The Eagle Eye
Oak Hill United School Corporation - July 2021
From the Superintendent's Desk
I hope that all of you are enjoying your summer break and have found time for some rest and relaxation with friends and family. The Oak Hill Administration team has been hard at work preparing for the 2021-22 school year and hopefully a return to a sense of normalcy. We want to encourage everyone to attend school in person for the 2021-22 school year. There is nothing that can compare to the learning that takes place in an Oak Hill classroom with our outstanding Oak Hill teachers. If in-person instruction is not an option for your family, we will be providing virtual learning, but there are new requirements that students must meet to qualify for the program (please see the link below on Virtual School Enrollment Guidelines).
As you may know registration is now open for new and returning students. I understand that registering your children may not be high on your summer priority list, but this process is extremely important to the overall well being and success of our district. Enrolling students early allows us to better prepare things like bus routes, class sizes, and staffing needs. Also, a new step in the registration process this year is a state mandated proof of residency requirement. I apologize for this inconvenience, but if you need help fulfilling this requirement, please visit any of our schools and we will be glad to assist you.
Next, we have installed a new transportation software system that will allow our routing to become more efficient and includes an app for parents that will notify them how far the bus is away from the bus stop. Once this system is fully operational we will send the information out through a Skylert regarding how to sign up for the app. The transportation plan for this year will remain a two tier system with the start and end times staying the same for all elementary schools (7:45-2:30) and the junior high and high school (8:55-3:55). We will reinstate the shuttle busses in the morning from all elementary schools, and have a shuttle bus from Sweetser Elementary to transport students to the junior high and high school. For the afternoon elementary routes, all busses will meet at the high school parking lot and then exchange elementary students to their proper busses so that they can be transported home safely by their regular route driver. Our fantastic bus drivers will be contacting you as we get closer to school regarding bus stop times, and we hope to have a practice route day the morning of August 4th (more information to come after the routes are finalized).
Additionally, there has been much discussion concerning the Orchestra program at Oak Hill. We would like to thank everyone for their comments, input, and ideas on how best to continue the Orchestra program. One of the many things that makes Oak Hill an outstanding place is the passion our community has for all of its programs. We will continue to explore and investigate all long term options and are excited to see the Oak Hill High School orchestra perform and excel this upcoming school year.
Finally, I would like to thank our hard working custodians and maintenance staff for all of their hard work this summer preparing our buildings for the safe return of students on August 9, 2021. It is a pleasure and an honor to serve the Oak Hill community as your Superintendent and I am very excited for the start of another amazing school year at Oak Hill. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer, read a great book, and take some time to refresh, you deserve it!
Sincerely,
Dr. Chad C. Cripe
Oak Hill Start and Dismissal Times for the 2021-2022 School Year
Sweetser Elementary 7:45AM - 2:30PM
Swayzee Elementary 7:45AM - 2:30PM
Oak Hill Junior High 8:55AM - 3:55PM
Oak Hill High School 8:55AM - 3:55PM
Converse News
Converse is excited to welcome Miss Emily Trout to our 1st grade team! She did her student teaching with us during the 2020-2021 school year and graduated from Indiana Wesleyan in the Spring of '21. We are excited to have her join the Converse Family!
KINDERGARTEN is HERE!! If you have not registered your kinder kiddo, please click the link to get started! We are so excited for our newest group to join the Converse Family! https://www.ohusc.k12.in.us/for_parents/school_registration
Sweetser Elementary Welcomes New Staff
Paige Walker will be joining our team as the RTI/instructional coach to help support our teachers with ensuring that all students can achieve their goals.
Emma Albert will be joining our team as a special education teacher as our previous teacher, Elizabeth Sipe, has been promoted to Co-Special Education Coordinator.
Courtney McClure will be joining our team as a 4th grade teacher to fill the role previously held by Elayna Leas, who has been promoted to Curriculum Director/Testing and High Ability Coordinator.
We are thankful to have these incredible professionals join the Oak Hill family!
Swayzee Elementary: New Staff and Changes at Swayzee
As we approach the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, Swayzee Elementary would like to welcome the following individuals to its building. We also have some familiar faces taking on new positions.
Jennifer Switzer: Jennifer has 16 years of elementary and middle school teaching experience and is joining us in a newly created position: RTI Specialist/Instructional Coach. She will work closely with administrators, teachers and students to assess student academic needs, organize appropriate interventions, and provide resources and support to help bring about academic and instructional growth. We are pleased to have Jennifer join our teachers at Swayzee Elementary.
Christina Drollinger: Christina has been an instructional aide with Swayzee for many years. She will now be moving into the librarian position at Swayzee. She has five plus years experience working at the Converse Public Library and is already familiar with many of our students both at Swayzee and in the Oak Hill Community. We are happy to have Christina become our new librarian! Her student friendly approach will continue to make our Swayzee Elementary library a welcoming place for students.
Samuel Wells: Samuel will be our new band director at Oak Hill this August. He will be teaching at the high school, junior high, and Swayzee Elementary. He brings a passion to the position and has experience teaching band at Tri Junior-Senior High School and Twin Lakes High School. Swayzee welcomes Mr. Wells to introduce band to our elementary students.!
Swayzee Elementary needs to fill the following positions for the 2021-22 school year:
Temporary English teacher (1st semester)
Temporary Math teacher (1st semester)
Instructional Aide
If anyone is interested in the positions mentioned above, please contact Shawn Means at shawnme@ohusc.k12.in.us or apply online at www.ohusc.k12.in.us.
OHJH Team: New Faces and New Places
As we approach the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, Oak Hill Junior High is pleased to welcome to our team some new faces as well as see some familiar faces in new places.
Tamra Cargile, who has 20 years of middle school teaching experience is joining us in a newly created position; RTI Specialist/Instructional Coach. She will work closely with administration, teachers and students to assess student academic needs, organize appropriate interventions and provide resources and support to help bring about academic and instructional growth. We are pleased to have Tamra join our team.
Andrew Hamilton, who has been teaching Special Education with us the past few years, is making a move into our Physical Education/Health department. His primary teaching duties will be 7th grade PE and 8th grade Health. We are excited to keep Andrew on our team with his positive attitude and kid-friendly approach.
Gwen Hembrock, who has been serving as the Librarian at Swayzee Elementary the past 4 years, will be moving into the Librarian position at the junior high school. Her love of reading & books, strong background in education and team attitude will add great value to our team. Students and staff will benefit from her service.
Samuel Wells, will be serving as Oak Hill United School Corporation’s Band Director starting in August. Not only will he bring good energy and passion to the position, but it will be supported by the varied and quality experiences he has had in the area of music and band specifically. Oak Hill welcomes Mr. Wells to our team!
Oak Hill High School Updates
As we quickly approach the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, we would like to welcome the following adults in their respective roles to the Oak Hill High School community. The following teachers are new to the building and will be teaching the following subjects:
Michael Cabello - Strength and Conditioning
Christina Cook - Spanish
Dawn Harvey - Guidance Counselor
Andrew Morrical - Math
Shannon Wilcox - Family and Consumer Science
Sam Wells - Band
Dave Spargo - Business (pending July 12 OHUSC Board of Trustees approval)
We would like to also make our school community aware of the following teachers who will be serving in different positions at OHHS for the upcoming school year:
Lori Goff - Guidance Counselor
Greg Perkins - Science
As you can see, there are quite a few adults who will be serving in different capacities for the upcoming school year. However, one factor will remain consistent. These teachers care for the well-being of our students and are committed to preparing them for future success. These adults will be an asset to the building and we are excited to have them call Oak Hill High School their professional home.
Golden Eagle Youth Football Camp
The Golden Eagle Youth Football camp will be held July 19-22nd (please register by July 15th). Registration form and more info may be found at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-3R6N5GRSJImeo27yMZ7F2NpKQT6p1yA/view?usp=sharing
You can register and pay online at https://secure.payk12.com/school/_/363/item/200887
Questions? Contact Bud Ozmun at budoz@ohusc.k12.in.us
Sports Physicals for 2021-2022 Athletics
Reminder that all JH and HS athletes will need to have a new physical for the 2021-22 school year. Physicals must be performed after April 1st, 2021 to be good for this coming school year. Med Express in Marion is offering physicals for $35.
6th graders that will play JH sports (cross country, wrestling, diving, track, golf) will also need a physical.
Here is a link to the physical form.
https://www.ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/quick%20resources/Physical%20Form.pdf
JOIN US AT OHUSC!
Temporary English Teacher at Swayzee
Temporary Math Teacher at Swayzee
Instructional Aides for several buildings
Bus Drivers
Substitute Custodians
Substitute Cooks
Substitute Teachers
UPCOMING EVENTS
School Board Meeting: Monday, August 9 at 6:30PM
NO SCHOOL Labor Day: Monday, September 6