September's Kids of Character honored at the Board of Education meeting.

XENIA PRESCHOOL

Students at Xenia Preschool have been learning all about farms the past few weeks. Last Thursday all students participated in Farm Day. Students explored farm life, from raking straw and planting seeds, to petting cows and chickens. These hands-on experiences were great ways to make connections to what they have been learning in their classrooms.

ARROWOOD ELEMENTARY

Every morning after announcements Arrowood students start the day off by listening to a Mindful Music Moment for three to four minutes. This has proven to be a great way for the students to get their minds and bodies ready for a great day of learning. Visit www.citysilence.org  to learn more.

Students had their first shopping experience with the PBiS "Buccaneer Cart" last week. Students had to decide how much money they were willing to spend on items while making sure they have some money saved for the "Big" event coming up in October. In addition to a variety of knickknacks and candy, students could purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a $5 McDonald's gift card and/or a new skateboard.

Students in Mrs. Lindsay's class closed out Apple Week - they learned about measuring, discussed fractions, food safety, worked on opinion writing, and they made applesauce.

COX ELEMENTARY

Kindergarten students have been observing the life cycle of monarch butterflies . Miss Mel from Greene County Parks came to visit and tag the butterflies. Hopefully someone will find them on their journey to Mexico and report back. Students learned how to tell the difference between boy and girl monarch butterflies. They counted in Spanish then released the butterflies to begin their journey to Mexico.

Students in Mrs. Vogelsong's Kindergarten class learned about the four seasons. They made four season headbands, sensory bottles, and a class book that they illustrated and took home to share with their families.

Amaree Hayes put his name in a drawing at one of the city's First Friday events this summer, and he won! His prize was to eat dinner with the Xenia Buccaneers before their Xenia vs. Troy football game, which took place a couple years ago. Amaree was also allowed to sit on the sidelines during the game to cheer for his favorite team. Amaree is pictured below with the football team - he's the kid on the bottom left smiling from ear to ear.

Cox Elementary hosted its first Parent Teacher Success Night at the end of August in conjunction with literacy night. There were two, thirty minute parent workshops which included information on the school counseling program and teaching parents how to log into Progress Book. Surveys showed that families thought it was a valuable experience and would attend more parent workshops in the future. Two more parent teacher success nights are planned for this school year.

MCKINLEY ELEMENTARY

Last week students and staff wore red on Tuesday and green on Thursday to help the kindergartners learn their colors.

Kindergarten and first grades hosted their Back 2 School Night last week, too. Families learned about classroom routines and got the chance to see their child's work.

SHAWNEE ELEMENTARY

Families enjoyed Shawnee's Back 2 School Night last week. Parents were able to see their child's daily routine and learn about the expectations for the school year.

Students in Mrs. Baumgartner and Mrs. Combs' third grade class welcomed families into their classrooms to show off their Character Trait projects . Each student was given a character trait and tasked with finding a book that displayed that character trait, then creating a poster, diorama, or powerpoint to show how the characters in their book portrayed the trait. The character traits the students studied were: brave, determined, bossy, greedy, responsible, generous, helpful, lazy, cooperative, honest, humorous, and talented.

TECUMSEH ELEMENTARY

Fifth graders in Ms. Dorsten's class did a team building activity to prepare for guided math groups. Students discussed what it takes to be a "team" and how team members should treat and work with others. Students were given four pieces of yarn, six solo cups, and a rubber band. Working together they had to stack the cups only using the yarn and rubber band.

Ms. Morrison, Tecumseh Elementary's Guidance Counselor, introduced the "Stop, Think, Go" method with students. This strategy specifically teaches students to Be Proactive by taking responsibility for their actions and attitudes. Proactive people use the stoplight method to model making choices when faced with a frustrating situation. Stop (Red) helps us stop to cool down; Think (yellow) gives us a reminder about the different choices we have; and Go (green) gives us the opportunity to select the BEST choice.

Also last week students welcomed special guests into their classrooms - their grandparents for Grandparent's Day!

Mrs. Lyons' class wrote about their cherished possessions and they brought them into class.

XENIA HIGH SCHOOL

The High School's Renaissance Program is designed to improve academic achievement, attendance, and behavior. Renaissance members are students who have earned A's, B's, and/or C's for the prior school quarter. Members reapply every quarter and receive special rewards and recognition. Among these rewards include discounts to area businesses, quarterly reward parties, and exam exemptions. Last week Renaissance Members enjoyed an Ice Cream Party.

Mr. Miller's government classes celebrated Constitution Day on Tuesday. Constitution Day is held every September 17 in Mr. Miller's classes to celebrate the day the constitution was written in 1787. Students were treated to "T-Paine" rapping the Constitution Shuffle. You can view a video of the performance on our Facebook page.

High school Biology students in Mrs. Gagliano's class created living terrariums. Terrariums were created from empty-two liter bottles and include three co-dependent eco-systems: terrestrial, compost, and aquatic. These ecosystems will be maintained throughout the year, and observations will be documented by their creators.

LET'S SHARE THE GOOD NEWS!

If you have a highlight, story idea, or photo you'd like to share to be included in this newsletter or other district communications, email Wendy Planicka, Coordinator of Communications.