Emotional 3rd Annual Veterans’ Day Assembly By: Christy Weaver, Bugle Editor

S E R V I N G T H E

W O O D R I D G E L O C A L

S C H O O L S C O M M U N I T Y

WMS Presents at E-Tech 2

Hearts for Haiti Makes $575 2

Kindergarten’s 100th Day

2

Mock Caldecott at WIS

2

The Year of the Pen 2

WHS Raises $1832 for Haiti 2

Mother Nature Smiles at WIS 3

The Science of Snow Tubing

3

Award Winning Author Visits WMS

3

WPS Students of the Month 3

WPS Raises $619 for Akron Children’s Hospital

3

From Puppies to Bulldogs

4

Latin Club at Shaker Heights Certamen

4

Great Expectations for Bulldog Bowlers

4

MAC and UNITED Visit Pro-Football Hall of Fame

4

First Ever WMS Girls Soccer Team Forming

4

Anthony Westren is 2009 Student Athlete of the Year

4

Inside this issue:

Kindergarten Information Night will be held at Woodridge Primary School on Tuesday, April 13 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM in the gym. At this meeting, the overall kindergarten program will be explained and parent quest ions wi l l be

addressed. This is a parent meeting but babysitting services will be available, if needed, that evening.

School registration packets will be on hand for pick-up by parents that evening. When registering your child for kindergarten (he/she must be five-years old by August 1), you will need to complete the registration packet of forms as well as bring the following items to the registrar’s office: • Student birth certificate (from the Bureau of Vital

Statistics) • Student social security card • Student immunization/shot records • Proof of residency in the Woodridge Local School

District (if you own your own home – a current gas or electric bill; if you lease – a lease/rental agreement with all members of the family listed)

• Custody papers (if applicable) • Parent/Guardian Photo I.D. • IEP/MFE (if applicable)

All registration packets must be returned as soon as possible to the Board of Education Office, which is located at 4411 Quick Rd. When returning the registration packet, you will also schedule a screening time in August (8/24, 25, or 26) for your child before he/she begins kindergarten. If you have any questions regarding the registration forms, please call Carol Laux at (330) 928-9074, Ext. 591209.

If you are unable to attend Kindergarten Information Night, the registration packets will be available at the Board of Education Office and you can enroll your child year round from 7:30 AM – 4:00 PM.

If you have any questions about Kindergarten Information Night, please feel free to call Mrs. Sykes, the building principal, at 330-928-1223, Ext 113 or Mrs. Terri Sigler, Director of Curriculum, at 330-928-9074, Ext. 591214. We look forward to meeting and talking with you.

Kindergarten Information Night By: Terri Sigler, Director of Curriculum

The BugleThe Bugle F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 0

Grades K-5 Families Enjoy a Math-tastic Night By: Terri Sigler, Director of Curriculum

An evening of games, ice-cream, family togetherness and learning was enjoyed by over 175 parents and children at the second annual Everyday Family Math Night for grades K-5 on Monday, February 1 from 6:30 – 7:30 PM at Woodridge Middle School in the gym. Parents and children were able to choose from two of several different primary and intermediate games that had been selected by the teachers to play that evening. The children were familiar with all the games that had been chosen and they demonstrated their skill knowledge with parents. Some student game favorites that night included Addition Top-It, Penny Plate, Penny Cup, Owari, The Number Grid, Salute, Before and After, and Factor Bingo.

In addition to the games, t e a c h e r s a l s o demonstrated the online math program that was purchased by the district this year. The online math program is a web-based program that can be accessed from any computer, home or

school, and allows parents to access the games that are used throughout the year with students to reinforce skills at home. In addition, many other mathematical tools are available on the site for parents and students to enhance mathematical learning.

After playing the games, families were then able to take the game boards home with them to continue to use and practice their math skills. At the end of the evening, prizes were awarded to families which included several math games and all participants left with an ice cream sandwich treat!

The purposes of the Family Math Night were several – spending a fun, quality evening as a family, learning about the new online math program, and a way for parents and children to talk and work together while learning. Through the Family Math Nights, parents realized that math is more than memorizing rules - they had the opportunity to work with their child/children on math activities in a non-threatening environment and went home with the activities to further encourage math instruction at home in a fun way. Math learning is indeed becoming a family affair in the Woodridge Local Schools!

Just a note to check out the snow tubing article in this issue—a field trip that is an example of authentic learning and an enrichment activity. The students who participated had a wonderful experience! We had the opportunity to take most of the Challenge by Choice participants as well as many other eighth grade students.

If you are looking for some way to encourage your child about the creative process, we would like to suggest looking into the Wallas Stage Model of the creative process (1926) which includes four/five essential steps. It may be a way to encourage your child to reflect on not only the product he/she will create but the process that he/she undergoes to get to that product. Thinking about thinking = metacognition. For further information into Graham Wallas’ Creative Process, consider consulting his book The Art of Thought or visit http://tinyurl.com/y989h8y for a brief overview.

In the upcoming issues we intend to include some suggestions for family games that involve two reasoning tactics: inductive and deductive reasoning.

Laura Rorrer, Challenge by Choice Coordinator, WMS Terri Sigler, Director of Curriculum and Gifted Coordinator Sally Murphy, Gifted Intervention Specialist, WIS

P A G E 2

Middle School staff members Bob Macri, Shannon Allenspach, Angela Macak, and Linda Ocepek presented a session at the 2010 Educa t iona l Techno logy Conference in Columbus on February 1. The session was entitled “On the Flip Side: Easy to Use, Easy to Edit, Easy to Upload” and showed participants some of the many uses for the Flip Video Camera. With the one button technology

of the flip camera, teachers and students can become instant videographers. Participants learned to point, shoot, import, and share. The Flip Video Camera promotes creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration and is just one example of how 21st Century Skills are being taught at Woodridge Middle School.

In addition, Woodridge Technology Director Eric Unangst, presented a session on recovering from a major IT disaster. Woodridge was fortunate earlier this year to recover quickly from a major IT crisis after an electrical fire shut down power for 56 hours and burnt the fiber optic connections at WHS. Eric shared with other districts the successes and failures during this time, as well as documentation and procedures which are now in place within the district should another disaster strike. Participants left the session with a disaster preparation checklist and ideas on how to create their plan.

WMS Presents at E-Tech Conference By: Linda Ocepek, WMS Principal

The second grade students at Woodridge Primary School are proud to report that they earned $575.00 profit through their Hearts for Haiti sucker sale. The students sold gourmet heart shaped suckers to the entire student body and staff, during the second week of February. They

engaged in such activities as sorting suckers, designing posters, writing and broadcasting commercials, predicting and graphing sales outcomes, selling the suckers and counting the profits. Each second grade class adopted both a kindergarten and first grade class for the advertisement and sale of their suckers. The sale was a huge success! As predicted by many students, watermelon and bubble gum were the most popular sucker flavors, and all nine flavors were delicious and fun to eat. The most wonderful thing about Hearts for Haiti is the help it offered to Haitians in need. The most valuable lesson learned by our students is, no matter our age or size, we can all make a big difference when we reach out to help others.

Hearts for Haiti Sucker Sale Makes $575 for Haiti Relief By: Patty Roman, WPS Teacher

The final numbers are in: WHS raised a total of $1832 dollars to be submitted to the Beacon Journal Haiti Relief Fund. Student government donated all profits from winter formal, Interact had a $1 hat day and raised $43, and National Honor Society donated the cost of an Ipod Touch for a raffle. Over 800 tickets were sold and $789 was made from the raffle. The winner of the Itouch was Chris Priddy, student at WHS. Thanks to everyone for their donations!

WHS Raises $1832 for Haiti Relief By: LuAnne Stockton

Every year in late January, the American Library Association awards numerous children’s literature awards at their annual winter meeting. One of the most prestigious awards is the Caldecott Award given for the most distinguished American picture book for children. At WIS, library students participate in their own mock Caldecott award through the direction of library tutor, Courtney Rae.

Beginning in December, Mrs. Rae obtains a list of outstanding new picture books that are regarded as possible contenders. She borrows books from the public library that she does not already have to use in round one of her mock Caldecott lesson. Students are directed to rate 30 books based on the same criteria the real Caldecott judges use: the quality of the illustrations, how well the illustrations match the theme and mood of the story, and the degree to how the illustrations help the reader understand the story.

Once the books have been evaluated by students, the top five books are nominated as finalists to be voted on.

In early January, students are reminded of the criteria for a winning Caldecott book and as the classes have library time, each student casts a vote for their choice. This year’s winner of the WIS mock Caldecott was the actual Caldecott winner, The Lion & the Mouse, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney. What a discerning group of book critics we have at WIS!

Mock Caldecott Award at WIS By: Maureen Popa, District Library Specialist

WIS Library Tutor, Courtney Rae, shares the winner of the

Mock Caldecott Award.

On Tuesday, February 9th, the kindergarteners celebrated their 100th day of school! Our day was full of exciting activities, all centered around the number 100. The children brought collections of 100 things from home, counted to 100 by ones, fives, and tens, and even exercised their way to 100 with fun songs and dances. Other activities included stringing necklaces of 100 Froot Loops, making glittery crowns, and working together to make a class book about their 100 wishes. We also said goodbye to our good friend Zero the Hero, who has visited us every tenth day of school. As always, he brought a special treat to share with us. Some classes even made Zero the Hero puppets! It was a wonderful day of learning and fun, and we look forward to many more!

Hip, Hip, Horray! It’s Our 100th Day! By: Jodi Beskitt, WPS Teacher

On January 9, 2010, twelve students from Woodridge Middle School traveled to St. Vincent St. Mary High School for this year’s district competition for Power of the Pen. The students wrote in three rounds of writing and were instructed to write a short story for forty minutes based around a prompt. Their stories were then judged based on creativity and quality.

Writing for the seventh grade team were Brianna McHugh, Jessica Beattie, Haley Cooper, Tyler Laughorn, Katie Mencer and Nina Patterson. Other team members include Lex Janczewski, Danielle LoPrinzi and Kristen Donze. Writing for the eighth grade team were Sydney Myers, Emily Kasper, Katrina Folk, Armad Richey-Conrad, Megan Ramsey and Allie Vanaman. Other team mem-bers include Alexa Shannon, Cierra Simmons, and Jordan Korinek.

These students competed against 93 seventh graders and 97 other eighth graders for an outstanding total of 190 writers from seventeen schools. In the seventh grade division, Brianna McHugh was awarded seventh place overall. In the eighth grade division, Allie Vanaman was awarded third place overall. Emily Kasper was awarded “Best of Round” for her story “TTYL” A “Best of Round” awards represents the best response to the prompt at the tournament.

Congratulations to everyone who participated, and best of luck to those who competed at the regional competition at Kent State University on February 20th.

The Year of the Pen at Woodridge Middle School By: Allie Vanaman, Student / Angela Macak, WMS Teacher

P A G E 3

Author Shelley Pearsall visited WMS on Monday, February 8th. Mrs. Pearsall is the award winning author of four books for young adults. In preparation for her visit, the Woodridge Middle School Parent Service Organization purchased books for all WMS students. Sixth graders read Trouble Don’t Last, a historical fiction story about the Underground Railroad. Seventh graders read All of the Above, a math fiction story about urban middle school students who

attempt to break a record by building the world’s largest tetrahedron. Eighth graders read Crooked River, a historical fiction account of a real murder trial that took place in Cleveland in 1812.

Mrs. Pearsall spoke to each grade level about its respective book, but she also showed students the progression she goes through to produce her novels. Students had the opportunity to see (and touch!) manuscript copies of her books. Seeing 6 drafts of each book stacked high on a stool sent a powerful message about the importance of revision in the writing process. In addition to her large group presentations, Mrs. Pearsall attended an author’s luncheon with 20 students. These students had an opportunity to ask Mrs. Pearsall a variety of questions about the work involved in writing and publishing books.

Special thank yous go out to the following people: Terri Sigler, for obtaining the grant that allowed Mrs. Pearsall to come speak at the school; the WMS PSO for purchasing books for all of our students; Dr. Linda Ocepek and Maureen Popa, for coordinating the day; WMS language arts teachers, for developing curriculum to accompany the books; and most of all Shelley Pearsall, for giving middle school students the opportunity to meet and talk with a real author.

Award Winning Author Visits WMS By: Lauren Witsaman, WMS Library Tutor

Making Mother Nature Smile at WIS By: Don Lathem, WIS Teacher

For the past two years, the students at WIS have competed by stacking up all sorts of paper items that can be recycled in our bins at the school. From newspapers to phonebooks to catalogs to magazines, it was piled high in our individual

classrooms for two weeks! With measurements being performed by the 5th Grade Student Council, the stacks grew higher and higher each day until finally, on February 5, Mrs. Daniel’s Class was declared the winner! Their class stacked paper products to a total height of 1,410 inches! That's over 117 feet high! Mrs. Catherine's class had also made an incredible effort and contribution, stacking up a total of 948 inches of paper!

However, the most notable feat involved the entire school's efforts: Last year our entire school stacked up 100 feet of material to recycle. This year? If we combined it all, the stack would have been over 426 feet! Wow!

Worth noting are students from around the school who found resources to supply paper or magazines to be recycled here instead of thrown away elsewhere: Cory Kavalchek, Ryan O'Leary, Alexa Johns, Abby Kozma, Nathan Bisheimer, and Kyle Schneider. These students went above and beyond in their efforts to find lots of paper!

WPS Students of the Month By: Pat Kennedy, WPS School Counselor

Congratulations to the Woodridge Primary School Students of the Month for January. These students were chosen from their classrooms for doing an excellent job showing responsibility; our Building Character Word of the Month.

Back Row: Austin Sharff-Kyle, Drew Rush, Caidrea Barnes, Sara Austin, Jaya Dowe, Justin Martinez, Emma Francis, Charlie McDermott. 2nd Row: Balin Soful, Abby Bergdorf, Owen Thompson, Audrey Donnelly, Angela Montecalvo, McKenna Fisher, Tegan Riffey. Front Row: Kyle Miller, Maddox Nehls, Emma Bryson, Aaron Dutt, Ian Riccillo, Daniel Batyrbaev, Charlie Papa.

The Science of Snow Tubing By: Laura Rorrer, WMS Teacher

Eighth grade students from Woodridge Middle School along with mentors from Woodridge High School and several eighth grade teachers traveled to Boston Mills Brandywine Ski Resort’s Polar Blast Snow Tubing Park on February 12 to participate in a new Physical Science activity. The activity is designed to help students learn the physics behind Snow Tubing. This is an ideal science laboratory because it allows students to not only witness the laws of physics in operation, but also allows students to feel physics first hand and to study what is happening. Students gathered the necessary data to calculate the following: average speed, acceleration, force of friction, coefficient of friction, potential energy, kinetic energy, work and power. Unlike their textbooks, students are given little data to begin and must collect it themselves while enjoying the thrill of snow tubing. It was a great mix of snow, friends, physical science, and fun.

The students were excited to have the opportunity to participate in this hands-on learning experience and had many great things to say about the day. Megan Ramsey said, “It applied science to something we could understand.” Emily Kasper declared, “The

adventure we encountered at Polar Blast: science of snow tubing really was a blast. I enjoyed the day with the small twist of learning physics tied in.” “We learned about the force of motion. To be more specific, we went down the hill adding more tubes each time. We timed how long it took, and measured the distance of length downhill.” stated Eric Bissonnette. Michelle Koehler said, “I love it. The science part was simple and fun.” And Katie Austin exclaimed, “It was my first time doing something like this. It was SO MUCH FUN!”

Students will be studying velocity, force, power, speed, and acceleration in science this quarter. This activity also fits the state academic science standards for 8th grade, which include an introduction to physics. They participated in an authentic learning experience while having fun at the same time!

This year Woodridge Primary School took part in the WKDD “Have a Heart – Do Your Part” radio-thon that benefited Akron Children’s Hospital. To help the students better understand this project, we called it “Kids Helping Kids” and explained why we collected money and where the money was going. As soon as we sent home letters to inform the parents, the money started pouring in. With the help of the community, students and teachers, we were able to raise $619.07. We were very excited to be able to work together as a school to raise funds for such a wonderful cause!

WPS Raises $619 for Akron Children’s Hospital By: Kristi Ferber, WPS Teacher

In the Classroom and on the Field

P A G E 4

Don Lathem gathers with some of his second grade students from 10 years ago just before they graduate high school. Lathem has been teaching for 15 years, and now teaches 5th grade at Woodridge Intermediate.

In 2009 Picture Standing: Don Lathem, Ben Arrington, Mitch Edwards (senior at Stow HS), Cameron Beacham, Lauren Page. Seated: Hayley Hoover, Miranda Cottrill, Megan Gaspro

From Puppies to Bulldogs By: Don Lathem, WIS Teacher

On January 31, the Latin Club competed against five other schools in the annual Shaker Heights Certamen. Certamen is similar to Academic Challenge, except that all questions relate to the Latin language and culture. Besides Woodridge, other participating schools included Westlake, Shaker Heights, St. Edward, Strongsville, and Western Reserve Academy.

All Woodridge students made it to the Finals. On the Novice Level, Latin I student Katrina Folk helped her team finish in first

place. She answered several mythology questions with great quickness and accuracy. At the Lower Level, the Woodridge team of Drew Pinta, John Slocum, and Nathan Tompkin placed third. The team was led by Slocum, who received a special award for answering the most questions overall. Finally, in Upper Level competition, Latin III student Taylor Suchan helped his team to a second-place finish.

The students were transported to Shaker Heights by Mr. Ed Tompkin, father of Nathan, and by Mr. McCaffrey, teacher of Latin. Commented Mr. McCaffrey. "All five of our students did a great job at the Certamen, especially as some of their teammates were unable to attend."

Latin Club students Drew Pinta, Nathan Tompkin, Taylor

Suchan, John Slocum, and Katrina Folk with their awards

from the Certamen.

Latin Club Places High at Shaker Heights Certamen By: Tom McCaffrey, Latin Club Advisor and WHS Teacher

The Girls High School soccer program has had much success over the last few years with many individual players earning league, district and state awards. The high school team has carried on the winning tradition in the Portage Trail Conference winning the league 7 of the last 9 years with a record of 52-6-6 in the league and 78-40-19 overall record.

It’s time to start the winning tradition at the Middle School! There will be sign ups in March and a brief informational meeting in May for parents and all girls that are interested that will be in 7th and 8th grade for the 2010-2011 school year. If you have questions please e-mail Jason Allenspach at Jallenspach@woodridge.k12.oh.us. This will be an opportunity for all players regardless of ability level or years of experience!

First Ever WMS Girls Soccer Team for 7th and 8th Grade By: Jason Allenspach, Lady Bulldogs Soccer Coach

On January 20 at the Hard Rock Café in downtown Cleveland, senior Anthony Westren was named the 2009 ESPN-Cleveland 850 Student-Athlete of the Year. Anthony also received a $6,000 scholarship to a university of his choice. Anthony was one of ten finalists for this award which is given to a student-athlete in northeast Ohio who excels in both the classroom and on the playing field. This was the second year in a row Anthony was a finalist for this award.

In the classroom, Anthony carries a rigorous course schedule including several Advanced Placement courses while still managing to rank second in the Senior class at Woodridge with a 4.1 GPA. On the athletic field, this past fall Anthony was the quarterback on the varsity football team that posted the best record in Woodridge history (10-3) as well as PTC County champs and Regional Runner-Up.

Anthony was also named 3rd team All-State Quarterback in addition to setting numerous passing records at Woodridge including single-season passing yards (2,877), single-season touchdown passes (35) and career passing yards (5,069). Anthony is planning to continue his football career after high school and is considering several schools including Carnegie Mellon, Colgate, and Case Western University.

Anthony Westren Wins 2009 Student-Athlete of the Year By: Jeremy Maxa, WHS Teacher After their first year of competition in the

Portage Trail Conference, the Bulldog Bowlers have proven that they will be a force to reckon with. After a season plagued with injury and illness, the boys still managed a 7-6 overall record and a 5-3 County Division record. Senior, Austin Bettio, (200 avg.) lead the team for the first six matches until he suffered a wrist injury that kept him out the remainder of the regular season. Junior, Dane Myers, (187 avg.), stepped up to anchor the team in Austin’s absence. Sophomores Maxx Myers (165 avg.) and Nick Freund (162 avg.) have also seen more time on the lanes and will be called on to lead the team next year. Unfortunately, we will be losing five seniors Ryan Adams, Austin Bettio, Michael King (181 avg.), Kevin Jenco (144 avg.), and Dominic VanDivner (164 avg.). The boy’s team finished the regular season in second place in the PTC County Division.

The girls have plowed through the competition with an impressive 10-3 overall record and a 6-2 County Division record. The team was lead by Sophomore Arielle Chopka (169 avg.) Seniors Courtney Schneider (143 avg.) and Brittany Wilder (117 avg.) have been solid scorers all season. Heather Schneider (137 avg.), a Sophomore and Junior, Emilie Ring (118 avg.), rounded out this years starters. The girl’s team also finished the season in second place in the PTC County Division. With an impres-sive year of experience and three returning starters, the girls will have high expectations for next year.

Great Expectations for Bulldog Bowlers By: Keith Shovestull, WHS Bowling Coach

UNITED and MAC students attended a field trip at the Pro-Football Hall of Fame in Canton this month. Each year during Black History Month, the Football Hall of Fame provides an inspirational program giving high school students the opportunity to hear a panel of retired football players present the adversity they faced in the NFL or AFL. They also discuss how they overcame the obstacles in their professional and personal lives.

This year, students were treated to presentations by Dave Robinson, the first African-American to play in the Gator Bowl in 1961, despite personal threats against his life. Mr. Robinson discussed the special role Vince Lombardi played as his mentor and coach. Ron Mix, a Jewish player from the 1960s, also discussed his role in defending the rights of his African-American teammates by boycotting an All-Star game in New Orleans because only white players were provided services by area businesses. As a result of this boycott, the game was moved from New Orleans to Houston.

The program was enjoyed by all who attended. Students left with a better appreciation of the sacrifices made by others which brought us to where we are today. The message also emphasized how our students could further work toward eradicating racism in society.

MAC and UNITED Groups Travel to Canton By: Sally Elvitsky, WHS School Counselor