www.milfordschools.org                                                                                May 2018
Veteran Officer to Become New SRO at Milford Junior High
Milford School District and Miami Township have named Officer Keith Benhase for the position of School Resource Officer (SRO) at Milford Junior High School. Officer Benhase will assume this role in August.  The new position will be funded equally by the school district and Miami Township.
 
"Officer Benhase has a deep passion for the SRO position and has attended numerous specialized training courses to prepare himself for this role. He explicitly understands that SROs are responsible for the safety of everyone in the schools as well as the prevention of crime  on school grounds," shared Sergeant Robert Hirsch, Miami Township Police Department.

Officer Benhase has been with the Miami Township police force for 20 years. During this time, he has worked as a supervisor, instructor, and a detective. Over the course of his career, Officer Benhase has earned several honors.

In his role as an SRO at the junior high, Officer Benhase will not only be responsible for the safety of our staff and students but will mentor students, serve as a resource for teachers and administrators, and conduct presentations on youth-related issues.


The Milford Board of Education approved the recommendations to hire a new principal for both Seipelt and McCormick Elementary schools. The new principals were introduced at the April Board of Education meeting.

Melissa Lewis was named as the next principal of Charles L. Seipelt and Mr. Tom Willson as the next principal of McCormick Elementary.  Ms. Lewis, currently a principal of an elementary school in Yorkville, Illinois, is replacing Sarah Greb who will be leading Mulberry Elementary.  Mr. Willson, an assistant principal  at Milford High School, is replacing Donald Baker who has been named the district's Special Education Coordinator.

To read more about our new principals, click here.

Milford High School's top students for the class of 2018 were honored at the Senior Academic Convocation Program held on April 24. A total of 86 seniors have earned the status of Summa Cum Laude, a 4.25 and higher weighted grade point average.

Way to soar, Eagles! We are so proud of your hard wo rk and dedication to your academics.

The Milford-Miami Township Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual "Celebration of Excellence" dinner to area educators at the Oasis Conference Center.

During the program, the Chamber honored Milford High School scholarship recipients, business partners of the year, retirees, and teachers and classified staff members of the year from each of our schools. Pictured are Milford's Educators of the Year.

To read and see more photos of our honorees, click here .
MHS Students Share AP Capstone Projects with Public
Milford High School students in the Advanced Placement Capstone program will be sharing their projects with the public on Thursday, May 3, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the high school.

AP Capstone is a two-part course consisting of AP Seminar and AP Research.  Students in AP Seminar will share the results of their individual and team projects. AP Research students will share the results of their year-long projects designing and conducting a research study on a topic of personal interest. 

"We would love for the Milford community to join us at this event in order to meet our students and listen to them share what they've learned," said AP Capstone teacher, Taryn Barker.

District Earns Auditor of State Award for Clean Audit
Milford Exempted Village School District received the Auditor of State Award for a clean audit. The award is based on the most recent financial audit conducted by the state for the 2016-2017 school year.

The Auditor of State's office conducts annual financial audits of school districts and recognizes clean, accountable, and efficient entities.  Milford's treasurer, Debbie Caudle, credits the achievement to her team. It is the fourth time in the past five years  that the district has received the Auditor of State Award.

Mrs. Caudle's last day in the district was April 30. She accepted a position with the Ohio Department of Education. Retired treasurer, Julia Toth, is serving as interim treasurer until a full-time treasurer has been named by the Board.

"Milford has been extremely fortunate to have a treasurer with the skills and talents to make sure we meet the tough standards judged by the state auditor. Mrs. Caudle has risen to the task and diligently produced on perfect audits on multiple occasions. No small task," Milford School Board President George Lucas said.

Milford High School Named School of the Week
On April 12,   Duke Energy and  LOCAL 12, WKRC-TV honored Milford High School as their school of the week. Milford was honored because of the efforts of Trena Panko to bring an autism assistance facility dog to her classroom. Buffy is the first dog placed in a public high school by 4 Paws for Ability.

"Trena Panko had the courage and tenacity to lead a two-year campaign to bring a service dog to her autism classroom at Milford High School. Mrs. Panko is an example of going above a nd beyond in problem-solving and dedication to meet the needs of our students," wrote Milford superintendent Nancy House in her letter of nomination.

For this honor, Mrs. Panko accepted a check for $1,000 from Duke Energy which she plans to use towards the costs to insure and care for Buffy.

Milford Engineering Expo & Career Day
Saturday, May 5
8:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Milford Junior High School Gym 
 5735 Wolfpen-Pleasant Hill Road

This is a free event designed for the whole Milford community, especially students in K-12, to see and experience all that Milford Schools has to offer for engineering classes and engineering clubs. Several local companies, universities, colleges and Milford teachers will be there to share what they offer for STEM careers and education. A dozen STEM professionals will be giving short, 15-minute talks/presentations about their STEM career.  

This is an open format expo, come and go as you like, walk around and talk to people about STEM-related topics, experience hands-on STEM activities, listen to great speakers, and WIN PRIZES! 


Class Rank Discussion to be held May 7
Class rank is a way to compare a student's grades to those of his or her classmates. Students are given a number ranking based on their GPA. Due to the tremendous differences in courses and grading standards at different high schools, the importance of class rank has been diminishing in the college admission process.

Paul Daniels, Milford School District's Director of Secondary Curriculum, will share the current research and student perception of class rank and the future of class rank in Milford Schools on Monday, May 7, at Milford Junior High School. An information session will be held in the morning from 8-9 a.m., afternoon from 3-4 p.m., and in the evening from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.

This presentation is targeted to junior high parents because changes in class rank will not impact current high school students. The presentation slides and notes will be posted online for parents who are unable to attend the meeting.

Please RSVP if you plan to attend by Friday, May 4 to tilmes_r@milfordschools.org.
Milford Junior High School is holding its final program of the Family Empowerment and Engagement Series on Tuesday, May 8, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the new Miami Township Library on Buckwheat Road. Kona Ice will also be sold that evening.

Hannah Fay, a therapist with Learn to Thrive, will provide parents, faculty, and families with strategies on how to establish positive relationships with their adolescent children during the summer months. She will be sharing some simple and effective tools for how to avoid power struggles. 

If you have any questions, please email MJHS counselor Joy Davis at  davis_jo@milfordschools.org.
Meadowview kindergarten teacher Kaitlin Callahan was selected as the Warm 98.5 Modern Office Methods Teacher of the Week. On April 19,  Bob and Marianne from Warm 98 surprised her with an award presentation, flowers, goodies from Modern Office Methods, and a pizza party for her students. 

Ms. Callahan was nominated by Meadowview parent Jamie Dettmer. In her nomination letter she said,  " This is Ms. Callahan's first year teaching and I think she deserves a shout out! She has gone out of her way to help my son succeed both academically and socially.  She is always very excited to be at school and teaching the students. Her demeanor is always very caring around the students.  Just recently my son has really been interested in state flags and learning about them. She surprised him with coloring sheets of all the flags in the US! It was a nice surprise and shows she pays attention to her students!"

Engineering Students Modify Toy Car for Local Family
WCPO reporter Paola Suro visited Milford High School on April 16 to feature s tudents in Milford High School's Project Lead the Way program who customized a toy car for a local family who has three daughters with mobility issues.

Kyra and her twin sisters, Jocelynn and Brynlee, have Joubert Syndrome which causes delays in gross motor milestones and lack of muscle control. The vehicle enables the girls to have newfound mobility. Milford students installed a joystick to enable Kyra to drive the vehicle and wired a controller to allow their parents to operate it. Based on the test drive, modifications will be made and the car will be given to the family before school is out.

Peter Leeper is the instructor of the Project Lead the Way program offered through Great Oaks. Kudos to Mr. Leeper and the Milford seniors who worked on the vehicle: Brian Wang, Manny Fernandez, Connor Hart, Nicholas Snow, and Garrett Turner.


Spotlight on Milford's Services for Students with Autism
April was National Autism Awareness Month. In Milford Schools, we have a full continuum of services to address our students with autism. These include resource rooms at all of our buildings and two classrooms focused on more specific behavioral issues staffed with intervention specialists who collaborate with occupational, speech, and behavioral therapists. One autism classroom is located at McCormick Elementary and one at Milford High School.

Here's a quick look at our autism behavior units at McCormick and Milford High School. Of course, there's Buffy too, our new autism assistance facility dog.


Eagles Show their Market Savvy
Market savvy students in Kathy Baugh's financial literacy class at Milford High School placed 2nd out of 716 teams in the recent Ohio Stock Market Challenge.

Congratulations to the following Milford High School students led by senior captain Erin Brockman, along with junior Evan Willis, and freshmen Angelica Minnie and Johnny Mickler. Their stock market team made gains of $13,066.33 with a 13.07% rate of return over a ten-week time frame.

Winter Guard Advance to Final in WGI World Championships
Congrats to the Milford High School Varsity Winter Guard for advancing to the finals round at the Winter Guard International World Championships. 
Milford was the only high school from Ohio to advance out of the preliminary round to semi-finals and then on to finals. It is the third straight year that Milford's varsity team has advanced to the finals round! In addition, senior member Makennah Gvozdanovic received the WGI scholarship award. Andrew Steinbrecher is the director of the Milford Color Guard.

Student Council Hosts Dance to "Embrace the Differences"
On Sunday, April 8 the gym at Milford High School was decorated and the DJ and photographer were in place to welcome students with special needs, not only from our district, but from Loveland, Turpin, and West Clermont high schools.

The theme of this year's dance was "Embrace the Differences." It is the second consecutive year that Milford High School's Student Council has organized a dance for area students with special needs and our student council members were there in full  force to share in the celebration.

Julia Sheehan's daughter, Katie Smith, a Milford High School student, attended the dance. Katie had a blast dancing with all her friends, aide, and teachers and hardly sat down, according to her mom.

"Sunday's dance was as wonderful this year as it was last year. The student council, teachers, and administrators were all there and very supportive of the special needs students," Sheehan said. "We're blessed to have such wonderful students and faculty at MHS, who care about, and include our students."

Video of the Month: Gifted Services
Each month at the Board of Education meeting, the district highlights different programs in the curriculum section of the meeting. The video of the month for April featured the district's gifted education services.

Milford Business Holding Food Drive for Backpack Ministry
Joe Kuethe, an Edward Jones financial advisor in Milford, is supporting the Backpack Ministry by using his office as a drop-off location for a food drive.
Local residents and businesses may help by bringing in items to the Edward Jones branch office at 5881 Cook Road during regular business hours through Friday, May 11.

The items needed for the food drive include kid-friendly foods that contain three of the four essential food groups.  Items include, but not limited to, granola bars, raisins, applesauce, crackers, soups, macaroni and cheese, ready-to-eat peanut butter, tuna, individual cereal boxes, juice boxes, etc. Monetary donations cannot be accepted.

T he Backpack Ministry program is funded and organized by SonRise Church and serves students in need in all of Milford's elementary buildings. Each Friday during the school year, more than 340 bags are sent home with students.

We cannot thank business partners like Joe Kuethe and SonRise Church enough for supporting this wonderful program!

May Community Swim Sessions 
The Milford High School pool is open for school district residents to swim during community swim sessions. In addition to the morning swim sessions, there will be family swim sessions throughout the month of May.

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.

Remember, you must bring a valid driver's license  or Ohio ID for entry through the high school security system.

Questions? Call Lois Leavens at 513-576-2208.

Click here for the May schedule.
 
Calendar Check 
May

3 AP Capstone Showcase
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Milford High School
7 Class Rank Discussion
8-9 a.m. | 3-4 p.m. | 6:30-7:30 p.m.
8 Family Empowerment Series
Miami Township Library
6:30-7:30 p.m.
10 Board of Education Meeting
McCormick Elementary
7 p.m.
18 Last Day of Classes
19 Milford High School Graduation
Cintas Center
7 p.m.
       
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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