Thursday, October 28, 2010

UC president visits NRHS

University of Cincinnati president picked New Richmond High School as one of six high schools in Ohio for a speaking tour to promote the Univesity of Cincinnati and the importance of higher education. He visited NRHS Oct. 28 along with Glen Este High School and UC's Clermont and UC East branches in Batavia.

Dr. Williams used his life experience as an example to New Richmond students as an example of the importance of pursuing higher education.

The author of three published books, he wrote his award-winning, "Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black."

As a result of his autobiography, he has been featured on a number of television programs including “Oprah,” “Dateline NBC with Tom Brokaw,” “Larry King Live,” ABC's “Nightline with Ted Koppel” and “Fresh Air with Terri Gross” of National Public Radio.

Click on the photo below to watch Dr. Williams' speech to New Richmond's junior and senior classes.


Dr. Williams is greeted at New Richmond High School Thursday, Oct. 28 by NRHS students (from left) Cody Piper, Nick Williams, Casey White and Kelsey Ober and NRHS principal Diane Spinnati.

Right click here and select Save Target As to download the video

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Monroe repeats as Healthy School

Monroe principal Mark Bailey displays the Buckeye Best Healthy School Silver Award for 2010. He is pictured with Curtis Massey, the school's physical educaton teacher, and Bonnie Whittaker, the school's head cook.

Monroe Elementary has been honored for the fourth year in a row as a Buckeye Best Healthy School.

Monroe received the Silver Award from the Ohio Department of Health's Healthy Ohio program for the 2009-2010 school year. The school also received the Silver award in 2009 after winning Bronze awards in 2008 and 2007.

The Buckeye Best Healthy Schools Awards recognize schools that demonstrate a commitment to the health and wellness of their students and staff through the establishment of programs and policies that foster such goals. These include improving nutrition, increasing physical activity and stopping or preventing the use of tobacco.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Watch the 2010 Homecoming Parade

The 2010 New Richmond High School Homecoming Parade filled Front Street from Main to the Bandstand.

Click on the photo below to watch the Homecoming Parade.


Right click here and select Save Target As to download the video

Monroe's Creative Family Art Night

The theme of this year's Monroe Elementary Creative Family Art Night was "Practicing Peace with Art" and attracted more than 100 students and family members.

Creative stations at this year's show included Family Portraits of Peace, Feed the Birds, Monroe Mosaic and Pinwheels for Peace. Donations for this year's show went to the National Audubon Society to help with the clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Photos for the slideshow video provided by Monroe Visual Arts teacher Adrian Hawk.



Click here to download a copy of this slideshow.

NR graduate honored at Arlington


Flags at New Richmond Exempted Village School District's five buildings flew at half mast Thursday, Oct. 7 in honor of Robert Gumbert, member of the New Richmond class of 1967 who was honored Thursday in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Gumbert, then 22, was on patrol in Vietnam in June 1970 when a land mine exploded and killed Gumbert and several members of his patrol. Gumbert's body was never found, although pieces of his equipment were found. He was listed as missing in action until recently when his status was changed to killed in action qualifying him for a military funeral at Arlington.

Gumbert received full military honors at 9 a.m. Thursday, including the firing of three rifle volleys, the playing of taps and presentation of a flag to the next of kin.

Click here to read about Gumbert and today's Arlington ceremony.

Trevor Helton, 2009 New Richmond graduate, is stationed at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the U.S. Army's Old Guard and Honor Guard, and participates in military ceremonies at Arlington.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Cholkas honored by art association

New Richmond Elementary visual arts specialist Amy Cholkas named Outstanding Art Teacher for 2010 by the Southwest Ohio Art Education Association.

Amy Cholkas’ first impulse was to decline the nomination when informed that she was nominated for he Southwest Ohio Art Association’s Outstanding Art Teacher awards for 2010.

As a regional director of the Association, Cholkas was used to honoring other people for the association’s prestigious award, and felt awkward when told that her time had come to be honored.

“I was honored, but I was very surprised because at the time of my nomination I was OAEA’s regional director and I thought maybe I should decline the nomination,” said Cholkas, who was selected from a group of over 230 art educators in Southwest Ohio.

The OAEA board emphatically responded, “No! No! No!”

Cholkas, who has been an art teacher at New Richmond Elementary for the past 11 years, reluctantly accepted the nomination was honored Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the Cincinnati Art Museum as one of two art teachers selected for the 2010 OAEA’s 2010 Outstanding Art Teacher awards. Also being honored at the OAEA’s awards ceremony Tuesday (Oct. 5) is Mariah Campbell Garretson, a visual arts specialist at Lockland.

Amy Cholkas is presented her Southwest Ohio Art Education Association award by Monroe visual art teacher Adrian Hawk, an OAEA regional director.

Adrian Hawk, art teacher at New Richmond’s Monroe Elementary, was one of those saying, “No! No! No!” the loudest when Cholkas mentioned declining the nomination.

“Amy is so very deserving of this prestigious honor because of her dedication to her young artists and to art as a discipline,” said Hawk, who succeeded Cholkas as an OAEA’s regional director. “Amy is an outstanding planner and develops very beautiful lessons that engage her students. I am very proud to work with Amy here in New Richmond!”

New Richmond Elementary principal Gary Combs couldn’t agree more.

“Mrs. Cholkas is constantly working on ideas and strategies to incorporate art into the curriculum,” said Combs. “She is very committed to our students at New Richmond Elementary and we appreciate her dedication.”

This is the second year in a row that someone from New Richmond Schools has been honored by the OAEA. Last year, Locust Corner principal Julie Renner received the association’s Distinguished Educator for Art Education Award. That award goes to Thomas Bailey, principal at Three Rivers.