GENOA MIDDLE
SCHOOL
Volume XIV, No. 2
November, 2011
Message From The Principal
Dear Parents and Students,
It is hard to believe we are rapidly moving through the second quarter and Winter break will be here
shortly. I recently held our first State of the Jag with our students and shared with them that 77% of the
students are on the Merit or Honor Roll. I challenged them to maintain the high standard they have set.
Our student athletes are preparing for the winter sports season. Encourage your child to come and support one of our teams. For those students thinking about spring sports, remember passing grades in five
courses are required by Ohio High School Athletic Association and a 1.75 GPA is required by Westerville.
The weather is beginning to change. I encourage all students to wear coats on these chilly mornings.
Coats are to be placed in their lockers as they are not permitted to be worn through the day. If you have a
child that finds various parts of the building cold, I suggest a sweater or sweat shirt should be kept in their
locker.
Remind your children to secure their personal belongings. Our staff continues to find lockers left open
and gym lockers unsecured. We place lost and found items outside of the office on a table as well as in a barrel
in the office. Clothing not claimed is donated to charity.
We will be taking a practice Reading OAA on the morning of November 21st. Please do not schedule appointments on that day or during the Spring OAA testing which will be the week of April 23rd. Mrs. Liao appreciates your calls at 797-6521 whenever your child is absent.
Thank you for your continued support.
Barry Ackerman
Principal
We Are Here to Help!
614-797-6500
GENOA MIDDLE SCHOOL
5948 S. Old 3C Highway
Westerville, OH 43082-9251
Office Hours
7:30 AM-3:30 PM
Telephone
Fax
614-797-6500
614-797-6501
Attendance Office
614-797-6521
Principal
Asst. Principal
Secretaries
Attendance Clerk
Counselors
Gr. 6
Gr. 7
Gr. 8
Nurse
Health Aide
School Resource Officer
Athletic Director
PTSA President
Barry Ackerman
Rodney Johnson
Corinne Kelley
Dawn Miller
Anita Liao
Kathy Kosinski
Tim Allen
Patty Pierpoint
Amy Loehnis
Joyce Speakes
Officer Sara Rath
Rob Kuhn
Peg Higgins
PTSA NEWS AND NOTES
Genoa PTSA Organization
The Magazine sale was a success. We recently received a
check for $15,000.00 with more to
come. The students who helped
us reach our goal will be treated to
"The Hoop Wizard” and an Ice
Cream Social on Wednesday, November 30th. Those students who
sold 10 or more subscriptions will
be treated to a limo ride to Giammarco's on Tuesday Dec. 6th for
lunch.
The Genoa Parent Teacher Student Association
provides a tremendous amount of support to Genoa
Middle school. The greatest contributions come
through their time as volunteers in the building or
helping with activities away from the school. We
are always looking for new ideas to support our
students, parents, and staff. General meetings are
at 7:00 p.m. in the media center on the third
Thursday of every month.
We will be having a Proceeds Night at Raising
Canes on Thursday Dec. 8th. Flyers will be sent
home with your child and posted to the website!
Our next dance
will be held on
Friday Dec. 9th
from 7 - 9 p.m. at
Genoa. Tickets
will be sold Thursday and Friday during lunch and at the door. Ticket
cost is $5.00 per student. There will be a coat closet
but we ask you to leave all electronic devices at
home. If you need a phone you can keep it with you
or have it locked in the closet with your coat. Donuts
will be sold after the dance for $5.00 a DOZEN. Sorry
for the mix up at the last sale.
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION
Clip box tops—Earn cash for our school!
Genoa Middle School participates in the Box Tops
for Education program. Our school earns cash for
each box top that is turned in. Please continue to
clip and save these box tops throughout the year.
Box tops can be turned in to the main office. Just
put them in a baggie and label it with your students
home room teacher’s name. Listen to the announcements or visit the Genoa Middle School website under “Announcements” for more info on collection dates and prizes. Also visit boxtops4education.com for a list of participating products and
great ideas to earn cash for Genoa Middle School.
Thank you all in advance for your participation in
this program.
Westerville Parent Council invites you
to check them out!
The Westerville Parent Council is a group of Westerville School District parent organizations organized
under the Ohio PTA for the purpose of promoting conferences, communications, leadership development, and
the coordination of efforts of local parent organizations. You can learn more about the WPC and their
various programs by checking out the website
www.wcsoh.org and following the Quick Link to the
Parent Council page.
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Dates to Remember
You are cordially invited to spend a
"Holiday with the Jaguars" on Monday,
December 19. The 7th and 8th grade
choirs will celebrate all the holidays in
song on that date. The concert will be held
in the Gymnasium at Genoa, beginning at
7:30 p.m. We hope you will join us to celebrate the holidays.
Homework Requests
We are happy to accept requests for
homework when your student is out
for 3 or more consecutive days,
Please contact Mrs.
Liao in the attendance
office by 8:45 a.m. to
make the request. The
attendance office will email your student’s teachers asking
for assignments to be brought to the
office by 3:00 p.m. You can stop in
the office and pick up the homework
from the basket. You may also email your student’s teachers.
Interims
Practice OAA
Thanksgiving Break
Geography Bee
School Dance
7th and 8th Grade Choir Concert
Last Day of Classes, QT 2
Winter Break, No School
Teacher Professional Day, No School
Martin Luther King Day, No School
Early Release
School Dance
President’s Day, No School
Winter Sports Banquets
Early Release
Last Day of Classes, QT 3
Spring Break, No School
No School, Holiday
Early Release
OAA Testing
School Dance
8th Grade Washington DC Trip
Career Day
Evening of Excellence
Early Release
Last Day of Classes
Nov. 18
Nov. 21
Nov. 23-25
December 8
December 9
December 19
December 21
Dec. 22Jan. 2
January 3
January 16
January 19
February 10
February 20
February 21
February 23
March 9
March 26-30
April 6
April 19
April 23-27
May 4
May 8-11
May 11
May 15
May 17
May 24
Bus Information
Due to the crowded conditions on middle school buses, students may only ride their assigned bus to and from school. Notes sent in requesting permission to ride another bus
will be denied.
If an emergency situation arises where your student needs to go home with another student, it must be approved by the Transportation Department. The number for Transportation is 797-5950.
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Intra-District Open Enrollment Application Deadlines are Moved Up
The deadline for submitting an Intra-District Open Enrollment application in the Westerville
City School District is earlier than in past years. The deadline for Intra-District Open Enrollment applications for middle and high schools is March 15, 2012. For elementary schools, the
cut off date is May 1, 2012.
The program is coordinated through the Department of Administrative Services for families
who are enrolled in the Westerville City School District. Parents or guardians wishing to have
their children attend a different school from their home school of attendance must complete
and submit an Intra-District Open Enrollment application.
Application forms are available at each school building; at the Westerville City Schools Enrollment Center (300 Polaris Parkway, Suite 3200); at the Early Learning Center (936 Eastwind
Drive, Suite 200); or at www.wcsoh.org, where general guidelines can be found. Applications are
accepted beginning on the first day of school for the next school year. Parents or guardians
will be notified of the decision in writing.
Reminder to all parents: Grade cards
will only be distributed to students whose
parents requested in writing that they
receive the grade card. Please use
Power Parent to monitor your student’s
progress on a regular basis. Should you
wish to receive a paper copy of the
grade card, please request this in writing. The form to request this is available
on the Genoa website.
The Westerville City School Board of Education has determined that it would
like students to complete three hours of community service during the school
year. The form to complete and turn in when the hours have been completed
is on the Genoa website. Please return this completed form by Friday, May
11, 2012.
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Genoa Clubs and Extracurricular Activities
Junior National Honor Society
News from Student Council
This year the Volley for the Cure
found the staff on top. Believe you me, it
was a hard fought battle- just like breast cancer.
Thanks for all of your support for this event. $718.32
was raised and donated to the Susan G. Koman fund.
Genoa’s Student Council is helping W.A.R.M.
(Westerville Area Resource Ministry) with a
canned food drive to help with families that
need assistance this holiday season. Student Council is encouraging each homeroom
to bring in at least 150 canned meat items
before December 9th to benefit W.A.R.M.
We have the potential of bringing in over
7,000 canned meat items if each classroom
meets the goal of 150. Imagine what we
could do if each class beat the 150 mark!
These items include tuna, sardines, mackerel, canned chicken, canned ham, hash,
stew, Vienna sausages, and Spam. W.A.R.M.
needs our support this winter.
The Dodgeball Tournament was a huge success! Thanks
to all who participated and helped to make this year a
success. $2,232.00 was raised. Keep your eyes out for
information about the spring tournament. Any parents
out there who want to take on the Jaguars in a championship game -just let Mrs. Paolini know!
A bake sale was also held by the National Junior Honor
Society students with items being donated by the wonderful parents! The profits from this bake sale will be
used to help defray the cost of shipping for the packages to our soldiers which were gathered during the
annual Support the Troops Campaign.
A BIG THANK YOU to all who support NJHS and the
Jaguar community!
Hey Genoa students, this year the Genoa Student Council will be supporting the Columbus
Ronald McDonald house and needs your help!
The Ronald McDonald house helps seriously ill
children and their families and provides them
with the medical care they need. This year we
have set out to collect ONE MILLION pop tabs
by May 11th to support the Ronald McDonald
House. By donating these pop tabs, it can generate thousands of dollars to go towards their
worthy cause of helping sick children and families in need. While collecting pop tabs there
will be special treats for classes that collect the
most. Thanks for your support and lets go
Jags!
Yearbook Orders
It is now time to order a 2011-2012 yearbook. To order a yearbook, visit the website
www.jostensyearbooks.com No orders are being
taken at school. You should have received an order
form from Jostens. There is one line of personalization
included. Be sure to indicate the name that you would
like stamped on the front cover of the book on your
order form! Additional lines and icons are available
for an additional fee. If there are questions or concerns, contact Ms. Stimer by e-mail at
[email protected]. Don't miss out! Be sure to order a
yearbook today.
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Each year the band and orchestra raise funds with
an Otis Spunkmeyer Cookie Sale. These frozen
cookies are the best in the fundraising industry
and we have been selling these for the past four
years. Orders will be taken in January with the
delivery occurring in
February.
Many band students participate in Jazz
Band. We have three jazz bands that meet
after school starting in January. Students
must audition for the bands and auditions
will be held the week of Nov. 28. Due to
high interest, drum set, piano, guitar and
saxophone have limited spots. The bands
perform at the Pasta Dinner in May and
other performance opportunities that become available.
Genoa Renaissance - Building a Community Together
Renaissance is a program designed to empower our students and educators to reenergize our educational atmosphere, and to create and seize new opportunities for success. The program consists of
students, teachers, and staff working together to recognize all of the positive things going on at
our school. You may have seen the birthday board in our main hallway, have had a student bring
home a coupon booklet for making the honor roll, or noticed the large display of stars on the wall
by the cafeteria recognizing students who have made academic growth. These are just a few of the
things that Renaissance has started around our school. If your son/daughter is interested in joining Genoa Renaissance, have them contact Miss Stimer or Mrs. Christoff. We are always looking
for new faces! In addition, we are looking for parent volunteers!
LEGACY - Leaders Engaging Globally as Community Youth Service Learning Group
The service learning group, LEGACY, is an excellent way to get involved in your community. We
work to make a difference in the lives of others through various projects. The group is very active
around Genoa and the Westerville community. Interested in finding a way to earn your community service hours? Join us! All are welcome! Contact Miss Stimer in room 161 if interested.
Do you love to knit? Do you want to learn a
new craft? If so, we have the club for you! The
knitting club is open to all students and staff
on Wednesdays (expect the 1st Wed. of each
month). PARENTS are invited as well. We
knit is Room 197 from 3:00 until 4:30. There is
no cost to join, just come have fun!
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Congratulations to all our Genoa fall athletes on your terrific seasons!
Just a reminder that winter sports are getting underway. Tryouts for winter sports have been held
and practices have begun. Spring sports will be beginning before we know it! All students trying out
for a team must have a current physical on file. Check with Mr. Kuhn if you are unsure about your
physical. Also, athletic participation fees for middle school are $50.00 per student per sport.
Keep up to date with all the happenings by checking out the announcements on the Genoa website.
Schedules may be viewed by going to Genoa’s interactive calendar on the district website.
Also, a friendly reminder to all parents that according to board policy, it is recommended that middle
school students who attend athletic events at the high school be accompanied by a parent. Unsupervised middle school students are becoming a problem.
Washington, DC
Reminder to all parents who
have 8th grade students planning on going to Washington, DC in May: the second
deposit for the trip is due by
January 20, 2012.
Thank you for the incredible support you
have shown for our troops. Genoa has three
symbolic flags on the hallway wall. When
you are in the building, please feel free to
take a look! Our total number of boxes
packed is around 55, and those will be converted into approximately 150 care packages. Our troops appreciate the efforts of
the parents, students, the social studies department and Mrs. Shew!
Laws of Life
Our annual Laws of Life essay contest is underway. Students are asked the question, "What are your laws of life, those principles that guide you as you go
through each day?" The essay contest is open to all Genoa Jaguars, grades 6-8.
Mrs. Shew coordinates the contest for the building. She will gladly send you
more information about the writing contest as needed. The deadline for entries is
not until January, but students are encouraged to get involved now. All Language
Arts teachers have the writing prompts and criteria.
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