This Girl is on Fire!

Junior Nicole Fry has

earned the utmost re-

spect of our school and

local community. She

is part of the HOBY

Hugh O’Brian Youth

Leadership Organization. HOBY en-

courages community service projects.

Not only has Nicole taken on this ambi-

tious role, but she has done so with

bravery. Nicole has chosen diversity

education as her passion in a rural 97%

white school population.

I was fortunate enough to interview

Nicole, who is quite busy these days.

First of all, she was inspired to partici-

pate in HOBY because of a few key

people. Senior Gretta Kissell was one

model for Nicole with her participation

in the Fostoria chapter of Glamour Gals,

which involves HOBY students working

with senior citizens in nursing homes.

She also named Old Fort High School

Guidance Counselor Leigh Anne King

as a major proponent for her mission.

Nicole hopes that she has brought a new

awareness to our community with her

diversity series thus far, including the

following: LGBTQ, Socioeconomic

Status, and Digital Empowerment and

Safety. In addition, she has achieved

self-growth. In the past she described

herself as “shy” and feels that this pro-

ject has been life-changing. “I am proud of

myself that I have been able to get on a stage

in front of groups and speak. I would now

consider moving further away to college if I

received an opportunity, yet I would not have

had the nerve to be this brave in the past. I

stepped outside of my comfort zone, and it

has changed me.” Her favorite part of the

series has been providing support to LGBTQ

families in our school district.

As her past English 9 teacher, I felt like I

was speaking to an inspired adult: Nicole

exudes a new sense of poise and confidence

that is something very special. It will be ex-

citing to see what she does with her future.

Nicole would like to thank the Old Fort staff

members who have helped her make this all

happen. Without them, she could not have

organized all of her work.

Please come to the high school auditorium to

see Nicole’s future diversity series this

school year:

January 24: Human Trafficking with Sis-

ter Mary, from Sisters in Shelters

February 21: Domestic Violence with

Tim Wise from Firelands

March 21: Women's Rights with TBD

April 19: Drug Awareness with TBD

May 10: Mental Health with TBD

You may pick up a schedule in the office, or

consult the Kampus Keyhole calendar.

- Miss Leech

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Highlights 1

Superintendent 2

High School Principal 3

Elementary Principal 4

News 5-10

Art 11

Athletic Calendar 12

Calendars

January/February

13-14

The Kampus Keyhole Old Fort Local Schools

7635 N. Co. Rd. 51

Tiffin, OH 44883

*Please note our new mailing address

Phone: 419-992-4291

Fax: 419-992-4293

http://www.oldfortschools.org/

Board of Education

Lindsay Sooy, President

Kristin Woodall, Vice President

Nicholas Baker, Member

Larry Bowman, Member

Jay Pence, Member

Thomas Siloy, Treasurer

Administrators

Steve Anway, Superintendent

Erica Cobb, High School Principal

Michelle Dantuono, Elementary Principal

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

Old Fort Local Schools

From the Desk of Steve Anway, Superintendent

P A G E 2

Greetings from the

Superintendent:

It seems like I’ve said

this for each of the past

three years, but it is just

amazing how fast the

first semester of school

has gone by this year. I

also probably have said

this in the past, but it

has been an outstanding

start to our year again

this year as well. Our

students are well be-

haved and work hard to

meet the challenges

their teachers set for

them in their class-

rooms. Beyond the aca-

demic aspect of school,

our students also are

learning and succeeding

at being good citizens in

the community. At the

elementary, 6th grade

students are being led

by Miss Minier in a Men

With Manners activity

once a month where

they learn life skills

that will aid them as

they become young

adults. Also at the ele-

mentary the Leader in

Me program is being

worked into the fabric

of the daily schedule

and in the end will pay

dividends in character,

manners, and leader-

ship in our students.

At the high school, our

students continue to

take College Credit

Plus classes within the

walls of the school and

earn college credits

for after graduation.

From a citizenship

standpoint at the high

school, our students

are repeatedly ex-

posed to opportuni-

ties to help the school

and community

through Positive Be-

havior Intervention

Support activities or-

ganized by Mr. Adel-

sperger and Mrs.

DeRodes. As always,

student council, Na-

tional Honor Society

students, and FFA stu-

dents contribute to

the spirit of volunteer

work and doing good

deeds in the commu-

nity. As we head to-

ward the holiday sea-

son there are numer-

ous activities such as

food drives and a

“giving tree” that pro-

vide opportunities for

our students to ex-

perience the satisfac-

tion of giving during

the season instead of

receiving.

I am continually

amazed at the spirit of

our students and staff

as they do great work

both inside and out-

side of the classroom.

The community should

be proud of the stu-

dents and our stu-

dents should be thank-

ful they are able to go

to school in such a

supportive community.

Best wishes for a won-

derful Christmas and a

prosperous New Year

in 2018!

Sincerely,

Steve Anway

“Beyond the

academic

aspect of

our school,

our students

also are

learning and

succeeding

at being

good

citizens in

the

community.”

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

From the Desk of Erica Cobb, High School Principal

P A G E 3

Greetings from your

Principal,

Happy Holidays!

Our middle school

students, high school

students, and staff

have been bringing in

the holiday cheer

with festive sweaters

and our giving tree.

Our teachers have

been busy preparing

our students for

their end of semes-

ter exams, as well as

their state exams in

Government.

Whether it's com-

pleting a diorama,

making a movie on a

research topic, creat-

ing an eatable cell,

collecting bugs and

classifying them,

learning how to roller-

skate, or learning how

to cook with healthy

substitutions, our stu-

dents are engaged and

excited.

Our English 12 stu-

dents enjoyed a day to

watch A Christmas

Carol earlier this

month at The Cleve-

land Playhouse Square.

This is a professional

production that is

done in full make-up

and Broadway-level

material.

Congratulations to

Nicole Fry, junior, for

being awarded the

Youth Asset Builder

award! She was de-

scribed as a student

with a plan to make a

difference. She

started a diversity

series that highlights

different topics to

help educate those in

our community. She

is a very positive role

model. Congratula-

tions Nikki!

We had a tremen-

dous turn-out for

parent/teacher con-

ferences. Thank you

for continuing to be

a partner with our

school in your child's

growth, both aca-

demically and with

respect to responsi-

bility.

Sincerely,

Erica Cobb

“Thank you for

continuing to

be a partner

with our school

in your child’s

growth, both

academically

and with

respect to

responsibility.”

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

From the Desk of Michelle Dantuono, Elementary Principal

P A G E 4

GREETINGS FROM

THE ELEMENTARY!

Congratulations to

Chloe Gillespie on

receiving the Youth

Asset Builder Award.

Chloe, the daughter

of Courtney Panuto

and Rod Gillespie,

was nominated by her

sixth grade teachers.

This award, based on

the 40 Developmental

Youth Assets, is given

to those students

who are a positive

role model, provide

community services,

etc. Chloe received

this award based on

her teaching her

classmates about her

hearing loss and advo-

cating for herself as

an individual with a

hearing impairment.

Chloe and Miss Lopez

attended a luncheon

at the end of Novem-

ber to honor the re-

cipients of this award.

Congratulations,

Chloe! We’re very

proud of you.

The elementary con-

tinues to be a very

busy place for both

students and staff.

Academics, as always,

are extremely impor-

tant and everyone

continues to work

hard in that area. We

are also focusing on

being quality individu-

als outside the aca-

demic arena. We have

seen positive changes

in our students in their

interactions with oth-

ers, and we are very

proud of them. Teach-

ers have completed

two full days of Leader

in Me training with one

recent follow-up day,

where staff met at dif-

ferent times with our

personal LIM coach.

I would like to take this

opportunity to wish all

of you a safe and happy

holiday season. I hope

you all enjoy this very

special time of year

with your families.

Merry Christmas and

Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Ms. Dantuono

“We have

seen

positive

changes in

our students

in their

interactions

with others,

and we are

very proud

of them.”

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

P A G E 5

Some great

community service

today by a group of

our high school

students who helped

unload trucks at the

Fostoria YMCA and

helped them get

ready for their

community toy drive.

Nice job!

News

The OFHS Student Council is excited for the winter holidays!

. We are helping give back to the community by assisting with Mrs.

King’s donation drive that helps families during the holiday season.

. The Student Council encourages members of the

community to get involved with this drive if possible.

. The Student Council is also excited about starting preparations for

the OFHS Homecoming game on Friday, January 19 and the dance,

is January 20.

. The OFHS Student Council wishes students good luck on upcoming

exams and wishes a happy holiday for all.

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

P A G E 6

Elementary Veterans Assembly

Seneca County Manufacturing Showcase

Here are a a few pictures of our Elementary

Veterans Day Assembly

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

P A G E 7

Old Fort Local Schools are now taking applications for classified sub-

stitutes for the 2017-2018 school year. The positions that are avail-

able are the following: cooks, custodians, aides, secretaries, and bus

drivers. If you are interested, please call LaVonna Schank in the Treas-

urer’s office at 419-992-4291, option 2 on the main menu, then option

2 again for payroll.

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

Elementary Food

Drive for Backpack

Program and Local

Churches

P A G E 8 D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

First Grade Letters to Santa

Mr. Hibbler leads

his first session of

the Old Fort Chess Club.

P A G E 9 D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

First graders applied

for elf positions as a

toy maker, baker, or

gift wrapper. They

wrote about their

qualifications.

P A G E 1 0

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

Some new inspirational quotes on the walls of the elementary library. Thanks

to Jeff Miller and Handy Grafix for doing the work and to the

Reverse Raffle committee for funding the project!

“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are

the qualities that define us as human beings, and

propel us, on occasion, to greatness.” ― R.J. Palacio, Wonder

On Thursday, December 21st, the junior high and high schools stu-

dents will be taking a school-wide field trip to the Tiffin Cinema to

watch the movie Wonder. It is a movie about a boy with facial

anomalies that enters fifth grade, attending a public school, for the

first time. It deals with overcoming obstacles, how to deal with bully-

ing, and true friendship. Character education is about understanding,

caring, and acting upon ethical values. These values are represented

in the movie, Wonder, such as respect, justice, responsibility for self

and others. The movie shows what empathy truly looks like, with

perseverance as another strong theme. Instead of showing a Christ-

mas movie and participating in holiday-themed activities, we want the

day before break to be a learning experience. The students will re-

flect on what character best models their own actions. Then, they

will be given "Paying it Forward" cards to do acts of kindness without

expecting something in return. The 6th grade also had this opportu-

nity earlier in December.

P A G E 1 1

My name is Camille Yoshimoto.

I am a senior and I am in Art IV.

I love working with watercolor

and doing silk paintings. I like

to read, listen to music, and

practice special effects makeup.

I am in choir, and I have partici-

pated in two of Old Fort’s mu-

sicals, and plan to participate in

this years’ production of Back To

The ‘80s. I also plan to attend

Tiffin University starting in the

fall of 2018 to study psychology.

After college I plan to move to

Tennessee and further pursue a

career in psychology.

Now that I am in Art IV, I can look

back over all of my years of art and

the progression I have made. Some-

times it was hard juggling my sketching

time with the rest of my schedule. I

run Cross Country and Track, which

takes up quite a bit of my time after

school, and I find that I don’t have the

time or energy to sit down and draw

as much; however, I have never lost

my love for drawing. My favorite art

projects have been the oil painting I

did of autumn, my fox mask, and my

favorite of all is my Christmas painting

of the reindeer on the paper bag. I

plan on attending college to major in

History and minor in Coaching. I may

not be majoring in Art but I will al-

ways have the valuable skills I learned

in art class to apply to a fresh and

broader canvas.

-Devyn Smith

November and December Art

Spotlights

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

*Events are subject to change. Please check the Old Fort website for changes.

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

January 2018 Calendar

P A G E 1 3 D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8

February 2018 Calendar

P A G E 1 4

D E C E M B E R - J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 - 2 0 1 8