“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.”

“This is both the end of a long process and the beginning of a new adventure,” LHS Athletic Director Jeff Zidron told attendees. “The number of car pools, practices, weekends, the emotional highs and lows, and the sheer volume of meets and events they have been a part of are astonishing.”

Each student was introduced to the crowd, and it was announced where the students intended to attend school, and what sport they would play.

“To put it in perspective how special these student athletes are – only 3.5 percent of all high school athletes play college sports – and only 1.4 percent actually get athletic scholarships,” said Zidron.

The participating seniors pictured are (left to right):

•Jessie Comorosky – Hanvoer College, soccer

•Tyler Oblong – CCBC – Essex, lacrosse

•Gaelen Stejbach – Indiana State – soccer

 •Lindsay Flaherty – Towson University – volleyball

•Paul Newbold – United States Military Academy at West Point – lacrosse

“This is a nice format to deliver this concept to this age group,” said Kevin Fancher, LPS principal. “The performance kept the students engaged, and the lesson is an important one to introduce at this level.”

Duke Energy sponsored the show, which included workbooks the students could take home. Duke Energy is also encouraging all families to sign up for a free energy savings kit; the school with the most parents signing up will receive $1,000 from Duke, and every family who signs up will be automatically entered into a  drawing for $5000. You can sign up for the kit at: http://myenergykit.org/.

“I’m very excited about having my drawing accepted in this exhibition,” said Brianna Belperio, an LHS senior who was selected. “It is even more exciting for me because I am applying to Xavier University for college.”

“This is an opportunity for our students to engage in the broader art community,” said Jennifer Grant, LHS art teacher. “These students are very talented, and it is important for their work to be seen when the opportunity arises. Our hope is that the students will develop an increased confidence in their ability, and see art as something that truly extends beyond the classroom.”

The selected students include:

• (Seniors) Brianna Belperio, Claudia Giuffre, Katie Loomis and Katie Szabo
• (Juniors) Audrey Jewel, Morgan Mansfield, Kelli Scarpa and Maddie Whitaker

The exhibition will remain on display from Friday, Nov. 30 – Friday, Dec. 14, at the Xavier University Art Gallery located at 1658 Herald Avenue in Cincinnati.

“Out of all the memorials we visited, Arlington National Cemetery had the most profound effect on me,” said Matt Becker, LHS senior. “It was overwhelming to see the expanse of the cemetery, as it seemingly never ended. I walked away from Arlington with a recognition of just how lucky I truly am and an admiration of the American troops who lay it all on the line for our freedom.

“Meeting Mr. and Mrs. Obama was something that I will never forget. I noticed that no matter how the media praises or rebukes them, they still concern themselves with the needs of the American people. It gave me some insight into the extreme amount of pressure placed on the President.”

“Meeting President Obama and the First Lady was surreal,” said Jenna Myklebust, LHS senior. “It still feels like a dream. They were so grateful and caring toward the families at the cemetery. I think the most shocking thing was how real, modest, and genuine they are.”

Dave Volkman, LHS social studies teacher, organizes the trip each year. Fifty seniors are allowed to sign up to go and are selected on a first come, first serve basis.

“This is the first time the students have gotten to meet the President,” said Volkman. “My hope is that they leave with a deeper, better understanding of American ideals and history, and the responsibilities of citizenship.”

“It’s a passion for me,” said Nichols. “I was really excited to do it.”

Nichols chatted casually about his latest assignment, but there was nothing informal about the task; Nichols designed the first ever Loveland High School (LHS) crest, and his work will be featured on new, sustainable robes that will be ready when the Class of 2013 walks across the graduation stage.

“I thought a student should be instrumental in producing the new artwork; it just has more meaning,” explained Chris Kloesz, LHS principal. “We decided to select these high-quality graduation robes, because we can use them year after year. We were one of two Green Ribbon Schools in Ohio, and this initiative falls in line with our environmentally friendly goals.”

The new robes are black with thick Tiger-orange embellishments on the neck and sleeves, and – of course – the crest designed by Nichols.

“I’m really happy with the end result; I’ve gotten positive feedback,” said the senior, who got his first taste of graphic design in a class at LHS. His thirst for advanced instruction was quenched when Nichols enrolled in an individual study program focused on graphic design. Currently, around 50 LHS students are utilizing the individual study program in subjects ranging from psychology, economics, physics, music and engineering.

After Nichols crosses the graduation stage this spring – his crest on – he said he plans to continue graphic design studies in college, setting himself up for a career.

“It’s been a great four years here – it’s gone really fast,” Nichols said. “When I leave, I’ll have left a lasting mark here and that’s really cool.”

Bring your NEW UNWRAPPED Toys & Gifts to LPS/LES/LIS/LMS/LECC/LHS beginning November 1st through December 18th. Contributions are tax deductible.

Please contact Tara Collins, Project Leader at (513) 225-5017 or e-mail birchiet886@yahoo.com; or the Executive Director Terri Rogers (513) 633-0233 or e-mail trogers7@fuse.net with any questions.

Loveland Initiative Christmas Program

“My mom and my grandmother were both in Girl Scouts, so I always knew I would be too,” explained Crall.

Thirteen years later, Crall is not only active in Troop 47555, she is about to complete her Girl Scout Gold Award project – a project that will be on display for the entire school to see.

“LHS has a long tradition of honoring our veterans, but Lauren is taking it to a whole new level,” said Chris Kloesz, LHS principal. “She approached me with her idea early on, and I watched her work tirelessly to complete it; we are all so excited to see the project come to fruition.”

The project is a permanent display honoring veterans – a mounted video screen housed in the LHS main lobby that will show rotating images of LHS alumni who have served in the military.

“I’m hoping kids will become aware of what our alumni went on to accomplish,” said Crall. “This project will help them be more aware of the world around them.”

LHS is hosting a dedication ceremony for the Loveland High School Veterans Display 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14.

“My hope is that as the word spreads, more and more people will contact us to let us know about alumni who have served from decades past,” said Kloesz. “We are so proud of the students who graduated LHS and went on to serve our country; those veterans deserve this recognition.”

“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