Power of the Pen

Congratulations to the Power of the Pen team on their success at the district tournament held on February 13th at Mad River Middle School. The 7th grade TEAM took 2nd Place, which included individual awards for: Emily Gray (12th), Laura Chase (2nd), Erin Donnelly (1st). In the 8th grade, Megan Cleary place 2nd in individual awards. About 150 students compete at this level.

2nd place 7th grade TEAM from left to right: Ren Long, Laura Chase, Emily Gray, Will Gillingham, Grace Deal, and Erin Donnelly

From left to right: Emily Gray (12th) Erin Donnelly (1st) Laura Chase (2nd) and Megan Cleary (2nd)

24 headed to speech & debate state tourney

An exciting and successful year has unfolded for the Oakwood High School Speech and Debate Team. Under the guidance of Coaches, Brianna Doyal and Alex Kordik, the team has developed a strong tradition of peer coaching and mentoring. Talent without dedication is rarely rewarded at tournaments and at Oakwood every member is considered essential to the spirit and well being of the team. This team’s hard work was rewarded when Oakwood took first place in the Team Sweeps at both the Greater Miami Valley District State Qualifying Tournament and the GMV District National Qualifying Tournament.

The State Qualifier was scheduled to be held at Centerville the weekend of Feb. 5-6. Due to snow storms and school closings, some contestants anxiously waited until Thursday, Feb. 11 to compete. Despite being put on ice for most of the week, the entire team rallied and won the tournament Team Sweeps. The very next week the team regouped at Princeton High School for the opportunity to qualify for the National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, this summer. The entire team put in a strong showing and again won the Team Sweeps.

The following students will be competing at the State Tournament, March 5-6 at John Carrol University. In Duo, the teams of: Tyler Rife and Dillon Corrigan, and Kristen Foos and Madison Reger; in Oratorical Interpretation: Rob Mitchell, and Abby Scharrer; in Drama: Melanie Ward, and Caroline Clark; in Prose & Poetry: Mason Cammel, Olivia Ciupak, and Tia Manavis as an alternate; in Extemp: Eli Collinson, Tyler Dillon, Katie Hoffman, and Alex Tathem; in Impromptu: Amanda Winch, Amy Malone and Michael Light as an alternate; In Original Oratory: Emma Couch, and Liz Huizenga; in Debate, the teams of Caroline Paule and Colin Ward, and Ben Hawkins and Marcus Viereckl.

The following national qualifiers will be competing in Kansas City, Missouri this summer. In Humor: Tyler Rife; in US Extemp: Katie Hoffman; in Drama: Melanie Ward; in Two-Person Policy Debate: Colin Ward & Caroline Paule. Additionally, Dillon Corrigan qualified as the alternate in Humor and Caroline Clark was a finalist in Drama.

2 nominees join Andrews Hall

The Oakwood City School District is accepting written nominations for the Sam Andrews Educational Hall of Honor. Nominations must be submitted to the Superintendent, Dr. Mary Jo Scalzo, 20 Rubicon Road, Dayton, OH 45409,
by March 1, 2010.

Information is available on the district home page at www.oakwood.k12.oh.us by calling Sandy Maresh at the Board of Education at 297-5332, or email at maresh.sandy@oakwood.k12.oh.us.

Current Nominees are:

Judy A. Hennessey, Ph.D. Superintendent from 1998 to 2004

Ann Simpson, Tutor 1979-1984, Harman Second Grade Teacher 1984-1986, Smith First Grade Teacher 1986-2002

Carolyn Mowry, Gifted Teacher, 1987-1994 Smith Sixth Grade Teacher, 1994-2000

Letters of support for nominees will be accepted through May 14, 2010.

Oakwood residents teaching UD-LLI classes

A number of Oakwood residents are among the “course leaders” for some of the over 60 courses to be presented for those region folks aged 50 and above by the University of Dayton’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s Spring term. For a nominal fee of $80, folks can take as many of the courses as they want in any given term.

Judge Robert Deddens is presenting a course of the “Municipal Court.” Presenting a new course for the LLI is Dr. James Hughes entitled, “Walt Whitman and Marilyn Monroe.”

Our own school system is again a part of the instructional team as the Oakwood Schools Technology Support Team which includes both staff and upper level students is offering a course on Tuesdays from 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Harman School Library. It is called, “Fundamental Macintosh Skills.”

Dr. Bob Reece is also leading a new course which is entitled, “Capitalism: An Ethical Inquiry.” Still another new course for the UDLLI program is led by Dr. Allan Spetter with the interesting title of “More than 3,000 Years of History: The Jews and Civilization.” Harriet Uphoff joins the ‘new course’ providers with her class, “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: Their Legacy, Their Contributions, and Our Fascination.”

Finally also among the new courses is the one on the “Juvenile Justice System” led by Dr. James Uphoff with help from such leaders as Judge Tony Capizzi as this term the focus will be on the abuse/neglect/dependency side. The juvenile criminal side will be covered in a future term.

An interesting course called “Dining in Dayton,” is also available and several Oakwoodites are included among the presenters. Lance Stewart of the Oakwood Club, Theresa Hammons of Ashley’s Pastry Shop, and David Hulme of the Pine Club are among the “tasty” list of speakers.

For full details the entire ‘catalog’ of courses is on the web at http://artssciences2.udayton.edu/continutuingeducation/udlli.asp or also by calling them at (937) 229-2605. Registration is NOW underway! The variety of topics being led by some of Oakwood’s own is indicative of the talent within our own community.

The bottom line of all of this is simply that we are all able to continue our own learning and this program by UD is one of the best opportunities for those of us who are a bit “chronologically gifted” to utilize.

Scholarships available for study abroad

When the local Oakwood Chapter of the Greater Dayton Chapter of AFS-USA, Inc. dissolved a few years ago, its funds were transferred into a scholarship fund of AFS-USA to benefit students attending Oakwood High School who may be in need of financial assistance to enable them to participate in one of the AFS/USA study abroad opportunities. Interested students are invited to complete a pre-application form andsubmit it directly to AFS-USA Admissions. The student must correctly fill in their school information as Oakwood High School. The student must also submit a Global Leaders Scholarship application. The Senior Scholarships Coordinator of AFS-USA will know that students from Oakwood High School are automatically to be considered for the additional Oakwood Scholarship. AFS will assign a Student Services Advisor to answer the student’s questions and assist the student in filing the full application. The student’s financial needs are assessed by AFS-USA Admissions staff, which together with the AFS-USA Financial Committee, make recommendations for awards of scholarships.

For information about the AFS-USA study abroad programs, the application process and scholarships, interested students are encouraged to consult the AFS/USA web site www.afs.org/usa or call 1-800-AFS-INFO.

Universal 1 CU scholarships

Universal 1 Credit Union is offering two scholarships to members who are high school seniors. The students selected will each receive a $1,000 scholarship toward their higher education. Recipients are selected based upon credit union membership and criteria indicated on the scholarship application and guidelines. The Universal 1 Credit Union Scholarship Application & Guidelines is available at all Universal 1 Credit Union locations and online at www.u1cu.org. Applications must be postmarked no later than March 15, 2010.

Visit the Oakwood City School District website !

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