Kenston elementary students and parents are invited to immerse themselves in science, technology, engineering, art and math for STEAM Night on Feb 2...
STEAM Night
Kenston elementary students and parents are invited to immerse themselves in science, technology, engineering, art and math for STEAM Night on Feb 2. The event will feature various hands-on activities for different age levels and interests. Kenston junior Sophie Voudris is organizing STEAM Night as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award.
KMS Power of the Pen
The Kenston Middle School Power of the Pen seventh- and eighth-grade teams have advanced to the District 1 Lake Erie Regional Tournament to be held in March. Power of the Pen, one of Ohio’s largest educational enhancement programs, seeks to positively impact the academic achievement of the state’s middle schoolers by helping young people find and develop a creative voice uniquely their own.
Middle school students competed in a series of extemporaneous rounds of creative writing tasks, each in response to an open-ended prompt. The district tournament is both a team and an individual competition.
Receiving individual top 10 honors were eighth-graders Keira El-Hayek, first place; Kherington Swader, second place; Porter Fontana, sixth place; and Emmanuella Chelbezan, 10th place. Kherington Swader was awarded Best of Round honors twice.
Speech and Debate Update
Kenston Middle School Speech and Debate team had the tournament champion in three of the six middle school speech and debate events held at the North Canton Hoover Tournament: William Thompson in Extemporaneous Debate, Zoe LeFeber in Oratory and Reagan Carnes and Grace Voudris in Public Forum Debate. Pearl Johnson placed fifth in Declamation, and Georgia LeFeber placed eighth in Interpretation. Maria Shindika and Jillian Ragsdale each won three out of their four debates. In Congressional Debate, Brooke Carlson placed second, Will Turner placed seventh and Riley O’Hare placed eighth in their chambers.
Kenston High School senior Eden Truax was the tournament champion in Declamation.
STOP Decals Increase Visibility
Kenston’s lead mechanic Tony Weatherholt has been installing new reflective red STOP signs on the district’s buses, courtesy of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP). The bright illuminating signs have been applied to the back of school buses, making buses more visible to other motorists. The Ohio Highway Patrol also hopes the new signage will stop motorists from illegally passing buses when stopped to pick up students.
ODOT and OSHP selected the design that enhanced visibility. They wanted the decals to bring attention to buses in low-light situations while staying within the constraints of transportation standards and affordability. They believe the new STOP decal will increase visibility even more. More than 20,000 decals have been distributed for every school bus across the state.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol offers these important reminders to motorists when encountering a stopped bus and students entering or exiting the vehicle.
- Laws in Ohio are determined by the size of the street. If traveling on streets with less than four lanes, all traffic must stop regardless of the direction of travel. If traveling on a street with four or more lanes, only the traffic on the same side of the school bus must stop.
- Stop 10 feet from the bus, and only resume travel when the bus continues or the driver signals for traffic to continue.
- Stop even when only the lights are flashing; a stop sign does not need to be extended.
- Failure to stop for a school bus can result in a $500 fine and driver’s license suspension.
2023 Scholastic Art Awards
In January, Kenston High School students received 19 awards for their projects in the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing competition.
KHS honorees earned four gold key awards, six silver key awards and nine honorable mentions. Projects included art portfolios, drawings and illustrations, and paintings.
Gold Key winners automatically advance to national judging. Work is selected for national recognition based on three criteria: originality, technical skill and emergence of a personal vision or voice. National awards will be announced in March.
Senior Mara DuBay earned a gold and silver key award, two honorable mentions, and the Sue Wall Painting Award from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Erin McFadden collected one gold key and two silver key awards. Skylar Pagon achieved a gold key award. Katelyn Torres garnered two silver key awards and six honorable mentions. Aspen Vrudney earned a gold and silver key award and one honorable mention.
The winning regional artwork will be displayed at the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Reinberger Gallery through Feb. 3.
Bomber Bash Supports Charity
Kenston High School Bomber Bash Lead Crew recently presented the Northern Ohio Chapter of A Kid Again charity with a $20,000 check. Since its inception, Bomber Bash has donated over $60,000 to A Kid Again, which grows yearly.
Over 300 students participated in the seventh annual Bomber Bash, which was a 12-hour lock-in featuring mechanical bull riding, line dancing, Zumba, a Tex-Mex Cookout, inflatables, a performance by student band Coriander and a variety of other games and activities organized by the KHS Bomber Bash Lead Crew.
A Kid Again provides children with a life-threatening condition the chance to be a kid again; time away from the hospital; an opportunity to forget about being sick; a group experience to a local destination with tickets, food, parking, souvenirs, and memories. These extraordinary Adventures are designed to involve the entire family.
Timmons Lunch Bunch
Congratulations to Timmons Elementary School Students of the Month who were recognized for their self control.
Kindergartners honored included Madelyn Baker, Isabelle Desjardins, Rocco Lanciotti, Christopher Miller, Cecilia Poole, Harrison Smith, Anna Thompson and Rebecca Wurm. First-graders were Lana Crowell, Harper Dwyer, Alexander Johnson, Karson Krahe, Ferdinand Miller, Alayna Qureshi, Chase Uguccini, Vivianne Vrotsos and Josephine Wiese.
Second-graders were Logan Bennett, Cecilia Bohac, Clara Culberson, Emmett Danzi, Eva Henry, Josephine Hughes and Amelia Korzhiletskiy. Third-graders were Arthur Marzhevich, Claira Anderson, Ethan Kish, Gordon Miller, Lincoln Tanner, Maverick Marra, Olivia Coburn and Parker Sas.
KHS Students of the Month
Kenston High School is pleased to announce its Students of the Month for February. Students selected were ninth-graders Jad Melhem and Shriya Selvan; 10th-graders Keely Chamberlin and Chloe Syslo; 11th-graders Dakota Atkinson and Samantha Sunderhaft; and 12th-graders Luke Leygraaf and Eden Truax.
Rotary Senior
In February, Ben Hamilton was selected Kenston’s Chagrin Valley Rotary Club Student of the Month. He maintains a 4.318-grade point average. He is an AP Scholar with Distinction and will graduate with an AP Capstone Diploma. He has received department awards in American government, AP research, honors statistics, and French II and has been recognized with the President’s Award for Educational Excellence for four years.
Ben is a member of track and field and the varsity golf team, earning Scholar Athlete honors twice. He is an active member of the Bomber Bash Lead Crew, recently participating in the seventh annual Bomber Bash, raising over $20,000 for A Kid Again charity. He also enjoys supporting the Leukemia Lymphoma Society and being part of the French Club.
Outside of school, Ben is employed at The Golf Dome and participates in various NEO Futures Tour junior golf tournaments. He is also a vacation bible school teen leader at Holy Angels Church.
Ben plans to study computer science with a minor in business analytics or finance and attend either Baylor, Clemson or Elon universities.
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration is underway for children entering kindergarten in August. Children must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 30. Please complete online registration by visiting “Kindergarten Registration” at kenstonlocal.org and then scheduling a registration appointment to complete the paperwork and turn in supporting documentation.
College Credit Plus Information
Kenston is hosting its College Credit Plus (CCP) annual information session with families on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Robert A. Lee Auditorium at Kenston High School.
CCP is a program that allows eligible students in grades 7-12 to take college courses, earning college credits at no cost to parents. These college courses also count as high school credits for students.
To learn more about the program, watch the informational video posted on the high school website. Mentioned in the video are three very important resources that are required of students/parents to review: CCP Annual Information Session Slideshow, which contains contacts and linked resources from area colleges; CCP Informational Packet; and the CCP Intent to Participate form that needs to be completed by prospective and returning CCP students and parents no later than April 1.
