Author: Tanner Atha

We want to thank our community for dealing with the morning delay due to the dense fog in our community.  Superintendent David Stewart has a quick video message for you.  Click here to watch.

Whenever there is a delay or we need to close schools we utilize School Messenger to email, text, and call the contacts we have in Home Access.  You can customize those preferences if you’d rather not be notified all three ways.  Click here for more information.  If you know someone not receiving these emails, or the weather announcements, please tell them to be sure their information is correct in Home Access.  If they have trouble with this, they can contact their student’s school.

Staff Member Shares Passion for Green Initiatives With Students

As a kid, Chuck D’Andrea remembers Keep Akron Beautiful visiting his school and making a cleanup of the school property fun. So when he got the chance to serve on the board for Keep Hilliard Beautiful last year, it was a no-brainer. 

As an Innovation & Discovery Specialist at Brown Elementary, he’s not required to teach a set curriculum. This allows him to share his passion for the Earth and renewable resources with his students in a broader way. He’s no stranger to getting students and the district involved in green initiatives. When he worked at Crossing Elementary and advised the Student Council, he led tree-planting projects and began recycling paper before it was a district-wide initiative.

“I enjoy bridging the gap between the schools and Keep Hilliard Beautiful,” he said. 

One example of this is a project he’s currently working on alongside Coca-Cola, the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District and Hilliard City Schools. Coca-Cola is providing old syrup barrels to Amanda Schaeffer, an art & ecology teacher at Hilliard’s Innovation Campus. Her students are painting the barrels which will then be shared with the community at an Earth Day event. The goal is to educate residents on the benefits of rain barrels. The fact that they can be an art piece for your home is a bonus! 

Keep Hilliard Beautiful is responsible for monthly cleanups and beautification projects within the boundaries of Hilliard City Schools. They recently added a garden filled with plants native to Ohio at Historical Village. D’Andrea will soon begin working with students on ecobricks, which are old bottles filled with plastic that cannot be recycled. The bricks will be used to build the base of a birdbath. 

“I love this organization because it’s one of the few volunteer opportunities that are available to all ages, and as a teacher and parent, I love providing kids with ways to think outside themselves and to help their community,” he said. 

Learn more here.

In early October, 300 7th graders had an opportunity to spend a morning or afternoon at Latham Park. These students from Memorial (Oct. 4), Heritage (Oct. 5), and Weaver (Oct. 6) Middle Schools rotated through three stations during the time that they were at the park. The first station was led by their science teachers; using chemical test strips, students tested phosphate and nitrate levels, as well as pH. Their results showed that the water quality of the pond was very good.

The second station was led by representatives from Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District; here students engaged with a Project Wet activity. Using objects such as rubber bands and beads to represent macro-invertebrates, students learned that you can tell a great deal about the quality of a body of water by looking at the organisms that live in it.

The third station was led by employees of the Department of Natural Resources and other teacher volunteers. This station provided time for the students to fish – many of whom had not fished before. Several students learned to bait their own hooks and release a fish once it was caught; nearly all students were able to catch a fish! For most students, this was the highlight of their day. Special thanks needs to be given to DNR who provided their expertise as well as the bait used over these 3 days. Additionally, the fishing poles were purchased with money from a Step-Outside grant awarded to Hilliard City Schools from DNR.

Early Intervention Specialist’s Work Carries Into Volunteerism With Special Olympics

Andrea Fogt’s passion for children is evident. Not only is she an early intervention specialist with Hilliard City Schools, but she also serves as the local coordinator of the Hilliard Special Olympics Bobcats for Ohio’s South Central Region. 

Through her role, she is responsible for the organization’s year-round programming. This includes coordinating and scheduling practices and games for their 12 sports and over 150 athletes ranging in age from 8-61, fundraising, and planning special events like trips to Cedar Point, dances, the annual softball game vs. the Hilliard Division of Police and Norwich Township Fire Department, and Bobcat Boogie 5K slated for Nov. 6 at Hilliard Municipal Park. 

She was first introduced to the Special Olympics in college when she was invited to help out at a basketball practice. She was hooked from the second she met the athletes. That was nearly 30 years ago, and she’s still going strong. 

“The athletes give us way more than we give them. They have a way of lighting up your whole day,” she said. 

Fogt is grateful that she’s part of an organization that gives those with intellectual disabilities opportunities to compete in sports, gain life skills that help them live independently, gain employment, and become functioning members of society. 

The lessons she learns from the athletes positively impact her work with Hilliard Schools as well. 

She said, “Seeing our adult athletes helps me know where my students need to be by the time they graduate. Similarly, my work with Hilliard Schools helps me make connections with potential athletes.”

They are always looking for volunteers and participants. To learn more, contact Fogt at hilliardspecialolympics@gmail.com.