November 20, 2007 - Volume 16, No. 47

a Winkler Company publication

Also featuring photos from our monthly supplement...

The Painted Lady of St. Anne's Hill

OHS seniors sign on dotted line for four year sports scholarships

By Lance Winkler

The Oakwood High School Library was the site of a historic first – two signings in one day of senior athletes who have won four-year scholarships to the colleges of their choice due to their skills and abilities in their respective sports disciplines.

Pictured, left to right, front row: Eric Oberding, OHS baseball coach, Mother, Kristen Carpenter, Andrew Carpenter, Father, Lee Carpenter; back row: Mike Rife, Chaminade-Julienne athletic director, Coach Mike Goldschmidt, Urbana University summer coach, Karen Sexton, Andrew’s first Little League Coach, Gary Foster, trainer.

Andrew Carpenter was first at bat with a pen, having been given a baseball scholarship to Michigan State University where he will be playing third base for the college team. Andrew has been playing baseball all his life and loves the game. Rising through the ranks in Little League, he started as a first stringer for OHS varsity baseball his freshman year. He was voted MVP in 2007 and will be baseball team captain this coming season. He was also voted the Best Third Baseman in the Southwest Ohio Coaches Poll. He counts as his baseball heroes Ken Griffey, Jr., third baseman David Wright and Josh Hamilton.

Carpenter plans on attending the College of Business at MSU. Andrew is the son of Lee and Kristen Carpenter.

Pictured, left to right, front row: Kelsey Haviland and Kim Gilbert, OHS tennis coach; back row: OHS Athletic Director Mark Hughes, Nick Mickley, strength and conditioning coach, Matt Jackson, tennis coach, Courtney Haviland, sister, Mother, Karen Haviland and Father, John Haviland.

Coming through the doorway next was one of Oakwood’s finest tennis players ever, Kelsey Haviland. Kelsey signed on for a full four years at Ohio State University where she will be coached by Head Tennis Coach Chuck Marzbacher. According to her mother, Karen, Kelsey started playing tennis seriously in sixth grade and has been playing tournaments ever since. She was a first stringer her freshman year on the OHS varsity girls tennis team. This year, she fought her way up the high school tennis ziggurat to become Runner-Up State Tennis Champion, and was selected First Team All-Area and Player of the Year All-Area for the Southwestern Buckeye League.

Haviland plans on attending the College of Business At OSU. Kelsey is the daughter of Karen and John Haviland.

Collaborative teaching methods discussed

By Dawn Beigel

Oakwood Board of Education discussed at last night’s meeting how differentiation, in the way of co-teaching, reaches the needs of both general students and those with disabilities.

A group of Oakwood teachers—Bryan Ellis, Rachel Keyes and Sarah Martin—were on hand to explain how special needs students learn best when intervention specialists and regular teachers work together to provide instruction at the level a student is ready. Co-teaching, also called collaboration, is used in English and math classes at the junior high school in a number of methods, including parallel teaching, alternative teaching, one team-one drift/observe, and team teaching.

The guest teachers showed a brief video of team teaching in a math class in which Ellis and Martin are working side by side.

The teachers believe collaboration reinforces positive behaviors that influence learning. They said one of their goals for collaboration is to expand it into the science and social studies classes at the junior high.

Board member Dr. Jim Uphoff recalled an opportunity he had to observe collaboration. He said the method was done so well he could not tell which teacher was the intervention specialist and which one was the general teacher, and also that the students did not seem to mind the way it was structured.

“It was working so well with everyone (involved)…I was very impressed,” he said.
Superintendent Dr. Mary Jo Scalzo presented the teachers with special pins for their work. “This whole collaborative effort really serves our students well,” she said.
In commendations at the meeting, the board was presented its banner for achieving a performance rating of Excellent last school year. Presenting the designation were Ohio Board of Education members Susan Haverkos and Carl Wick.

Also commended were:

*Board member Elizabeth Merritt for being selected an outstanding board member for the OSBA Southwest Region. She was recognized by her fellow board members for her work on behalf of students and public schools in Ohio.

*Oakwood High School chemistry teacher Tony Rainsberger for receiving a certificate of recognition from the University of Toledo for his profound influence in the professional development of 2007 OHS graduate Jesse Kell, who now attends the university’s college of engineering.

*OHS Spanish teacher/national board certified teacher Helen Gustke for being appointed as an assessor for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which developed and administers the national board certification program, a rigorous performance valuation for educators.

*Several Oakwood Junior High School students for being recognized at the newly initiated Success Breakfast. They include: Sarah Baumgartner, Henry Blattner, Raphael Crum, Kaitlyn Edwards, Noah Faust, Carter Fowler, Hanna French, Madeline Gilbert, Christian Gray, Rachel Griep, George Hochwalt, Geoffrey Hudson, Katy Kelly, Mark Kravitz, Mary Elizabeth Labrie, Jacob Langhorne, Mike McKean, Cara Mumford, Madeline Nagel, Mitchell O’Connor, Aaron Pruitt, Rachel Ramey, Molly Rodgers, Jennifer Schmitz, Herbert Sizek, Gabe Vuong and Molly Woodhull. OJHS principal Daniel Weckstein was also commended for initiating the quarterly Success Breakfast recognition program.

In legislation, the school board:

*Appointed Dr. Scalzo as their public records training designee for the 2007 calendar year.

*Accepted the resignation of Kyle Pflug, assistant junior high football coach, effective in October.

*Appointed David Baumgardner as interim head custodian at Smith Elementary School effective this Nov. 1 through Feb. 1, 2008.

*Employed Elizabeth Hawkins and Aimee Millard as educational aides at Harman Elementary School, both effective in October, for this school year. Hawkins previously worked for the district as an aide, substitute teacher and secretary. Millard previously worked as an educational assistant with Montgomery County MRDD’s preschool program.

The school board will hold its next regular meeting Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. at the central office.

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