Socrates said, “Know thyself.” He might have added, “Know where thyself is.” Sam Ousley (left) and Matt Rinehart point to the Buckeye State—a little west of Wellston, to be sure—on a U.S. map. They are third-graders at Wellston Intermediate School, and they know where they are.

SKY’S THE LIMITSKY’S THE LIMITTheDistrict Publication of Wellston City Schools FALL 2003

Even as the rocket is rising, soaring up into the sky, students in Wellston City Schools are tapping down into a wellspring of wisdom and experience. Please join with us on these voyages of discovery.

WELL

C O M M E N T A R Y

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SUPERINTENDENT’SMESSAGE

Teacher Diane Blankenship works with students in Keyboarding class at Wellston High School.

Meditating About MarkersSince the second anniversary of Sept. 11, I’ve been thinking

about markers, those dates and events that remind us of both the large and small changes in life.

Sept. 11 is without a doubt the biggest marker in recent American history. More civilians died that day than did sailors and soldiers on another day that “will live in infamy,” Dec. 7, 1941. The events of 9-11 remind us that in this new world Americans are threatened with death simply because they are Americans.

This publication is, of course, a much smaller marker than Sept. 11, and, we hope, a good thing. It represents a step forward in the Wellston School District’s campaign to communicate more effectively with every citizen in the district. I’m happy to be able

to report to you that in four key areas the Wellston City School District is in sound and solid shape—and improving.

• Finances: Not so long ago, the Wellston school district was in the state loan fund and, effectively, bankrupt. Thanks to careful planning, frugal spending and the hard work of our excellent treasurer, Brenda Hill, our district is again solvent. Wellston’s taxpayers don’t have to worry that we’ll be coming to them for more money for operating expenses. Because our fi nancial picture is bright, we were able to fund eight new positions we found we needed when we moved into the new buildings.

• Facilities: Every Wellstonian and folks from other communities agree that our new buildings are wonderful. Our children now have bright, clean and high-tech settings in which to learn. I want to assure every parent and taxpayer that we’re doing all we can to maintain, protect and even improve these facilities for future generations.

• People: Public education is necessarily labor-intensive. Until scientists fi nd a way to automate teachers, we have to rely on good people to teach children. In my time as superintendent we’ve searched, scrutinized, checked references, attended job fairs and recruited the best people we could fi nd. I made improving our hiring practices a priority because we’ve learned that classes and programs improve only in direct proportion to the quality and work ethic of the teachers and staff in charge of them. Overall, I think our work ethic has improved. Our teachers approved a longer workday during the last contract negotiations and have attended a good number of professional development seminars.

• Curriculum: We began the long process of modernizing our courses of study when I became superintendent. Thanks to Paul Bauer’s tireless efforts as Director of Curriculum over the last several years and the cooperation of our staff, we aligned our curriculum to new and more demanding state academic standards. Several years ago many parents let us know they wanted us to improve the music and arts programs in the district. We went to work on that request, and anyone who has attended recent ball games will agree with me that Band Director Josh Willett has done a great job reorganizing and building the Marching Rockets into a fi rst-class high school marching band. We added a full-time art instructor at the middle school, and Debbie Baker has breathed new life into our vocal music program there as well. This board and administration do listen to the community and, although it takes time, we try to do what the public wants.

I don’t mean to suggest that there’s no room for improvement in these four areas or others. The job isn’t fi nished. My point is that our school system has improved in many vital ways over the last four or fi ve years and is headed in the right direction. The people of Wellston and the staff of the school district can take justifi able pride in those improvements and what they promise for the future.

Returning to Sept. 11, one of the few good consequences of that awful marker in our national life was a new sense of gratitude for all things American. I believe that we were attacked for being Americans and for believing what Americans believe and stand for in the world. All of us became more conscious of how blessed we are to live in this country.

Likewise, looking back on the work of these past few years, I am conscious of a special feeling I have for the board and the people of Wellston who have allowed me to serve as superintendent of this school district: gratitude. Thank you for giving me one of the richest and most rewarding experiences of my life.

—Dan Brisker, Superintendent of Schools

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LLSTON

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F E A T U R E S

(Above) Getting a helping hand from Art teacher Lesley Ahern is Bryan Miller, a seventh-grader at Wellston Middle School. Art is one of the Project SAFE activities (see story, upper left).

Wellston’s SAFE Motto: ‘Partners with Parents’

Wellston City Schools is intent on doing everything it can to comply with the federal “No Child Left Behind” Act. So, using Ohio Department of

Education 21st-Century Community Learning Center Grant money, Wellston has created Project SAFE (Student and Family Enrichment) with a motto of: “Partners with Parents.”

Students who are at risk academically are identifi ed by school personnel, after which teachers and community members work to support parents so that these students fi nd success in the classroom and on state achievement tests.

Monday Through Thursday at Bundy, WIS and WMSAll schedules run Monday through Thursday. Bundy

Elementary sessions are from 7 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Wellston Intermediate School (WIS) program hours are from 6:50 to 8:20 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The Wellston Middle School (WMS) sessions run from 2:30 to 6 p.m. School bus transportation is available afternoons, so students participating before school are brought to school by their parents.

Center programs may focus on such areas as:• Academic tutoring• Recreation• Extended library services• Drug and violence prevention• Vocational skills• Art, instrumental music, culture• Community service• Health and nutrition• Technology• Parent and community focus groups.

A Sampling of Project SAFE ActivitiesSpecifi c current activities include:• Mastery of state reading and math competency standards• Karate lessons• Bowling• Visits to Jenkins Nursing Home• Cooking classes• Guitar lessons• Production of a SAFE newspaper• Art & crafts/scrapbook making• Creating a video newscast team• Keyboarding lessons• Putting together a Clean Community Committee• Piano lessons• Karaoke• Line dancing.Bundy’s Jason Salmons, early childhood specialist and

Project SAFE co-coordinator with Brad Quillen (WIS/WMS), reports that last month’s big event at Bundy was an outing to Wellston Skateland. Reactions were positive. For example, Peyton Peoples said, “The skating was fun.” Added Andrew Shephard: “I liked the skating.”

Besides the regular activities, future plans include a presentation by personnel from General Mills.

Wellston Community Demonstrates CaringThe essence of a caring community is often demonstrated by

its compassion, kindness and charitable acts. The Wellston City

School District is fortunate to be recipients of such generosity from various community members.

• Tom Rader donated a baby grand piano, with computerized features, to the high school.

• The Class of 1952 paid for the new sign at the entrance to the main campus.

Below is a list of some of the sponsors of scholarships for our students:

The Peggy S. Geiger Memorial Scholarship was created by her family. Peggy was a wonderful elementary teacher in our district and passed away at a young age due to cancer. Tom Geiger was her husband, and her father and mother are Glen and Jane Chevalier. The funds for this scholarship come from family, friends and community. This $500 scholarship is given each spring to a senior in our district who meets the criteria and is going into the fi eld of education.

The Dick and Joe Mantz Scholarship was created and funded by Dick Mantz. The scholarship is given each spring to both a senior male and female student in the amount of $250 each.

The Carolyn Hedges Scholarship is in the process of being developed. Carolyn recently passed away due to cancer and bequeathed the surplus funds after the settlement of her estate to Wellston City Schools.

We also have an Edward Cartwright Essay Contest each spring. The Cartwright family donates $400 each year and presents this to a high school student who wins the essay contest.

All of these, along with many other scholarships, are presented in the spring of each school year at the district scholarship and awards ceremony.

Thanks, Wellston!

FEATURESTORIES

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Lucas McGhee, a kindergartner at Bundy Elementary School, “discovers the wonder” of reading—in this case, about a feisty frog with lessons to teach us.

5

Working side by side in Art class are Kayla Forcier (left) and Sara Williams, seventh-graders at Wellston Middle School.

Nicole Carroll, a third-grader at Wellston Intermediate School, pauses while doing a writing assignment.

Using three of his fi ve senses to learn at the computer is Brian Smith, a second-grader at Bundy Elementary School.

Andrew Richards, a WIS third-grader, seems to be having a good day at school.

Clearly enjoying a project at her desk is Josie Cooper, a Bundy Elementary kindergartner.

Glancing up from his computer work is Cory Roberts, a freshman at Wellston High School.

Practicing the “sax” are Merissa Baker (left), a WMS seventh-grader, and Amber Wilfong, a WMS eighth-grader.

WHS sophomore Brent Sturgill appears to be having fun taking notes in class.

D I S T R I C T

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HIGHSCHOOL

Wellston Middle School eighth-graders Mikey Aldrich (left) and Jeremy King work together on a project in Technology Lab.

No, ‘AP via IVDL’ Is Not Alphabet Soup, It’s College Credit!

Thanks to the IVDL (Interactive Video Distance Learning) Lab in Wellston High School, seniors this year are enrolled in AP

(Advanced Placement) English, a course that offers successful students an opportunity to receive college credit in English while still in high school.

The course is taught by English teacher Ann Riley at Westfall High School and transmitted to Wellston High. The high school lab has cameras, microphones, audio/video equipment and four monitors. Two monitors show Riley and/or A/V materials from Westfall, and two show students at Wellston.

Riley can see and hear both the students in her classroom and the students at Wellston. Wellston students can ask questions and interact with students from Westfall through microphones and monitors.

Four times during the course, Riley will teach the class from Wellston, which provides face-to-face contact with the teacher for Wellston students, while letting Westfall students experience remote interaction with their teacher. To round out the experience, Wellston students will travel to Westfall several times during the course to meet their fellow classmates in person.

Assistant Superintendent Jerry Blankenship says Wellston teachers at all levels will be receiving training on the use of IVDL equipment, along with other professional development from ITSCO (Instructional Technology Services of Central Ohio).

Principal David Rains adds that he hopes more classes currently not feasible for Wellston can be brought to Wellston students in future years via DL (distance learning). Graduate classes and professional development workshops from Ohio universities and organizations also may be scheduled for teachers and staff.

Many museums, zoos, organizations, and universities across the state and around the world offer virtual fi eld trips through DL. For example, the Columbus and Toledo branches of COSI (Center of Science and Industry) provide programs via video conferencing. These feature simple machines, live surgeries and science experts. Case in point: Steve West’s Biology class is scheduled to view open-heart surgery and knee surgery via DL in February.

Collaborating on a research effort are Wellston High School ninth-graders Becky Perkins (left) and Kristina Wagener.

MIDDLESCHOOLModules Motivate Middle-Schoolers

“I wish they had this when I was in school” is the comment heard most often from parents of students in Phil Lewis’ Modular Technology course. Every unit of the course has interactive computerized instruction and a dynamic hands-on component.

This class for eighth-graders allows students to rotate through 12 stations, or modules:

• Flight Technology • Electricity• Computer Graphics • Audio Communications• Robotics • Video Production• Digital Music • Research and Development• Structural Engineering • Material Processing• Laser Technology • CAD (computer-aided design).Two students normally work at a station together for 10

periods. The last three periods are set aside for the hands-on experience. For example, students in Structural Engineering learn about the stress and load factors of different materials. Then they design and build balsa-wood bridges, testing their strength with equipment attached to a computer.

One of the most popular units is Flight Technology. Students build balsa gliders and test their aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. They also build and shoot off compressed-air rockets. The rocket created by Marissa Glass went the farthest in her class, and Todd Kisor’s was so precisely designed that it cleared the nearby road, traveling the top distance in his class.

Lewis also encourages students working on different modules to collaborate. By way of illustration, students working with CAD designed a blueprint for a birdhouse, whereupon students at the Material Processing station built it.

The hands-on portion of the modules includes such projects as:• Laser Technology—creating a working burglar alarm or a

laser light show• Research and Development—building, testing and racing

a CO2-powered balsa-wood cars • Audio Communication—taping a commercial or being a

disc jockey on a music program• Material Processing—casting plastic picture frames,

screwdriver handles and golf teesPrincipal Barbara White sees the program as a great

opportunity for eighth-graders to “try out” technical careers before they select their major in high school. Case in point: Nathan Sherwood was so excited last year about his Computer Graphics assignment—fashioning a product box for a toy robot—that he told Lewis he might study to become a graphic designer.

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INTERMEDIATE/ELEMENTARYSCHOOLS

(Above) Her notebook page chock full o’ notes, Kelsey Hager, a Wellston Intermediate fourth-grader, takes a brief break to smile for the camera.

Intermediate Students Have Behavior Down ‘PAT’Students at Wellston Intermediate are happy to receive the

proverbial “pat on the back,” because it can result in another type of PAT, a Positive Action Ticket.

Using these tickets, teachers recognize and reward good behavior and academic endeavor—anything from picking up hallway litter to improvement on a spelling quiz. Tickets are turned in to the offi ce for one-, two- or three-week drawings for such prizes as candy bars, soda pop or a Wellston Rocket T-shirt, all the way up to CD Players, Play Stations or a trip to Cardos Pizza for lunch with Principal Matt Thornsberry.

Another reward method is the Good Behavior Incentive Program. Students who receive no discipline referrals for a semester qualify for a movie in the gym, which boasts a new surround-sound system.

A third program, called Good News, surprises students with an offi ce referral. Students are called to the offi ce just like students receiving discipline referrals. But instead of punishment, they are congratulated for improving their academic standing or doing acts of thoughtfulness above and beyond the usual. Parents also receive surprise calls at work or in the evening from Thornsberry to announce their child’s “good news.”

The Attendance Incentive Program focuses on students in homeroom, encouraging each other to attend school every day. Awards include trophies for:

• The homeroom with the best weekly attendance.• Soft drinks for lunch for the homeroom that continues to

be the best.• Prize drawings by students in a homeroom that is the

attendance winner for four weeks. The teachers have worked with Effective School Inc. and

received training in using “quality tools” to improve student behavior in the school environment and performance in the classroom. The school mission statement is in every hallway and classroom. Individual classrooms continually set specifi c goals they want to accomplish and, when they do, their triumph is announced to the entire school. The other students cheer for their accomplishment.

Each day during announcements, students are asked, “Why are you here today?”

They answer, “To learn.” “Who is responsible for your learning and behavior?”“I am.”Funds from the Parent/Teacher Organization and grant money

from General Mills have been keys to the programs’ successes.Thornsberry likes the positive atmosphere that these

programs foster among teachers, staff, parents and students. The entire staff has noticed measurable results as Wellston Intermediate has moved up to the Continuous Improvement category on the state-published Local Report Card.

From ‘BLTs’ to Wal-Mart Gift Cards:Bundy Also Welcomes Preschool Children

Principal Mark Williams soon will be glad to welcome all the preschool children into the Bundy Elementary building. Previously they attended two modular classrooms while construction took place to accommodate the extra students. Having preschool through second grade under one roof will enhance communication, provide access to computers for all students, and create a “family” atmosphere among all students and staff.

The school also will be getting a new playground and fl agpole when the modular classrooms are removed. Thanks

to the Parent/Teacher Organization, a new sign soon will be installed in front of the building.

Bundy teachers were happy with the Aug. 20 turnout of parents for the fi rst- and second-grade Phase-In Open House. Parents and children scheduled appointments with teachers so that they could learn about expectations, rules and seat assignments. Tours of the building also were part of the event.

Bundy will continue using the Waterford Early Reading Computer Program in K-2. The program offers a different, interactive supplement to the Four-Blocks Literacy Model (Guided Reading, Self-Selected Reading, Working with Words, and Writing) currently in place. Besides lessons focusing on comprehension, vocabulary and phonics, the computer program allows students to read into a microphone, then listen to themselves.

The Bundy staff is using a variety of incentive programs—some similar to those being employed at Wellston Intermediate. A traveling attendance trophy rewards individual classrooms, and even teachers can receive a $25 Wal-Mart gift card for nine weeks of perfect attendance.

A compliment chart is posted on each classroom door so that any staff member can place a sticker on if after entering the room and announcing the reason for recognizing a student or students in the class. When a class has its chart fi lled with stickers, the class members receive an extra 20-minute recess. The staff is also using BLTs—Bundy Lotto Tickets—for drawing names of students who have performed or behaved in a positive way.

M O R E N E W S

*****ECRWSSPostal Cus tom er

Wellston City SchoolsAdministration Offi ce416 N. Pennsylvania Ave.Wellston, OH 45692

You’re Invited!The public is invited to meetings of the Board of Education

of Wellston City Schools. Sessions are conducted at 6:30 p.m. the second Thursday of each month in the Administration Offi ce. For more information, call (740) 384-2152.

Feedback Is WelcomeWe welcome our readers’ letters, comments and critique. Write

to us at Editor, The Sky’s the Limit, Wellston City Schools, 416 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Wellston, OH 45692. Or call (740) 384-2152.

Board of EducationDarrell Angles ......................................................................... PresidentT.J. Justice......................................................................... Vice PresidentDennis E. Dupree......................................................................MemberJoe Essman .................................................................................MemberWalter “Bub” Norris .................................................................Member

Our Phone NumbersBundy Elementary School ...................................................... 384-6245Wellston Intermediate School.................................................384-2060Wellston Middle School ...........................................................384-2251Wellston High School...............................................................384-2162Administration Offi ce ..............................................................384-2152

Check Out Our Website at:www.wcs.k12.oh.us

Non-Profi t Org.US Postage

PAIDBourbon, INPermit #29

All-School Calendar, 2003-04 Oct. 31 ..................Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8:30 a.m.–noon (no school for students)Nov. 21 .........................................................Progress Reports Due Nov. 26–Dec. 1 ..........................Thanksgiving Break (no school)Dec. 2......................................................................School ResumesDec. 22–Jan. 2 .................................. Christmas Break (no school)Jan. 5.......................................................................School Resumes Jan. 9 ...................................................End of Second Nine Weeks Jan. 19 .............................Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no school)Feb. 13 ..........................................................Progress Reports Due Feb. 16.................................................. Presidents Day (no school) Feb. 19 .........................Parent/Teacher Conferences, 5-8:30 p.m. Feb. 20 ..................Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8:30 a.m.–noon (no school for students) March 19 ............................................... End of Third Nine Weeks April 5-12................................................ Spring Break (no school)April 13 ..................................................................School ResumesApril 30 ........................................................Progress Reports Due May 25.............................................................Last Day for Seniors May 28..................................Last Day for Teachers and Students

His pleasant disposition seems to say, “See you next issue!” Levi Miller, a Bundy Elementary fi rst-grader, looks up for a moment from his assignment.

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