LAKEWOOD CITY

SCHOOLS

Keith Ahearn, Principal Harding Middle School March 2011

Harding

Herald

Principal’s Message This month is crucial in our students’ preparations for the upcoming Ohio Achievement Assessment.

March is used to reinforce important topics and to review skills that will allow all students to succeed on the

tests in April. We are very proud of the school’s past success on the Ohio Achievement test and are looking

forward to performing even better on this year’s exam. However, we all know that having a well-rounded edu-

cation includes much more than performing well on high stakes tests. Well-rounded students engage in activi-

ties that develop 21st Century skills in order to create new ideas, they work well on teams, explore topics in-

depth, and apply their knowledge to the world around them. This is why I am so proud of Harding students and

teachers who are constantly engaged in activities that lead to the development of demonstrated leadership skills,

the creation of new information, the appreciation of art and culture, and team building. For example:

Our winter sports teams did extremely well this season, all of our basketball teams played hard in the

Northeastern Ohio Conference League tournament. The Harding 8th grade girl’s team came away with a League

Championship trophy in their tournament at Garfield Middle School.

Ms. Pesta’s classes participated in a Science Fair project where students produced several great presen-

tations and the winners will be entered into the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering competition at Cleve-

land State University. Don’t forget, that April 7th from 6-8 pm Mrs. Pesta’s students will be hosting the second

annual Science Circus. The will be more details to follow.

On March 4th, Dr. LaOrden’s Spanish classes will be hosting a cultural celebration of singing and danc-

ing to show their parents their appreciation for the culture and art of Spain in addition to their acquisition of an-

other language. On March 10th, the Harding Jazz band will be performing at the Civic auditorium along with the

high school at 7:30pm.

Finally, several talented students will be part of the Harding Middle School Play. An evening perform-

ance will be in the Cafetorium on March 11th at 7pm.

I congratulate all of the parents, students and teachers here at Harding who work hard to create well-

rounded students.

Keith Ahearn, Principal

SCHOOLS VULNERABLE TO BED BUGS AS WELL While news reports have focused on bed bug infestations appearing in people's homes, apartment buildings and

hotels and motels, the reality is that bed bugs can take root in any location that brings lots of people to-

gether. With thousands of children and employees converging on our school buildings each day, the potential

for bringing bed bugs or eggs into the school is a real possibility and as such, the district wants to be sure par-

ents and staff have access to the information that will help educate them about bed bugs and help them be partners in pre-

venting the spread of bed bugs. A good site to visit is the Cuyahoga County Board of Health at www.ccbh.net and click on

Bed Bugs under Hot Zone topics. Also included in this newsletter, is a Cuyahoga County Board of Health publication.

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MESSAGE FROM THE DISTRICT:

As most of you are aware, the State of Ohio reduced the number of calamity or snow days from five

to three beginning with this school year. The district has already used its three allotted days for this

year. If it is necessary to close the school buildings for any other days, those days will be made up

at the end of the school year in June.

Recently, Gov. Kasich indicated he would like to bring the number of calamity days back to five

and a bill has been introduced in the Ohio Senate to do just that. However, we do not know when or

if that bill is expected to become law.

In the meantime, please be reassured that any decision to close our schools in the future will be

made with our students’ safety in mind and not how many calamity days the district has used. If

during bad weather days school is in session and a parent believes it necessary to keep their child

home, they may do so. The parent would need to notify the child’s school to notify them of this de-

cision and the absence will be excused.

Finally, please continue to keep your sidewalks clear of snow and ice as best you can and pitch in

with neighbors who may not be able to so that our children may walk to school safely.

Dr. P. Joseph Madak

Superintendent

Board of Education

Matthew John Markling, President

John Kamkutis, Vice President

Linda Beebe

Edward Favre

Betsy Shaughnessy

April

2011

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School

Resumes

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Science

Circus

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Sixth Grade News

Author Awareness During the first quarter of school, Mrs. Hauer’s

Language Arts class had the opportunity to write to

an author of their choice. Tamara Saad wrote to

Caldecott Medal winning artist and author Brian

Selznick. He responded to her letter by sending

Tamara a hand-written note on his engraved sta-

tionery. Mr. Selznick has also been corresponding

with the class via email. He recently sent them sev-

eral emails explaining his hectic work schedule.

Currently he is finishing his second novel called

Wonderstruck, which is scheduled to be released in

September. He is also working on the movie based

on his first novel, The Invention of Hugo

Cabret, which will star Jude Law under

the direction of Martin Scorsese. It has

been an exciting and enter- t a i n i n g

experience to hear from Mr. Selznick

in Room 104.

Hall Sprinting… It is definitely NOT permitted. Please remind your

middle-schooler to walk politely and quietly

in the hallways. This will help keep Harding

a safe, happy place to be!

It’s Almost Time! Yes, it is nearing test-taking

time again. Teachers and

students have been working hard to prepare for the

OAA tests coming in April. You can help your

son/daughter review by asking what he/she learned

in class that day by asking these questions: What

“I Can” statement was covered? Why was that im-

portant to learn? How can you remember the con-

cept?

Supplies Still Needed It’s that time of year when all pencils, pens, and

paper seem to be lost, borrowed, or just plain gone.

Would you ask your child if they need their sup-

plies replenished to get through the next 4 months?

Thanks for the Fun! We would like to thank our PTSA who sponsored a

drawing to brighten up our President’s Day weekend.

Mr. Budic won a gift card to Longhorn Steak House,

and Mrs. Hauer won a basket of books. There were

many more prizes awarded. Thanks to our wonderful

PTSA!

MARKET DAY

Market Day Pick-up

Tuesday, March 22

4:00 pm

Cafetorium

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Eighth Grade News

Eighth grade science is working on a

unit about Plate Tectonics which is the move-

ment of Earth's plates and how they form

mountains and volcanoes, cause earth-

quakes, and create new land on the ocean

floor. We are also practicing for the

OAA exams by doing reading selections

during homebase that are science related.

A big event that is coming up is the Sci-

ence Circus which is on April 7th from 6pm-

8pm. The target audience for the cir-

cus is elementary school age chil-

dren. Mrs. Pesta's students will be

running game booths that they will be

designing and building. We will also have

popcorn, cotton candy, beverages and other

treats, a clown, science shows and a portable

planetarium. It should be a lot of fun!

Mr. Cammock's room is on a roll! Stu-

dents have been setup with Edmodo accounts

where they have been collaborating and creat-

ing via the internet

and Web 2.0 tools.

Students are using

glogster to identify a specific topic for the turn

of the 19th century. Mrs. Gerard is also imple-

menting online Edmodo with

her social studies, LAX, and sci-

ence classes. It is an educational social net-

working website for students. On the site, stu-

dents find their assignment for the day. If they

have questions, they can send a text to the

teacher or a classmate.

As part of the e-tech grant stu-

dents are also working with active ex-

pressions, 10 digital cameras, an ac-

tive slate, and 30 netbooks. Included

in the grant, the 8th grade floor has an ipod cart

with 30 ipods. We will be downloading educa-

tional applications on the ipods to use in our

classrooms. We are implementing web 2.0 tools

in our classroom so students will learn 21st cen-

tury technology skills that are imperative to their

learning. Be sure to ask your child about these

exciting new opportunities!

It is an exciting time in eighth grade

math! We are beginning our adventure into

slope, graphing and all things lin-

ear. The students will be conducting

experiments and investigating how

slope is related to a table, graph and

equation. In addition, the math classes will be

celebrating pi day, 3/14. We plan to use our un-

derstanding of math concepts to learn about

pi. We also just returned from the Lake Erie

Monsters education day field trip where we

learned about the math and science behind hockey

as well as some of the history of the game.

On Tuesday, March 8 students in

Madame Grinnell’s French classes are

celebrating Mardi Gras, New Orleans-

style! They will be learning about Mardi

Gras and its impact on the economy in New Or-

leans, but they will have plenty of fun, too—

watching Mardi Gras parades, dancing to some

New Orleans jazz, wearing masks and beads, eat-

ing traditional King Cake and crowning our own

Mardi Gras King or Queen. Happy Mardi Gras,

everyone!

In Spanish, students are recycling verbs

and vocabulary, creating new conversa-

tions. There are many projects on the horizon.

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Harding Herald

8th grade Social Studies -Pangrace

The 8th grade is gearing up for a wonderful

field trip to the House of Blues on March 23rd.

The program attendees will learn about Ameri-

can culture and history through an exploration

of blues music, blues-inspired music and re-

lated folk art.

Mrs. Pangrace's classes are immersed in a joint

social studies-language arts research project

that explores the theme "Triumph and Trag-

edy" during the 19th century. In addition to a

major research paper, the students have the op-

tion of creating an exhibit, documentary, web

page, or live performance that will share the

findings of their research. Special thanks to the

language arts teachers and Mr. Costello for im-

plementing and supporting the students' work.

POWER OF THE PEN

The 7th grade creative writing teams

competed in the Power of the Pen regional

competition in February. 25 schools partici-

pated. Harding's 7th grade won 2nd place, and

Harding's 8th grade won 3rd place.

Each team wrote three short stories

during three 45 minute rounds. Renee Klann

won a Director's Choice Best of Round, and

Jimmy Toner also won a Best of Round. Sarah

Smith, Kathryn Urban and Erin Turner also

won individual medals for all around perform-

ance.

All of the students will move on the

regional competition in April.

Has the weather of this winter been getting you down, with ice, snow, rain, then

more ice, followed by a foot of snow, and then some brief, but still annoying flooding?

Well, Harding Middle School Drama Club has just the relief Lakewood dwellers need. This

relief is a brief and economically pleasing vacation to the sunny and warm Mediterranean

waters of Ancient Greece.

On March 10th at 3pm and again on March 11th at 7pm the members of Harding Mid-

dle School Drama Club will take their audience members on an odyssey they will never

forget. The audience members will experience the incredible journey of the classic hero

Odysseus while watching the play The Idi-Odyssey by Burt Bumgarner. Tickets will be

sold the day of the show at the door. Student tickets are $1 and adult tickets are $3.

Don’t miss out on this great show full of beautiful goddesses, glorious heroes, tricky suit-

ors, mysterious monsters, and a collection of other humorous characters. Hope we see

you there!

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Lakewood City Schools

1470 Warren Road

Lakewood, OH 44107

NONPROFIT

US POSTAGE

PAID

CLEVELAND, OH

PERMIT NO. 2512

March

2011

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Spanish Gala

@ 6:15 pm in Café

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6

7

8

2:45 pm H2O

@ Gym

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Idi-Odyssey

Play Performance @ Café 7:00 pm

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Idi-Odyssey

Play Performance @ Café 7:00 pm

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7:00 pm PTSA

@ LRC

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7:00-9:00 pm

PTSA Dance @ Gym

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2:45 pm H2O

@ Gym

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8th Gr. Field Trip

House of Blues

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SPRING BREAK