Letters to the Editor
My School, My Family
Dearest community members, it had been brought to my attention the negative connotation associated with Newbury Local Schools. I am here to inform the public that any accusations of poor education or opportunities are indeed false.
My name is Liesel Fenstermaker and I am a graduate of Newbury High School from the class of 2018. I have been schooled at Newbury since kindergarten and have had much success because of it.
Newbury gave me the opportunity to join a variety of sports and clubs that I most likely would not have been able to partake in if I were in a larger school. This doesn’t mean our students have any less athletic abilities, either. This year alone our volleyball team won districts and the soccer team won the NAC.
When in high school, I was able to get involved in cheerleading, volleyball, track and band as well as National Honors Society, Key Club, Student Council, Publications, Spanish Club and Art Club. My involvement encouraged growth in leadership and communication that has benefited me greatly in my college experience.
Newbury staff was a huge reason for my success as well. Each and every teacher wants us to succeed and will go out of their way to engage with us.
Thanks to their outstanding faculty and education, I am able to attend The Ohio State University and was accepted into the Environmental and Natural Resources Scholars Program. I will graduate debt free due to the vast amount of scholarship opportunities provided through Newbury High School.
For my first semester I took 15 credit hours and achieved 4.0 GPA. I am only one of many who have had great success in being part of the Newbury family. In the past three years alone, Newbury has had seven students attend The Ohio State University. To put this into perspective, OSU had 52,540 applicants in 2018 and only 24,943 students were accepted. Ohio State is the fifth hardest college to get into in Ohio, yet our small but might Newbury has had their kids accepted almost every year.
Newbury Local Schools are extremely underappreciated and I hope that my statements are powerful enough to change some minds. The students at Newbury have all achieved so much and I, and many others, would like this to continue. It’s not the size of the school that matters, it is the willingness of each individual to work hard.
Please take my words into consideration before making decisions regarding my school, my family.
Thank you for your time.
Liesel Fenstermaker
Newbury Township
Uncertain Future
I find the article about the collaboration between GLTG and Jasmine Dragon (“Theater Guild Rings in New Year with Expansion,” Jan. 3, 2019, by Rose Nemunaitis) to be very misleading.
I love both organizations and, at first, I was excited about the news. However, I learned later on the same day that the “restructuring” mentioned in the article involved firing of several staff members without any warning.
Several staff members, who have been involved with the theater in various capacities for 15 or more years and are responsible for several amazing educational programs, were suddenly told their positions no longer exist. Some of them found out about their job loss by not being able to login into their email account or having the door lock changed in front of their eyes. As a result, the entire education program at GLTG is facing an uncertain future.
It would be great if your reporter had interviewed some the people who were treated with such utter lack of respect by the leadership of GLTG as well as some of the concerned members of the community.
Tatiana Yudovina
Claridon Township
Dear Mom and Dad: Cool It
If you are the mother or father of a high school athlete here in Ohio, this message is primarily for you.
When you attend an athletic event that involves your son or daughter, cheer to your heart’s content, enjoy the camaraderie that high school sports offer and have fun. But when it comes to verbally criticizing game officials or coaches, cool it.
Make no mistake about it. Your passion is admired, and your support of the hometown team is needed. But so is your self-control. Yelling, screaming and berating the officials humiliates your child, annoys those sitting around you, embarrasses your child’s school and is the primary reason Ohio has an alarming shortage of high school officials.
It’s true. According to a recent survey by the National Association of Sports Officials, more than 75 percent of all high school officials say “adult behavior” is the primary reason they quit. And 80 percent of all young officials hang up their stripes after just two years of whistle blowing.
Why? They don’t need your abuse.
Plus, there’s a ripple effect. There are more officials over 60 than under 30 in many areas. And as older, experienced officials retire, there aren’t enough younger ones to replace them. If there are no officials, there are no games. The shortage of licensed high school officials is severe enough in some areas that athletic events are being postponed or cancelled—especially at the freshman and junior varsity levels.
Research confirms that participation in high school sports and activities instills a sense of pride in school and community, teaches lifelong lessons like the value of teamwork and self-discipline and facilitates the physical and emotional development of those who participate. So, if the games go away because there aren’t enough men and women to officiate them, the loss will be infinitely greater than just an “L” on the scoreboard. It will be putting a dent in your community’s future.
If you would like to be a part of the solution to the shortage of high school officials, you can sign up to become a licensed official at HighSchoolOfficials.com. Otherwise, adult role models at high school athletic events here in Ohio are always welcome.
Karissa Niehoff, Executive Director
National Federation of State High School Associations
Jerry Snodgrass, Executive Director
Ohio High School Athletic Association
National Federation of State High School Associationshio High School Athletic Association.
