More than 1,500 people packed into Westerville South High School for the Westerville Partners for Education’s Starry Night family festival on Sunday afternoon, April 6.  Critters, robots, origami, LEGOs, music, costumes, bonsai trees and over 60 different exhibits from Columbus’ premier educational organizations were on hand to present interactive experiences for students and families.  Students watched puppet shows, drove robots, acted out dramas, explored live insects, learned about 3-D printing, and watched sky shows from within the indoor planetarium.  Dr. Tom Burns from Perkins Observatory and the Ohio State University’s Meteorology Club presented to auditorium audiences and Tim Kaiser demonstrated handmade instruments.

The fifth annual Westerville City Schools Middle School Invention Convention was held at Blendon Middle School on Wednesday, April 9, where 42 students represented each of the four middle schools.  Sponsored by the Gifted Education Department and each middle school, students competed at the building level and were invited to the district competition to set up displays and be judged by a panel of distinguished educators, administrators, and community members.

Sixth grade students from advanced science classes took part in the fourth annual Chip Challenge, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) initiative.  Teams of students were asked to design and test a container for shipping a single “Pringles” potato chip to Westerville City Schools Superintendent Dr. John Kellogg, whose office is located at the Early Learning Center, 936 Eastwind Drive.  Upon arrival, the packages and the chip they contained were evaluated and scored.  The goal was to design a package to have the smallest volume and smallest mass that protected the chip so that it would arrive at its destination undamaged.

From April 7-11, the Otterbein University Special Olympics Club, along with Westerville City Schools students from the Best of Both Worlds program, engaged in a campaign to get individuals to sign a pledge to stop using the ‘R’ word – retard(ed).  The R word hurts those with intellectual disabilities because it is exclusive, offensive and derogatory.

The Westerville Education Foundation (WEF) has received a generous donation in the amount of $10,000 from Alliance Data.

Parents of children who will be attending kindergarten this fall are eligible to register their youngsters online for Safety City beginning on April 21.  The program will be held Monday through Friday, June 2-13, at Robert Frost Elementary School, which is located at 270 North Spring Road.  Two sessions will take place each day – one from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m., and one from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m.

On Sunday, April 6, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m., the Westerville Partners for Education (WPE) will host the second annual “Nationwide Children’s Hospital Starry Night” family learning festival at Westerville South High School, 303 S. Otterbein Avenue.  The festival will offer the community interactive learning opportunities with experts from Columbus’ premier educational and non-profit organizations.

The Westerville Parent Council and Roush Honda are pleased to announce the 11^th annual Great Educator Mentor (GEM) Award winners.  GEM awards are given to individuals who make a difference in the lives of the students in the Westerville School District.  All GEM winners promote the welfare of students in the home, school and community, and each goes above and beyond the call of duty. 

Recent action by the Ohio Department of Education has expanded the window in which school districts can administer Ohio Achievement Assessments (OAA) to students in grades 3-8.