Each year, Geauga County Auditor Frank Gliha awards the first dog tag of the New Year to a local fourth- or fifth-grader who completes the best essay on his or her pet.
Hank is #1 Dog
Each year, Geauga County Auditor Frank Gliha awards the first dog tag of the New Year to a local fourth- or fifth-grader who completes the best essay on his or her pet. St. Mary fourth-grader Lilianna Dillworth was surprised with a visit from the auditor, her family and her dog Hank at school to make the announcement of her win.
Lily submitted an essay on her dog, Hank that highlighted why he should be the number one dog this year.
Lilliana said of her 11-year-old Jack Russell terrier, “My dog is number one because he helps me eat my dinner. When I’m eating my dinner at the table, sometimes I secretly put what I do not like under the table and he comes to eat it.”
Auditor Frank Gliha said, “some of the children’s essays were funny, some brought a tear to our eye, but all were a joy to read and we had fun reading and talking about them. As we reflect on the day of the #1 dog judging it is important to recognize that the children’s loyalty and love for their dogs goes both ways. Children know that when they come home from a day at school their companion is waiting patiently for them to return to give and receive love and affection.”
Lily said Hank is a very special dog and has been around pretty much her whole life.
“My dog is the best because he snuggles on the couch with me to show he loves me. He also barks to let us know someone is at our house. He will even stand in front of me to guard me from strangers he has never seen before.”
STEM Board Continues To Build and Grow
This May, St. Mary School Chardon became the first Ohio Department of Education STEM Designated School in Geauga County and one of only 44 in the state. The state recognized the school to be continually working toward integrating STEM ideals into teaching across all disciplines and striving to teach students new ways to approach learning. Last year, the school gained top honors in a variety of ways including being recognized as a Cleveland Clinic Banner School, a Thomas Edison STEM school of excellence for the third consecutive year, earning grants from the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center and and sending five students to the state science fair at The Ohio State University to name a few.
Recently the school’s STEM Board members convened to discuss new ways the school can continue to grow and embrace STEM learning. Board members represent professionals and businesses in the community from a variety of disciplines including the fields of medicine, technology, architecture and design, engineering and teaching and learning.
St. Mary teachers shared new program discoveries they will be bringing back to the students this year from the Ohio STEM Convene and the Cleveland Catholic Diocese Initiatives. The school is looking forward to competing in the Xtreme Games held in March which will pit St. Mary students against other local Catholic schools in STEM related games. The most exciting new project by far is a Greenhouse Design Challenge that was student initiated. Students have initiated the idea of growing their own vegetables at the school to be used for a salad bar during lunch periods. This amazing new project has backing from both The Ohio Catholic Credit Union and received the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center’s Alstein Award and Grant. In addition, sixth-grade teacher Julie Fedak has been asked to be a part of the curriculum board at CVEEC.
The Greenhouse Design Challenge has started with collection of plastic two liter bottles, which will be used for the construction of the structure. The students have begun research on the use of rain runoff to irrigate plants and will work with the city to gain permits and zoning approval. The school will look to its current partnerships to help facilitate this project for the remainder of the year.
The school and board members are working hard to brainstorm other ways the students can learn more about STEM careers and utilize their partnerships at a high level. Partners will be invited to the annual career fair and are opening their doors for students to shadow in their workplaces. The school is investigating expansion of their lab spaces to have a larger area for a Makerspace, where students can store on-going projects and work on them as time permits throughout the day. With so many ventures taking place at one time across the entire school, the lab is overflowing with rollercoasters, science fair boards and other projects.
Watch for new projects to be unfolding and for news to come as the year progresses and the school, students and board work to continue expansion of STEM throughout the school.
