LAKEWOOD CITY

SCHOOLS

Keith Ahearn, Principal Harding Middle School November 2010

Harding

Herald

Principal’s Message It is hard to believe that we have completed the first quarter. We are looking forward to seeing many of you at

parent-teacher conferences coming up this November. Here is the schedule of this year’s conference times:

Wednesday, November 10th, 5:00pm-8:30pm

Thursday, November 11th, 1:00pm-4:00pm

Thursday, November 11th, 5:00pm-8:30pm

Friday, November 12th, 8:00am-11:00am

Parents of sixth and eighth grade students may schedule a conference by going to the following website: https://

workorder.neonetda.org/ptconf/ . In order to login in you will need to know the username and password for Pro-

gressBook. This information was given out during Open House or mailed home if you were not able to join us

for Open House.

The parents of 7th grade students should have already received information about student led conferences. This information was sent home with students. The seventh grade team is working hard to have your child prepare a portfolio of work that highlights their academic progress this year.

This is an important time for teachers to be able to share with you the academic progress of your child. We would love to see 100 percent participation in parent/teacher conferences. The partnership between home and school is of critical importance.

I would also like to congratulate all of the Fall sports athletes and their coaches for a great season. On October 27th, Harding Middle School celebrated their seasons by recognizing team members at an all school Pep Rally in anticipation of the Harding versus Garfield games that week. This was a spirited and fun competition that brought the schools together, recognizing that all of our student athletes will eventually compete together at Lakewood High School.

Thank you to the Harding Middle School PTSA who hosted a great first quarter dance for our students on Octo-ber 29th. A great time was had by all!

Finally, we are excited that this month of elections also brings with it the election of our own Harding Student Council Executive Board. Students have made campaign promises to engage students in important topics like anti-bullying programming, school climate and spirit activities and generating ideas to make student the center of life here at Harding Middle School. I applaud these young leaders and wish them luck this month.

As always, thank you for your continued support of Harding Middle School. Have a safe and happy beginning to the Holiday Season.

Regards,

Keith Ahearn

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DISTRICT MESSAGE:

Thank you to those of you who attended one of our Community Conversation sessions in October. It is very

helpful for us to keep in touch with your thoughts. I will continue to share my thoughts with you here and in

my Superintendent’s Message that can be found on our district web site, www.lakewoodcityschools.org.

Part of the discussion at these meetings dealt with Ohio’s budget problems in our current economy and the po-

tential impacts on our future state funding for our schools. There are many forces beyond our control that

could negatively affect our bottom line as far as state funding goes. I also shared that we are not alone as a

school district in experiencing these difficulties and that districts across the country are struggling in the same

way.

Some of the concerns from the meeting participants centered on class sizes. I shared with the audience that al-

though some class sizes throughout the district are still larger than we would like, we are grateful to have re-

ceived money from the federal Education Jobs Fund that allowed us to hire 7.5 teachers in September. These

teachers were placed in elementary classrooms that had the largest number of students thus alleviating some of

the problem. It is important to remember that this money is one-time money that will cover the teachers’ sala-

ries for this year and next school year only.

Despite our district’s challenges that I laid out at the meetings, student achievement continues to improve in

our schools. For example, earlier this fall academic honors were announced for the National Merit Scholarship

Competition and the Advanced Placement Scholars program. Lakewood High has a long history of turning out

stellar scholars who are recognized by these prestigious programs and this year was no exception. Four LHS

seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists, three were named National Merit Commended Scholars and

35 were named AP Scholars. The National Merit Semifinalists – Brian Brink, Michael Pizzo, Kevin Ritter and

Carter Strong – scored in the top 1% of PSAT scores in the state and are now eligible to compete for more than

$16 million in scholarship money. Congratulations to these students who are among many that make our com-

munity proud!

Dr. P. Joseph Madak

Superintendent

Board of Education

Betsy Shaughnessy, President

Matthew John Markling, Vice President

Linda Beebe

Edward Favre

John Kamkutis

Harding Herald

News from the Health Clinic

Reminder: Yes, you do need a written Doctor’s order to

carry cough drops and inhalers.

If you need medical release forms, they are available in the

school office or in the Health Clinic.

Thank-you,

Denise McGuire

Clinic-Aide

MARKET DAY

Market Day Pick-up

Tuesday, Nov. 16th

4:00 pm

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Sixth Grade News

Book It!

Did you know that all six graders should be

reading 20 minutes each night as part of their

homework for reading class? In addition to

receiving regular class credit for doing this, stu-

dents may participate in a “Book It!” program

sponsored by Pizza Hut. Your child has a calendar

for you to initial on the days that the 20-minute

requirement has been met. At the end of the

month, if requirements are met, you child will re-

ceive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza. In

addition to monitoring your child’s reading for

class credit, please be sure to initial your child’s

calendar. Also, be sure to take note of the coupon

deadlines so you don’t miss out.

Need to Talk to a Teacher?

After conference time, if you need to talk

to a teacher in person, please call to set up a

convenient time for both you and the

teacher. We often have pre-scheduled meetings

and activities before and after school, making it

impossible to give you adequate attention if you

stop in unexpectedly. By setting a mutual time, we

can all focus on working together for the greater

success of your child. Thanks, in advance, for

your cooperation.

Want to Help Your Child?

We know you would! Please continue your great

job of providing basic supplies, checking for

homework, using Progressbook, and regularly ask-

ing to see your child’s planner. This will guaran-

tee a successful year at Harding. Thank you for

your help! Please use the Progressbook link on the

Lakewood City Schools home page:

www.lakewoodcityschools.org

We Are Thankful!

Our entire 6th grade team would like to express our

appreciation for your support. We are pleased to

work with you toward a successful year. We all

wish you and your family a very Happy Thanks-

giving!

Seventh Grade News

Mrs. Hoy 7th Grade Science

We have been busy all Fall working on classification

and the diversity of life over time. Students had the

opportunity to travel to Holden Arboretum where they

had the opportunity to explore the great biodiversity

of Northern Ohio as well as use a dichotomous key in

a tree survey. Leaf Projects were completed as well

this quarter that weighed heavily on 1st quarter

grades. We will be finishing our study of biodiversity

through time and soon will move on to matter and en-

ergy.

In Mrs. Franks’ Language Arts class the students fin-

ished their narrative essays and researched their topics

for their persuasive essays. They have learned how to

peer edit and their skills were put to the test. We will

be working on another narrative essay in the next few

weeks. This essay will focus on characters and the

qualities they have. We will begin reading the

novel Ransom (focusing on character study).

We are also beginning the study of mythology.

We will be reading many different myths in

class as well as working on activities to go

along with each myth. As always, we are reading

everyday in class and continually add to our vocabu-

lary by studying new words. Please help by encour-

aging your child to read each night. We look forward

to seeing everyone during conferences.

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Lakewood City Schools

1470 Warren Road

Lakewood, OH 44107

NONPROFIT

US POSTAGE

PAID

CLEVELAND, OH

PERMIT NO. 2512

November

2010

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Candid/Club

Photos

5 ARC Mini-

Blood Drive

2:00-7:00 pm

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8 Scholastic Book

Fair Week

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5:00-8:30 pm

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1:00-4:00 pm 5:00-8:30 pm

No School for

Students

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8:00-11:00 am

No School for

Students

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Day Pick-up

7:00 pm PTSA Mtg. @

LRC.

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Picture Retakes

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Parent/Teacher Conferences

Thanksgiving Break

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