Archbold Area Schools

Archbold Area Schools
Board of Education

December 17, 2012

Educational Reports

Parent/Teacher Conferences - As usual, Parent /Teacher Conferences were well attended at the elementary. It was nice to see all the parents and some of the students participate in conferences.

Fairlawn Trip - All of the second graders will be taking a little trip out to Fairlawn on December 20, 2012. The students will visit the residents and sing Christmas carols.

Target Field Trip Grant - The first grade teachers applied for another Target Field Trip Grant to help offset the cost of a trip to Lourdes College. I am pleased to announce that this grant was awarded to us for a fifth straight year now. The grant will go towards transportation costs and reduce the cost of admission for each student from $7 to approximately $2 each.

Book Fair - During the week of November 26th-30th, the elementary hosted our annual Scholastic Book Fair. We raised around $2000.00. This money will support our Special Event activities this school year. Thanks to everyone who visited the Book Fair, and thanks to Jennie Johnson, Carla Hoverman, and Liz Croninger for organizing it.

FISH Pantry & Christmas Cheer - The elementary participated in a friendly competition with the other two buildings to raise money for the FISH Pantry and Christmas Cheer. We had an extra “Pay Day Jean” collection in November. The elementary raised over $400.

Community Involvement - The elementary staff does a wonderful job of trying to bring the community into the school. Not only do we do school-wide and grade level events, many teachers also host various programs throughout the year. Mr. Bacik and Mrs. Biederstedt hosted Donuts for Dads in November. Mrs. Shields and Mrs. Coressel hosted a grandparent Thanksgiving program. In December, Mrs. Kruse, Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Conway, and Mrs. Thiel all hosted a special Christmas program for grandparents and parents. These are just a few examples of special programs that have been done so far this year. I want to thank the teachers for their continuous efforts to showcase our students’ talents and also for all the support we get from the community during these events!

6th Grade students are in the process of completing the 5 week “Project Respect” program, which teaches them about healthy relationships and choices. With the 8th graders the Project Respect “Safe Dates” program covers some Ohio mandated curriculum in this area.

In January the 8th graders will be making a visit to the Four County Career Center and NW State with Mrs. Stevens, as a college and career exploration experience.

The 7th graders made a trip to Fusion during their health classes. The tour focused upon fitness and exercise.
In the period since conferences, each grade level team has met to discuss scheduling issues for the 2013-2014 school year. The goal is to provide a more simplified and efficient schedule.

The 5th grade team has been working regularly with Mrs. Bagrowski to create a curriculum map for their English classes as a part of the transition to the Common Core standards. This work will be ongoing with various grade levels and subject areas throughout the year.

The band and choral programs have been exhibiting their skills during the holiday season. On December 10, they held a combined concert at the Middle School for students and families during the day. On December 11, the junior high band performed along with the High School band in their annual holiday concert. On December 13, the 6th, 7th and 8th grade jazz bands traveled with the high school to perform at the Defiance Mall. On December 16, the Middle School chorus performed with at the High School in their annual choral concert. 5th grade band has been busily preparing for their annual “Demo Concert” on December 18.

A visitor to the Middle School might first notice the abundance of student artwork from Mrs. Kennedy’s classes lining the hallways and filling the trophy cases. The lobby features ceramics and self – portraits completed by the eighth graders. The hallways are lined with student projects inspired various important artists.

Book Fair - The Middle School Book Fair organized by Mrs. Aeschliman ran from November 29 through December 7. Total PROFITS were over $3700. These profits are used to provide the rich variety of books and resources for our students.

Service Projects - The students have been busy collecting canned goods and food items for Fulton County Christmas Cheer. They have collected over 1200 items to date. The AMS Student Council has led a series of fundraisers, including a baked goods sale, a free throw shooting contest and a raffle to benefit the charity as well. To date they have raised over $500. On December 10, Student Council had the great experience of delivering the items to the fairgrounds and helping out there as project volunteers.

Winter Sports - The winter sports season is well underway. All teams have a strong level of participation, so that many of our students can enjoy the social, physical and educational benefits of interscholastic athletics.

Community Use - AMS continues to open its’ doors to provide a facility for a variety of local organizations. Among the groups who benefit form the use of the facility are adult basketball leagues, church youth groups, a basketball program for homeschoolers, and a drum line organization with students from throughout NW Ohio.

Staff Exercise Facility - The Archbold Area Schools Wellness Committee has set up its’ fitness room in the Middle School and is ready for operation.

Senior Success Day – On Friday, December 7, 2012 the fourth annual Senior Success Day was held. Many volunteers and local businesses helped out and once again made this an outstanding event for the kids. Thank you to everyone who made this a wonderful experience for the AHS Seniors.

Bloodmobile – On December 5, 2012 Archbold High School hosted the first of two blood drives. Once again, the Student Council Bloodmobile was a great success. Not only does this help others, but also results in scholarships for AHS Seniors. Thanks to all who donated blood, as well as Mrs. Nagel, Mrs. Miller and the Student Council.

Four County Visit - On December 6, the sophomore class visited Four County Career Center. The students were given a tour, as well as an opportunity to visit several labs that they may be interested in attending for their Junior and Senior Year. This is always a great way for students to gather information on all the programs the career center offers.

All State Choir – The 2013 All-State Choir selection process began in May 2012 when Mr. Vandock submitted recorded auditions of several students. Over the course of the summer, students sent in these audition recordings across the state of Ohio to the Ohio Music Education Association. Archbold was fortunate to have four students selected:

This is the most All-State Choir students selected from Archbold for quite some time. These students are part of the 161-member All-State Choir. This is a big accomplishment for these students. State Choir is February 7th-9th in Columbus.

Quiz Season - The quiz team will begin it’s season on December 17th at Northwest State Community College. The college hosts a large quiz tournament each year. Mr. Moore expects another great year. Good Luck Quizzers!

Fall OGT results - Archbold received the Fall OGT results for the 11th and 12th grade students that participated in the test. While many students achieved success by passing portions of the test, we continue to provide support to those students who are still working to meet the passing score.

Fall OAA results - Archbold also received the Fall OAA (Ohio Achievement Assessment) scores for our 3rd grade reading. About 76.6% of our students received a proficient or higher score. This is about 11% more than last year at this time. The two strand areas that the data shows we should focus on are Acquisition of Vocabulary and Literary Text. It’s important to remember that our students have almost a full school year to learn the skills that are needed to pass the 3rd grade OAA reading assessment.

Junior Achievement - On Friday, December 7th, the junior class participated in a planned “JA in a Day” event. The Junior Achievement board chose 9 volunteers to deliver 6 different modules on success skills to the junior class. The modules covered: employment skills, speaking and listening, teamwork, conflict resolution, decision-making, and marketing. Two JA staff members from the Toledo headquarters also attended to help make the day a success.

eTPES - The Ohio Department of Education has released their online evaluation system program called eTPES. This program will be piloted by our principals and superintendent during the school year with a few selected staff members (as required by RttT.) The staff members will be able to log in to complete an individual growth survey and then start the preconference information. The online forms will be used to log the observation data and the outcome of the observation and student growth measures. The program must be fully implemented with all certified staff members next school year.

Curriculum Changes - All grades K-4 have now updated the curriculum maps to match the new standards and have also made changes to the report card objectives. These changes will be implemented next year. The elementary building committee will be reviewing possible changes to the Report Card as well.

Archbold R.O.C.K.S. - The Archbold R.O.C.K.S. program is providing many benefits to students before and afterschool. We continually look for new and exciting programs to offer to our students. If anyone would like to visit or volunteer during our program, they should contact Michele Bagrowski. We would like to have community volunteers and facilitators on more regular basis.

Organizational Chart – As presented last month, the recommended organizational chart represents analysis and extended discussions about the organization that took place over several months. I hope this will serve as a valuable tool for the district in the months and years ahead.

Policy Updates – The updated policy regarding hiring of administrators is timely in that among other positions it addresses hiring a superintendent as well as requesting temporary licensure for administrators. An alternative license is the type of license the substitute elementary principal will be securing.

Substitutes – Mr. Short’s success in locating a substitute psychologist for the district has worked out well. Parent meetings, evaluations, and testing of students needing service continues in a timely manner keeping the district in compliance with legal requirements. Our psychologist, Robin Kuhlman, has been very dedicated during her absence keeping all administrators informed of any student who may need the substitutes attention.

Today’s agenda includes a recommendation to hire a substitute elementary principal. Mrs. Lambert anticipates the need to be absent for extended periods of time over the remainder of this school year. Her absences are the result of a family illness. Her substitute is a graduate of Archbold Area Schools and previously worked in the building as an educational service center employee.

Crisis Plan –The recently approved crisis plan is being summarized and made into flip chart form. The flip charts will be distributed as soon as they arrive from the printer. Each chart has a strong plastic protective cover.

Job Descriptions – After many months of review and discussion the proposed job descriptions have been forwarded to the consultant to be prepared in the final draft form.

Turbine – It has not been confirmed but discussions suggest First Energy will be doing their on-site testing the week of December 17. The turbine will be put into operation upon First Energy’s approval.

Study – Dave Davis and I, as well as your treasurer, have held several meetings with contractors to determine the best options for energy savings in our buildings. At least two energy use studies are underway as well as evaluations of building mechanical systems and HVAC controls. This may lead to a new way to address preventative maintenance plus purchasing energy saving equipment, such as variable speed motors, that provide a quick financial payback.

The Archbold Board of Education will meet for their organizational meeting on January 7, 2013 @ 5:30 p.m. in the High School Media Center. The regular January meeting will immediately follow the organizational meeting.

Archbold Board of Education will meet again for the next regularly scheduled meeting on January 7, 2013 @ 5:30 p.m. in the High School Media Center.

Future Board meeting dates: January 7, 2013 (6:00pm) (5:30 p.m. at Archbold High School Media Center unless otherwise specified)

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