District Newsletter - Brown Local Schools

LOCAL
B R OBROWN
WN LO
C A LSCHOOLS
SCHOOLS
January 2016
WINTER 2016
February 2016
January 2016
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330-863-1355
March 2016
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15H
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JANUARY DATES
FEBRUARY DATES
MARCH DATES
1 - NO SCHOOL
15 - NO SCHOOL - End of 2nd Nine Weeks
Staff Professional Development
18 - NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
11 - Parent/Teacher Conferences PM—Elem/MS/HS
15 - NO SCHOOL - President’s Day
18 - NO SCHOOL - End of 3rd Nine Weeks
Staff Professional Development
21 - 25 NO SCHOOL - Spring Break
28 - School Resumes
New Graduation Requirements for Class of 2018 & Beyond
Ohio recently finalized new graduation requirements for students in the class of 2018 and those that follow. Gone is the Ohio
Graduation Test, in comes End of Course exams, industry credentials and college prep assessments. In order to receive a
diploma, this year’s Sophomores, Freshman and the grades below them will need:
21 Credits:
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4 Credits of Mathematics (Must include Algebra 2)
4 Credits of Language Arts
3 Credits of Science (1 Life Science, 1 Physical Science, 1 Advanced Science)
3 Credits of Social Studies (Must include American History and American Government)
½ Credit of Health
½ Credit of Physical Education
5 Elective Credits (Including a Fine Art and Financial Literacy)
In addition to the 21 credits all students must meet 1 of 3 Graduation
Pathways to earn a diploma:
Option 1: Earn 18 graduation points on the seven End of Course Exams.
These tests will be in:
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English 1
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English 2
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Algebra 1 (Integrated Math 1)
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Geometry (Integrated Math 2)
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Biology (Physical Science was taken last year)
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Highest Score out of the two will be used
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American History

American Government
Each test is worth 5 points. Students can earn up to 35 points, but only need to get 18 over the course of 4 years to meet the requirement. Students taking college credit courses in Biology, Government and History can earn graduation points. A grade of A or B equals 5 points, C equals 4 and a D equals 3.
Option 2: Earn a Non-Remediation Score on a College Readiness Assessment
Students may take the ACT or SAT to meet this requirement. Each test has minimum scores in English, Math and Reading that show a student is ready for college
with no need to take remedial courses to start. Students using this option must still take all End of Course Exams. Starting with the 2016-2017 school year the
state of Ohio will pay for all Juniors to take a College Readiness Assessment.
Option 3: Earn an Industry Credential (R. G. Drage students)
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The Industry Credential and Workforce Readiness option means that students must earn 12 points through a State Board of Education-Approved,
Industry-Recognized Credential or Group of Credentials in a Single Career Field.
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Students must also achieve a workforce readiness score on the WorkKeys Assessment, an ACT based test that has three sections: Reading, Applied
Mathematics, and Location Information.
19
The 2016 Middle School Spelling Bee will be held
on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at 7:45 AM in the old
gym. Thirty students will be competing in the event. All
are welcome to attend. Please sign in at the Middle
School/High School office upon arrival.
The 5th grade band concert was held December 10, 2015. Members of the
band include: Front Row: Kaylee Foresha, Savannah Klotz, Drake DeLong,
Hayley Radtka, Middle Row: Gregory Lake, Riley Himes, Aron Smith, Gage
Radtka, Seth Kandel, Daniel Untch, Ja'son Barrino, Back Row: Kate Walker,
Frank McClelland III, Zach Peebles, Zach Strizak, Owen Shearer
Sixth Graders Explore Problem-Based Learning
The sixth grade students recently worked with the architects from FMD Architects on a Problem-Based Learning unit. FMD Architects are involved with the
construction of our new school.
Using Skype, the students connected with the architects to solve problems concerning lockers for next year’s middle school students. The sixth grade students
had to determine the number of lockers needed, the volume, and the total
surface area. They presented their findings to the architects.
Computer Technology and Engineering
On November 6 and 13, the following students participated in various training programs sponsored by Kent State Tuscarawas Engineering Technology.
Hannah Bower, Kimberlynn Marinucci, and Hunter Martin attended training in Photo Illustration; Kayla Ferguson, Nate Gastin, and Ciara Sidey
participated in Robotics; and Legend Schaffer and Sarah Flagg attended 3D Modeling and Printing. This experience gave our students the opportunity to explore technology first-hand and experience in solving real-world
problems and challenges.
Excellence Committee News
The Excellence Committee has been very busy this winter! We had a great winter
themed Movie Night in December! We will have another Movie Night in February.
The 4th graders went to a performance of “The Nutcracker” at the Canton Palace
Theatre and the 8th graders went to a production of “A Christmas Carol” at the Players
Guild.
We had another great Santa Shop. The students really enjoyed it! Santa even came
to help the students find the perfect gift for their friends and family.
At our Fall Festival Spooktacular event in October, we had a drawing that students
could enter to be Principal for a Day. One name was drawn for the middle/high school
and one for the Elementary School. We hope they really enjoyed their time as Principal
for a Day!
Arianna Anderson won the middle/high
school drawing. She is in the 8th grade. Of
all the prizes that night, this was the one
she very much wanted to win. Mr. Bowling
showed her what it is like to be a middle/
high school principal. She was able to do
observations of her teachers, see what
goes on down in the office, monitor the
halls, and got her wish to give her brother a
detention! Mr. Bowling even bought her
lunch!
Our elementary winner was
Emma Maher. She is in the first grade. She
got to help Mr. Babiczuk with bus duty,
announcements, hanging up artwork in the
hallways, lunch duty, and passing out the
YMCA Character Counts awards. She
even had a Happy Meal from McDonald’s
delivered to the school for her lunch. She
was a favorite of the kindergarteners and
first graders because she extended their
recess for the day!
The National Honor Society has recently participated in the annual
Hunger Games food drive. The Malvern school and community battled
against their friendly rival the Sandy Valley Cardinals. The Hornets
brought home the trophy collecting 2925 items that were donated to
the local Christian Care Center, while Sandy Valley came up short
collecting 2693 items. “It was great seeing the school and community
come together to collect items for the Christian Care Center, but beating Sandy Valley was the cherry on top” stated National Honor Society
Vice President Morgan Oldack. Besides the Hunger Games, the National Honor Society hosted a lovely bake sale, raising money hoping to
purchase a hornet statue that will be displayed in front of the new
school. “The National Honor Society loves giving back to the community
and we really wanted to do something for the new school that will also
be a remembrance of the class of 2016” stated President Sara Loomis.
There will be a second blood drive coming up in March, date will be
announced soon.
Moser submits logo to Doodle4Google Competition
Tia Moser submitted a logo to the Doodle4Google competition. Students were asked to create doodles
that "told the world 'what makes me...me.'" They were allowed to use any materials they wanted to create
their doodle. Tia used colored pencils, paint, markers, cut up paper, a digital photo and Adobe Photoshop
to create her design. She spent numerous hours on her logo, which is very thoughtful and detailed. The
longer you look at it, the more you will notice. Below is Tia's description of her piece. The winner's
artwork will be featured on the Google homepage for a day; they will receive a $30,000 college scholarship
and a $50,000 Google for Education grant for his or her school. They will also be awarded a trip to
Google Headquarters, a Chromebook and an android tablet. Judges will select the 53 best doodles representing each state/territory. The public will be
invited to vote online from February 5, 2016
to February 22, 2016. Voters will be asked to
select their favorite doodles, one from each
grade group. Please keep an eye on our
website, www.brownlocalschools.com, in case
Tia makes it to the finals and needs your
votes!
Tia's Description of Her Logo: I love
rabbits, so I only felt it fair to have them
represent my life. We should stand, or even
fight, for our rights. We must also thank the
ones who served to make those rights possible.
Then my eco-friendly side. Being “eco” is more
than just taking care of our environment, but also the animals in it. I have drawn my albino rabbit
because of the surplus of mistreated rabbits in labs for cosmetic testing. Then I have my love for diversity,
my favorite ethnicity being Japanese, which is why the purple bunny is an arajuku girl. She’s different; and
no one is telling her otherwise. Then there’s me. I’m an individual, not a collectible. I’m limited-edition. No,
I’m the only edition. Then there’s Hope. I drew the Twin Tower Memorial. I believe it gives people HOPE.
Important Athletic
Department Dates
3/7/16 7:30 PM - Winter IVC Banquet at
Dutch Valley
3/10/16 7:00 PM - Spring Athletic Meeting
3/23/16 Spring Picture Day
Free ACT Test
Malvern HS has signed up to participate in a study being conducted by
the American College Test Co (ACT).
This special study involves Malvern students in grades 10, 11, and/or 12
taking the ACT.
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Students may choose to take the ACT with or without the optional writing component. All testing is administered online for this
special study.
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Participating schools must have a minimum of 80 students
testing during this special administration.
Test Date: Saturday, April 9 , 2016, an ACT National test date.
Benefits of Participating:
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Malvern students can take the ACT test online for $19.75, a 50%
discount, and receive college-reportable scores. Your students may
also register for the ACT with writing for an additional $17.
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Malvern will be a closed test center for this test date and will test
only our own students.
This study may help support additional options for future ACT test takers.
It will allow us to see what happens if a student takes the battery of tests
in a different order than usual. If there is an effect, we can adjust for it
and ensure the reported scores are comparable across different test
orders. The design of the study allows these scores to be college reportable and comparable with all the other students taking the ACT® test under the typical, standardized conditions.
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Students will take the ACT right here in Malvern where they will
be more comfortable (which raises test scores).
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The BEST thing about this is that the first 80 students that sign
up will be reimbursed the $19.75 by Brown Local Schools after they
have completed the test!!!
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That means you will get an ACT for FREE!
Students taking the ACT with writing will not be reimbursed the extra
$17.
DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THE APRIL 9TH TEST YET. We still need to
get directions from ACT for how you can sign up. As soon as we have
info on when/how to sign up for this special test administration we will let
you know.
College Credit Plus Credentialing Grant
by the Ohio Department of Education
Brown Local, in collaboration with Stark County ESC and Kent
State University Stark were awarded a College Credit Plus
(CCP) Credentialing Grant by the Ohio Department of Education. The grant will pay for tuition/fees/textbooks for teachers
to take up to 18 graduate hours of coursework to be credentialed to teach CCP courses. This grant will allow more Malvern
High School teachers to become credentialed.
When you combine this grant opportunity
and the YEC grant, Malvern will have a
total 5 CCP credentialed teachers. Our
students will be able to earn college credits from our teachers. This is another exciting opportunity for our teachers and
students.
Students in Miss Long's, Mrs. Schmidt's, and Mrs. Zeedrich's classrooms who exemplified the five classroom rules receive a Hornet to
put on the Hornet Hive in the hallway. Each month those students
who follow the five golden rules receive a special surprise. Our 5
rules are: 1) Follow directions quickly. 2) Raise your hand for permission to speak. 3) Raise your hand for permission to leave your seat.
4) Make smart choices. 5) Keep your dear teacher happy. These rules
follow the concept of whole-brain teaching. According to Cliff Biffle,
a founder of whole-brain teaching, the basis of whole-brain teaching
is a large amount of tomfoolery. Students learn the most when they
are having fun. Whole-brain teaching classrooms are full of taskfocused laughter. Humor and games are used to increase the number
of times students repeat core information and practice basic skills.
Our classes are highly disciplined and tightly organized because students have more fun following our rules than ignoring them.
COLLEGE CREDIT PLUS
For students in grades 6-11 who are college ready, you may earn college
credits and high school credits at the same time. The purpose of this
program is to promote rigorous academic pursuits and to provide a
wide variety of options for students in Ohio. Currently college courses
may be taken at Malvern HS through distance learning , online or on a
college campus. Many families were present at the information session
at Minerva High School on January 7th to work with college admission
reps and high school counselors from four area high schools including
Malvern. The next step in this process is to turn in the Letter of Intent by
April 1, 2016, to Ms. Eckinger in the Guidance Office and apply to your
college of choice according to the directions given by the individual
college. A student will be deemed college ready if they meet the eligibility established by their college of choice. Questions may be answered
by contacting Ms. Eckinger at eckingerd@brownlocalschools.com or by
calling 330 863-1355 ext. 210.
Mrs. Schmidt's class is really working hard on
spreading kindness in our classroom, school and
our community. We hear of so many negative
things in the world that we had a class discussion
on how we can change the world. We made a
bulletin board titled, "A ripple of kindness makes
a difference." We talked about how one simple
act of kindness (a raindrop) can change
someone's life and have a "ripple" effect on
their day. Our goal is to fill the bulletin board with
raindrops and eventually fill the entire wall
around it with ways a student has made a difference in someone's life. They are very excited and
can't wait to fill out a raindrop when they do a
good deed for someone. We have already seen a
change! So we ask you, "How can you be a ripple
in someone's life?" Be sure to go online on the
Elementary page on the school website to watch
our YouTube Video! We are movie stars now!
B ROWN L OCAL S CHOOLS
401 W EST M AIN S T .
M ALVERN , O H 44644
P HONE : 330-863-1170
F AX : 330-863-1172
Postage Non Profit Organization
Return Service Requested
U.S. Postage Paid
Malvern, Ohio
PERMIT No. 20
Brown Local Board of Education:
Tami Hulit, President
Chad Browning, Vice President
Tara Bowe
Ron Ruegg
Dechelle Thompson
Connie Griffin, Superintendent
James Carman, Treasurer
Postal Patron
VISIT OUR WEBPAGE
www.brownlocalschools.com
Malvern, OH 44644
Building Project Update
Construction continues to progress on schedule for the new Malvern K-12 building. The concrete floor slab
has been placed in the student dining and stage areas, as well as installation of the structural framing that
ties the building areas together. Roofing has been completed over the two-story classroom wing and is currently in progress over the administrative areas. The masonry contractors continue to finalize work on the
exterior brick veneer and interior masonry block partitions. The windows for the building are on-site and installation has been completed in the classroom wings, with progress continuing around the perimeter of the
school. Contractors have installed the HVAC supply ductwork, boiler room sprinkler piping and the permanent power supply electrical switchgear. On the exterior of the building, the connecting access road that
runs between Coral Road and Sycamore Road has been paved and completed. In the coming months, the focus will move to finishes on the interior of the building. Temporary heaters have been placed in the enclosed
areas to prep the walls for paint in the coming weeks.
Photo by: Stewart Brahler, MHS Class of 2007