The Eagle Eye

Hello Oak Hill Families!

Happy almost Spring Break! I know many of you have heard of March Madness and likely think about basketball when that phrase is mentioned. But in the school world, our March Madness is the week before spring break! Schools can get a little crazy with excitement in March just before spring break as our students and staff look forward to spending a week away from school so they can recharge and come back rejuvenated to finish the school year strong. We are also excited to look forward to the warmer weather that we hope comes when we return from spring break! I hope you are able to spend some time over spring break with family and friends as those tend to be some of the best ways to recharge your batteries! Our family looks forward to that time to get away and just spend time together and not do much of anything!!

Last week was the end of the third quarter. You can see what your child’s current third quarter grade is by going to your Skyward Family Access account and click on what specific child you want to check grades and then go to their gradebook. The current quarter 3 grades are listed under the Q3 column. Grades are due for this quarter on Thursday, March 16th. Report cards will be ready for viewing soon after and those can also be accessed by going to your Skyward Family Access account. You will get a Skylert letting you know the report cards are ready and then can access their report card by following these steps.

I know many of you are wondering what next year will look like regarding the start and end time at each of the schools. We are working to get all our schools back to a one tiered schedule so that the start and end times of the elementary and the junior high/high school are more aligned and similar to what it was two years ago. One challenge that we are having right now is having enough bus drivers to safely transport our students to and from school with a one tiered schedule. I’m not sure if you are aware but our drivers transport almost 1,000 students on any given day which is pretty amazing and not an easy feat logistically at times! If you are interested in becoming a bus driver or you know someone that might be interested, please reach out or have them reach out to Sandy Shouse, OHUSC Transportation Coordinator, via phone at 765-395-3341 ext 1106 or by email at sandrash@ohusc.k12.in.us to get more information about becoming a school bus driver. Here is a list of the steps one would need to follow to obtain a CDL with a school bus endorsement which is required to drive a school bus. We appreciate any help that you can provide in getting the word out to help us find more bus drivers for our school corporation.

I hope you have a restful, safe Spring Break! We will not be in school on Friday, March 17th through Sunday, March 26th. We will be ready to welcome our amazing students and staff back to school on Monday, March 27th!

Yours in Education,

Sheri Hardman
OHUSC Superintendent

KINDERGARTEN ROUND-UP IS HERE!! We are so excited to meet our next group of kinder friends! Follow each step below to get started.

STEP 1: Kindergarten round-up sign up for screener appointment click here!

https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSfBehqhwA.../viewform

STEP 2 READ CAREFULLY: You will only need to complete one of these links below!

IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE OTHER STUDENTS ENROLLED AT OAK HILL, click this link attached to log in to your CURRENT skyward account to register your new kindergartener.

https://skyward.iscorp.com/.../WService.../seplog01.w

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST CHILD TO ENROLL AT OAK HILL, click the link attached to enroll your child.

https://skyward.iscorp.com/.../WService.../skyenroll.w

***You will be contacted by someone from the school to confirm your appointment time within a few weeks.

How do you encourage a love for reading? You immerse children in it. You help their favorite stories come to life by making the characters real to them. You do all the voices when you read the books. You read aloud as often as you can. You show children that YOU love to read. You BECOME the characters they have grown to love. We had the BEST time on Deckawoo Drive during Read Across America Week as we read about Mercy Watson and all of her friends! We were able to bring EVERY character from the Mercy Watson series to life throughout the week! We went to the "drive-in" during lunches, ate buttered toast because Mercy the Pig LOVES it, met a REAL pig, and we had tons of fun reading about all of the characters in the Mercy Watson series!

THANK YOU to our amazing HS students, under the direction of Ms. Aeron Kincaid, for their incredible performance of Seussical the Musical to kick off our Read Across America week! We learned that Dr Seuss wanted people to love reading, and we caught a glimpse of his books coming to life!

Maverick is a Kindergarten student in Mrs. Hueston's class. Maverick has shown hard work and incredible academic growth during the first semester of his kindergarten year. He loves to learn, is proud to do his best, is a great partner and friend to others and always listens to adults. He shows off his skills for listening each and every day and makes great choices even at times when others may not be. Maverick is a fun guy and we love having him here at Converse Elementary! We are so thankful he is a part of our Converse Family!

Lucy Schroeder - 1st Grade Student of the Month

Lucy is a 1st grader in Mrs. Grinslade's class. Lucy is such a caring student. She is always willing to help anyone in need. She works hard and does her best in everything we do in class. She can often be heard coaching classmates to use skills from SEL as they go about their day. We are so thankful that Lucy is part of our Converse Family!

Elijah Conrad - 2nd Grade Student of the Month

Elijah Conrad is a 2nd grader in Miss Hensley's class. He is a very exuberant boy that loves learning and can remember very difficult and specific facts. He is fun to teach and loves to help his classmates. I'm so proud of Eli and how he is an example to others for the skills he is learning. He also is wonderful at using manners in the classroom and is becoming someone that others can look up to in the room. I've loved seeing how he has matured over the last 100+ days and I know that Eli is going to go on and do amazing things in the future! We are so thankful Eli is a part of our Converse Family!

Wendy Biggs - Converse Staff Member of the Month

Wendy Biggs is an Instructional Assistant at Converse. Her hard work every day never goes unnoticed, even though she is a very quiet individual that does not seek recognition. She has a secret hidden talent for art and making things beautiful! She was an integral part of making our hallway displays for Read Across America come to life! She is truly a gifted artist and she loves pouring that into our students to make things fun for them! She has a quiet, calming presence that is such an asset when working with our tiny people! We are so thankful she is a part of our Converse Family!

Good afternoon, Oak Hill families!! We have made it to March! What an eventful year it has been! This past month, we celebrated President's Day by having President Abe Lincoln come to school and talk with the students about his life and his accomplishments. We also celebrated Valentine’s Day with fun classroom activities and creative decorated boxes the students made to collect their Valentines cards. At Sweetser, we have been celebrating reading in different ways. Deputy Haley came to read to one of our 3rd grade classes and Mrs. Hunt is facilitating a school wide project where she is encouraging students to read books that take place in each of the 50 states for a Read Across America challenge. In addition, some of our third grade students completed the IRead 3 test recently, and we will be sure to share the results with you as soon as possible! Have a wonderful Spring Break, and we look forward to seeing you back at school soon!

#begoodforstudents, #begoodforpeople, #sweetatsweetser

Sincerely,

Jennifer Switzer

Sweetser Elementary Principal

Thank you to Deputy Haley for coming to read to one of our 3rd grade classes during World Read Aloud Day!

Mrs. Hunt, our Sweetser Librarian, is facilitating the “Sweetser Read Across America Challenge”! As a school, we will read at least one book during March that takes place in each of the 50 states!! Students can participate by asking for a book from Mrs. Hunt. She will tell them which state ther are reading about. When they complete a book report paper, they will get to color in the state they read about and get their picture taken!! Let’s do this, Sweetser Students!!

President’s Day takes place in the month of February, so Sweetser Elementary invited President Abe Lincoln to school today! He shared his life story with us, talked about how his greatest achievement was the Emancipation Proclamation, and reiterated how important it is to never give up!

Charlie Cass - 3rd Grade Student of the Month

Charlie Cass was nominated as the Student of the Month for third grade! Mrs. Albert notes that Charlie puts forth his best effort no matter how difficult the task is. He doesn’t complain and always has a positive attitude. Charlie is a great friend to those around him, and he is always willing to help students and staff. She states that he is such a joy to have in class! Miss Holt shared, “Charlie gets along well with others, and he is a fantastic encourager!” Congratulations to Charlie and thank you for representing Sweetser Elementary with all of your great character traits!!

Audie Koontz - 4th Grade Student of the Month

Miss Audie Koontz was nominated as the Fourth Grade Student of the Month! Mrs. Henson states that Audie is kind, respectful, and just a really great student! Mr. Henry noted that, “Audie is one of the hardest working students in fourth grade. She does not give less than her best on anything. No matter what is going on around her, Audie holds steady and does as she is supposed to do. Audie has a unique ability to understand characters and apply learning across content area. Her hard work, excellent behavior, and ever-ready smile make her a blessing to be around.” Her math teacher, Ms. Brackett talked about how AMAZING she is and she cannot say enough good things about her!! She stated that, “Audie works hard, asks questions, and makes awesome connections between contents and with her life.” She also said that it is fun when Audie shows her American Doll stuff, which is so much fun! We are happy to recognize Audie, and excited that she represents Sweetser Elementary so well!

Emma Albert - Sweetser Elementary Staff Member of the Month

Sweetser is proud to announce that Mrs. Emma Albert is the March staff member of the month!! She is our Special Education teacher here at Sweetser Elementary. She is a key player in our building that is instrumental in helping students with disabilities find success academically, socially, behaviorally, etc. She consistently works to find what works for each individual student, is a mentor teacher to several student teachers that are pursuing a special education teaching degree, and she is excellent at facilitating and managing the schedules of her instructional assistants. Mrs. Albert was also recently recognized at the Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education (ICASE) conference for winning a $1,000 scholarship towards her administration degree in Special Education. Congratulations to Mrs. Albert for all your hard work, and for your recent award!!

Swayzee Elementary continues to push forward toward spring break. It seems impossible that once the students return from spring break that we only have 9 weeks left in the 2022-23 school year. The staff and students have been gearing up and working hard as we approach ILEARN testing which will start on Tuesday, April 18th. The testing will occur over a two week period and hopefully be finished by Thursday, April 27th (weather depending). Additional information about ILEARN will be sent to parents once students return from spring break. It is important that students give their best efforts, get plenty of sleep and rest, and eat a good, healthy breakfast during the two weeks of testing. The Swayzee staff hopes the growth we’ve seen with all of our students carries over to our students’ ILEARN scores! Swayzee Elementary will continue to have tutoring available following spring break for all students after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is an excellent opportunity for your child to receive academic enrichment or to get help understanding certain topics as we approach ILEARN testing. The Swayzee staff looks forward to the continuing success of its students as we navigate through the last 9 week grading period. Parents may contact Shawn Means at 765-395-3341 or by email at shawnme@ohusc.k12.in.us if they ever have any questions concerning their children. Please continue reading below to see some of the student activities and achievements from the past month.

Important Dates for Swayzee Elementary during the last 9 week grading period.

March 17-26: Spring Break

March 24th: Swayzee Yearbook Orders are due - Can be purchased online

April 7th: eLearning Day - Please click on the link for Swayzee eLearning schedule

April 18th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, and 27th: ILEARN Testing

May 10th: Jr High Info Day

May 12th: 6th Grade Chicago Trip

May 24th: Last Student Day/Student Awards Day

Dates not yet set:

Field Day

Talent Show

Choir/Band Concert

iReady EOY Testing

The following are student activities and highlights that have occurred over the past month at Swayzee Elementary:

The Swayzee Elementary Robotic teams have been practicing since early December. They have also been able to compete in a few meets for the first time since covid. All the students have been working hard, representing Swayzee Elementary well, and most importantly, having fun!

Swayzee Elementary’s Stars of Honor have been chosen! These six 5th grade students will be given 4 free tickets to Purdue’s baseball game against South Dakota on May 7th and will be recognized with an ovation from the crowd. Swayzee staff is so proud of these students and their continuous hard work, kindness, and respectful behavior shown to their teachers and peers. We hope you have a wonderful time at the game!

Congratulations to Miss Henry’s 6th Grade homeroom for selling the most candy bars for the 6th grade fundraiser. The entire 6th grade sold candy bars to raise money for the 6th grade Chicago field trip. Great job Miss Henry’s homeroom!

Elizabeth Boyer - 5th Grade Student of the Month

Elizabeth Boyer is a fantastic student and role model at Swayzee Elementary. Elizabeth works hard each day in class and strives to do her best. She asks questions when she needs to and helps others when help is needed. Elizabeth is kind to everyone in class and works well in small groups as a leader. She always brings a positive attitude to class and smiles throughout the school day. Swayzee Elementary would not be the same with Elizabeth! Keep up the great work Elizabeth!

Cameron Clemons - 6th Grade Student of the Month

Cameron Clemons has been nominated by the 6th grade team for his outstanding perseverance, calm and collected attitude, and awesome work ethic! Cameron always comes into class ready to learn. He is very respectful and polite. He is a fabulous example to his peers. Swayzee Elementary would not be the same without Cameron! Keep up the great work Cameron. We are so proud of you!!

Kelly Roark - Swayzee Staff Member of the Month

Mrs. Roark is the front office secretary at Swayzee Elementary. Even though this is Mrs. Roark’s first year as the Swayzee Elementary secretary she conducts herself as a seasoned pro! Not only will you always see a smile on her face everyday, but she also brings out smiles from our students. Mr. Means greatly appreciates her dedication and hard work. Mrs. Roark works tirelessly to provide a positive and warm environment to the front office. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed and Swayzee Elementary is a better school with Mrs. Roark as its school secretary! It is a privilege to recognize Mrs. Roark as the Swayzee Elementary employee of the month. Keep up the great work Mrs. Roark!

The Oak Hill Junior High Library and Seminar Room have been given a makeover! The Seminar Room was painted, outfitted with white boards, new seating, and dry erase tabletops. The Library was also the recipient of new dry erase tables, new seating and a reimagining of the space as a whole. A grant was utilized to update the space, purchase furniture, and provide a Promethean Board (on a rolling base) that can be checked out for use in any classroom.

The promethean board is a large 75” TV that can be used independently as a computer, but interactively like a tablet by multiple people at the same time. This technology is built for collaborative learning environments, and integrates seamlessly with our 1 to 1 technology already in our students hands. Some of the features:

• Recording lessons, including classroom voices and panel content

• Share recorded lessons with remote and absent students through any platform

• Screen share in real-time for hybrid and blended learning situations

Mr. Johnson shared, “I love that I can work collaboratively with the students in class, save that work with a tap of the screen directly to our google Classroom for students to review, or share with others who are absent.”

This renewed area has already allowed teachers to push learning beyond the classroom for our students. Professional development, monthly staff meetings, and tutoring use this space on a regular basis. Even the high school basketball team has utilized the space for their end of the year celebration. Reservations have been made for future usage as well.

“The goal was to create a collaborative learning space that is functional, flexible, and inviting,” shared Mr. Schick. “I believe the last update to these areas may have been in 1992 during the renovation of the Jr. High.” Many of the tables are outfitted with the ability to raise or lower them with one hand. This enables them to be flexible in their use, and the wheels on each table provide opportunities for various events, whether in the library or elsewhere in the building.

School librarian, Mrs.Hembrock, stated, "The new library furniture has changed the feel of the library. It is now a bright open space where students want to be rather than dark dated encyclopedia storage. Students meet here before school starts and the tall cafe style tables fill up fast. The adjustable height work spaces mean those assembling the popular community puzzle can stand up during the project. Teachers who come with their classes from tight classrooms, with few options to rearrange desks and chairs have done amazing things in the collaborative space. Student engagement thrives interpersonally and educationally in a space like this! I love it and the future possibilities it has created."

“This was a collaborative effort from the onset. I want to thanks Mrs. Hembrock for her input and guidance to ensure a useful and functional space. Our custodial staff for their efforts painting and moving the underused bookshelves, Dr. Hardman for her support of this project, and many others who have provided input and expertise. I believe this space will benefit OHJH for decades to come.” - Mr. Schick

Overall, the makeover is a preview of the vision for the future at Oak Hill Junior High. Stop in and see it for yourself!

Our junior high drama group has done it again! Good job on the play, actors! You all did a great job at being loud, broad, confident, and very clear when saying your parts. The students in the play practiced very hard from January-February. They did a fantastic job on the play “Chicago ERR.” There was amazing acting from everyone, and you all did a great job. There were great dance moves from everyone, and the comedy did an excellent job of getting a few laughs from the audience. Let us not forget that putting on a play for your grade level is not easy. Getting all those lines memorized can be a hassle! Especially when the play has multiple movements and scenes during it. Let’s also give thanks to the teacher responsible, Mrs. Thomas. Thanks to her, the junior high can put on plays for our friends and family. Thank you, Mrs. Thomas and the drama club!

BY Leah Godfrey & Emmy Curtis

On Monday, March 6th, the 7th grade and a few 8th graders had Aaron Galvin come meet with them. Aaron Galvin is an author who is amazing. He has written 39 books. The 7th graders were in the Lecture Area from 10-11 am learning about Aaron and more importantly about: WRITING! This experience was good for all, and we learned a lot! Aaron got most of his inspiration from what was going on around him, in fact, he shared with us a story about how he got inspiration from a man he saw in IKEA. Carter Kreitzer said that his favorite part of the visit was when he talked about the guy at IKEA and when he talked about how he came up with his characters. Some of Aaron Galvin’s books include The Salted Series, The Grave of Laney Grace, and the Vengeance Trilogy. He shared with us how he is also a screenwriter and actor! He has been in multiple Doritos commercials and has also been in a few movies. Aaron was such a good inspiration for those kids who would like to go into a career of writing and to everyone else! Also, a HUGE thank you to Mrs. Johnson. This visit would not have been possible without her! If you need a good book to read, check out one of Aaron Galvin’s!

By Leah Godfrey, Callie Nuber, & Carter Kreitzer

Holly's teacher shared, "Holly maintains a positive outlook in all situations, treats everyone with kindness, works hard consistently, and encourages her classmates on a regular basis. Holly is mindful of others' feelings and needs which contributes to her being a wonderful leader."

Holly's favorite class is English, and she enjoys ceramics and Newspaper Crew. She is the daughter of Kyle and Kelley Lawson, and is the sister of Aiden Lawson.

Morgan Cates - 8th Grade Student of the Month

One of Morgan's teachers shared, "Morgan has a very bubbly/positive personality. She is always giving her best effort in class, and is always involved in participating in class. She is a good role model for her classmates."

Morgan's favorite class is PE, and she is active in basketball, volleyball, and her church youth group. She is the daughter of Kevin and Jamie Cates, and the sister of Mason Cates.

Mrs. Jamie Manning - Oak Hill Junior High Staff Member of the Month

How long have you been with OH, and what roles do you play?

I am the 7th grade science teacher. I joined Oak Hill this year after fall break.

What is your favorite part of being a teacher? I absolutely love to witness the growth and change that students in middle school go through. They enter as children and leave for high school as young adults. The growth in 2 years is not only amazing, but pivotal to molding them into the wonderful adults they will become later in life.

What are some of your hobbies? I love camping, kayaking, hiking, and anything outdoors.

What is your favorite food? Mexican food

What is your favorite vacation destination? I would say Tennessee for the outdoors adventures, but I do love a trip to the beach every once in a while.

The month of March has brought us our typical Indiana mixed bag of weather. Rain. Snow. Wind. Warm temperatures. Through the ups and downs of our weather, the efforts of students and staff at OHHS remain consistent. Students continue to perform at high levels and have earned some impressive credentials. Even as we enter the last grading period of the 2022-2023 school year, students continue to impress us with their many talents and achievements.

Two students in the Aviation program at Marion Career Center recently earned some very impressive accomplishments. Junior Brady Crossman was one of nine MCC students to apply for scholarship money to help pay for their individual pilot’s license. Brady was awarded $2,400 through this process. This was the top amount of scholarship money that was awarded. Another OHHS Junior, Calvin Miller, also earned the top scholarship amount to put towards his individual pilot’s license. Calvin also recently took his first solo flight by way of earning his student’s pilot license. No pun intended…the sky's the limit for these two outstanding students!!

The Swimming and Diving season wrapped up recently with another noteworthy individual accomplishment. Sophomore Grant Cates participated in the IHSAA state finals in Indianapolis. Grant finished in third place overall on the heels of his fifth place finish last year. We are looking forward to the progress Grant will continue to make as he works towards an individual state championship in this sport.

Wednesday, March 1, was the first 2023 Academic Team Invitational at Marion High School. Congratulations to the OHHS Science Team (Ruth Tripp, Lauren Tubbs, and Emma Smock) for their second place overall finish!!

A big thank you goes out to OHHS Freshmen Genesis Portillo Mijares and Nora Zwirn. Both young ladies took time out of their schedules to spend time at Lakeview Christian meeting with current Eighth Grade students and answering questions about student life at Oak Hill. We appreciate both girls for advocating for OHHS!!

The OHHS Drama Department is proud to present Shrek: The Musical later this spring. Show dates and times are as follows: April 21, 22, 29 (7:00pm), April 23 and 30 (2:30pm). Tickets will go on sale April 5. Hope to see you all there!!

Please be advised that OHHS has a supply of home COVID-19 tests available for OHHS families. Parents/guardians can come pick up a test in-person or can choose to have the test sent home with their child. Please contact Mrs. Kellie Morrical with any questions and/or requests at kelliemo@ohusc.k12.in.us. Mrs. Morrical can also be reached at ext. 2111. These home tests will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.

For the remainder of the year, if we have any inclement weather E-Learning days, these will have to be synchronous in nature. A schedule was emailed to all parents/guardians earlier this month. If you need another copy of this schedule and/or have any questions, please contact the OHHS main office.

OHUSC recently opened up enrollment for new students for the 2023-2024 school year. If you know of anyone who is wanting to send their children to Oak Hill, please encourage them to visit the Prospective Students page on the district website.

On behalf of the faculty and staff at OHHS, we hope you all have a wonderful and safe Spring Break and we look forward to welcoming students back to the building on March 27!!

Important Upcoming Dates

March 17: Quarter III Report Cards.

March 17-24: No School. Spring Break.

March 30: Ag Advisory Board Meeting. 5:30pm.

April 7: Student E-Learning/Staff PD Day.

April 12: Beginning of SAT Makeup Dates.

April 17: ILEARN Biology I Assessment Window.

April 19: Quarter IV Midterm.

April 19: Heartland Career Center Open House. 6:00pm.

Staff Member - Jaclyn Vester

Jaclyn Vester is a veteran FACS teacher at OHHS. Jaclyn teaches a variety of early childhood courses along with other courses as well. She provides meaningful learning opportunities for her students through a variety of hands-on activities. Mrs. Vester, along with a few other teachers in the building, have started a club called Students for Students. Mrs. Vester has a heart for students and builds positive relationships in her classroom each and every day. We are fortunate to have teachers like Mrs. Jaclyn Vester who are positive role models for our students.

Congratulations to wrestlers Bladen Bokinsky and Naya Rosman for winning their brackets and bringing home the gold!

Congratulations to Oak Hill Boys Swimming and Diving - Ethan Leal set a new Oak Hill Record in the 200yd Freestyle, and Grant Cates placed 3rd at the State diving competition! Grant also broke the Oak Hill 11 Dive Record this season!

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. As Indiana’s child abuse rate is more than double the national average, it’s important to take steps to aid in prevention. There are a variety of events happening within Miami County to mark the month. One of those events is the planting of pinwheel gardens. SCAN is the local organization that is spearheading the Miami Council and has offered to provide pinwheels to any school that wishes to participate in either planting them outside of their building or displaying them inside. If you are interested in receiving pinwheels, please reach out to Leah Sand lsand@scaninc.org 260-421-5000.

Custodian (Full-time and Part-time)

Substitute Cafeteria Workers

Substitute Teachers

Bus Drivers

Substitute Bus Drivers

Substitute Bus Aides

Spring Break: March 17-24

e-Learning Day: April 7

Last Student Day: May 24