Congressman Brad Wenstrup Visits CNE

C l e r trict ClDistrict
District
District
District
District
mont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School Disermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Clermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Clermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Clermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Clermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Clermont Northeastern School District Clermont Northeastern School
Spring 2014
Congressman Brad Wenstrup Visits CNE
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
Photography by Brittney Woermann
Mr. Shell visited with Congressman Brad Wenstrup at the
Board office on Friday, April 11
It is no secret to the staff, students, and community members of
the Clermont Northeastern family
that Superintendent Ralph Shell is
doing absolutely everything in his
power to ensure that the students in
this district receive equal and fair
funding from the state of Ohio.
Aside from implementing the
CNE Educational Foundation initiative, Shell has presented his
case in front of Congress multiple
times to try to persuade the state to
change their funding process, citing
the treatment of CNE students as
“discrimination” in relation to the
funding that students who attend
other districts in Clermont County
receive.
As an example, students who live
on the same road are oftentimes divided between two districts, such as
CNE and Goshen. Goshen, like every other school in the county, has
a new and updated building with
improved facilities, such as athletic
fields.
Mr. Shell very clearly feels that
this is unfair for students; just because a student lives on a particular side of the street does not mean
that he/she deserves to receive less
funding from the state of Ohio than
a student living across the street
who attends a different school.
On Friday, April 11 Mr. Shell met
with Ohio Congressman Brad Wen-
strup at the District Board Office to
present him with information concerning the state of CNE schools
and the minimal funding that the
district receives from the state.
Essentially, CNE schools rely almost completely on local funding to
operate and improve the schools.
As stated in the previous newsletter, the state of Ohio bases its funding for schools off of a “Pupil to
Acre” ratio.
Because CNE is a land-rich district, meaning we have a great deal
of physical property in the district
but a small amount of students, we
receive very little funding from the
state to go towards updated facilities, and possibly even new buildings.
The Clermont Northeastern Local School District is located in two
counties, eight townships, and nine
ZIP codes. The district encompasses seventy eight square miles, or
49,920 acres, which is astronomically large compared to other closeby districts.
For the 2013-2014 school year,
the district, K-12, had 1,564 students enrolled. Based off of this
number, it was calculated that there
are 31.90 acres per students, which
is a much higher rate than any other
district in Clermont County.
For the 2013-2014 school year,
CNE received an astounding 48.3%
of its funding from local taxpayers,
36% from the state of Ohio, 6.6%
from the Federal government, and
9.1% from other non-tax sources.
After viewing this breakdown, it
becomes very obvious that the local taxpayers are the primary source
of funding for the schools. This is
not the case for other schools in Clermont County who receive more
state funding, such as Milford. This
is due to the fact that these districts
have a greater ratio of students to
acre.
For example, when looking at the
state breakdown for sources of revenue in other districts, on average
local taxpayers contribute 40.1%
of the funding and the state puts up
44%, meaning that CNE receives
8% less state funding than other
schools on average.
While meeting with Congressman
Wenstrup, the issue of diploma deferment was also brought up. Several members of the senior class at Clermont Northeastern High School
this year are choosing to have their
diploma held so that they may continue their education at other institutes, such as Live Oaks.
When students do this, it counts as
a “dropout,” for the school, which
negatively affects the graduation
rate for the district.
This policy is also something that
Mr. Shell would like to see changed
in the future so that students can be
encouraged to pursue further education upon graduation without any
penalties.
Lastly, Mr. Shell recently created
a report that outlined CNE’s ten
year expenditures and carryover.
The state has tried to enforce a rule
stating that all school districts must
have a 5% carryover of the budget per school year. For this school
year, CNE had a .68% carryover.
However, instead of making extreme budget cuts to meet this requirement, Mr. Shell has proposed
a more simple and effective alternative: “living within means.”
This statement means that the district will only spend what we can
afford, and will be cautious with
money when needed.
Mr. Shell stated that making cuts
in order to meet this state requirement, such as cutting teachers and
other staff from buildings, or raising school fees, would only negatively impact the education of the
students in the district; therefore,
making such cuts is not an option
that he is willing to consider.
CNE is very fortunate to have a
superintendent who values his students and their educations so highly, and we look forward to the many
improvements and strides that Mr.
Shell is sure to make for the schools
in years to come.
Elementary
Clean and Green Cleanup
Photo Courtesy of Lynne Carter
By Josh Flaig
Jyst Staff Reporter
The second annual CNE
Clean and Green clean-up day
took place on Saturday, May 3
from 9:00-12:00PM.
Helping with the cleanup
this year were over sixty volunteers, including students of
all grade levels, faculty and
staff, and community members.
Interested participants met
at the shelter by the pond in
the morning to receive their
specific assignments and to
get organized for the day.
Projects for the day included
working to restore and improve the school grounds as a
whole, the nature trail, and the
pond..
Though the day started off
slightly overcast and windy,
the weather eventually cooperated and the sun shone
through clear skies by the end
of the day.
The overlying purpose of
the event was for students
and their families to have the
opportunity to take an active
role in the appearance of the
schools and grounds, and to
make improvements as necessary.
A second purpose for holding this event was to foster a
sense of pride in our schools.
We are lucky enough to have
a beautiful campus, and it is
important that we as a community keep it clean and wellmaintained!
The Clean and Green event
Photo Courtesy of Mrs. Woods
was also a great an opportunity for students to gain up to
three service hours for graduation, Honor Society, or other
group requirements.
Thanks to generous donations from Carter Lumber,
Lowes, and Grant’s Farm, the
crew had materials to mulch
and plant the front flower
beds, box in all twelve garden
plots, and spread woodchips
in between the pathways of
the beds.
These donations are very
much appreciated, and the
district sends out a huge thank
you to all of the companies
and organizations involved!
The CNE district as a whole
has made great strides towards ‘Going Green’ in the
past several years. At the
high school, the Environmental Science class collects
recycling at the end of every
week.
At the elementary school,
students create compost to be
used for sustainable purposes,
and also plant flowers once
the weather warms up in the
Spring.
Making these small changes
and efforts is a great way to
save the district money, protect the Earth, and clean up
the campus. Thank you to
Mrs. Wood for organizing
this event, and also to all who
volunteered their time! Make
time out of your day to check
out the new improvements!
100th
Day of 2014 Celebration
By Sierra Kibbey
Jyst Staff Reporter
On Thursday, April 10 the
kindergarten students at CNE
Elementary School celebrated
the 100th day of 2014! In
preparation for the day, each
student was asked to complete
a homework assignment.
This event was inspired
by kindergarten teacher Jane
Payne, who said that she enjoyed putting together such a
fun activity for her students!
For the assignment, the students’ job was to bring a collection of 100 things of their
choice. The children and their
families were very creative
with their collections!
The picture accompanying
this article shows some of the
students proudly displaying
their work.
Their school day itself
included many different exciting activities that were cen-
tered around the number 100.
Students made headbands
with 100 tally marks, stamped
100 gumballs on a paper
gumball machine, and made a
book with 100 stickers, 10 on
each page among many other
exciting activities.
Other fun activities included
measuring 100 steps down
the kindergarten hallway and
making a friendship snack by
counting 10 of 10 different
snack items to make a snack
of 100 items.
The day was both educational and enjoyable for
students and staff alike. The
teachers, staff, and students
involved in this innovative
day all had a great time, and
are looking forward to celebrating the event again next
year!
Looking Ahead
CNE HS Graduation: 5/23, 7:30PM
@ Southern State
Last Day of School for Students:
5/29
Teacher Inservice: 5/30
First Day of School 2014-2015:
Wednesday, 8/20
Elementary
CNE Elementary Celebrates
Grandparents Days
By Sierra Kibbey
Jyst Staff Reporter
During the month of May,
several Grandparents’ Days
took place at CNE Elementary School. First grade was
held on Tuesday, May 13 at
9:10AM, second graders performed for their grandparents
on Monday, May 12, also at
9:10AM, and third graders entertained their grandparents on
Thursday, May 15, at 9:10AM
as well.
The kindergarten class
rounded out the visits, with
their grandparents stopping by
for a visit on May 27.
This is a highly anticipated
annual event for elementary
school students, where each
child invites his/her grandparents to visit the school for a
concert and breakfast.
The first graders had the
chance to sing some of their
favorite songs for their visitors, including “Five Green
and Speckled Frogs,” “The
Paw Paw Patch,” and “Big
Eye Rabbit.”
Second graders performed several fan-favorites,
including“My Dog Rags,”
“Floating Down the River,”
and “When I Was One.”
The third graders presented
“Davey Crockett,” “Iditarod
Trail,” and “Polly Wolly Doodle,” all of which were met
with a great response from the
audience.
All performances were excellent! All students and grandparents in attendance had a
great time coming together to
celebrate the end of the school
year and the many successes
that were accomplished over
the course year.
The elementary school students really enjoyed being
able to show their grandparents their school and were
excited to have the opportunity to perform some of their
favorite songs for their loved
ones.
Mrs. Conroy, the music
teacher at the elementary
school, has been organizing
Grandparents’ Day for roughly 16 years.
Each year, she holds a Grandparents’ Day concert for every
elementary grade level, K-5.
“There is always great turnout, and it is always an awesome opportunity for students
to show off their school to
their families and loved ones,”
said Mrs. Conroy.
Above: The 1st graders performing a song for their grandparents during
their show! Photography by Jacob Bowman
Below: The grandparents of the children watch their grandkids perform
one of their songs! Photography by Jacob Bowman
Shoparoo: Give Back to CNE
By Sierra Kibbey
Jyst Staff Reporter
Shoparoo is a new program
being introduced to the Clermont Northeastern Local
School District.
It is a mobile app, or application, that turns grocery receipts
into instant cash to be donated
to schools in the districts.
This fundraising program
is designed with busy parents
and families in mind, and is a
quick, easy, and effective way
to give back to our schools.
This program raises thousands of dollars for local
schools without any buying,
selling, or collecting of any
items.
There is no limit to how
much money schools can receive through Shoparoo, and it
is free of cost, safe, and secure
for participants.
To get started with this program, you simply download
the Shoparoo app onto your
smart phone, and then select
the school you wish your money to go to.
It is suggested that you
choose the school in the district that your child attends.
After downloading and selecting, you simply snap a picture of your grocery receipt,
and money is donated straight
to the school!
The process is simple and
quick, and can be completed
wherever you are- at home,a t
the store, at work, etc.
Another positive aspect is
that there is no specific grocery
store that you must shop at to
participate in this fund-raiser.
Many popular local stores
such as Kroger, Meijer,
Walmart, Target, Costco, and
Sams Club are all participants.
Outside of grocery, stores such
as Dollar General, Petsmart,
CVS, and Walgreens participate as well.
The information from the receipts is completely secure, and
personal information, such as
phone numbers or credit card
numbers are not used. Participation is also anonymous.
The average receipt is worth
$0.05, which is an increase
from last year; however, the
worth of the receipt depends
on the total amount of dollars
spent.
Downloading the app is free
and convenient and it is a great
way to help raise money for
our schools!
Parents and families are encouraged to participate in this
fundraiser in any way possible
over the summer.
Thank you for your support
to help better our schools, and
the district as a whole!
Middle School
Fifth Grade Graduation
By Jacob Bowman
Business Editor
On Monday, May 12, current CNE fifth grade students visited visit the Middle
School.
Each student was paired
with his/her pen pal, who had
previously written his/her
their fifth grader a letter about
life in sixth grade.
These letters included tips
on how to thrive and enjoy
middle school, and discussed
the many benefits and exciting events that go along with
moving up from the elementary school.
The students also heard
concerts by the Middle School
Band and Chorus.
Aside from being a fun experience for all students who
watched the performances,
these concerts served to help
the fifth graders decide which
special area they would like to
pursue in sixth grade.
All students in attendance
enjoyed the music presented
by both groups!
The special area choices for
sixth grade students at CNE
Middle School are Band or
Chorus every day for all year,
or a schedule every day for a
quarter of Physical Education,
Art, or Library Skills.
The sixth graders who selected “Other” will repeat one
of the three areas for fourth
quarter.
Instead of staying the same
classroom with the same
teacher and classmates all
day as is done in elementary
school, middle school students are given the freedom
to change classes each bell
to better prepare them for the
high school.
During the visit, all of the
incoming fifth graders seemed
very excited about the chance
to choose their own classes
and to switch teachers each
bell for the first time!
During their visit, students
were also given papers for
parents to select and confirm
the student’s class choices.
The day was rounded out
with the fifth grade students
going on a tour of the building
with their pen pals, and sharing a snack with some fun in
the sun!
Current fifth grade students
Sadie Hoeppner and Hailey
Stegemann both had a great
time at fifth grade orientation.
“I like that they went over
the things I didn’t know about
the middle school, and all of
the things that will be different from the elementary
school. I’m also really excited
for middle school because I
get to chew gum,” said Hallie.
The sixth grade students
who were given the opportunity to mentor the fifth graders all enjoyed being able
to help other students out
and make the transition into
middle school easier and more
smooth for all involved.
We, along with the rest of
the district, wish the best of
luck to all of our current fifth
grade students entering middle school in the fall!
Reality Store comes to CNE
Middle School
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
On Wednesday morning, May 14, CNE Middle
School’s eighth grade students
all experienced a taste of the
future: the “Reality Store.”
The event ran from 9:00AM12:00PM.
Each eighth grade student
selected and researched a career that he/she may be interested in pursuing in the future.
Among many other variables,
this research included the average salary that a person with
their chosen occupation earns
annually and the level/type of
education required to attain
their chosen profession.
Students were also responsible for selecting several
key features of their future
lifestyle: single or married,
children or childless, pets or
no pets, and many other important decisions that would
affect their lives on a daily
basis.
Using this information,
students then made a great
deal of financial decisions
concerning housing, transportation, utility use, food, insurance, charitable donations,
clothing, and entertainment.
During the Reality Store
activity, the participating
students stopped at tables
throughout the gym to make
their selections and then they
wrote a check to cover the
monthly cost of the selected
service or item to simulate
what it would actually be like
to pay their bills on a monthly
basis.
Many thanks go to the Classic Federal Credit Union in
Amelia provided the current
cost of each item, or service,
as well as a “pretend” checkbook for each student’s personal use! There were also
several students from the high
school that attended to help
Photography by Sydney Gacek
with the day.
The Reality Store teaches
students about the actual cost
of living on their own, as well
as the value of a choosing a
secure and professional job
obtained by getting a good
education.
Students are encouraged to
work hard so that they will be
able to achieve their goals in
the future.
By allowing the students to
participate in such a fun and
hands-on opportunity, it can
be certain that the students
not only enjoyed themselves,
but also learned valuable lessons about the future and the
choices they continue to make
on a daily basis as they continue their educational journey at the high school level
next year.
middle school
Girls Club is a Success
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
it has undoubedtly been a
year filled with many successes for Cne middle schools’
Girls Club, advised by the
Guidance Counselor, mrs.
rauen.
the girls involved in the
club are given the opoprtunity to get together and meet
monthly, and these meetings
serve to encourage the girls
to get to know other people
outside of their usual friendship circles to create a general
feeling of goodwill throughout the entire middle school
building.
at these meetings, the girls
also complete several activities; approximately one third
of the activities involve community service, another third
are for learning new skills
and sharing new experiences
together, and the last third are
simply to have a fun together
as friends!
Forty girls completed the
joint Girls’ Club/Girl scouts
weekly activities and earned a
trip on thursday, march 20 to
the Cincinnati Zoo. the Girls’
Club/Girl scout activities
were based on learning science concepts in a fun way.
the girls built catapults,
did experiments with worms,
made treats for the dogs at
the Clermont County animal
shelter, made rock candy
and matched plants and animals to different biospheres.
these activities took place on
Wednesdays after school.
at the zoo, the girls particiPhoto Courtesy of Google Images
pated in a presentation by zoo
educator meredith Jaworek
who shared her personal background leading to her current
position working with zoo
animals.
meredith also shared three
animals with the girls: a beetle, an aardvark and a snake.
at the zoo, the girls toured
and completed worksheets on
animal stereotypes (learning
that it is bad to judge animals
and people by their appearance) and animal conservation
(learning that every animal
just like every person is important), emphasizing the
Girls’ Club principles
of “Fun! Friendship! respect!”
the girls are grateful to Girl
scout leader alicia Gee and
our many zoo chaperones for
making this experience possible.
on april 16, the Girls’ Club
hosted a spring games event
after school.
Girls’ Club is open to all
girls in grades six through
eight and is sponsored by
grants from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation and the Clermont County mental health
and recovery Board.
there is no cost to the girls,
making the organization very
attainable for all who would
like to participate. We are
looking forward to continuing
the club next year and welcoming new members to the
Girls Club Family!
National Junior Honor Society
Inducts New Members
By sierra Kibbey
Jyst staff reporter
as the school year comes
to a close, national Junior
honor society, nJhs, at Cne
middle school is just getting
started.
nJhs is a prestigious organization that is centered
around academics, leadership,
and quality of character.
to become a member of
nJhs, students must be asked
to apply based off of a combination of their grades, school
involvement, and moral character.
For the 2013-2014 school
year, there were fifty students
at Cne middle school who
met the requirements to apply.
Of those fifty, over forty
students returned the initial
questionnaire to be considered
for membership.
after the questionnaires
were returned, they were then
evaluated by a faculty council
consisting of several middle
school teachers and other staff
members.
science teacher mrs. Carlier
is the staff advisor for nJhs,
and really enjoys the work
that she does with the students
in the organization.
students and faculty alike
here at Cne can look to
nJhs members to assume
leadership roles in the classroom, and in the school in
general.
nJhs is a particularly important organization because
it eventually feeds into the
high school level, with nhs
(national honor society).
students in nhs are expected to serve as good role
models for their peers, and
to attain a high grade point
average while simultaneously
showing leadership skills and
community and school involvement.
By starting of at a younger
age with nJhs at the middle
school, students are taught
these values and priorities,
and will be able to carry them
over to high school.
We here at the Jyst encourage all middle school students
to get involved and keep their
grades up so that they may
be considered for nJhs in
the future, or even at the high
school level (nhs) when they
change buildings.
High School
CNE Drama Goes ‘Green” Seniors Take Home Awards
Jasmine Eichenlaub
Jyst Staff Reporter
Photography by Abbi Pritchard
“Shrek The Musical” added songs
and wonderful dance numbers adds
a certain flair that you don’t see in
the movie. In case you by chance
haven’t seen the movie, here is a recap of the story, in brief:
To reclaim his swamp from squatting, displaced fairy creatures, the
ogre Shrek must rescue the dragonguarded Princess Fiona and deliver
her to Lord Farquaad, who must
marry a princess to become a king
and make his land of Dulac into a
real kingdom.
It’s not the plot but the characters
and the comedy that made Shrek a
hit on the screen and brought him to
the stage.
The hit show made it big during
the weekend of April 3-5, with four
shows, most of which were sold out.
Everyone enjoyed it, kids and
adults alike. “The school play is a
great experience for anyone who
wants to go into acting” said Senior
Nathan Brinson.
For many cast members this year
was their senior year and the “final hurrah.” This years leads were
played by Nathan Brinson (Shrek),
Hannah Stegemann (Fiona), and
Alex Thompson (Donkey).
However, for some students this
is the first play they have ever been
a part of. Many of the cast members
are middle school and freshmen
students, making this the first of
their play experiences.
For those of you who were lucky
enough to see the show, it can be
said that CNE Drama is full of extremely talented students and directors, and we are looking forward to
next years production!
Student
Spotlight : Eli McGee
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
Photography by Alaina Conti
Eli posing for his close-up!
A familiar face returning to CNE
this year is Eli McGee. Eli is back
to being a Rocket after briefly attending Batavia. Eli enjoys being
back with all of his friends.
Eli likes how everyone at CNE is
very nice to him, teachers and students alike. Of course, it’s easy for a
young man like Eli to make friends.
He’s quite the jokester and is one of
the friendliest faces here.
At school Eli likes being in Ms.
Shmidbauer’s class during first period with Mrs. Sparks. His other
favorite class is gym with Mr. Iles.
He likes playing the games with the
rest of his class.
After school Eli likes to mow
grass with his dad and on Thursdays
he has a job at IGA in Owensville.
He helps with things at the store
like putting crackers and cookies
on the shelves. Some of Eli’s other
favorite things are painting snakes
and dinosaurs, and playing with his
dog, Elsie.
So if you’re ever in the hall and
see Eli, stop and say hi. You’ve got
a good chance of making a friend
and meeting a great guy!
Three Clermont Northeastern
High School seniors recently
took home the respective first,
second, and third place awards in
the annual Clermont County High
School Research/Writing Contest. First place went to Elizabeth
Shaw, Kara Marlar claimed second, and Brandon Jex won third.
These essays were written in early
December before class dismissed
for Winter Break.
Each essay was required to
be a minimum of 1,200 words
in length and the given prompt
was to explain and analyze, in
great detail, one amendment of
the United States Constitution.
Students worked on these essays
in their English 12 and Government classes for several weeks,
with invaluable collaboration from
librarian Mrs. Amster.
It is an immense honor to have
the top three placers all attend Clermont Northeastern, and we hope
to continue this tradition in years
to come! “It was really cool to win
third place. I was excited to hear
the news because I worked really
hard on my essay,” said Brandon
Jex.
To recognize these three students, there was a ceremony held
on Wednesday, May 7 at 2:00PM
in the gymnasium where they
were recognized in front of their
teachers and peers. The families
and friends of Brandon, Kara,
and Elizabeth were also invited to
attend a brief reception preceding
the ceremony. Many congratulations to these three, and best of
luck!
By Abbi Pritchard
Jyst Staff Reporter
as FOSC.
Being a new coach always presents its challenges.
“I hope to build program numbers
and of course win league.” Said Asmus.
Coach Asmus plans to be around
at all the sporting events, saying
“you’ll see me around.” So if you
see him, be sure to stop and welcome him to the CNE family.
Certainly not a stranger to the
CNE family is Varsity Volleyball
Coach, Emma Keough.
Coach Keough was a member of
the 2007 graduating class where she
played 4 years of Varsity volleyball
and she also went on to play at the
collegiate level at Morehead State
University.
The most recent hire is Coach
Scott Gildea, who will be taking the
reigns for Varsity Football. We are
looking forward to see the changes
and improvements that Coach Gildea will make to the program. Go
Rockets!
New Coaches Welcomed to CNE
Photography Courtesy of Kris Asmus
In the fall of 2013, Athletic Director Mike Kirk, along with the rest of
the CNE family welcomed two new
coaches to the mix.
The girls soccer team welcomed
Kris Asmus. Coach Asmus knows
a thing or two about soccer. He is
a graduate of Badin High School,
where he played fours years of soccer. Asmus currently attends the
University of Cincinnati.
Before accepting the position
here at CNE, Asmus coached at Badin High School for one season, at
Fairfield High School for one season, and is also a trainer at Fairfield
Optimist Soccer Club, also known
Prom: A Night To Remember
By Brittney Woermann
Layout-Copy Editor
It is prom season here at CNE!
The event was surely a night to
remember for all students who attended.
CNE students, along with staff advisors Ms. Allymer and Ms. Freeman, have been hard at work planning and raising money for prom
since the beginning of the school
year. They have held several fund
raisers, including the Student Staff
Volleyball Game, the Yankee Candle sale, and the wreaths that were
sold during the holiday season.
This year, students from all grades
were invited to join Prom Committee which really helped with fundraising efforts.
Prom also moved to a new ven-
ue this year: Norlyn Manor. Many
students are excited about this location, not only because it will
provide a great backdrop for pictures, but because it is so close and
doesn’t require a long drive to get
there.
“I’m really excited to see what it
looks like after everything is decorated,” said junior Ellie Wright.
Prom was held on Saturday, May
3 from 7:00-11:00PM. This years
theme was Masquerade Ball, and
the color scheme was blue, gold,
silver, and black.
On behalf of all who attended, a
huge thank you goes to Ms. Freeman, Ms. Allmyer, and the Prom
Committee for all of your hard
work!
High School
Bright Lights, big city: Seniors visit New York
By Abbi Pritchard
Jyst Staff Reporter
With nothing but the city skyline
in mind the 2014 senior class set out
for New York City on March 16.
The students spent close to 12
hours on the bus making few stops
along the way.
On Monday, March 17, the senior
class unloaded and began their tract
through the cold New York air making their way to The Today Show.
While standing in the frigid cold,
the students were able to see The
Today Show famous faces such as
Al Roker, Carson Daily and many
others. To their surprise, Enrique
Iglesias turned out to be performing
that morning. Mrs. Luebberst was
just steps away from Iglesias. “He
loves his fans. He almost jumped
over the railing for them.” Senior
Krista King chimed in, “He was
gorgeous!” After The Today Show,
the students made their back to
the warm bus just to be dropped
off again but this time for a bit of
warming up with a tour of Radio
City Music Hall. Students made
their way from the music hall tour
to the St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Their last stop for the day was the
National 9/11 Memorial Museum.
Students were able to see the completed North and South Pools where
the Twin Towers once stood. Along
with the North and South Pools, attention was brought to the Survi-
vor Tree. A tree that was recovered
from the rebel at the World Trade
Centers. Warms rooms, a hot tub
and pizza were at the hotel awaiting
the seniors arrival.
Tuesday started off much like
Monday with a bus ride only to be
dropped off at Ellis Island/Statue
of Liberty ferry. Students boarded
the ferry and were soon sent back
in time once they arrived at Ellis Island. Students were able to look up
their family names and see if anyone of their ancestors made their
way through Ellis Island before becoming official American citizens.
Along with Ellis Island, students
also experienced the Statue of Liberty. While taking the ferry from Ellis
Island to The Statue of Liberty, students saw first hand what their ancestors saw when they first came to
America. After Ellis Island and The
Statue of Liberty, students boarded
the bus once again and made their
way to Times Square where they
enjoyed shopping in stores such as
Oakley, H&M, CHAMPS, Footlocker, Toys R Us, and many more.
If you know anything about teenagers, you know that after shopping
they’re hungry. Dinner was served
at HB Burger, where students enjoyed all they could eat burgers,
chicken tenders, fries, tater-tots,
and of course dessert. After din-
ner, the bus was loaded once again
with eyes set on the Empire State
Building, where students were able
to stand 80 stories above NYC
and look out on the city that never
sleeps.
Wednesday, March 19, was
packed just as the two previous
days. Students started their day
with a bus tour of Manhattan. Stops
along the way included, Intrepid,
Central Park and The Dakota Building, where John Lennon was shot.
After the bus tour, students made
their way to Fifth Avenue where
they were allowed to shop. If Fifth
Avenue doesn’t ring a bell in your
mind, it is home to Tiffany’s, Trump
Tower, Nike Town, and many other
top designers. Students were fed
Dallas BBQ for dinner where they
enjoyed chicken and ribs. After dinner, students boarded the bus and
made their way to an event that
many waited all week for, WICKED.
Thursday brought both happiness
and sadness to many students. This
was the last time that many would
step foot on New York soil for years
to come. On the way home, a stop
was made enroute to the National
Flight 93 Memorial. A national memorial in remembrance of the 40
passengers and crew aboard Flight
93, September 11, 2001.
Senior Kristen Stevens said, “The
Flight 93 memorial was an extremely unique experience that gave me a
whole new outlook on this event in
history. You could see many coming together to get support after
such a tragic thing. Being up close
and having the crash site right in
front of you makes it to where you
can almost see the crash happening
around you. It was a very touching
experience.”
Memories that will last a lifetime
were made while on this trip. Senior
and Editor-In-Chief Ashton Denier
said, “New York was one of the best
experiences of my life so far! It’s an
amazing place with a lot to offer. As
much as I enjoyed the city though,
I’d have to say that my favorite
parts of the trip were the bus singa-longs. It was hilarious to see Mr.
Gettler dance to California Girls up
and down the aisles of the bus. All
of the teachers got crazy. It was a lot
of fun. It was great to see everyone
come out of their shell and have a
good time!” The memories made
on this trip are, in part, forever memorialized thanks to Mr. Gettler!
Check out the video their senior
made during their time in the Big
Apple at https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6yhc_GCW0zk.
Students Gear Up for AP Testing
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
Advanced Placement courses (AP) are a great way to
earn high school credit while
simultaneously earning potential college credit. In order to
earn said credit, students must
take end-of-course exams that
measure the content taught
throughout the school year.
As the school year begins
to wind down, students in AP
classes are still hard at work
preparing for these upcoming
AP tests.
The AP classes offered in
the Clermont Northeastern
district include: AP Psychology, AP U.S. History, and AP
English Language.
For the 2013-2014 school
year, there were eleven students enrolled in AP Psychology, eighteen students took
AP U.S. History, and AP
Literature had twelve
Mrs. Holmes, the instructor for AP U.S. History, said
“I would say that the students
overall have learned more
content than is regularly
taught in high school courses. They also have reading,
analysis and writing skills
that will help them to be more
successful in college.”
Mrs. Luebberst, who teaches AP English, said “The year
went very well, and it has
been exciting to watch the
students grow their analyzing
and critical thinking skills in
addition to becoming more
advanced and effective writers.”
AP Psychology instructor
Mrs. Goetz said “I think the
school year has gone well. All
of the snow days did not help,
but I am confident we will
prevail.”
The AP tests are scored
based off of a 1-5 range.
Some colleges are now accepting threes, but many
still require students to score
either a four or a five in order
to receive college credit.
These exams typically
include both multiple choice
and essay, or constructed response, sections, and require
a great deal of preparation
both inside and outside of the
classroom.
“I’ve been studying really
hard for almost a month by
making notecards to use as
a study aide. I’m glad we’re
going to have a study session
at Panera the night before the
exam,” said AP Psychology
student, Hayley Meadows.
Exams for students taking
these courses began on Monday, May 5 with the AP Psychology exam at noon.
AP English students tested
first thing in the morning on
Friday, May 9, and AP U.S.
History rounded out the testing period with their exam on
Wednesday, May 14.
We wish all students who
took these exams the best of
luck in receiving high scores!
Students enrolled in AP
classes should be proud of the
rigorous work that they completed during the school year.
The students and teachers involved in these classes
are looking forward to many
successes for the upcoming
school year as well.
High School
John Eckert, Principal
eckert_j@cneschools.org
513-625-1211 ext. 112
Glenda Greene, Assistant Principal
greene_g@cneschools.org
513-625-1211 x111
Transportation Department
Carol Bain
cbain@petermannbus.com
Photography by Alaina Conti
Rotary Four-Way Test
By Sydney Gacek
Jyst Staff Reporter
“Is it the TRUTH Is it FAIR
to all concerned? Will it build
GOODWILL and BETTER
FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be
BENEFICIAL to all concerned?” These are the four
important questions asked by
the Rotary Four-Way Test.
On Tuesday, March 4, seniors Josh Flaig, Brycen Gott,
and Alysa Irvin presented
their speeches in front of
members of the Batavia Rotary Club. Josh constructed
his speech around music
education in schools, Alysa
discussed the impact that
FFA has had on her life, and
Brycen shared details of his
experiences working at Camp
Dovetail.
Each speech was required
to be between 4-6 minutes
in length, and students were
not allowed to use notecards,
visual aides, or a podium. All
three seniors competed fantastically, and Josh was awarded
first place.
As the winner of the local
competition, Josh then went
Administration
Ralph Shell, Superintendent
shell_r@cneschools.org
513-625-1211 ext. 312
Brian Switzer, Treasurer
switzer_b@cneschools.org
Board of Education
Bob Havrilla
Alex Cunningham
Mike Freeman
Danny Ilhardt
Mike Mantel
CNE Schools
www.cneschools.org
on to the District competition,
held at Wright State University on Sunday, March 30.
At this level of competition,
Josh presented his speech in
two small groups of four contestants. Overall, there were
over thirty students from different districts who took part
in the contest.
At the end of the day, Josh
was presented with a $100
check to use towards college
from Mr. Peter Weiglin, a
representative from the Batavia Rotary Club. Josh plans to
attend Ohio University in the
fall, where he will major in
Accounting and also has plans
to join the Marching 110.
“I was extremely honored
to make it so far in the competition. It was a great experience and I enjoyed being
able to represent CNE at the
district level. I think that this
competition really helped me
improve my public speaking
skills for college next year,”
said Josh.
Elementary School
Val Davis, Principal
davis_v@cneschools.org
Leslie Zurmehly, Dean of Students
CNE Elementary School
zurmehly_l@cneschools.org
513-625-1211 ext. 415
Middle School
Kenda Young, Principal
young_k@cneschools.org
513-625-1211 ext. 212