State Funding Issues

On Friday, March 31, I was pleased to host a luncheon at the Administrative Offices regarding several state school funding issues.  Present were Representative Tim DeGeeter, Senator Dale Miller, former senator Anthony Sinagra, an aide from Representative Tom Patton's office, Meghann McCall from the City of Parma, Parma Board of Education members Karen Dendorfer and Cyndee Bratz and district Treasurer Bruce Basalla.  Joining us via conference call was the Executive Director of the Alliance for Adequate School Funding and former senator Jim Betts. 

We reviewed 6 key issues facing Ohio schools and how they would directly affect our district. Three of the items dealt with the partial or total loss of key revenue sources. We hope to be able to illustrate the role these dollars play in our general fund and persuade the state to look at other options.

Another point of discussion was a proposed amendment designed to reduce the frequency with which school districts need to place levy issues on the ballot. Eleven different educational groups are currently promoting the Educational Funding Reform Amendment as a way to help schools and taxpayers alike.

As superintendent of the 11th largest school district in the State of Ohio and a member of the Executive Board of the Alliance for Adequate School Funding, I want to do all I can to help bring a sensible and equitable system of funding to Ohio residents and particularly the taxpayers within our district.  Meetings such as this help us to stay well-informed and also serve to keep our interests at the forefront of future legislative discussions.

ALP TOO - Middle School

"I Believe In Peace"

ALP TOO students recently competed in the Conflict Resolution Center’s "I Believe In Peace" poster and poetry contest for students K-12. Students participated individually or in pairs and over 40 posters and pieces of poetry were submitted to the competition. Art and poetry entries were on display at an evening art show on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 at the Five Seasons Country Club in Westlake.

CONGRATULATIONS to 8th grader Katerina Glyptis for being selected as a winner for her poetry piece.

ALP TOO Seminar Days: "Jump Start Day for Middle School"

Students received a real "behind the scenes" look at show biz. Professional actors/mangers taught students different theatrical techniques that are useful both on and off the stage. Classes included theater management, dancing and acting.

Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine

Each middle school was fortunate enough to have the Cleveland Zoo bus provide transportation to the zoo to allow a small group of 16 to 20 students from each middle school to attend on ALP TOO day. The groups were able to view routine care of flamingoes. Flamingoes require ongoing foot scraping and specialized treatment. Hillside students were able to see a bat have staples placed in its’ abdomen to fortify sutures from a surgical procedure done the previous day. Shiloh students were also able to view the emergency shoulder surgery performed on a Colobus monkey from start to finish.

Cleveland Plain Dealer Spelling Bee

Three middle school students from Parma competed in the countywide spelling bee at Cleveland State on March 15, 2006. Forty-four individual school champions participated. Manpreet Grewal represented Hillside and was coached by teacher Dave Walder. Dmitriy Fedorchuk from Shiloh and Rachelle Ibrahim from Greenbriar rounded out the Parma contestants and were coached by teacher Polly Bowman. Congratulations to Manpreet, Dmitriy, and Rachelle for representing Hillside, Shiloh, and Greenbriar respectively in the Regional Spelling Bee.

Reader’s Digest Word Power Challenge Update

Selina Pigoni (Hillside Middle School) traveled to Columbus on March 20 to participate in the statewide competition with 99 other 8th grade qualifiers from around the state. Congratulations to Selina on her performance in this competition.

High School Student Receives Distinguished Honor

Eleventh grade student, Kelly Cifranic, has been selected to participate in the 2006 Martin Essex School for the Gifted. She is one of fifty gifted identified students in Ohio who were chosen to attend the week-long program from July 30 to August 5 at The Ohio State University. The Parma City School District has not had a student achieve this honor for many years, so we are especially proud of Kelly.

Please visit this website to learn more about The Martin Essex School: http://www.ssco.org/essex/

Congratulations!

Career and Technical Director Bill Aubuchon will be recognized this week by the Ohio Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association for his brilliant photography depicting Parma students in a learning environment.  He will be presented with at least one Ohio Mark of Excellence or Pyramid Award. Deputy Superintendent Christina Dinklocker will be accompanying Mr. Aubuchon at a luncheon on April 7 in Columbus.  Several of Mr. Aubuchon's photographs are on display at the Stuart L. Openlander Administration Center and many more will be shown throughout our buildings in the near future.  

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 website:

www.parmacityschools.org/daycare

Easter Egg Hunt

The Parma Jaycees Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held at Byers Field on Saturday, April 8 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. This year's hunt will be organized according to age groups.  Each will have a specific starting time.  The schedule will be:

Ages 4-6 start at 12 noon, ages 7-9 start at 12:25 p.m., and ages 10-12 begin at 12:50 p.m.

There will not be a hunt for those 3 and under, but all children are welcome to attend and meet the Easter Bunny, who will have eggs to give away.

Please call 216-470-7113 for more information or to volunteer your assistance.

Harry and the Potters are coming!

Join us at Parmatown Mall on April 9 beginning at 4PM for a live concert starring Harry and the Potters!  This enchanting group will perform songs and treat you to an afternoon filled with fun.  Take part in crafts and games, enter to win prizes in exciting raffles and drawings and enjoy special Harry Potter treats.

Kids of all ages are encouraged to stop by the Borders Express location inside Parmatown Mall to experience this wonderful event.  Proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Domestic Violence Center of Cleveland.  Monetary donations will also be accepted on behalf of the Center.

For more information about this event and how you can help the Domestic Violence Center, please visit the following websites or call Borders at 845-5911:

www.parmatown.com

www.domesticviolencecenter.org

City Collection Events

The City of Parma has partnered with the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District to encourage residents to participate in the following collections of unused or unwanted materials.

Computer Round-up:Takes place from April 3-21 at the Parma Service Garage.  Come to 5680 Chevrolet Boulevard on Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.  Closed on April 14 for Good Friday.

Household Hazard & Waste Round-up:Takes place on Saturday, May 20 from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Parma Service Garage.

Phone Book Recycling:Takes place from June 1- August 31 at the Cleveland Metroparks office located at Snow Road and Big Creek Parkway.

Thank you for doing your part to protect the environment!

Mr. Chicken can cater your next event

With the school year winding down, now is the time to prepare for your child’s graduation party.  Mr. Chicken can make your catering easy with one of our many Party Packages. One of our Favorites is the "Traditional 50 People Party Pak" for only $3.97 per person with a total package cost of $198.95.

For more information, please call Amanda Miles, Catering Director, at 216-409-3517.  At Mr. Chicken, we look forward to answering your questions and helping to make your party a hit! 

Mr. Chicken is a longtime CBS partner who can also cater your PTA meeting, Athletic Dinner, Awards Night or Recognition Dinner.

Relay For Life

The 3rd Annual Parma Area Relay For Life event will be held on July 14 and 15 at Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus.  Master of Ceremonies will be Parma's own Jack Marschall from WEWS News Channel 5 and the featured speaker will be Robert Brodell M.D. who is a member of the Relay for Life Hall of Fame.

If you or someone you know is a cancer survivor, please consider registering for the Survivor Dinner sponsored by the Parma Olive Garden Restaurant located at 8383 Day Drive.

For more information on participating in this year's event, please visit the American Cancer Society online at:

www.acsevents.org/relay/oh/parma.

Thank you for your help in the fight against cancer.

Future publication dates for Images Online

The final three issues of the year are scheduled for May 1, May 15 and June 5. The deadline for all submissions is noon on the Thursday preceding publication.  Please contact Kevin Brennan at 440-887-4889 with any questions.

Cabinet Minutes to become a new feature in Images Online

The Superintendent’s Cabinet meets on most Monday mornings during the school year.  The Cabinet consists of the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer, Business Manager, and a high school, middle school and elementary principal.  The principal positions rotate during the school year so each high school and middle school principal sits on the Cabinet for 14 weeks. An elementary principal from each cluster is also chosen for a 14 week period.

The Cabinet also includes the Director of Safety and Security, Director of Career and Technical Education, Curriculum Supervisors, Director of Human Resources, Supervisor of Student Services, Director of Special Education, Director of Technology and the Community Outreach Specialists.  At times, other members of the administration are on the Cabinet agenda as the need arises.

Minutes of each meeting are prepared and sent to all members of the Leadership Team.  Beginning with the next issue of Images Online, we will publish the highlights of the Cabinet meetings including important dates, events and news concerning the school district.  We invite you to read this section of Images Online in future issues.

Congratulations!

In case you missed it, Lillian Scafidi, principal of Renwood Elementary, was named the Smythe-Cramer/Howard Hanna citizen of the day on Friday, March 31.  It was announced in the afternoon on WDOK radio.  Congratulations Lillian!

The "First Lady of Lunch"

Congratulations to our own Melania Rakytiak on her new-found celebrity!  Melania was the subject of an article in the March 25 edition of the Plain Dealer which highlighted her position and experience as a food service worker.

Melania's knowledge and sense of humor translated readily to print and she did an outstanding job of representing Greenbriar, the Food Service department and the district as well.  Those of us who know her also wish she was 40 years old again, as Melania stated in the story, so she could provide us with 20 more years of her wonderful personality and skill.

Great job Melania!

Teachers ask why is that the clicks I am allowed on the copy machines in my building cannot be transferred to the Copy Center or vice versa?

The reason is that the copy machines in the buildings are Konica equipment supplied to the school district by Blue Technologies.  The equipment in the Copy Center are Xerox high volume production machines supplied by Xerox Corporation.  The district actually has two separate contracts, and therefore you cannot transfer clicks from the building machines to the Copy Center or vice versa. 

Your clicks at the Copy Center are recorded and controlled by the Copy Center.  The clicks you are allocated at your building are recorded by the keypad devices on the machines and controlled by your building principal.  Both the Copy Center and your building principal have been issued a click allocation for the year based on the total copying budget for the district.  The allocation is based on 1500 clicks per student divided between the buildings and the Copy Center.  The national average for copying for instructional purposes is 1100 clicks per student.

Youth Ability

The Parent Mentors of the Berea, Parma and Strongsville City School Districts are proud to present Heidi Solomon from Youth Ability on Tuesday, April 25.

Heidi will be appearing at the Middleburg Heights Library at 15600 Bagley Road from 7:00-8:30 p.m. to discuss how Youth Ability empowers youth through community services.  Youths aged 14-26 are assisted with volunteer projects that develop employment and social skills.

Please contact Cindy Wilcoxon in Berea at 216-898-8711, Michelle Pallo in Parma at 440-885-3761 or Teresa Karsnak in Strongsville at 44-572-6593 for more information.  Registration is required by April 21.

Door prizes and refreshments will be provided.

Thank You!

We would like to thank everyone who participated in making this year's Kindergarten registration process such a success, especially Parmatown Mall for donating the space and all of the families for bringing such great kids!  Hopefully it worked as well for you as it did for us. Should you have any questions, please call the Student Services Department at 885-8794.

Safety Town is Coming

Safety Town is a safety education program sponsored by the Parma Early Childhood PTA, the Parma Jaycees, the Tri-City Safety Association, the Parma City School District and the safety forces of Parma, Parma Heights and Seven Hills.  This year's program will operated in eight separate two-week sessions available at James E. Hanna and Green Valley Elementary Schools.  The program is open to all residents of the Parma City School District who have children entering kindergarten in August 2006.

Registration is open on a first-come, first-served basis at the Schaaf Community Center, located at 5983 West 54th Street, on Saturday, April 29 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon.  Registration by mail will not be open until May 1. We ask that you prioritize your choice of session dates and times so that we may most effectively fit your needs.  Class sizes will be limited.  Notification of class assignment will come by mail.

June sessions at Hanna will be held the 19th through the 30th from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and also from 11:30-1:30 p.m. July sessions at Hanna will be held the 5th through the 14th from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and also from 11:30-1:30 p.m.

June sessions at Green Valley will be held the 12th through the 23rd from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and also from 11:30-1:30 p.m.  The second session at Green Valley will be held June 26 to July 7 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and from 11:30-1:30 p.m.  

The program fee is $23 and must be paid at the time of registration.  Registration forms are available at the Parma City School District Administrative Offices and other locations.  More information is available on the homepage of the district website at www.parmacityschools.org. 

For more information about registration or to become a program volunteer, please call 440-885-8495 extension 1234.

First Step springs into action

First Step is anticipating several fun spring events. On May 17-19, we will hold our annual Scholastic Book Fair. Parents can help make this event a success by purchasing books, helping to collect money and assisting buyers to locate books. This fundraiser will help First Step purchase literacy materials to use in the classrooms. On May 17, we are looking forward to a visit from Jungle Terry. Children will have the chance to see a variety of unusual animals like Smiley the Alligator who loves to eat hot dogs. Children learn about respecting animals in the wild as well.

For more information, please visit us at www.parmacityschools.org/edc.

Student Incentive Programs

Dentzler School has been providing incentives to encourage students to do their very best both academically and socially. The goal is for all students to be successful in school. Some of these incentives programs include:

Students of the Week – Every week one student from each classroom who has especially good behavior during lunch/recess receives a prize and recognition.

Students of the Month – Students of the Week can become Students of the Month and attend a lunch with the principal. A special dessert is served at the luncheon.

Ohio Achievement Test Treat – All grade 3-6 students attend an event as a reward for completing the Ohio Achievement Test. This year the movie "Chicken Little" is being shown and ice cream sundaes from Friendly’s will be provided.

Achievement Awards Programs – Each quarter students who are on the Honor Roll, have Perfect Attendance or have received the Most Improved Student Award or Effort Award attend an Ice Cream Sundae Bar, which is sponsored by the Broadview Multi-Care Center, Dentzler’s CBS (Community Business Schools) Partner.

Accelerated Reader Rewards – Each grading period all students who have achieved their individual reading goals for the Accelerated Reader Program attend an assembly program. The event for this quarter is an assembly on magic titled "The Magic of Reading". Two top point achievers from each classroom also receive a special treat.

Artwork Displays – Student artwork is displayed at our school district’s central office, our CBS partner’s facility – the Broadview Multi-Care Center and at the Parma Regional Library.

High Achievers’ Cleveland Indians Ticket Winners – Fourth, fifth and sixth grade students who are on the honor roll for the third grading period are receiving tickets to a Cleveland Indians game.

Ohio Reads Program

The Ohio Reads program at Green Valley has many new faces. Our partner, Redeemer Baptist Church, has recruited volunteers to attend the Ohio Reads Training. Mrs. Kutschke and Mr. Lotz, two volunteers from Redeemer Baptist, thoroughly enjoy working with first graders once a week on particular reading skills. Green Valley has also recruited Normandy AP English Seniors to take part in the training session as well. Students eagerly look forward to working with the volunteer teens. Mrs. Santabarbara is a long-time friend of the Ohio Reads Program and volunteers to help students often. All students benefit from the friendship they have with their reading buddy. Hats off to the following Normandy student volunteers who are faithfully a part of the Ohio Reads Program:

Tony Nguyen, Gina Brajer, Katie Gualtiere, Andy DeGennaro, Mallory Knauss, Marty Addante, Can Ebinger, Matt Naliborski, and Cristina Birkel.

Congratulations Greenbriar Middle School artists!

Several students from Greenbriar Middle School have been recognized for their outstanding artwork. It was a clean sweep for Greenbriar in the Conflict Resolution Center's "What Peace Means to Me" poster contest. Brittany Kuntz (7th grade) won 1st place, Jessica Kostyo (7th grade) took 2nd and Derek Paxson (8th grade) won 3rd out of all competing middle schools.

In the 2006 Cleveland Area Very Special Arts Logo Contest, Jessie Brownell's logo design will be the official logo for publications. It will also be featured on the front of the t-shirts. Her design was selected from a group of over 80 artists!

Six students from Greenbriar had their artwork advance to the State level in this year's PTA Reflections contest, which is a big accomplishment in itself. In addition, Amanda Lakotish (7th grade) won 3rd in the STATE out of all students in her age group. Her artwork will be on display at the Ohio Convention in Akron on April 28th and 29th, and will then move on to be judged on the NATIONAL level. Congratulations Amanda on your outstanding accomplishment!

Cleveland Indians High Achievers

Congratulations to the following students who earned free Indians baseball tickets by showing good citizenship, attendance and academics:

Grade K Evan Suesse & John Quinones

Grade 1 Mira Lehmann, Naashon Cruz, Noor Alsabony & Austin Herb

Grade 2 Truman Garrett, Jenna Turner, Nazar Dyachuk & Paige Sebelin

Grade 3 Anthony Nagal, Brielle Jackson, Julie Galek & Patrick Mariner

Grade 4 Allie LeCastre, Justin Marzenski, Stephanie Jones & Zachary Garrett

Grade 5 Radu Simion, Nancy Nesbit, Kimmy Galek & Miguel Turner

Grade 6 George Gabor, Brianna Zappitelli, Dan Galek & Bryan Schatmeyer

Right to Read Week

Thanks to all our students who participated in our Right to Read Weekactivities. The following students won the bookmark contest and will enjoy a pizza lunch with Mr. Jones on April 6th:

Grade K Seth Rohrabaugh & Brandon Hale

Grade 1 Jourdan Pasket & Alyssa Hapney

Grade 2 Paige Sebelin & Asante Tharps-Travis

Grade 3 Alex Champion & Vinny Petitto

Grade 4 Zachary Garrett & Hannah Watts

Grade 5 India Robinson & Adrian Simion

Grade 6 George Gabor & Franky DePasquale

Power of the Pen continues

On Saturday, March 18, nine incredibly talented students represented Hillside Middle School at the Regional Power of the Pen Tournament hosted by Heskitt Middle School in Bedford, OH. Seventh grade participants were Aaren Host, Svetlana Knezevic, and Becca O'Donnell, while the eighth grade was represented Emma Clark, Kaitlyn Conners, Sarah Daly, Katerina Glyptis, Erik Trumble and Sandy Veres.

To advance to the regional level, students had to rank in the top 50% at the district tournament. During the competition, students are given a prompt and write a creative short story for 40 minutes in three different rounds. Hillside had 2 students that were recognized in the Top 15. Aaren Host took 12th place out of 100 writers and Sandy Veres was awarded 2nd place out of 112 writers. The 8th grade team received 1st place out of the 40 Cleveland area schools present.

To move to the state level competition, students need to place in the top 20%. This year, Hillside will be represented by Aaren Host, Svetlana Knezevic, Emma Clark and Sandy Veres accompanied by Connie Loescher, 7th grade coach and Halle Dawson, 8th grade coach on May 25-26 at the College of Wooster. 

SADD chapter raises money

On Thursday, March 23, the Hillside Middle School Staff played to a standing room only crowd against the Hillside SADD chapter student members. This annual event is always a crowd pleaser and this year was no exception. For a mere $2.00, students, faculty, friends and family were treated to a very competitive basketball game. (The teachers did win the game, but of course, that is not the point.)

The total money raised ($594.00) has been donated to the Parma Hunger Center which in turn will allow them to purchase $3,564.00 worth of groceries for the needy in the Parma area. Mrs. Yvonne Riddle and Ms. Heather Doll, advisors of the SADD chapter are truly indebted for the participation of the staff for playing in the game (coached by Terry Bennett), for cheering on the staff (a lovely group of teachers known as "The Staffettes" lead by Connie Loescher) and especially for the four brave teachers who (for a mere 50 cents a chance) were willing to take a pie in the face for this worthy cause (Bill Veining, Mike Lark, Dave Walder, Heather Doll and Dan DiSalvo). A total of 41 staff participated (including administration) to make this event a TIGER-ific success -- once again a good time had by one and all because of the generosity of the family at Hillside Middle School.

Celebrations and Expectations Assembly

The students at Normandy High School kicked-off the 4th marking period with a Celebrations and Expectations assembly. Mr. Ferguson informed the student body of many awards won by the student body in academic, vocational and athletics. The student body was then treated by special guest cheerleaders. (Can you guess who they are?) They used cheers to communicate dress code and behavioral expectations in a very memorable way. It was a fun filled event for everyone!

SLAM Poetry Contest

Four students from NHS will be performing in the SLAM Poetry Contest on Friday, April 7th at 7:00 p.m. at the Cuyahoga County Public Library. These four students will be representing Normandy: Kristina Foderaro, Alyssa Constanzo, Gaurav Ballah, and Mereth Von Salomon. The students are being coached by English Teacher, Tami Wozniak. Good Luck to everyone!

Senior Citizen Prom

Normandy High School hosted the second annual Senior (Citizen) Prom on April 1st. The dance was cosponsored by the NHS student Government, Culinary Arts program, and the Cosmetology program.

Senior citizens enjoyed appetizers and a live band where they danced many of their favorite steps with the students and staff. Approximately 230 people attended the dance and had a wonderful time. What a great way to enjoy each other’s company and get to know one another. The senior citizens were even treated by a special visit from the Mayor of Parma, Dean DePiero! A special thanks to Jo Ann Mason of the Parma Senior Center, Student Government Advisors Carrie McCarthy and Carrie Ruggiero, Culinary Arts Teacher Steve Hannah and cosmetology teachers Sue Bodrock and Joan Englehart. Everyone worked together to make the event a very special one!