New Richmond young artists honored

Four New Richmond Exempted Village School District elementary students have been honored by having their artwork displayed at statewide exhibits in Columbus at part of Ohio’s Youth Art Month.

Faith Powers, grade 4, from Monroe Elementary, and Ella Calhoun, grade 3, from New Richmond Elementary, were chosen as exhibitors for the Ohio Youth Art Month Exhibition, held at the State Teachers Retirement Building in Columbus. Their artwork will be on display through April 18.

"Faith’s artwork that was chosen for the YPAE show was a piece that was inspired by a contemporary New Orleans artist named Heather Mattingly,” said Adrian Vance Hawk, Monroe Elementary art teacher. “Faith demonstrates a great interest in art through the thoughtful work that she produces and I always find myself looking forward to what she is going to do next!"

Ella Calhoun was inspired for her art after reading a book about Vincent Van Goh.

“Effervescent and imaginative, these are words that describe third grade N.R.E. artist Ella Calhoun,” said Mrs. Cholkas. “After reading the book Vincent Van Gogh’s Cat, Ella painted a delightful multicolored cat strolling through a painting she admired--The Snail by Henri Matisse.”

Savannah Appelmann, grade 2, from Monroe Elementary and Archer Maguire, grade 4, from New Richmond Elementary were chosen as exhibitors for the 31st Young Peoples Art Exhibition, held at the Rhodes State Office Tower in Columbus. Only 158 student artworks from all over the state were selected for the exhibit. The entire YPAE show will be displayed at the Ohio Department of Education building during the summer of 2011.

"Savannah is a lovely girl with so much creative energy,” said Mrs. Hawk. “It is so nice to have her in the art room at Monroe because she is a shining example for those around her. I'm very proud of the work she does and am so happy that her work was chosen to be in such a great exhibit!"

Archer Maguire transferred from Batavia Elementary this year.

"We are happy to welcome Archer to New Richmond Elementary,” said New Richmond Elementary art teacher Amy Cholkas. “The beautiful watercolor selected for the YPAE exhibit features Archer's interpretation of silhouetted desert cacti against a multi-colored sky." New Richmond Elementary student Archer Maguire holds his watercolor selected for display at the Young Peoples Art Exhibition in Columbus. Monroe student Savannah Appelmann displays some of her artwork. She was one of four New Richmond students who had their art work displayed at statewide exhibits in Columbus.

New ball fields dedicated March 28

New Richmond's new baseball and softball fields were dedicated Monday, March 28 with a baseball game against Norwood and a softball game against Fayetteville. New Richmond split the games, winning 4-3 in baseball and losing 5-3 in softball.

Todd Benzinger threw out the ceremonial first pitch in baseball and Darcy Strickmeyer, a pitcher on New Richmond's first fast-pitch team, threw out the first pitch in softball. Mr. John Hale sang the National Anthem before the baseball game and senior Kallie Long sang the Anthem before the softball game.

Click on the photo below to watch the baseball first-pitch ceremony.




Click on the photo below to watch the softball first-pitch ceremony.

Lions Reach Out seeking prom dresses

Prom season is rapidly approaching, and our junior and senior high school students are looking forward to the big event. However, there are some girls who do not have the financial means to purchase a formal dress for the occasion.

Lions Reach Out is asking for donations of gently used prom dresses in hopes of providing these girls with a beautiful dress to wear to this year's Prom.

Dresses of all sizes are being accepted, and there is a need for some larger sizes as well (women's 14-24). If you have a dress or dresses that you would like to donate, you can drop them off in the high school office any time between now and toward the end of April.

This year's Prom is on May 7, so it would be great to get in a nice selection of dresses early enough so the girls will have plenty of time to get shoes and other accessories.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Mrs. Sue Griffin at griffin_s@nrschools.org or you can call her at the high school: 553-3101, ext. 10204.

2011 Arts Hall of Fame

Jeff Riel, a 1997 graduate of New Richmond High School, and the 1987-88 Troubadours were inducted into the New Richmond High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame on March 15.

Riel was a member of the NRHS Band and Troubadours. He currently is the choral director at Glen Este High School. The 1987-88 Troubadours, under the direction of Mr. William Kick, received the top rating in Class AA in both Cincinnati and state competition against the largest schools in the state.

Click on the photo or link below to watch the Hall of Fame induction speeches. Links to the Hall of Fame concerts are listed below the photo.

Watch the 2011 Arts Hall of Fame speeches and program

Watch the NRHS Concert Band's Hall of Fame Concert

Watch the Troubadours Hall of Fame Concert

Watch the Mixed Chorus Hall of Fame Concert

Watch the Men's Choir's Hall of Fame Concert

Watch the Women's Chorus Hall of Fame Concert

Monroe honors March MegaCitizens

New Richmond's Monroe Elementary honored 29 students in March as MegaCitizens.

Click on the image below to watch the February MegaCitizens video.


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High School benefit a huge success

The New Richmond High School benefit to help teacher Stacy Knoechel with medical expenses for her two-year-old son Ajax was a huge success and raised $7428.46 for the Knoechel family.

"I believe there's a $2000 check coming from the T-shirt sales, making our total nearly $10,000," said New Richmond high school teacher Sue Griffin who organized the benefit.

The T-shirt sale was organized by district transportation director Wayne Prescott.

The benefit included a dinner, cake walk and talent show that was a sellout in NRHS' 500-capacity auditorium.

Click on the photo below to watch the Talent Show acts.


(Concert videos filmed by Mikaela Rupp, NRHS)

"I can't possibly thank everyone enough -- this event was the result of hundreds of people giving hundreds of hours and was truly a community coming together and opening its collective heart for one of its own," said Griffin. "We did not spend anything for this event -- everything was donated and every single dollar from every event is going right to the family."

Stacy Knoechel is a science teacher at the high school. Her son Ajax developed leukemia when he was one.

"To say that our family is overwhelmed by your generosity would be an understatement," said David Painter, Stacy's father and a member of the New Richmond Board of Education. "The Painter and Knoechel families are in love with each and everyone of you. What you have done for us we could never repay."

Painter, who performed in the talent show, said the money will be used to bridge any gaps that occur in insurance coverage for Ajax.

"This money will ensure that Ajax continues to have the best treatment that is available to cure his cancer," said Painter. "As we watch him grow you can take pride in knowing that you made a difference in this little boys life."

Science team qualifies for state

New Richmond’s Science Olympiad team is headed to the state finals April 30 at the Ohio State University after recording a third-place finish in the Cincinnati regional competition held at Raymond Walters College of the University of Cincinnat.

“We were the highest placing public school,” said New Richmond coach Josh Grischow, whose 6th through 9th grade students medaled in 15 of the 23 events tested. New Richmond finished behind teams from Summit Country Day and St. Aloysius Gonzaga. New Richmond finished ahead of teams from public schools Kings, Wyoming, Lakota, Ross, National Trail and Twin Valley.

Members of the New Richmond Middle School Science Olympiad team proudly display their medals won at the Cincinnati regional competition. Picture are (from left)Griffin Mulvaney and Leah Wolfer (front row); Audrey Feiler, McKenzie Lauver, Jenny Roberts, and Marie Bezold (2nd row; Lindsay Slone, Eric Williams, coach Doug Smiddy, and Ian Wahoff (3rd row); and coach Tina Grippa, coach Josh Grischow, Matt Graham, Alex Grooms and coach Pam Hughes (back row. Not pictured: Freshman Abby Jewell, Jessica Nazareth, Paige Anderson, and Michaela Nordyke.

“We improved a great deal from last year, moving up from 6th in the regional tournament to 3rd,” said Grischow, who was assisted by New Richmond Middle School science teachers Tina Grippa, Pam Hughes and Doug Smiddy. “Last year, we medaled in 10 events; this year, we medaled in 15.”

Science Olympiad teams competed individually or in groups in a series of 23 events which tested their knowledge of science skills, processes, and applications in a wide range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, technology, earth science, and mathematics.

The New Richmond team was comprised of Paige Anderson, Marie Bezold, Audrey Feiler, Matt Graham, Alex Grooms, Abby Jewell, McKenzie Lauver, Griffin Mulvaney, Jessica Nazareth, Michaela Nordyke, Jenny Roberts, Lindsay Slone, Ian Wahoff, Eric Williams and Leah Wolfer.

“I was really pleased with our team's performance and am excited about the opportunity to represent New Richmond at the state competition,” said Grischow.

The Ohio Science Olympiad is an academic, interscholastic competition designed to increase student interest in science and to improve the quality of science education. Nationally, more than 350,000 students are involved in the Science Olympiad program. In Ohio, the program is sponsored by The Ohio State University, the Ohio Department of Education, and the Science Education Council of Ohio.

With the middle school competition being expanded in include freshmen, Grischow was able to bring back four members of last year's team: Abby Jewell, Jessica Nazareth, Paige Anderson, and Michaela Nordyke.

“Their experience came in handy, with a haul of two 1st place medals, a 2nd place medal, and a 5th place medal,” said Grischow, whose team won three first place medals, five second-place medals and two third-place and fourth-place medals.

Five of the 8th graders were with last year’s team: Audrey Feiler, Jenny Roberts, Matt Graham, Lindsay Slone, and Ian Wahoff.

“They contributed to 10 more medals,” said Grischow. “I was especially impressed with Audrey Feiler, who paid her dues as an alternate last year. She stepped up this year, medaling in every event she entered, earning team MVP honors.”

Six newcomers to this year's team were Griffin Mulvaney, McKenzie Lauver, Marie Bezold, Leah Wolfer, Alex Grooms, and Eric Williams. All won medals.

“We know that we will be at a disadvantage at the state competition considering the size and demographics of our school and the relative lack of experience of our team.,” said Grischow. “This is only our 3rd year competing at the regional level, and it will be our first at state.

“We will do our best to prepare in the eight weeks we have until the tournament on April 30th. Luckily, we have the full resources of our outstanding science department, with Doug Smiddy joining veteran coaches Tina Grippa and Pam Hughes this year.”

New Richmond medal winners:

Placing 1st in Dynamic Planet were Paige Anderson and Michaela Nordyke;

Placing 1st in Experimental Design were Michaela Nordyke, Abby Jewell and Jessica Nazareth;

Placing 1st in Compute This were Matt Graham and Audrey Feiler;

Placing 2nd in Anatomy were Abby Jewell and Jessica Nazareth;

Placing 2nd in Battery Buggy were Alex Grooms and Eric Williams;

Placing 2nd in Crime Busters were Marie Bezold and Leah Wolfer;

Placing 2nd in Ecology were Marie Bezold and Audrey Feiler;

Placing 2nd in Solar System were McKenzie Lauver and Griffin Mulvaney;

Placing 3rd in Bottle Rocket were McKenzie Lauver and Griffin Mulvaney;

Placing 3rd in Meteorology were Matt Graham and Griffin Mulvaney;

Placing 4th in Awesome Aquifers were McKenzie Lauver and Leah Wolfer;

Placing 4th in Can’t Judge a Powder were Matt Graham and Ian Wahoff;

Placing 5th in Microbe Mission were Abby Jewell and Jessica Nazareth;

Placing 6th in Ornithology were Lindsay Slone and Ian Wahoff;

Placing 6th in Write It-Do it were Audrey Feiler and Jenny Roberts.

Ronald McDonald visits NRE

Ronald McDonald visited New Richmond Elementary last week to help the school promote its 300 Minutes reading program. The beloved clown was a perfect fit with this year's circus theme which will reward NRE students who read for 300 minutes in March with a performance by the Amazing Portable Circus.

Alyssa Frye, Kyra Warren, Jacob Brady, Savannah Couch, Ayden Taylor, and Kendall Graves helped Ronald with his "Book Time with Ronald McDonald" show performed before NRE's preK-2 students.

Click on the photo below to watch a slide show of Ronald's visit.


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