01.05 Hornet Headlines |
Welcome Back | Happy New Year!
January 5, 2024
From the Desk of Superintendent, Dr. Kevin S. Miller
Dear Licking Heights Families,
Welcome to 2024! On behalf of our district office team, we wish you a healthy, prosperous and successful new year.
We want to express our thanks to the families who provided their feedback for our redistricting with Cooperative Strategies. To clarify and address some comments that were submitted, the redistricting is focused on elementary building assignments for Licking Heights families once the new elementary school is opened in 2024-25. All of our families will continue to be Licking Heights families and attend school in our district. Redistricting does NOT mean that a family will be assigned to a different school district.
We also appreciate the many parents who took part in focus groups for our strategic plan with the Schlechty Center. Your input is invaluable and is the major foundation on which we build the next era of Heights. The feedback you provide directly impacts your student, family, and all the other students and families in our district.
Your feedback is needed once again as we enter the final stage of our strategic planning process with the Schlechty Center. Our final step in gathering input and data to drive the development of our strategic plan is inviting all district stakeholders–including parents, staff, and students– to fill out a survey.
Please take a few minutes to complete the following brief survey. This survey will close at the end of the day on Monday, January 15. Please note that your survey responses are confidential.
On behalf of our Licking Heights Board of Education, I thank you for taking time to complete this survey. Let’s build the best Heights we can in 2024, together!
Sincerely,
Dr. Kevin S. Miller, Superintendent
Need to Know
Have a Four-Year-Old? FREE Kindergarten Readiness Program Available!
Waterford Upstart is a FREE at-home early learning program that gives families the tools, coaching, and resources to put their child on a path to early academic success—including a computer and internet access (if needed). Your student will learn foundational skills in reading, math, and science, right at home. This program is available to all four-year-old students heading to Licking Heights for kindergarten in the 2024-25 school year. Click the button below to sign up, and watch the video to learn more!
Nomination Form Live for Columbus Symphony Music Educator Awards
The Columbus Symphony is currently accepting online nominations for its annual Music Educator Awards, honoring individuals making a difference in our community through music education. Parents, students, colleagues, administrators, and community members may nominate music educators in their lives who deserve to be recognized. Click the button below to nominate someone from our district. Nominations are accepted until February 18, 2024.
Food Services Update: January Lunch Menus Live for K-12
Welcome back! You can view lunch menus for the month online by clicking the button below, or in the "Quick Links" section of the district website. Remember, we offer a healthy vegetarian meal every day in all of our cafeterias! See photos below of vegetarian options offered recently in our cafeterias.
Support Our Students
Marco's Pizza Fundraisers for January 2024
Support our schools by eating at Marco's Pizza (Reynoldsburg location, 8072 E. Broad St.) Marco's will give 15% of sales generated from orders in store or over the phone and 20% of sales from orders online or through the mobile app back to our schools. Fundraising dates are:
- Jan. 9 —South Elementary
- Jan. 16 — North Elementary
- Jan. 17 — Central Intermediate
Engraved Brick Fundraiser Live Until March 31, 2024
Choose if you want your brick purchase to benefit the PTO, Athletic Boosters, or Music Boosters.
#HornetsTakeFlight
South Elementary: Celebrating December Students of the Month
Congratulations to the South Elementary students recognized as Students of the Month in December. Students' families joined them at a doughnut breakfast to celebrate each student who exemplified the value of generosity in December.
West Elementary: Celebrating the Holidays with Hot Chocolate and Cookies
West students were treated to a hot chocolate and cookies party for their good behavior in the month of December. Students gathered the day before break to enjoy the sweet treat together in the cafeteria.
North Elementary: Learning English with Mrs. Rasmussen
Erin Gottsacker from the Ohio Newsroom visited our district as part of a feature story she's writing on English Language Learner students in Ohio schools. This included stopping by Mrs. Rasmussen's classroom to observe all she is doing with her kindergarten students. We are honored to be included in this statewide story and showcase all we are doing to support our K-12 ELL populations.
Central Intermediate: Sensing Our Spelling
Miss Harvey's students at Central Intermediate added a sensory twist to spelling practice with shaving cream. Engaging and hands-on, this creative approach made spelling practice loads of fun.
Middle School: Spreading Holiday Cheer
The Middle School Wind Ensemble held their winter concerts to kick off the holiday season in December. Thank you to everyone who came out to support them.
High School: Across the Pond for the New Year
The high school choir carried a balloon through the streets of London for the internationally-broadcast London New Years Day Parade! Congratulations to our singers for a successful parade and International Choral Festival performance.
Community News
Public Events with the Pataskala Public Library
Join the Pataskala Public Library (temporarily located at the West Licking County YMCA, 355 W. Broad St, Pataskala) for public events all throughout January 2024, including:
- Jan. 9 from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm — LEGO Club
- Jan. 10 from 4 pm to 6 pm — Read-to-a-Dog readaloud program for grades K-5
- Jan. 10 at 6:30 pm — Adult Book Club
- Jan. 26 from 10 am to 5 pm — Winter Book Sale to support the library. Book prices are a donation.
- Baby, toddler, and preschool weekly storytimes will happen all month, too. Check the library website for details.
For more info, click the button below.
Licking Heights Youth Association: Signups Live for Softball and Baseball
Sign ups are open now for spring softball and baseball. We have baseball for kindergarten – age 12 and softball for kindergarten – age 14. Sign up by clicking the button below. Email baseball@lhya-sports.org or softball@lhya-sports.org with questions.
Calendar: Know What Is Coming
- All January - School Board Appreciation Month
- Jan. 9 - Regular School Board Meeting
- Jan. 9 - South Elementary Marco's Pizza Night
- Jan. 15 - NO SCHOOL: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Jan. 16 - North Elementary Marco's Pizza Night
- Jan. 17 - Central Intermediate Marco's Pizza Night
- Jan. 19 - Report cards on PowerSchool for grades 5-12/interims available for grades K-4
- Jan. 25 - High school parent-teacher conferences
- Click here to buy spirit wear from our official Hornets shop
- Click here to see the latest fliers on Peachjar