May 17 — Kings Board of Education Regular Meeting, 6:00 p.m. Kings Education Center, Conf. Rm. 2.
May 19 — KHS Baccalaureate, 7:30 p.m., Christ's Church, Mason.
May 22 — KHS Graduation, 3:00 p.m., Cintas Center, Xavier University.
May 26 — Last Day of School for Students.
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Are you enjoying the new Peachjar Flyer Board? Don't forget to check it out for the latest events and opportunities for you and your child! |
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Kings, A Best Community for Music Education, Again! |
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We are excited to announce that the Kings Local School District has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. This is the sixth year in a row that the District has received this designation!
Now in its 23rd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.
Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music: After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound: young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.
The NAMM Foundation is a non-profit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music-making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving, and public service programs. For more information about The NAMM Foundation, please visit www.nammfoundation.org.
Congratulations to all of our Kings music educators who continue to make a difference in our students' lives and bring beautiful music into ours! Special thanks to Mr. Scott Hayward for his work in submitting the application.
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Kings Treasurer, Mike Morrow continues to update the Kings Board of Education on the financials of the District.
On Tuesday, May 10 at the monthly Board Work Session, Morrow discussed district revenues and expenses. He noted that the State Foundation Formula is the primary funding mechanism for schools in the State of Ohio.
Kings receives little State funding compared to most districts in the state and our four-county area (Warren, Butler, Hamilton, and Clermont). The District received over $2,000 less per student than the average district in our four-county area in school year 2020-2021.
The State uses both property values and income to determine the amount of assistance they send to each district. Because the Kings community enjoys higher than average property values and household income per student, the state puts the burden on the local taxpayers to fund the schools.
If you view the chart below, you will see that only 5 districts out of 49 in the four-county area receive less state funding than Kings. Morrow said, that Kings has a "revenue problem, not a spending problem."
To view Mr. Morrow's presentation on revenue and expenditures click here. |
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Kings Spring Athletic Signing |
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Six student-athletes from the Kings Athletics programs made their official commitments to universities at the Kings Athletic Department’s Spring Signing Day on Tuesday, May 10 at Kings High School.
Families, coaches, teachers, administrators, and teammates attended the signing event to witness these student-athletes sign their letters of intent. Not only were these students great in their respective sports but they excelled in the classrooms as well. Below is the list of athletes, sports, and schools they are attending. Congratulations!
Thomas Boster– Baseball @ Miami Hamilton
Mason Clark – Baseball @ New York University
Jack Harris – Baseball @ University of Northwestern Ohio
Sam Palmieri – Baseball @ Muskingham University
Conner Purcell – Football @ Thomas More University
Jaidyn Schroeder – Dance @ UNC Chapel Hill
Previously signed in November (Not participating in May event)
Sara Doughman – Cross Country @ Ohio University
Kevin Glennon – Swimming @ University of Kentucky
Aiden Leamer – Swimming @ Xavier University
Courtney Lindgren – Soccer @ California University of Pennsylvania
Congratulations and best wishes for a successful athletic career!
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KHS BPA Nationals Results |
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Seven Kings High School students traveled to Dallas, Texas last week to participate in the 2022 Business Professionals of America National Leadership Conference.
Business Professionals of America is the nation’s leading CTSO (Career and Technical Student Organization) for students pursuing careers in business management, information technology, finance, accounting office administration, and other business-related career fields.
The National Conference is known as the ultimate event for Business Professionals of America members. The conference brings together an estimated six thousand delegates from across the country to vie for top honors in business, finance, technology, marketing, and health administration skills competitions; attend leadership and professional development workshops; receive awards for community service activities and elect BPA’s 2022–2023 national student leadership team.
Congratulations to:
3rd Place in the NATION Virtual Software Engineering Team - Sirojiddin Aripov and Matthew Barnett - Mr. Holtrey
4th Place in the NATION Network Administration Using Cisco - Justin Garter- Mr. Holtrey
7th Place in the NATION Virtual Branding Team - Jack Allison/Jackson Pennington - Mrs. Shields
14th Place in the NATION Java Programming - Sirojiddin Aripov - Mr. Holtrey
21st Place in the NATION Computer Network Technology - Evan Scott - Mr. Holtrey
26th Place in the NATION Advanced Desktop Publishing- Sophia Canino - Mrs. Shields
We are so proud of these amazing students!
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Kings District 4th Grade Combined Chorus |
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On Thursday, May 12, the 4th grade combined choirs from J.F. Burns Elementary, Kings Mills Elementary, and South Lebanon Elementary held their Spring concert in the Kings High School Auditorium.
Seventy-five students from the three elementary schools have been preparing for the concert for months. It was a rousing success and the three elementary music teachers, Mr. Jenkins, Mrs. Maegly, and Ms. Sherby want to congratulate them on a job well done!
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KHS Environmental Club Fundraiser a Huge Success |
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The Kings High School Environmental Club's "Tree-Plenish" fundraiser was a huge success!
The club initially set a lofty goal to sell 434 native trees in order to offset our paper usage at the high school. However, the club was astounded when they ended up selling 754 trees, 173% of their goal!
The students and some volunteers from the community helped plant the trees on Saturday, May 7. Club Adviser, Ed Gomes said, "We essentially planted a forest on Saturday!"
Mr. Gomes shared a list of services that native trees provide.
- Reduce/slow runoff, especially helpful during storm events (think our parking lot!)
- Microclimate regulation: trees help prevent the heat absorbed by asphalt and cement in urban areas causing urban areas to be warmer than the natural local climate
- Native trees in Ohio are a crucial source of food for the caterpillar stage of many local pollinators.
- Those caterpillars, in turn, are a crucial food source for migratory birds that travel through Ohio.
- Air filtration, especially helpful in urban areas
- Oxygen production
- Carbon storage
- Habitat for many species
- Help regulate water cycle by improving water infiltration into soil as well as evapotranspiration
- Erosion control
- Trees are just nice and tend to make people happy, even if they don't notice it
Congratulations to the KHS Environmental Club for making a difference.
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Moving up to high school from junior high can be a scary time for some students. To make that transition a little less stressful and a little easier, Kings High School hosted Kings Freshman Camp Thursday, May 12, and Friday, May 13.
This 2-day event introduced upcoming freshmen, (this year's current 8th graders), to 136 student leaders who will help ease them into their first year as high schoolers. The incoming freshmen were treated to a tour of the high school, team-building activities, guest speakers, student speakers, and lots of fun and laughter packed into the two days.
Additionally, they were divided into “families.” Upperclassmen “parent” those families— creating relationships and hopefully making the freshmen feel more comfortable in their new high school home. Kings Seniors, Carter Smith and Maya Hicks were the masters of ceremonies and were featured in a video about Kings High School that was shown to the incoming freshman. The whole day was facilitated by fifteen KHS staff members who poured themselves into the students to ensure they had a positive experience.
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District 4th Grade Visits CIS |
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On Thursday, May 12, 4th graders from the Class of 2030 in all of our three elementary buildings visited Columbia Intermediate School where they will attend 5th grade next year.
The students learned about their new school and enjoyed a scavenger hunt. It was a great opportunity to allow the students to meet the 5th-grade teachers and become more familiar with the building before next year.
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CIS students answer questions from 4th graders. |
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Current 5th grader, Quinn Cowan greets his sister, 4th grader Paige as they take a quick selfie with 5th-grade teacher, Sara McDonough.
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On Thursday, May 12, 6th graders from Columbia Intermediate School were welcomed by student leaders and 7th-grade teachers at Kings Junior High.
The 6th graders attended a pep rally, took tours of the building and campus, and had Q&A sessions with current students. This is just another example of the Kings Culture Blueprint in creating relationships with students.
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A mental health update from Kings Social-Emotional Health Coordinator, Kim Sellers.
Congratulations 2022 Graduates!
As you begin YOUR new adventure to adulthood we wanted to remind you:
No one walks the journey of life alone.
Don’t be afraid to reach out.
We all need help from time to time.
Asking for support is one of the bravest things we can do!
We invite you to download What's Next, A Mental Wellness Guide here, designed especially for you and the Class of 2022.
Resources include:
- Self-Care Strategies to Help You THRIVE
- Tips for Taming Stress and RESETTING Your Mind
- Details on When, How and Who to REACH OUT to for Mental Health Support
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Tips to rock your first year of college and career
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The Kings Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m. for their Regular Monthly Meeting. You can watch live here.
All agendas and past meetings can be found here.
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Last day of school for students is
Thursday, May 26!
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Please be sure to pick up your student's medications from our school clinics by the last day of school!
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Kings Food Service Department is Hiring |
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Kings Students in Upcoming Production |
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The following Kings students are in the Acting Up Young Performers Community Theater Production of Disney's Descendants, the Musical. The production will take place June 10-12 at the Mason High School Theatre. Visit actingup.com for tickets and times.
Pictured below:
Back Row: Maggie McKenna, Ava Goulle, Leah Christman, and Sam Smalec
Front Row: Baylor Goulle, Anna Weaver, and Tristan McKenna
Break a leg!
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The District is now reporting daily numbers of positive cases and quarantines of COVID-19. Those numbers will be reported by the end of the school day each day. You can find that information on our website. We will continue to report the weekly totals, as well. |
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If you aren't following us on our social media channels, you are missing out! Don't miss one bit of news!
Make sure to follow us on social media!
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In case you missed it...Kings Mills Elementary 4th graders presented their American Hero Wax Museum this week. Watch here.
Pictured is 4th grader, Jack Hartke telling Kings Teaching and Learning Director Matt Freeman about Neil Armstrong.
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South Lebanon Elementary third grade presented their annual Career Expo. |
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Kings Athletic News
Check out Kings Athletics website! You can find out schedule information, upcoming events, news about teams, and even get directions to away venues.
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Kings Softball Coach Gets 300th Win! |
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Congratulations to Kings Softball Coach, Mary Ellen Bonner for achieving the 300th win milestone in an epic game against conference rival, Lebanon on Monday, May 9.
Bonner is in her 20th season as Kings Head Coach. She has a 61.2 winning percentage and is 300-190 overall in her 20 years of coaching at Kings.
The Knights who are 14-8, began sectional play on Wednesday with a win against Harrison. They advance to the sectional finals at Hamilton High School on May 16 against Harrison.
Congratulations, Coach Bonner!
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ESports Teams Heading to Playoffs |
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Kings ESports teams, Valorant and Super Smash Bros. will compete this weekend in the Esports Ohio Southwest Regional Semifinals at Miami University's Esports Arena.
Valorant completed an undefeated season (6-0-1) tying with Indian Hill for the Southwest 2 Division Championship.
Members of Valorant are Ethan Bennett - Captain, Isaac Dickerson, Dang Phan, Jackson Hicks, Cristian Zambrano, Parker Vacca, and Max Astapenko
Super Smash Bros. finished a strong season 5-1, good for 2nd place in the Southwest 2 Division.
Members of Smash Bros. are Andrew Horton - Captain, Ryan Hoeting, Adam Lynch, Maia Beavers, Zeke Bohlander, Takodah Alexander, Zach Ranson, and Coach and Kings Alum, Chris Clark.
Winners of the regional finals will compete for the state championship at Akron University on June 18.
Pictured are Super Smash Bros. looking for a win back in March.
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Summer Athletic Camp Information is Here! |
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Send Us the News You Want to See! |
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Contact Dawn Gould - Community Relations Coordinator at
Knight Nation News is a publication of the Kings Local School District Communications Department.
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Kings Local School District
1797 King Ave
Kings Mills, Ohio 45034
513.398.8050
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