Kenston Schools

August 27, 2015 by Staff Report

Good Luck Graduates

As the 2015-16 school year begins, Kenston wishes its 2015 graduates well as they embrace the future.

Of the class of 2015, 90 percent will be entering a four-year college, specialty or technical school and 10 percent will enter the military or workforce.

AP Scholar Awards

Seventy-four students at Kenston High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program exams.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school and to receive college credit, advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP exams. About eighteen percent of the more than 1.6 million high school students took AP exams performed at a sufficiently high level to merit the recognition of AP Scholar.

National AP Scholar Nicole Doran earned an average score of 4 or higher on a five-point scale on all AP exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.

Twenty-four students qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award by earning an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of the exams. They were Katarzyna Bieniek, Mara Cass, John Coming, Nicole Doran, Ian Eshelman, Alexis Fleming, Ian Gray, Kathleen Grendell, Leander Held, Emily Herbruck, Corban Joyce, Caroline Kiley, Natalie Kusner, Lauren Lance, Gemma McCarley, Bailey Mulhern, Cameron Oakes, Hannah Richardson, Jessica Sciuva, Joshua Sekerak, Iain Speece, Emily Tewksbury, Jeremy Wyers and Lauren Zucker.

Hannah Cubberley, Sierra Culver, Carrington D’Angelo, Ashley Dvorak, Carmaletta Hinson, Caroline Kajder, Anthony Martin, Calum McShane, Morgan Measures, Sarah Porter, Andrew Sanders, Mark Scarpa, Christian Schell, Antal Silva, Nathan Spicuzza, Andrew Stanonis, Elizabeth Tuason and Harley Vossler qualified for AP Scholar with Honors Award by earning an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of the exams.

Thirty-one students qualified for the AP Scholar Award by completing three or more AP Exams with scores of 3 or higher. Earning AP Scholar recognition were Carlton Allen, Katherine Blackburn, Benjamin Blazek, Colin Craig, Halle D’Amico, Paul Gray, Mira Grcevich, Lauren Hoefler, Cassandra Holub, Jason Kantra, Onur Kardzhala, Sophie Kocheff, Kayla Korenowski, Wyatt Kramer, Maggie Krause, Samuel Levy, Mackenzie Maguire, Leah Mallinos, Emily McDonough, Kaitlin McGrath, Dillan Powell, It’sabelle Puckett, Grace Rundelli, Gabriella Salvini, Garrett Scocos, Chloe Sferra, Savannah Smith, Amber Spriggs, Callum Ward, Lauren Whiteford and Graycen Wood.

Kenston Kick-Off Classic

Let’s go Bombers. Kenston Athletic Boosters, Bomber Elite, Musical Arts at Kenston and PTO invites the Kenston community to attend the annual Kick-Off Classic Tailgate on Sept. 4 before the football game against Medina. Pregame activities and food sales begin at 5:30 p.m. Feed the family with a hot dog, chips and beverage for $5 per person.

Be part of the tradition. Wear Bomber Blue. It is a blue-out.

Gibas Cross Country Invitational

Kenston High School will host the third annual Frank Gibas Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 5, with races beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Coach Frank Gibas began coaching in 1974 and started the girls cross country program in 1976. He had winning seasons for 27 consecutive years and advanced to regionals for 21 consecutive years. His team qualified for the state meet 11 times. In 1983, his team had the “perfect season,” going undefeated in invitationals. His team won the CVC championship, district championship, regional championship and finally, the state meet.

In 1998, he was elected into the Ohio Association of Track & Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame.

This year teams from Beachwood, Berkshire. Boardman, Brush, Chagrin Falls, Chardon (girls), Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (girls), Eastlake North, Garfield Heights, Independence, Kenston, Lakewood, Mayfield, Orange, Painesville Riverside, Solon, University, Walsh Jesuit, West Geauga and Willoughby South will compete on a course through the campus and on the wooded Kenston Trails. Admission is $5 per car, with proceeds benefitting Kenston Athletic Boosters.

Vision and Hearing Screening

Kenston Schools provides vision and hearing screenings as mandated by the state of Ohio. Students in kindergarten, grades 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 and students new to the district not tested within the past 12 months will be tested for distant visual acuity. Students in first grade will also be tested for ocular muscle balance. Kindergartners and first graders will also be tested for stereopsis, depth perception, while boys in these grades will also be tested for color perception.

If a student fails a vision screening, a vision referral will be sent home with a recommendation for follow-up with a vision specialist.

Hearing screenings are also required for students in kindergarten, grades 1, 3, 5 and 9 and children new to the district, but not tested within the past 12 months. Additional grade levels may be screened.

If a student fails a screening, they will be re-screened after six weeks. When a student fails a second screen, a hearing referral will be sent home suggesting that he/she be checked by a hearing specialist.

Because of a change in the law, students with known hearing loss, hearing aids or cochlear implants should not be screened at school. If your child does suffer from hearing loss, please provide the school nurse with documentation for the health file.

Please call the school nurse at your child’s school if you have any additional questions or concerns or do not want your child to be screened.

Screenings will take place at all schools during the first semester of school.

Gold Cards Available

All residents of Bainbridge and Auburn townships who are 60 years of age or older may obtain a free, lifetime “gold card,” which will admit them free of charge to any school sponsored event in which students participate, including home athletic events, musical and dramatic performances.

Gold cards are not valid when an event is sponsored by an organization other than the schools (P.T.O., Booster groups, etc.) as a fundraiser. Cards cannot be used for athletic events such as conference, regional or state playoffs.

Gold card membership can be obtained at the Kenston Board Office, 17419 Snyder Road.

School Bus Safety

As students return to school, the school district needs everyone’s help to keep kids safe as they get on the bus. Believe it or not, children are safer traveling in school buses than in any other type of motor vehicle. However, every year, school bus accidents happen because many drivers forget about some school bus safety basics.

Ohio has laws that require all vehicles to come to a halt when a school bus has its stop sign out and its red lights flashing. These signals indicate that children are getting on or off the bus.

When one is sharing the road with school buses, remember these rules: Do not pass a school bus until the red lights and signals are turned off; always stop when traveling in the same direction as the bus; and never pass on the right side of the bus. Besides being illegal, this is where children enter and exit.