Crestwood Comments - Winter 2023

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Hello Crestwood Community,

I hope everyone had a fantastic 2022 and is looking forward to an even better 2023. We thank you for your continued support. As we transition into the second semester of the school year, below are some reminders for parents to reinforce with their child to have a great second half.

1. Come to school every day and on time. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. These differences in absentee rates were observed as early as kindergarten. Students who eventually dropped out of high school missed significantly more days in first grade than their peers who graduated from high school.

2. Sleep! Don’t underestimate the importance of those eight hours of zzz’s every night! A good night’s rest will sharpen your focus and improve your working memory.

3. Don’t multitask. Studies have shown that multitasking is physically impossible. Stayoff your phones while you are studying and doing homework.

4. While all these good habits for students are beneficial and will help them succeed in school, pay attention to the importance of character qualities. Choose kindness when interacting with your teacher and classmates. Look for ways to make someone else’s day better. Your overall academic success is more than just your grades. It is also the person you become due to the process and how you treat others. The habits you develop as a child can stick with you throughout your life. Be the kind of person you’d want as a friend. Thank you, and let’s all have a great second semester.

Dr. David Toth

dtoth@crestwoodschools.org

@Crestwoodsupt

CRESTWOOD LOCAL SCHOOLS STAFF PARTICIPATE IN THANKSGIVING TURKEY PLUNGE

On Thanksgiving morning, while most were in their warm homes enjoying the Macy’s Day Parade and running about their kitchens, a brave group of Crestwood staff jumped into a cold lake! That’s right, a team of Crestwood staff members participated in the 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Plunge. The plunge was organized by community member Pete Pruszynski. The reason was to raise money for the Kids Weekend Meals (KWM) Program. The KWM program was started by Liz Meeker to support kids in the community who are facing food insecurity by providing breakfast, lunch and snacks to kids on the weekends and during long breaks when school is not in session.

The goal was to raise $10,000 from sponsors and pledges. At time of press, they had surpassed that amount with closer to $15,000 funds raised.

Thanks to Dr. Toth, Mrs. Bujak-Hirsch, Mrs. Brugmann, Mrs. Hunter and Mrs. Reid for ‘taking the plunge’. A huge thank you to all of the sponsors, including some community businesses, Jake’s Eats and Compass Packaging.

CRESTWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL

EXCEL K-9 SERVICES AND GEAUGA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT VISIT CRESTWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL

On December 8, Crestwood Primary School was visited by Excel K-9 Services and the Geauga County Sheriff’s Department. They spent time reading books to the students and doing classroom demonstrations throughout the building. The students loved getting to interact with the dogs and the officers.

CRESTWOOD SECOND AND THIRD GRADERS PRESENT GAMES FOR MATHEMATICAL MINDS PRESENTATIONS

On Tuesday, December 13, Crestwood Primary School students held their “Games for Mathematical Minds Presentations.” The second and third-grade students were charged with designing and creating their own math themed games, putting together a Google Slide presentation and presenting it to their families. The students identified materials needed to play the games, created their game boards, defined the rules of their games, and identified the math skills players would build while playing such as adding, subtracting, problem solving, and teamwork.

CRESTWOOD INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

CRESTWOOD INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL STUDENTS WORK TOGETHER IN NEW COMMUNITY SERVICE CLUB

Crestwood Intermediate School (CIS) students had the opportunity to join a new club this fall. The Community Service Club is a mixture of the school’s life skills and general education students that encourages socialization while also executing tasks that serve the school community. Through these activities, the students have the opportunity to develop and practice the following skills:

• Effective communication

• Developing friendships

• Serving their school community

• How to include others and work together

Teacher Sierra Gebler started the club with the idea that Crestwood students would get the chance to socialize with students that they might not get the chance to in their day-to-day class schedule. “My main goal was to create more opportunities for socialization and for other students to get to know my students,” said Gebler. “I have students from all three grades so a sixth grader might not know one of the fourth graders that I have in my room and they also might not know how to interact with students that have disabilities.”

The club meets during Gebler’s seventh period life skills class. Each day four general education students leave their scheduled class for 20 minutes of service-based activities under the caveat that each student keeps up with the work they may miss in class. “The fact that they have to keep up on their classwork is a good motivator,” said Gebler. “It holds them accountable and tries to push that

FINANCIAL VIEW

CRESTWOOD HIGH SCHOOL

HIGH SCHOOL OFFERS IMMERSION CLASS ON OHIO FRONTIER

Crestwood High School students have the opportunity to take a year-long course called “The American Experience Academy I” which focuses on the Ohio Frontier. The course touches on the history of settlement, the trials and tribulations of native peoples and settlers, as well as native species of plants and animals, and the environmental impact of settlement.

This one year immersion class takes place during three class periods. The class structure is a combination of socratic seminar, experiential learning, field projects, and vigorous inquiry. The Academy is a fully integrated English, science and history class. Students read at least 10 books, multiple essays and a lot of primary source materials which explore settlement and/or themes associated with its aftermath. They also create hand-sewn historical impressions based on a settler or native persona which they assume after extensive research.

In November, 42 Crestwood students enrolled in either the Academy or other AP classes took a field trip to visit several historical sites during the annual overnight trip. At Jamestown, they learned about the difficulties faced by those who arrived first to settle the Virginia colony. At Colonial Williamsburg, they learned about a number of different 18th century trades such as wig making, weaving, brick making, and so much more. They also learned about the culture of the city’s inhabitants as well as the difficult decision to declare independence from England. On the last day of the trip, students learned about the siege at Yorktown and gained a better understanding of the difficulties infantry soldiers faced while encamped outside the city. The final stop was at Antietam battlefield in Maryland. There, students learned how the rolling hillside terrain led to so many casualties on both sides as this was the deadliest day of battle in the entire Civil War. Upon returning from the trip, Academy students will use the knowledge gained about 18th century living as they continue to create their own hand-sewn historical impressions and prepare to host Frontier Days in May.

As a culminating activity, Academy I students host an annual Frontier Days re-enactment and educational outreach. During the week-long living history program each May, students engage in a number of authentic eighteenth century activities, and they also teach elementary school-aged children from several different districts about life on the Ohio Frontier.

Students may opt to take the course for dual enrollment College Credit Plus (4 college credits in each subject) or they can choose to earn 1 high school credit each for The Ohio Frontier (History), Honors English, and Field Biology. This course can help students achieve an honors diploma as well as improve their reading, writing, and critical-thinking skills.

STUDENTS GIVE BACK TO COMMUNITY

Junior-Senior Seminar students worked all fall semester to accomplish their self-selected service projects. The students picked a wide range of projects that impacted their community. Some students in the class have helped collect items as well as volunteer their time for local organizations such as the Salvation Army and Haven of Portage. One group worked with fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade students at Crestwood Intermediate School to collect more than 800 canned food items for the Streetsboro Community Pantry. Several students removed the rail fence along part of the Headwaters Trail in conjunction with Portage Parks. Others have been planning ideas for helping display more artwork and creativity in the halls of Crestwood High School while another group worked with the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Committee to help decorate local businesses for the holidays. Additionally, at least 10 local families received help last Thanksgiving due to the work of the Seminar students and other fundraisers that aimed to help local women and children’s shelters.

ART STUDENTS EXPLORE REFLECTION

PHOTOGRAPHY

Crestwood High School students in the Photo II class spent some time working on reflection photography. They distorted their imagery through glass, mirrors, or other reflective materials. This can add a new challenge in using light meters to assess aperture and shutter speed based on their 400 film speed for black and white 35mm film.

10880 John Edward Drive

Mantua, OH 44255 Phone: 330-357-8206 Fax: 330-274-3710

Dr. David Toth, Superintendent Tara Reid, Executive Secretary Katie Hoffmeister, Treasurer

Crestwood Board of Education

Kristen Cavanaugh

Tim Herron

Bonnie Lovejoy

Todd Monroe

Karen Schulz

FALL ATHLETIC RECAP

The fall season has concluded with great success. Boys cross country and girls soccer were CVC champions of the Valley Division. Our middle school coed soccer team was also a CVC champion. Coaches Jim Schweickert and Tait Taylor were distinguished as Coach of the Year within their respective sports of cross country and soccer. The boys soccer team received several Portage County awards, were sectional champions and a district semi-final qualifier. Many district records were broken this season. The volleyball team ranked third in the CVC and were a sectional finalist team. The tennis team achieved their best record since entering the CVC. While the football team was very young in the fall, they displayed both grit and determination. The middle school soccer team were CVC champs and the middle school cross country team had their participation numbers double last season. The seventh-grade football team finished the season with one loss and the eighthgrade team finished the season with a competitive positive trend. Fall student-athletes kept academics in the front view with more than 70 scholar-athletes being recognized maintaining a GPA of 3.59 for high school athletes and 3.27 for middle school athletes.