“We teamed up with Mrs. Prather and Mrs. Steele’s math class to work on the project,” explained Kari King, LES third grade math teacher. “In the morning, we collect the cans and put them into rows of 10. After we sort the types of foods into categories, we put the cans in bags of 10; once we have 10 bags of 10, we create a bag of 100.”

The numbers are adding up – into the thousands. While their methods differed, for all Loveland students, the mission was singular – to help. Across the Loveland school district, students brought in the food donations as part of a continued collaboration with L.I.F.E. Food Pantry. The Loveland students are assisting in the collection and distribution of donated food to feed 185 families this Thanksgiving and Christmas. This is the 12^th year students at Loveland have participated in the Pass-It-On food drive.

“This is a life lesson Loveland students have embraced for more than a decade, and I’m tremendously proud of what our students have accomplished in the partnership with L.I.F.E. Food Pantry’s Pass-It-On program,” said Dr. John Marschhausen, Loveland superintendent. “This is just one more example of the overwhelming good that can happen when the school and the community partner.”

LIS and LMS students began collecting food for the drive Monday, Nov. 5; the parade down Lebanon was a trip to walk the donated food to the L.I.F.E Food Pantry, which is located in Prince of Peace Church. Volunteers collected the items donated by the younger students. Organizers with L.I.F.E. manage the distribution to the families.

“Each year, we have students who experience difficulty dealing with the loss of a loved one,” said Candice Paolino, LPS counselor. “That loss is often magnified during the holiday season.  This is an easy way for all of us to visually show we care for one another, and it really can make a difference to a grieving child.”

The Children’s Grief Awareness Day was started in Pennsylvania, and is observed on the third Thursday of every November.

“This was our opportunity in Loveland to visually let the children know we care,” said Paolino. “That is the message we sent, and it was an important message for those students to hear.”

“Our children are blessed to live in a community that provides exceptional learning opportunities,” said Marschhausen. “The true partnership between parents, teachers, extended families, our faith community, and youth organizations all demonstrate the investment and commitment to developing the whole child.”

Marschhausen unveiled a plan for advancing education in the district by incorporating blended learning and cutting-edge assessment testing.

“We will bring blended learning – the marriage of technology and instructional talent – to Loveland’s secondary students,” said Marschhausen. “Computers don’t replace our rock star teachers; computers provide these instructional leaders a larger platform on which to perform efficiently, effectively and with personalized instruction. This is a student-centered approach to learning that allows the district to utilize each teacher’s skills, talents and assets to the fullest.”

For those interested, a video of the complete presentation is available for viewing (see link below).

In a continued effort to understand the education needs of the community, the district currently has two surveys available for parents and students to utilize. These surveys will be available on the district website through December 14 (links included below).

Dr. Marschhausen also plans to host a series of “School House” meetings to offer the public an opportunity to get questions answered (dates and locations are listed below). In addition, Marschhausen will participate in a “Java Week” prior to Thanksgiving – setting up at Starbucks to chat with Loveland residents about the state of the district.

2012 State of Schools:

Click the link below to access a video of the 2012 State of the Schools presentation.

https://vimeo.com/53099324

Click here to view Citizen Satisfaction Survey Results provided by Fallon Research.

Click the following link to access the Loveland Parent Survey:

https://docs.google.com/a/lovelandschools.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFhObDl0YlpNR052MWVab183QUwtMUE6MQ#gid=0

Click the following link to access the Loveland Student Survey:

https://docs.google.com/a/lovelandschools.org/spreadsheet/viewform?pli=1&formkey=dHJ6TV9yaVpCWjFUaHF0aW1Hd0FROGc6MQ#gid=0

School House Meetings:

6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15 – Loveland High School Media Center

4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 – Loveland Intermediate School Media Center

Java Week (Loveland Starbucks):

7 a.m. – 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 19

8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20

10 a.m. – Noon Wednesday, Nov. 21