December 2014 Newsletter - Pickerington Local School District

Mrs. Susan Caudill - Principal
Mr. Eric Rutter - Assistant Principal
Web: www.pickerington.k12.oh.us
MAIN OFFICE: 614-548-1700
ATTENDANCE HOTLINE: 614-548-1701
ATHLETIC NUMBER: 614-548-1715
IMPORTANT DATES 12/4 – Student of the Month Recognition, 9:40 AM 12/8 – Board of Education Meeting, 7:00 PM, Heritage Elementary 12/8 – Hour of Code Begins 12/9 – PTO Meeting , 9:30 AM, Ridgeview Media Center 12/9 – Ridgeview and Diley Orchestra Concert, 7:00 PM, PHS-‐ Central PAC 12/16 – Ridgeview Band Concert , 7:00 PM, PHS-‐ Central PAC 12/17 – Butterfly Project 12/18 – End of 2nd Marking Period; End of First Semester 12/19/14 -‐ 1/2/15 – Winter Break, NO SCHOOL 1/5 – Classes Resume 1/7 -‐ Grade Cards are sent home with students The Ridgeview JH office will be closed for much of the Winter Break. Please call before
visiting to verify that someone is in the office. Classes resume January 5, 2015.
Happy Holidays.
Orchestra Notes December 9th - 7:00 PM in the PAC - DMS/RJHS Orchestras "Musical Holiday Card"
concert
December 13th - 9:00 AM -1:00 PM in the PHSC Commons - "Breakfast with Santa"
benefit for Orchestras, Bands, Choirs (with live music from our student ensembles!)
December 14th - 12:00 – 4:00 PM at Barnes & Noble, Rt. 256 Pickerington: B&N Bookfair, Benefiting Orchestras (with
live music from our student ensembles!)
December 15th - 7:00 PM in the PAC - PHSC Orchestras "Musical Holiday Card" concert Are you missing anything??? All Lost & Found items will be donated to charity over the Winter Break. Please check in Room 112 for items you may be missing and claim them ASAP. Winter Weather/Closings and Delays http://www.pickerington.k12.oh.us/contentpage2.aspx?cid=310 The Pickerington Local School District (PLSD) reserves the right to close or delay the start times of schools based on hazardous weather conditions. We understand that these decisions have a big effect on families as they plan their day, and now is an excellent time to establish your family emergency plan. Hazardous weather conditions may constitute: *Information on road conditions from transportation staff, law enforcement and road crews. (We must give careful consideration to the most dangerous roads in the District; they can be treacherous, even if your street looks clear.) *Accumulated snow and ice; *Temperature and wind chill *Impact on transportation services (school bus diesel fuel begins to gel at temperatures of zero degrees or below); *Weather predictions (including those from a weather alert service); *Building conditions (such as whether there is electricity and heat); On days when it is determined that PLSD will close or delay school, we will make every effort to notify local media and parents of the decision by 5:30 AM, by one or more of various notification methods: phone, email, website/ twitter, text, TV/radio. It is imperative that you check the Parent Portal to make sure your contact information is current. 2-‐hour Delay days begin at 10:00 AM at Ridgeview JHS. Chorale News – Mark your calendar, sports fans! The Ridgeview Chorale will be
performing at Nationwide Arena on January 16th, just prior to the Columbus Blue Jackets/
Rangers hockey game. Chorale parents, watch for more news and ticket information to
come home soon!
A rt News
About 90 Ridgeview STEM Junior High
students in Art Appreciation classes
were commissioned to create a mural
to honor the veteran residents of Amber Park
Assisted Living Community. In preparation for
creating the mural, surveys were given to the
veterans at Amber Park so students could ensure
the voices of those men and women are included
in the mural. Students researched poems and
artwork by artists about veterans.
During this work, students learned why
poppies are given out on Veterans Day. Students
then completed a series of art challenges based
on visual art standards related to aspects of the mural. Those challenges included researching and
creating artwork based on veterans close to them, applying artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s practice of using
close-ups of flowers, and paintings depicting all the environments in which wars have taken place and also
drawings focused on modes of transportation. The mural also includes space for photos of Amber Park
residents. The mural will be unveiled in November at the assisted living facility.
In the Art Survey classes, approximately 90 students
competed in the Fairfield Challenge, sponsored by Dawes Arboretum.
This global challenge was issued to students. Students were to
represent indigenous pollinators and plants of Ohio and represent the
syndrome both visually and in the written format. We were allowed
to submit four student's work for the competition. Londyn Coles,
Naomi McMarrow, Kate Merkel and Camryn Theodo's works are
entered into the competition to represent Ridgeview STEM Junior
High. The final judging is set to take place in May, 2015. We look
forward to the results! Please check out all four of the students’
entries at
http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=861862
Social Studies Comes Alive!
In preparation for the American Revolution unit that the
8th grade Social Studies classes will be studying at
Ridgeview, we invited Mr. Mark Cory and his wife to come
in as Revolutionary War reenactors. They dressed the part,
and were in character during the whole presentation.
They brought with them many objects for the students to
see. They even brought and fired a replica French
Charleville flintlock musket that discharged powder
charges. They were able to share with the students the
reasons why the Revolution began, what life was like as a
soldier, and how the "Yankee Doodles" were able to win.
It was a great day for Ridgeview History! 7th graders experienced what it was like to be a Roman citizen. Students played a role in the Roman Republic, voting on whether to expand the Republic to other
territories. They are weighing costs and benefits of the expansions and then adapting to the costs of their votes. Student Council Update The Student Council at Ridgeview has been very busy raising money for our Adopt-‐A-‐Family campaign. Smoothie King came for a visit Thursday, November 20th with Pineapple Surf and Berry Punch smoothies. Yum! Thank you to everyone who participated in our various fundraisers including our Costume Day and Tired Tuesday! All money raised through these fundraisers will help sponsor families in the Pickerington community who need assistance during the holiday season. Doing any shopping over the Break? It’s never too early to be aware of dress code for the 2015 May Dance (Saturday, May 2nd from 7-‐9:30 pm in the Ridgeview gymnasium). Please be aware of the following: strapless dresses are not permitted!!! Young ladies attending the dance will need to have at least 1 strap on their dress (spaghetti straps and halter dresses are permitted). Due to issues in previous years, shrugs/sweaters over strapless dresses will not meet dress code. Please do not wear any strapless dresses to May Dance. The fingertip rule will apply to length. Gentlemen, slacks, not jeans, are appropriate for this event. If you have questions, please contact Carley Fontana ([email protected]). Box Tops Collection: Please send those Box Tops to school with your student, or drop them in the office. All funds raised will go toward the great activities our PTO help support. The current Box Tops collection drive ends December 12th. For a list of all of the products that carry boxtops, check out: http://www.boxtops4education.com/participating-‐
productshttp://www.boxtops4education.com/participating-‐products HOUR OF CODE
Hour of Code is the Week of Dec. 8th.
What is it? The Hour of Code is a onehour introduction to computer science,
designed to demystify code and show that
anybody can learn the basics. It's a global
movement reaching tens of millions of
students in 180+ countries, 15 million
students worldwide. The Hour of Code is
organized by Code.org, a public 501c3
non-profit dedicated to expanding
participation in computer science by
making it available in more schools, and
increasing participation by women and
underrepresented students of color. An
unprecedented coalition of partners have
come together to support the Hour of
Code, too — including Microsoft, Apple,
Amazon, Boys and Girls Clubs of America
and the College Board. Ridgeview
STEM Junior
High School
counselor Kris
Owen has
received the
prestigious
School
Counselor of
the Year award
from the Ohio
School
Counselors
Association.
She received the honor at the
association’s annual conference. The
award recognizes an OSCA school
counselor for “outstanding service to
students, staff and families.”
Owen said receiving the award was
humbling and exciting, but that she could
not take all the credit for herself. She
praised her school’s strong team of
peers, teachers, parents, school and
district leaders, and students. OW JL CAMP
Applications are available now at
http://owjl.owu.edu/apply/howToApply.html or
applications should be available in the
counseling office by the end of the month. "The Butterfly Project" is back at
Ridgeview on Dec. 17th. It will be
presented to 7th grade girls. The
program is designed to inform
students of the dangers of human
trafficking since Ohio, specifically
the Columbus area, is in the top
three most trafficked areas and
the target group is girls 12 and up.
It also aims to improve self perception, create bonds between
students, and positively impact the
school environment. For more
information please visit
butterflyprojectchange.com
Seventh grade boys will also
experience "Own Up." This
program seeks to help boys
navigate the middle years by
treating themselves and others
with respect and making a positive
contribution to society and their
school.
MEDIA CENTER NEWS RJHS Media Center Antique Museum was a big hit with students in November. Mr. Swartz’s original Atari game gained a lot of attention along with a giant 2nd generation cell phone from Mrs. Kuhl. The rotary telephone and Mrs. Maynard’s typewriter from the 1930’s were also highlights. Tunes from the Beatles and Elvis were heard daily on the record player. Students had the opportunity to see quite a few gadgets from the past and learn about items that existed before computers and modern smart phones. What-‐-‐before computers…? Coming Soon... Along with the current reading, study, and computer spaces in the RJHS Media Center-‐-‐ a creative Maker Space is being developed by our Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Kissell. A Maker Space is a place where students can gather to create, invent, design, and learn with hands-‐on activities. To help supply the creative hands-‐on spaces we would love to collect donations from anyone who would like to clean out their craft supplies or tools and want to give to the RJHS Maker Space: *A list of items that we will need in the future: tabletop gadgets or appliances that students could take apart and explore, screwdrivers, pliers, tweezers, markers, colored pencils, glue guns, glue sticks, cardboard tubes, origami paper, plastic bottles, yarn, fabric, glitter, buttons, shoe boxes, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, magazines, scrapbooking paper and any other craft items or supplies that the students could use for creating. Bring any donations to the RJHS front office. Thank you in advance for your generosity :) From the School Nurse, Mrs. Stewart Day of Dental Care
Hosted by the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Head Start
Services provided by Dentists from
Nationwide Children’s Hospital Dental Clinic
and the Ohio State University School of Dentistry
in conjunction with the “Gift of Time”
Saturday, December 6, 2014
9:00 to 2:00
at the Lancaster High School, 1312 Granville Pike,
Lancaster, OH 43130
Services will include:
Exams, oral hygiene instructions, giving away dental hygiene
products, referral for care and case management,
and the “OSU Dental Bus” for some limited treatment based on
criteria including pain.
Open to the entire community!!
No appointment needed!! FREE!!
For all ages, Adults and Children
Please contact Sandy Smith at 740-205-8039 if you have questions.

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