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Home > Blogs > Middletown School News and Issues > Archives > 2009 > October
October 2009
Many students consent to vaccine
A total of 1,850 students have consent for the H1N1 vaccine, said Debbie Alberico, school communication specialist.
City Nursing director Jackie Phillips said she could begin this week or early next week giving shots to high-risk students.
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Two cases of H1N1 at private school
Two students from Middletown Christian Schools have been diagnosed with H1N1 flu, said spokesman Roger Brandenburg.
A high school student and elementary school student this week and last, Brandenburg said.
The school is sending information to staff and students on good hygiene, like covering a sneeze with an elbow and washing hands.
Students with flu-like symptoms are also disinfecting their desks at the end of the day.
The school also has a standing policy that students cannot come to school with a fever.
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Middletown to review superintendent candidates
The Middletown Board of Education has set a special meeting to review applications for superintendent next month.
The board will do that in a private session from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
That’s all the info that’s available so far, the applications are not yet in the school’s hands.
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Amanda Elementary School celebrates fall
Amanda Elementary School had a colorful family event Tuesday, Oct. 21.
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Middletown student play this weekend
Middletown High School students are using their fall play this weekend to tell the true story of a little boy who celebrated life even as he struggled with two illnesses.
“The Yellow Boat” brings the audience into the colorful mind of Benjamin Saar, a boy from Arizona who was born with hemophilia and died at age 8 from AIDS-related complications after contracting the disease through blood transfusions.
“It’s more of a celebration of life than a sad story,” said Gracie Taylor, who portrays Benjamin.
Just an hour and 15 minutes long, the story, written by Benjamin’s father, David Saar, takes the audience from Benjamin’s birth into his time in the hospital, where he drew colors and shapes to share his physical pain.
“It’s colorful. It’s touching. It’s really, really heartwarming,” said senior Chloe Manning, who plays a child psychologist who tries to bring color into the sterile white hospital.
This will be the last play for longtime Middletown teacher Karen Griesinger.
How to go:
Where: Middletown High School Theatre, at 601 N. Breiel Blvd.
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 23 and Saturday Oct. 24
Cost: Tickets are $5
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More Middletown students eligible for private school scholarships
Students from Verity Middle School are now eligible to apply for a state scholarship to attend private school.
Ohio’s EdChoice program provides scholarships to attend participating private schools to students from schools that have been rated in academic watch or academic emergency - the lowest two ratings on the state report card - for two of the past three years.
Verity has been rated in “academic watch” two of the last three years, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Students at Amanda, Highview and Rosa Parks elementary schools are also eligible to apply to the EdChoice program.
The application period is Feb. 1, 2010 through April 16, 2010.
Get more info from the state here.
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Meet the candidates
Community members are invited to meet the candidates for local trustee and school boards races Tuesday, Oct. 27.
The Madison Lions Club will sponsor a Meet the Candidates Night at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Madison Junior/Senior High School Commons.
Candidates will discuss the future of Madison Township and Madison Local Schools.
They will also provide prepared responses to questions given to them in advance and answer audience questions that evening using an index card process.
Madison Lions Club members will moderate the event, which has been structured to present each candidate and the Madison community in an equal and positive light.
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See Wildwood students at their concert
More than 400 people turned out last night for Wildwood Elementary School’s concert to wrap up its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Check out our photos from the event.
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Charter school closed for absences
One local charter school closed because of influenza this week, as other local schools also deal with absence rates that are higher than normal for this time of year.
Middletown Preparatory and Fitness Academy was closed Thursday, Oct. 15, and Friday, Oct. 16, because of influenza, the school reported to the Ohio Department of Health. The school will reopen Monday, Oct. 19.
Twenty percent of students were absent and there were five confirmed cases of H1N1, said Superintendent Myrrha Satow.
“We are educating families, students and staff on handwashing; and we are sanitizing the building regularly and have installed hand washing stations throughout, also making families aware of protocol for keeping sick children at home,” Satow said by e-mail.
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870 now consent to vaccine
The number of kids who have consent to take the H1N1 vaccine has gone up to 870, with more consent forms arriving at the school daily, according to Debbie Alberico, the school district’s communication specialist.
Consent forms are due Wednesday, Oct. 21.
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Students: stop hall monitors, uniforms
Making their perfect school, Middletown students would flunk uniforms and hall monitors.
Students were asked what they would stop, start and continue doing to make their school a better place in the focus sessions held last month that the school board discussed Monday.
No suggestion was turned down and each student was given five votes to place on their top five ideas.
The results turned up some interesting suggestions that are featured here below from the high school students….
They would:
Stop….Hall monitors (11 votes), making decisions without student consent (3), broken vending machines (1), favoritism on athletic teams (1), focusing on the negatives within the school and community (1), wasting money on unnecessary items or employees, shortening vacation time, hiring under qualified teachers, treating everyone like terrible students, making people get nurse passes, being so negative on the announcements, overcrowding lunches, locking bathrooms during lunch periods, changing schedules around so much, overpriced lunch items
Start…Half-day for Butler Tech students/early release for Butler Tech (8 votes), actually disciplining students (7), spending taxpayer money wisely (4), having pep rallies, more school spirit (4), pre-sale tickets for Butler Tech (4), more field trips (3), focusing on the positives (2), spending on all activities (1), turf field for soccer and football (1), bring back intervention (1), focus on the benefits for all students not just those on academic watch (1), community involvement with the schools (1), corporate partnerships (1), make more space in lunch (1), more administrative support of activities (other than football) (1), fundraisers for the district, equal recognition of extra curricular activities, fixing schedules before school starts, start focusing on students and teachers as much as data and money, being more organized, new process for hiring teachers, have more janitors, have both boys and girls basketball at the same place
Continue… Advanced Placement and honors classes (11), open campus (7), early release (6), traditions like homecoming week (3), student government interaction with the administrators and community (1), buses, starting school Aug. 17 to get out early, after school activities, sport awards, Freshman Academy, post secondary, senior late arrival, improvements around the school (parking lots/painting/landscaping), intervention programs, free breakfast
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Nearly 800 consent to vaccine
Nearly 800 Middletown students have turned in consent forms for the H1N1 vaccine so far, said Jackie Phillips, with the city health department.
That number does not include any forms from Amanda and Highview elementaries and Central Academy.
It is not yet known when vaccinations will begin or how many will be available, Phillips said.
Will your child be getting the vaccine? If so, tell me why by calling me at (513) 705-2551 or e-mail mengle@coxohio.com.
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Middletown is “ready for some change”
Most people are ready to support new ideas in Middletown City Schools.
Community members and school staff who participated in several community forums held in September to gather input for the schools superintendent search put their support behind ideas to start new initiatives to improve the school.
The Middletown Board of Education will hear all the details from those sessions from search consultant Barry Rowland during a special meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12.
Board President Greg Tyus said there will also be a time for public comment during the meeting.
Participants in the special sessions were asked to give their ideas on what Middletown schools should stop, start and continue doing to be the best it can be. They then voted on which ideas they thought were most important.
“One thing is clear - people are ready for some change and willing to support it,” Rowland wrote in a report to the school board.
According to the report, the majority of votes focused on things relating to discipline and decision making.
When votes were tallied…
the administrators focus group had the most votes in the stop category under “conversing about discipline instead of student achievement.” In the start category, the top vote getter was “moving kids from compliance to true engagement.” And in continue, administrators voted for keeping a focus on data.
Volunteers and parents voted to stop “having rules not enforced,” start communication and continue “to promote and be open to different types of learning.”
Staff voted to stop “keeping uncontrollable students in the building/classrooms,” start having full-time nurses, physiologists and social workers in all buildings, and continue special classes like fine arts.
Businesses and community members said the school should stop “ignoring problems without analyzing root problems and a plan to make changes,” start supporting teachers on discipline matters and continue a focus on academic achievement and character building.
Students put their focus on things like doing away with uniforms and eliminating hall monitors and continuing advanced classes at the high school.
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Business manager resigns
Franklin City Schools Business Manager Frank Chapman has resigned from his position effect Oct. 9.
Chapman was hired March 20 with a control valid through July 31, 2010 after retiring from Middletown City Schools, but resigned early for personal reasons, said school board President Chris Sizemore.
Sizemore said the school board will likely discuss the opening during an executive session at their meeting Monday, Oct. 12.
The board will also vote on the resignation of Steve Buerschen, director of educational services, effective May 31, 2010.
But the majority of the meeting will be spent discussing the school district’s finances and emergency operating levy that expires Dec. 31, 2010.
Sizemore said the board will discuss whether to pursue an emergency levy or continuous levy and the millage that will be needed.
Superintendent Arnol Elam said he will be assuming the business manager duties until the board decides how to proceed with the position.
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No H1N1 in Madison
Madison Local Schools has not had a case of confirmed swine flu, according to Superintendent Tom York.
(I’m posting this because I heard a rumor today that there was one, so just to clarify there was not.)
Here’s the official message Madison sent to me today:
As a part of our ongoing effort to keep you informed about the health and safety of our students, we ask that you read the following list of facts:
Madison Local Schools have not received official documentation of any confirmed cases of the H1N1 Virus as of Friday, October 9, 2009
Madison Local Schools is emphasizing the importance of hand washing and cough and sneeze etiquette.
Madison Local Schools’ custodial staff is continuing to disinfect the schools daily. Students are sent home if they come to the clinics with a fever.
Students are asked to return to school only after their fever has been gone for 24 hours without fever reducing medications.
Madison Local Schools are in constant contact with the Butler County Health Department and we will continue to update information as necessary.
The Butler County Health Department will offer FREE and VOLUNTARY vaccinations for students K-12 in the coming weeks. Madison Local Schools will provide more information about the vaccinations as it becomes available.
Please visit the “Take Action to Prevent Flu Outbreak” on the school website for additional prevention suggestions and downloadable copies of information that have been sent home with the students this year.
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H1N1 consent forms headed home
Carlisle Local Schools has its first confirmed case of H1N1 flu.
A relative of a student at Chamberlain Middle School informed the school Tuesday, Oct. 6, that the student, who had been out sick since last week, had a confirmed case, said Superintendent Mike Griffith.
Warren County schools were given consent forms to distribute Thursday, Oct. 7, said Warren County Health Commissioner Duane Stansbury.
The health department will give the vaccine, which is free, at the schools possibly starting at the end of the month.
“We don’t have any idea about when the vaccine will actually arrive in our hands,” Stansbury said.
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Don’t pick up yearbooks starting Monday
Update from the school: The 2008-09 yearbook handout has been unavoidably delayed. We anticipate distribution in less than a month. Another announcement will be made as that time approaches. We apologize for any inconvenience and trouble this causes.
The 2008-09 copy of Middletown High School’s Optimist Yearbook has now arrived.
The yearbook will be available for pick up between 2:15 and 3 p.m. in the Media Center beginning on Monday, October 12th.
Anyone who will be picking a book up for a student who is currently away from home, or for another student, should bring written permission from the student stating permission to retrieve the yearbook. Yearbooks will not be given to others without permission.
This year school will be in session the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. College students are welcome to pick their book up at that time with no time restrictions.
If you have any questions or need to make other arrangements, please email kheintzman@middletowncityschools.com or phone 420-4500 x3171.
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Essay contest for GED students, grads
To recognize and encourage students who earn a GED to pursue their educational goals, Miami University Middletown is sponsoring Write Now!
This project offers current GED students and 2009-2010 GED graduates in Butler, Warren, Preble and Montgomery counties the opportunity to write an essay and earn one of five $100 awards for educational purposes.
Participants will attend a writing workshop on National Make a Difference Day at 9 a.m. Oct. 24.
Attendees will meet members of the MUM community, listen to a student panel presentation and work on their essays in a small group led by English faculty. Lunch will be provided.
A recognition ceremony will be held in January where winners of the award will be officially announced and several writers will have the opportunity to read their essays.
Write Now! is sponsored by Miami University Middletown with generous contributions from the Middletown Community Foundation and Middletown Rotary.
Participants are encouraged to register by October 17.
Contact Marianne Cotugno at (513) 217-4098, mcotugno@muohio.edu for more information on how to register.
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Search consultant to present to school board
Middletown City Schools’ consultant on the search for a new superintendent will be in town next week to present the findings from community forums.
Barry Rowland, of Carney, Sandoe & Associates, will meet with the school board at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in the board room of the administration building, at 1515 Girard Avenue.
The meeting is open to the public.
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Take part in sale to benefit United Way
Middletown City Schools will hold a “trunk sale” this weekend to benefit the United Way.
Anyone is invited to rent a parking space at the sale for $20 and sell new or used items from the trunk of their car.
The $20 for the parking space rental goes to United Way, and the proceeds from the sale of individual’s items are theirs to keep.
The trunk sale is will be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 at Highview Elementary School, 106 S. Highview St.
Anyone interested in the rental of a space, please contact Carol Melton at (513) 423-0781.
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MHS students donate to domestic violence organization
The Lady Middies of Excellence will donate the proceeds from a recent fund raiser to Citizens Against Domestic Violence Thursday, Oct. 8.
The Middletown High School students recently raised nearly $200 for the domestic violence organization through a “Cinderella’s Closet” selling low cost outfits and accessories for Middletown’s homecoming dance.
Executive director of the organization, Elsa Croucher, will be at the school to accept the doantion. Citizens Against Domestic Violence promots awareness and implements programs to prevent abuse and help victims of domestic violence.
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Madison takes on basketball pros tonight
Madison school administrators, teachers and community members will take on the Harlem Wizards basketball show team tonight, Oct. 5, in the Madison Jr/Sr High School gymnasium with the doors opening at 5:30 p.m. and tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
The event is sponsored by the Madison Elementary PTO and will raise funds for classroom supplies and necessities.
Superintendent Tom York will lead the Madison Misfits.
The Harlem Wizards, established in 1962, perform across the nation and abroad at colleges, corporate events and schools with the mission of providing a “joyous, awe-inspiring, basketball experience for all.”
Admission to the event is $10 for students and $12 for adults.
Senior Citizens are entitled to the student rate and children under 4 are admitted free.
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