Olentangy's Top News

Once a week, more than 100 Johnnycake Corners Elementary School (JCES) students make the choice to get out of bed a little earlier and arrive at school a little sooner, just for the chance to sing with their peers.  Music teacher Matthew Parker started the choir voluntarily last year as a way to put to use the skills students were learning in music class.  He also felt the choir would be a great way to strengthen the sense of community and bridge the age gap between students in third, fourth and fifth grades.  Parker says he has been thrilled with the quality of the choir’s performances and with the increase in enthusiasm and camaraderie he has seen in his students.  Residents will have the chance to hear the JCES Choir in person when they perform at the February 23 Olentangy Board of Education meeting, which will be held in the Team Room at Olentangy Shanahan Middle School (OSMS) beginning at 6 p.m.

Olentangy High School (OHS) will induct seven new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 29 during halftime of the basketball game against Olentangy Liberty High School (OLHS), which begins at 4 p.m. at OHS. The seven inductees are OHS alumni who were found by the Hall of Fame Committee to have contributed much to athletics, the school and the community during their times at OHS. All residents are invited to Saturday’s game to join in the celebration. The inductees, their year of graduation and sport are as follows:
* Matt Deleon, class of 1998, cross country;
* Matt Kelly, class of 1986, football;
* Kevin Maehl, class of 1999, wrestling;
* Karen Pillion, class of 1981, volleyball and softball;
* Tim Saunders, class of 1977, baseball;
* Catherine (Barboza) Smith, class of 1993, volleyball and basketball; and
* Kyle Tackovitz, class of 2000, football

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Deborah Delisle visited with Olentangy administrators this month to share updates from the Ohio Department of Education and the Statehouse.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Olentangy Superintendent Wade Lucas, Ed.D., speak with administrators.

When the staff and students at Liberty Tree Elementary School (LTES) realized nasty weather was headed their way last week, they didn’t wish for a snow day.  Instead they wished that the school’s blood drive would be able to proceed as scheduled.  Not only did the blood drive go on, it was a huge success.  Staff members and adults donating on behalf of students gave a total of 109 pints of blood – enough to save approximately 320 lives.

Fifteen Olentangy students won awards at the Delaware County High School Art Show of 2011. The students will be recognized at a reception on Sunday, January 23 from 2 until 4 p.m. at the Arts Castle, 190 Winter Street in Delaware. The students’ artwork will be on display at the Arts Castle through February 24.

Congratulations to:
* Peter B., Olentangy Orange High School (OOHS), first place in photography
* Alexander B., Olentangy Liberty High School (OLHS), first place in mixed media
* Phillip C., OLHS, first place in digital art
* Lauren C., OLHS, third place in wearable art
* Taylor C., Olentangy High School (OHS), first place in ceramics
* Caley D., OLHS, third place in both drawing and ceramics
* Taylor D., OLHS, best of show
* Alyssa F., OOHS, first place in wearable art
* Dylan F., OOHS, first place in drawing
* Natalie G., OOHS, third place in sculpture
* Rachel H., OLHS, first place in painting
* Taylor H., OHS, third place in painting
* John N., OOHS, juror’s choice
* Virginia P., OLHS, second place in painting
* Katelyn T., OLHS, third place in digital art

All Olentangy community members are invited to a parent forum on helping children cope with difficult emotions.  The forum is hosted by the Parent Programs Team (PPT) and will be held Wednesday, February 9 from 7 until 8:30 p.m. in the theater at Olentangy Orange High School (OOHS).  Jennifer Taylor, a grief recovery specialist, will help parents learn about the common characteristics of children’s grief and mourning.  She will also help parents identify the children’s literature and hands-on activities that can help children cope with these painful emotions and everyday challenges.  Free babysitting is available!

Forty-four Olentangy elementary and middle school students will vie for the title of top speller during the district’s spelling bee on Wednesday, February 9 at 6 p.m. in the Olentangy High School (OHS) theater.

Congratulations to all the building-level winners who will represent their schools in the district spelling bee:

Alum Creek Elementary School (ACES)
Sydney and Asreeta

Arrowhead Elementary School (AES)
Lindsay and David

Cheshire Elementary School (CES)
Kendra and Abigail

Freedom Trail Elementary School (FTES)
Katherine and Matthew

Glen Oak Elementary School (GOES)
Iman and Jackson

Indian Springs Elementary School (ISES)
Vidhi and Emilee

Johnnycake Corners Elementary School (JCES)
Claire and Jane-Marie

Liberty Tree Elementary School (LTES)
Katherine and Adithya

Oak Creek Elementary School (OCES)
Lindsay and Neha

Olentangy Meadows Elementary School (OMES)
Kailey and Raghav

Scioto Ridge Elementary School (SRES)
Laura and Avni

Tyler Run Elementary School(TRES)
Katherine and Alan

Walnut Creek Elementary School (WCES)
Olivia and Allison

Wyandot Run Elementary School (WRES)
Alexander and William

Olentangy Hyatts Middle School (OHMS)
Darbha, Amber, Karthik, and Avivah

Olentangy Liberty Middle School (OLMS)
Jacqueline, Griffin, Erin and Leah

Olentangy Orange Middle School (OOMS)
Mia, Izro, Emily and Drew

Olentangy Shanahan Middle School (OSMS)
Haley, Arun, Tyler and Bradley

Third-grade students at Oak Creek Elementary School (OCES) became entrepreneurs this month, creating products to sell to fellow students during lunch.  The sale was the culmination of an economics learning unit that included coming up with the idea for a product, doing household chores to earn money to for product supplies, producing the product and then selling the product.  All the products were priced at $6 or less, and all proceeds were donated to the Huckleberry House.

Three Olentangy third-grade students earned perfect scores on the fall 2010 Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA) in reading.

Congratulations to Grace from Walnut Creek Elementary School (WCES), Brianna from Arrowhead Elementary School (AES) and Daniel from Freedom Trail Elementary School (FTES)!

The OAA is a state-standards based assessment for students in grades three through eight. The OAA covers multiple subject areas and accounts for several of the standards included in the Ohio Department of Education’s local report card that is released each August. While most of the Ohio Achievement Assessments are administered in the spring, the third-grade reading test is administered in both the fall and the spring.

Two teams of Olentangy Orange High School (OOHS) students have qualified to make presentations at the DECA International Career Development Conference in Orlando, Florida April 30 through May 3. Between September and December, OOHS marketing students participated in a stock market game, learning life-long economic and financial skills while investing a hypothetical $100,000. In all, 767 teams from from 12 states and Canada participated in the Central Region of the competition. Six teams from OOHS ended in the top 100. Two of those teams placed in the top 25, qualifying them to present their portfolios at the conference. Congratulations to juniors Sean, Zakery and Daniel; and seniors Whitney, Maria and Jarrod.