have run between 2,467,968 copies (one fourth of the yearly allocation) and 3,000,000 copies (based on the fact the first quarter historically has more requests than the other three).  Teachers may access FRODO on the intranet for the exact number of clicks they have used on the building copiers and at the Copy Center.

CANNED FOOD DRIVE

Each year, the community relations committee of the Parma Education Association (PEA) and the Parma Council of PTA's tries to brighten the Thanksgiving holiday of over 75 families in the Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills area.  The families are provided with a gift certificate for a turkey, fruit, potatoes, and canned goods, all contributed by the students, parents and teachers of the Parma City School District. 

This year's canned food drive begins on November 7 and will end November 18.  Families will receive their Thanksgiving gift on Monday, November 21.  Parents are asked to send various canned and boxed goods to school with their children between November 7 and November 18 for this canned food drive.

Contacts for further information:

Maureen Neville, PEA President ‑ 440/845‑2400

Mary Ann Albaugh, PEA Community Relations Chair - 440/885-2373

Jan Jasko from AERO, The Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, has announced that the district's own Kathy Cooper has won the state Educator of the Year award from their professional organization. She will receive her award at AERO's annual meeting in Columbus on Thursday, November 10th.

Congratulations Kathy!

In a report issued on October 19 by the Ohio Schools Council (OSC), it was learned that during the 2004-05 school year, the organization saved its 89 district members millions of dollars through its purchase of goods and services. Some of those savings included:

Saving 123 districts over $5.5 million on natural gas purchases

Saved 72 districts $222,000 on the purchase of media materials

Saved 36 districts $345,000 on the purchase of 138 school buses

The OSC consortium was founded in 1986 with 50 districts and with continued growth, the savings for members have increased.  The Parma City School District is a member of the OSC and realizes savings on an annual basis.

For more information regarding the Ohio Schools Council, please visit their website at www.osconline.org

The Parma City School District has sponsored tuition-based childcare programs since 1983. We care for children of working parents before school from 7:00 - 9:00 AM and after school until 6:00 PM in all elementary buildings. We have three sites offering Kindergarten care from 11:45 AM - 6:00 PM, and provide care for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM in our Day Care Center housed in Normandy High School.

Our programs are licensed by the Ohio Department of Education and staffed by trained childcare providers. Each program offers a variety of activities to support the healthy development of young children in an out-of-school environment.

For additional information and tuition rates, please visit our websites:

www.parmacityschools.org/daycare

www.parmacityschools.org/edc

November News: The district will have another early dismissal day on November 15. EDC afterschool childcare will begin at 1:15 for those enrolled. Our "extended" extended day care programs will be enriched by presenters from various community institutions, including NASA, Great Lakes Science Center, Western Reserve Historical Society, Botanical Garden, Lake Metroparks, Jungle Terry, and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Please check the EDC website for the complete enrichment schedule for November 15.

Reminder: There is an additional $5.00 tuition fee for the extended care on November 15.

VETERANS DAY AT DAG HAMMARSKJOLD

Dag Hammarskjold will celebrate its annual recognition of our nation's veterans on November 11, which is the official Veterans Day. Each year we highlight one branch of the military

This year we are spotlighting the United States Army. We will once again conduct a formal ceremony that includes an Army color guard and representatives on active duty in the Army who will speak about today's Army.

We also have a variety of veterans from all service branches that attend and speak to our children at our program. All community veterans are invited to attend our ceremony.

Prior to the assembly our students in grades kindergarten through six submit original poetry in appreciation of our veterans. A student representative of each class in grades three through six will be selected to read his/her poem aloud at the ceremony. At the beginning, middle, and end of the program our students sing a variety of patriotic songs, including the Army Song.

To support our troops abroad, Dag Hammarskjold works cooperatively with the Northern Ohio USO to collect items to send overseas. This collection is coordinated by our student council and involves students and their families in all grade levels. All of our Veterans Day activities support our ongoing mission of preparing students for lifelong learning as responsible and productive citizens. We maintain an ongoing goal of reinforcing citizenship and its responsibilities at all levels of our students' experiences.

Dentzler School's partner for the Parma City Schools' Community Business Schools Program is the Broadview Multi-Care Center. This nursing home facility is providing an Ice Cream Sundae Bar Recognition Award Program each grading period for our Dentzler students.

Our students are also contributing community service projects to this facility. Miss Limes' second graders and Mrs. Paltani's fifth graders made Fall doorhangers and our Dentzler Student Council created autumn artwork for the residents. We thank our Dentzler students for their thoughtfulness.

Breakfast Program

Did you know that Hanna has a breakfast program?  Students can eat breakfast at 8:45 am in the Multipurpose Room.  Cost is $3.25 for 5 meals.  Reduced breakfast tickets are $1.50 for 5 meals and if your child participates in the free lunch program, breakfast is free.  Start your day off right- eat breakfast at school!

Picture Retakes

The date for picture retakes is Wednesday, November 30th from 9:30-10:30 am.  If you would like retakes, please have your child bring their picture package on that day.  If your student was absent on that day and you would like to purchase a picture package, please send in your payment on that day.  Any afternoon kindergarten students requesting retakes will need to be here between 9:30-10:30 am.  Extra picture envelopes are available in the school office.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, November 10^th beginning at 5:00 pm.  Some suggestions for a productive conference:

ü      Decide what you want to discuss in advance and write down questions.  Ask your child about discussion topics. For example, parents often want to find out about discipline policies, grading policies, daily schedule, attendance/absence procedures, homework policy, your child’s progress and relationships.

ü      List items you want to share about your child, such as special health needs or problems, interests or hobbies, feelings/fears about school, likes and dislikes.

ü      Take notes during the conference.

ü      Ask the teacher how you can help your child, the teacher and the school.

ü      Follow up by discussing the conference with your child.

ü      Start immediately on any action steps you agreed to take.

The Hillside Lady Tigers 8th grade volleyball team finished with a 9-4 record overall for the season. Mrs. Tatoczenko would like to extend her appreciation to all parents for their time in attending games and making sure the girls were there at practices. In the Albion tournament, which was held on 10-20-05, the Lady Tigers finished in second place for a fine end to the season.

Hillside Middle School continued its long standing tradition to have a Preschool Halloween Party for siblings of current Hillside students and children of faculty members on Friday, October 21. Mrs. Yvonne Riddle and her Life Skills classes work for weeks preparing crafts, food and games for the children to participate in before going throughout the building Trick or Treating. The students dress up and partner with a preschooler and spend the afternoon enjoying the festivities. Parents are invited to enjoy some "down time" in the school's Media Center where they can partake in refreshments as well as conversation and reading material. Young and old alike had a wonderful time!

In the month of October the halls of John Glenn Elementary hummed with the quiet intensity of State Testing week, rocked to the sounds of “The Monster Mash” at the PTA Fall Social, and were filled with laughter during the Fall Festival parade and parties.

Students attended an assembly for Disabilities Awareness Week, listened to Officer Kappas describe the purpose and training of his Seven Hill’s Police K-9 “pal”, and were amazed as parent, Mr. Meadwell, shared his first-hand experiences in Iraq. The students participated in a Fall Fundraiser and Red Ribbon Week activities including an essay contest, canned food drive, and national “Wear Red” day! It’s been an amazing month, and the students of John Glenn are very fortunate to be a part of a community with families, workers, and educators who support their need to grow academically, socially, and emotionally.

Thanks to the many people who have had a hand in these activities, especially Mrs. Neric, and the team that made the Fall Social an event to remember, Mrs. O’Donnell, for organizing a successful Fall Fundraiser, and Mrs. Schirripa, for heading up the sale of John Glenn spirit wear and student recognition during Red Ribbon week.

During the month of October, John Glenn Elementary also achieved its goal of raising $1,000.00 for Hurricane Relief efforts! Three cheers to the generosity of our families and staff, and special thanks to Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Hausmann for organizing the effort!! An additional amount of $106.00 was donated from the proceeds of the Fall Social Raffle. This is just another example of the spirit of cooperation that makes John Glenn an effective community.

A few more dates to keep in mind:

Nov. 3 – Parent-Teacher Conferences 5:00-7:45 p.m. (please schedule in advance)

Nov. 4 – Report Cards sent home

Nov. 8 – Election Day – School is in session

Nov. 11 – COSI “What’s Wild” Assembly

Nov. 15 – Early Release Day – 1:15 p.m. dismissal

Nov. 22 – PTA “Animals in Their Environment” Program at John Glenn – 6:45 p.m.

Nov. 29 – Last Market Day before the holidays!

1ST GRADE FIELD TRIP TO BROADVIEW MULTI-CARE CENTER

John Muir's entire first grade went on a field trip to the Broadview Multi-Care Center on Thursday, October 27, 2005. Teachers Mrs. Carol Deucher, Mrs. Cindy Koenig, Mr. Dale Pawul, and Miss Julie Pierce walked 79 children and volunteer parent helpers to the Center. Ms. Debbie Rafalski, Director of Recreation and Volunteers, directed the visit.

In the spirit of the season, the children wore costumes over their clothing and went trick-or -treating up and down the halls. Teacher Mrs. Koenig stated, "The children got so many treats from the seniors. It was a give and take situation for the students and residents. It was both fun and an intergenerational learning experience for our students. This visit is a John Muir tradition" Ms. Rafalski said, "The seniors have been talking about the children visiting since they left. It was so good for our residents from the perspective of socialization and friendship-building. The conversations have been centered around old memories and have generated many stories. It was especially valuable for our residents that don't get regular visitors."

Congratulations to Kevin Fantis from the Normandy Culinary arts program!  Kevin is the winner in the Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts Gingerbread House Competition.  Kevin will be traveling to Miami Florida, November 11th through the 14th to participate in the National Finals competition.  He has been awarded scholarship money totaling at least $1000 for each of his 4 years should he decide to attend Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute.  Each of 5 other entries from NHS were awarded $500: Marissa Fraser, Mathew Masley, Alissa Neczypor, Nataliya Yuzvak and Paul Ondo. 

The NHS Spanish students and teachers have developed a newspaper written entirely in Spanish. Mr. Reid and His Spanish III and IV students have written a school newspaper that is distributed to all of the Spanish I and II classes.  It describes school events and news and is used as a way to encourage reading in the foreign language content area. How exciting!

Veterans Day Assembly

This year Parma Senior High School Held its Annual Veterans Day Assembly on November 2, 2005. Due to our Social Studies Department’s Annual Field Trip to Williamsburg, we had to hold our celebration one-week prior to the actual Veteran’s Day Observance.

Our Veterans Day assembly began with a breakfast for the local veterans at 7:30AM. Veterans received pastries, a warm welcome by our Student Council Representatives, and a wonderful opportunity to socialize with other local heroes representing all branches of the military.

Following the breakfast, a dignified and memorable assembly was held in our auditorium. The assembly began with the pledge, and followed by a selected group of students reading their social studies essays that were related to "What Veterans Day Means to Me". The honorable ceremony concluded with a guest speaker, Parma Senior High's former principal Gilbert Friztsche, and an awesome selection performed by the Parma Senior High School Choir, "God Bless the USA".

Free Senior Citizen Jazz Brunch

Parma Senior High School Will be hosting its first of three Jazz Brunches in the Red Rees Room on December 2, 2005 from 10:00AM-12:00 noon. Over 45 Local Senior Citizens have RSVP for the event. We are so excited about implementing new and innovative ways to bring our Senior Citizens back into Parma Senior High School. It is our goal to provide as many opportunities as possible to close the gap between the teens of the world today and the Senior Citizens of the Parma community.

This Jazz brunch will be hosted by Parma Senior High School’s Student Council Members, the Parma Senior High School Music Department, and Ms. Sabol’s classes will be providing party favors for all of our guests!

Future Jazz Brunches will be held on:

VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION

Pleasant Valley will be hosting a Veterans Day celebration on Friday, November 11 at 10AM which will feature members from American Legion Post #703, a ladies handbell choir, bagpipe players, guest speakers, student performances and more.  All area veterans are invited to attend and be recognized. Please call 885-2380 for more information.

Pleasantview's fabulous PTA sponsored a Fall Festival Dance on the evening of October 27, 2005. The dance took place in the school's multipurpose room. Students enjoyed music, treats and a variety of games all while wearing costumes! Admission to the dance was a food item which will donated to those in need.

REPORT CARDS GO HOME NOVEMBER 4

Report cards go home on Friday, Nov. 4 and the children that earned Highest Honors, Honors, Merit Roll, and/or met the homework criteria will be treated to the sundae bar sponsored by Renwood’s PTA.  Congratulations to all our students.

HALLOWEEN PARADE

We’re glad the weather cooperated for Renwood’s annual Halloween parade.  All the children had a great time parading around the block, and waving to parents and neighbors they saw along the way.

Enjoy some scenes from our Halloween parade.

Cheryl Trainer named a Martha Holden Jennings Scholar at Ridge-Brook.

The Martha Holden Jennings Scholar Program recognizes outstanding teachers in public schools. Recognized teachers are invited to a series of lectures given by major personalities in the field of education. Teachers have the opportunity to be recognized for their achievements in the classroom not only by attending the lectures, but also by being awarded a bound volume from the foundation and a silver dish. Ms. Trainer is a sixth grade teacher. We are very proud of Ms. Trainer!

VETERANS DAY ASSEMBLY

We are having an assembly to honor veterans and current members of the armed forces at 10 AM on November 11th.  We have the Color Guard coming and we will recognize a former parent, Michelle Eck, whose son was in Iraq and is now home. We also have Bonita Austin, one of our teachers whose son is presently in Iraq, scheduled to speak at the assembly.  Please feel welcome to attend this assembly and help us honor the tremendous work done by members of our armed forces.

Shiloh is piloting a new reading software program entitled Reading Plus. This program is being used by all seventh grade students to improve reading skills. This is just one way technology is being used to enhance performance.

UNITY CLUB SPREADS THE WORD

The following is a list of upcoming Unity Club events:

1. National Mix It Up at lunch day--Tuesday, November 15th. This day encourages students to step out of the social cliques they form in the cafeteria. This national event is featured in Teaching Tolerance magazine.

2. NCCJ IYM for Middle School Students--Our Unity Club members will facilitate school diversity groups from participating schools throughout the Cleveland area.

NCCJ is the Northeast Conference for Community and Justice. Their mission is to fight bigotry, bias and racism. Every year NCCJ invites schools with cultural diversity programs in the Cleveland area to participate in its annual IYM (It's Your Move) Camp. Our students are given an opportunity to interact with other students from neighboring school systems. Between 6-10 kids are invited to attend this camp retreat annually. This camp provides a wonderful experience for our students to break down stereotypes, address prejudices, and conquer their discrimination and fears.

3. Student Exchange- Our students will shadow other students in a school which has a different cultural environment. Following the student exchange, there will be a group discussion about the experience.

4. Cultural Fair-A showcase of cultural entertainment, food and different treasures from around the world. This event is a collaboration of the Unity Club and the ESOL night school.

*This year's camp was held at the Hiram House Camp in Chagrin Falls-October 27-29th*

Vivian Walker and Mary Kay Fratoe, Advisors *