Walnut Hills High School AssociationNEWSLETTER

Editor: Patti Newberry, patti@irisavenue.com, Design: Hillary Wood, hillaryw@fuse.net April 2012

2011-12 WHHS Parent Board

Executive CommitteePresident, Cassandra ClementPast President, Carol PhilpottVice President, Susan SheltonRecording Secretary, Gail WebbTreasurer, Erin Hellmich

DirectorsPR/Mktg, Andrea Chase CIC, Maria HornILT, Quiera Levy-SmithILT, Gail WebbLSDMC, Jenny FrenchLSDMC, Joann AvantLSDMC, Rich ColemanLegacy of Excellence, Erin Hellmich Walnut Fest, Melissa MurphyWalnut24, Doug NewberryMailing Coordinator, OPEN7th/8th Grade Co-Chair, Cathy Cook7th/8th Grade Co-Chair, Tracy Mason9th/10th Grade Co-Chair, Susan Shelton9th/10th Grade Co-Chair, Kim Frierson9th/10th Grade Co-Chair, Leslie Young9th/10th Grade Co-Chair, B. Gordon9th/10th Grade Co-Chair, Ellen BoggessSchool Board Rep, OPENDirectory, Dwight WilsonHospitality, Open House, SR Karla BaileyHospitality, Open House, SR Valencia Harris- Brown New Student Hospitality, Judie List SweeneyNew Student Hospitality, Jennifer SchmitzStaff Appreciation, Amy KappersStaff Appreciation, Lucy BlanchardStaff Appreciation, Meg DietzNewsletter, Patti NewberryVolunteer Coordinator, Debbie SheetsCommunications, Diane Van BakelClubs, Peggy Groeber

Ex-officio directorsJeff Brokamp, PrincipalDebbie Heldman, Alumni Foundation Exec. Dir.Penny Poirier, WHIP Representative Molly Akin, Athletic Boosters

Parent Board Meetings 2011-12All are welcome at the monthly Parent Board meetings, 7-9 p.m., in the school conference room. The remaining date for the 2011-12 school year is April 24.

President’s MessageSpring FeverSeventy-degree weather in March! Blooms and buds as April begins! We are all getting the bug and it is here early this year. It’s spring fever! But the year is not over yet. We need to successfully finish this fourth quarter and in typical Walnut Hills fashion….we have a lot to offer so, for better or for worse, the next few months will go quickly.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out the fine arts at Walnut Hills High School yet this year, you still can. Look for the many spring instrumental events or the two remaining dramas, senior high’s You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown (April 27-28) and junior high’s, You’re Only Young Once (May 10-12). Come to the school to spend an evening enjoying the outstanding visual arts created by our students or check out their chalk drawing contest.

Want to enjoy this incredible weather while supporting your school? I know I can’t find enough excuses to get outside. Be sure to get out and watch our Eagles participate in rugby, baseball, tennis, lacrosse, track or any other sports offered this season.

And most importantly, you still have time to volunteer at Walnut Hills. We will need help thanking our teachers and staff with an appreciation luncheon on April 30th. There are dances for our students to attend and I bet the administration and staff could use some help from a chaperone or two. Love books? Volunteer at the popular Walnut Hills High School used book sale in the library.

How do you find out what is going on this Spring at Walnut Hills? Check out Under the Dome for weekly events, listen to Principal Jeff Brokamp’s weekly roBro call, or sign up on the WHHS website to receive emails from Boosters, WHIP, and Parent Board. And of course you can attend the monthly Parent Association meetings for a wealth of information about what is happening at our school.

Cassandra ClementParent Board President

WHHS Library Used Book SaleMay 3-4Donations & customers needed!

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Parent BoardWalnutFest a tasty successAs food co-chairs for this year’s hugely successful WalnutFest, we would like to thank all the restaurant vendors for donating their food and their time to make the evening such a great success! For the most part, it was Walnut families who are restaurant owners and/or caterers who donated the food. We were thrilled at how all of their combined dishes enhanced an already great evening. When we first got involved in this endeavor, we were pleasantly surprised at the number of creative Walnut parents who were in the food industry and their tremendous generosity allowed us to save on dollars that were therefore donated directly to the school.

In addition, we would like to give a special thanks to Jon Diebold from Washington Platform, and Craig and Sondra Kurz from Honey Baked Ham, not only for their gifts of food, but for all the hours they spent helping us with the logistics of trying to get all the donated items to the Masonic Temple and setting it all up! We SERIOUSLY could not have done it without you!

Also, we would like to thank all our volunteers who took time out from the festivities to replenish and maintain the food stations! We completely appreciate all of you!

The next time you go out for dinner, or need someone to cater an event, please think of going to or using our vendors:

Allyns Café La Petit Pierre Symphony Hotel The Best Kept Secret Catering LaRosas Via Vite China Gourmet Lemon Grass Washington Platform Forkable Feast Relish Modern Tapas WHHS Alumni Association Graeters Skirtz and Johnston Wild Ginger Honey Baked Ham Co.

WalnutFest, one of the Parent Board’s two largest fundraisers of the year, raised nearly $40,000 this year, according to Co-Chairs Annique Link and Melissa Murphy. Proceeds will be shared by Parent Board; WHIP, which supports music at Walnut; and Boosters, which supports athletics.

Patti Heldman and B. GordonWalnut Fest Food Co-Chairs

Photos clockwise starting at upper left: Vincent and Valencia Brown enjoy the festivities. WalnutFest fans fill the Masonic Temple. Walnut Principal Jeff Brokamp joins WalnutFest chairs Annique Link and Melissa Murphy to announce winners. Walnut Music Department Chair Kerry Kruze works the horn with Jazz Combo students. Senior Ben Brandicourt adds guitar power to the Jazz Combo.

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Board to host staff lunchThe Parent Board is looking for volunteers to donate food, set up, serve and clean up at the annual Staff Appreciation Luncheon Monday, April 30. The board also seeks cash donations to cover catering from City Barbeque and gifts for teachers and staff.

If you can help, contact one of the event co-chairs:Meg Dietz (megdietz1198@gmail.com)Amy Kappers (aekap11@gmail.com)Lucie Blanchard (Luciebee61@gmail.com)If you can donate, please send to the school office c/o

Parent Board.

Art DepartmentWHHS students shine in Art ShowCongratulations to the 19 Walnut students whose work made the City Wide Art Show, a Cincinnati Public School program to showcase drawings, paintings, sculptures and photography of CPS students, grades kindergarten through 12th grade. Their work remains on exhibit at the Cincinnati main library atrium through April 23.

Walnut exhibitors include:Rachel Jenkins Emily FriedmanEllen Risenberg Laine KolesarYeonju Roh Luke KindleKelsey Jones Bryn HastingsSavannah Kelly Preston ThurnerJulianna Hofmann Megan KoenigLena Rose Brooke BuckinghamGraham Fowler Sofia Leung-WolfElena Miyasato Michelle BavermanSophia Fain

Athletic DepartmentB-ball ends season at 19-3The WHHS boys’ varsity basketball team ended its record-breaking season 19-3, with a 65-69 loss to Princeton High School. The sectional championship game on March 4 drew plenty of Walnut fans in gold to the University of Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena.

Fans could also track the game via Walnut’s Tweeter feed, which reported scores at the end of each quarter (12-13, 31-31 and 53-49).

Junior Khari Burton was the Eagles’ lead scorer in the season final, with 17 points. Junior Isaiah Johnson was close behind with 16.

Coach Robert Moman summed up the sting for players, fans and coaches in a story in The Cincinnati Enquirer.

“We won the conference, had the longest win streak in the city and broke a bunch of school records but this still hurts when you lose like this, especially being up in the second half a couple of different times,” Moman said.

But with a roster dominated by juniors, hopes run high for the 2012-13 season. As Aaron Zupka, associate athletic director, Tweeted: “Walnut Hills loses a heartbreaker in the Sectional Finals to Princeton 69-65. Great season Eagles! A lot to look forward for next season!”

Athletics dinner features sports namesThe Athletic Department will host an “Athletic Stag” for men

May 3 at 6 p.m. at the Losantiville Country Club, 3097 Losantiville Ave., in Pleasant Ridge.

The event will feature:• HeadfootballcoachGeorge Kontis, with updates on the

football program.• AthleticDirectorTom Donnelly, with updates on WHHS

sports.• WLW-TTVSportsProducerGeorge Vogel as master of

ceremonies.• FormerBengalslinemanandbroadcasterDave Lapham, as

keynote speaker.Tickets are $65 each and RSVPs are needed by April 27. To

register, visit www.walnuthills.org.

Music DepartmentMusic students make their markSeven Walnut students are participating in the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra this year, including: Audrey Borgert on viola, Matthias Greinacher on violin, Peter Phelan on cello, Maya Sekhar on violin, Clare Suffern on violin, Vivan Tong on oboe, and Ruolin Yang on violin.

Jazz Combo played at a fundraiser in February for Ohio Valley Voices, a school for children with cochlear implants, and participated in WalnutFest.

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• Ben Stamler, $100, Shepard Chemical Co. Award.• Lynn Pickering, $150, Southern Ohio Society of Women

Engineering.• Sophie Minnillo, $50, Southern Ohio Society of Women

Engineering.• Trinia Medrano, $50, Southern Ohio Society of Women

Engineering.• Gabrielle His and Avery Samuels, $100, College of

Education in Behavior Science.• Molly Giglia, $100, College of Education in Zoology/Botany.• Mahin Hossain, $75, College of Education Young Scientist

Students winning scholarships were:• Peter Huang, $2,500, College of Engineering & Applied

Science; $1,000 Electrical and Computer Engineering.• Trinia Medrano, $1,000, Department of Physics.• Gabrielle His, $1,000, Department of Physics.• Avery Samuels, $1,000, Department of Enrollment

Management.• Ben Stamler, $1,000, Chemical Engineering.

Six students were selected for the Broadcom Master Program, and are eligible for up to $25,000 in cash and scholarships. They include: Molly Giglia, Ben Stamler, Avery Samuels, Adina Ballaban, Morgan Capal and Mahin Hossain.

Four students won $25 cash Physics Awards for their participation. They included: Lela Robinson, Sophia Minnillo, Lynn Pickering and Jack Brower.

Dominic LoVaglioScience Fair Coordinator

Outside the ClassroomSenior opts for Naval AcademySenior Karah Brown, daughter of Jay and Beth Brown of Hyde Park, has accepted an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Md. She received a letter of assurance from the USNA in December and a nomination from U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt in January. She will report for her Induction Day in late June to take her “Oath of Office” and be sworn into the Navy.

Karah, one of Walnut’s National Merit Semi Finalists, plans to study engineering. She will be one of approximately 1,300 “officers in training” in the Naval Academy Class of 2016.

Music students joined those from art and theater for an “arts appreciation” tour of Washington, D.C., at the end of March.

Chamber Orchestra cellist Peter Phelan is the recipient of the Emerson Scholar Award, which is a full scholarship to attend the Interlochen Arts Camp this summer in Michigan.

Wind Ensemble oboist Vivian Tong was accepted for the Sewanee Music Festival, which is a four-week music camp held at the University of the South, near Chattanooga, Tenn.

Science Department Science students win school, UC awardsCongratulations to Walnut science scholars for their performance in the 2012 WHHS Science Fair.

Winners, their category and their score were:• Jack Brower, engineering, excellent.• Ben Stamler, chemistry, superior.• Avery Samuels, biology, superior.• Olivia Haltermon and Isabelle Jenkins, environmental,

superior.• Elie Broscious, physics, excellent.• Isabella Geis, behaviorial science, superior.• Soyanne Mosbacher and Kayla Campbell, botany,

excellent.• Caleb Smiley and Nathan Hilvano, microbiology, superior.The overall winners in life and environmental science (top

scores) were:• Caleb Smiley & Nathan Hilvano for life science.• Olivia Haltermon and Isabella Jenkins for

environmental science.Students who received a superior in the competition included:

Molly Giglia, Mahin Hossain, Lucas Dull, Diego Zagazeta, Catherine Becker, Emma Berlage and Maya Borrero-Smith.

Walnut students also participated in the University of Cincinnati Regional Science Fair on March 10, picking up a raft of recognitions. Walnut was well represented, with 36 students entering 25 projects. Of those 19/students/13 projects received a superior and earned a trip to the state finals. Awards totaled nearly $9,000.

The state finalists include: Diego Zagazeta, Sophia Minnillo, Richard Fu, Lynn Pickering, Elijah Catalan, Morgan Capal, Molly Giglia, Adina Ballaban, Avery Samuels, Maya Borrero-Smith, Ben Stamler, Emma Berlage, Mahin Hossain, Amy Gutmann Fuentes, Jack Brower, Maddie Hordinski, Peter Huang, Chris Friedman, and Tobin Kashdan Combs.

Students winning monetary awards included:• Natalie Norman, $100, American Chemical Society.• Peter Huang, $200, Miami University Department of

Physics Awards; $200, General Electric Aviation Award; $150 from the College of Education Award in Engineering.

Karah Brown heads for Annapolis in June.

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Walnut ninth-grader wins ‘Billy Elliot’ awardNinth-grader Jake Kolesar, son of Geri and Andrew Kolesar of Mount Lookout, won the Billy Elliot Dream Award from the Cincinnati Arts Association in March. The award was created by CAA’s Overture Awards program, Local 12 WKRC and Fifth Third

Bank Broadway in Cincinnati to celebrate the local staging of “Billy Elliot the Musical.”

Kolesar, one of three finalists for the award, received a $500 scholarship in recognition of his pursuit of an artistic dream. He entered an original song in the competition, creating a video of himself singing the piece and accompanying himself on guitar and harmonica. To see his winning creation and other work, visit “Jake Kolesar” on YouTube.com., where he has posted nine original songs and a wide range of covers of favorite artists like

Bob Dylan and John Mayer. The entries of all three finalists are at www.CincinnatiArts.ORG/dream .

In the Overture Award competition, meanwhile, Jo Ellen Pellman, a 10th-grader from Mount Airy, was the winner in the theater category. She has performed with the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Carnegie Center for the Performing Arts, and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati. She studies ballet and tap at CCM Prep and voice at the Musical Arts Center.

Thomas Heidenreich, grade 11, was an Overture finalist for instrumental music and Christian Betts, grade 12, was a finalist in the vocal music category.

Sophomore wins for ‘Hay’ storySophomore Luke Coffey, son of Deb and Bob Coffey of Northside, won first place in the Personal Essay category in the 2012 writing contest sponsored by the English Department of Mount St. Joseph. The essay, entitled “Hay,” describes his joy in being out in a field while hay is being cut and baled.

The piece begins: “It’s the sound I catch first. A rumbling and clanking like someone has put rocks and bits of metal in a can and is now shaking it. Then the smell. The smell of fresh cut grass, but drier and mixed with a hint of diesel fumes.”

The essay, written for a Walnut English class, goes on to explain Coffey’s happiness at baling time — “knowing that the old farm men look at you like a man because you out-worked them” and “moving and swaying with the wind that blows across the fields.” Got news? Send all your news

items and photos to Patti Newberry at patti@irisavenue.com. Next deadline: June 1.

Jake Kolesar performs an original song for the Billy Elliot competition

Seniors marking their daysGot a senior? Check your calendar to make sure they are set for all the end-of-year fun:

April 21Prom, 9 p.m.-midnight, Music Hall. (Juniors welcome, too!)

May 7-18AP tests.

May 21-23Senior exams.

May 23Senior Send-Off (and last day!), seventh bell, Marx Stadium.

May 29Cap and gown distribution, 6:15-7 p.m., Blair Circle.

May 29Senior Awards Program, 7-8 p.m., auditorium.

May 30Commencement rehearsal and breakfast, 8-11 a.m., Xavier University Schiff Family Center.

May 30Commencement, 4-5:30 p.m., (with students arriving at 3:15 p.m.), Xavier University Cintas Center.