Today Fall, 2015 - Northmont City Schools

Northmont Today
Published by the Northmont City School District
Upcoming Dates:
October 7-10, 2015
HOMECOMING WEEK
Wed.-Powder Puff Game
Thurs.-Parade 6:00 p.m.
Fri.-Game & Alumni Tailgate
Sat.-Dance
October 9, 2015
Teacher Workday
No Classes PK-12
October 12, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
Board of Education Meeting
Kleptz Early Learning Ctr.
October 14, 2015 - 9:30 a.m.
FREE Community Breakfast
Kleptz Early Learning Ctr.
October 19-23, 2015
Parent Teacher Conferences
October 23, 2015
No Classes PK-12
October 26, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
Board of Education Meeting
Kleptz Early Learning Ctr.
November 1, 2015
Daylight Savings Time Ends
FALL BACK!
Volume 41/1
Fall 2015
District Hit With $3.5 Million of Cuts in State Budget
District officials are concerned about reductions in anticipated
revenue. The state revenue bienniel budget shows a loss of $3.5 million that
was initially expected. Also, the last two tax reappraisals represent another
$1.3 million loss bringing the total losses to $4.8 million.
Both the House and Senate budget recommendations gave Northmont
increases, but in July, the Governor slashed this year’s budget to nothing.
There are also concerns about mandated increased costs of the
Affordable Care Act and the federal changes in overtime pay for salaried
employees.
Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith will be the guest of the
Board of Education at the regular meeting of Monday, October 26 at 7:00
p.m. at the Kleptz Early Learning Center to address these concerns. Mr.
Keith will also share his thoughts about the upcoming triennial update in
2017 and whether he thinks future home values in our area will rise.
Superintendent to Hold Evening Hours
Superintendent Dr. Sarah Zatik and Treasurer Ann Bernardo will be holding
evening office hours twice per month to meet with individual community members. The
October dates are Tuesday, October 13 and Wednesday, October 21 from 5:00 - 7:00
p.m. at the City of Englewood Government Center. In November, the meetings will
be held on Thursday, November 12 and Tuesday, November 17 at the City of Clayton
Government Center. Future dates and locations will be available on the district website
and in the Englewood Independent. “This is just a chance for some one-on-one time with
community members who may have questions or have heard rumors that they would like
to have clarified,” said Zatik. “Due to the decline in state and local revenue, the Board of
Education will be voting soon to place an operating levy on the ballot in March. I want
to be available to answer questions that our community members might have as well as
listening to concerns.” Refreshments will be served.
I SPEAK FOR THE TREES
You may have noticed when driving by some of the Northmont buildings
that the landscape seems to have changed. The District has become another
victim of the Emerald Ash Borer and many of the large, old ash trees have
been removed. The Ash Borer was identified in Ohio in 2003. This pest
kills ash trees within three to five years of infestation and has affected 3.8
billion trees in the State of Ohio. As these beetle-like insects make their
way through the tree, the tree can become unstable and split, causing safety
concerns. According to Jason Watson, Director of Operations, “we are
planning to replace some of the trees that needed to be removed.”
GREEN PRIDE
. . . throughout the community
Public Invited to District Technology Seminars
DID YOU KNOW?
Northmont’s natural
gas provider analysis
showed that in the
first year of operation,
the KELC ran 45%
more efficiently in
heating cost compared
to O.R. Edgington.
The amazing fact
about this data is that
the KELC is
approximately
TWICE the size
of O.R. and serves
approximately 400
more students! This
is great news for the
District!
Northmont City Schools will be hosting a series of technology seminars for
community engagement beginning in October of 2015. The first event will take
place on Thursday, October 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Middle School and will cover
the Basics of ProgressBook. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn the ins
and outs of accessing their child’s grades online. Topics disccused in the seminar
include logging in to ProgressBook and understanding the grades as they are
posted. Curriculum Specialist Kristy Geiger and Teacher Diane McCarroll will
walk visitors through the process from start to finish.
Future dates will be announced at a later time, but topics such as email,
Facebook/Social Media, and Internet Safety will be included in the presentations.
FREE Community Breakfasts
Please consider joining us each month as we celebrate our students’ talents
and accomplishments. This is a FREE continental breakfast. Community
members who do not have children in school are welcome and encouraged to
attend.
September 30 - 9:30 - Englewood Hills January 27 - 9:30 - Englewood Elem.
October 14 - 9:30 - Kleptz ELC
February 24 - 9:30 - Northmoor
November 11 - 8:30 - Northwood
March 30 - 8:30 - Middle School
December 16 - 9:30 - Union Elem.
April 20 - 8:30 - High School
***Contact Jenny Wood at 832-5037 to RSVP***
EXCELLENCE
. . . throughout the district
Partnering for Northmont Safety
Northmont City Schools recently had the opportunity to work with a
safety engineering team from Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Northmoor
Elementary Principal, Shannon Williamson, facilitated the collaboration with
the Wright-Patt T-Rex engineering team. The team tested their experimental
safety systems as part of their annual Commander’s Challenge. The testing
occurred during a scheduled safety drill and after school with participation from
local police and fire departments. Some of the systems tested by the WrightPatt team included a specialized door securing device, an accountability system
using cellphones and a building-wide alarm to initiate a lockdown. Northmont
congratulates the Wright Patterson engineering team on winning the national
competition.
In addition to this most recent collaboration, Northmont City Schools has
a district safety committee that meets monthly and includes representation from
Clayton, Englewood, and Union fire and police departments. Northmont City
Schools benefits greatly from these strong community partnerships with ongoing
safety planning and training.
Staff Development Connects To Best Practices
Northmont employees continue to receive advanced professional
development through great collaboration with local and national industry
leaders. The ability to stay current is ever present with all jobs, and school
employees are no different. During the past year Northmont teachers have
linked with the University of Dayton Engineering Department, the Air Force
Research Lab at Tec-Edge, Apple, and the Dayton Regional STEM Center
among others to improve practices and better engage students in career choices
for the future. Members of our support staff have also attended Apple and
Google trainings to better build a technology infrastructure that allows students
and staff to learn and teach with tools that improve instruction. Through a
grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, the Buck Institute will
work with a number of Northmont teachers this fall and throughout the rest of
the school year to improve project based learning in all buildings in the district.
The Northmont community expects the best from Northmont City Schools and
the district continues to invest in making sure our staff members are aligning to
best practices for our students. We appreciate the continued community support
as we prepare Northmont students for a bright future.
FREE FALL
CONCERTS
October 6, 2015 - 8:00 p.m.
HS Choir/Encore Concert
HS Auditorium
October 7, 2015 - 7:30 p.m.
MS/HS Orchestra Concert
HS Auditorium
October 12, 2015 - 8:00 p.m.
HS Wind Ensemble
HS Auditorium
NORTHMONT DRAMA
CLUB PRESENTS:
“MOON OVER
BUFFALO”
Thursday, October 29 Saturday, October 31
7:30 p.m.
Tickets - $5 each
Moon Over Buffalo is a
1995 comic play by Ken
Ludwig set in Buffalo,
New York in 1953. The
show relies heavily on
situation comedy and
physical humor, as well as
a little slapstick.
Northmont Board of Education
Northmont City School District
4001 Old Salem Road
Englewood, OH 45322
Information Line
937-832-5037 or
Superintendent@northmontschools.net
www.northmontschools.net
www.facebook.com/NorthmontCitySchools
Fall, 2015
SAVE THE DATES!
Dec. 4 - (approx. 6:30p.m.)
Dedication of the High School
Athletics Facility
between the girls’ and boys’
basketball games
Jan. 10 - 2:00 p.m.
Dedication of the new High School
All are Welcome!
Non-Profit Organ.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 644
Dayton, OH 45401
ECR WSS
POSTAL CUSTOMER
New to the District?
Check our web site for important information:
www.northmontschools.net
THOUGHTS FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT - Dr. Sarah Zatik
Research indicates that if children miss eighteen days of school or
more per school year (two days per month), they are at risk of not
being academically successful. In Montgomery County, one in five
kindergarteners and one in ten third graders miss too much school and
are at risk. The number one strategy parents can accomplish to help their
child be academically successful is to make sure they are absent less than
five days per year. Attendence matters!
Our Mission:
The mission of Northmont City Schools is to provide
students an exceptional education with diverse
opportunities so they maximize their potential and are
productive, responsible citizens.