SCHOOLS
DECEMBER 18, 2013 • NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE • A7
NORTHEAST SUBURBAN LIFE
Editor: Dick Maloney, rmaloney@communitypress.com, 248-7134
ACHIEVEMENTS | NEWS | ACTIVITIES | HONORS
CommunityPress.com
IHHS teacher uses business background By Forrest Sellers fsellers@communitypress.com
Indian Hill High School teacher Brad Kirk frequently taps into a marketing background for his lessons. For 30 years he traveled the country as part of his job in consumer marketing. This summer he also built on his educational skills by obtaining a second masters degree, in educational administration. Finding himself frequently on the road in a position that involved traveling to 35 different countries, Kirk said he wanted
to be around his children more often. “I always wanted to teach,” said Kirk, who is a resident of IndiKirk an Hill. When an opportunity to work at the same school his children attend presented itself he took advantage of it. Kirk, 56, teaches Advanced Placement World History and a course called “Global Cultures and Issues” and is in his fourth
year at the school. He said his travels to countries such as Germany, Canada and Mexico have provided anecdotes he can share with his students. “I loved working with kids (as a) camp counselor,” he said, adding that his position as a teacher gave him an additional opportunity to work with youth. Kirk said he believes life should be about learning. “(This) has helped me think like an administrator which is important as we implement new state-mandated (standards),” he said.
More than 100 boys at Sycamore Junior High School celebrate REDO DAY. PROVIDED
Sycamore students celebrate respect REDO Day (Respect Everyone Despite Odds) at Sycamore Junior High School was a challenge day. It was a time and a place where a diverse group of students came together, both male and female, to discuss some difficult, yet important, issues. These issues included things like, race, bullying, stereotypes, motivation, what it means to be a successful man or woman, and self-esteem, among others. The day started with a series of ice breakers which allowed students, teachers, and community volunteers to build rapport with one another as well as allow students the opportunity to build trust in or-
der to break down potential barriers. The second half of the day was the meat of REDO day, for it was here where students were given opportunities to apologize for bullying their classmates. Students were asked the hard questions about their lives, values, and beliefs, and it was in this moment where students and the facilitators broke into smaller groups to discuss some important social topics and current events in greater detail. REDO day had a tremendous positive impact on students and facilitators, who were comprised of teachers, community members and administrators.
SYCAMORE JUNIOR HIGH HONOR ROLL SYCAMORE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The following students have earned honors for the first quarter of 2013-2014.
Sycamore Junior High school will again host it “Adopt-A-Senior” event Dec. 20. PROVIDED
Age is only a number: Sycamore-area senior citizens go back to school
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n Dec. 20, Sycamore Junior High School, 575 Cooper Road, will host Adopt-A-Senior, a student-run event during which local senior citizens visit with junior high students, district staff and administrators. “Sycamore Junior High is proud to host our annual Adopta-Senior Day again this year,” said Brian Wallace, principal. “A junior high tradition for nearly 35 years, it provides many rewards and benefits to our staff, students and senior community members alike.” Adopt-A-Senior will begin at 10 a.m. with seniors and stu-
dents sharing stories over breakfast. Following breakfast, visitors will be entertained with school tours, card games, crafts and a magic show by Tom Bemmes, math teacher. At 12:30 p.m., students will serve turkey and trimmings to seniors in the school cafeteria and at 1:15 p.m. the seniors enjoy a choir performance. The cross-generational gathering will end at 2:30 p.m. More than 50 students will help execute the day’s events, under the guidance of two junior high teachers, Dana Darbyshire and Kathy Nagel. “Mrs. Nagel and Mrs. Dar-
byshire make this a fun, memorable experience for everyone,” Wallace said. “For seniors who do not otherwise have a connection to Sycamore, this is an excellent opportunity to share with them what we have to offer. “But it’s more than just an invitation to spend time at Sycamore,” he said. “This is an opportunity for our students to enjoy and gain valuable perspective from people with life experience. It is truly about bridging multiple generations and proving that when it comes to community, age is only a number.”
Honor Roll Seventh-grade, Alexandra Albrecht, Hannah Bath, Claire Bolyard, Isabella Busch, Jalen Clark, Maya Cole, Alexa Cristinzio, Kathleen Fritz, Sarah Gardner, Jonathan Genovese, Grant Gvozdanovic, Andrew Haggard, Rainier Harris, Skye Haruyama, Megan Hayes, Molly Hayes, Alexandra Holdren, Jeewoo (Jason) Hong, Ethan Iery, Isabel Ingle, Rakale Johnson, Thomas Kisselle, Trevor Kress, Nicole Kukielka, Grace Lefton, Mallory Lefton, Joseph Magliocco, Adam Marischen, Spencer Meyer, Olivia NeCamp, Zachary Palmer, Autumn Pelopida, Abby Pescovitz, Marion Pritchett, Jonathan (Jack) Queenan, Dustin Rabin, Taylor Race, Brandon Riley, Eli Risma, Nolin Rizzo, Joseph Sack, Nicholas Scardicchio, Benjamin Schlake, Riley Shanks, Lucas Smith, Noah Stewart, Mark (Trey) Stuhlreyer, Ian Suddarth, David Sung, Hannah Taylor, Lydia Taylor, Jason Torrible, Angelo Valli, Rhys Waddell, Paige
Weitz, Lindsay Williams, Jack Wilson, Lindsey Wong, Phoebe Zawatsky and Jacob Zeidenstein. Eighth-grade, Nicholas Allen, Thomas Anderson, Brecka Banner, Christopher Banzhaf, Walid Bawazir, Caroline Blood, Benjamin Brynjulfson-Reardon, Alisha Butler, Kristian Byrd, Bethany Carr, Adezia Cole, Michael Cooper, Marielle Davis, Jaslyn Davis-Johnson, John Driscoll, Elizabeth (Liz) Eilers, Grant Fisher, Dynnelle (Nellie) Frank, Zoe Goldenberg, Kiley Hawkins, Ty Hendricks, Grant Hineline, Nadia Houssien, Heidi Howell, Keren Idelman-Sidenko, Jordan Johnson, Raekwon Johnson, Christian Kelly, Samuel Kennedy, Alexander Kourie, Boyd (Brogan) Lake, William LaRoche, Josey Leach, Garrett Lockwood, Jamin Luke, Matthew Monaghan, Anne (Annie) Murta, Marissa Myers, Vineet Narayan, Joseph Polasky, Jared Regruth, Kelsey Reisert, Madison Ringer, Kevin Russell, Shaurya Singh, Max Sliger, Sierra Smith, Malinda Sweeney, Abigail Teegarden, Alexander Thornberry, Evan Timofeyev, Emily Wall, Kheara Wright, Sivan Yarchi, Gabrielle Yun, Yanzhen (Frank) Zhang and Ari Ziv.
MND Theatre presents ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ Mount Notre Dame Theatre presented a Broadway classic “Bye Bye Birdie” as its fall production. Directed by Nate Pucke and Joe Beiting, an outstanding 118member student company from five high schools and 14 grade schools in the Cincinnati area put on the show. “Bye Bye Birdie” opened Nov. 8 to a sold out show and ran through Nov. 16 in the MND Salerno Center for Performing Arts. The cast and crew worked on the show starting this summer.
“These students gave their all to capture the emotion of the characters in the script, but also added their unique touch to the production,” said Nate Puke, codirector. Over the past seven years, MND Theatre has been nominated for Cappies awards more than 60 times and has won more than 17 awards. “We are proud to house such an incredible, award-winning theater program at MND. 'Bye Bye Birdie' showcased the level of talent and dedication these students possess,” said Larry
Mock, MND’s head of school. MND Theatre presents two musicals and two dramatic plays during each school year. The group also presents a summer production every year that is open to all area high schools (both public and private). In addition to productions, MND Theatre students have the opportunity to teach summer theater camps to local gradeschool students. Their spring production will be “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).”
Mount Notre Dame Theatre presented a Broadway classic "Bye Bye Birdie" as its fall production. THANKS TO CHARISSA BRINKMAN