www.milfordschools.org                                                                             January 2018
Early Dismissal January 12
Milford School District will dismiss two hours early on Friday, January 12, 2018. There will be no PM kindergarten or preschool. We will dismiss AM kindergarten one hour early. All evening activities on Friday are canceled. Extended day will operate on normal hours.

We will monitor the weather throughout the weekend and post game or event cancellations on the website, Facebook, and Twitter.
Milford High School Named to National AP Honor Roll
We are proud to announce that Milford High School has been recognized as one of only 447 districts in the nati on to appear on CollegeBoard's National AP District Honor Roll. 

It is the third time Milford High School has appeared on the AP Honor Roll in the eight years that it has been published. Milford is one of only 32 school districts in Ohio and one of only seven in the greater Cincinnati area to be recognized.

The AP District Honor Roll recognizes school districts committed to increasing access to AP for underrepresented students while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. AP District Honor Roll recipients are committed to expanding the availability of AP courses among prepared and motivated students of all backgrounds.

"We continue to look for opportunities to expand our AP course offerings and provide access to our AP courses for all students. We regularly do so while maintaining an exceptionally high-performance rate on the AP Exams our students take each spring," shared MHS Principal Josh Kauffman.

To read more about the 2017 AP District Honor Roll, including a list of all districts recognized, click here.
Kindergarten Registration Open for 2018-2019 School Year
Registration for Milford Exempted Village School District's half-day and full-day kindergarten classes for the 2018-2019 began on January 10, 2018. 

To be eligible for kindergarten, a student must be five by September 30, 2018.

The district offers tuition-free half-day kindergarten to all residents of the Milford Exempted Village School District. Students are placed in AM or PM kindergarten based on where they live.
 
The district plans to hold at least one full-day, tuition-based kindergarten class in each of the elementary buildings. Based on the number of applications received per building, a lottery will be held if needed. Additional sections of full-day classes will be added based upon the number of applicants.  Parents, who are residents of Milford, can register for full-day kindergarten through  Friday, February 9, 2018.

Please contact Veronica Weaver at (513) 831-1314 to schedule a registration appointment. Before arriving for the registration appointment, parents must complete FinalForms online registration. See the link below for more information.

Boyd Science Teacher Shares Lessons in National Journal
Boyd E. Smith Elementary teacher Lisa Holt-Taylor is receiving national acclaim! Not only has she been published in a national science education journal, she has been invited to present at a national conference for science teachers.

Holt-Taylor's article was published in the December 2017 Science and Children Journal. Her article "What's the Buzz on Bees?" shared her unit on flower anatomy and honeybee pollination and how she incorporated inquiry and the engineering design p rocess. This science unit was created and developed as a project for a course on biodiversity through Miami University's Global Field Program.

While in Project Dragonfly, Miami University's Global Field Program, Holt-Taylor took a trip to Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. She also traveled to Belize, Guyana, and the Galapagos. Each course in the program required teachers to come up with a project that could be used in the classroom.

"It is through this program that I was inspired to create and implement the bee unit used for my third-grade science classes," Holt-Taylor shared. "I found teaching the unit to be fun and engaging for everyone. It was so much fun to see the enthusiastic response of my students."

In the bee pollinator unit, students planted and observed a seed throughout the unit, dissected two flowers and compared their structures, examined the critical role of the honeybee in pollination and engineered "hand bee pollinators" in response to the honeybee shortage. The unit concluded with students looking at current technology and planting their seedling in their home gardens.

Holt-Taylor will also share her story in person with science teachers. She was invited to present at the National Science and Teacher's Association (NSTA) Conference in Atlanta, GA on March 16, 2018.
Milford Board Swears in New Member
The Milford Board of Education held its annual budget hearing and organizational meeting on Monday, January 8. Newly-elected Board member, Chris Hamm, was sworn in by district Treasurer Debbie Caudle. Dave Yockey was also sworn in for his new four-year term. Mr. Yockey has served on the Board since 2002.

At the meeting, George Lucas was elected President and Debbie Marques Vice President for 2018. In addition, regular meeting dates and locations were set for 2018. These dates have been posted on the district website at  www.milfordschools.org. The next regular board meeting will be held at  7 p.m. on  Thursday, January 18, at Charles L. Seipelt Elementary.

Click here to see the list of regular meetings scheduled in 2018. 

Milford Welcomes New Mental Health Specialist
In December, Milford hired William 
Cates  to serve as the district's comprehensive mental health support specialist. Cates will be coordinating mental health services for our students districtwide.

Cates MS, LPC, NCC is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Ohio, and has 11 years of experience working with all ages, and a multitude of complex behavioral health concerns. Cates previously operated out of the Miami Township Police Department as a mobile crisis responder with the Clermont County Mobile Crisis Team. He has experience in crisis management and de-escalation, risk-assessment, treatment analysis and planning, and the coordination of mental health services. 

"Milford is excited to have Mr. Cates. He will be an additional layer of mental health support for our students and will assist in enhancing student social-emotional needs," said John Speiser, Milford's Director of Human Resources.
8th Annual Milford Flight Night Set for March 8
The Milford Athletic Boosters support our student athletes and the district through significant donations of their time, talents, and financial resources. One of their biggest fundraisers is the Flight Night, a great event that sells out year after year.

This year, two legends from The Ohio State University are the featured speakers: Jim Tressel and Troy Smith. Local columnist Paul Daugherty is returning as host for his third Flight Night event. 

General admission is $50, which includes dinner. There are also VIP packages. If you would like to purchase tickets, please visit the Milford Athletic Boosters website at: www.milfordathletics.org or call the Milford Athletic Office at (513) 576-2208.
Ohio Supporting its Military Families
School districts in Ohio are now required by the state to identify students whose parents or legal guardians have been an active member of the Armed Forces or National Guard at any time throughout the current school year. Milford Exempted Village School District has decided to collect this information through FinalForms. 
 
The intention of the State is to offer support and make those families aware of the numerous services they may not be aware of but are entitled to receive. See the links below for additional information.
 
 
Milford Bowler Has Perfect Game
Congratulations to Milford senior Josh Cooper for bowling a perfect game in December! With 12 consecutive strikes and that magic score of 300, Josh became the first to bowl a perfect game in the history of the Milford bowling program.

The Eagles placed third in the ECC/SWOC Tournament and Cooper was recognized on the First Team All-Tournament.
MHS and DSAGC Cheer Squads Hold Special Performance
The Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati cheer team performed at halftime with the Milford High School cheer squad at an Eagles basketball game on December 15. 
Prior to the joint performance, the DSAGC sent a routine via YouTube for the Milford squad to learn and then the squads practiced together before the game.

"It was such an enjoyable and fun experience. The kids were so excited to perform and everyone was so positive and easy to work with. I am so lucky that I was a part of it," Milford cheerleader Reece Gormley shared.

Here's a video of their special performance.


Weather-Related Notifications
On days with weather-related delays or closings, the district sends out calls, texts, and emails through our parent notification system, SchoolMessenger. 

If you are a parent/guardian and are not receiving these messages, please go to your FinalForms account to verify your contact information. Our building secretaries use this information to keep our SchoolMessenger list up-to-date. If your contact information is correct in FinalForms, but you did not receive the call, please contact your child's school.

Milford also shares delay and closing updates with the local media and will post on the district website at  www.milfordschools.org, Facebook ( Milford_Schools), and Twitter ( @Milford_Schools).
Open Swim Sessions In January
The Milford High School pool will be open for community swim on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in January from 7:20 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. You must be a resident of Milford School District to swim. When arriving at Milford High School you will need to show a valid Ohio driver's license.

A waiver of liability must be signed by all swimmers prior to swimming and by a parent or legal guardian for participants under the age of 18. Any participant under the age of 16 must have a parent or legal guardian present to swim. 

If school is closed due to inclement weather, community swim will not be held.
Calendar Check 
January

15  NO SCHOOL
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
18 Board of Education Meeting
7 p.m.
Charles L. Seipelt Elementary
February

16 NO SCHOOL for students
Teacher Inservice Day
19 NO SCHOOL
President's Day
       
To view a complete calendar with district and individual school events, click here.
Thank you for subscribing to the Eagle eNews, Milford School District's electronic newsletter. The Eagle eNews is also emailed to all parents and guardians. We welcome your feedback and encourage you to submit news items to  news@milfordschools.org.  
Milford Exempted Village School District | (513) 831-1314 | www.milfordschools.org
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