Superintendent Looks Back on 2005 and Forward to 2006

As we enter the New Year there are challenges ahead of us, but 2005 showed what we could accomplish when working together.

• We started and ended the year as an “Effective” school district; the only large city school district in our area to achieve this status.
• The curriculum was strengthened in a number of areas with materials written by our own staff members.
• Our Staff Development Program continued to provide training and skill development for both the professional and support staff.
• In February, we passed a renewal levy that helped to stabilize our finances.
• Teachers and students won numerous local, regional and national awards.
• Administrators were also recognized for outstanding achievement, including Sue Rueger who was chosen as Ohio Elementary Principal of the Year.
• The National PTA's Parental Involvement School of Excellence Certification was given to Ridge-Brook and Pleasant Valley Elementary Schools.
• Several of our athletic teams were highly successful, including the undefeated seventh-grade football team from Greenbriar.
• Our co-curricular areas were recognized regionally and statewide, including the Valley Forge Marching Band, the first band in district history to qualify for the state marching band finals.
• In May, our elected officials, community leaders and parents joined us in passing a new money issue including one mil for capital improvements.
• Parking lots at several buildings received their first new paving in over 25 years.  This made parking both more convenient and safer for our staff members and visitors.
• We opened the 2005-2006 school year with the fewest transportation problems in memory.
• We came together to mourn the loss of a former student who died in Iraq along with a teacher and administrator who tragically passed away in the final days of this year.
• Always we made our students the focus of everything we do.

This new year will offer us many new challenges including successful negotiations with our teachers and support staff, continuing to strive for an “Excellent” rating on the state report card and working to build and strengthen the connection between our schools and our communities.

I wish all of our staff and students a very happy and successful school year.

Open Enrollment

Please remember that open enrollment ends on January 16, 2006.  Should you wish to explore this option, contact your child's school or the district's Department of Student Services at 440-885-8794. 

Board Meeting Room Artwork

Thank you to the art students at Pleasantview Elementary for providing the lovely holiday artwork which has been displayed in the Board Meeting Room at the Administration Center.  It certainly represented the spirit of the season!

Read-a-Thon is coming!

The 7th Annual Read-a-Thon is scheduled for Saturday, February 18 at Parmatown Mall.  Join us from 11am-2:30pm as we celebrate the wonderful world of reading!  We will feature:

Celebrity readers from the community, student skits and readers, giveaways of single books and family reading gift baskets, a children's used book exchange, an assortment of costumed characters including Mr. Chicken, the Hometown Bees, Stuart Little, Valley Forge's Pat the Patriot and Normandy High School's own Invaderman, and Slider from the Cleveland Indians!  Expert tricks and illusions will be presented courtesy of Magic by Richard

and community and business information tables will also be set up.

Donations of new or used books as well as financial contributions are currently being accepted at the Administration Center which is located at 6726 Ridge Road next to Byers Field.  Please feel free to include the name of your business, congregation, organization, school or individual donor on the inside front cover so your donation will be remembered for years to come.  The deadline for donations is Friday, January 27. 

Please come and join in the fun on February 18 and celebrate the joy of reading!

AP/Honors Nights being held at all three high schools

Advanced Placement and Honors courses provide rigorous academic experience for all motivated high school students, and those who are identified as gifted are strongly encouraged to select these courses.  In order to provide parents and students with information on AP and Honors courses, we are pleased to announce that AP/Honors Nights are scheduled during the next month at all three high schools.  The dates are:

Parma Senior High             Wednesday, January 25 at 6:30

Valley Forge High School    Monday, January 30 at 6:30

Normandy High School       Wednesday, February 1 at 7:00

Explanations of AP college credit criteria and related information will be shared along with the opportunity to meet AP and Honors teachers.  We hope to see you there!

New Language Arts textbook to be adopted

As a part of the ongoing effort to align the district's instruction with the Ohio Department of Education's Academic Content Standards and provide our students with quality educational materials, a new Language Arts textbook will soon be introduced at the ninth-grade level pending approval by the Board of Education.

Following a comprehensive study by a committee of English Department Chairs and teacher reps from each of the three high schools, a recommendation was made to adopt the 2007 edition of "Elements of Literature" published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston.  The book is aligned with state standards and the Ohio Graduation Test, features rigorous selections and Marzano strategies are prevalent throughout the text.  Elements for differentiated instruction are also available for Special Education students and English Language Learners.

The cost will not exceed $104,200 and carries a total worth of $378,800. The current text is 12 years old and is not aligned to standards or current research based on best practices. Implementation will likely occur in the second semester.

ABLE Holiday Community Service Project

On Thursday evening, December 15, 2005, the Parma ABLE Program held its holiday community service project.

Approximately 100 people gathered in the Valley Forge High School cafeteria to make no-sew fleece blankets for needy families in the Parma area and for a local homeless shelter.

The snowy evening event was likened to an old-fashioned quilting bee. Participants gathered in small groups at the tables and chatted while cutting and tying the blankets. Groups consisted of mothers and daughters, students and teachers, sisters and friends, etc. Attendees included ABLE students and staff members, district staff members, administrators, board members, community members, and friends and family members of all.  Festive holiday music was piped in, people brought desserts to share and Santa even made a special visit.

The blankets were tied with beautiful donated ribbon before they were distributed the next day.  The project was highlighted as a "Good Deed" in the Parma Sun Post in December and Cox Communication is airing it on Hometown Highlights this month.

Creekview Day Center Participants

Bonnie Black and JoAnn Micciulla from Broadview Multi-Care and Creekview Day Center helped with the blanket project by encouraging participation at their facility.

Websites

Please visit our websites for further information on our programs.

ABLE

www.parmacityschools.org/able

GED Testing

www.parmacityschools.org/gedtesting

Workplace Education

www.parmacityschools.org/workplace

Cosmetology Contest Winners

Students from the department traveled to Columbus to compete in the National Cosmetology’s Association’s Student Competition. This contest is open to all the schools in the state, both public and private schools; which means our students were competing against adults. We are happy to announce our students had great success.

A Second Place trophy in “Avant Garde” was earned by Normandy’s Kali Woodside. In the “Wedding Style” category Normandy’s Kerilyn Bistak earned a First Place. “Fantasy Mannequin” honors went to Eve Gorski also from Normandy. “Artistry in Ebony” First Place trophy went to Lauren Ondrish from Valley Forge.

In the “Team Competition” where three girls enter as a unit, each student does one part, Nails, Hair or Make-up. Honors went to Autumn Kovach (Normandy) doing Hair, Second Place. Kortney Klein (Normandy) earned a Third in Nails. The team whose other member was Christine Garucci (Valley Forge) took the “Team Trophy” second overall.

Congratulations to all of our students for doing an outstanding job at the competition!

Great News From Dental Technologies

This past October, eight students passed all three sections of their State Exams and are now certified in Radiology and Dental Assisting.  The eight are:

Parma Senior High - Jessica Conklin and Rachel Fenner

Valley Forge - Ashley Hirt

Normandy - Melissa Harb, Maryanna Horokhivska, Alina Keler, Rachel Morgan and Kim Sambor

Last year, the district featured one of three students who were the first high-schoolers to pass the October test.

Congratulations to these students on their tremendous accomplishment and also to Instructor Barbara Zindroski!

Pictured below from left to right are: Rachel F., Maryana and Alina

Front row left to right: Rachel M. and Melissa

Pleasant Lake Villa looking for volunteers

Pleasant Lake Villa is looking for volunteers to help with a variety of tasks.  These may include reading and visiting bedfast residents, helping with field trips, serving refreshments, decorating for holidays and special events, or teaching a special skill to others.  It may also include leading a sing-a-long, playing games such as cards or checkers, taking residents for strolls, assisting with craft programs, writing letters, or distributing mail, magazines, or books.  If any of these duties sound interesting to you, please contact Cherie Klimas, Recreation Director at (440) 842-2273.

Thank you to our music teachers

We would like to acknowledge the efforts of all of our music teachers in making this year's Holiday Music presentations so special.  Our students performed at Parmatown Mall and several nursing homes and assisted living centers throughout the district in addition to presenting winter concerts at their respective buildings.  The students were tremendous ambassadors in spreading holiday cheer.

We have received countless compliments from the community regarding these presentations and would like to say "Thank You" to all who helped make it happen.

Superintendent's Showcase

A variety of students were recognized as part of the Superintendent's Showcase at the December 12, 2005 Board of Education meeting.

Greenbriar Middle School's undefeated seventh-grade football team was acknowledged for their perfect 7-0 season.  The Yeomen were led by coaches Shane Bell and Joe Porach.  Several team members and their parents were on hand to share in the honor.

Rebecca Seegert, a senior at Normandy, was recognized for having her artwork chosen for the Superintendent's 2005 Holiday Card.  The card was sent out to over 500 people throughout the district and our three communities.  Rebecca, who was given an oversized reproduction of the card for her portfolio, receives instruction in Mr. David Fogle's Art IV class.

Finally, the Valley Forge Marching Band was honored for doing what no other band in the district's history had done before; they were invited to compete in the Ohio State Marching Band Championship Finals this past November where they received an "excellent" rating.  Congratulations to Lynda Eubanks and the entire music department at Valley Forge for this tremendous accomplishment!

Please join us on Monday, January 9 at 7PM in the Parma High Little Theater for another eventful board meeting.  The January edition of the Superintendent's Showcase will feature Kevin Fantis, a junior at Parma High who received national recognition for his accomplishments in the National Gingerbread House competition held in Miami, Florida as well as Staff Development Supervisor Sharon Jones who was recently inducted into the Parma High Hall of Fame.  

Our students and staff mourned the death of two dedicated educators at the close of 2005.

Mr. Derrell Daniels, an assistant principal at Valley Forge High School, passed away on December 19, 2005.  Mr. Daniels had been with the district for two years.  While at Valley Forge, he was in charge of the Renaissance Program, served as the administrative representative for the Music Club and participated in last year’s Relay For Life event at Parma High.

Ms. Gretchen Ries, a mathematics teacher at Normandy High School, passed away on December 11, 2005.  Ms. Ries had been with the district for 30 years and was a member of the Building Advisory Committee, served as the administrative representative for the Bowling team, assisted the Environmental Club and was a former Cheerleading advisor.

A qualified and properly licensed administrator and math teacher will replace these outstanding educators for the remainder of this school year.  

The answer is YES!

Staff members have been asking if the Production Printing Department has the ability to reproduce posters.  The answer to this question is “yes” providing the poster is no wider than 40 inches. We can accommodate various lengths as long as the width does not exceed 40 inches. 

Full color and black and white posters can be reproduced on bond or glossy paper.  Exact cost depends on the size of the poster and paper quality.  The process used involves scanning the original poster and reprinting on a large format plotter.  This process is more expensive than the cost of reproducing items smaller than 12” by 18.” Please contact us for an individual estimate.

Requests for poster reproductions should be submitted on a “green” printing form and signed by the building principal and/or have an account number that can be billed for the item.

It usually takes five working days to schedule and reproduce a poster.  Due to the size of posters, we recommend that you bring the poster to us and not put in on the delivery van.  This avoids damage unless you have a cylindrical cardboard carrier of adequate size to transport the poster.  If you are bringing the poster to us in person, please do so Monday through Thursday from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. during the “Walk-In” period.  We will contact you when your poster is ready for pick-up.

We would like to thank all members of the staff for a terrific first semester.  We wish everyone a Happy New Year and we look forward to serving you in the second semester.

New administrator joins Special Education

We would like to recognize Kristine Balestra, the newest member of our department.  Kristine joins us in the position of Special Education Supervisor and replaces Myra Tesluk, who left shortly before the end of 2005.

Kristine's first day will be January 20 so please welcome her to our district!

High School and Middle School Registration Guides

We would like to remind everyone that high school registration guides are now available for the 2006-07 year and the middle school guides are currently in production.

Should you have any questions regarding course offerings, class availability or any other matter related to registration, please call your child's guidance counselor or the Student Services Department at 440-885-8794.

Welcome to the new Director of Transportation

We would like to welcome Meg Kaiser, the new Director of Transportation, to our department. Meg is a longtime resident of Parma and a graduate of Parma High. She has previously worked as a noon aide, a special education aide, a substitute teacher and most recently as the administrative assistant to the Board of Education.

Interim Director Mike Malloy will be staying with the district for several weeks to help Meg with her transition. We wish Meg all the best in her new position!

The Parma City Schools 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

Right to Read Week

Dentzler School celebrated Right-to-Read Week during the month of December with the theme "Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You." A highlight of the many activities that occurred throughout the week was having illustrator Christopher Canyon visit the school for a day.

During his visit he shared how he illustrated some of his most recent books which feature John Denver's songs as picture books. These include the books Take Me Home Country Roads, Ancient Rhymes: A Dolphin Lullaby and Sunshine on My Shoulders. In addition to an assembly program, individual sessions with the kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms were presented which included drawing illustrations, storytelling and a musical performance.

From Your Friendly Neighborhood Principal

HAPPY NEW YEAR! As we enter 2006, it is time to recommit ourselves to ensuring that all Hanna students will succeed. Please take some time to sit down and talk to your child about your expectations for them at school, both academically and behaviorally.

Our teachers have high expectations in the classroom. Those expectations are there for the best of reasons- to challenge your child to do his/her best everyday. It is important to check homework each night. The number one reason for lower grades is missed assignments. Please make sure your child is here on time and every day. We cannot do our job if the student is not in school.

Please try and commit yourself to volunteering at school at least once during the remainder of the school year. This could be by participating in our Ohio Reads program, assisting in your child’s classroom during a specific project, tutoring or chaperoning a field trip. Research proves that students whose parents are actively involved in school are more successful.

Our work as a school community continues to grow. Be a part of that growth by getting involved with your child’s education. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "It is one of the greatest compensations in life that one can help another without helping themselves."

I wish you and your family a happy and joyous New Year!

Our Media Center is Growing!

The Ohio Reads program made a very generous donation to our Media Center. Mrs. Whitehead shopped at the half-off educator scholastic book fair in December and she purchased 118 books including many AR books and reference books for our library.

For the past few months, students have been making lists of books they would like our library to purchase. In January, a survey will be given to the teachers to find out which titles they are interested in having at Hanna. Requested books will be included for our next purchase.

Holiday Concert

Our holiday concert on December 13th was a great success.  Congratulation to all our choir, orchestra & band members on a job well done!  A special "Thank You" to Mrs. Marquardt, Mrs. Carrig, Mrs. Hoss & Mr. Stretch for all their hard work & dedication.

Canned Food Drive

The students and staff at Hanna Elementary School collected over 1700 canned food items for the district food drive.  Congratulations to Mrs. Badowski’s 3rd grade class for bringing in the most items.  All the 3rd grade students got the chance to throw a pie at Mr. Jones in a special assembly.

Pride and Spirit competition

The Unified Arts Team organized a spectacular team builder for December 9, 2005. This year was the 14th meeting of the Pride and Spirit teams in a game of basketball, art contests, tug of war, ski contests, and pie eating. Fun was had by the students. Pride had been losing the game until the 3rd quarter, when the girls team orchestrated a phenomenal comeback. The Spirit Team could not stop Natalia Simovic whose height proved advantageous to the Pride Team. The 4th quarter boys team maintained the lead and sealed the victory for the Pride Team. Other point scorers for Pride were Brittany Lassiter-Krusinski in the poster contest, Ryan Szymanski in pie eating, and the boys tug of war team. Ms. Kohut, Pride Team Leader, was very excited to accept the trophy and is proudly displaying it in her room.

Winter concert

John Muir Elementary School held its annual Winter Concert on December 15, 2005. It was an overwhelming success demonstrated by a full house and an enthusiastic audience. Orchestra Director, Ms. Liz Lesczynski, led 23 students playing 10 arrangements. Mrs. Barbara Rominger accompanied the orchestra on the piano. Performing next was the newly formed John Muir Choir. The Choir Director, Ms. Stephanie Danvir, directed the 37 singers in five festive songs. The children's favorite seemed to be "A Holiday Hand Jive" arranged by Greg Gilpin. Culminating the program was our Elementary Band consisting of 43 students which was guided by Mr. Joe Stretch. Director Stretch had the band play 9 songs featuring both beginning and advanced performers. It was a music program to be proud of.

Display Your Viking Pride

John Muir's PTA will soon be delivering every student a blue on white Viking Pride T-shirt to be worn especially on Spirit Days. The Year 2006 will certainly be one celebrating John Muir's Viking Pride!

FAST graduation

Ten of our FAST families recently graduated and Trinity Baptist Church was the host site! Mr. Daniels and Mrs. Ruane were there to support and congratulate those families who completed the program.

FAST sites will be starting in the Winter again for children K-2 grade. Thanks to all the team members, parents, and children who participated in another great Families and Schools Together session!

Congratulations to Teacher Barb Zindroski. If you check the 96.5 KISS FM website, she has been designated the Teacher of the Week and will be receiving a plaque at an awards ceremony at Dave and Busters.  This is sponsored by the Case Western Reserve University College of Nursing. Congratulations to Barb!

On Wednesday and Thursday, January 4th and 5th, All students attended a celebrations and expectations assembly conducted by the administrative team members.  Ms. Jayjack, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. King and Ms. Galioto communicated the fine achievements from the fall athletics and student activities.  They also reviewed the new “3 R’s” of the 2006: Respect, Responsibility and Rigor.  Students were treated to pictures taken during the fall and encouraged to attend activities and support their peers during the winter athletic season.

Students are encouraged to attend the winter formal dance on February 11th.  This is the concluding activity for winter spirit week.  The Dance and spirit week activities are organized by the student government organization with advisors, Mrs. Ruggiero and Mrs. McCarthy.

Summer Reading Beach Party

        Parkview ended last school year by celebrating Summer Reading with a SPLASH!  The entire school joined the Summer Reading Committee in the Multi-Purpose Room, for an afternoon full of excitement and books.  Upon arrival, pools of books, sand pails, beach chairs, beach balls, beach towels, sunglasses, posters of books, and a giant sun, took over the room.  The theme for the day was “Dive Into a Cool Book.”   We encouraged all students and to wear beach shorts, t-shirts, hats, and sunglasses.  Each student had an opportunity to find books that were on the Summer Reading Lists and peruse the books found on the list.  Every grade level had a total of thirty minutes to take notes, highlight, or even ask questions to other students who have read some of the books on the lists. 

Since students were required to share their summer reading projects, and reading logs in their classroom, we decided to take pictures of the students and their projects.  Parkview put together a BRAG assembly for all the students who participated in the 2005 Summer Reading Program.  Then we made a splash with a fifteen-minute, ProShow Gold computer program.  This special program enables you to create a slide show for any occasion that allows you to put your show to music.  The entire school could see what students were reading over the summer months.  All students who participated in the Summer Reading Project received the Parma Schools “Reading Rocks” bracelet, and a ribbon congratulating them for completing the project.  

        While watching the BRAG assembly, everyone could see how students continued to refine their reading skills through projects such as mobiles, dioramas, sun visors, story quilts, bookmarks, door hangers, and ABC summaries. 

These pictures are from some of the best summer reading projects that were turned in by Parkview students.  We are so very proud of all their hard work and efforts!

Tips to help your child at home and school

Children Who Have Rules at Home Behave Well at School

Children who are aggressive at school usually act the same way at home. Parents can help their children by setting clear rules. Here are some rules to share with your children:

·    Don't hit or kick.  Don't allow your child to strike anyone else.

·    Don't swear.  Don't allow your child to use language that is obscene or vulgar.

·    Don't throw temper tantrums.  If your child becomes upset, send him to his room until he is calm.

·    Cooperate.  Do chores together.  Solve problems together. When you can, involve your child in making decisions.

·    Show respect.  Teach your child that everyone in a family deserves respect.  Members of the family are the most important people in the world.

·    Don't threaten others.  Don't allow your child to threaten anyone, either with words of with physical force.

·    Do something nice.  Ask each person in your family to do something nice for at least one other person each day.

·    Don't talk back.  If a parent is talking, teach your child to listen without interrupting.

·    Show love.  Tell family members you love them everyday.  Show them with hugs, kisses and pats on the back.

·    Live the Golden Rule. Teach your child to treat others the way he wants to be treated.

That is the key to getting along.   Write these rules down. Talk about them with your child.  Then put them into action in your home.

Ridge-Brook's Hoop Shoot Contest Winners - The Parma Elks Hoop Shoot Contest was held at Pleasant Valley on November 16, 2005. Ridge-Brook was represented by the following students: Nick Adams, Kayla Goodrich, Nick Jouriles, Rachel Jouriles, Dylan Macaluso, Oleg Molotkovskiy, Tevin Patterson, Mike Rell, Gina Zavada and Natalie Zerucha.

Congratulations!! Way to go! Thank you to Mr. Adomaites for providing our students with this opportunity.

Who's Who Among America's Teachers

Mrs. King once again was recognized by a successful former student as a teacher who made a positive impact on their life. Mrs. King's name will appear in the 10th edition of "Who's' Who Among American Teachers ã 2005-2006.

Freeway Lanes - Thank you for our first Sundae Bar. We recognized approximately 150 students this quarter. We hope to see more students recognized as the year goes on. A special thanks to Mr. Jim Splete from Freeway Lanes for furnishing the sundaes and prizes to the students.

Thank you also to the following "Dads" who helped dish ice cream: Mr. Savanick, Paula Kyser's grandfather; Mr. Goodrich, Kevin and Kayla's dad; Mr. Royak, Ms. Trainer's dad; and Mr. Lynch, Ms. Lynch's dad.

Who Killed Felix Navidad? 

It’ s a murder dying to be solved: There’s an outline of a body on the patio of a luxurious beach house.  There are fingerprints, thread fragments, hair, and other potentially incriminating evidence at the scene.  The body has disappeared on the way to the morgue and four people have a motive to kill the rich victim. 

          It was up to the resourceful 7^th grade students at Shiloh to use logic, observation, and creativity to settle the mysterious case of “Who killed Felix Navidad?”  

          The students found and analyzed evidence, sketched the crime scene, investigated suspects, and drew logical conclusions.  Students conducted forensic science tests on the evidence found at the crime scene in Science class.  After reviewing the evidence, students were organized into teams to prepare for a trial.  The prosecution team chose a suspect to place on trial while the other teams were charged with defending one of the four suspects.  At the trial, students demonstrated their speaking and listening skills by giving opening and closing statements and asking probing questions.  Several surprise witnesses were called and a suspect was convicted! 

          The simulation culminated a Reading unit that explored the mystery genre.