February 6, 2008

Quote of the week:

Keep your feet on the ground, but let your heart soar as high as it will.  Refuse to be average.

                                                            -Arthur Helps

District News:

• National School Counselor Week - This week has been set aside to recognize and honor the important contributions made by school counselors to the education and success of our district’s students and our country.  School counselors play an important role in the welfare of our youth and it is proper that we recognize and support those individuals in our district whose continued efforts, commitment and resolve enhance the quality of the educational experience.  Please take a moment this week to tell our counselors thanks for all they do for our students!

• The Winton Woods City School District invites the community to three upcoming informational meetings.  The first is an informal “Saturday with the Superintendent” on Saturday, February 16^th at 9:00 a.m. at Forest Park Frisch’s, located at 11990 Chase Plaza Dr.  Please join Dr. Camille Nasbe, Superintendent, for coffee and conversation regarding the upcoming levy that is on the March 4^th ballot.

            There will also be two one-hour informational sessions given by the      Superintendent.  The first one will be on Saturday, February 23^rd at 9:00 a.m., at            the Greenhills Community Building,

8 Enfield.  The second session is on            Wednesday, February 27^th at 7:00 p.m., at the Winton

Woods Board of             Education, 1215 W. Kemper Rd.  The purpose of these two meetings is to     present information about the levy.  

• A meeting with the Superintendent and parents of students involved in the arts, has been scheduled for the evening of Thursday, February 14th from 7:00-8:00 PM in the high school choir room (room 111, which is just off of the lobby).

            This is a meeting for all parents of arts involved students from ANY grade      level to discuss the financial status of the school district and the future of fine     arts offerings for Winton Woods students.

            We hope you can join us and we PROMISE that the meeting will not last longer          than an hour, so that you can spend the evening with your Valentine.

• CEPSI (Committee for Educational Progress and School Issues) is meeting every Tuesday night in February.  The meetings are at the Board of Education and start at 7:00 p.m. 

Winton Woods High School News:

• The Winton Woods High School Choir has been invited to participate in an opportunity to tell their stories and spotlight their talents on television and in cyberspace in WLWT's Clash of the Choirs.  But they need your help to win!

            Please go to www.wlwt.com and click on the “Clash of the Choirs” link to vote for       the choir.  You can vote for them all through the month of February, so be sure to         log on often.  

            The choir receiving the most votes will be featured in a News 5 promo.

• Congratulations to Nick Mannira and Karen Budke, Winton Woods High School students, who had their art work selected for the student art show at the Cincinnati Art Museum.  The opening is Feb.15, 2008.

• Eric Dudley, Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, will visit the Winton Woods High School Orchestra for a clinic on Thursday, February 14. “This opportunity is fantastic for our students and should be viewed as quite an honor,” said Winton Woods Orchestra Director Jonathan Welch.

            Eric Dudley was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in August 2004. In addition to his duties as cover conductor for the            CSO and Pops, Mr. Dudley is the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth   Orchestra—the 11th conductor for the CSYO since its founding in 1964.

• Congratulations to Noleena Booker, WWHS senior, who has been chosen as the Channel 9 Student of the Week for the week of February 11^th. 

 Winton Woods Middle School News:

• Congratulations to Winton Woods Middle School art students for their great showing at this year’s Scholastic Arts competition.  Students from southern Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana students entered this national contest.

            Gold Key winners:

            Tia Shelton - self portrait drawing

            Jordan Comeaux - self-portrait drawing

            Silver Key winners:

            Tom Foertmeyer - self-portrait drawing

            Olivia Suggs- self - portrait drawing

            Jamica Dorsey - self-portrait drawing

            Honorable Mentions:

            Claudia Mendoza - printmaking

            Maria Diaz – drawing

• Congratulations to the following “Student of the Month” winners:  7^th graders Tim Moss and KatieSchmittou and 8^th graders Makeyla Henderson, Rausaun McMillan, Kelsey Randall, Mariah Vaughan, Darren Welcher and Jeremy Whiting.

Winton Woods Intermediate School News:

• The Winton Woods Intermediate School Honor Roll Celebration will be held on Friday, February 8, 2008.  Student Council representatives helped plan the activities for the students that have achieved this honor.  The celebration will begin at 1:45.  If you would like to volunteer to assist with the celebration, please contact the office at 619-2450.

• Winton Woods Intermediate School is a participant in the Lion’s “GOOD” Program.  This program provides shirts to students that have met the standards of good attendance, good listening skills, good work habits, and good citizenship.  The Lions Club presented shirts to students who have shown tremendous determination and perseverance.  The following students were selected by their teachers;  Shayla Broadnax, Dana Dawson, Theresa Hoang, Khadijah Palmer, Brajen Soto, Daishon Bonner, Scott Ruiz, Gabrielle Williams, Tamara Richardson, Desmond Robinson, Elizabeth Boateng, and Romello Rice. 

• We would like to thank everyone for attending parent conferences on Thursday and Friday.  Please remember that you can monitor your child’s progress in Progress Book.  Contact the Technology Department at 619-2350 if you need a password.

• There will be a Parent Informational Meeting for parents of fifth graders who are interested in attending Camp Campbell Gard on Thursday, February 7th.  All 5^th grade students are invited to attend the trip on March 10-12. 

• Winton Woods Intermediate School will celebrate African American History and Achievement with a variety of activities in the month of February.  Each day in the month of February students are given the opportunity to answer a daily History question.  Students that have answered all questions correctly for a week will receive prizes.  Each Pod in the building will also create Historical Heroes’ Walls to display the accomplishments of Black History Figures.  All Social studies teachers will take their classes on walks around the building to view all of the wall displays. 

• On Friday, February 8, 2008 students will participate in an assembly performed by Bright Star to learn more about the Underground Railroad.  At the beginning of each assembly, we will discuss our Pennies for Postage Campaign.  Winton Woods Intermediate School will collect pennies for postage to mail books to students in Africa.  The books were collected last year by students and staff at Winton Forest Elementary. 

• Students will have the opportunity to participate in a project titled, My Personal Hero.  Students were asked to choose a person who has made a special contribution to their lives or to the community and write a short essay about why that person is their “Personal Hero.”  Personal Heroes will be invited to eat lunch with their nominators in the month of February.   

• Mrs. Cindy Stricker, instructional assistant at WWIS, has created an African Artifact Display.  This display includes African clothing, bags, drums, and other items she acquired while she traveled the continent of Africa with the Peace Corps.  In our Art classes students are creating illustrations for poetry composed by African American Poets based on art styles of African American Artists.   

• Winton Woods Intermediate School will have Valentine’s Parties on Thursday, February 14.  The parties will begin at 2:00 p.m.  Please contact the office at 619-2450 if you will be able to volunteer.

 Winton Woods Elementary News:

• Our February Dad's Club event will be roller skating!  The event will take place on Saturday, February 16th from NOON to 2:00 PM.  Look for a flyer to come home with your WWES student about this event. 

• Our WWES Student of the Month Luncheon for the month of January is on Thursday, February 7th from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM in the WWES Library.  Each month, a student from each homeroom is nominated who is the picture of what being a Warrior is all about.  Students nominated must meet various academic and conduct-based criteria.  You're welcome to join your child at this event.  Nominees are also highlighted in our school's monthly newsletter which is coming out soon.   

• February 7th is Chinese New Year!  Given our Chinese Language & Culture specials classes & our district's theme of "Cultivating a World-class Education," our students will be enjoying room parties this week on February 7th to commemorate this event.  This is the third of three annually-scheduled room parties put on by our much-appreciated room parents with the Winton Woods Community PTA.  These room party dates for our school were selected by a PTA sub-committee of parents back in September.  If you're interested in helping out or being a part of these upcoming room parties, please contact the WWC PTA at their WWIS office at 619 - 2450.  WWES mom, Mrs. Jan Mavridoglou is the Room Parent-Coordinator for our school. 

• We'll be observing African-American History Awareness month during the month of February at WWES.  During Hispanic Heritage Awareness Month back in September, we highlighted and taught a different Spanish word every morning on the announcements.   In a similar fashion, during African-American History Awareness Month, we’ll take some time studying and appreciating the unique and vital contributions of African-Americans to our culture, country and world.  Each day in February we’ll spend time as a school, on the announcements, going over African-American firsts.  For example, Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1967 to 1991). 

• We've got a great event coming up at the end of this month--it's our WWES Multicultural Celebration on Thursday, February 28th at 7:00 PM in our WWES Gymnasium.  Entitled "A Day In the Life.........."  This program will feature students from each grade-level team and our 4th grade WWES Select Chorus as they present songs, games, dances, stories and fashions from six different continents.

 Winton Woods Primary News:

• Winton Woods Primary North is jazzing up the month of February!  Jazz was born in the United States with origins from Africa.  The students of Primary North will be exploring the evolution of jazz from the tribes of Africa to the present day rappers.  The students will explore jazz through literature, music, art, movement, writing and math.  The celebration of jazz will conclude with a concert by Winton Woods High School and Middle School.  The concert is scheduled for February 26^th at 10:00.  All are invited to attend.

·         Primary Art Teachers, Mrs. Nancy Bleisch (Primary North) and Mrs. Stanbury (Primary South) are pleased to announce the winners of this year's Art Show. The Superintendent’s Award goes to Jayla Lee in Mrs. Hart's class (Primary North) for her painting "Snowy Tree with Cardinal."  The Board of Education Award goes to Benjamin Hudson in Mrs. McCardle's class (Primary North) for his "Asian-Inspired Landscape" painting. Both of these art works will be professionally framed and will hang in the buildings until Jayla and Benjamin graduate from sixth grade.  There are 5 Honorable mentions:  2 are from Primary North and 3 are from Primary South:  Hannah Osae in Mrs. Vandivier's class (Primary North) for her "Fireworks Flag," Austin Burnett in Ms. Lumsden's class (Primary North) for his "Andy Warhol Multiples,"  Miah Howard, Mrs. Beachy's class (Primary South) for his "Hand Held Mask,"  Mariah Roberts in Mrs. Middleman's class (Primary South) for her "Multi-colored Collage,"  and Jennifer Sorto,  Mr. Webb's class (Primary South) for her Ceramic Goose with Eggs."  All of these students and their families will be invited to the February Board of Education meeting for special recognition.  Congratulations to our winners and to all of the 33 students who were chose for this year's Art Show.  We are so proud of you.

• Aesop's Fables are coming to Primary North thanks to our wonderful PTA.  Bright Star Children's Theater will be visiting students K-2 on Monday, February 11th at 9:45 with several new updated fables for 2008.  Students will join two traveling Elizabethan actors as they showcase the 2600 year old Aesop's Tales.   From the "Tortoise and the Hare" to the "Boy who Cried Wolf," these character education packed gems focus on honesty, compassion, kindness and hard work. This production is a favorite among schools and theaters everywhere! The result is a fast-paced, high energy production.  Primary North parents/guardians are welcome to attend and the afternoon Kindergarten students may attend, but MUST be accompanied by their parents.   Please visit the school office to receive your Visitor's Badge on that day.

• Six Flags Six Hour Reading Club - The Primary students will be participating in an exciting program that encourages children in grades K-2 to read for fun.  This Reading Club is part of Read to Succeed, a free educational program designed to enhance language arts curriculum.  Students received an entry form in the Wee Warrior News this week.  Students need to read for at least 6 hours to be eligible to EARN a FREE Admission ticket valid at participating Six Flags Theme Parks.  The school entry deadline is Friday, February 22, 2008.
  
  
• The Primary Schools Valentine's Day parties will be held on Friday, February 15 beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Winton Woods Community PTA News:

·         WW Intermediate School:   Don't forget!  2007-2008 Yearbooks are now available to pre-order!  Guarantee your student a yearbook by ordering now!  Order form is attached.

            All WW Schools:

            Looking for something to do to cure the winter blues? The WWC PTA has two           opportunities to suggest…

            WWC PTA is sponsoring the Weekly Reader Six Flags Read to Succeed      Program. Any student, grades K-6, who reads for just six hours and returns their           participation form by February 22, 2008, will receive one free admission ticket to           any Six Flags amusement park. Participation forms can be found in each of the             schools newsletters, as well as available for pick up in the school offices.

            WWC PTA after school Creative Art class is still accepting registrations for the         final three sessions of the school year. Classes are available at each school        building and cost $32.00 per session. Registration forms are available in each    school office. Upcoming sessions include:

            Session 4, February - Lights, Camera, Action!

Do you want to learn how to draw people in action?  Pay close attention to how a person looks when leaping, dancing, running and playing; discover ways to draw these actions.

            Session 5, March - Wax On

Did you know that oil pastels are a fantastic way of sketching?  Discover fast and colorful methods of developing a final picture by practicing with oil pastels on many types of surfaces.

            Session 6, April - Duck and Cover

Can you really make a form by cutting away at it?  Discover carving methods and styles as you shape your own duck, or any other animal, using anything from vegetables to balsa wood.    

Winton Woods Primary South:  Mad Science is coming!   Look for registration forms to come home in February as well as in the school newsletter.  

Winton Woods Elementary:  Mad Science is Coming!.....Again!! It was so cool the first time that we're bringing it back to all interested 3/4 students in March!  Look for registration forms to come home in February as well as in the school newsletter.       

            If you have any questions regarding either of these great programs, or would like       a registration form emailed to you, please contact Eileen Mannira,       tmannira@cinci.rr.com, or 851-3369.