Page 1 THE STANDARD IS EXCELLENCE HOME HE INTER OF T The W S ROVER Rootstown 2016 Communicator Rootstown Local Schools • 4140 State Route 44 • Rootstown, Ohio 44272 • (330) 325-9911 News From Around the District Rootstown Welcomes International Students From Brazil and Senegal! By Sarah Eaton For the third year, Rootstown Local Schools is welcoming two international teachers to the district. In past years, the high school has hosted two teachers in language arts and science classrooms; these past teachers have come from Egypt, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This year, while both teachers will be in language arts classrooms, one will be in the middle school for the first time. Ana Marie Fernandes Alves, or “Mrs. Ana” as the students call her, is partnered with Mrs. Mervine in 8th grade Language Arts. Mrs. Ana comes to us from Brazil where she has been teaching at a public school for the past sixteen years. While this is Mrs. Ana’s second time in the US, she is very excited to get to know Rootstown and our students. Cheikh Sadibou Diouf, who is working with Mrs. Eaton in 9th/11th grade Language Arts, hails from Senegal in West Africa. “Mr. Cheik” (pronounced Shek) has been teaching for 15 years and speaks five languages. He teaches English to older students in an urban school, where he also leads the English Club. While here, Mr. Cheikh hopes to learn new things that he can take back to Senegal in order to improve his school, community, and country. These teachers have come to the United States as part of a highly competitive program called International Leaders in Education Program, which is sponsored by IREX and funded by U.S. State Department grant money. Our teachers, along with seventeen others, are based out of Kent State University; three other U.S. universities also host teachers. The international teachers arrived in the United States in mid-January, beginning with an orientation in Washington, D.C., before heading off to their respective universities. They will spend the next four months learning about new teaching methodologies and technologies, auditing two graduate level courses, participating in cultural experiences, completing their field experiences at local schools like ours, and creating a profes- sional development module to use when they return home in early May. Mrs. Ana and Mr. Cheikh will be with us between one and three days each week this spring. During this time they will observe, co-teach, share their culture, and shadow students. This will allow our students to have an invaluable experience where they can interact with and learn from these experienced international teachers. We are so grateful to have this wonderful opportunity to once again participate in this powerful educa- tional experience. Superintendent’s Message It is hard to believe we are already in the second half of the school year! The first half of the 2015-16 school year was filled with numerous student achievements and growth both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. The second half of the school year, I’m sure, will be filled with even more student achievements as well as students partaking in Ohio’s State Tests this spring. I would like to thank the Rootstown residents for your support of our schools with the passage of the renewal levy this past November. We plan to continue to strive to provide the best education possible while being fiscally responsible. Andrew Hawkins Finally, I would like to invite you to the February 22nd Board of Education meeting where I will be presenting the annual Superintendent State of the Schools address. At this time I will share information about what is going on in our schools and what lies ahead for the Rootstown Local School District. The Rootstown Board of Education has continued to work with the Rootstown Board of Trustees, the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission, and GPD Group on a possible JEDD to improve our aging school facilities. Currently, a feasibility study is being performed by the GPD Group to analyze if a JEDD is a possibility for our school district. I hope to have the results of this feasibility study by the February Board of Education meeting. Well Wishes Thank you for your continued support of Rootstown Local Schools. As a district we would like to thank Mr. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding Robert Park for his years of service on the our school district. Board of Education. We will miss him and wish him well. Go Rovers! We would also like to welcome Mrs. ANDREW HAWKINS Amanda Waesch who started her four-year SUPERINTENDENT term in January. Page 2 News From the Treasurer’s Office Employees Sweat to Save Money for the District For the past several years, employees of Rootstown Local Schools have participated in the Vitality Wellness Program. The program offers points for activities such as workouts and health screenings as well as offering online education in healthy eating habits and good mental health practices. Each employee earns points based on their own identified goals, earning new status levels (silver, gold, and platinum) in the process. At each new status level, employees receive $50 in their Health Savings Accounts. Why is this important for our taxpayers? By embracing these initiatives, insurance rates were 4% less, saving $65,000 this year alone. With increased attention to preventive care, employees can stay healthier and reduce absenteeism. Connie Baldwin The Wellness Committee has done a great job keeping people involved by setting up challenges each month with prizes Treasurer awarded by Vitality. In December and January, buildings were involved in workout competitions. Starting in March, the entire district will take on Crestwood and Streetsboro in a challenge to see who can log the most steps! Be sure to cheer us on! Thank you to our Rootstown Community for passing our levy renewal in November! It is always our goal to make this not only a great district, but also a cost effective one! CONNIE BALDWIN TREASURER Rootstown District News Rootstown Foundation and Alumni Association By Denny Pickens, President RFAA Our last contribution to The Communicator discussed the JEDD proposal and that we are making sure what the future of the physical location of the school will be before we push with any large scale fundraising. We continue to get strong support from the school district staff and alumni donations, and our focus remains to help with stadium renovations. The Foundation is proud to announce that we are going to reinstate our Alumni Association Scholarship beginning with this 2016 graduate class. A scholarship committee has been formed and applications will be available in the guidance office in March. As in the past, we are looking for candidates who best exemplify Rover Spirit and passion for the Rootstown community. Industrial Technology Class By Jess Hluch Project-based learning has been the focus of the Industrial Technology Class at the middle school. The projects encompassed the use of hand tools, power tools, electrical materials, mathematics, harmonics, and drafting and design. Students completed a variety of individual and group projects. Students made a re- newable energy air conditioner and donated one of them to a first grade classroom at the elementary school. Every student in class had to wire an electric switch and an electric outlet. Students made tongue or thumb drums. They designed their own drum, milled, processed, and assembled their drum. They finished the drum boxes by alternating sanding the wood and applying coats of finish to obtain a uniform surface. They Nicole Bobbs, 8th grader, also had to bring each drum into proper pitch by shaving material from the bottom of the drum and tuning carving a falcon from bass wood. it. Students used pitch-finders on different telephone apps to help them tune their drum. Some of the drums will be donated to nursing homes for therapeutic purposes. Students also steam-bent a toboggan involving ash wood for a group project. Two advanced projects are ongoing projects. Two girls are making individual harps that were started in class during the first semester. Now that the girls are no longer in the class, they are using their study halls and lunches to work on the harps. Tech Club meets on Friday after school. Students are working on CNC milling, robotics, and they will attempt to build a wind generator from scratch. Old hand tools, gears, and items of metal and wood will be used in a design technique called steampunk where students will incorporate old-looking items into a design. All wood used in this class was donated by the classroom teacher. If you would like to donate wood for Eighth graders Lauren Housley, Savannah class projects, old hand tools, gears, or items made of metal and wood, please contact Jess Hluch, Munger, and Lexi Roshon steam-bending a Industrial Technology teacher at [email protected]. toboggan. Quiz Bowl By Chris DiBattista The quiz bowl team started the season with 8 wins and no losses after defeating Ravenna on January 6th. This qualified the team, made up of Captain Jacob Dudley, Dominic Testa, Dominic DeSalvo, Brandon Tasker, Nate Vasbinder, Rebecca Boyle, Zandra Kvacek, Kyle Campbell, and Aaron Weingart, for Small School National Championships in Chicago on April 29th, 30th and May 1st. They lost their last two regular season matches to division winner Newbury, but will continue to battle into the post-season against Aurora on Wednesday, February 3rd and Western Reserve on Wednesday, February 17th. Conference Finals will be held on March 2nd in Garrettsville. The team will appear on Academic Challenge and the show will air on Saturday, March 12th at 7:00 p.m.