The 2012-13 school year has concluded in the Westerville City School District, and many students and staff are planning to begin their summer break by visiting The Eyes of Freedom Memorial, paintings depicting the 23 fallen Marines from Lima 3/25.  The exhibit is on display from noon to 5:00 p.m. on May 25, 26 and 27 at Westerville City Hall, which is located at 21 S. State Street.  The Memorial tells the story of love and sacrifice, as a reminder of the great price men and women are willing to pay for their country.  It has become a remembrance of spirit and choice for all who have answered the call of service.

The paparazzi was out in full force on Wednesday afternoon, May 15, for the gala, red carpet premiere of Reflections through the Years, a celebration of short films featuring some of Westerville’s finest senior citizens.

SOH Productions will be selling customized DVDs of Westerville City Schools graduation ceremonies for $14.95 each.  Commencement exercises for Westerville’s graduating class of 2013 will take place on Saturday, May 25, at the Ohio Expo/Celeste Center.  Westerville Central High School ceremonies will be held at 10:00 a.m., followed by Westerville South High School at 2:00 p.m. and Westerville North High School at 6:00 p.m.

Westerville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Good was surprised on May 15 when Sunrise Rotarians named him as the monthly recipient of the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Diane J. Conley Service to Youth award.  He was attending the breakfast meeting, held at the Old Bag of Nails, to support all Service to Youth winners during the 2012-13 school year.  Under his leadership, the district was rated as Excellent with Distinction for three years in a row by the Ohio Department of Education.

Meghan Wilson, a Westerville Central High School junior, has been awarded one of approximately 625 National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarships for 2013-2014.  The NSLIY program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly-taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs.  NSLIY offers overseas study opportunities in Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian, and Turkish.

The Westerville Education Challenge (WEC), established in 2009 to raise private support for public education in Westerville City Schools, will be awarding $10,000 in grant funds this year. Applicants may apply for up to $5,000, or request a portion of the available award dollars. The grant funds are intended to reward teachers and the school district by funding creative and innovative projects that enrich curricular and extra-curricular activities and directly enhance educational opportunities for a significant number of students in Westerville City Schools.

In an effort to help connect students globally and locally, Film and Literature pupils at Westerville Central High School have participated in an International Education and Resource Network (lEarn) project entitled Folk Tales/Storytelling:  Past and Present.  lEarn is the largest non-profit global network with more than 40,000 teachers and two million students involved in various projects.

The Rotary Club of Westerville, which sponsors a Student of the Month program, recognized recipients at a luncheon at Villa Milano held on May 2.  May students are:  Shae Feenstra, Westerville Central High School; Rachel Jackson, Westerville North High School; and Jared Higdon, Westerville South High School.

This past weekend Westerville City Schools once again made a strong showing at the Central Region Road-E-O and brought home some hardware to prove it.  Overall 7th place winner was Gary Case, an alternate for the State contest on May 18.  Taking overall 9th place was Cindy Russell, who will also serve as a State competition alternate.  The First Place Team members (collective score) were Westerville drivers Gary Case, Debbie Diller, Cindy Russell and Steve Smith.  The third place team also hailed from Westerville City Schools -- Rafael Guigni, John Holmes, Shelly Smith and Shirley Timberlake.

The Westerville Parent Council and GFS Marketplace recently awarded five $500 scholarships to students at Westerville Central, North and South high schools.  This year’s recipients are...