Mansfield Middle School teachers integrate art and literature with door decorating contest:
Tecumseh was a shooting star among Ohio chiefs:
Danville elementary principal resignation follows attendance, community relations concerns:
Today – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens came to life in a new way this week at Mansfield Middle School. Why? Seventh grade students decided on a “A Christmas Carol” theme for the winter door decorating contest. Mansfield seventh graders recently read the classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge, who learns kindness and generosity after three ghosts visit him on Christmas Eve.
So when the school announced a winter door decorating contest, the three seventh grade language arts teachers decided to collaborate on A Christmas Carol-themed hallway. Students decorated their classroom doors during their midday social emotional wellness period, which is new at the school this year. They were not allowed to work on the decorations during academic periods.
Teacher Kathy Phelps explained that they were far more engaged in this than she thought they would have been. They knew that there was an end result that they were working towards that tied everything together. And that just seemed to bring them further into the story. Students and administrators took time last week to vote for their favorite door. The winning classes will receive ice cream.
Teacher Courtney Nabb noted the students are really excited to find out if they won. It’s probably more about the competition than the prize. Nabb and Phelps said they plan to integrate more hands-on activities and competitions into their curriculum after seeing the students’ response
Nabb says they saw some of them really open up. Some of the more shy kids – in fact she didn’t even know some of them were artistic. The Dickensian decorations aren’t the only method teachers have used to get kids excited about their reading.
They’ve also done some vocabulary challenges between classes, and it’s helped them get engaged in that more too. The competitiveness that came out through this sort of opens our eyes a little bit.
Some of these kids who otherwise seem to just check out, if you can touch on that competitive spirit, some of them get re-engaged. The Dickens hallway ended up among the competition winners. Other teachers with winning doors were Grace Villanueva, Neil Topovski and Ian Pingitore.
Tecumseh was a shooting star among chiefs
Next, some local history. Tecumseh was one of the greatest statesmen and warriors of the Shawnee people. He was born about 1765, presumably in a village on the Pickaway Plains. His father was slain in the battle at Point Pleasant, and as a result Tecumseh was always a bitter opponent of the invaders. Tecumseh believed that no one tribe could barter away its territory, since the Ohio Valley was the common heritage of them all.
So he worked to form a coalition of southern and western Native Americans, and either he or his agents traveled from Florida to the upper Mississippi seeking to have the Ohio River recognized as a permanent boundary between the races. In the War of 1812, Tecumseh fought on the side of the British, who made him a brigadier. He covered the retreat into Canada after Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry’s victory on Lake Erie. Tecumseh fell in the final engagement, the Battle of the Thames, on Oct. 5, 1813.
Attendance concerns part of ex-Danville principal’s evaluation
Next, from KnoxPages – Danville Local Schools leadership expressed concern about former elementary principal Tara Bond’s performance, specifically attendance and public relations, before her resignation in November.
And superintendent Jason Snively, who is serving as the interim elementary principal, said the resignation was a mutual agreement. While Snively declined to comment on the specific circumstances of Bond’s resignation, he positioned her resignation as one example of the larger issue of educator burnout throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Bond’s evaluation from June 25, 2021, Snively wrote Bond’s job performance was “below average with regard to certain functions.” Attendance and tardiness were mentioned several times throughout the evaluation, with specific mentions that Bond missed 11 board meetings in the past two years and has reported to work late.
Snively also wrote that there was concern around Bond’s ability to maintain good public relations with the community. The district agreed to pay Bond’s salary through the remainder of the current school year. Bond’s 2021-22 salary was $91,128. And going forward Bond cannot seek reemployment in the future with Danville Local Schools, its affiliates, related entities and successors.
Lisa McAlexander
Finally, we’d like to take a moment to remember Lisa McAlexander. She was born in Mount Vernon. Lisa was enrolled in the Fredericktown school system where she participated in the drill team and cheerleading.
She later transferred to Stratford High School in Houston, Texas where she graduated in 1986. Upon moving back to Fredericktown following graduation, she attended North Central Technical College in Mansfield for a brief time before beginning her working years in the banking industry in Columbus.
Of the things she most enjoyed was swimming, vacationing in Nags Head, North Carolina, and various other beaches, listening to music as it provided her with the peace she so deserved.
Lisa is survived by her mother, aunts and uncles, and loving cousins. Memorial contributions in Lisa’s name may be made to NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Health). Thank you for taking a moment with us today to remember and celebrate Lisa’s life. She’ll be greatly missed.
