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Uphoff Collaboration Fund initiated The issues and events with which we must all contend rarely fit into nice little academic discipline boxes! The real world is much more complicated than that. To deal effectively with real-life issues we must be able to correlate and integrate our content knowledge. But too much of our formal education seems to deny such mixing and collaboration of knowledge and methods. Here is one quick example of positive collaboration. An area high school taught the elements of a term paper in English classes, but the topics for the papers came from their History course. All papers were graded by both teachers as the students learned how the two disciplines could work together and the pupils earned two grades! More examples in future columns. Because I have long believed that all learners of all ages need to be helped to see the need for and value of such content and method integration via the collaboration of teachers, I have made a financial contribution to our school system to establish the Oakwood Schools Uphoff Collaboration Fund (UCF). It is my hope that others will also see this need and will contribute to the UCF so that its impact can be even greater. How can we help our students to see how our separate disciplines are interconnected and that understandings of and solutions to major issues demands such integration of knowledge and methods? This is not likely to happen very much via the normal lecture methodology. It is much more likely to be achieved when the students experience teachers of math, science, English, and/or social studies, for example, actually working together in a collaborative effort. In order for such interdisciplinary, inter-building, and/or inter-grade collaborative efforts to be modeled for the students, those involved teachers need time to plan together, may also need extra materials for the classes, and/or may need to attend special professional development opportunities. While the regular school system budget does have some dollars set aside for such needs, those funds are never enough. Over the past six weeks the UCF was established to provide a way for people like myself to add privately to the resources which will support our teachers who want to move forward and help their students to learn the “interconnectedness” of content knowledge and methodology. I invite others to join in this curricular effort and recognize the teachers who want to enhance student learning. A check to the Oakwood City Schools for the Uphoff Collaborative Fund will do just that! In advance, my personal THANKS! Sixth graders compete in National Geography Bee The sixth graders in Mrs. Buffington’s social studies classes at Smith Elementary School competed in the National Geography Bee, a contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society. All 91 sixth graders participated in seven preliminary rounds of the Geography Bee.
Michael Theising (runner-up) and Zev Lustgarten (champion). Ten students advanced to the final rounds and two students earned a spot in the championship round. Zev Lustgarten and Michael Theising battled it out in the championship round. Congratulations to Zev Lustgarten for winning first place in the Geography Bee. Michael Theising was the runner-up, and Claire Fackel-Darrow earned third place. The other finalists included Zack Joseph, Lindsay Stager, Savannah Vong, Elliot Muse, Frank Obermeyer, Thomas Flood, and Keeghan White. Congratulations to all for a job well done! Harman 3rd grader aces Lego championship The FIRST (an acronym that stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League Ohio State Championship Tournament sponsored by the Wright Patterson Air Force Outreach Program was held Jan. 12 and 13 at the Ervin J. Nutter Center, Dayton. Forty-eight teams winning their regional tournaments throughout Ohio participated.
Eddie’s team performed an energy audit on the North Samaritan Health Center and the Englewood YMCA. After collecting and analyzing the data the PowerStackers proposed that both health centers connect all the exercise equipment to generators to harness and utilize the human power. They gave financial figures on the upfront costs and how the facilities would recover those costs over a 6-year time frame. At the Ohio State Championship they presented their findings to the judges, participated in a teamwork challenge, presented their technical solution, and competed in a Lego robot mission against the 48 other teams. More information about First Lego League can be found at www.firstlegoleague.org. OHS-UD offering dual enrollment course Oakwood High School and the University of Dayton are partnering to offer a Dual Enrollment course for the first time this fall (2008-09 school year). The course will earn both high school (one semester) and college (3 semester hours) credit and will appear on both the high school and college transcripts. Interested students must meet the following requirements to qualify to take the course. Junior students must have a 3.5 GPA and have successfully completed AP US History or be enrolled in AP Junior English. Senior students must have a 3.25 GPA or a score of 21 on the reading portion of the ACT. The course that will be offered is UD POL 101 - Global Politics. This course examines major problems and trends in the world of politics, such as ethnic and religious conflict and economic integration and inequality. An informational meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 4 at the high school at 8 p.m. in Room 210. Holy Angels School Open House Holy Angels School will hold its annual Open House and Junior-High Science Fair on Wednesday, Jan. 30, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. This event is designed to give families a chance to tour the school, talk with faculty and staff, see student’s work displayed and learn more about Holy Angels Schools’ programs for children in preschool through eighth grade. This event is open to the public. Holy Angels School is right next to The Church of the Holy Angels on Brown Street by the University of Dayton campus. For more information, call the school office at 229-5959 or visit www.holyangelsdayton.com. College Connection presentation Oakwood schools’ Director of Curriculum, Kimberly Kappler, will present to parents data from Oakwood’s College Connection study on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at The College Connection study, now in its third year, includes both graduate survey data and college faculty interview data. Federal student aid applications available now The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a financial aid form that determines need-based grants and scholarships for college. Results are sent directly to the financial aid offices of the colleges applicants indicated on the form. Parents of seniors are encouraged to complete the FAFSA on the Internet (www.fafsa.ed.gov). Please visit the website early to set up PIN numbers prior to filing (one PIN for the parent and one PIN for the student). The FAFSA may help you qualify for potential college financial aid. It is a good idea to begin exploring financial aid options now. To get an early start on the financial aid process, FAFSA4caster is for you. By using FAFSA4caster, you and your family will receive an early estimate of eligibility for federal student aid. Check out www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov if you are interested in receiving that early estimate. Information supplied on the FAFSA4caster can be transferred to your official FAFSA on Jan. 1, 2008. One of the most popular need-based scholarships, the Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship (DMCS), requires a completed FAFSA as part of the application. The DMCS will be available in the guidance office during the month of January. Last year 15 Oakwood High School students received money from this program. It is imperative that applicants submit their FAFSA in January in order to be eligible for the DMCS. Need help with the FAFSA? College Goal Sunday offers the opportunity to have expert help completing and submitting your FAFSA. On Feb. 10, 2008, beginning promptly at 2 p.m., financial aid professionals from the University of Dayton are hosting this year’s event in Miriam Hall on their campus. More information will be forthcoming from the University of Dayton and will be included on the guidance page of the Oakwood Schools website. Career Education introduction Jan. 22 will bring the Career Education Teams from Centerville and Fairmont High Schools to the Oakwood High School auditorium to discuss the twenty programs available to our students during their Junior and Senior years. The school districts of Centerville, Kettering and Oakwood had the foresight to maintain the career programs in our local districts rather than sending our students and tax dollars to the Montgomery County Career Education School located on Hoke Road near the Cox International Airport. As a result of this consortium, millions of dollars in taxpayer monies are saved and our students are much happier. The proximity of the programs allows our students to spend most of their school day in Oakwood making it easier to participate in extracurricular activities and sports.
New this year:
The following activities will be held to introduce our sophomores and their parents to the programs. Parents are welcome to the meeting on Jan. 22 in the OHS high school auditorium. Parents are also welcome to attend Centerville’s Parent/Student night on Jan. 24. As always, the guidance counselors at the high school are happy to answer any questions 297-5326. College offers $75K in scholarships National College is accepting applications for the Chairman’s and President’s Scholarship awards funded by the College and given to select graduating seniors of accredited secondary schools who will attend National College. Deadline to apply is April 1, 2008. Up to 20 Chairman’s Scholarships of $2,500 and up to 20 President’s Scholarships of $1,500 will be awarded to students attending any of National’s 24 campuses in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. Awards will be given to Eligible candidates must also show potential for successfully completing a college degree or diploma program with National College. Interested applicants should visit www.national-college.edu and click “Financial Assistance” then “Scholarships” for more information or to download a copy of the application form. |
January 22, 2008
Volume 17, No. 4
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