ANDOVER — Annie has left the “Big Apple” and traveled to Pymatuning Valley in time for the fall show. Starting on Friday, students across Laker nation will star in the upcoming performance of the Broadway play “Annie Junior.” In each school anticipation for the big event has been building during the past three months. Maribeth Miltner, the director and music teacher at Pymatuning, expressed great enthusiasm when chatting about the play. Miltner said she chose the play “Annie” because it takes place in the Great Depression. This aspect mirrors our current economic situation.
ASHTABULA — There will be a “murder” in the Ss. John and Paul cafeteria on Friday and Saturday. The high school will be presenting its first dinner theater in several years. The production is a murder mystery entitled “Café Murder,” written by Nathan Hartswick and directed by Charlotte Kline with a cast exclusively of women from the senior class.
GENEVA — The first quarter of the 2009-2010 school year has ended and a new grading period has begun, giving rise to a whole array of Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities at Geneva High School.
The GHS Drama Department promises two hours of nostalgia and entertainment when it stages “It’s A Wonderful Life,” adapted from the film by Frank Capra.
Members of the Kingsville Elementary School Student Council surprised the family of fifth-grader Dylan Christian Monday morning with a check for $2,096.41.
AUSTINBURG — “I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve,” wrote the German theologian Albert Schweitzer. On the Grand River Academy campus for this 2009-2010 school year, one of many focuses will be that of community involvement and service. Throughout the past few years, GRA has been able to be involved with many different community activities, events and projects. This year, the GRA staff and students are planning even more ways to involve the school with the local area.
ORWELL — It is that time of year again for Grand Valley – time for the fall play that is. Grand Valley High School will be putting on the show M.A.S.H. 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday in the Auditeria.
JEFFERSON — As October comes rolling to an end, so do high school fall sports. For most athletes, this ending of one season means the beginning to another. However, before they start lacing up the basketball shoes, most Jefferson girls take a week and suit up for battle on the gridiron. Football? Yes, the annual Junior/Senior Girls Powder Puff game is a fall tradition that Jefferson always marks on its calendars.
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — Making a difference is one of the most important responsibilities a person has in his or her lifetime. Without the good deeds that warmhearted people do every day, the world would be at a loss.
“Volunteering does as much for the person helping as it does for the person in need,” said principal Sylvia Atkinson. “It’s, in a sense, our purpose in this world.”
ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — Volleyball was the game; breast cancer awareness was the aim. The Edgewood Warriors faced the Ss. John and Paul Heralds on the Warrior’s court for a volleyball match Oct. 13. However, this wasn’t an ordinary match; it was the Volley for the Cure. Even though the Warriors stood victorious, the true winners were those who have battled breast cancer.
CONNEAUT — Summer has quickly slipped into autumn and autumn is fading into winter as the last of the leaves settle to the ground. Yet, at South Ridge Christian Academy there is a bright spot that also coincides with this time of year. It is the annual Missions Conference.
CONNEAUT — This year, the students of Conneaut High School came back to many changes. Former athletic director, Dawn Zappitelli, moved up to fill the position of principal. This left a vacancy in the athletic director’s position which was filled by Joel Taylor, former government teacher and baseball coach.
When Zappitelli was asked what she enjoyed most about being principal, she said, “I like being more involved with all the student activities.”
In addition to new administration members, the students of CHS also came back to classes that were not previously offered. Some of these new classes include Statistics, Chemistry II, Yoga and Fitness and Current Events.
JEFFERSON — There was a feeling of fellowship in the hallways of the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School on Oct. 13 and 14 as the school held its annual fall blood donation drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross. Officials said 232 students donated and collected 182 pints of blood this year, a record for the school.
GENEVA — The leaves have begun to change colors and the plants and flowers are beginning to fade away. The new school year has come and students and faculty at Geneva High School are ready to greet it. New faculty at GHS this year include French teacher Shannon Dalton, math teacher Amie Irving and learning disability tutor Katie Malasky.
ASHTABULA — This year Ss. John and Paul has the pleasure of hosting Florian Liebhardt, a foreign exchange student from Iffeldorf, Germany. Florian is the youngest son of August Liebhardt, a realtor and property developer, and Michaela Liebhardt, the vice mayor of Iffeldorf. He has two brothers and two sisters. Florian’s host parent is Beverly Pitt, who also hosted his sister, Stephanie Liebhardt, in 1995. “Flo” is very shy, but he likes living with Mrs. Pitt.
ANDOVER — The popular Aerosmith song says, “We’re back in the saddle again,” only this year at Pymatuning Valley, we have some new riders. The Pymatuning Valley community has welcomed a new superintendent, Alex Geordan, and a new high school principal, Van McWreath.
JEFFERSON — For decades, Jefferson students have been educated in the iconic Jefferson Area Junior/Senior High School. But, when the condition of the school quickly declined, a window of opportunity opened itself to the Jefferson community.
ORWELL — Welcome back, Grand Valley! There was a buzz of energy going around the school the first day back at Grand Valley. Maybe it was the excitement of the students seeing each other again for the first time in three long months, maybe it was the electric hum of the 66 new computers the school had received or maybe it could be the joyful music coming from the new choir director’s room. Whatever the reason, Grand Valley would like to welcome to the high school our new technology and the new choir instructor.
AUSTINBURG — Two weeks ago, a group of student athletes rang the Grand River Academy victory bell. Last week, the same students rang the bell for the very same reason. These victories were not the normal ones the school has been used to; they were new and unique. For the first time in almost 80 years, Grand River Academy won a football game.
Their team is not called the Eagles, as one might think. They are the Ashtabula Heralds. The team was rapidly thrown together when Ss. John and Paul parents realized that they would not be able to field a team this year with the number of boys who went out for the team. They called GRA headmaster, Randy Blum, and because he had always wanted to try football at the academy, gave the idea the go ahead.
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — As the 2009-2010 school year kicked off, Lakeside High School students and faculty were surprised with the presence of the new junior high facility, which opened its doors this fall. This building, however, was not the only new addition to the Lakeside campus. The high school has a new vice principal, Timothy Neal, who was the former athletic administrator.
ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — The new school year has started and there are lots of things going on at Edgewood Senior High. We have new classes and new opportunities. Edgewood has an excellent rating as well. This is sure to be a promising year.
CONNEAUT — Stephen R. Covey once said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” Students at South Ridge Christian Academy are not only instructed with high quality academics but are also taught many character building traits and lessons. Realizing that though book learning is important, some things are better “caught” than taught. The “main thing” at SRCA has been to equip students with a desire to make a difference in the lives of others and in their communities. With this in mind, SRCA students and staff put actions to their words by serving their community on Sept. 25.
WEEKENDER for Sept. 18, 2009: It all started at work, when two guys talked about the musical talents of their children.
When Rock Creek Elementary’s students return to class a week from today, they’ll find a garden growing in front of their school.
Levi Humes likes animals. His family’s property is home to pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, goats, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, a miniature horse, donkey, cow and emu.
The piercing above her left eye, the spiked collar around her neck, black clothes and pink streak of hair belie the academic bent behind Kelsey Palma’s “goth” exterior.
It will be three years before Carli Shumaker will have to decide between a high-school or vocational-school track, but experiences last Thursday planted seeds for the latter option.
Pierpont Elementary students, teachers and staff marked their school’s final day by spending most of it outside the building
Prior to spending a year in the United States, Mariana Rocha Leite subscribed to the stereotype of the lazy, overweight American.
The Kathryn Rose Party Center was the place to be April 25, as Lakeside High School students gathered for a night of dancing and the last “hoorah” for the seniors.
As the last day of school draws near, students at Geneva High School are preparing for the summer and senior graduation.
A profession that is too often overlooked and sometimes taken for granted is also the one that involves the safety of children every day, five days a week. The duties of a bus driver require more than just a driver’s license and free time twice each day.
Grand River Academy’s venerable academic achievements have left the campus proud and buzzing with energy.
The Ninth Annual Waterways Adventure Student Symposium was held May 19 at Kent State University Ashtabula.
The school year is coming to an end here at Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School. Seniors are getting ready for the big day, while juniors are itching for summer vacation to begin. Teachers are wrapping up this year and preparing for the next.
The end of year is near, evidenced through the fact that most of the major school-year events have taken place.
Thirty-five years is a long time. In 35 years, a person can touch thousands of lives. This year, Conneaut High School says “good-bye” to two men who have done just that. Two members of the CHS staff are retiring this year – David Simpson and Don Ketchum.
A Flat Stanley who began his journey in Carla Robison’s second-grade classroom at Ss. John & Paul Elementary School last year inspired this year’s class to send their Flat Stanleys on far-flung adventures.
With the school year quickly coming to an end, there are all sorts of celebrations being planned.
May 5 was a bittersweet day for Pierpont Elementary students and their grandparents as the school held its last Grandparents’ Day.
Real news from the virtual world:
Ask any senior at Grand Valley High School how many days of school they have remaining, and they will most likely respond without thinking twice.
It is springtime and everyone knows what that means: prom season. With prom right around the corner, there is increased pressure for teen-agers to engage in dangerous activities, such as drinking and, worse yet, drinking and driving.
Six male teenagers climbed out of the Grand River Academy van and huddled on the Western Reserve Greenway Trail to review their strategy for the two-hour contest of brains, observation and teamwork.
Preparation and hard work have paid off for the Jefferson Area High School’s Model United Nations team. The team placed first out of 12 schools at the Youngstown State University competition and second out of 19 schools at the Kent State University Ashtabula competition.
With the coming of spring, new traditions have bloomed on the campus at Grand River Academy. While baseball and tennis go way back in GRA history, students are learning a new sport that they hope starts a new tradition.
It must be spring because the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School annual softball competition between technical labs is underway, and the National Honor Society has just inducted its new members.
Kerington Craft always wanted an older brother.
The 18-year-old Geneva High School senior, who has a younger brother in 14-year-old Dacota Craft, was excited to welcome a foreign exchange student through the American Field Service (AFS) exchange student program and was even happier to learn her new “brother” would be 18-year-old Joacim Wanseth of Stockholm, Sweden.
Wanseth and Kerington Craft certainly have the typical brother-sister relationship.
Back when video gaming was a wholesome family activity, there weren’t many games that let you pretend to be a bad guy. At best, you might get something like 1999’s “Driver,” which let you be a mob wheelman — but you were really an undercover police officer.
Lunch time is always a favorite time of day for students. It gives them a chance to relax and chat with friends about their day.
On April 3, Ss. John and Paul High School took part in the annual Career Day. Sixth-grade students from Assumption Elementary and Ss. John and Paul Elementary joined high school students from grades seventh through 11th for a prayer service in the morning, five sessions of presentations of careers throughout the day, lunch and activities in the gym in the afternoon.
The students of Geneva High School are heading down the home stretch with the beginning of the final nine weeks grading period.
We’re just a couple of weeks into the baseball season, and most fans are still enjoying that flush of springtime optimism, hoping their team will make it to the playoffs.
“Mary had a little lamb... it followed her to school one day,” so the story goes.
The achievements of Wonder Woman are insignificant when compared to Lakeside’s principal.
As the end of the year nears, the seniors at Pymatuning Valley High School are facing a future beyond high school. For many seniors, this means continuing education beyond high school and realizing the enormous costs
The National Honor Society brings together students who show qualities in service, leadership, scholarship and character.
Every year the Edgewood Warrior Band has a special night for its members. Military Ball was started many years ago as a way to recognize each student for his participation, and to honor the seniors’ loyalty to the “band family.” The event has evolved into a night of dinner, dance and awards.
The caps, gowns, family and sunshine (hopefully, after all, it is Ohio) are all in great anticipation as graduation approaches for the Grand River Academy seniors.
The Jefferson Area High School treble choir, concert choir and band went to the Howland School District to compete in the District V Large Group Adjudicated Event. Both of the choirs came out of the contest with a II (two) out of a possible V (five), which is considered to be excellent, and band received the same rating.
Spring has arrived and with it comes warmer weather and the start of several traditional events here at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School. For one, National Honor Society, an organization that recognizes and involves outstanding secondary students across the nation, will be inducting new members in April.
The three-day conference ended with an admonition to go and change the world.
An appropriate salutation after learning, and debating the issues of the day.
As many students know, March is one of the slowest months of the school year. In anticipation for spring break, everything seems to be in slow motion. Sports like baseball, tennis and track are just beginning.
Spring fever has not affected achievement, involvement or enthusiasm at Geneva High School. The academic and creative momentum has not slowed, and students have not lost their competitive edge. Various clubs will be competing through the months of March and April to keep up the positive image of GHS.
Rockstar Games has made an insane amount of money off “Grand Theft Auto.”
The howling winds of March have not deterred the focus on reading for South Ridge Christian Academy first graders.
You could say that it is spring training here at Pymatuning Valley High School.
With a new school comes new opportunities, and this year Lakeside High School students have the option of being members of Key Club, which is the oldest and largest service program for high school students.
Every year, Edgewood Senior High School throws a semi-formal dance for its students. Traditionally, the Pep Club sponsors the dance, but this year the Spanish Club has taken on the project as a new challenge.
It began with a small contest and ended with an Oscar Academy Award.
“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can” said George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright and writer. Although Grand River Academy has students from many different states and six different countries, many of the teachers have roots in Ashtabula County.
Four-teen Jefferson Area High School juniors and seniors were selected for publication in “A Celebration of Poets” after participating in the annual poetry contest sponsored by Creative Communications. The winning students include seniors Morgan Charles and Angel Fantozzi and juniors Cody Dickson, Chris Dreger, Kelsey Hruska, Elizabeth Hubler, Donald Johnson III, Joslin Landis, Brittany Miller, Ray Nicholson, Jonathan Niemi, Kirsten Signer, Dayna Stevens and Lizzy Ziemski.
With spring approaching, Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School students and staff have been busy as bees. Each program is focusing on regional and state competitions, with seniors also working on completing courses for their upcoming graduation. Lab instructors have been preparing for makeup visitations for those students that could not attend 10th grade visitations earlier in the year.
Lakeside High School students have started out the new semester in a philanthropic manner.
The average high school student typically has a busy schedule. Not only is it crucial for students to keep up their grades; they also need to focus on athletics, extra-curricular activities, part-time jobs and household responsibilities. In addition to this, hard-working seniors are neck-deep in tedious college and scholarship applications.
As the last days of winter approach and signs of spring begin to appear, the Ss. John and Paul family has been keeping busy with a variety of activities
“We’re off to see the wizard!” The GHS drama department is taking us “somewhere over the rainbow” this spring as “The Wizard of Oz” comes to the Geneva High School stage on March 13, 14 and 15.
Someday, we may actually get a clue as to what makes the Jonas Brothers tick.
“To have a good friend one finds himself very fortunate. To have a loyal friend for life one is a rich man,” said the Rev. Roger Hogle, South Ridge Christian Academy administrator.
Word around the halls at Pymatuning Valley High School is that the king is coming! How could this be? This year’s spring musical is “The King and I,” and cast members have been hard at work. Auditions were held in late December.
In the movies, the horror genre covers a surprisingly wide range of moods.
Bump, set, spike! In the last two weeks, students (and some teachers) at Grand Valley High School have taken their skills to the court in a volleyball tournament held by the yearbook staff.
During these long, cold winter months, Edgewood students find something to sing about. “Thoroughly Modern Millie” is debuting at ESHS at the end of this month.
Every gamer knows the names of the heavy hitters in electronic entertainment: Electronic Arts, Activision, Ubisoft and the rest. They’re the companies that can spend big bucks on state-of-the-art production, expensive licenses and elaborate promotional campaigns.
Winter can be the season of doldrums at some high schools what with long months of staring out classroom windows and watching the snow fall. Not so at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School.
The news circulating around Jefferson Area High School is the construction of the new school building.
The Grand River Academy physics class started the year in a natural progression of projects that relate to the construction of wind turbines.
If you’re at all interested in online gaming, you need an Xbox 360.
On Jan. 10 an integral part of the Herald family passed away: Coach John “Buzzy” Buskirk. John Buskirk, who remained incredibly involved in the community up until his last days on Earth, was the rare type of person who retained his selfless attitude even in times of great adversity. He has touched the lives of many through sports and academia.
Events provide Geneva students opportunities to
showcase their knowledge in the fields of science
Two years into the lifespan of the PlayStation 3, Sony’s online offerings are a mixed bag.
January is the end of the first semester and the beginning of the second semester. While the new year began over the break, the new semester is bringing new opportunities and new challenges to Pymatuning Valley High School.
Because the administration at Lakeside High School is always looking for more creative ways to improve school climate, Ashtabula Area City Schools superintendent Joseph Donatone introduced the concept of Peer Mediation to Gail Deligianis.
Neither rain nor sleet nor snow will keep the South Ridge Christian Academy kin-dergartners and second-fourth graders from their monthly visit to Con-neaut Human Resource Center for the Seniors Together Program.
Some sad news has come to Grand Valley High School this week. Joy Leirer, Grand Valley High School choir director of many years, has announced that she will not be teaching the high school choir in the coming years. As you may know, her husband, Jim Leirer, was diagnosed with cancer last year and it has been very hard on her to do all the things she does for the Music Department and help her husband when he needs it.
Every December, the Edgewood Senior High School Band holds a winter concert for the Concert and Symphonic bands and the Jazz I and Jazz II Ensembles. This year’s concert was Dec. 15 in the school auditorium. Holi-day music was featured, as well as pieces selected by the band directors, Connie Sommers and John Shamp.
