Pointview Elementary News

Westerville City Schools joins more than 700 school districts throughout Ohio to celebrate January as School Board Recognition Month. 

Westerville City School District Superintendent Dr. John R. Kellogg this week announced a restructuring of his district-level leadership team, which is intended to address succession planning needs, as well as strengthen academic and operational support.

An effort to launch a racial equity group in the Greater Westerville community includes several Westerville City School District educators, administrators, and a board member.

In all, 30 community members across various sectors in the area will serve as a launch team to establish the organization and hire a community chief diversity officer.

The backseat and trunk of Serena Casale’s SUV are packed with plastic bags filled with packaged meat, milk, eggs, cereal, fruit cups, noodles, juice and other food items for several students at Mark Twain Elementary.

Casale, a school counselor, has often visited students at home since the start of the pandemic, dropping off what families struggle to pick up: Chromebooks, class assignments, school supplies or — as was the case last Friday — food.

After the 2019-20 school year ended, Westerville elementary physical education teachers came together to review their approach to teaching virtually for the first time.

Even though they received positive feedback from families, they wanted to do more. So they pooled their resources slated for updating their class equipment to purchase video recording gear.

The plan: Collaborate to design and produce video lessons that make PE accessible to all students. 

More than 900 books will be distributed throughout Westerville schools as part of the Westerville Education Foundation’s Many Voices: Diverse Library Project.

The foundation was able to fund each of the 33 project requests in 15 schools. Collections will be delivered to teachers this month for use in their classrooms this winter.

Whether Westerville students are in school or working remotely from home, they need to be fed. 

For the district’s Food Services department, it has meant adapting to the ever-changing environment this school year, from how they plan menus to adjusting their operations to ensure students have the meals they need.

Manager of Food Service and Purchasing Kari Dennis said that preparing meals with a cohort of students in school, another cohort at home, and those enrolled in Westerville Virtual Academy has sometimes been difficult. However, her staff has risen to the challenge.

Parents or guardians wishing to apply to have their children attend a school different from their school of attendance must complete and submit an Intra-district Open Enrollment Application. 

Westerville students, staff and community are invited to nominate district staff and adult volunteers for a Great Educator Mentor (GEM) Award, which is presented to individuals who go the extra mile to make a positive impact in the classroom and schools.

Longfellow kindergartner Bridget Moreno Serrano likes superheroes, mermaids and monkeys — all of which have the makings for an interesting story. 

After learning more about Serrano, Patrick McNally and Juliana Reising, two Ohio State students enrolled in Honors Spanish Composition, each created personalized children’s stories written in English and Spanish so Serrano’s parents who are native Spanish speakers can read it to her at home.

To give students face-to-face time with each other and educators, Westerville City Schools’ Gifted Education department launched “Gifted Gatherings” for elementary students during their remote learning weeks this year.

In the fall, students in grades 3 to 5 across 14 elementaries attended virtual gatherings on various topics such as Book Clubs, Math Madness, Baffling Befuddlement and Community Service.

Westerville South High science teacher Mark Schmidley admits the membrane transport unit in his biology class is not the most exciting topic.

“It’s hard to get some people fired up about ‘Oh man, glucose moving against the gradient. Transport proteins,’” he said.

Westerville City Schools was the highest-ranked school district in the nation in a contest that recognizes progressive and environmentally-committed transportation fleets. 

TJ Potterf, a teacher at Pointview Elementary; Katie Summers, a teacher at the ELC Preschool and Leslie Alicea, a teacher at Cherrington Elementary have been named Westerville Education Foundation’s December Teachers of the Month.

Teachers recognized for the foundation’s November Teachers of the Month award include Jennifer Steinher at Emerson Elementary, Angela Faust at Whittier Elementary and Kelly Balaz at Hanby Elementary.

Parents who missed last month’s Parent Prep workshop series or wanted to revisit topics can now watch the recorded sessions online.

Westerville students, staff and community members are invited to participate in a shared book read across the district and city to inspire conversations around race and social justice.

Westerville Central High School has been named a Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) School Recycling Champion thanks to science teacher Anthony Forrest and his efforts in building a sustainable and comprehensive school recycling program. 

A girls empowerment program, classroom sets of ukuleles, and a community-wide reading initiative focused on books about anti-racism are among the 11 proposals awarded a 2020 Fall Grant from the Westerville Education Foundation (WEF). 

To show support for Westerville teachers, staff and administrators, the Westerville Education Challenge (WEC) created more than 1,300 “rocks of support” that feature messages of encouragement for their work during the pandemic.

To support the social and emotional needs of students in the Westerville City School District, the Westerville Education Challenge (WEC) launched an online social-emotional resource center available to students, families and staff on Tuesday.

Westerville City Schools Treasurer Nicole Marshall and Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg presented testimony before the Ohio House Finance Committee on Nov. 17 in support of the Fair School Funding plan, a new school funding formula that would reduce the state’s overreliance on local taxpayers to pay for public education and provide a more equitable state model for funding schools.

Twenty Westerville City Schools employees were honored for their contributions to students, dedication to their schools and their commitment to district values as part of the A+ Award recognition at Monday’s school board meeting.

Last spring, school systems across the nation were challenged to quickly assess, address, and adapt to the worldwide pandemic. Whether implementing remote instruction models to keep students learning, modifying meal service to keep students fed, stockpiling personal protective equipment to keep students and employees safe, or shifting resources to maintain operations, these rapid adjustments left school leaders concerned about the overall impact the coronavirus could have on their respective districts.

Over the coming months, Westerville City Schools will be rolling out a new peer-led initiative focused on mental health and suicide prevention/education.

The school nurses at Westerville City School District have collaborated on communication to help families better understand the procedures they are following in school related to COVID-19.

All students enrolled in the Westerville City School District can receive free school meals through the end of the 2020-21 school year.

The update stems from a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to extend the free meal program for the rest of the school year.

After completing only two meetings last spring, work of the volunteer community committee tasked with developing attendance boundaries for the district’s new elementary and middle school buildings came to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.