February 18, 2022
Visit us at www.kingslocal.net
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 21, 2022 — NO SCHOOL, Presidents Day.
March 7, 2022 — Kindergarten Registration Begins.
March 8, 2022 — Kings Board of Education Work Session, 5:30 p.m., Kings Education Center, Conf. Rm. 2.
March 15, 2022 — Kings Board of Education Regular Meeting, 6:00 p.m., Kings Education Center, Conf. Rm. 2.
March 28 - April 1, 2022 — NO SCHOOL, SPRING BREAK.

More event information can be found at: http://kingslocal.tandemcal.com/index.php
Schools CLOSED Presidents Day


The Kings Local School District will be closed on Monday, February 21, 2022, to observe Presidents Day.
Kings Hires New Treasurer
The Kings Local School District’s Board of Education hired a new treasurer for the District. Mr. Mike Morrow was approved at the February 15 BOE meeting and will be joining Kings as their new treasurer effective March 14, 2022.

Mike is currently the Treasurer/CFO at Fairfield Local Schools where they were awarded the Auditor of State Award in their most recent audit. He will replace Cary Furniss who was hired last month as Treasurer for Kettering Schools. 

Mike has also served as an Auditor with the Ohio Auditor of State. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration. He holds an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. Mike brings a breadth of experience and knowledge in aligning financial resources with the needs of students, financial compliance, and relationship building.

Mike and his family are lifelong residents of Clinton County, Ohio. He is happily married to his wife Becca, an agriculture market researcher and farmer. Together, they have a 10-month-old son, Walker. In his spare time, Mike enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, playing golf, and watching sports. 

Mike is excited to join the Kings family and is looking forward to building relationships with the staff and community. He is also excited to work with the Board and staff to maintain excellence and continue growth in student achievement. “I’m very grateful and excited about the opportunity to join the Kings family. This is an excellent school district in a wonderful community, and I look forward to being here and working together,” he said.  
We Need Your Feedback!
We sent an email to our families on Thursday asking for feedback regarding the future of Kings. We have had a great response so far!

We are asking the question - "As we work to put our KingsStrong Culture Blueprint into action, what are the critical skills and experiences our students need to prepare them for success in learning and life? We would appreciate YOUR feedback to help us make decisions for our students' futures.

Watch the video below and then visit our Thoughtexchange to give your thoughts and rate the thoughts of others. Please feel free to share the link with any neighbors and friends who live in the District. The deadline for feedback is Wednesday, February 23 at 11:59 p.m.

Thank you in advance for your help and support!
Kings Kokorodza Marimba Ensemble
The Kings Local School District's Kokorodza Marimba Ensemble played a short program for music educators and college music education majors at the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Orff Schulwerk Association workshop on Saturday, February 12. 

The American Orff Schulwerk Association is a professional organization of music and movement educators dedicated to a creative teaching approach used in schools throughout the world. The Marimba Ensemble is excited to be back in action, and looking forward to their next performance at the Kings Band Boosters annual Bandcakes fundraiser on Saturday, March 5.

The current ensemble is comprised of Columbia Intermediate School students. Pictured in the photo from left to right: Isaac Hoeting, Kendall Belfrom, Keaton Collins, Evan Thomas, and John Hagen.
KHS Environmental Club News
The Kings High School Environmental Club is launching an initiative called Tree-Plenish. This initiative will try to inspire our community to plant trees in order to offset the paper usage at the high school. The Club is partnering with the national non-profit organization Tree-Plenish, a group that aims to increase sustainability in school districts through a community tree-planting event planned and executed by students. 

The goal is to counteract the paper usage of the school by estimating how many trees were cut down in order to supply all the paper used in the previous academic year, and using that number as a “goal” number of tree saplings to plant in the community. 

The students found this project on their own and have been working tirelessly this year to make it happen. The goal is to start spreading the word within the community by the end of the month. An individual can order a tree sapling for $5 and on May 7, volunteers will distribute and plant saplings. The Environmental Club is collaborating with the KHS Community Service Club to make this a large, concerted effort in our community.

Interestingly, the students found out that students in Lebanon and Loveland are also doing the same project! The three clubs are in communication and will be joining forces to help their efforts. Between the three neighboring schools, they have a total goal of planting 894 saplings.

KHS Environmental Club Adviser, Ed Gomes said, "The kiddos in the Environmental Club have gone above and beyond to make this happen and it would mean a lot if we could help them."

If you are interested visit this link.
COVID-19 Dashboard
Beginning this week, the District is now reporting daily numbers of positive cases and quarantines of COVID-19. Those numbers will be reported by the end of the school day each day. You can find that information on our website. We will continue to report the weekly totals, as well.
KHS Hope Squad
Kings High School celebrated Hope Squad's International Day of Hope on Thursday, February 17. 

Squad members wore their Squad shirts and the rest of the school wore yellow to follow along with the symbolism of HOPE. Students promoted others to Pay it Forward by offering easy ways to do so.

Click here for a great list of easy ways to "pay it forward."  

Kings Hope Squad is an incredible group of students that are trained in QPR, ACT, signs of suicide, self-care, and are provided resources to support peers within the school and community. If you would like to learn more about Hope Squad, or if you are looking for resources to help someone in need, visit the Kings Hope Squad Google Site.
   
Pictured below includes some of the 9th-12th KHS Hope Squad members, along with KHS Counselors and the Lead Hope Squad Advisor, Lisa DeBord.
KJH Virtual Art Show
The Art students at Kings Junior High School are at it again! KJH Art teacher, Jan Thomann has shared Virtual Art Show 5 that highlights the ceramics from 7th and 8th-grade students from first semester.

Pictured is a clay dish created by Hailey Gallinger.
KHS Employability Classes Have Special Visitor
The students in Dustin Goldie’s Employability classes at Kings High School had a special visitor last Friday, February 11.

Former Cincinnati Bengals Defensive Tackle, Keith Rucker took time during his busy week to share his life story and Bengal memories.

He talked about growing up as the youngest of 8 siblings with a single mother, who lost both of her parents at a young age. She helped raise her own brothers and sisters and did everything she could to raise her own children right.

He credits his older brother, a dentist, for taking him under his wing and not allowing him to fail. He went to 5 different high schools and earned a full scholarship to play football at Eastern Michigan University. He talked about the struggles he had at EMU and lost his scholarship. He went home and worked and went to community college until he received an opportunity to play at Ohio Wesleyan.

He told students that they don't always have to go to the "big" schools to get noticed. He told them, "If you're good enough, they will find you."

Incidentally, Kings Superintendent, Greg Sears was a huge fan of Rucker while he was in college. He and his friends were die-hard Bengals friends and said #95 was one of their favorite players. Rucker presented Mr. Sears with an autographed photo.

Rucker currently coaches football at Denison University.
Kings Preschool Registration
It's time to register for Kings Preschool for the 2022-2023 school year!

Visit the Kings Preschool webpage for more information.
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In case you missed it this week on social media, we spent some time in Mrs. Denice Rutkousky's class at Kings High School while the students were making their dog bones. They have quite a nice little business going for them.

Watch their process here.
Kings Athletic News

Check out Kings Athletics website! You can find out schedule information, upcoming events, news about teams, and even get directions to away venues. 
A Knight to Remember
The Kings Athletic Booster Club's largest annual fundraiser Knight to Remember is on Saturday, March 19!

A Knight at the Derby" is from 5:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason. Knight to Remember raises nearly $50,000 for our student-athletes and programs annually. Overall, KABC donates $100,000+ annually to the Kings Athletic Department. All are invited to enjoy a fantastic evening while supporting Kings Athletics. 

The registration is now open at- https://e.givesmart.com/events/pde/
Please register soon. The early bird pricing is $70 and will increase to $80 on March 4. 

More information to come as we continue to prepare for a terrific evening!
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Contact Dawn Gould - Community Relations Coordinator at
dgould@kingslocal.net or phone: 513-459-2925.

Knight Nation News is a publication of the Kings Local School District Communications Department.
Kings Local School District
1797 King Ave
Kings Mills, Ohio 45034
513.398.8050
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