District News

Winton Woods High School senior Manuel McMenemy left it all in the pool when he swam in his last two races of his high school career at the Division I State Swimming Finals for the Para Athlete Division in Canton, Ohio. It was his second time competing at state. He placed bronze in the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke, and shaved seven seconds off his 100 backstroke time. A time he had previously dropped seven seconds off last year at state.

When the new year begins so does the excitement and anticipation for what students in first to twelfth grade will showcase at the Winton Woods City Schools spectacular Night of Freedom event. An evening dedicated to powerful, inspiring, and bold presentations, performances, and artwork centered around the topic of freedom. For the first time in Warrior history, the two-night event was held at the beautiful North and South campuses.

It was an exciting day at Winton Woods Middle School when 17 General Electric (GE) employees and volunteers of the GE Next Engineers program made a special visit to the school to speak and spark students' interest in engineering. In 2021, the Next Engineers program was created in hopes of increasing the diversity of young people in engineering. During their visit, students participated in the “Tallest Tower Challenge” where they were tasked with building and designing towers that could support the weight of a golf ball.

We must be the change we want to see. But first one must put in the work. That is true of Winton Woods High School Josh Amstutz who was selected for the 2022 Global Educator of the Year by the AFS-USA program.  “I was so excited,” Amstutz recalled after receiving the news. Last year made a decade of him working in the district’s Global Studies program, six of those being the Coordinator of the Academy of Global Studies (AGS).

Dear Staff and Students: 

We have carefully monitored the spread of the coronavirus for almost two years. We are excited to report the number of people affected by the virus is at its lowest point since the virus affected our community on March 10, 2020. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), as of February 4, 2022, there were 21,000 active cases in Hamilton County. However, I am sure you would be interested in the number of cases per day. Here are the numbers at a glance:

What started as a friendship turned into a number of delightful opportunities for Winton Woods High School students, including the Jazz Ensemble and Clarity A Cappella opening for the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (CCJO) at the Redmoor. They played and sang fiery hits like “Sway”, “Swing Thing”, “Watermelon Man”, and “You Belong To Me”.

Each year, five devoted members of the community are selected by the community to make up the Winton Woods City Schools Board of Education. This year, the district welcomed two new board members Debra Bryant and Brandon Smith. They joined Winton Woods Board President Viola Johnson, Vice President Jeff Berte, and board member Paula Kuhn. Bryant and Smith were sworn in at the board organizational meeting on January 11. 

At some point, we have all known what it is like to be without something. Businesses and organizations of the Winton Woods community came together to limit those situations with a care box that will be filled each week with toiletries and food for anyone in the community. A dedication ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to announce the opening of the box with local stakeholders including the Winton Woods City Schools Superintendent and Forest Park City Manager.

If you were to ask Winton Woods High School class of 2014 Alum Eric Behrendt what he wanted to be in middle school, he would have said without hesitation a black hawk pilot. Now, 10 years later, his dream has come true. “It was an intense process,” said Behrendt. “It’s definitely something you have to go get.” Time, dedication, and perseverance are just a few of the things it took to achieve this goal, not to mention aviation is extremely competitive. During the beginning of his application process, he visited four programs in different states to prepare for this opportunity.

We are pleased to share our upcoming events.

A talented artist and Winton Woods High School sophomore, Aarianna Bess is sparking change with three pieces she submitted for the 2021 Artwork for Equity Campaign Artist competition. It all started during the summer of 2021, when she wanted to take art more seriously and joined the Artworks summer program. Although she had been drawing most of her life, she began creating different mediums and sharing them on an art account she created on Instagram.

Winton Woods City Schools is starting the 2022 year off right. In January, the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) announced Winton Woods City Schools’ North and South Campuses, as one of the nine Ohio schools, to achieve the LEED Green Building Certification and two of three schools to receive the gold status. "Our new school campuses earning the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED - Gold designation means a lot to our schools, staff, students and families,” said Executive Director of Business Affairs Steve Denny.

It’s safe to say, 2021 was a groundbreaking year for Winton Woods City Schools. The district opened two new campuses designed to support  21st century-centered teaching and learning. The 2021 varsity football team became the second team in Warrior history to win the Division II football championship title. The first team that accomplished this amazing feat was the team of 2009.

Winton Woods High School welcomed 27 musically gifted students into the Tri-M Music Honor Society at an induction ceremony at the North Campus auditorium. The prestigious and national society offers vast opportunities to students selected who must meet requirements that include academic achievement, music participation, leadership, service, and character.

As technology evolves, the influence that it has on society has made it clear that it is here to stay. How is Winton Woods implementing it in all classrooms to advance their scholarly academic careers? “At Winton Woods City Schools our instructional technology program extends well beyond providing each student with the device (Chromebooks),” said Winton Woods Director of Technology Rhonda Hobbs.

On Thursday, December 4, Winton Woods City Schools took home the Ohio Division II State Championship title over Archbishop Hoban with a final score of 21-10 in Canton, Ohio. It is their second state champion title since 2009. This was the first season with Chad Murray as head coach along with Carlton Gray, the new defensive coordinator, and Greg Forest, offensive coordinator, who were hired this past spring.

It was a hot summer day when Crew head coach Patrick Riester and a handful of dedicated students met at the Winton Woods lake for a “Learn to Row” session. “This is the first time any of them have rowed,” said Coach Riester. Earlier in the week, the crew team held an Olympics Watch Party at the high school for those interested in joining the team or watching the women and men's Olympic teams compete. After watching the best rowing teams in the world, they practiced on rowing machines that were set up and ready at the event. One of those attendees was sophomore Goma Neopany, who also showed up at the lake excited to get out on the water.