School buses in Archbold will become mobile wifi stations and potential hotspots in March.
Superintendent Aaron Rex informed the Board of Education of his decision to add the equipment to the buses in his report at the Feb. 13.
The idea of adding the web-access to buses came after Rex saw students outside the school on their devices when he showed up for work in the morning. He learned they had been coming at 6 a.m. to access the school’s wifi.
The school issues an Ipad to all students in grades 5-12.
“Kids have to use the internet for homework,” Rex said.
By equipping the buses, the students could also do their homework coming to and from school and on long road trips for sports or field trips, Rex said. Another possibility is parking buses around the community and using them as hotspots so students without internet access at home could use the devices at night, he said.
The questions Rex and his team had to answer were:
Is this needed? Can we do it?
The answers were yes and yes and they began to investigate the issue. Research showed the practice is popular in schools in several states, but only one school in Ohio uses internet on their buses, Indian River Valley in southeast Ohio.
“They have a lot of hills there, but we have no hills here,” Rex said.
The equipment costs $6,500 for seven buses and wifi costs $260 a month, Rex said.
The plan has the support of coaches and bus drivers as occupied students make for more focuses and quieter journeys, Rex said.
In other news of note:
Simulations of funding for the biennial budget were recently released and the school system will receive just under $200,000 more each year in 2018 and 2019. However, if this budget proposal does stand we would essentially see no increase, as this is approximately the same amount of dollars we are losing each year to the TPP reduction.
Rex informed the board a new scoreboard for the football field will be purchased in the spring and have it installed and be ready to go for the upcoming season.
High School Principal Royal Short and Rex went to Four County for a visit this month.
“Our goal was to make contact with all of our students who attend there and let them know we care about them and to see how their experience is going,” Rex said. “It was a good visit and something we would like to continue to do in the future on a monthly basis.”
The board took the following actions:
•Approved a donation from Sauder Manufacturing in the amount of $1,000 to be given to the athletic program.
•Accepted the resignation of Michelle Wright as elementary custodian effective Feb. 3.
•Approved Diana Fridley as a 3-hour elementary custodian effective Feb. 6.
•Approved two weeks of vacation in first 12 months of employment year for Jason Baun.
•Approved fall supplemental coaching contracts for the 2017-2018 school year:
Fall 2017 Coaches Football – (9-12)
David Dominique, Head Coach; Todd Petersen, Asst. Coach; Cody Ruffer, Asst. Coach; Baldo Quintanilla, Asst. Coach; Norm Beck, Asst. Coach; Todd Ranzau, Volunteer Coach; Andy Dominique, Volunteer Coach; Garrett Grime, Volunteer Coach.
7th Football
Mike Kennedy, Tom Walker
8th Football
Kevin Bostleman
Dave Walker
Cross Country
Rachel Kinsman, Head Coach; LaRoy Martine, Volunteer;
Cross County Jr. High
Russ Lambert, Head Coach; Steve Walker, Volunteer
Golf
Mike Rosebrook, Head Coach
Volleyball
Jill Holdgreve, Head Coach, Assistant Varsity Coach; Lindsay Ames, JV Coach; Dana Hilfinger, 9th Coach; Dale Grime, Volunteer; 7th Volleyball Jen King; 8th Volleyball Dina Gladieux
Girls Tennis
Logan Wyse, Kayla Wyse, Volunteer Coach
Girls Soccer
James Kidder, Head Coach; Jennifer Kidder, Volunteer Coach
Boys Soccer
Sean Stewart, Head Coach; Phil Bontrager, Asst. Coach-Volunteer; Ali Gracia, JV Coach, Volunteer; Jonny Lantz, Volunteer Jr. High Fall;
Cheerleading
Krysti Bowerman
Approved a one-year contract for Jack Downey as Assistant High School football coach for the 2017-2018 school year.
Elementary School Report
Principal Dorothy Lambert
Spelling Contests- Fourth-grader Catherine Row finished first in the school spelling bee. Fellow fourth-grader Keely Culler was second. At the Fulton County Spelling Bee Feb. 7, Catherine placed second overall in fourth grade.
2017-2018 Archbold Kindergarten Registration- Registration will take place: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 22 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 23.
Parents of children who will be 5 years old on or before Aug.1 are asked to bring the child’s birth certificate, immunization records, and proof of residency (i.e., utility bill or rental/lease agreement), and custody papers if applicable to the elementary office during one of these days. Children do not have to be present for registration.
Kindergarten screening will take place at the school March 20-21. Parents who register their children will be given a scheduled appointment for the kindergarten screening at the time the child is registered. There will be no school for our current kindergarten students March 20-21.
Testing- The results of the third-grade English Language Arts assessment administered in November show 64 percent of students were proficient with an average scale score of 700 (the state percent proficient was 37 percent with an average scaled score of 675.
This was a computerized test including reading and writing. The reading portion of this test was also used as the assessment for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.
“We had 78 percent of our students who reached the reading promotion score of 44 as set by the state,” Lambert said. “Our average reading score was 51 as compared to the state average of 46.”
Students who did not reach the cut-score set by the state for promotion will have another opportunity to take this test in April to reach this cut-score. The school will be administering an Alternative Reading Assessment from the list provided by the state to these students and providing intervention accordingly.
Trimester 2- The end of Trimester 2 will be Feb. 24 with report cards being distributed March 3.
Pre-School Recognition- The pre-school program was recently recognized as a Quality Learning and Development Program. In recognition of a commitment to quality and an ongoing dedication to the learning and development of children, the program has received a Five-Star Step Up To Quality Award from the state of Ohio.
Step Up To Quality is Ohio’s rating system for learning and development programs. Participating programs can earn a one to five star rating.
Lambeert extetended congratulations to pre-school teachers Mrs. Ranzau, Mrs. Wise, and Mrs Oberlin, and “the entire pre-school staff for all of the hard work and dedication they put into achieving this great honor,” Lambert said.
January Super Streaks
Kindergarten – Ginger Ruffer, Drew Taylor, Colton McCarthy, Elijah Verhoff, Levi Ward, Brooks Petersen, Brynlynn Atkinson, David Rose, Tyson Bosco, Ava Jagger, Carson Armstrong
First Grade – Reece Bunke, Claire Bailey, Aubree Hurst, Trevor Osterland, Andrew Garcia, Cassandra Knapp, Tate Peterson, Katelyn Liechty, Mason Stuckey, Callie Guelde
Second Grade – Dylan Grieser, Reagan Wendt, Tessa Seibert, Olivia Grooms, Franco Hernandez, Annabella Huber, Cody Cornell, Jace Magallanes, Autumn Nafziger, Courtney Stuckey, Aranjer Krieger, Katelyn Hancock
Third Grade – Olivia Baden, Lila Nichols, Curtis Springer, Hunter Warner, Tegan Fitzenreiter, Nautia Shankster, Brad Williams
Fourth Grade – Mason Bickel, Emma Groves, Ella Grime, Addi Grooms, Carter Kruse, Miya Day, Tessa Nafziger, Trisha Rupp, Taygen Hobbs, Caleb Kuhl, Shelby Fry
Upcoming Events
Feb. 23_ 8:30 a.m. Grade 1- Imagination Station
Feb. 24 – Elementary School End of Trimester
Feb. 24- Grade K- Dinosaur School
Feb. 24 – Super Streak Friday- Red, White, and Blue
Archbold Middle School – Mr. Shields
• 2017 Scholastic Art Competition- Mrs. Daugherty’s eighth-grade art students, Sean Hageman and Mason Conway, earned the “Silver Key” award at the regional level for their “Claymation” video “Non-Toxic Adventure”. Their entry was one of more than 3,000. They were presented with the award Feb. 12 at the Fort Wayne ArtMuseum, where the work will be on display through April 9.
• 2016-2107 Elks Americanism Essay Contest- Mr. Miller’s eighth grade history students,
Grace Mayer, Regan Ramirez, and Trey Theobald earned district level awards for their essays on the theme “The Importance of Voting.”
In addition to certificates, each student earned a $50 gift certificate from the Defiance Elks and their essays advanced for regional level consideration.
• Wrestling- The wrestling team concluded its’ season with a second-place finish at the NWOAL meet Jan. 28. Andrew Francis, Josh Richer, and Carson Meyer were individual champions.
• Basketball- The NWOAL Basketball Tournaments concluded Feb. 11. Both the seventh and eighth-grade boys’ teams finished the regular season 15-1. For the girls, the seventh and eighth-grade teams finished 11-5 and 10-6, respectively.
• Spelling Bee- The Fulton County Spelling Bee was held at NWOESC Feb. 7. AMS was represented by grade level champions, Kyle Hageman (5th), Sydney Hageman (6th), Kaiden Keiser (7th), and Daniel Oyer (replacing Macy Peterson- 8th). Kyle and Kaiden each earned second place.
• District Honors Music- Several AMS musicians participated in District Honors Choir and Band Feb. 8-10. Honors Choir was held at Delta. AMS was represented by Kate Nofzinger, Alli Bickel, Lydia Whiteman, Andrew Francis, Zach Girdham, Skyler Day, Nate Richer, and Malik Qaimari. Honors Band culminated with a performance at the Stranahan Theater. AMS was represented by Isabella Francis, William Nofziger, and Abbie Short.
• Career Day- Eighth graders visited Four County JVS Jan. 31 for their annual trip. Students learned about programs offered at the school and were each allowed to select three programs to visit an explore more in depth.
• Spirit Week- AMS Cheerleaders and Student Council led a fun week of school spirit activities Feb. 6-10, including dress up days and a pep rally. They also organized fundraising to donate to the Heart Radiothon.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 28- “JA in a Day” with Pettisville
March 3-4- District Large Group Chorale Concert
March 6-10- Spring Book Fair
March 8- County Quiz Bowl
March 14-23- State ELA Testing
Archbold High School- Royal Short – Principal
I.) Fundraising- This month the Student Council raised $1,679.71 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Cancer Society. The student council hosted a classroom competition to raise funds through a coin drive. Congratulations to Mr. Becher’s class! They also raised additional funds by canvasing the parking lot before school asking students to donate change from their cars.
“Thanks to Mrs. Pinter and Student Council for all of your hard work for this cause,” Principal Royal Short stated.
All State Choir- The 2016 Ohio Music Education Association All-State Choir gave its performance Feb. 4 at the Cleveland Convention Center. Hundreds of music educators, family, and friends were in the audience to hear the performance.
Sara Bilen, Hannah Bowers, Jeremiah Hartman and Malinda Lugbill were members of the performing ensemble. Membership in this ensemble represents the highest level of choral excellence a student can demonstrate while in high school.
“These fine students are to be commended for their commitment to the choral art,” Short said. “Congratulations to Sara, Hannah, Jeremiah, and Malinda for all of their hard work for this highest honor and on an excellent performance.”
District Band and Choir-Archbold was one of 60 schools from six counties that comprise OMEA District 1. Students were selected based on a highly competitive audition process encompassing hundreds of other students. These students represented Archbold High School at the District Honors Festival Feb. 11 at the Stranahan Theater.
Kenzie Short–Percussion;Malinda Lugbill Soprano 2; Mackenna Whitacre Soprano 2; Sara Bilen Alto 1; Hannah Bowers Alto 2; Marin Parsley Alto 2; Hayden Weber Tenor 1; Alex Short Tenor 1; Austin Penrod Bass 1; Jeremiah Hartman Bass 2 and Cameron Short Bass 2
Athletic Honors- The AHS Football Team was named Academic All Ohio by the Ohio Football Coaches Association this year based on their team GPA. Our team had the 16th highest GPA in the state.
Also, the following students were named Northwest Ohio Athletic League Scholar Athletes. This award is given to senior involved in a varsity sport with a cumulative GPA over 3.5: Alyssa Ziegler, Basketball; Toby Walker, Basketball; Noah Mattin, Wrestling.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 24 ACT Practice Test at Defiance College
Feb. 27 Band and Choir Concert
March 8 Junior Job Shadow
March 10 FFA Luncheon
March 13 Quiz Tournament
March 13 EOC Testing Begins
March 17 End of the Third Quarter
March 17 Choir Trip to Chicago
March 21 ACT Test for all Juniors
March 21 Senior Manufacturing Field Trip
Curriculum Update – Curriculum Director, Michele Bagrowski – Junior Achievement in 8th Grade
The Junior Achievement board will once again host a JA in a Day event for the eighth-grade students.
Ten community volunteers will be at the middle school Tuesday, Feb. 28 to teach students about financial success. Student will rotate through five hands-on, engaging lessons throughout the morning learning about banking, credit scores, budgeting, career and education choices, and other life-long skills.
Archbold invited the Pettisville eighth-grade students to join us. Pettisville will send 37 students and for a total of 137 students engaged in financial education.
We’d like to thank the local businesses that support JA either monetarily or though volunteer time. The volunteers that visit our schools in grades K-8 are graciously giving up time at their place of employment to help our students be successful. We are very thankful that we have such a supportive business community.
Ohio State Tests
On March 13, 2017, we will begin our spring testing schedule of the Ohio State Tests. The teachers have been working hard to see that their students are prepared both in the content areas and on our technology. The ELA testing window begins March 13. The math, science, social studies window begins April 19.
Upcoming Events
Feb. 28 –Eight-grade JA in a Day
March 13- Ohio State Tests in ELA begin
April 4- Seventh-grade JA in a Day
April 19- Ohio State Tests in math, science, and social studies begin
James Pruitt may be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com