News & Information from Xenia Community Schools NOVEMBER 12, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS FROM AROUND THE DISTRICT

Tecumseh Elementary Honors Veterans

Tecumseh Elementary students hosted a Veterans Day Program Friday to honor those who have served in the armed forces. A group of third, fourth, and fifth graders read their "What is a Veteran?" essays, the Character Choir sang patriot music, and the kindergarten and second grade students compiled a video of special recognition for the veterans.

Baskets for Battles collecting donations

Xenia High School's Student Council is collecting donations and raising funds for their Baskets for Battle service project . They are making up bags filled with resourceful items that cancer patients can use during their chemotherapy treatments. Last year they delivered 275 bags to five hospitals in the Dayton area, and they hope to be able to increase that number this year. There are three ways you can help: Eat at Chipotle Tuesday, November 13 from 4-8 p.m. and proceeds will be donated to their cause. Download the flyer and show it to the cashier. Donate items for the baskets. A complete list of what they need is on our website. Make a monetary donation. The students are accepting funds to purchase items needed to fill the baskets. Basket item donations and monetary donations can be dropped off at Xenia High School before December 7 .

LEGO Tournament held at McKinley Elementary

On Saturday McKinley Elementary played host to a First LEGO League Tournament. Ten teams from around the Dayton and Cincinnati area competed. (McKinley has its own LEGO league, but they did not compete to avoid an unfair home-court advantage.) At the tournament students built robots and ran their creations through a series of tests and playing fields, scoring points for their robot's speed and accuracy with tasks.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM XENIA PRESCHOOL

Making and Eating Pumpkin Pie Students in Mrs. Carroll’s class used their five senses to make and eat pumpkin pie. Who knew learning could be so tasty?

HIGHLIGHTS FROM ARROWOOD ELEMENTARY

First Quarter Gold Ticket Lunch honors students Arrowood students celebrated their First Quarter Gold Ticket Lunch last week. Students were nominated by their classroom teacher for always doing their Buccaneer Best by being respectful, responsible, problem solvers and doing their best. 90 students received a Gold Ticket certificate, a medal, and enjoyed a special lunch of pizza, pop, chips, and ice cream.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM COX ELEMENTARY

Does it Sink or Does it Float? Mrs. Charles’ and Mrs. Reed’s fourth grade students used scientific inquiry and application to conduct investigations of a candy specimen’s ability to float. Students investigated the ingredients of five different candy types, predicted which candies would float or sink, performed the experiments, maintained test records, and compared their predictions to the actual results. The students enjoyed the hands-on process, and following the investigation, had to develop methods to dispose of the specimen.

Former Cox Student Visits Noah Delotelle, a former Cox student, 2018 Xenia graduate and current Marine, came back to Cox Elementary and spoke to the fifth grade classes about the importance of goal setting. Mr. Delotelle applied goal setting to his experiences during basic training. He explained how he had to set small goals to accomplish bigger goals. The students enjoyed asking questions about his experiences and how he was able to accomplish all of his goals. Mr. Delotelle also visited Mr. Schell's fifth grade class, pictured above right. The students learned about Veteran’s Day and the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1.

PTO thanks Modern Woodmen of America Cox Elementary PTO extends thanks to Modern Woodmen of America for their generous donations. In addition to matching funds from the PTO's recent fall fundraiser, Modern Woodmen honored PTO President Tammy Tootle as a Hometown Hero and will make a donation to the PTO in her name.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY

Celebrating the number 50 with a Sock Hop On Friday kindergarteners celebrated the 50th day of school by dancing in a Sock Hop and making root beer floats. Students dressed in their 50s attire and did different activities centered around the number “50."

Field trip to the Theater On Tuesday the fifth graders went on a field trip to the Victoria Theater and saw the program "Amelia Earhart."

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM SHAWNEE ELEMENTARY

Which cookie won the most votes? On Tuesday, Miss Burkhart's kindergarten class learned about voting with "The Great Cookie Race of 2018." They discussed what it means to cast a vote and why it is important to use this right. After everyone voted, they received "I voted!" stickers, counted the votes, used their data to make a graph, and answered questions about their results. The following day a, victory party was held for the winning cookie.

Visiting the Library and the Park Kindergarten students enjoyed a trip to the Greene County Public Library last week. The classes got to sing songs, listen to a story time, learn about some items the library has to offer to check out, and they made a bookmark to take home. The students also enjoyed a little extra playtime at Shawnee Park on their walk back to school as a reward for the great behavior they showed during the library visit.

Brass Quintet performance Shawnee fourth grade students had a visit from Dayton Performing Arts Alliance Brass Quintet. The students took a musical journey and discovered the unique characteristics of music from different countries. They thoroughly enjoyed the lively music, as well as the introduction to the instruments in the Brass Quintet.

Learning about the Underground Railroad Third grade students at Shawnee were treated with a presentation from the Greene County Parks and Trails program. The speaker shared many replicas of items found during the time of the Underground Railroad. Students learned about Greene County's connection to the Underground Railroad and how slaves gained their freedom. The students also saw and learned about many hidden messages found in quilt squares made during that time.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM TECUMSEH ELEMENTARY

Expressing their Opinions about Bedtime After reading and discussing the book "I Wanna New Room" by Karen Kaufman Orloff, the third graders in Miss Quist's class, along with their kindergarten buddies, formed an opinion about bedtimes and worked through the four parts of an opinion piece: introduction, opinion, reasons, and conclusion. The third graders helped the kindergartners find the computer keys to type and they brainstormed many reasons to support their opinions.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM WARNER MIDDLE

Three Students Recognized for their Good Choices, Morals, and Values Students showing their morals and values have been on display lately at Warner Middle School. Early last week, Devin Caskey (grade 7, pictured above left) returned a wallet to the office he found in the hallway. The wallet contained more than 70 dollars. Then last Friday, Aaron Gatewood (grade 6, pictured above right) found $15 folded up on the floor and returned it to the office. Later that day, it was returned to the student who lost it. And a few weeks ago, Zach Stewert (grade 7, pictured above center) found $10 one day and $30 another day and turned both into the office. It is a great feeling for Warner staff to witness so many good choices being made by students, demonstrating the values Xenia families instill in their kids.

Chess Champion wins First Quarter Double Elimination Tournament Students can take Chess as an exploratory course in eight grade at Warner. For seven weeks students learned the origins of chess, how to set up a chess board properly, and how each piece moves to properly play a chess match. Most students who take this course have little to no chess playing experience. Sixteen students participated in the First Quarter Double Elimination Chess Tournament. Lucas Kunzelman defeated Trei-Shawn Davis Sanders in the final match to become the champion. Lucas had to defeat Trei-Shawn twice in the finals to win the title since he was coming from the loser’s bracket and Trei-Shawn had not lost. Both students exhibited patience, intelligence, and good sportsmanship. For winning the tournament, Lucas received a $25 gift card to Wal-mart and Trei-Shawn received a $10 gift card.

Perfect Attendance Awarded Students and teachers were rewarded for achieving first quarter perfect attendance. Much research shows the connection of student attendance to student achievement. The ice cream reward is done each quarter and is hosted by school counselors Faith Chapman, Maggie Hawes, and Andrea Richardson.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM XENIA HIGH

Future Health Professionals Attend Leadership Conference Xenia High School HOSA students attended the Ohio HOSA Fall Leadership Conference last week. The mission of HOSA is to empower future health professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience. Pictured above left to right: Grace Sparks, Saphron Cummins, Alyssia Echols, Amethyst Jones, Madison Arthur, Calli Jones, Serena Campbell, Andrea Shaw, and Tyreece Peterson.

Making a College Visit - to Miami University Twenty-two Xenia High School seniors and juniors visited Miami University's campus last week. Students were led on a tour of the entire campus, including the admissions, bookstores, classroom, libraries, swimming pool, hockey rinks, athletic center, dorm rooms, and many more places related to campus life. Andrew, a Miami Admissions Representative, presented information to students regarding merit based, activity based, and needs based scholarship opportunities. Students ended their trip with a visit to the dining hall to enjoy an unlimited amount of food options.  Pictured above in the first row, left to right: Khanya Walker, Kailee Palecek, Lauren Nipper, Abigail Sellers, Melody Smith, Caroline Prindle, Kendrick Van Tress, and Gabriel Wilson; in the second row left to right: Moriah Mickle, Janese Marbury, Maliah Huston-Newsom, Alexis Claybaugh, Gabrielle Hart, Makayla Maloney, Anna Carlson, Shali Morris, and Jada Lacy. Pictured below, left to right: Josh Jackoby, Tyera Howard, Gabrielle Hart, Moriah Mickle, Maliah Huston-Newsom, Jada Lacy, Alexis Claybaugh, Janese Marbury, Heidi Alex, and Sam Lockwood.

NOVEMBER KIDS OF CHARACTER

November’s Kids of Character exemplify responsibility, academic integrity, positivity, and respect. The following students were honored at the Board of Education meeting last week: Silas Currier from Xenia Preschool, Wyatt Long from Arrowood Elementary, Elijah Roseman from Cox Elementary, Matthew Long from McKinley Elementary, Kylee Luckett from Shawnee Elementary, Rachel Graham from Tecumseh Elementary, Gavin McManus from Warner Middle School, and Rebecca West from Xenia High School. (Kylee Luckett and Rebecca West are not pictured.) Read more about the students' accolades on our website .

LET'S STAY CONNECTED

This e-newsletter is sent weekly on Monday during the school year. Let's stay connected ... our website is a great place to get information about our district and each of our schools. Be sure to Like us on Facebook to stay up to date on district announcements and school building news. You can also follow Xenia Athletics on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on all grades 7-12 sports teams. As always, feel free to reach out to me directly by email or call (937) 562-9011. Have a great week,

Dr. Gabriel E. Lofton, Superintendent

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