Howland Local School District - Winter 2022 Newsletter

H.C. Mines Elementary school

In science, our 4th grade students recently learned about ecosystems. They were tasked with picking a specific ecosystem and creating a diorama that included a detailed background, 3D plants and animals as well as three producers, three consumers and three omnivores. All of the ecosystems also had to include the sun because it is the main source of energy. On the back of the ecosystems, students had to incorporate a detailed food web with at least three food chains that showcased the transfer of energy within their ecosystem.

Winter 2022 Newsletter

Howland Local School District

Howland High School The 2022 Northeastern Ohio Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition took place once again at Youngstown State University, showcasing student artwork from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana and Ashtabula Counties. The Gallery at Bliss Hall displayed works by students in grades 7-12 with five Howland High Springs primary school Students at Howland Springs Primary School celebrated School students representing our district with their talents and skills. Katie Toepfer and Sam Exciting ELA Day, a districtwide initiative that celebrates Mastorides received Honorable Mention for their work in photography, and seniors Logan Stambolia English language arts. To mark the event, students spent and Jennette Sroka also received Honorable Mentions in painting. Brandon Myers was awarded a time reading in the dark with flashlights, blankets and their Silver Key for his digital art piece and was recognized at the awards ceremony on January 22, 2022, at YSU's Ford Theater for his accomplishments. favorite stuffed animals!

Howland High School Howland High School’s Speech and Debate Team continues to impress in the postseason, qualifying for the Ohio Speech and Debate Association State Finals. The following students also finished in the top six of their respective events to earn a spot on the Youngstown district squad: Ky' Renae Matlock, Izzy Carvin, Jaxon Farmer, Nina Glisic, Chelsea Moorhead, Mahayla Prater, Abby Deemer and Reese Tomko.

These students will also compete for a place on the Ohio delegation to the National Speech and Debate Finals. For the first time in team history, our Congressional Debate Team won the National Speech and Debate Association District Championship. Students in this event had to draft, present, and defend legislative bills and resolutions. At the end of the eight-hour legislative session, Howland won the team award based on the individual performances of its squad. Students Mark Groom, Steve Slater and Katie Toepfer qualified for the National Congressional Finals. Groom, Slater and Toepfer along with Aubrey Snyder will also compete at the state finals this March in Wooster, Ohio.

Transportation Department

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BUSES IN THE FLEET

Daily Riders 25 Howland Middle School HMServes, the middle school’s community service club, held a sock drive called “Cover Your PAWS” in February. HMServes collected 2,546 pairs of brand new socks.

Socks are one of the most needed items at area shelters and pantries. The socks collected by HMServes will be donated to the Youngstown Blue Coats, the Warren Academic, Athletic, Band Trips Rescue Mission and Soles of Luv.

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Technology Department

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BUSES ASSIGNED TO ROUTES

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The district has continued to upgrade its classroom technology. This school year, Howland Schools purchased seven CleverTouch interactive panels.

The CleverTouch boards replace the district’s aging SMART boards and video projectors. The CleverTouch panels are able to connect to a variety of video and computer sources. However, unlike the older SMART boards, these new devices can be used independent of an external device. This is achieved through the use of an onboard Android OS, which is integrated into the panel. These panels can use both wired or wireless technology to connect to the Internet, download apps from the Clever store, access a variety of tools within our Google domain, or control their classroom computer. The CleverTouch’s multi-touch feature allows several students to write on the panels at the same time.

from the Desk of Superintendent kevin spicher

Howland Middle School Over a two week period in February, 784 students in grades 5-8 logged over 3,089 hours of reading and raised more than $17,225 for Howland Middle School. The English language arts department hosted the Read-A-Thon fundraiser. This is the first time they've organized an event of this scale.

The goal of the Read-A-Thon was to foster a love of reading amongst students while raising funds for the middle school library and English language arts department. Students were encouraged to read at home and at school, where they also sponsored theme days to promote reading.

Students in grades 5-8 who wished to participate in the event registered through the Read-A-Thon website. Each student was then encouraged to find sponsors, who were willing to support their reading journey in the form of a donation to the cause. Families then tracked how many minutes their child read each day and logged it on the website.

Encore Cinema, Chick-fil-A, Extreme Air Trampoline Park, Deep Freeze Ice Arena, Mocha House and Dairy Queen donated prizes that were awarded to the students who read the most and who brought in the most donations!

It is hard to believe that we are already into the second semester of this school year! We are busy planning for the end of the school year, both academically and interscholastically, while working on plans and changes for the 2022-2023 school year.

We will continue to offer extended learning opportunities into the summer months as we work to close learning gaps for kids who are demonstrating the need. Please feel free to talk with your child’s teacher, counselor or principal for any additional information or to share the needs you may have for your child’s academic and social development. We want to continue to work to address learning losses and other social challenges that may have impacted kids during COVID the past couple years.

Thanks to the appropriation of funds and private donations, a number of overdue building and campus facility improvements have occurred across the district. We value the partnerships and donations that have assisted us to make improvements to our campus facilities. We feel confident that the allocation of funds for building and surrounding improvements will help mitigate safety and traffic issues. Although the goal for new buildings is still very much alive, the financial road to that end is long for districts like Howland, where 80% of the financial burden of building new schools falls back onto its residents. In the interim, we will continue to responsibly work to maintain our buildings and campus facilities so that our students, families and staff have something for which we can all be proud to maintain - until state assistance balances enough to remove the overwhelming burden to local residents.

board of education

In January, we welcomed a new member to the Howland Board of Education, who is committed to continuing the work we do here to keep our district a great and safe place for our students, their families and our staff. Meet Wendy Miller!

"I'm honored to represent the community of Howland as a member of the Board for the next four years. As a lifelong resident, as well as an alumni, my passion for the community and public education will be foremost to my service. I believe all students should have access to an equal and excellent education, and in turn, I'm looking forward to being part of the continual growth of the District. My roots are deep, as my son will be the third generation to graduate from Howland High School in the spring of 2023. I look forward to being a part of a great team," said Wendy Miller, Howland School Board Member.

Curriculum Department Howland Schools purchased two new assessment tools in an effort to help close educational gaps among students. The district surveyed its teachers to determine what educational supplies were most needed within their classrooms. After researching several educational tools, the curriculum department was able to purchase several new supplies that will benefit students and staff for many years. In the elementary schools, students are using a new program called Lexia Core 5. This program individually assesses each student and identifies a specific learning path to enhance reading skills and fill in any gaps created by learning loss.

Students in grade 3-12 who will complete state assessments this spring will be participating in benchmark exams through the use of the Restart Readiness Assessment Portal. These exams will allow teachers to see what levels their students are on as they prepare for the state tests. These two new tools will help teachers to develop very specific learning plans to address the needs of each of their students.

Glen Primary School

Glen Primary School Principal Travis Roth has been pulling double duty as chef, cooking pancakes for Glen students who display outstanding behavior and exceptional character! Once a month, Mr. Roth prepares homemade pancakes for students who are nominated for their efforts!

Activities & athletics

In addition to winning the AAC in the 100 free, Luke Delida finished 11th at the district competition in his 50 freestyle event with a time of 22.48, breaking the school record that was set back in 1994 by Bryan Love.

The girls 200 medley relay team of Peyton Sisler, Nicole Mavrogianis, Gianna Carbone and Rachel Delida also broke their own record at the district meet with a time of 1:57.73.

Freshman Madison Burns qualified and competed in the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association’s Girls State Tournament.

Howland High School is now offering students the opportunity to participate in a robotics program through its new robotics team, Tigerbotics.

Aptiv and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) are sponsors of the Howland “Tigerbotics” team (8718). The FRC Kickoff event took place in January, and Team 8718 will compete in the Buckeye Regional Congratulations to Jared Vrabel - Boys Competition in Cleveland on March 24-26, Bowling Sectional Champion! Vrabel also alongside 44 other regional teams. broke a school record for 3-game score.

Howland High School's defending state-champion soccer team clenched the AAC Championship, Division II Sectional Championship and the Division II District Boys’ Soccer Championship this season!

Congratulations to the 7th grade girls basketball team for winning the AAC championship game with a big win over Canfield 34-17. The 7th grade girls had a perfect 15-0 season. Members of the team include: Peyton Atkins, Anabelle Cairns, Liliana Cairns, Abigail Henry, Maya Kubancsek, Gianna Ognibene, Simone Pitts, Talia Rishel, Mia Thomas, Baylee Villwock, and Ka’Liyah Wright.

The Howland High School Girls Basketball Team finished the season 18-7, winning the AAC championship. The team also went on to clench the 2022 Division I Sectional Championship!

PAWS

PARTNERS ADVOCATING & WORKING FOR STUDENTS In 2019, Howland Local Schools teamed up with PAWS, which was organized to provide Howland Schools funding to make districtwide upgrades that support students, programs and initiatives. The goal of PAWS is to increase school pride and enhance student experiences through updates to athletics, the arts, and technology. Additionally, PAWS works to foster and enhance collaboration between Howland Schools, Howland residents old and new, community organizations, and local businesses. PAWS is a 501(c)(3) exempt private foundation.

Howland Local Schools has been working hard to bring its new school visions to life.

The district has been committed to making districtwide improvements that support students, programs, and initiatives through the use of permanent improvement funds and private donations. Below are the immediate and future goals of PAWS:

Click here or scan the QR code to donate to PAWS

Immediate Goal Expand the track’s six lane straightaway to eight lanes and resurface the entire track Upgrade track and field equipment and facilities

SUPPORT PAWS AT THE

Tiger Day 5K

Partners Advocating and Working for Students (PAWS) is kicking off its inaugural Tiger Day 5K on Saturday, March 19, 2022 at Howland High School.

The 1-mile run start will start at 10 a.m. and the 5K will begin at 11 a.m.

Early packet pick-up will take place at Howland High School on Friday, March 18, from 2 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. at the Athletic Office by the HHS gymnasium. Race day registration and packet pick-up will begin at 8 a.m. at Howland High School, 220 Shaffer Dr. NE, Warren, OH 44484.

Awards to the top overall male and female winners in the 5K as well as the top three male and female winners in the following age groups: 14 & under, 15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70 & up.

Click here or scan the QR code to register for the 5K!

Future Goals Establish a K-12 ESports program Continue to financially support the district’s new robotics program, including naming rights of the robotics lab Facility for the performing arts

Board of Education Julie Altawil, President Denise Delida, Vice President Brian Burkey Dr. Ken Jones Wendy Miller

Administration Kevin Spicher, Superintendent Samantha Pochedly, Treasurer Erin Pierce, Curriculum & Instruction Ramona Kendzerski, Special Education Andrea Ferenac, Activities & Athletics Joseph Simko, HHS Principal Mike Pollifrone, HHS Assistant Principal Stephen Kovach, HMS Principal James Kosek, HMS Assistant Principal Jennifer Stephenson, H.C. Mines Principal Travis Roth, Glen Primary Principal Carl Clark, Springs Primary Principal

Maintenance & Grounds Department

Food Service The food service department has launched a new breakfast program at Howland High School. Prior to this school year, the same breakfast items were served at all five school buildings. Over the summer, food service department supervisor Justin Pancake decided to redevelop the breakfast menu at the high school in an effort to serve more students. He started by researching menus at the area’s most popular restaurants that serve breakfast. Through his research, Pancake developed a weekly menu that has offered breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, a breakfast skillet, breakfast pizza, pancake wrapped sausage and breakfast nachos. Since redeveloping the program, the high school has gone from serving between 15 to 30 students each morning to serving breakfast to nearly 80 students each day!

So far this school year, our maintenance and grounds department has logged more than 520 man hours behind the wheels of the district’s plow trucks to keep the district free of snow and ice. When the district receives four inches or less of snow, the department’s six drivers are able to clear the district’s nearly 20 acres of pavement in about eight hours. If the district receives ice or more than four inches of snow, it takes approximately 16 hours to clear the snow and ice and salt the district’s parking lots and sidewalks.