New Richmond Arts Hall to induct three

Former New Richmond band director and current Monroe Elementary principal Mark Bailey and Madame Mary Hissim de Moss, a turn of the 20th century opera star who went on to become the highest paid soprano in America, headline the 2010 class of the New Richmond High School Performing Arts Hall of Fame.




Bailey and de Moss will be inducted Tuesday, March 2, during a 7 p.m. concert at the New Richmond High School theatre along with 1993 New Richmond graduate John Harrison, who went on to receive two college degrees in music composition.

Listen to Doug Helfin's comments about the 2010 inductees

“Mark Bailey was an outstanding band director at New Richmond and an outstanding trumpeter,” noted New Richmond High School music director Doug Heflin. “John Harrison has numerous degrees in music composition and his compositions are just outstanding.”

Bailey, who has been principal at Monroe for the past 10 years, is pleased to go into the hall with one of his former students in John Harrison.

“I knew him then as J.J.,” said Bailey. “He was a trumpet player and piano player and a wonderful composer. J.J. had written a song especially for our band his senior year and we performed it at our final awards concert and J.J. got to conduct his song.”

"Mary Hissim de Moss was New Richmond’s Nightingale," notes Robert Lees, owner of New Richmond's Front Street Cafe and president of Historic New Richmond.

de Moss actually lived in Kentucky. Her father was a steamboat captain who built the Tacoma packet boat in New Richmond.

“Her father was a steamboat captain and he would bring Mary and her friends over to New Richmond for school and take them back in the evenings,” said Heflin.

The 1982 cast of West Side Story, a show that is widely considered one of the most difficult shows that a high school can produce, also will be honored at the Hall of Fame concert.

COSI visits Locust Corner Elementary

The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus presented its Investigating Energy program at Locust Corner Elementary in February. Click on the play button below to watch a slideshow video featuring LCE grades K-4.

NRMS secretary named best in state

New Richmond Middle School principal Adam Bird surprised secretary Mindy Graser with the announcement Wednesday that she had been named secretary of the year.

New Richmond Middle School secretary Mindy Graser has been named secretary of the year by the Ohio Association of Secondary School Administrators.

The award came as a surprise to Mrs. Graser, who was nominated by NRMS principal Adam Bird.

“It came as a complete surprise to me,” she said. “I didn’t know a thing about it until Adam called me into his office and put them on the speaker phone to announce I had won.”

Mrs. Graser has worked for New Richmond schools for 13 years after a 19-year career at Clermont Mercy Hospital. After two years at Monroe Elementary, she moved to New Richmond Middle School, the first five with Diane Spinnati (now principal at New Richmond High School) and the last six with Bird.

“Adam has been a great person to work for,” she said. “I’ve been lucky to have two great bosses here at the Middle School.”

“Those of us who know Mindy personally or professionally know that she is most deserving of this award and that she goes above and beyond what a secretary does in her service to a school and community,” said Bird.

She will receive the award at the OASSA’s Secretary Conference in Columbus on February 25 and 26.

Abby Jewell wins MS Geography Bee

Abby Jewell won the New Richmond Middle School Geography Bee and moves on the state competition and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship.

They next time Abby Jewell’s family goes on a driving trip for vacation they can leave their GPS at home. When they want to know where they’re at, all they have to do is ask Abby.

“My mom (Rebecca Jewell) and my grandma (Beverly Jewell) take me to a lot of historic places in the summer and I’ve always paid attention to where we’re at,” said Abby Jewell, an 8th grader at New Richmond Middle School.

The summer trips coupled with her interests in social studies and history paid off for Abby in the school-level competition of the National Georgraphic Bee.

Jewell won the NRMS competition in January and a chance at a $25,000 college scholarship. The school-level Bee, at which students answered oral questions on geography, was the first round in the National Geographic Bee.

The kickoff for this year’s Bee was the week of November 9, with thousands of schools around the United States and in the five U.S. territories participating. The school winners, including Jewell, will now take a written test; up to 100 of the top scorers in each state will be eligible to compete in their state Bee April 9, 2010.

The National Geographic Society will provide an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for state champions and teacher-escorts to participate in the Bee national championship rounds on May 25 and 26,. The first-place national winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship, a lifetime membership in the society, and a trip to the Galápagos Islands.

“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek will moderate the televised national finals on May 26.

Erica Jones sings National Anthem

New Richmond sophomore Erica Jones sang the National Anthem before the New Richmond basketball game Friday, Feb. 12. Click on the Play button below to watch her performance.

NOTICE - MEETING CHANGE OF DATE - BOARD OF EDUCATION

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the regular meeting of the Board of Education of the New Richmond Exempted Village School District, Clermont County, Ohio on Friday the 26th day of February, 2010 at 5:00 p.m. at New Richmond High School, 1131 Bethel-New Richmond Road, New Richmond, Ohio, has been CHANGED to Friday the 19th day of February, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. at 212 Market Street 3rd Floor, New Richmond, Ohio.

This meeting was moved up one week to allow the board to quickly address issues regarding the school evacuation on Monday, February 8th, 2010 and to allow the public to address the board regarding their concerns on this matter. Please come and participate. If you would like to join our public forum on Facebook come check us out at...

New Richmond Exempted Village School District Facebook Page

PTO quarter action reset for Feb. 17

The NRHS Quarter Auction has been rescheduled for Feb. 17, Please mark this on your calendar
NRHS CAFETERIA
FOR THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN…..
THE 1ST EVER…….
NRHS PTO “QUARTER AUCTION”
IN SUPPORT OF THE 2010 NRHS PTO AFTER PROM
IT IS THE LATEST “CRAZE” IN THE AREA
NEVER BEEN TO ONE???

Choir room closed after evacuation

The choir room at New Richmond High School will be closed indefinitely after several students became ill in the room Monday leading to an evacuation of the school while firemen, air quality experts and Duke Energy investigated possible causes.

High school students were evacuated to New Richmond Elementary.

“We’re going to move the Troubadours to the auditorium until we find what’s causing the problems,” said New Richmond superintendent Tom Durbin.

Fire and EMS crews responded to the high school after five students became ill about 45 minutes into their class in the choir room. They were transported to local hospitals and were released. Six other students from the class complained of becoming light-headed and were treated by EMS personnel at the scene.
Supt. Tom Durbin discusses air quality tests with technicians from Proactive Consulting.

New Richmond fire and EMS chief Mark Baird had the high school students evacuated to the adjacent New Richmond Elementary while his crew and support crews from surrounding departments did a check of the building.

“When you have five people become ill at one time, you don’t want to take any chances,” said Baird, who immediately had the building checked for carbon monoxide. “We had a small reading of 8 parts per million in the boiler room.”

School board members (from left) Sharon Stark, Ben Bird, David Painter and Kevin Walriven meet outside the choir room during the evacuation.

The boiler room, which uses natural gas to heat water for the building’s heating system, is located in another part of the building and not connected to the ventilation system. Durbin said he was told that 8 parts per million is considered a miniscule amount and firemen later reported the reading to be back down to zero.

Durbin called in Trane to check out the HVAC system, Duke Energy to check out the natural gas system and Proactive Consulting to do a complete air quality check of the high school. The tests did not reveal any apparent problems.

Durbin has scheduled Indoor Environmental Quality to be at the school Thursday to do another round of air-quality tests to double-check earlier results.

School board members David Painter, Sharon Stark, Ben Bird and Kevin Walriven responded to the high school and concurred with Durbin’s decision to close the choir room.

“We’re not going to put them back in there until we find out what’s causing it,” said Durbin.

The evacuation to the elementary went without incident and won the praise of high school principal Diane Spinnati.

"The students were just great and you showed why we have the best staff anywhere," Spinnati told her staff at a meeting following the evacuation.

School board member Ben Bird talks with evacuated students at New Richmond Elementary.

Teachers Brian McMonigle (right) and Rylan Shebesta wait out the evacuation with students at New Richmond Elementary.

NRHS PTO “QUARTER AUCTION”

SAVE THE DATE!!!
WED, FEB. 17, 2010 AT 7:00-9:00 PM
NRHS CAFETERIA
FOR THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN…..
THE 1ST EVER…….
NRHS PTO “QUARTER AUCTION”

IN SUPPORT OF THE 2010 NRHS PTO AFTER PROM
IT IS THE LATEST “CRAZE” IN THE AREA
NEVER BEEN TO ONE???
BRING YOUR QUARTERS AND FIND OUT WHAT EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT.
WE GUARANTEE A FUN NIGHT OUT!

IN ADDITION TO ITEMS FROM PAMPERED CHEF, MARY KAY, DONNA SHARP HANDBAGS, LEA SOPHIA JEWELRY AND CELEBRATING HOME, WE ARE LOOKING FOR AWESOME “NEW” ITEMS TO RAFFLE .
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FOR DONATED ITEM DROP OFF.

THANK YOU AND SEE YOU ON FEB. 17TH!!!

Monroe 2nd quarter awards breakfast

Outstanding students were recognized at Monroe Elementary's 2nd quarer Awards Breakfast hosted by principal Mark Bailey.

Meteorologist John Gumm visits LCE

WKRC Meteorologist John Gumm visited Locust Corner Elementary in January and presented his weather demonostration show to the school's fourth grade students.

Gumm, a native of Clermont County, averages speaking to two elementaries a week during the school year and has been a frequent visitor to New Richmond's three elementaries.


Click on the Play button to watch a video slideshow of Gumm's visit to LCE.

For those hoping for a good prediction this week from Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day, Gumm had some bad news. His long range forcast calls for a colder than nornal second half of winter with higher than average moisture.