The Bear Way - Winter 2023

ONE SCHOOL ONE BOOK New Elementary School Initiative Brings Families Together Through Reading

LETTER FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Bear Families,

The second semester is upon us and there are many great things happening for our Bears!

Our new Culture and Communication Committee, made up of both staff and parents from each building, is up and running. The group has two goals: To create a District communication plan and to identify ways to continue building a positive school culture. Combining communication with culture is the best way to effectively impact our school community.

I’m excited to announce that we are moving forward in transitioning to a new website design and having a mobile device APP developed to help students, parents and community members know what is happening in our schools. It will be a single source to find everything you need. This process will take several months, but it will be a great communication tool for everyone.

We are also addressing other tasks that are outlined in our strategic plan related to curriculum and instruction; safety and security; and finances and capital assets.

In addition, we have a very long improvement project list for the spring and summer. This includes paving and renovations at the bus garage, District HVAC upgrades, sound redesign in the Performing Arts Center, addressing the locker rooms at the stadium, turf projects in the stadium and softball and baseball fields, along with so many other items.

It is busy…but an awesome busy with so many great things happening in and around our campuses.

It’s a great day to be a Bear!

With Bear Pride, Michael Laub, Superintendent

Mission:

“We Inspire and Empower Learners”

Vision: Our educational community will be a model in identifying individual student needs and providing comprehensive support.

Focus Areas:

• Culture & Communication

• Curriculum & Instruction

• Safety & Security

• Finances & Capital Assets

Cover Photo: North Royalton Elementary School brings families and staff together through One School One Book initiative. Read more on pages 18-19.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

NORTH ROYALTON CITY SCHOOLS CELEBRATES SCHOOL BOARD RECOGNITION MONTH

Dr. John H. Kelly, President Email | 440-552-0864

Anne Reinkober, Vice President Email | 440-582-3281

Heidi Dolezal Email | 440-237-8258

Jeremiah Sawyer Email | 440-364-3178

Lisa Shuck Email | 440-759-4035

ADMINISTRATION

6579 Royalton Road North Royalton, Ohio 44133 440-237-8800

Superintendent Michael Laub 440-582-9030

Treasurer Biagio Sidoti 440-582-9045

Assistant Superintendent Melissa Vojta 440-582-9038

Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction Jeff Cicerchi 440-582-9050

Director of Human Resources Pat Farrell 440-582-9036

Director of Pupil Services Julie Bogden 440-582-9140 (Health/Nursing Services, Home Schooling, Residency/Custody, Special Education Programs & Services)

Director of Technology Tricia Pozsgai 440-582-9056

Food Services Harry Swartzlander IV 440-582-9041

Maintenance Brian Clark 440-582-9043

Transportation Greg Hovan 440-582-9151

To celebrate National School Board Recognition Month, at the January 9, 2023, Board of Education meeting, the School Board was recognized for providing all students with the best education possible and for their unselfish devotion of time and service to carry on the mission and business of the District. A resolution made by Superintendent Michael Laub was made to encourage all citizens to publicly and privately thank Board members Dr. John Kelly, Anne Reinkober, Heidi Dolezal, Jeremiah Sawyer and Lisa Shuck for their dedicated service to our children. In addition, Dr. John Kelly was named President and Anne Reinkober was named Vice President of the North Royalton Board of Education.

SCHOOL BUILDINGS

NORTH ROYALTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Grades Preschool-4)

Kirk Pavelich, Lead Principal Mike McGinnis, Grades PreK-K Principal

Lesley Smith, Grade 1-2 Asst. Principal Vince Ketterer, Grade 3-4 Principal 16400 State Road North Royalton, Ohio 44133

440-582-9060

NORTH ROYALTON MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grades 5-8)

Erin Calabrese, Principal Kevin Atkins, Asst. Principal

David Guciardo, Asst. Principal

Jasminne Wessel, Asst. Principal 14709 Ridge Rd. North Royalton, Ohio 44133

440-582-9120

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL (Grades 9-12)

Sean Osborne, Principal

Bridget Zywiec (A-K), Asst. Principal

Matt Yappel (H-O), Asst. Principal

Kristen Hubbell (P-Z), Asst. Principal 14713 Ridge Rd. North Royalton, Ohio 44133 440-582-7801

QUALITY PROFILE

CLICK HERE to read the District’s 2021-22 Quality Profile. Now in its ninth year of publication, this report illustrates how our outstanding students and staff, as well as our support community, come together to “inspire and empower learners” from preschool through senior year at North Royalton City Schools.

Jeremiah Sawyer, Heidi Dolezal, Dr. John Kelly, President; Anne Reinkober, Vice President; and Lisa Shuck

NORTH ROYALTON CITY SCHOOLS HONOR TWO DEDICATED STAFF MEMBERS WITH THE CRYSTAL STARFISH AWARD

On January 26, 2023, North Royalton City Schools announced the recipients of the first semester’s Crystal Starfish Award presented by First Federal of Lakewood.

At North Royalton Elementary School, preschool teacher Lori Pekare was presented with the Crystal Starfish Teacher Award. Besides the award, she also received a $250 Professional Development Grant from First Federal of Lakewood. Pekare was nominated by a colleague and a parent.

an email on the first day of school to let them know how their child’s day was. My son went from super shy and nervous to loving school. I am currently a long term substitute working as her co-teacher. I can see how much she cares for her students. Even though she has taught the same ages for years, she is always trying to find new and fun activities for them. She has shown that she really understands the age. She is super positive and friendly all day, every day to students and staff. She has high expectations for all students and is able to remain calm and positive even in more difficult situations. She makes the classroom a fun place to be for students and staff alike. I am grateful that I have been able to be part of her class.

Another parent wrote…She has helped tremendously with his speech and getting him to open up. She’s very involved and my son loves telling me what Mrs. Pekare and him did that day at school.

Kim Arbogast, an aide in the science department at North Royalton High School was the recipient of the Crystal Starfish Support Staff Award. Various colleagues nominated Arbogast.

Excerpts of her nomination state:

Kim goes above and beyond helping students. She readily makes herself available to students, and is willing to help teachers in every way possible. She is essential to a classroom full of students with varying needs, and the science department is lucky to have

Mrs. Arbogast works tirelessly to keep students on track in the biology classes that she supports. She builds relationships with all of the students so she

can hold them accountable at the same time she is cheering them on! She works tirelessly to keep kids on track and supports the teachers in ways beyond her job description. We are lucky to have her in the science department, and it shows in student successes!

Kim Arbogast is an absolute pleasure to work alongside. Over the years of working with Kim, she has gone above and beyond her call of duty each and every day for each student at North Royalton High School. Her passion for education and caring nature for all of her students is apparent by her commitment and positive attitude that she brings to the building each and every day. Her willingness and eagerness to assist all students in any capacity is admirable and worthy of this nomination! She is an absolutely amazing individual who is there for the students each step of the way!

The First Federal of Lakewood Crystal Starfish awards are presented to support staff members and teachers who make a difference in their schools and go above and beyond in all that they do. “Every day, teachers and staff of North Royalton City Schools are making a difference,” said Branch Operations Manager Endia Small, First Federal of Lakewood. “Our bank is honored to partner with the District, enabling these special individuals to be recognized publicly for their contributions.”

DISTRICT ADDS THIRD SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER

North Royalton City Schools has added a third school resource officer (SRO), Officer Colin Gregory, who is assigned to North Royalton Elementary School. “We are thankful for the great partnership we have with the police department and city,” said Superintendent Michael Laub, North Royalton City Schools. “This will put a school resource officer in every building and provide an additional layer of support to our schools, families and staff.”

Officer Gregory joins Officer Alexandra Jezior, the SRO at the high school, and Officer Jon Karl, the SRO at the middle school.

Officer Gregory has been with the North Royalton Police Department since 2021. He attended North Royalton Middle School and graduated from St. Ignatius High School. He has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University. He attended the Police Academy at Cuyahoga Community College.

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL

ALUMNUS WRITES UPCOMING EPISODE OF CBS TV’S HIT SHOW S.W.A.T.

Back in his days at North Royalton High School (NRHS), John Amato loved his English and broadcasting classes, but never imagined it would lead him to where he is now.

Amato graduated from NRHS in 2017 and took his passions with him to college. He went on to study media production with a minor in English at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, earning his Bachelor’s degree in 2021. Since then, he has moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of writing and working in creative media. He started off as an intern at MiddKid Productions right after graduation, but was recently promoted to a writer’s assistant for the CBS TV series S.W.A.T., which follows a S.W.A.T. lieutenant played by Shemar Moore as he solves crimes in the Los Angeles area. Part of Amato’s exciting new role has been the opportunity to write his own episode of the show, which aired on CBS on February 3.

“I am really lucky I landed at a show that promotes from within and that they even trusted me enough to do this,” said Amato. “This job has been like going to grad school and taking a crash course in making a TV show, and it’s the best thing ever.”

NRHS offers a multitude of classes and clubs to help spur students’ creativity, including creative

writing, video club, and journalism. Amato is just one example of how these classes can inspire students, positively affecting their future careers.

“John was destined for a career in Hollywood,” said Michael Hemery, Amato’s English and broadcasting class teacher. “When he was my student assistant in broadcasting, he would spend his spare time studying various directors, reading their biographies and watching their films. John would then imitate the director by creating his own unique films in that style. His brilliance was obvious in every project he would complete.”

“John always had a quiet confidence and was engaged in his learning and extracurricular activities during his time at NRHS,” said Sean Osborne, principal. “I am so happy that he has landed this opportunity doing what excites him.”

Even though Amato seems like a bigshot from the outside looking in, he hasn’t forgotten his humble roots back in North Royalton, Ohio and is extremely thankful for all the support Hemery and his other teachers have given him over the years. “Without the space you provided to experiment and learn, who knows where I’d be today,” he told Hemery in an email. “I am still so grateful.”

MIDDLE SCHOOL STEM STUDENTS COMPETE IN CLAWBOT OLYMPICS

On November 10, STEM Teacher Samantha Brown and her students held their annual Clawbot Olympics at North Royalton Middle School. These 75 eighth-grade STEM: Automation and Robotics students have been preparing for this competition for several weeks. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Students spent five to six class periods thinking like mechanical engineers by building their VEX robotics clawbot from scratch. They learned how to read an instruction manual and follow along with their directions to build their clawbot. Once built, students had to become electrical engineers and connect their smart cables into different ports in their robots’ brains. Once the clawbot was built and the cables were correctly connected, they became computer engineers and hooked their remote controls up to the clawbot. After their robots were built and coded, they had two to three class periods

to decide on which country they wanted to represent and practice the events in the classroom.

“On competition day, students were extremely engaged and cheered one another on,” said Brown. Students were in pairs of two and each partner had to compete in three events. “It is amazing to see students take all of their hard work and showcase their skills in a fun competition. One of the winning teams included one of our new Ukrainian students who absolutely dominated the competition. Seeing the smile on his face and all of his classmates cheering him on was amazing to witness as his teacher.”

2nd period Canada: Garrett Andexler and Keira Burke

6th period Jamaica: Joseph D’Ambrosia and Vincenzo Saviano

7th period USA: Bohdan Chuprynka and Joshua Celek

MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS PROGRAM AND PILOT DRONES

North Royalton Middle School seventh graders have a new STEM offering called Flight and Design. Teachers Samantha Brown and Don Filips provide every seventh-grade student a hands-on experience in programming and piloting drones. Students explore the science behind drones and learn about the emerging career opportunities that drones are creating. Students also design their own Aviator dog tags and engrave them using a Glowforge Pro laser engraver.

The Drone Olympics are one of the highlights of the quarter-long class. Students create an Olympic style event that challenges the skills of the young pilots. Each drone is required to throttle, pitch, roll, yaw and flip in each event. The history of the Olympic Games is introduced and students research the country they are representing. Props are built to give each event a realistic look and feel of their country.

Several of the top pilots from the Ice and Earth teams had a chance to demonstrate what they have learned at the District Curriculum & Instruction Advisory Committee and Board of Education meetings this past month. The seventh-grade pilots included Avi Asur, Ava Blair, Roger Cervenka, Bella Geffert, Claudia Grimm, Elia Nakhle, Sophie Roshetko, Samantha Wintrich and Alayna Valenti.

THE NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL GARDEN CLUB RECEIVES DONATION OF HUNDREDS OF SEEDS FROM COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Thanks to a generous donation from Marc’s, the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and the North Royalton City Garden Club, the North Royalton High School (NRHS) Garden Club will have hundreds of seeds to plant this spring in their collapsible greenhouse.

The NRHS Garden Club is free to join and they currently have more than 230 members. The Garden Club story is unique in itself. Teacher Tony Kleem started the club with only three students last year. “It’s a club with no cost and low commitment,” said Kleem. “All are welcome. I believe that’s why it is so popular.”

“I enjoy the Little Sprouts pen pal program,” said Garden Club President Ava Hertel, who is an 11thgrade student. “We write encouraging letters to the second and fourth graders at North Royalton Elementary School.”

Any remaining seeds that are not planted inside the greenhouse will be given to the club members’ families and staff.

NRHS Garden Club members learn how to garden, care for the plants in the greenhouse, and weed during the summer or after school. They also plant flowers and vegetables around the school and at their homes.

“We also have a pumpkin carving contest, fall photo contest, and a snow day photo contest, where students can win gift cards,” said Kleem. “We enjoy crafts such as making bird feeders, as well as sharing recipes.”

FIFTH GRADERS GO THE EXTRA MILE FOR FOOD DRIVE

A group of North Royalton Middle School fifthgrade students took the initiative to leave a letter with a bag on their neighbors’ doors asking for canned food donations for their school collection. A week later, the students and their families drove around the neighborhoods to collect all the food.

“We are so proud of our fifth graders who spent their Sunday collecting two truckloads of goods for our canned food drive,” said North Royalton Middle School Principal Erin Calabrese. “They did something that brought our community together for a cause. Their actions sent a message about how impactful one act of kindness can be.”

“I felt good about getting food for people who needed it,” said Carson Evangelista from Team Millennium.

Ben Wright from Team Millennium said, “I wanted to contribute, and I enjoy the feeling of helping others.”

“It was exciting to see all of the generous people leaving donations out to give to the people in need in our community,” said Logan Hanzel from Team Millennium.

Wesley Beck from Team Raptor said, “It was fun and exciting to do something good with friends.”

The students collected 1,600 non-perishable canned food items over the first two weeks of November. Overall, more than 5,100 items were collected by the whole school. The food was donated to the North Royalton Office of Aging/North Royalton Food Bank.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FAMILIES GIVE BACK DURING HOLIDAY SEASON

North Royalton Elementary School families held a holiday food drive to benefit the North Royalton Office of Aging/North Royalton Food Bank. “By encouraging our children to bring food items in, families were able to experience ‘the Bear Way’ of showing mindfulness, kindness and compassion through giving and sharing with others,” said Principal Kirk Pavelich. The food drive was organized by the Student Council. Approximately 35 boxes of canned food were collected.

Student Council also coordinated a Halloween Candy Give Back program. Most of the candy went to veterans in VA hospitals. Candy also was sent to active military at Fort Hood, Texas, active military overseas and active military on the USS George H.W. Bush Aircraft Carrier.

Lt. Christopher Dillon on the USS George H.W. Bush Aircraft Carrier headed for Gibraltar

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED WITH PRIDE OF NRHS CEREMONY

North Royalton High School staff celebrated their students’ first quarter success in person and with their families on Thursday, November 17 in the new Community Room. Families were treated to a continental breakfast.

Teachers nominated students in four categories (Achievement, Character, Engagement, and Leadership). They recognized these students and wrote personal nominations as to why they deserved their awards.

At the event, every nomination was read aloud and the student was then surprised with finding out who nominated him/her. Every award winner was presented with a certificate by Assistant Principal Kristin Hubbell. The gift this quarter was a water bottle, presented by Assistant Principal Matt Yappel.

Students recognized include:

ACHIEVEMENT

“Something accomplished through great effort, skill, perseverance or courage”

Mackenzie Albert

Fadia Alkhlef

Andre Andreano

Sydney Blasko

Avery Breen

Abigail Deal

Tess Marie Falcioni

Glendalyse Fannin

Maria Farris

Sara Fox

Julia Galay

Mara Geiger

Emily Hain

Rylie Haynes

Joseph Kinney

Brooke Kostyack

Claire Kramer

Brooke Lee

Vincent Mercurio

Jalen Sandvick

David Swab

Katlin Taylor

Shane Tomer

Blake Valley

Essence Whitmore

CHARACTER

“To act in a manner that is honorable, courageous, compassionate and ethical. It results in being viewed with respect, overcoming the difficult and feeling good about oneself”

Mackenzie Albert

Chase Ammar

Sierra Campanelli

Asher Grace

Shane Haditsch

Momina Jaffery

Viktoriia Ohonovska

Tarush Pandey

Logan Saunders

Aubrey Thome

ENGAGEMENT

“Involved in or committed to something as a cause”

Bishoy Assad

Gavin Belter

Penelope Bly

Dominic Catanese

Jason Crowe

Nicholas Echols

Andrew Ferenchak

Lilyanna Frantz

Dahlia George

Carson Huzl

Gurmehar Kandola

Daniel Karac

Reece Keimer

Sofia Murguey

Miranda Olson.

Jonathan Pavelich

Mallory Vish

Isabella Weatherbie

Allen Winer

LEADERSHIP

“The art of motivating a group of people towards achieving a common goal”

Madeline Holloran

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL ART STUDENTS’ CASTED SCULPTURES INCORPORATE SIGN LANGUAGE IN ARTWORK

The three basic ways to make a sculpture are by working in an additive manner (adding pieces of parts together, a subtractive manner (taking away... thinking chiseling a rock), or by casting (making a copy of an original) with another material. For this last project this December, students in Brandon Speers’ sculpture and 3D design art class concentrated on casting.

Students in the class started by casting their fingers, then eventually moving to hands for practice. Once they had the techniques down for the process, they devised a plan for a larger group sculpture. Students worked as partners or as a group for each part of the process. Sometimes a student was a model for the casting, and at other times they were the individuals that mixed and poured the material.

The casting process uses a food safe alginate to cast an individual’s body part. Alginate is actually made from algae. Alginate is the material used to get an impression or mold of teeth for something like a retainer. The casting process occurs by placing one’s hand in

alginate. So the hand is the positive form. After about eight minutes, the alginate dries and a person can gently pull their hand out. When they pull their hand out a negative void is left in the alginate. In this void, a liquid plaster called hydrocal is poured. Hydrocal starts off in a powder form and it is mixed with water to make a liquid plaster. Plaster has a chemical reaction with water and over a period of time will dry into a solid form after being liquid. After an hour or more, the plaster is formed into a solid. The next day, students cut away the alginate with knives to reveal the plaster cast which is left. The faces the class cast were made in a similar process with a few slight variations. “Of course in making a casting of the face we need to be highly focused on safety and maintaining breathing for a person through their nose,” said Speers. “Great care is made to keep a person’s airways open.”

The final sculpture the students created out of their castings was truly a student lead artwork. “We have a student, Audra Reed, who is hearing impaired in our class,” said Speers. Audra did a wonderful job of helping us understand some of the nuances of the deaf community and further understand the role of sign language for communication. I gave her the floor and she was pretty amazing with being open and vulnerable with her classmates. Through discussion, facilitated by senior Dylan Crowe, the class determined the logical connection between the casting process and how sign language could communicate feelings as the basis for our sculptural project.” Reed helped her peers

understand specific hand signs representing key emotions the class wanted to communicate in the sculpture. Eventually the class created, with the help of Gillian Shultz’s design idea, an artwork that empowered these students to send a message of hope to others.

“The idea of the sculpture was this,” continued Speers. “The ‘I love you’ sign is a positive symbol in the deaf community. It is a positive sign that can be used for love but also is a general sign with a positive message. This sign is a big part of the message so it plays a prominent role in the final sculpture. In general, our sculpture was made to have actual sign language incorporated into it to show how there are both positive and negative issues in life that attempt to pull you down, or lift you up. Some hand casts were meant to communicate actual signs that were positive, while others were meant to read in sign language as negative. Other hands just play a role in their appearance representing people or individuals in general. As a result, each person in life must work through these positive or negative things to make it through, but care for one another can keep us going. This positive care keeps us going through the love or “positivity force” of those around us. The faces were originally intended to be incorporated to further symbolize the positive and negative sides as well. Overall, it was really a lot of fun to make and wonderful to see the students take the lead to make an interesting piece of art.”

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL RECOGNIZES COMMENDED SCHOLARS

North Royalton High School is pleased to announce that Gabriel Aboumrad, Brandon Barrett, Sandheep Ranganathan, and Kyle Sandborn have been named National Merit Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. More than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT® receive Letters of Commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise.

These students, along with Akshita Kanna, who was named a Semifinalist, were recognized at the North

Royalton Board of Education regular meeting on January 9.

“These students are an example of the quality of our students at North Royalton High School,” said Principal Sean Osborne, North Royalton High School. “Not only do they perform exceptionally well academically, they are engaged in many of the extra and co-curricular activities that our school offers. I am confident that they will continue to represent our community well as they move forward in their post high school endeavors.”

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR RECOGNIZED FOR ARTWORK

Sunee Watthanaphand, a senior at North Royalton High School, received three Scholastic Art Awards and was recognized at the North Royalton Board of Education regular meeting on January 9. Watthanaphand received the Scholastic Honorable Mention Award for “Up Close and Personal” (Medium: Colored Pencil); a Scholastic Honorable Mention Award for “Andee”

(Medium: Colored Pencil); and a Scholastic Silver Key Award for “Swag Money” (Medium: Ink with Fingerprints). “Sunee is an exceptionally creative and hard working student,” said Principal Sean Osborne, North Royalton High School. “She does very well in her academics and is highly engaged in the arts, including our studio art program and band program.”

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL BANDS FINISH 2022 ON A SUPERIOR NOTE

During the last few months, the North Royalton High School Band has been hard at work. They concluded their marching band season performing at the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) State Finals in Columbus, where they received a superior rating. This huge accomplishment is the result of months of practice to get their show titled “Carpe Diem” to the best level - and earning the highest rating possible from the panel of adjudicators. Throughout the marching season, the band earned such honors as Best Overall Visual Effect, Best Overall Auxiliary, and Grand Champion Overall.

As the band transitioned into the concert season, all four concert bands performed at the annual Holiday

Concert, and the Wind Ensemble helped spread Christmas cheer as they visited the North Royalton Elementary School where they performed for the elementary students and faculty. This performance is a highly anticipated performance and it is a major highlight of the holiday season both for the elementary students as well as the high school students in the Wind Ensemble.

Moving into 2023, the four high school concert bands are already preparing for their upcoming performance at the OMEA Adjudicated Event, held at Olmsted Falls High School on March 10 and 11. The band looks forward to continuing their success into 2023.

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR SINGERS PARTICIPATE IN FIRST SUBURBAN LEAGUE HONOR CHOIR

On Friday, January 20, nine of North Royalton High School’s senior singers were invited to participate in the first Suburban League Honor Choir. These nine students were joined by other high school students from the Suburban League at Hudson High School. They learned and rehearsed four pieces of music under the direction of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt of the University of Toronto. After getting to know each other and fine tuning the repertoire, the students performed a concert in the evening. It is the hope that this honor choir opportunity will be available each year in January for Suburban League students. The following seniors were present: Marija Djordjevic, Karlie Cmich, Maddie Geschke, Braden Goloja, Gabe Wood, Josh Miranda, Andrew Ferenchak, Hope Mlecik and Chaela Mlecik.

ONE SCHOOL ONE BOOK KICKS OFF AT NORTH ROYALTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

During the month of February, North Royalton Elementary School (NRES) embarked on a special project: an all school book club. Every family has received a copy of the same book, Betty G. Birney’s The World According to Humphrey, which they have been reading at home throughout February. The school hosted an assembly on January 27 to kick off the program.

NRES asked students, parents, teachers, and administrators to set aside time to participate in this special activity. “Our building’s Literacy Committee selected a title that can be followed, understood, and enjoyed by younger students, but that will still captivate and engage our older children as well,” said Principal Kirk Pavelich, North Royalton Elementary School.

Students’ copy of The World According to Humphrey includes a reading schedule to keep families on track. Families were expected to read a chapter of the book Monday throughThursday nights in February. They also had the option to

listen to chapter videos created by NRES staff. Each morning, trivia questions about the previous night’s chapter were asked on the announcements, and students who answered correctly earned prizes.

In the book, Humphrey goes on many adventures, so students were able to take a “Flat Humphrey” on adventures, too. Students shared stories with pictures or drawings about their adventures with “Flat Humphrey” on postcards that are now hung in the cafeteria for all to see. “Students could choose to bring Humphrey to the public library, to pick up a pizza, or on a bicycle ride. They may watch a movie with Humphrey or take him to a sporting event,” explained the Literacy Committee.

NRES highly encourages participation because reading aloud at home is valuable for children and will help prepare students to be more effective readers. Plus, it’s a fun activity to bring the family together. NRES is thrilled to be building a community of passionate readers. Special thanks to the PTA for purchasing the books for our families.

NORTH ROYALTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WINS HONORABLE MENTION IN NEXT GEN PERSONAL FINANCE PAYBACK CHALLENGE

Isabella (Bella) Weatherbie, a student at North Royalton High School (NRHS), has won an honorable mention in the 2022-23 Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) Payback Challenge.

NGPF is the leading nonprofit provider of free personal finance curriculum in the United States. Its annual scholarship competition challenges high school students to play PAYBACK, a Webby Awardwinning college cost simulation featured in the New York Times. In the game, students endeavor through a four-year university, balancing their character’s academic focus, happiness, and career networking opportunities while minimizing their student debt burden. Each student who participates in the challenge has the opportunity to win a scholarship for reflecting on their PAYBACK experience in an essay, podcast clip, or video.

Bella’s entry was selected from over 1,000 Payback Challenge submissions this year to receive an honorable mention, which includes scholarship funds that can be used for any educational or career pursuit after graduation. Bella’s plan for the future is to study Speech Language Pathology at either The Ohio State University or the University of Pittsburgh.

Bella is grateful to NRHS for providing her with classes that helped her in the Payback Challenge. NRHS currently offers a personal finance elective class to all students which touches on topics such as banking, investing, understanding credit, paying for college, insurance, taxes, budgeting, and consumer skills. Personal finance will become required for the class of 2026.

DISTRICT RECEIVES AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FISCAL REPORTING

North Royalton City Schools has once again received the Auditor of State Award with Distinction for excellence in fiscal reporting. Treasurer Biagio Sidoti and his department were acknowledged at the February 13 Board of Education meeting. This is the 12th time the District has received an award from the Ohio Auditor of State.

The Auditor’s Office presents the Auditor of State Award with Distinction to local governments and school districts upon the completion of a financial audit. Entities that receive the award meet the following criteria of a “clean” audit report:

• The entity must file financial reports with the Auditor of State’s office by the statutory due date, without extension, via the Hinkle System, on a GAAP accounting basis and prepare a ACFR (Annual Comprehensive Financial Report);

• The audit report does not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Uniform Guidance (Single Audit) findings or questioned costs;

• The entity’s management letter contains no comments related to:

» Ethics referrals

» Questioned costs less than the threshold per the Uniform Guidance

» Lack of timely report submission

» Bank reconciliation issues

» Failure to obtain a timely Single Audit in accordance with Uniform Guidance

» Findings for recovery less than $500

» Public meetings or public records issues

» The entity has no other financial or other concerns

“It may seem to some that this is an ‘automatic’ recognition,” said President Dr. John Kelly, North Royalton Board of Education. “It most definitely is not. The achievement of this recognition is a testament to Treasurer Biagio Sidoti and his entire financial team. Mr. Sidoti continues to set high performance and fiscal responsibility standards. Congratulations to all involved and especially to Mr. Sidoti who continues to blaze new trails of financial excellence for our schools and community.”

BOARD MEMBERS RECEIVE OSBA RECOGNITION

Anne Reinkober, vice president of the North Royalton Board of Education, as well as Dr. John Kelly, president, are recipients of the 2023 Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) Training Award. The Training Award is a distinct award and is part of OSBA’s STAR Awards Program—Service, Training, Aptitude and Recognition.

Board members are recognized for their service on OSBA committees as well as their regional and state leadership roles; ongoing professional development; and completion of an aptitude assessment on an understanding of board governance skills like vision, accountability, policy, community engagement, relationships and advocacy.

“Your efforts reflect a true commitment toward public education and the importance you attach to your role as school board members,” said Gwen Samet, Ohio School Boards Association.

The OSBA Training Award is presented to a very select group. Of the more than 3,400 board members in Ohio, only 29 received the honor in 2023. OSBA will officially recognize Reinkober and Kelly for their achievement at the regional spring conference in March.

ENGAGED IN MY FUTURE

CLICK HERE to read Eli Likowski’s spotlight story.

CLICK HERE to read Giovanni Capone’s spotlight story.

Do you have a teacher or member of our support staff that has made a difference in your life?

The North Royalton City Schools & First Federal of Lakewood present the . . .

Crystal Starfish Award

Nominate that person TODAY for a Crystal Starfish Award! deadline April 3, 2023

bit.ly/NR_CrystalStarfish

STAY CONNECTED . . . TO NORTH ROYALTON CITY SCHOOLS

WEBSITE

District news as well as department and building level news: www.northroyaltonsd.org

MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER

Emailed on the Thursday after the regular Board of Education meeting. A community update from the superintendent. Monthly financial update from the treasurer. Highlights of permanent improvement projects. Updates from Board of Education meeting presentations. Other important District news. Links to important information. How to subscribe: https:// asp.schoolmessenger.com/northroyaltonsd/ subscriber/

YOUR ROYALTON SCHOOLS – PRINTED NEWSLETTER

Mailed to every resident in North Royalton and Broadview Heights (in the NRCSD) four times a year. Features message from the superintendent, financial update and District news.

BEAR WAY

District’s digital magazine published three times a year (fall, winter, spring) features students, staff, and District news. How to subscribe: https://asp.schoolmessenger.com/ northroyaltonsd/subscriber/

QUALITY PROFILE

Published once a year. Characterizes the overall educational value of North Royalton City Schools in academics, arts/music, student leadership/ activities, fiscal stewardship, parent and community involvement, and pupil services. How can I receive?

http://bit.ly/NR_StayConnected

REGULAR USE OF EMAIL MESSAGES THROUGH SCHOOLMESSENGER

The District and each of the buildings use SchoolMessenger to send emails regularly to those parents and residents who sign up to receive these communications. How can I receive? https:// asp.schoolmessenger.com/northroyaltonsd/ subscriber/

Archived communications can be found at:

http://www.northroyaltonsd.org/PublicInformation.aspx

SOCIAL MEDIA

@RoyaltonSchools @RoyaltonSchools

What exactly is the “Bear Way?” It’s not just a saying, or title of a magazine, but a way of life here in our District. It is a sense of pride students have in their schoolwork and how they manage their extracurricular activities while keeping an eye on succeeding academically. It is a sense of pride teachers have when they continually go the extra mile to make sure every student receives a personalized education and succeeds.