Author: shankv

The new Raider Pride Park in front of Warren G. Harding High School was dedicated and a ceremonial ground-breaking was held Thursday, June 30, 2022.

Members of the Raider Pride Park Committee said the new memorial to former Warren Western Reserve students and staff is an asset for Warren City Schools and the Warren City community-at-large.

The Raider Pride Park project was birthed in 2010 when Dave Alstolfi sold t-shirts with the original Warren Western Reserve High School logo at the Warren Italian Festival. The goal was to to build a memorial dedicated to all the WWR family, including the people who worked and served there and the students who attended the high school.

The Warren Western Reserve Committee was established in the fall of 2010 and met at the home of Mark Clawges, WWR Class of 1968.  The committee started with 60 or so people with the objective of getting representation from as many of the school’s graduating classes as possible. The committee then approached the Warren City Schools Board of Education about securing property to build a memorial.

Over time the committee’s membership diminished, and the group soon realized that becoming a non-profit would be key to raising the funds needed to build the memorial. The Warren Western Reserve Committee became a 501(c)(3) and changed its name to Raider Pride Park. Artist Dennis Freet designed the original park and its layout. Gibson Construction put the architectural design together and provided cost estimates for the development and construction.

The Raider Pride Park group set out to raise money through various fundraising efforts, with the staple being the Warren Italian Festival. Every year a tent was set up as a meeting place for all Warren City School alumni, with an emphasis on the Raiders. The group sold memorabilia, t-shirts, hoodies, DVDs of past WWR band performances as well as autographed items to help raise funds.

Over the years, the committee realized that the original design was becoming cost prohibitive, so plans were revised, and a redesign was done by Cortland-based Gilmore Landscaping and Design.

“This is a testament to the grit and determination of those involved in the memorial,” said James F. Guy Jr., WWR Class of 1990. “Raider Pride Park hopes this park can be enjoyed by alumni and will be a part of the rich history of Warren City Schools.”

Guy thanked the Warren City School Board of Education; Warren City Schools Superintendent Steve Chiaro; former schools Superintendent Michael Notar; and Director of Business Operations John Lacy; Brandon Giovannone of MDI Studios who designed the committee’s website; and Artistics Silk Screening, which has been printing the committee’s designs since day one. 

Current Raider Pride Park members are:

President: James F Guy Jr – class of 1990
Vice-President: Sharon McCourt Rinko – Class of 1967
Treasurer: Mark Clawges – Class of 1968
Secretary: Sue Tobias – Class of 1968                                                                                          Richard Thompson – Class of 1968
Martha Wilson – school secretary
Jimmy Devlin – Class of 1969
Nancy Ritz – Class of 1967
Sharleen Humes Johnson – Class of 1979
John Humes – Class of 1981
Jan Macchia Luoma – Class of 1969

Previous members:

Ken Carter
Kathy Setting (former Vice President) – Class of 1972
Dennis Freet – Class of 1973

The Warren City Schools Board of Education recently reviewed renderings of the district’s new Student Recreation and Wellness Center set to be located on the Warren G. Harding High School Campus off Elm Road.

The 120,000-square-foot, two-story facility will be built between Harding High School and the football field. The district has been working with Phillips Sekanick Architects of Warren to design the center.

The structure will feature athletic facilities, along with educational and healthcare services and resources. 

A 200-meter, multi-purpose surface track is planned for the first floor while an additional track for walking is designated for the second floor. Discussions include the inclusion of space for Esports and the Harding robotics program, among other programs. There is also potential for a student-run cafe or bistro. 

Money through a federal grant is paying for the bulk of the multi-million-dollar project. Plans are for students to be able to use a portion of the new complex in the Fall of 2023 before the remainder is finished.

 

Warren City Schools will begin opening the district’s Summer Feeding Sites on Monday, June 6, 2022.

All of the following sites will open on Monday, unless otherwise noted:

Jefferson PK-8 School, 1543 Tod Ave SW, Warren

Lincoln PK-8 School, 2253 Atlantic St, Warren

McGuffey PK-8 School, 3465 Tod Ave NW, Warren

Willard PK-8 School, 2020 Willard Ave, Warren

Breakfast:  7:30 – 9 a.m.   Lunch:  11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Warren G. Harding High School, 860 Elm Road, Warren

*June 6, 2022 – August 12, 2022

Breakfast:  7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.    Lunch:  10:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Remote /Community Locations:

Laird Community Garden, 565 Laird SE, Warren

Lunch:  11:30 a.m. – Noon

Packard Park, 1703 Mahoning Ave, Warren   

Lunch:  Noon – 12:30 p.m.

Highland Terrace Community Center, 377 Lane SW, Warren  

Lunch:  11:30 a.m. – Noon

Stonegate Place, 1210 Roberts, Warren   

Lunch:  Noon – 12:30 p.m.

Trumbull Family Fitness, 210 High St, Warren

*June 6, 2022 – August 12, 2022

Breakfast:  9 – 9:30 a.m.    Lunch:  Noon – 12:30 p.m.

Warren Heights Apts., 504 Douglas NW, Warren  

Lunch:  Noon – 12:30 p.m.

YWCA, 375 North Park, Warren

*July 18, 2022-July 29, 2022

Breakfast:  9 – 9:30 a.m.    Lunch: Noon – 12:30 p.m.

Royal Mall, 27 Royal Mall, Niles

Lunch:  11:30 am – Noon

Two Warren City Schools students – Lincoln 4th-grader Cohen Herchler and Willard 2nd-grader Jacklyn Burdick – were invited as special guests to represent their schools at the United Way of Trumbull County’s Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon on Thursday, May 26, 2022.

The United Way of Trumbull County presented its 2021 Give Award to the students on behalf of Warren City Schools “for their Outstanding Student Campaign.”

Cohen and Jacklyn were each accompanied by their school principals, Joshua Guthrie, principal/campus leader at Lincoln PK-8, and Carly Polder, principal/campus leader at Willard PK-8.

Guthrie said he invited Cohen to attend the event with him because Cohen led the 4th grade to victory by helping and encouraging his classmates to collect the most pennies in the school.

Polder chose Jacklyn not only for her penny-collecting efforts, but because she brightens her PK-2 pod every day by making the morning announcements – adding a joke or two to help her classmates start the day with a smile or a chuckle.

Anyone interested in participating on the 2022 Warren Middle School or Warren G. Harding High School Cross Country Team is encouraged to sign-up through one of the following two links:

WARREN RAIDERS CROSS COUNTRY 2022

• Cross Country is a great way to either get into shape, stay in shape, or prepare your conditioning for Winter Sports.

• If you enjoy running and want to be a part of a family based, positive sport with tons of encouragement cross country is your sport!

• Summer workouts will start Tuesday, July 11 from 10am – 11am @ Perkins Park. We will meet at the playground parking lot.

https://forms.office.com/r/kyzeB5hmS8

Two Warren G. Harding High School graduating seniors were awarded scholarships at the 2022 Scholarship and Recognition Breakfast Friday, May 13, 2022.

Casey Owsley is a recipient of a 2022 First Place Community Fund Scholarship Award and Aidan Rohrer is a recipient of a Franklin B. Walter Award.

The annual scholarship breakfast is sponsored by the Trumbull County Educational Service Center Governing Board.

Two members of the Harding football team signed their college letters of intent on Wednesday, May 11, 2022.

Senior lineman Kincade Tyson signed with West Liberty University and senior linebacker Tazion Wallace committed to Wheeling University.

Tyson was a First Team All-Conference and All-County selection last season. He was also voted All-State on the Raider’s defensive line and named Trumbull County’s Defensive Players of the Year.

Both schools are Division II football programs that compete in the Mountain East Conference.

Tyson was a First Team All-Conference and All-County selection last season. He was also voted All-State on the Raider’s defensive line and named to Trumbull County’s Defensive Players of the Year.

Wallace was a First Team All-Conference linebacker for Harding last season. He has also played wide receiver and defensive back.

A string trio from the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra spent some time with students at Warren’s four PK-8 schools the first week of May.

These small performances at Jefferson PK-8, Lincoln PK-8, McGuffey PK-8 and Willard PK-8 schools were  a creative way to bring the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra to schools instead of students going to see the orchestra in a formalized concert hall. Previously, trips to the concert hall have been limited to 3rd-graders.

However, the school visits included multiple grades, providing opportunities for a larger number of students to experience the live music in a more intimate setting where they could ask the musicians questions and interact with them more freely.

The orchestra was able to visit the schools due the cancellation of its annual countywide concert. The performances were funded through grant money the orchestra secured for its programming.

Jumping Jacks. Bowling. Legos.

Sixth-grade students at Lincoln PK-8 School spent some time Wednesday, May 4, in the small gymnasium participating in a variety of activities designed to enhance their STEM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) skills while promoting social-emotional learning.

Two classes joined into one to participate in the “May the 4th Be With You’ Star Wars theme.

“We wanted to engage the students, and give them physical as well as mental activities to get them moving, get them thinking, and encourage them to work together,” explained Christine DePascale, whose class was combined with Stephanie Collier’s.

For example, students were challenged to find the unit rate of their own activities. They determined how many jumping jacks they were able to do it a certain amount of time: number per minute, per five minutes, etc.

For the STAR WARS Legos challenge, students called upon to build traps for storm troopers. Each trap had to be designed and constructed to fit at least one storm trooper.

They also incorporated math into bowling by keeping score and figuring out percentages.

“They collaborated and worked together to come up with answers and determine solutions,” explained Stephanie Collier. “That’s an important skill they will take with them way beyond the classroom.”