Summer 2015 School Reporter - Brecksville Broadview Heights City

Newsletter for Brecksville-Broadview Hts. School Community
www.bbhcsd.org
Summer 2015
Class of 2015 Graduates
On the afternoon of June 6th, 349 students graduated from Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School at
a Commencement ceremony held at the State Theatre,
Playhouse Square. The Class of 2015 was an incredibly
successful class receiving over $14.3 million in scholarship
offers, in addition to $86,000 given as local scholarships to
118 students.
They also excelled in the arts and athletics having
the most successful winter sports season in the history of the school by capturing three state titles.
Class speakers Lauren Foster and Shamina
Merchant were the first to speak at Commencement.
Superintendent of Schools Scot Prebles and Board
of Education President Mark Jantzen then gave welcoming comments before High School Principal Joe
Mueller addressed the class for the last time. Board of
Education members awarded the diplomas while Class
President Jacqueline Kananian and Vice President
Gianna Caroniti announced the graduates.
Over 96% of the class plans to attend post secondary
education in the fall. While many will be attending private
and public colleges and universities in Ohio, others will be
venturing out a little farther. 2015 BBHHS graduates will
be studying at Columbia University, George Washington
University, Northwestern, University of Notre Dame,
University of West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.
This class included 8 National Merit Finalists, 4 National
Merit Commended Students, a West Point appointee, an
Army ROTC Scholarship recipient, 138 Honor Diplomas
designees, 95 National Honor Society members and
128 President’s Education Award recipients.
Celebrating their graduation are
Back row left to right: Ian Prindle, Ryan Mayer, Chad Boldt
Front row left to right: Alexandra Cook, Morgan Zeleny, Kelsey Roman
A highlight of each Commencement is a
performance by the high school band, under the
direction of Director Jason Wyse, of “Battle Hymn
of the Republic.”
Turf Replacement Underway
turf. When additional funds were needed the
community proved once again to be generous
and supportive of students.
This school year Superintendent Scot
Prebles and retiring Athletic Director Dan
Kalinsky worked with athletic teams, Bee
Athletic Boosters, Band Boosters, private individuals, local businesses and corporations to
raise the money needed to supplement the district’s turf replacement
fund.
The replacement of the synthetic turf at the
BBHCSD athletic stadium is underway thanks
to generous donations from the community. A
brief ceremony will precede the first home
7 PM football game of the season on Friday,
August 28, to dedicate the turf and officially
thank donors.
The original artificial turf was installed in
2007. At that time, a process to partially fund
the inevitable replacement was put in place
by the district. The savings generated by not
having to maintain a grass field and a portion
of the Athletic Department’s annual revenue
were set aside for the past nine years for new
Sales and other teams that use the field also
donated.
As these photos indicate the old turf has
been removed and the new turf is being
installed. The stadium and track will be closed
to the public until July 24 for safety reasons as
this project is completed.
The Bee Athletic Boosters donated $30,000, Bob Evans Restaurant
in Broadview Heights gave $3,000
and Bees Youth Football put in
$2,000 for the turf. Additionally,
Ganley Auto Group and Suburban
Physical Therapy agreed to donate
$10,000 and $5,000 respectively to
be scoreboard sponsors. The BBHHS
Football Team donated $6,000 from
the sale of mulch and Gold Card
2014-2015 Staff Retirements
Dr. Carla Calevich, who retired after
36 years with the school district, poses with
Stephen Farah, the recipient of the Schools
Foundation’s Bette and Thomas Calevich
Memorial Scholarship.
In addition to saying good-bye to the class of
2015, the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School
District is also bidding farewell to Dr. Carla Calevich
and the following staff members who chose to retire
this school year. Their service to our students and
contributions to the success of the district is greatly
appreciated.
Dr. Calevich joined the district as a first year
teacher 36 years ago. She served as an elementary school teacher, high school Spanish teacher,
Chippewa Elementary School Principal and Director
of Curriculum and Instruction. Her dedication,
intelligence, hard work and respect for staff, students,
parents and community have helped create the
success of our district. Best of luck to Dr. Calevich
on her future endeavors.
CERTIFIED
Joe Applebaum
Diane Cornett
Joanne Heun
Karen Horvath
Dan Kalinsky
Denise Kotik
Sue Kozimor
Rafaela Lorente
Tom Mulhall
Ellen Sanzo
Cheryl Palidar
Debbie Scheufler
Diane Spann
Barbara Stupp
Terry Toaz
Zoe Walsh
Claudia Wenstrup
CLASSIFIED
Madonna Bucceri
Sancia Buffa
Connie Dillis
Linda Drozdrowski
Michael Duhanich
Vicki Freidhof
Mary Hahn
Sharon Robinson Figueroa
Joyce Wancata
First Day of 2015-16 School Year is Thursday, August 20, 2015
Highlights of High School 2014-15 Awards Ceremony
Annually the top ten students of each high school
class, as well as many others, are recognized at
an awards assembly held on the last day of class
for graduating seniors and at Senior Awards
Night.
The list below highlights some of the many
students recognized at both events.
WEWS-TV and Ohio Lottery
Best of Class
Michael Lee
Outstanding Senior Boy and Girl
Julia McPherson and Michael Bonamer
Phi Beta Kappa Recipient
Jonathan McMahon
National Merit Scholarship
Student Finalist
Michael Bonamer, Joseph Dimitrijevs, Joseph
Krenek, Michael Lee, Divya Madhavan, Jonathan
McMahon, Priya Pookkulam, Collin Serraglio
National Merit Commended Students
Isabella DeLatte, Nicholas Furukawa,
Isaac Luther, Peter Sankovic
Top Ten Senior Class of 2015
Juana Barrera Bayona
Paige Coughlin
Halle Kotchman
Michael Lee
Erin Lyden
Jane Madden
Jon McMahon
Priya Pookkulam
Peter Sankovic
Brandon Smith
Top Ten Junior Class of 2016
Kayleigh Antonelli
Jamie Cowen
Sean Dunphy
Angel Eng
Eric Fu
Samangha Paskert
Ivana Terziyska
Madison Trout
Grace Wang
Megan Zhao
Two Selected to Fill Administrative Openings
Director of Business Services Chris Coad
and Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Maggie Niedzwiecki
The retirement of Dr. Carla Calevich,
Director of Curriculum and Instruction, and
the resignation, for a new career opportunity,
of Larry Tomec, Director of Business Services,
created two administrative openings for the
next school year.
After a thorough search and interview
process, Superintendent Scot Prebles recommended Margaret (Maggie) Niedzwiecki for
the position of Director of Curriculum and
Instruction (DCI) at the May 18, 2015, Board
of Education Meeting. She has been the
DCI for Revere Local Schools for two years. Prior to Revere, Mrs. Niedzwiecki performed
Ohio Department of Education (ODE) duties
as the Director of Ohio’s Race to the Top
initiative, a continuation of responsibilities
initially performed for northeast Ohio. She
is well respected in the area as she provided
professional development seminars for DCI’s
and teachers in her ODE role. Previously,
Mrs. Niedzwiecki was an elementary teacher
and a primary level principal in the Perry
Local School District. Additionally, Superintendent Prebles recommended Chris Coad for Board approval to fill
the position of Business Director. Mr. Coad
is currently employed by the Berea Schools
as the district’s Director of Transportation. Before working in Berea, he served as the
Director of Business Operations for the South
Euclid-Lyndhurst City Schools; a position he
held for nine years. The Board approved both recommendations. Mr. Coad will join our district early this
summer. Mrs. Niedzwiecki will begin her role
officially on August 1st, but will work with
Dr. Calevich prior to that for transitioning
purposes. Top Ten Sophomore Class of 2017
Justin Bowen
Logan Bowen
Nina Cywinska
David Dierker
Alyssa Holzinger
Emily Lopez
Jacob Luther
Brielle Marlow
Erin McMahon
Donielle Sy
Top Ten Freshman (11) Class of 2018
Grace Bird
Trent Boyne
Brandon Deuch
Daniel Kadir
Victor Li
David Madej
John Pobega
Patrick Potoczak
Riana Thomas
Top Ten Freshman (11)
Class of 2018 (continued)
Paul Woo
Frank Zhu
High school guidance counselors
(left to right) Sue Kozimor, Holly Thrasher,
Jaci Owens and Kyle Drypolcher, work very hard
to make the annual high awards programs a
huge success.
“All Things Are Possible”
“All Things Are Possible” was the theme for
this year’s Annual Excellence in Education
Awards program recognizing students with
disabilities, peers and educators. Dr. Gina
Symsek, Director of Pupil Services, nominated
several students and staff members for this
program.
Central School student Alayna Howell was
given an Outstanding Student Achievement
Award for both her academic and non-academic achievements. She participates in band
playing percussion instruments with limited
use of her arms.
Harrison Howell, Alayna’s younger brother, also received this award for his amazing
enthusiasm and positive attitude in his school
efforts.
Sierra Walsh, a BBHHS student, was
also honored with an Outstanding Student
Achievement Award for her positive efforts.
The Outstanding Educator Achievement
Award is intended to recognize, celebrate
and honor staff that have provided exemplary
instructional strategies and creative programming that promotes educational results for
students with disabilities.
Alayna and Harrison Howell enjoy the
Annual Excellence in Education Awards
Breakfast Program.
Dr. Symsek nominated the high school
team of Rosemary Allen, Susan Folta, Karen
Labyk and Judy Wright. This group of educators, paraprofessionals and related staff work
as a team developing and implementing a variety of strategies and approaches to assist students. They are valued members of a unique
team.
Master Teachers Honored
Superintendent Scot Prebles and Board of Education
members honored Chippewa Elementary School teachers
Caryn Cody and Jill Moroney, who recently earned the
designation of Master Teachers as defined by the Ohio
Department of Education, at the May Board meeting.
Completing the renewal of their designation of Master
Teacher were:
elementary school teachers Mary Kate Clancy, Linda
Cochran, Mary Ferguson, Beth Kerzman, Ann Marie
Kavinsky, Elena Kucharski, Julie Lant, Nancy Nolan,
Michelle Pagan and Stacy Profitt; middle school teach-
ers Jessica Leavitt and Diana Murphy; and high school
teachers Christine Bartzis, Ben Lesh, Candice Vendel and
Jennifer Williams.
When applying for Master Teacher status or renewal,
a teacher must complete an application process that
demonstrates their excellence inside and outside of the
classroom through consistent leadership and focused
collaboration to maximize student learning. A Master
Teacher strives for distinguished teaching and continued
professional growth. The applications are then reviewed
using the predetermined statewide criteria.
Left to right : Board President Mark Jantzen, Ben Lesh, Chris Bartzis,
Julie Lant, Superintendent Scot Prebles and Elena Kucharski
DATED MATERIAL
Scot T. Prebles, Superintendent
Cathy Harbinak, APR Editor
Mark Jantzen, President
Michael Ziegler, Vice President
Debbie Bernauer
Mark Dosen
Kathleen Mack
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Board of Education
Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District
6638 Mill Rd.  Brecksville, Ohio 44141
Phone (440) 740-4000
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