Author: Tanner Atha

At the beginning of the nine weeks, the students at the Arrow Program embarked on creating their own passports. Over the course of the quarter, the students will be traveling to different countries in the French-speaking world and completing various activities, tasks, and projects along the way. They will earn a “passport stamp” for each country visited.

Today, the students applied their newly acquired knowledge of the French numbers from 0 to 20 by participating in a “trip to Cameroon.” As they completed their task sheets, students roamed around the classroom to learn more about Cameroon. By completing the activity, they earned a stamp on their passport.

For the past 16 years, the competition cheerleading teams from all three high schools and middle schools get together for one evening of cheer. Cheerfest started in 2008 to get all the schools together to showcase their competition routines. Former coaches and cheerleaders evaluate the performance of each school. Each coach uses the feedback to perfect their routines for the season. Hilliard Cheer is the only school district in the state with more than one high school that continually places within the top 10 at states each year. Each school has won numerous OCC, State, and even National championships. Our robust middle school programs serve as a foundation for these exceptional programs.

This year at Cheerfest, three former coaches were inducted into the first class of the Hilliard Cheer Hall of Fame, recognizing their commitment and dedication to our cheer programs’ history. Each has made a lasting impact on our programs.

Carolyn Dougherty, a retired teacher, coached middle school sports for over 30 years. She laid the foundation for all our programs.

Aimee Jordan, an intervention specialist at Brown, coached at Heritage and Darby. She moved to Bradley when it opened and earned a State Championship the first year.

Michelle Miller was a coach and teacher at Darby High School for 17 years. Her passion for teaching and coaching was well-known throughout all of our cheer programs.

For the first time this year, the cheer programs collaborated to offer a scholarship to a senior athlete who demonstrated leadership not only in their cheer team but also in the school and community. Congratulations to all of our inductees!

5th-grade students at J.W. Reason participated in the #STEMorbitsOhio Sticker Design Challenge. The challenge posed by the Ohio Department of Education required students to design a sticker that captured these areas of focus:

• Design the personal quarters for multiple astronauts
• Research and design the interior aesthetics of the station to promote mental health and well-being
• Create an exercise routine with equipment that will promote bone density and prevent muscle atrophy
• Sustainable nutritious food production 

Students had to ideate, prototype, and work with a real client’s requirements to accomplish the task! They celebrated with an award ceremony and 3D-printed trophies for the top designers at J.W. Reason!

The Hilliard City School District is in the process of revising its K-12 Mathematics Course of Study. The District’s Math Curriculum Revision Committee has just completed the development of the K-12 Mathematics Course of Study. This Course of Study was presented to the Board of Education on Monday, January 8. The Board will be reviewing the Course of Study over the next several weeks before voting on its adoption. We invite all families and the community to preview the K-12 Mathematics Draft Course of Study and if so desire, use the Feedback Form as an opportunity to provide feedback. To view the K-12 Math Course of Study, click HERE. Please note that the Course of Study development is a part of Phase 1 which does not include Resource Adoption. Resource Alignment and Adoption will take place during the next phase of the revision cycle.

If the community seeks to understand the curriculum revision process, please refer to the following board policies as a resource.

IFD-R – Curriculum Adoption Process Guidelines

IFE – Curriculum Guides and Course Outlines

Kindergarten Registration – Begins Monday

Hilliard City School District will begin Kindergarten Registration on Monday, January 8, 2024, for the 2024-25 school year.  If your child will be five years of age on or before September 30, 2024, they are eligible to start kindergarten during the 2024-25 school year.

Parents can access the registration website (on or after January 8, 2024) to complete online registration. The earlier you complete the registration process, the more likely your student will be able to attend the school assigned to your address.  You will also have more flexibility in scheduling the kindergarten screening.  Once you begin the registration process, you have 30 days to complete it, or your application will be deleted.  Once finished, the Welcome Center will schedule your screening appointment for August.

Please don’t delay.  The District uses registration numbers in the spring to determine how many kindergarten classes will be offered at each building. Contact the Hilliard City Schools Welcome Center at (614) 921-7096 with questions.

A 2017 graduate of Bradley High School, Isabelle Maurer Buergel is now a sixth grade English Language Arts teacher. She began her career with Mount Vernon City Schools and is currently teaching at Grandview Heights Middle School. She hopes to one day return to Hilliard and give back to her hometown through education.  

“I love my job and am thankful for the education Hilliard City Schools provided me as I continue to give back that knowledge and experience through educating the future generations of learners,” she said.