Fight for Nate raises $10,000

The Dec. 18 Fight For Nate fundraiser at New Richmond High School raised $10,000 according to preliminary results.

The money goes to the medical fund for Nate Kramer, a 2007 New Richmond High School graduate and school swimming record holder who was diagnosed with leukemia last June after finishing his swimming career at the University of Cincinnati. Kramer is awaiting a bone marrow transplant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

"We have a preliminary total -- approximately $10,000 -- and that doesn't include the City BBQ fundraiser tonight or the Mary Kay fundraiser that Carol Oetzel is doing," said event organizer Sue Griffin. "I think that's tremendous!"

Click on the photo below to watch a combined video/slideshow from the Dec. 18 fundraiser.


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Lions Spirit Wear Sale Dec. 21

2011 New Richmond High School spirit wear will be on sale from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21 in the high school cafeteria for your Christmas shopping. Hookie sweatshirts are $25, T-Shirts $10, Pajamas $20 and Hats $20.

The Spirit Wear sale will take place during the New Richmond boys basketball team’s game against Hughes.

If you cannot make it to the sale you can print out the order form at the link below and order your Lions Spirit Wear by mail.

Lions Spirit Wear order form

Tourbadours 2011 tour of district

The New Richmond High School Troubadours under the direction of NRHS music director Doug Heflin continued their tradition of touring the district with their Holiday Concert.

Click on the photo below to watch the Tourbadours' 2011 performance at New Richmond Elementary School.


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2011 NRHS Band Holiday concert

The New Richmond High School Concert Band under the direction of Michael McKinley performs its 2011 Holiday Concert for New Richmond Middle School students.

Click on the photo below to watch the band's 2011 Holiday Concert.


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Retiring board members honored

Retiring school board members David Painter and Sharon Stark were honored at the December meeting of the New Richmond Board of Education.

Stark and Painter, who served a combined 12 years, will be replaced by incoming board members David Hawkins and Kim Hayden, both former board members.
Retiring New Richmond School Board members David Painter and Sharon Stark hold Excellent With Distinction car stickers and ceremonial bells presented to them at their last Board meeting.

Board member Fred Heflin praised the two outgoing members.

"I have served on the Board of Education on and off since 1979 and have served with 19 different board members," said Heflin. "I want to compliment David and Sharon because they are at the top of the list."

Painter praised the role New Richmond schools has played in his life.

"Were it not for teacher Suzanne Hale, I would still be sitting on the wall on Front Street," said Painter. "She took a special interest in me and I went on to become the first member of my family to go to college."

Painter praised the two new board members.

"I feel good about the members coming on board," said Painter. "I'm confident the Board will continue to try to reduce the financial cost to the district and to improve on the education experience of students."

NRHS swim coaches honored

A new scoreboard at the New Richmond High School pool was dedicated Dec. 18 in honor of Judy and Joe Middeler who have coached the Lions swimmers for a combined 50 years.

Judy Middeler is in her 36th year as swim team coach while her brother Joe is in his 14th season.

“I think they know how we feel about them,” said New Richmond athletic director Doug Foote.

“I’m not a New Richmond person but there’s something special about this place when you look back and see the Ron Birds (33 years as football coach) and Ron Reids who coach here for 30 years. People stay here forever and ever because of the quality of people they work with. Thank you Middelers, you are the best.“

Former New Richmond swimmers Mark Miller and Alex Lewis spearheaded the fund drive that raised $7500 for the new scoreboard. Among the groups making donations were the New Richmond High School PTO, Girl Scout troup 48026, River Hills Bank and the New Richmond Sports Foundation.

“They are not only great coaches, they’re great people and great mentors,” said Miller. “Granted they may have taught everyone in New Richmond how to swim, but that’s not all of the story. They have been involved with Special Olympics and the Village Food Pantry. They reach out to the community and if someone needs help they will be there to help.”

Click on the photo below to watch a video of the dedication ceremony which preceded the benefit for former Lion swimmer Nate Kramer.

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Art is a family affair at New Richmond

Monroe Elementary’s 4th annual Creative Family Art Night attracted more than 250 people from the New Richmond school district who created artwork at 15 environmentally-friendly creation stations for families.

New Richmond Exempted Village School District art teachers (from left) Amy Cholkas, Adrian Hawk and Tim Cook greet families at Monroe Elementary’s 2011 Creative Family Art Night that attracted more than 250 people.

“The theme of this year’s event was ‘EARTH: Back to Nature’,” noted Monroe visual arts teacher Adrian Hawk. “Families from New Richmond Elementary and Locust Corner Elementary were invited to attend this year.”

Click on the photo below to watch a slideshow from Creative Family Fun Night.


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Each family received a reusable cloth bag at the door and were invited to create a design on the bag that represented their family.

“They then visited the different creation stations, which included natural weavings, upcycled ornaments and flowers using old materials, watercolor paintings of ocean scenes, natural leaf rubbings, flower garden mural painting, and much more,” said Mrs. Hawk, who was assisted by NRE art teacher Amy Cholkas and LCE art teacher Tim Cook.

This event was sponsored by Monroe Elementary’s P.T.O.

Monroe Elementary 2nd grade student Emily Colonel (left) and kindergarten student Piper Ulmer work on the Monroe Flower Garden Mural during New Richmond Exempted Village School District’s Creative Family Art Night.

NRMS selling discount 'Go Cards'

Need a stocking stuffer?

Check out the NRMS Athletics 'Go Card,' a discount card that pays for itself.

The New Richmond Middle School Athletic Dept. will be selling "Go Cards" for our winter fundraiser. The cards arrive Wednesday 12/14/11.

"We have 1150 total to sell," said NRMS athletic director Sue Curfman. "The card is good for one year and can be used as many times as you want. The cost is $10 and the card will pay for itself with the discounts."

Download the Go Card order form for your business savings and locations.

 Enjoy Continuous Discounts at Participating Locations

 Valuable Discounts and Offers Valid Until 11/30/12!

 Pays For Itself in Just a Few Visits … a Great Bargain!

 Makes a Great Stocking-Stuffer or Gift!

Questions? Please contact Sue Curfman: curfman_s@nrschools.org

NRE seeks volunteers for reading program

Retired or have time on your hands?

Like Volunteering?

Want to Build Bridges between YOUR community and school?

Then New Richmond Elementary needs YOU! NRE is starting a program, Book Bridges; building bridges between home and school among 2^nd grade students. We are also looking for help with grade three readers. Volunteers are needed to work with students and provide opportunities to build reading skills. Book Bridges operates Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00a.m.-10:40a.m. Third grade times are negotiable. If interested, pick a day, and please contact Misty Cresap at 553-3181 x15310 or Terry Miller at 553-3181 x15001.

Monroe students support our troops

Second grade students at New Richmond's Monroe Elementary have continued a class tradition of giving up their traditional holiday gift exchange parties in favor of making donations to worthy causes.

This year, students in the classes of teachers Staci Heiden, Jennifer Huelsmann and Melanie Shoemaker collected reading and entertainment items, snacks and health and beauty items from the Yellow Ribbon Support Center's Soldiers' Wish List.

Monroe Elementary second-grade team captains (from left) Jake Riffle, Katie Williams and Evan Hughes present some of the items the class collected for U.S. soldiers to Keith Maupin and Erica Huff from the Yellow Ribbon Support Center in Eastgate.

Room captains Evan Hughes, Katie Williams and Jake Riffle presented the gifts to Erica Huff and Keith Maupin from The Yellow Ribbon Support Center, a non-profit organization that has sent over 17,500 packages to our troops serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Yellow Ribbon Support Center is located 700 Eastgate South Drive, Suite 430, Cincinnati, OH 45245. Anyone wishing to make donations to the center can call Mr. Maupin at 513-752-4310 or contact him by email at keith@yellowribbonsupportcenter.com.

Keith Maupin and Erica Huff (standing with second-grade teacher Staci Heiden) explain the purpose of the Yellow Ribbon Support Center to Monroe Elementary second-grade students who collected items for U.S. Troops.

Cholkas honored by art group

New Richmond Elementary School visual arts teacher Amy Cholkas has received the Circa Recognition Award from the Ohio Art Education Association and inducted into the OAEA Circa Honor Society at the association’s annual conference in Dayton in November.

The OAEA Circa Society honors OAEA educators who have shown long term service and professional dedication to OAEA and the field of visual art education in Ohio.

The Ohio Art Education Association is Ohio’s professional organization for nearly 2000 of Ohio’s visual art educators and promotes educational growth and leadership within its membership.

“Congratulations to the New Richmond Exempted Village School District for having this outstanding educator in your district,” said Kathryn Cahill, OAEA membership chair.

NRMS concert honors veterans

New Richmond Middle School honored our community's military veterans Nov. 10 with an assembly and concert by the school's 7th and 8th grade choirs under the direction of Mr. Doug Heflin.

Click on the photo below to watch a video of NRMS' Veterans Concert.


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NRHS to hold Nate Kramer benefit

New Richmond High School will join the University of Cincinnati swim team in “The Ted Mullin Hour of Power” cancer awareness swim relay from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22 to benefit the Nate Kramer Medical Fund.


Kramer, a 2007 graduate of New Richmond, was diag¬¬nosed with Leukemia last June following the completion of his collegiate swimming career at the University of Cincinnati.

After being cut from basketball in middle school, Kramer switched to swimming and went on to set school records in the 200-meter and 500-meter freestyles, the 200 Individual Medley and the 100-meter backstroke and won a scholarship to swim for UC.

“Nate is one of an elite group of New Richmond High School graduates to receive a scholarship to a Division I college to participate in athletics,” said NRHS teacher Rick Mahan.

The benefit will be held at the New Richmond High School pool after school on the 22nd.

“We ask that you bring a donation and come swim or just watch,” said Mahan.
Anyone wishing to donate or has any questions can contact Mahan (553-3191 Ext. 10214), Malissa Cornette (553-3191 Ext. 10306) or Judy Middeler (553-3161 Ext. 11027).

Monroe serves those who served

Monroe Elementary held its annual Veterans Breakfast Thursday, Nov. 10 featuring the Monroe Student Council serving breakfast meals to the veterans and also performing patriotic songs under the direction of Sally Lindsley.

Click on the photo below to watch a video of Monroe Elementary's Veterans program.


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Locust Corner honors veterans

New Richmond's Locust Corner Elementary held its annual Veterans Breakfast Nov. 9 featuring four of the area's World War II veterans.

Click on the link below to watch a slideshow video of Locust Corner's Veterans program.


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

Amy Cholkas' salute to veterans

New Richmond Elementary visual arts teacher Amy Cholkas created an educational and inspirational Powerpoint presentation for the school's annual Veterans program.

Click on the photo below to watch a video of Amy Cholkas' veterans presentation.


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NRE 2011 Veterans Breakfast

New Richmond Elementary held its annual Veterans Breakfast Nov. 7 featuring readings honoring veterans and a performance by a combined faculty-student choir.

Click on the photo below to watch a video of NRE's Veterans program.


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NRE student council speeches

Candidates for president and secretary of New Richmond Elementary's Student Council gave their campaign speeches Monday prior to voting by the school's 4th, 5th and 6th grade students.

The program was hosted by NRE Student Council advisor Karen Cahall and NRE Speech-Language Pathologist Tracy Maguire.

Click on the photo below to watch the speeches.



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Preschool openings at Locust Corner

There are a few openings in the preschool classroom at New Richmond's Locust Corner Elementary. Families must reside in the LCE area to be eligible.

If you or anyone you know, has a preschool age child and would like enrollment information, please contact Erika Hauke at hauke_e@nrschools.org or leave a voice mail message at 553-3181 x15206.

NRHS to perform White Christmas

The New Richmond High School music department has never shied away from major productions when it comes to the school’s Fall musical having produced the likes of West Side Story. But somehow White Christmas never made the production schedule until this year.

“White Christmas is a really wonderful old time story with a happy ending but it really doesn’t get produced very much because it’s moderately seasonal,” said New Richmond music director Doug Heflin, who is directing the show with the assistance of his wife, Lisa. “But because we have our musical a week before Thanksgiving, it kind of gives us a connection.

Cast members from New Richmond's production of White Christmas (from left) Sammi Gregory, Sarah Molitor, Ashleigh Beard, Will Heflin and Nick Gilman rehearse their roles.

Besides it’s an Irving Berlin musical.

“I’m a big Irving Berlin fan,” admitted Heflin.

The muisical will be performed November 18th & 19th at 7:00 pm in the NRHS theater.

The White Christmas storyline has two World War II veterans and song-and-dance act following two beautiful sisters to a Vermont lodge where they will be performing in a Christmas show. Once there they find their former Army commander, General Waverly, is the lodge owner and a series of romantic mix-ups result where they try to help the general.

“The movie version of White Christmas is a bit different from what we will do on stage,” said Heflin, who is directing a cast and crew of 75. “You can tell they changed the movie version around to be a vehicle for the great stars.”

The two main characters Bob and Phil (played in the movie by Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) are being played by Will Heflin and Nick Gilman. The sisters (Vera-Ellen and Rosemary Clooney in the movie version) are played by Sammi Gregory and Sarah Molitor.

“Those four characters are the driving force in the movie,” noted Heflin, “but in the stage version we are doing we also have very important parts being played by Ashleigh Beard who playing Martha Watson the inn keeper, Michael Steelman who is General Waverly and Sarah Denneman who is playing Susan Wavely, the granddaughter of Waverly. In our stage version both Martha and Susan have solos.”
NRHS music director Doug Heflin directs a scene during rehearsal while his wife and assistant director, Lisa Heflin, and Newton McCollum discuss his role in the musical White Christmas.

The New Richmond production also will include some of the dance routines from the Broadway and movie versions with the students doing their own choreography.

“Without a dance studio and a dance choreographer here, the students divvy up and do all their own choreography,” said Heflin. “We have a couple solo dances (Mary Grace Williams and Jessica Nazareth) and I think it looks great.”

Heflin said fans should not confuse White Christmas with Holiday Inn, another Irving Berlin musical from which the song White Christmas originated.

“White Christmas the musical only has a couple of Christmas scenes – the very two or three minutes and then the closing scene,” said Heflin.

“It’s going to be neat. It’s a good sit-back, feel-good about yourself and watch a neat show.”
Michael Steelman plays General Waverly in New Richmond High School's production of White Christmas.

Cast List for White Christmas
November 18th & 19th at 7:00 pm in the NRHS theater
Will Heflin—Bob Wallace
Nick Gilman—Phil Davis
Sarah Molitor—Betty Haynes
Sammi Gregory—Judy Haynes
Michael Steelman—General Waverly
Ashleigh Beard—Martha Watson
Sarah Dennemann—Susan Waverly
Craig Hoagland – Ralph Sheldrake
Pavel Jump—Mike
Erica Jones—Rita
Rachel Heflin—Rhoda
Newton McCollum—Ezekiel Foster
Sydney Clancy—Tessie
Chelsea Fawley—Cigarette Girl
Charlie Spicker—Jimmy
Daniel Wilson—Conductor
Nicholas Wuest—Snoring Man
Cierra Edwards—Mrs. Snoring Man
Lydia Webb—Secretary
Lindsay Gundler—Dance Captain & Passenger #4
Morgan Olenick—Seamstress & Marty
Rachel Ploucha—Assistant Seamstress & Passenger #4
Luke Gilday—TV Announcer
Amber Hudson—Gloria
Jessica Nazareth—Feature Dancers
Hannah Smiddy—Feature Dancers
Mary Grace Williams—Feature Dancers
The Company
Halee Curtis
Tyler Davis
Megan Deters
Audrey Feiler
Cindy Hamilton
Abby Jewell
Olivia Latham
Emily Leffler
Skylar McDonald
Juliane Molitor
Mande Myers
Katelynn Nichols
Courtney Roberts
Analiese Rohdes
Jade Stamper
Ashley Stephens
Rachael Trowbridge
Kelsey Williams

NRMS 1st quarter honor rolls

New Richmond Middle School
1st quarter honor rolls
7th Grade Merit Honor Roll
Grant Anderson, Brittney Bash, Jessica Bauscher, Rachel Coons, Kaeley Fagan, Alexis Forsee, Katelyn Forsee, Alex Gardner, Caitlyn Grooms, Joseph Hammill, Anna Heiden, Calvin Hochberg, Kaylin Hoffman, Travis Justice, Anna Kellerman, Gage Kramer, Madison Lanthorn, Brooke Lanthorn, Teddy Mansfield, Ashley Mikles, Abigale Morris, Daniel Parks, Jacob Phillips, Rachael Riffle, Katherine Schlaak, Shelbi Simpson, Lukas Smiddy, Cortney Smith, Staci Stephens, Daniel Stoy, Trace Walriven, Daniel Weiskittel, Laura Wilson, Dakota Young

7th Grade High Honors
Summer Adams, Levi Antoni, Bailey Armbruster, Savannah Bateman, Natalie Bates, Anna Bennett, Celia Bostic, Kaleb Boyer, Hannah Brown, Lilyann Cahall, Taylor Cardarelli, Jason Chapman, Kaylee Chapman, Joshua Clancy, Sydney Closterman, Sally Corbett, Caleb Cyrus, Jacob Cyrus, Joshua Dixon, McKenzie Edwards, Raebecca Ellington, Nicole Erdman, Clayton Farmer, Amber Fischer, Sadie Fischesser, Hunter Gilpin, Luke Glenn, Ethan Gundler, Bailey Haas, Anna Hamilton, Averi Hammonds, Lindsay Hayes, Hunter Higginbotham, Amber Jividen, McKayla Kirschner, Jacob Konerman, Victoria Loving, Zackary Marck, Angus Matthews, Haley Maynard, Chase McDonald, Brittney Miller, Kandice Miller, Sydney Myers, Brianna Naylor, Christopher Nazareth, Zachary Neeley, Isabelle Oiler, Angel Sauer, Noah Scheu, Cooper Scholz, Peyton Schweickart, Maggie Smith, Johnathan Snider, Brianna Sons, Tabitha Stevens, Douglas Stewart, Timothy Tyler, Maria Valenzuela, Elisabeth Walters, Brandin Webb, Tanner Webb, Emily Weitzel, Emily Willhoff, Ashley Willis, Bergen Workman.

7th Grade Honor Roll
Ryan Allen, Elizabeth Barber, Courtney Bash, Jacob Bishop, Samuel Blackburn, Jade Blackledge, Tyler Brown, Seth Butler, Dawson Cromwell, Shayna Curtis, Kasey Davis, Amber Drew, Brittany Edwards, Christian Faul, Nikolas Hensley, Luke Hoagland, Zakery Hubbard, Hannah King, CJ Meyer, Keaton Montgomery, Austin Niederhelman, Andrew Pruitt, Heather Slye, Bradey Strunk, James Thacker, Ashley Troy, Jude Utsinger, Sophie Wright.

7th Grade Perfect Attendance
Levi Antoni, Corey Baker, Brittney Bash, Courtney Bash, Savannah Bateman, Anna Bennett, Gary Blackburn, Jade Blackledge, Hannah Brown, Taylor Cardarelli, Jason Chapman, Kaylee Chapman, Sally Corbett, Shayna Curtis, Caleb Cyrus, Jacob Cyrus, Joshua Dixon, Hannah Duty, Kaeley Fagan, Clayton Farmer, Amber Fischer, Alexis Forsee, Katelyn Forsee, Alex Gardner, Luke Glenn, Caitlyn Grooms, Anna Hamilton, Joseph Hammill, Averi Hammonds, Sophia Hawkins, Anna Heiden, Nikolas Hensley, Hunter Higginbotham, Luke Hoagland, Calvin Hochberg, Zakery Hubbard, Amber Jividen, Gage Kramer,Madison Lanthorn, Rebecca Lanthorn, Victoria Loving, Teddy Mansfield, Angus Matthews, Haley Maynard, Mollie McDaniel, CJ Meyer IV, Ashley Mikles, Brittney Miller, Keaton Montgomery, Kennith Moore, Sydney Myers, Austin Niederhelman, Isabelle Oiler, Jacob Phillips, Andrew Pruitt, Rebecca Reffit, Nathan Sanders, Angel Sauer, Noah Scheu, Katherine Schlaak, Cooper Scholz, Heather Slye, Daniel Stoy, Ashley Troy, Timothy Tyler, Maria Valenzuela, Tiffany Vise, Dalton Wallace, Daniel Weiskittel, Emily Weitzel, Emily Willhoff, Ashley Willis, Laura Wilson.

8th Grade Merit Honor Roll
Alicia Bailey,Kaitlyn Flake,Adrianna Flood,Evan Grippa,Timothy Hammer,Chase Heflin,Ariel Huber,Jade Kunz,Harrison Light,Kelsey Nichols,Erin O’Toole,Kendal Warren.

8th Grade High Honors
Cidney Adams, Dylan Allen, Rachael Autzen, Gregory Beasley, Emily Belmont, Brianna Chapman, Hannah Clifton, Kendal Collier, Emily Crockett, Rebecca Darland, Noah David, Kristin Evans, Nicholas Flake, Ross Flenniken, Zoe Hallahan, Maren Hance, Hayley Hawkins, Jacob Hayden, Morgan Huddleston, Ariel Johnson, Nicholas Kirby, Brooklyn Klein, Hannah Lake, Hunter Lansaw, Nicholas Laub, Ella Lindsley, Allyson Lutz, Joseph Maxwell, Taylor McKinley, Jesse Noble, Kayla Olenick, Sydney Padgett, Darik Page, Laura Painter, Connor Pike, Amanda Redmon,Holly Reinert, Kiara Rivera, Eric Rolfes, Skye Saldana, Kirsten Savage, Corey Secen, Cydney Stiles, Austin Torrens, Chelsey Underwood, Maisie Waters, Kaitlyn Williams, Lindsey Williams.

8th Grade Honor Roll
Jacob Bauman, Lacey Bayless, Destiana Berling, Chelsey Bowling, Alexander Boyer, Nikita Branam, Jacob Branson, Ryan Brunk, Zachary Bullock, Dustin Carr, Tamara Crosby, Matthew Devoe, Kiley Doane-Deardorff, Kerrigan Dyer, Shawn Elam, Austin Frazier, Tyler Gates, Kaylee Gibbs, Blake Gibson, Karl Greifenkamp, Benjamin Hamilton, Elise Holdsworth, Dana Honaker, Bailey House, Carla Koch, Peyton Kroeger, Chad Louis, Morgan Malicoat, Seyvon Marshall, Melissa Moore, Adam Nassar, Jonathan O'Dell, Silas O'Dell, Tyler Payne, Kelly Rowan, Tyler Sammons,Robert Sarbell, Michael Simpson, Alex Snider, Jenna Swormstedt, Cole Thompson, Jesse Troy, Austin Verkamp, Brian Waddle, Zachary Walton, Magic Weir, Michael Williamson.

8th Grade Perfect Attendance
Cidney Adams, Erik Anderson, Rachael Autzen, Alicia Bailey, Jacob Bauman, Emily Belmont, Jacob Branson, Christopher Bullock, Zachary Bullock, Dustin Carr, Brianna Chapman, Hannah Clifton, Kendal Collier, Travis Crawford, Emily Crockett, Rebecca Darland, Noah David, Kerrigan Dyer, Donald Edwards, Ross Flenniken, Adrianna Flood, Casey Goodheart, Evan Grippa, Benjamin Hamilton, Timothy Hammer, Jacob Hayden, Elise Holdsworth, Bailey House, Ariel Huber, Ariel Johnson, Ethan Justice, Jade Kunz, Harrison Light, Ella Lindsley, Allyson Lutz, Morgan Malicoat, Alix Miller, Kelsey Nichols, Jesse Noble, Jonathan O'Dell, Kayla Olenick, Erin O'Toole, Sydney Padgett, Darik Page, Tyler Payne, Connor Pike, Skye Saldana, Tyler Sammons, Robert Sarbell, Nicholas Skeene, Christopher Sollberger, Hali Stamper, Cydney Stiles, Stile Sweet, Jesse Troy, Stacey Tucker, Chelsey Underwood, Austin Verkamp, Brian Waddle, Maryann Wuerdeman.

Monore 1st Quarter Awards Breakfast

Monroe Elementary honored Kindergarten through second grade students for academic achievement at an Awards Breakfast Friday, Oct. 28 hosted by principal Mark Bailey.

Click on the photo below to watch a video of Friday' Monroe Awards Breakfast.



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Lions Reach Out begins clothing drive

Lions Reach Out, the New Richmond charity that benefits needy students at New Richmond High School, will hold its annual clothing drive Oct. 31 through Nov. 15.


“Please feel free to donate any size items--infants, toddlers, children’s, teens are desperately needed this year--we’ll take it all,” said Lions Reach Out director Sue Griffin. “Please make sure the items you donate are in really good shape.”

Lions Reach Out is working with the Felicity United Methodist Church which will receive any items that Lions Reach Out cannot use.

Items can be dropped off any time during school hours at room 204 at New Richmond High School between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15. For more information call Sue Griffin at 553-3191.

Lions Reach Out is a 503c non-profit registered with the IRS and all contributions are tax deductible.

Monroe hosts Creative Family Art Night

Monroe Elementary will host a district wide Creative Family Art Night from 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3. The event is open to all district elementary school families and students.

The theme for this year's Creative Family Art Night is "Back to Nature!". Each art creation station will be centered around the environment and other parts of the living world.

“CFAN includes cool art making stations to create great art with your family, an art exhibition of student work, and collaborative art experiences for community-based art experiences,” explained Adrian Vance Hawk, Monroe Visual Arts Specialist. “Families from NRE and LCE are invited to attend.”

Anyone with questions or willing to volunteer are urged to contact Adrian Vance Hawk at hawk_a@nrschools.org or 513.553.3183 ext. 14402.

Monroe First Quarter Honor Rolls

New Richmond Exempted Village School District
Monroe Elementary School
First Quarter Awards 2011-2012

4th Grade Merit Honor Roll
Jason Ackerman, Abigail Allen, Lilli Fields, Jonah Hanrahan, Austin Houston, Taylor Jones, Logan Kunz, Ellie Mansfield, Jetta McCart, Samantha Pratt, Ashley Sarbell, Brandon Savage, Allison Verdin, Lydia Victor, Kailey Wehrmeyer, Mitchell Williamson.

4th Grade Honor Roll
Hailey Carnahan, Drew Coorey, Garret Corbin, Elizabeth Courtier, Aaryn Craig, Jarrett Donley, Jerrid Evans, Trenton Evans, Seth Fischesser, Owen Gibbs, Lexie Hebling, Anna Houck, Claudia Kennedy, Chase Kiser, Jacob Kunz, Amy Lewis, Caleb McConnell, Katherine Moore, Destiny Morel, Jacob Reams, Sebastian Reissig, Katie Rufft, Wyatt Seal, Dakota Stewart, Nathan Taylor, Joe Vance, Lexy Vogt, Lilly Wildey, T. J. Williams, Chris Willis.

5th Grade Merit Honor Roll
Holly Chandler, Cierra Fluhart, Lindsey Hoffman, Sebastian Johnson, Carmen McDonald, Jordan McKinley, McKenzie Miller, Hailey Penny, Sawyer Scheu.

5th Grade Honor Roll
Olivia Brashear, Tyler Bullock, Jon Davidson, Sophia Deardorff, Sierra Deitsch, Matt Elliott, Gage Goodeart, Julie Harrison, Alex Heflin, Ian Herrmann, Tyler Heskamp, Hailey Jowers, Jody Lytle, Melanie Matheney, Mary Moran, Abby Morgan, Allison Neiderhelman, Trista Smith, Ben Spires, Alyssa Stiles.

6th Grade Merit Honor Roll
Julien Battista, Elise Bezold, Josie Blome, Nicholas Edmondson, Jacob Heskamp, Jazmyn Hinkston, Kiae Marshall, Michael Nichols, Kara O’Toole, Trinite Patterson, Kaleigh Pratt, Rainy Stripplehoff, Nicholas Swisher.

6th Grade Honor Roll
Mackenzie Adams, Andrew Appelmann, Andrew Bach, Kaitlyn Blice, Hallie Bolton, Haylie Clemmons, Peyton Daugherty, Zachary Deardorff, Adam Durham, Aaron Ellis, Lane Flamm, Matthew Franks, T. J. Gelter, Matthew Hosler, Christopher Isaacs, Bryce Lavely, Scott Lindsey, Shelby Miller, Haily Olson, Jazmine Roden, Elexis Sanchez, Faith Schuster, Evan Taylor, Maria Trimble, Sean Underwood, Zachary Wuest.

4th Grade Principal’s Award
Jason Ackerman, Abigail Allen, Nathan Blakely, Drew Coorey, Garret Corbin, Trenton Evans, Lilli Fields, Seth Fischesser, Owen Gibbs, Jonah Hanrahan, Lexie Helbling, Austin Houston, Taylor Jones, Emily Justice, Jacob Kunz, Logan Kunz, Amy Lewis, Ellie Mansfield, Jetta McCart, Caleb McConnell, Destiny Morel, Samantha Pratt, Katie Rufft, Ashley Sarbell, Brandon Savage, Brittany Seng, Allison Verdin, Lydia Victor, Lexy Vogt, Autumn Waddell, Corydon Ward, Kailey Wehrmeyer, Lilly Wildey, Mitchell Williamson.

5th Grade Principal’s Award
Taylor Bayless, Olivia Brashear, Holly Chandler, Sierra Deitsch, Matt Elliott, Trent Felts, Gage Goodheart, Brian Hamilton, Sara Harris, Cody Harrison, Julie Harrison, Alex Heflin, Ian Herrmann, Lindsey Hoffman, Sebastian Johnson, Hailey Jowers, R. J. Lara, Matthew Laub, Paul McCulley, Carmen McDonald, Jordan McKinley, McKenzie Miller, Mary Moran, Allison Neiderhelman, Sierra Pelcha, Hailey Penny, Faith Powers, Casey Riffle, Sawyer Scheu, Alyssa Stiles, Brennan Verkamp.

6th Grade Principal’s Award
Mackenzie Adams, Lydia Anderson, Julien Battista, Elise Bezold, Kaitlyn Blice, Haylie Clemmons, Nate Dillow, Aaron Ellis, Jazmyn Hinkston, Christopher Isaacs, Bryce Lavely, Scott Lindsey, Kara O’Toole, Trinitie Patterson, Kaleigh Pratt, Elexis Sanchez, Rainy Stripplehoff, Nicholas Swisher, Maria Trimble, Sean Underwood, Jade White, Ryan Wolf.

4th Grade Perfect Attendance
Ackerman, Jason, Elizabeth Courtier, Jerrid Evans, Lilli Fields, Alexis Fiscus, Owen Gibbs, Anna Houck, Jacob Kunz, Logan Kunz, Isabella Lara, Katherine Moore, Brittany Seng, Allison Verdin, Lexy Vogt, Lilly Wildey, Christopher Willis.

5th Grade Perfect Attendance
Christopher Brunk, Tyler Bullock, Holly Chandler, Sierra Deitsch, Kaylee Donahue, Gage Goodheart, Brian Hamilton, Julianna Harrison, Ian Herrmann, Tyler Heskamp, Lindsey Hoffman, Paul McCulley, Carmen McDonald, Jordan McKinley, Taylor Rogers, Sawyer Sceu, Joshua Vandergriff, Brennan Verkamp.

6th Grade Perfect Attendance
Mackenzie Adams, Andrew Appelmann, Natalie Barcheski, Elise Bezold, Kaitlyn Blice, Hallie Bolton, Timmothy Brown, Hailey Clemmons, Peyton Daugherty, Adam Durham, Aaron Ellis, Courtney Faul, Lane Flamm, T. J. Gelter, Jacob Heskamp, Jazmyn Hinkston, Scott Lindsey, Haily Olson, Kara O’Toole, Nicholas Swisher, Evan Taylor, Maria Trimble, Shayla Underwood, Zachary Wuest.

Quarter auction to benefit After Prom

The New Richmond High School PTO's After Prom committee will be holding a Quarter Auction on Thursday, Nov. 3 in the NRHS Cafeteria. Auction preview begins at 6:30 p.m. with the auctin starting at 7 p.m. Proceeds go to the 2012 After Prom.

The After Prom committee is looking for donated items for the auction and volunteers to help set up and clean up after the auction.

"We have solicited to many local businesses and have gotten some great prizes, but if you happen to have “never opened/unused” items in your closet/basement that you have bought or received as a gift, we would love to take it off your hands," said commitee member Joyce Montgomery.

Anyone with items to donate or willing to volunteer their time should contact Linda Miller at lemiller63@yahoo.com or Tricia Bosse at tdbosse@zoomtown.com.

NRHS gets mobile math computer lab

New Richmond High School math students now have the use of a mobile computer lab to use with GeoGebra, a free, multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education that joins geometry, algebra, tables, graphing, statistics and calculus.

“Teachers have been trained in GeoGebra and are using it in everyday math classes at New Richmond High School,” said John Frye, director of pupil and staff services for the New Richmond Exempted Village School District.

Julie Edmondson from the NREVSD technology department programs 10 new laptop computers that make up a mobile computer lab for math students at New Richmond High School.

“The mobile computer lab will be shared by the high school math department teachers and teams of students will explore the applications and changes of vectors, coordinates and much more in a virtual environment.”

The mobile computer lab, consisting of 10 laptop computers, was delivered Thursday. High school match teachers received training in web-based GeoGebra during the summer.

GeoGebra was developed in Europe and is used internationally and is available on the internet at http://www.geogebra.org. It allows teachers and students to do constructions including points, vectors, segments, lines, and conic sections as well as functions, which can be altered dynamically by mouse afterwards.

“Our teachers will use it to demonstrate and teach higher level concepts and skills,” said Frye.

2011 New Richmond Homecoming Parade

Click on the photo below to watch a video of the 2011 New Richmond Homecoming parade.



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Monore 2011 Grandparents Day

Grandparents went back to school at Monroe Elementary Friday, Sept. 23 for the school's popular Grandparents Day.

Click on the photo below to watch a slideshow video of Monroe's grandparents.



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Locust Corner Grandparents Day

Grandparents Day is always one of the more popular events at New Richmond's Locust Corner Elementary and the 2011 breakfast/open house filled every available parking space. Click on the photo below to watch a slideshow video of happy grandparents and students.



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Monroe artwork displayed at Starbucks

A rotating exhibition of artwork by Monroe Elementary students is on display for the next three days at Starbucks in Cheery Grove.

"The students studied an environmental artist named Bryant Holsenbeck whose work utilizes old credit cards and gift cards to make collages of animals and birds," explained Monroe art teacher Adrian Hawk. "Starbucks has been saving gift cards used by their customers for our art room. The artists at Monroe cut the cards and made some beautiful artworks from them (see below)....they are so lovely in person!"

Monroe art teacher Adrian Hawk with some of the Monroe artwork on display at the Cherry Grove Starbucks.

NRMS athletics selling pizza cards

New Richmond Middle School athletes are selling Buddey LaRosa Cards for $10. Five dollars of the purchase of the discount pizz cards will go to the NRMS athletic department.

"The cards are good for one year at the point of you activating the card," said NRMS athletic director Sue Curfman.

The sale ends Sept. 27 with the cards delivered the week of Oct. 10. Cards may be purchased from any NRMS athlete or by contacting Sue Curfman at the middle school or by email at curfman_s@nrschools.org.

Faculty Flash Mob Dance video

Click on the image below to watch the New Richmond faculty Flash Mob Dance at the Sept. 9, 2011 high schol pep rally.

NRHS music department enjoying wide-open spaces

New Richmond High School vocal music director Doug Heflin finally has the space to match his philosophy of never turning away a student from participating in a music program.

“For the first time I’m going to have a place where all the kids can prepare for a concert together,” said Heflin in describing the former library at New Richmond High School which was remodeled into a music room during the summer.

“When we have a concert we will have 240 people getting ready in this room and this is the first time in my teaching career of 27 years when all our choirs can prepare together.”
New Richmond High School music director Doug Heflin now has the space to house his 240-member music department.

The high school auditorium served as Heflin’s music classroom for the past two years after the school’s original music room was deemed too small to accommodate 120 students, the number needed for the school’s acclaimed Troubadours. Half the group would sit in the orchestra pit while the other half filled the first rows of the auditorium seating.

“The auditorium was a difficult place to rehearse because of the location of each section,” noted Troubadours president Grant Gilman. “The sopranos and altos would be far away and the sound didn’t blend very well. The only time we could get together was on the stage during concerts.”

Hearing the sopranos and altos is no longer a problem with the new sound system.

“The sound system is fantastic,” said Heflin, who is in his 20th year at New Richmond. He previously taught seven years at Jackson. “I can whisper and with my wireless microphone everyone can hear me from across the room.”

New Richmond superintendent of schools Adam Bird came up with the idea of turning the large library into a music room.

“We conducted a survey and discovered that the majority of the students using the library did so for the computers or as a quiet place to study,” explained Bird. “Only four percent of the students were going to the library to check out books.”

The library computers were moved to an empty classroom to give the high school a second computer lab. The rest of the library moved into a one of the school’s two large art rooms which became available when the high school went to one art class.
New Richmond High School music director Doug Heflin discusses the department’s new spacious quarters with Troubadours president Grant Gilman.

Besides the 120 Troubadours, Heflin has 81 other students in mixed chorus and 35 students in his select choir. Those students also make up men’s and women’s choirs. Heflin also serves as the New Richmond Middle School music director with the retirement of Tom Gilfillin.

“Now that I’m in charge of the 7th and 8th grade choirs, I have seven choirs with 390 singers in grades 7 through 12,” said Heflin.

Heflin has 75 to 80 students in each of his choirs at the middle school, where he uses the former band room.

“It’s not as spacious as what we have at the high school, but we never turn away a child from being able to participate in a music program,” said Heflin.

Heflin will have a hard act to follow this year after his Troubadours came away from national competition in Maryland last spring with three gold medals.

“Every year we look at the Troubadours and say, ‘How can we top last year,’” said Heflin. “And I tell you, I think this group sounds great.”

“I think we can exceed the expectations from last year with this group,” said Gilman.

The New Richmond High School libarary has moved to one of the school's former art rooms. Library aide Joyce Montgomery is pictured with (from left) Greer Neess and Sarah Hartman who are using the library to study. A survey conducted last school year revealed that only four percent of students were using the library to check out books.

Celebrating Excellence in our schools

Click on the photo below to watch a video of the 2011 Opening Day Convocation presentation celebrating the team effort by administrators, teachers, employees, parents and students that resulted in New Richmond being named an Excellent with Distinction district. The video is from a Powerpoint presentation by Mr. John Frye, director of pupil and staff services for the NREVSD.

Season Passes now on sale

You can buy your season passes now in the office at NRHS. Several options for you are available.

Seat license for football games are $25 a piece plus admissions price.
All Sports Pass are available $90 adult/ $70 student
10 game pass $50 adult/ $30 student

Passes will not be sold on Friday night football games so please come in and purchase them.

Opening Day Convocation speeches

Click on the images below to watch speeches by New Richmond superintendent of schools Adam Bird and distinguished New Richmond alumnus Bob Lees at the 2011 New Richmond Schools Opening Convocation and the 2011 school year kickoff by the New Richmond High School cheerleaders.

*** EXCELLENT WITH DISTINCTION ***

The New Richmond Exempted Village School District learned Friday that it has obtained an Excellent With Distinction rating by the Ohio Department of Education for the 2010-11 school year. It marked the fourth straight year that New Richmond has been rated Excellent.

“We are really proud of our students,” said New Richmond superintendent of schools Adam Bird. “This is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students, teachers, PTOs and staff of NREVSD.”

According to the superintendent’s report Bird received from the state last month, New Richmond scored higher than the state requirement in all testing areas and higher than our similar districts.

“And we have a district wide performance index of 101, the first time we’ve been over 100,” said Bird.

Superintendent Adam Bird will be hanging an Excellent with Distinction banner on the wall of the Central Office.

All five New Richmond schools – Locust Corner Elementary, Monroe Elementary, New Richmond Elementary, Middle School and High School – exceeded the state requirements in all testing areas to qualify for an Excellent rating. The district was elevated to Excellent with Distinction by its valued-added component of Ohio’s school report-card system measures growth or improvement to determine the "value" gained by a student during a time period.

School and district performance reports are issued annually by the Ohio Department of Education, detailing students’ performance on standardized statewide tests, rates of improvement on those tests, student attendance and graduation rates.

The only state performance measure not met by the district in the preliminary report was Adequate Yearly Progress in the area of special education math.

The minimum requirement by the state is a passing rate of 75 percent in each testing area. New Richmond exceeded 90 percent in six of the 23 testing areas and was over 80 percent in all but one area – 10th grade math (78.6 percent).

“I am very pleased with the efforts of our students and staff,” said Bird.“However, we are concerned with the 5 to 10 percent of our students not passing the state tests and we will be focusing more attention on those students.”

One of the tools New Richmond will be using to achieve Bird's goal is the Pro-Ohio assessment program the district has subscribed to for the upcoming school year.

Pro-Ohio is a benchmark/indicator-driven learning tool designed to help teachers prepare students for success on the OAA/OGT with assessments in math, reading, science and social studies in grades 2 through 10.

School calendars going online

The New Richmond Exempted Village School District will not be sending out printed calendars this year.

"We are putting the school calendar online this year," said Adam Bird, superintendent of schools. "In addition to the savings in printing and postage ($8650 in 2010) it will allow us to keep the calendars up to date."

In the past the calendars had to go to the printer in July in order to be delivered by the start of school resulting in many inaccurate dates due to late schedule changes.

"You cannot predict in July what's going to happen the next April," said Bird. "Now our calendars will always be accurate."

The district calendar is available at this link http://www.nrschools.org/Calendar_Page.htm. The district calendar may be viewed by the week or month in calendar or agenda formats. Viewers also have the option to print monthly calendars or save them to the computer in PDF format.

No freshman orientation this year

Due to renovation at New Richmond High School there will be no freshman orientation/open house this year.

"Incoming freshmen received a tour of the high school at the end of their 8th grade year so they could get a feel for the building," said NRHS secretary Becky Lewis.

Anyone with questions or concerns should contact Ms. Lewis at 553-3191 ext 10002.

The second phase of the high school renovation, which includes asbestos removal, new flooring, lighting and ceilings, will not be completed until the week of Aug. 15 the start of school making the building unavailable while the custodial staff prepares the renovated rooms for classes which will begin on Aug. 18.

High School schedules out next week

New Richmond High School students should be able to pick up their schedules for the 2011-12 school year the week of Aug. 8.

NRHS Principal Diane Spinnati will send out an automated call to to parents when the schedules become available. The schdules are being completed by Ms. Spinnati and NRHS counselors Jim Reaker and Carol Ann Coulter.

NRE Beautification Day

New Richmond Elementary principal Terry Miller is seeking volunteers for a NRE Beautification Day to be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday Aug. 13.

"I am concerned that our custodial staff is overwhelmed with projects and work still to do in the next two weeks and may not be able to tackle the "yardwork" that very much exists," said Miller.

The beautification project will include pulling weeds, planting perennials and spreading mulch on the playground and around the perimeter of the NRE building.

"We would love donations of plants from anywhere," said Miller.

NRE secretary Sally Wylie found someone willing to donate mulch.

Volunteers are asked to bring their own gloves and tools, including a small tiller and weed eaters.

Miller also is seeking donations of hotdogs, buns, chips, cookies and water to feed the workers. A propane tank for the PTO grill is also needed.

"With our Open House August 16, I really want to have the place spruced up and looking inviting," said Miller.

Anyone willing to help with the project are asked to call Sally Wylie or Principal Miller at 513 553-3181.

Parent only NRHS PTO meeting Aug. 8

The New Richmond High School PTO meeting on Monday, August 8th at 7:00 pm in the NRHS Library is a PARENT ONLY PTO MEETING and NOT a Freshman Orientation.

The PTO is using the first meeting of the year to get connected with all parents and especially with new Freshman parents to introduce themselves, illustrate how parents can get involved in creating a successful high school experience for their student and to possibly answer freshman parent questions.

"Due to space, we ask that you not bring your NRHS student with you," said NRHS PTO president Linda Miller. "Thank you and hope to see you on Monday evening!"

Nothing common about new math books

New Richmond Exempted Village School District students in grades kindergarten through six will be greeted with new math text books when they return to school Aug. 18 when the district switches to enVisionMATH.

New Richmond EVSD math teachers (from left) Michele Jackson, Kelly Gabriel, Jane Bevins, Rena Snouffer and Lauren Lindsley watch a presentation during a two-month long evaluation of math programs.

“It’s the first time we have upgraded our K-6 math text books in nine years,” said Adam Bird, superintendent of schools. “Our math teachers have had to shoe-string everything together because the math books they were using did not reflect the demands of the state tests.”

“The fact that we were able to pass the state math tests is a reflection of the job our math teachers have done.”

The enVisionMATH program is designed to meet the national Common Core math assessment standards that begin in 2014. The new math series has interactive and visual learning components and designed for both gifted at at-risk learners.

The new math series was selected by a committee of math teachers from the district’s three elementary schools who consulted with teachers in their buildings.

“It’s a program that our teachers believe best fits out district and our students’ needs and best prepares our district for the new common core national math standards coming out this fall,” said John Frye, director of pupil and staff services for New Richmond schools.

More than 25 teachers were actively engaged in the evaluation process which took place in April and May.

“We looked at districts that had excellent with distinction math scores and looked at what they were using,” explained Frye, who invited enVisionMATH, Everyday Mathematics, Math Investigations and Think Math to make presentations to the committee. “The evaluation process was really intense and I’m really proud of the work of our teachers.”

The new math series will cost $125,000.

“That’s about average for a K-6 math program,” noted Frye. “In addition to math books, it will include work books for students and materials for teachers plus online access to multimedia delivery that will be part of the daily lesson plans.”

Next up for New Richmond will be the adoption of a new reading program by the end of the 2011-12 school year to meet the new Common Core reading standings.

“I expect that evaluation process to take the better part of the school year,” said Frye.

Band prepares for 2011 halftime show

New Richmond High School band director Michael McKinley (center) directs band members during this week's band camp.

The New Richmond High School Marching band is going through its equivalent of two-a-days this week with band camp at the stadium in preparation for the 2011 halftime show.

"We're doing a funk show this year," explained New Richmond band director Michael McKinley.

The show will include 'Tear The Roof Off' (Parliment), 'Birdland' (Weather Report), 'Sir Duke' (Stevie Wonder) and 'Pick Up The Pieces' (Average White Band).

"We've got 80 kids out this year and the show is well on its way after just two days of camp," said McKinley.

The band will perform a parents show at 5:00 p.m. on Friday at the stadium.
The 80-strong New Richmond High School marching band works on the 2011 halftime show under the direction of band director Michael McKinley.

Paving projects underway

Re-paving projects are underway at New Richmond Middle School and the high school tennis courts. Both projects are scheduled to be completed before the start of school on Aug. 18.

NR cheerleaders get top rating

(Front row from left): Rachel Benton, Katie Gelter, Kirstin Mattingly, Nicole Payton, Emilee Bateman, Mariah Corbin, Ally Meadors, Emma Feld (Back row from left) Jordan Berger, Amanda Nguyen, Jenny Roberts, Kelsi Curry, Jade Stamper, Paige Willhoff, Lexi Cook, Kelsey Kirschner, Alyssa Hallahan, Not pictured Nikki Dillow.

New Richmond High School’s cheerleaders came home with three blue superior ribbons and a superior team trophy from the Universal Cheerleaders Association camp at The Ohio State University July 18-21.

Senior Nicole Payton was named an UCA All-American and was invited to attend the UCA’s 2012 London Varsity Tour in London, England.
New Richmond senior Nicole Payton has been named an UCA All-American and invited to attend the UCA's 2012 London Varsity Tour in London, England.

The Lions cheerleaders are coached by Heidi Nieto and Abigail Mineer.

Team members are seniors Nicole Payton, Kirstin Mattingly, Emilee Bateman, Jordan Berger, and Nikki Dillow; junior Katie Gelter; sophomores Lexi Cook, Alyssa Hallahan, Amanda Nguyen, Kelsey Kirschner and Paige Willhoff; and freshmen Emma Feld, Mariah Corbin, Kelsi Curry, Ally Meadors, Jade Stamper, Rachel Benton and Jenny Roberts.

“The girls worked hard all week and are excited to perform new material during the 2011-2012 school year,” said Nieto.

Television reports on Beckjord closing

New Richmond Exempted Village School District chief financial officer Teresa Napier and other local government officials will meet Monday with Chief Clermont County Deputy Chuck Tilbury to determine the financial impact of Duke Energy's decision to close the Beckjord generating plant in New Richmond by 2015.

"It's going to be huge," Napier said Tuesday in interviews with WCPO television news reporter Tom McKee and WKRC television reporter Rich Jaffe. Their reports can be seen in the links below.

(It should be noted that the 500 district employees mentioned in the report include all subs and part-time workers).

WCPO report:



WKRC report:

Math teachers add new software

New Richmond High School and Middle School math teachers have completed two days of training in order to introduce the international math software program Geogegra to their classrooms this fall.

GeoGebra trainer Steve Phelps (standing) works with New Richmond math teachers (from front) Cara Corbin, Vickie Corpuz and Lisa Kellerman. John Frye, director of pupil and staff services for the NREVSD, observes.

GeoGebra comes from geometry and algebra and is an open source software for mathematics education in schools that joins dynamic geometry, algebra and calculus. The program has won several educational software awards in Europe.

“Our teachers will use it to demonstrate and teach higher level concepts and skills,” said John Frye, director of pupil and staff services for the New Richmond Exempted Village School District.

“The high school math department requested training in GeoGebra which will allow teachers and students to use interactive graphics, algebra and spreadsheet graphs to better understand mathematical concepts from elementary school to university level.”

Frye said the middle school teachers were invited as the higher level math courses are being introduced at those grade levels.

The program is used internationally and is available on the internet at http://www.geogebra.org and allows teachers and students to do constructions including points, vectors, segments, lines, and conic sections as well as functions, which can be altered dynamically by mouse afterwards.

On the road to Excellent again

The New Richmond Exempted Village School District is in line for an Excellent rating for the fourth consecutive year by the Ohio Department of Education according to preliminary results of testing for the 2010-11 school year.

“According to the superintendent’s report I received from the state, we scored higher than the state requirement in all testing areas and higher than our similar districts,” said New Richmond superintendent of schools Adam Bird. “And we have a district wide performance index of 101, the first time we’ve been over 100.”
Superintendent Adam Bird expects to hang a fourth Excellent banner on the wall of the Central Office when the final state school report card is released in August.

All five New Richmond schools – Locust Corner Elementary, Monroe Elementary, New Richmond Elementary, Middle School and High School – exceeded the state requirements in all testing areas to qualify for an Excellent rating.

School and district performance reports are issued annually by the Ohio Department of Education, detailing students’ performance on standardized statewide tests, rates of improvement on those tests, student attendance and graduation rates.

The only state performance measure not met by the district in the preliminary report was Adequate Yearly Progress in the area of special education math.

“I believe we have a chance for Excellent with Distinction,” said Bird. “We’re still waiting for the value-added results which will be released on Aug. 16.”

The value-added component of Ohio’s school report-card system measures growth or improvement to determine the "value" gained by a student during a time period. Districts meeting the value-added component are moved up one step in the state ratings.

The minimum requirement by the state is a passing rate of 75 percent in each testing area. New Richmond exceeded 90 percent in six of the 23 testing areas and was over 80 percent in all but one area – 10th grade math (78.6 percent).

“I am very pleased with the efforts of our students and staff,” said Bird,.“However, we are concerned with the 5 to 10 percent of our students not passing the state tests and we will be focusing more attention on those students.”

Band performs in 4th of July parade

The New Richmond High School band, under the director of Mr. Mike McKinley, continued its tradition of performing in the Village of New Richmond's 4th of July parade.

Click on the photo below to watch a slideshow video of the 2011 New Richmond 4th of July parade.


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Monroe collects 409,000 pull tabs

Janice Fender's sixth grade students at Monroe Elementary School hold up jars containing more than 35,000 pull tabs they collected for the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

"Mrs. Fender's class collected the most and the whole school collected over 409,000 pop tabs this year, our most ever," said Monroe art teacher Adrian Hawk, who coordinated the collection. "We have donated over 800 pounds of pop tabs since 2008."