Andrew Hill Principal

Janet Zimmerman Principal of Curriculum

Andrew J. Hill, Principal Janet M. Zimmerman, Principal of Curriculum March 2009

Crestwood Middle School

Andrew Hill Principal

The count down has begun. Only four short weeks until the Ohio Achievement Testing begins for our students in sixth through eighth grade. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 Reading Grades 6-7-8 Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Math Grade 8 Thursday, April 23, 2009 Math Grade 7 Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Science Grade 8 Math Grade 6 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Writing Grade 7 Thursday, April 30, 2009 Social Studies Grade 8

The students and staff have been working very hard to be prepared. Parents have raised the question: “What can we do to assist our child(ren) in the testing preparation proc-ess?” We can offer some suggestions: Encourage your child to:

Get plenty of sleep Eat a good breakfast Come to school Read all directions carefully Have plenty of #2 pencils Relax Try their very best Remember a blank answer is a wrong answer

The test results will not be available until sometime in late June. Therefore, the results will be distributed at the Open House that will take place on Thursday, August 27, 2009. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at 330-274-2249 or through my email address of zimmerman@crestwood. sparcc.org.

Dear Parent/Guardian(s), Our third quarter came to an end on Friday, March 20th. Third quarter report cards will be sent home on Friday, March 27th. If you do not receive a report card please give us a call at 330-274-2249. This month I would like to focus my article on the upcoming high school and middle school tours that the dis-trict will be holding over the next few weeks. The information below was taken from the letter that was recently sent to every community member in the district from members of the Board of Education and our Superintendent. As many of you are aware, a Citizen’s Committee re-cently studied Crestwood’s 6-12 buildings. They made the fol-lowing recommendations to the Board of Education: (a) the com-munity needs to see the problems with the buildings themselves; (b) Crestwood High School and Middle School should be re-placed with new buildings; (c) if one building needs to be taken care of first, it should be Crestwood High School. The State of Ohio has offered Crestwood 50% of the cost to replace these buildings. As a result, community tours of the high school and middle school, led by maintenance staff, principals, teachers, and students will meet in the high school lobby on the following dates and times:

Friday, March 27th at 9:00 A.M. Tuesday, March 31st at 6:00 P.M. Monday, April 13th at 6:00 P.M.

Wednesday, April 15th at 9:00 A.M. Saturday, April 18th at 10:00 A.M.

Please consider joining us for these tours and the oppor-tunity to learn about both buildings first hand. As always, thank you for your support of CMS. If you have any concerns or ques-tions, please feel free to contact me at hill@crestwood.sparcc.org or at 330-274-2249.

Lynne Morrison School Counselor

John Vanags

Athletic Director

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March 2009

Dear Parent/Guardian(s), Spring is finally here and with it comes the annual OAT testing scheduled for later this April. These tests tend to create anxiety for both students and staff alike. It is our goal to prepare the students for these tests and help to alle-viate the stressors they feel as the scheduled testing time approaches. The teachers have been preparing these stu-dents all year and we are confident they are well prepared. It is important the students realize that they are ready. We are asking for your assistance to reassure them of that. If your student demonstrates overwhelming anxi-ety related to testing please contact me. I am happy to talk to your student about ways to manage that anxiety when he or she is in the moment. I can also provide you with additional tips as well. Spring is a busy time of year throughout the school district and we are all excited about the different things that will be happening over the next several weeks. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions and/or concerns and enjoy your spring break. Lynne Morrison

Coaches’ Advice to Parents: Volunteer How do we stay involved in our children’s lives as they grow more independent in adolescence? For parents of young athletes the answer is made easier by the many needs of sports teams and organizations for help from people willing to give their time and skills. Our volunteer efforts reward our children with higher quality experiences as well as the knowledge that their lives are important to their parents, their growing skills valuable enough to deserve their par-ents’ investment. Track season brings with it many opportunities to volunteer. Help is needed during all the home meets, especially for the PTC tournament and the Red Devil Relays. Volunteering to work at the concession stand or to bring a snack after a meet offers two other oppor-tunities to be involved. If you are able to assist during the track season, contact me by phone at 330-274-2249 or by email at vanags@crestwood.sparcc.org.

The scheduled HOME track meets for CMS this spring:

April 1 CMS—Cardinal and West Geauga April 15 CMS—Coventry and Norton April 18 RED DEVIL RELAYS April 29 CMS—Field and Waterloo May 4 CMS—Garfield and Rootstown May 11 CMS—Stanton and Norton May 15 PTC Tournament Your help will be appreciated by all of us here at CMS but especially by your own Crestwood athlete who will learn by your example that his own efforts are valuable and that volunteering is an excellent way to support those efforts.

In mid-January I had the privilege to step in for choral director and general music teacher, Mrs. Tench and show students at Crestwood Middle School the possibilities that music can create. Teachers like Mrs. Tench are the reason that sparks are made in students, al-though I have essentially no real teaching experience, I was hoping that I could turn that spark into a bigger flame. Sometimes younger students need to visualize what might come of learning the basics of music now in order for them to really get into it... therefore, we had a little fun. I am not a profes-sional or expert musician/singer, but what I do know is that it doesn't take much to enjoy making music. I heard the students had worked on writing jingles earlier in the year, so I explained to them how easy it really was; take a keyboard, plunk out a few notes (trial-and-error style until it sounds right), describe the product, add some chords in later, and there you have it... a catchy tune in your head and maybe some cash in your pocket! Next, I compiled some of the summer's hottest chart toppers into one big medley of a song (a verse and chorus of seven different mainstream songs). They seemed to really enjoy this the most because they could relate and sing along with the songs they've heard on the radio. Then I explained to them that the chords to these songs were essentially more simple than they thought, and with a guitar, piano, etc., they could easily play those same songs. After I showed them the simplicity of one of my own tunes (and let them sing some easy harmonies), I taught them the essentials of one of the "coolest" things they could show their friends and family; beat boxing. All you need to know is the phrase "BIRDS and the CATS and the" (and repeat it over and over), run it together and you have your beat. All in all, I had a great time and I hope that the students can say the same. When I'm back in town I'll be sure to make another visit! Jacob Vanags

Choir Performs At Kiwanis

Choir Visitor — Jacob Vanags

March 2009

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The Middle School Girls’ Choir had the opportunity to perform at the Kiwanis Luncheon in Ravenna on March 10th. The girls gladly accepted the invitation and the challenge of practicing in a short period of time for a full length perform-ance. They began their program with a ballad, Lullabye, Good-night, My Angel, by Billy Joel. The girls then danced into the hearts of this group with a twenty minute Medley from Mamma Mia. Some of the songs included in their medley were Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, S.O.S., Thank You for the Mu-sic, and Waterloo. The Kiwanis members thoroughly enjoyed their luncheon entertainment. Mrs. Judy Wilson, Vice President of the Kiwanis

with Mrs. Tench and the CMS Girls’ Choir

Twenty-five schools competed at the Regional Power of the Pen tournament at KSU with their writers from the district competition who scored in the top 50%. The ten students representing Crestwood with flair and finesse were 7th graders Olivia Cobb, Amanda Fosnight, Samantha Kulish, Jenna Morgenstern, Rachel Quesenberry, and 8th graders Madeline Becker, Katie Bretland, Ivy Green, Kayley Michuta, and Allison Riley. Once again, they did not disappoint! Placing 7th out of all the 7th graders competing was Amanda Fosnight. Ivy Green placed 5th over all of the 8th graders. In addition, Ivy won a “Best of the Best” award for a story she wrote at the district competition. This story origi-nally won a “Best of Round.” Then it was judged against all of the other “Best of Round” from the districts to win the “Best of the Best” and possible publication in The Book of Winners. The Sweepstakes prize is awarded after all scores are tabulated for each school’s 7th and 8th grade teams com-bined. Crestwood Middle School placed 4th out of the 25 schools attending this year. Again, the best we have ever done! We are so proud of these young ladies and admire their talents as writers and critical thinkers. **************************************************************************************************** State qualifier information was released March 10th. We are so proud of our state qualifiers. In the 20 years of Crestwood involvement in Power of the Pen, we have never had so many qualifiers for this level of competition! Qualifi-ers will be traveling to Wooster College May 22nd. Congratualtions: Amanda Fosnight, Samantha Kulish, Rachel Quesen-berry, and Ivy Green.

CMS is proud of you!

The Portage County Spelling Bee took place at Maplewood Vocational school before a large crowd. We are extremely proud of our four contestants: Nicholas Erway, Victoria Chiller, Julianna Stewart and Caleb Wyatt. All four competitors kept their focus and represented Crestwood well. Nick Erway came within one round of the final five qualifiers. All contestants received a special certificate for their accomplishment.

Congratulations!

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March 2009

Ivy Green Amanda Fosnight Rachel Quesenberry Samantha Kulish

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March 2009

On March 2nd, the CMS Leadership Committee kicked off the second annual CMS Spirit Week. The students chose daily spirit wear themes which included Favor-ite College/Pro Sports Day, Twins Day, Decade Day, Crazy Hat/Bling Day and CMS Spirit Day. The students did a fantastic job of getting the staff and student body in-volved. The culminating event involved a faculty/student basketball game thanks to the help of Mr. Hill. A special appearance was made by Pat Daly, AKA Mrs. Eskridge, as the faculty coach. Grade levels competed throughout the week. For the second year in a row, the 6th grade class won the CMS spirit stick for their overall demonstration of school spirit. This included decorating their lockers, participating in the daily themes, and creating a class cheer. It was a fun time for everyone!! At the end of the week staff and students were nominated to our Spirit Court. This year staff nominations included: Mr. Judd, Mrs. Tekavec, Mrs. Welch, Miss Shipman, and Mr. Rauber. Student nominees were: Rosalie Novotny, Jeremy Hand, Savannah Geib, Chris Wheeler, Challis Roberts, Jacob Agle, Taylor Adkins, Adam Haynie, Katie Ozimec, Justin Spurlock, Tori Jeffries, and Logan Traver. Thanks to everyone for their participation in this spirit filled event.

It’s not just another fundraiser. This year at CMS, four 8th grade students, Mallory Mosher, Alex McKinley, Kira Edic, and Katie Bretland, have taken the initiative to start a school wide program to raise funds for kids on dialysis. The good news is that this time the fundraiser doesn’t require money. In collaboration with the CMS Leadership committee, these stu-dents are initiating a pop tab collection program. The pop tabs generate funds to be used to cover expenses that medical insurance won’t. This includes emergency transportation, games and activities, and medications to name a few. The pop tabs are being collected for the children undergoing treatment at Akron Children’s Hospital right here in Northeast Ohio. The students have created an incentive program by offering a movie popcorn day to the winning classes. So, start sav-ing those tabs and send them in. Thank you to these students for trying something so creative and rewarding. Their hard work will pay off. Thanks for your contributions in advance.

March 2009

The CMS 7th and 8th Grade Bands traveled to Akron February 12th to attend an Akron Symphony concert, tour the Univer-sity of Akron, and attend a rehearsal of the UA Brass Choir. The Akron Symphony con-cert, commemorating the history of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, not only performed music written for that period of history, but also presented slides from au-thentic pictures of that era set to music. It was an excellent example of cross curricular learning. Attending both this professional concert and the rehearsal of the UA Brass Choir helped to address and fulfill the na-tional standards in our music curriculum regarding performance and history while knowing and demonstrating correct concert etiquette. The tour of the university ac-quainted our students with possible opportunities after high school and the box lunch catered by the UA Food Service was just plain delicious! CMS band director, Mrs. Judith Guegold and her UA student teacher, Mr. Marzuola, had prepared lessons before-hand familiarizing our students with the music that was performed, including why and when it had been composed, and how it related to our history. The students purchased their ordered lunch, and concert tickets were purchased through their fund raising efforts.

7th and 8th Grade Band trip to University of Akron

The Ohio ASBDA Chapter held a State Conference February 27-28, 2009 at Dublin Jerome High School in Columbus, Ohio. The American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA) is an organization for band directors throughout the United States that promotes the advancement of instrumental music education in schools and helps educate and mentor band directors who are not mem-bers of ASBDA. Mrs. Guegold, director of 7th & 8th Grade Crestwood MS Bands, is a member of this honorary organization.

This conference included an All-State Middle School Honor Band made up of students selected from the best middle school band programs throughout the state. Be-cause Mrs. Guegold is an ASBDA member, she was able to nominate Crestwood Middle School students for this honor band. Congratulations to the nine students from our CMS 8th Grade Band who were selected by an ASBDA committee. They were: Kayley Michuta, Jean Pierre Thut, Kira Edic, Valerie Pfaff, Breanne Travis, Gina Harmon, Ivy Green, Kelly Summers, and Katie Bretland. During the conference weekend these students rehearsed for eight hours and then performed a very fine concert on Saturday afternoon. These music stu-dents represented our school and community very well.

All State Middle School Honor Band

March 2009

1st Marking Period Amy Auble, Jared Bailey, Kelly Baker, Landis Bates, Courtney Berish, Lauren Bissell, Tyler Brady, Katie Bretland, Samantha Canepa, Victoria Chiller, Olivia Cobb, Kyle Cox, Lauren Cris-lip, David Defer, Amy Dunkin, Benjamin Dunkin, Erin Dunkin, Scott Durham, Morgan Engelhart, McKenzie Faust, Ryan Fedor, Jeremiah Fitzgerald, Amanda Fosnight, Sydney France, Leannah

Frances, Adriana French, Ivy Green, Meaghan Green, Nathan Green, Katie Gregory, Gina Harmon, Jenna Head, David Hill, Tara Hilverding, Tori Jeffries, Nicholas Labas, Logan Little,

Mallory Lorence, Cortny Lower, Randi Lyle, Taylor Michael, Kayley Michuta, Marissa Midgley, Jenna Morgenstern, Nicole Nero, Rosalie Novotny, Daniel O’Sickey, Katelynn Ozimec,

Julia Pfaff, Rebecca Pochedly, Rachel Quesenberry, Taylor Ra-hach, Julie Remus, Joseph Reyes, Challis Roberts, Rebecca Sapp, Noah Shannon, Melissa Skocdopole, Abigail Solitsz, Madeleine Sorrick, Morgan Strenk, Kelly Summers, Holly

Tramont, Lucas Van Auken, Marcus Weatherbee

2nd Marking Period Sara Amport, Kelly Baker, Landis Bates, Madeline Becker, Nichole Bencie, Lauren Bissell, Samantha Canepa, Victoria Chiller, Kyle Cox, Amy Dunkin, Benjamin Dunkin, Scott Durham, Kira Edic, Morgan Engelhart, Amanda Fosnight, Sydney France, Leannah Frances, Meaghan Green, Nathan

Green, Katie Gregory, Gina Harmon, David Hill, Tara Hilverding, Kelli Janus, Taylor Jenkins, Aleya Judd, Alyssa

Lamb, Mallory Lorence, Cortny Lower, Alexandria McKinley, Taylor Michael, Brooklynn Moodie, Nicole Nero,

Nathan Nielsen, Rosalie Novotny, Daniel O’Sickey, Jonah Onuska, Katelynn Ozimec, Julia Pfaff, Valerie Pfaff, Re-

becca Pochedly, Rachel Quesenberry, Taylor Rahach, Julie Remus, Allison Riley, Challis Roberts, Rebecca Sapp,

Noah Shannon, Kelly Summers, Holly Tramont, Lucas Van Auken, Marcus Weatherbee

Sixth grade students recently received letters from 2005 Crestwood High School graduate Travis Ragle, who is serving with the U.S. Army near Sadr City, Iraq. Private First Class Ragle visited the students in September to teach them about his training and the military jobs he performs. When Ragle deployed to Iraq in December, he wrote letters to the sixth graders to keep them informed about his experiences overseas. In response, the students put together a care package and wrote letters of their own for Ragle. The students were eager to learn about the food, animals, and overall culture of Iraq. They enjoyed Ragle’s stories, and they look forward to hearing back from him soon.

March 2009

On February 27, 2009, Bob Dean returned from Hiram College to present his leadership training to the Leader-ship Committee students. Approximately 50 students participated in this fun filled afternoon full of activities, demonstrations, and of course, food. Mr. Dean is a Life Skills trainer and is also the women’s head soccer coach at Hiram College. His activities reinforced different leadership skills such as tolerance, team work, ef-fective communication, and self-awareness. The Committee’s facilitors, Lynne Morrison and Dianna Mattmul-ler, were very pleased with the level of enthusiasm and participation demonstrated by the students.

Crestwood Middle School is one of two Portage County schools, selected by Townhall II, to pilot a Stu-dents Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Chapter. SAVE’s mission is to decrease the potential for violence in schools and communities by promoting meaningful student involvement, education, and service opportunities in an effort to provide safer environments for learning. Mrs. Morrison, the CMS School Counselor, is the pro-gram’s school coordinator. Students and faculty have been selected to assist in the development and implemen-tation of the program. We are excited about the opportu-nity.

Students were selected and our first training for Students Against Violence Everywhere took place on March 5th. Many different topics were addressed such as media awareness, sexual harassment, healthy relation-ships, and communication. The SAVE students have been challenged with creating a way to promote the SAVE message of nonviolence to the entire student body. Mrs. Morrison is excited by their enthusiasm and looks forward to collaborating with them. For more in-formation about SAVE you can log onto their website at: www.nationalsave.org

March 2009

In honor of Presidents Day, sixth grade students in Reading Enrichment taught by Mrs. Felter, explored websites on presidential history, answered presidential trivia questions, then contributed their own presidential facts to a display board. Of particular interest were “first pets” and “first kids” slideshows. Students analyzed data to come to their own conclusions, making graphs and charts to organize the information. Oral presentations explaining contributions to the display board and a round of presidential trivia baseball wrapped the unit.

On March 13, 2009, 7th grade math students celebrated Pi Day. Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Pa-riso invited students to complete a series of Pi related math lessons that correspond with learning about circles. Before enjoying the pies and other circle shaped desserts, students had to find the diameter, radius, circumference, and area of each food. Students also learned about the history of Pi and looked at the number carried out to over 700 decimal places. Other activities were enjoyed by both groups, and we proved that learning math can be fun.

6th Grade Megan McDivitt, Jeremy Hand, Taylor Rahach, Dane Etto, Nicole Derthick, Ryan Ambler 7th Grade Madison Cochrane, Travis Tyler, Carrigan Benoit, Justin Vaughan, Challis Roberts, Douglas Battiest 8th Grade Valerie Pfaff, Andrew Magyarics, Madeline Becker, David Defer, Emily Youngblood, Andrew Carney

Crestwood Middle School 10880 John Edward Drive Mantua, Ohio 44255

Phone: 330-274-2249 Fax: 330-274-3705

A Tradition in Quality

We are on the web: crestwood@

sparcc.org

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH — FEBRUARY 2009

Ms. Savitscus’ 6th and 7th grade Exploratory Spanish classes each participated in a collaborative learning project to make a wall sized Alphabet Poster. The

poster illustrates words that begin with each letter of the Spanish Alphabet. Each student in class was

responsible for drawing one or more pictures. The classes all worked together to get the poster com-

pleted. While all four Spanish classes did a great job on the project, the class that exhibited the best team-

work currently has their poster displayed outside of the Spanish/French room.

Pictured - Ms. Savitscus’ 1st period 6th grade Spanish class

Parent Teacher conferences forms will be sent home with students. A copy is also included in this newsletter. Please return as soon as possible to Mrs. Morrison, school counselor.

A Look Ahead Parent Teacher Conferences March 4, 2009 from 4:00—7:30 P.M. Waiver Day March 30, 2009 No School for Students Spring Break April 6-13, 2009

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 CMS Track vs. Cadinal and West Geauga @ HOME 4:15P.M. PAC grade rewards during lunch

2 Fine Arts Night and Science Expo 5:30P.M.-7:30P.M. PAC grade rewards during lunch

3

4

5 6

7

8 9

10

11

12

13 No School Spring Break High School/Middle School Tour 6:00-8:00P.M. Board of Education Meeting 7:00P.M.

14 PAC Meeting 6:30 P.M.

15 CMS Track vs. Coventry and Nor-ton @ HOME 4:15P.M. H.S./MS. Tour 9:00-11:00 A.M.

16 Counselor Meet and Greet 8:00-8:30A.M.

17

18 RED DEVIL

RELAYS HOME @ 9:00A.M.

H.S. / M.S. Tour 10:00 A.M.—

12:00 P.M.

19 20

21 OAT Testing 6-7-8 Reading Leadership Meeting 2:50-3:30P.M.

22 OAT Testing 8 - Math CMS Track @ Mogadore and Southeast 4:15P.M.

23 OAT Testing 7-Math

24 Arbor Day

25

26 27

28 OAT Testing 8 - Science 6 - Math

29 OAT Testing 7 - Writing CMS Track vs. Field and Waterloo @ HOME 4:15P.M.

30 OAT Testing 8 - Social Studies

May 1 Student of the Month Recognition Drama Production 7:00P.M. Interims sent home Woodridge Track Relays @ 4:00P.M.

May 2 Drama Production 7:00P.M.

Crestwood Middle School

April 2009

6TH GRADE Morgan Strenk, Jeremiah Fitzgerald, Megan Oswald, Daniel Parrino, Bryanna Herbold, John Reid 7TH GRADE Amber Vargo, Jacob Agle, Julia Pfaff, Conner Nemec, Mariah Focareto, Charles Shahan 8TH GRADE Mallory Mosher, Traven Stephens, Tori Jeffries, Ryan Fedor, Kelly Baker, Nathan Cavanaugh

April 21—April 28, 2009 Achievement Testing May 1, 2009 Interims sent home with students May 1 & 2, 2009 CMS Drama Production May 8-9, 2009 Band & Choir Large Group Contest May 14, 2009 7th/8th Grade Band Concert May 15, 2009 Waiver Day May 19, 2009 6th Grade Choir Concert May 20, 2009 7th/8th Grade Choir Concert May 21, 2009 5th/6th Grade Band Concert May 22, 2009 Choir Contest at Sandusky May 29, 2009 8th Grade Dance May 30, 2009 CMS Family Picnic 11:00 A.M.—2:00 P.M. June 4, 2009 Last Day of School for Students

Please help your children by ensuring that they attend school each day of testing,

eat a good breakfast, and have sufficient rest. 8th Grade: 7th Grade: 6th Grade: April 21 - Reading April 21 - Reading April 21 - Reading April 22 - Math April 23 - Math April 28 - Math April 28- Science April 29 - Writing April 30 - Social Studies