Author: shankv

Kindergarten students from Warren City Schools four PK-8 Buildings – Jefferson, Lincoln, McGuffey and Willard – traveled to the Garfield Community Garden the week of Oct. 2, 2023, to spend some time with members of The Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program.

Topics and activities included:

• The Importance of Pollinators and Pollinator Plants Students visited the Monarch Way Station and Pollinator Gardens where they learned about Monarchs, native butterflies, and native bees, and observed pollinators at work and pollinator plants. Each kindergarten class received milkweed seeds.
• A Vegetable “Hunt” that included information about how different kinds of vegetables grow, i.e, root vegetables, vines, etc., and seasons in which they are planted and harvested. Students were asked to identify vegetables. Volunteers were stationed at the vegetable stops. Each class received samples.
• Garlic planting. Instructed and assisted by volunteers, each student planted a garlic clove in a prepared plot. Each class was given a garlic pot to grow in the classroom and teachers were given information about growing garlic.
• Viewing the African Corn Patch Each class learned about Winnie’s fantastic corn patch.

To better teach his students in the lab, metals and welding instructor Tom Sullivan spent part of Warren City Schools Oct. 4, 2023, Waiver/Professional Learning Day honing his skills on the new cutting machine at Warren G. Harding High School.

The machine is actually a 2022 Torchmate 4800 CNC Plasma Table made by Lincoln Electric Cutting Systems. 

The four welding booths and four welding simulators at Harding were all produced by Lincoln Electric.  The school district has developed a great partnership with the company’s office in Cleveland dating back at least seven years, explained Suzette Jackson, assistant curriculum director for grades 6-12.

Plasma tables are used in manufacturing, agricultural, engineering and construction fields to cut iron, stainless steel, aluminum and other metals using a plasma torch. Plasma cutting machines are computer automated, allowing for a high level accuracy for a precise cuts. They have been used to make signs, yard art, outdoor furniture, gates, indoor décor, wall décor, emblems, fire pits, decorative panels, and sculptures, among other items.

The district was able to purchase the plasma table with federal grant funding through an Expanding Opportunities for Each Child grant.

In Mrs. Mickler’s 3rd grade class at McGuffey PK-8 School, one goal is for her students to collectively garner 50 compliments from others, including teachers and staff.

If a student receives a compliment while walking down the hall, he or she may tally it on Mrs. Mickler’s Compliment Chart. Once the class reaches the 50-mark goal, the students will be rewarded with an activity, such as a party, to celebrate.

It’s all part of Warren City Schools efforts to facilitate Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) among all students.

Meanwhile, in Mrs. Waldman’s 1st grade class, students earn McGuffey dollars they can redeem at the McGuffey Store. Some are saving up for various items such as stickers, candy or other snacks, bracelets and special drinks. Other rewards include being permitted to take their shoes off in class, sitting with a friend for the day or a positive call from the school to the student’s home.

To support the work that has been started in many areas to best meet the needs of students, Warren City Schools held an additional Waiver/Professional Learning day for district staff on Wednesday, Oct. 4.   

For example, Health/PE teachers worked on their pacing, benchmarks, and collaboration.

Students at Jefferson PK-8 School are enhancing accountability for their actions as part of a Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) activity that requires them to pay attention or miss their opportunity to shout BINGO and claim a reward.

Students gathered in the cafetorium Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, to play the popular card game.

“We choose different activities based on specific behaviors,” explained Mesa Morlan, Jefferson special education coordinator.

With BINGO, the students have to pay attention to the letters and numbers being called out to create BINGO. If they don’t miss a call out, they lessen their chances of making BINGO by missing the letters and numbers being called out.

Los Angeles, California music producer Lawrence Grey helped jazz and symphonic band students at Warren G. Harding High School record and enhance some of their musical arrangements as part of a demonstration focusing on electronic music.

Grey, founder of YPG (Young Producers Group), spent some time at the high school on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, demonstrating how he records a piece of music then uses Ableton computer software to mix and enhance the work by adding various effects, such as drum beats and patterns.

Grey said he seeks to teach students how to “make the kind of music they like to listen to.” Youngstown State University music education professor Dr. Daniel Keown accompanied Grey during his visit to Harding.

“As one of the few districts in the Mahoning Valley with a dedicated Music Technology course, we jumped at the chance to have Lawrence come in and work with our students. We are grateful to Dr. Keown and YSU for their assistance in providing us with this opportunity,” said WGH Assistant Band Director Heather Sirney.

Grey created YPG in 2010 after working with the youth at an alternatives to incarceration center in Brooklyn, N.Y. called the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA). Grey earned a Master’s Degree in education from UCLA; a Bachelor’s degree in music from NYU, with a focus on electronic music composition. He is also an Ableton Certified Trainer.

Warren G. Harding High School chemistry students recently performed several experiments to determine whether changes in the composition of an original substance were physical or chemical.

In chemistry, the term change can refer to both physical and chemical changes. In the simplest sense, a physical change is a change in the form of the original substance. A chemical change is a change in the composition of the original substance. A chemical change is also called a chemical reaction.

Chemists have developed a list of common signs that may indicate the occurrence of a chemical change. These include: 

• Bubbles of gas appear 
• A precipitate (solid) forms 
• An unexpected color change occurs 
• Gain or release of energy (heat or light) 
• A change in volume occurs 
• A change in electrical conductivity occurs 
• A change in melting point or boiling point occurs 
• A change in odor or taste occurs 
• A change in a distinctive chemical or physical property occurs; not easily reversed 

Physical changes occur when objects undergo a change that does not change their chemical nature. A physical change involves a change in physical properties. Physical properties can be observed without changing the type of matter. 

Examples of physical properties include: texture, shape, size, color, odor, volume, mass, weight, and density.

Change of state (ie. solid to liquid):

• Creation or separation of a mixture (including homogeneous mixtures, where the solute may not be visible)
• Physical deformation (cutting, denting, stretching, etc.)
• Physical relocation (moving an object) 

Some examples of physical and chemical changes: 

• If a piece of paper is cut up into small pieces, it is still paper. If you add water to a piece of string a chemical or physical reaction will not take place. 
• Mixing sugar with water to dissolve sugar in the water. However, if one baked a cake with flour, water, sugar, and other ingredients, new substances would appear. Chemical reactions occur in the baking process, and the changes are chemical changes. 

The students were using this information and performing several different experiments to determine whether they were physical or chemical changes.

Warren City Schools Superintendent/CEO Steve Chiaro, in a letter to the Warren community, has replied to factually inaccurate information included in an editorial published in the Warren Tribune Chronicle on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.

The Tribune inaccurately reported that “Enrollment in Warren City Schools dropped a whopping 25 percent between 2019 and 2022.”

Please read the Superintendent’s Full Letter Here.

The Tribune refused to publish the Superintendent’s letter as a paid advertisement.

Warren City Schools observed Grandparents Day with special tours, crafts and snacks with our preschoolers and special guests at all five of the district’s preschools.

Teachers, staff and students were overwhelmed with joy at the incredible response from our guests.

National Grandparents Day is observed each September on the first Sunday after Labor Day. Over the past few weeks, our preschoolers have dedicated some of their classroom time to welcoming our guests.