Eagle eNews - November 20, 2020 |
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MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT: |
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Click on the image to play the video: |
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In this video message Superintendent John Spieser discusses three updates: an invitation to purchase tickets to listen to the high school’s latest drama production, information about the Q&A held this week, and an update on the school calendars adopted for the next three school years. As always, he also features student artwork. |
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TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW: "VINTAGE HITCHCOCK" RADIO PLAY
Due to audience limitations placed on theater performances, Milford High School’s drama department is not able to perform a live play this year. That didn’t deter them - they recorded a radio play that is available for streaming online.
Led by Katie Arber, the drama department will present "Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play" online from November 26 to 28. The radio play features adaptations of three early films directed by Alfred Hitchcock: "The Lodger" "Sabotage" and "The 39 Steps."
The stories come to life in the style of a 1940s radio broadcast, with actors playing dozens of characters, along with live sound effects, and musical underscoring.
Streaming will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, November 26 and will be available until 8 p.m. Sunday, November 29.
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ESPORTS CLUB EXCELLING IN THEIR FALL SEASON
Milford High School’s Esports Club is only in its first year but has sky rocketed in popularity and skill - two teams are in the Esports Ohio playoffs, to be played after Thanksgiving.
Esports are relatively new to schools. Milford’s club began last spring before schools were shut down due to the pandemic. Players were only able to compete for one week before their season ended. Their fall season has gone smoothly and the teams advanced in tournament brackets.
Electronic and athletic sports have many things in common: each team has a captain, teams practice after school, they warm up before matches, hold tryouts, scrimmage other schools during the preseason and have academic eligibility requirements. Each game played (currently Milford’s Esports Club offers League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) requires players to communicate effectively and develop strategies for defeating their opponent on screen.
Before each match, the captains from each school communicate with their teams and each other to determine a start time. Once the time is decided, one of the schools will typically create a private "arena" or "party" and the other school will join to play. The coaches are usually in the game too, recording footage of the match for players to review afterward if needed.
The most important piece of the puzzle is the Discord server. Milford’s Club has more than 70 players who have joined the servers. which allow them to talk to each other by text and voice chat. The servers also allows coaches and captains to communicate with each other to ensure that everything runs smoothly. By utilizing the Discord server, players and coaches are able to communicate with each other as if they are sitting right next to each other, even if some players are remote.
No experience is necessary for a player to join the Esports Club. Each team has a limited number of spots but they also accept an unlimited number of substitute players who may be called upon to play if a Varsity or Junior Varsity team player is not available to play. Substitute players are very involved and practice with the teams and provide support.
The Varsity and Junior Varsity Rocket League teams have been identified as two of the top teams in the state and will be participating in a tournament. The Varsity team will be playing in a semi-finals tournament after Thanksgiving and The Junior Varsity team will compete in the finals. Most likely the matches will be streamed by the Esports Ohio League - click here to bookmark their YouTube channel. What's more, they will be participating in a private combine tournament where college coaches will be scouting players.
”Esports is an amazing community of students at Milford High School,” said Club Advisor David Coomes. “I did not expect how amazing the social element of this Club would be. Students play games against each other all the time, they help each other and before the pandemic they were socializing outside of school, too. I can tell that they are having a lot of fun and becoming great friends.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LIVE CHAT WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT
This past Tuesday, Superintendent John Spieser hosted a “Live Chat with the Superintendent” on Facebook. It was recorded and is available to view on the District’s Facebook page.
Mr. Spieser answered questions about COVID case trends and explained the process used to make decisions between keeping in-person students in school or moving to a remote learning model. He talked about the difference between “remote learning” and the Eagle Online instruction model and also discussed our future plans for addressing the need to replace the Junior High with a bond issue in the next few years.
The next Live Chat with the Superintendent is scheduled for January 19, 2021.
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SCHOOL CALENDARS ADOPTED FOR NEXT THREE YEARS
The Board of Education adopted school calendars for the next three years. You can download them from our website or by clicking on each one below. You’ll notice that in each year, Thanksgiving Break is a whole week, Winter Break is two weeks, and the Spring Breaks fall during the last full week of March. Each school year ends prior to Memorial Day, too.
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ENGINEERING STUDENTS CREATE ADAPTIVE HOLDERS FOR VIOLIN PLAYER
Milford High School students in the Project Lead the Way Engineering Program, offered through Great Oaks, have the opportunity to solve real-world problems and improve the lives of others. Students Logan Arnett, Tyler Blimline, Zachary Elder, Reddick Herbert, Alex Parker, and Emme Thomas applied their knowledge to create adaptive holders to help a girl named Oona play the violin and feel included in family activities.
Oona lives in Edinburgh, Scotland. When she began to develop an interest in the violin, her mother knew she would need adaptive equipment that would help her hold the violin and bow. Oona’s mother heard about the May We Help organization and reached out with an outline of Oona’s mobility limitations. May We Help then reached out to Milford High School’s Engineering students to come up with a solution for Oona.
Oona and her mother met with the students via Skype and email to learn as much as they could about Oona’s needs. Then the Makino Foundation awarded a $1,200 grant to the team for project costs. Students then reached out to Hoggi, the manufacturer of Oona's wheelchair, and the company shared CAD files of the wheelchair. Students used the files to custom fit a product to attach to the wheelchair to hold the violin. Students then reached out to Antonio Violin who sent two representatives to teach the students about how violins are made, how they work, and how they are repaired. Antonio Violin loaned a small scale violin to the students to aid in the development of their product. Antonio Violin also donated a violin to be sent to Oona along with the violin arm designed by the students.
Oona also struggled holding the bow so the students made a custom bow holder for her. They scanned an existing product that was too large for Oona, scaled it down, 3D printed a mold, and then poured a polyurethane cast. The result is a lightweight foam bow holder for Oona. Students also 3D printed a polypropylene bow holder as a more rugged backup if the foam holder fails.
The project was still in the works when school was shut down last spring due to the pandemic, but the students continued to meet via Zoom and their teacher Mr. Leeper delivered supplies to their homes so they could finish the work. As the different components were finished, Mr. Leeper transported them between students so the work could be completed. The products were shipped to Oona in October.
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112 STUDENTS INDUCTED INTO NHS
Milford High School congratulates the following 112 new National Honor Society members. The following juniors and seniors were selected based on their grade point average, work ethic and citizenship, leadership, and their commitment to
service:
Ebtisam Abaid, Yumna Altorban, Anna Andrews, Jadelyne Avance, Paige Ayler, Brinn Barkimer, Kevin Barnett, Emily Barnhart, Alex Bell, Grayson Berohn, Kaitlyn Bibb, Alexander Billias, Lyric Birkley, Mollie Bloom, Breckenridge Brown, Richard Burns, Molly Cambro, Kelly Chen, Collin Chitwood, Haley Christopher, Kelsey Colegate, Kylie Colson, Samantha Conrad, Ryan Coors, Max Craft, Sydney Dadosky, Ashley Dargis, Haily Dickinson, Patrick Duong, Kennedy Edgar, Madison Elsbernd, Elizabeth Enneking, Ethan Foster, Jillian Gardner, Clara Gehm, Olivia Gentry, Carmen Gibson, Meredith Goff, Noah Gonzalez, Ayla Grabenbauer, Madison Grein, Taryn Hackler, Christian Haghverdi, Jacob Hams, Lucas Hardoerfer, Spencer Harlow, Alyssa Hart, Luke Hawes, Ryan Henke, Mary Herrmann, Madalyn Hills, Cassandra Hoffman, Vaughn Hoopes, Elizabeth Howard, Colton Hupp, Sarah Jackson, Grace Jasinoski, Victoria Kaufman, Emma Kauscher, Anna Keene, Emily King, Nathaniel King, Emily Laslo-Haer, Tina Lau, Rachel Lemley, Emma Lewis, Laney Lieving, Ella Lindsey, Wyatt Lindsey, Malachi List, Nicolas Llerena, Ellen Long, Aidan Lyman, Mary Elizabeth Mailloux, Catherine Mason, Daniel McCoy, Kaylie McKenney, Jack McKenney, Kylie Merz, Paige Montgomery, Thomas Murray, Alexander Naylor, Thaddeus Olson, Elise Ostrander, Sophia Otten, Conner Pace, Aryan Patel, Erika Pflanz, Amy Pham, Megan Poppe, Samuel Pschesang, Emily Rodeffer, Maya Roediger, Elizabeth Rolfsen, Kylie Rutter, Grace Ryan, Joelle Sammy, Abby Shapiro, Haley Shapiro, Riley Shuluga, Kaitlyn Smith, Brooklyn Stewart, Ian Stewart, Jaxon Stickle, Brendan Sullivan, Ashley Taylor, Lorelai Turner, Abigail Verderber, Jerry Wang, Zachary Wietholter, Nathan Wiley, and Greta Wolter.
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INCLEMENT WEATHER INFORMATION
In the event there is inclement weather, Milford Schools either delays for two hours or closes. If there is a two-hour delay, each school building will begin two hours later than the normal starting time. Buses will pick up two hours later than the normal pick up time. Eagle Online will be delayed two hours as well. All Extended Day locations will open at 8:00 a.m. New this year: morning Kindergarten and morning Preschool will be cancelled if there is a two hour delay. Morning Kindergarten students will recieve review work to complete at home. Afternoon Kindergarten and afternoon Preschool will begin at the normal time.
If school is closed, students and teachers will not come to school. Eagle Online will be closed as well. Extended Day will be open at the Preschool location only at 8:00 a.m. Since we do not have any extra calamity days available to use this year, when school is closed students will be assigned practice or review work to complete at home. Teachers will not provide live instruction but will be available by email during normal school day hours.
More information about calamity delays and cancellations can be found on our website.
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CELEBRATING AMERICAN EDUCATION WEEK
It's American Education Week! This special week spotlights the importance of providing every child in America with a quality public education and the need for everyone to do their part in making public schools great. We are honoring our staff for making a difference in the lives of our students each and every day!
Educating during a pandemic is not easy. Our Milford teachers have worked tirelessly to provide a quality education for students in person and online. We greatly appreciate our Milford families too, for their continued patience and assistance this school year!
We asked our elementary-aged students questions about their school and their responses are delightful! They were asked “What do you like best about your teacher?” “What is your favorite time of day?” “What is your favorite subject?” and “What would you do if you were principal?”
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FOUR ELEMENTARY BUILDINGS EARN PBIS AWARDS
Congratulations to Charles L. Seipelt Elementary, McCormick Elementary, Meadowview Elementary, and Mulberry Elementary for receiving Ohio PBIS Recognition Awards for 2020!
PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports and it involves teaching students expected behaviors in a consistent and positive way, modeling and acknowledging those behaviors, and helping all students to meet expectations and be successful. PBIS has been shown to improve student achievement, student behavior, and school climate.
Seipelt earned the Silver Recognition Award, McCormick earned the Bronze Recognition Award, Meadowview earned the Gold Recognition Award, and Mulberry earned the Silver Recognition Award.
They will be honored at the Ohio PBIS Showcase in conjunction with the Ohio Leadership Academy Council’s virtual conference next month.
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HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT BECOMING A SUBSTITUTE? WE COULD USE YOUR HELP!
There is a nationwide substitute teacher shortage throughout the country, including in our district. Please click here to learn about how to apply to become a Milford Schools substitute teacher.
The district utilizes Comprehensive Sub Solutions as our substitute management provider, responsible for the hiring and employment of substitute teachers. If you hold a bachelor's degree in any field, you are eligible to become a classroom substitute.
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Have a Great Thanksgiving! |
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CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS
Click here to access our CONTACT US page on our website. The page includes contact information for administrators and building principals.
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