Halloween 🎃 👻 Wildcat 😺Weekly

Ms. Janecko’s freshmen scientists are learning about DNA, and demonstrated their understanding by creating “stop motion” videos.  You can see an example below.

Mr. Roth’s chemists are examining molarity, light, and absorbance in their lab this week, measuring how much light gets through a liquid, depending on the concentration of the solution.

Mr. Keller’s Anatomy students are using high powered microscopes to get a closer look at their hair follicles.

Mrs. Werner’s biologists are looking at the permeability of cell membranes by measuring how much of a solution escaped a container, moving into another, over time.

 

Mrs. Stewart’s freshmen learned about the insulative properties of various materials, and then faced the challenge of constructing a container that would compete with containers created by other groups in the class.  Here you can see them using a thermal imaging device that, when connected to their iPhones, allowed them to see where heat was escaping from their container.  Finally, they poured hot water into their creations, and measured which one could retain the most heat.

Our students involved in Core Committed attended a fundraising breakfast for SCAT, helping to articulate how their focus on healthy lifestyle choices has helped them.

The Boys and Girls Cross Country seasons came to an end at the Regional Championships race in Tiffin.  A big congratulations to our young men and women on a successful season.

Sadly, the volleyball season also closed last week, as the LadyKats were defeated in a very close match with Notre Dame.  These girls came home with the district runner-up trophy.  We are proud of them for making it further in the tournament than a Northview team in sometime.

Still rolling in the tournament is the Boys Soccer Team, who defeated Anthony Wayne to earn a District Championship on Saturday.  Through the rain and blurry camerawork, you can see Spencer Montz’s winning goal.  Room on the bandwagon is filling up.  Come see if the boys can knock of the Knights of St. Francis tonight, which would put them in the Regional Championship on Saturday.  The Wildcats play at 7PM at Lake High School tonight. Go Cats!

We were treated to two Leadership Lunches last week.  First, the President and CEO of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Zak Vassar, and the Musical Director for the symphony, Alain Trudel, shared their philosophies with our students.  Mr. Vassar talked about communicating vision, showing evidence that vision is working, sharing credit, and building momentum.  Mr. Trudel, who leads an eclectic group, reminded students that the days of the autocratic conductor, and leader, are over.  He said we live in the era of collaboration.  Aside from working with people, as opposed to telling them what to do, Mr. Trudel stressed the importance of technical knowledge, personality, helpfulness, honesty, sincerity, and simply being a good person. These men are intelligent, driven, engaging, and humorous. It is easy to see why the Toledo Symphony Orchestra is on the upswing.

 

Second, Northview Alumna Heidi Burkhart, who has developed a real estate company in New York City that has done over $2 billion in transactions, told our kids to not take no for an answer. As a 20 year old The University of Toledo graduate, she took off for the big apple, and basically worked for free for two year, living off of bread and Ramen noodles, eating sugar packets to mask her hunger. This sacrifice gave her two years to learn from the very best in her industry, and she is now using that knowledge effectively. She encouraged our students to start now. They can afford to work for free, given that they have little to tie them down in this world. Go work for free for the best and brightest, learn from them, and one day they will be ready to forge their own paths. Our students are so very fortunate to be growing up in a community where they have access to people like Zak, Alain, and Heidi. Thank you to all three of you for coming to share your journeys with our kids!

 

The Marching Band played their season-ending concert last week, and we happened to capture a bit of their rehearsal for it…

 

Rivalry week went the way of the Cougars on the field, but we honor our boys for the way they played the game, and the fun they brought us this season.  The student body had a lot of fun all week, including a big pep rally, Powder Puff Football, and a large bonfire.  Check out the videos that Student Council produced last week to get everyone in the right frame of mind.

• Willie the Wildcat takes on his biggest opponent yet, this Friday…

• THIS JUST IN Willie the Wildcat and Carlos the Cougar press conference is starting right now...
• Willie has been training for months for his big fight… Now it’s time to put Southview to bed
• It’s all been leading up to this . . GAME DAY

The Powder Puff game ended in a tie.  So, this is how they decided a winner: the 40 yard dash…

Congratulations to Mr. Creech on being inducted into the Sylvania Schools Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame!  He was recognized, along with several other alumni at halftime of the game.

It was a great fall under the Friday night lights.  Thank you to our football team, band, cheerleaders, and Student Council for making Cats Stadium a wonderful place to call home!

Speaking of calling Northview home, our 8th Grade Open House will take place tomorrow night.  If you know a young man or woman who is looking for academic rigor, and experiences beyond the books that are hard to match, encourage them to come join us at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.  Go Cats!

10.24.18 Wildcat Weekly

This week marks the start of a new quarter, and our students are plugging away, making sure their fresh start is a positive one.  Mr. Creech’s 3D Design students are going back to 2D, sketching out their plans for future sculptures.

 

Mr. Roth’s students are watching things dry.  Seriously.  Students timed how long it took for different liquids to evaporate, which gave them a clue as to how strong the chemical bonds are holding the elements together that make up those liquids.

 

Mrs. Benard’s freshmen readers and writers are learning about voice, and, ironically, did so this week in silence.

 

Ms. Davis’s business students communicated to her what they have mastered from their first quarter studies via a Google survey in class last week.  She is using this information to determine where to go next with her instruction.

 

Mr. Davis’s choirs prepared last week for their fall concert…

…which took place on Thursday evening, and was kicked off by these two fantastic numbers from the Harmony Road Show.

Thanks to the Choir Boosters, our students’ wonderful sound is better heard with the new sound system they purchased last year.  below, you can see Mr. Davis controlling the system from an iPad in the back of the auditorium in real time, making slight adjustments to make sure the sound is what it should be.  Thank you parents!

 

Geometry is easier to comprehend when you can work it out visually…

 

Last Wednesday, two of our own staff members were honored by the Sylvania Area Family Services organization with Ray of Hope Awards.  Jessie Minard, pictured on the right, has made Project Unify a staple in the Northview and Sylvania communities.  Crystal Burnworth, on the left, along with her husband and a gaggle of volunteers from the community, run the Sylvania STEM Center, making STEM education more readily available for students of all ages in Sylvania and the broader northwest Ohio community.  These two women are making the Northview and Sylvania experience richer, and more well rounded.  These honors are very well deserved.

 

Our Juniors attended their second ACT seminar this week.  Mrs. Sadowski focused on getting faster and more crafty in their approach to the test.  Students answered practice questions under the time constraints they will see on the ACT.

 

Our students had a little fun with Homerooms last week, competing to see who could create the best Halloween costume.  Here are the results.

 

In the world of athletics, Senior soccer player Alek West was featured in the Toledo Blade as their spotlight athlete.  Alek and his teammates defeated Springfield last evening 3-1, earning a spot in the District Championship game against Anthony Wayne on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Findlay High School.  This is a special senior class of players; come out and root them on against a league rival this weekend!

 

Speaking of deep tournament runs, the Northview Volleyball Team defeated Ashland last night to earn a spot in the District Championship tomorrow night.  The LadyKats will take on the Eagles of Notre Dame at Napoleon at 6:00 p.m.  We have one of the best volleyball squads in the area.  Make the short drive to Napoleon tomorrow to support our girls!

 

Senior golfer Lexi Knight earned a spot at the OHSAA Golf State Championships, where she finished in the top 30.  Our student body sent her off in grand style…

Here, you can see her hit a green in regulation shortly after making the turn on day one of the tournament.

 

Friday brings our annual football game against our crosstown rivals.  BCSN is ready for the action, and highlighted the epic 2005 battle to help their viewers get ready.

 

It has been a busy, fun, and productive fall.  The heavy traffic on our stage, fields, courts, and more can be measured by the amount of signage we see on our lockers.

 

On a personal note, you do not have to look far or long for evidence that Sylvania Schools teachers are passionate and dedicated to our kids.  My wife, LeighAnn, and I were were reminded of that on Friday night when our son’s teachers surprised us by attending a fundraiser for Penrickton School for the Blind in Detroit, Michigan.  My experience in this community, as a teacher, principal, and now parent, has been that our schools are filled with people who treat their jobs more like vocations.  We are a lucky bunch.

10.17.18 Wildcat Weekly

The end of the  first quarter will be here on Friday.  A few of our upperclassmen created a video to help our younger students understand our key extra help programs, the Learning Center, the Math Lab, and the Writing Lab.  Free tutoring from people who understand the material well is hard to beat.  Click here to see the video.

Mrs. Rauscher’s Honors English students are reading Greek mythological literature, but they are really learning to read critically and annotate.  The students’ test today allowed them to use their annotations to help them demonstrate their understanding of Ovid’s Echo and Narcissus.

Mrs. Whitlow’s Spanish II students engaged in conversation about their pets by scripting tweets describing their current pets, and wishes for future pets.

Speaking of pets, Ms. Janecko’s freshmen scientists are enjoying their new class pet, a leopard gecko…

…but their real academic work centered on learning how to scatter plot, and better understanding principles related to mass and volume.

Mrs. Cafferty’s Medical Technology students are out in area medical facilities on a regular basis now, shadowing professionals in the field.  Many students have been asked to do more than shadow, and to pitch in and help with basic tasks.  She responded to their feedback by teaching some basic patient care skills.

Mrs. Donnelly’s freshmen Health students had a conversation about bullying, which she launched by surveying the students on their perceptions of issues surround the topic.  She shared the results with them, and used their opinions as a starting point for their talk.

Mr. Davis’s choral groups are getting ready for their performance tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center.  If you can join them, great.  If not, BCAN, BCSN’s sister channel, will be there and broadcasting the show in the near future.

Ms. Zenner’s freshmen scientists are learning to think more linearly and logically using measurements.  They conducted their data gathering in the Senior Courtyard this week.

On Monday, Sylvania teachers, counselors, and administrators spent time digging into data on our students from the Ohio Department of Education, the College Board (AP), and the ACT.  We are using that information to lead us to make improvements to instruction.  Below, you can see a collection of pictures Dr. Fineske took from the in-service.

Outside of the classrooms, the Wildcats had an exciting week.  The Boys Cross Country Team captured the Northern Lakes League Championship, edging out Perrysburg by two points on Saturday morning.

 

Sophomore Emma Steingass led the way for the LadyKats runners, finishing 3rd in the girls race, helping our team to a 3rd place finish in the league.

The Northview Volleyball Team took down Anthony Wayne on Senior Night, winning in straight sets.  The LadyKat Soccer Team also had a victorious Senior Night, defeating Perrysburg 1-0.

The boys soccer tournament brackets are out, and the Wildcats are headed to Findlay this week to see if they can create some magic in the second season.

Our annual Homecoming traditions gave students a chance to highlight a few of their friends…

…and a chance for students to gather together on Friday night for some fun, even if it was rainy and cold.

Finally, a good thought from Mrs. Cafferty’s classroom this week…

A peek behind the curtain at Sylvania Northview…the 10.10.18 Wildcat Weekly

We are nearing the end of the first quarter, and students are hard at work to master key concepts before the grading period is up.  Seniors in Mr. Engel’s Physics classes learned to calculate the predicted acceleration of a given slope last week…

Mr. Malcolm’s Government students are studying the United States Constitution.  A few of them remembered well a song they learned in elementary school that helped them memorize the Preamble, and treated their fellow seniors to a final rendition.

Ms. Bogue’s environmental scientists rolled up their sleeves, and pant legs, and got dirty last week, conducting research in Ten Mile Creek.  The purpose of their study is to evaluate the health of the creek, and they did so by taking water samples, inspecting what they found, categorizing the living organisms, and

Students are starting to use our new maker space, the Think Tank.  This learning environment is designed to give students the space and tools to work on bigger problems, collaborate, tinker, and create.

Lauren Smith (pictured on the right) was recognized by the Sylvania Chamber of Commerce as the Student of the Month for her work in the performing arts.  In addition to being named to the All-National Ensemble, Lauren was recognized in DownBeat Magazine June 2018, which our music teachers equate to the Rolling Stone of jazz music.  More impressive than all of the above is Lauren’s humble nature.  Congratulations Lauren!

The Girls Golf Team, and their game faces, competed at the Sectional Championships, and qualified for the District Championships, which took place yesterday.  Senior Lexi Knight played well enough there to qualify for the State Championships in Columbus next week!  This is the second year in a row that Lexi earned her way into the State Championship Golf Tournament.  Way to go Lexi!

On Thursday last week, Assistant Principal Gracy Hinojosa-Lloyd (pictured 4th from the left) represented Northview at an awards banquet hosted by the Department of Education, and accepted the Momentum Award on behalf of the entire Northview Family.  This award was a reflection of the growth demonstrated by students.  Northview was one of roughly fifteen high schools state-wide that showed the amount of growth necessary to earn this distinction.

Sylvania School alumnus and Lucas County Board of Elections official Austin Serna visited with senior government students to educate them on the voting process.

Mrs. Werner’s Honors Biology students are in the early stages of dissecting pigs.  Outside of identifying gender and some basic anatomical parts, the most difficult piece for partners was settling on a name for their pig.

Freshmen scientists are learning basics of laboratory life, including measuring for volume and mass, and how to log data.

The 2018-19 yearbook design and construction is underway, as the staff is hard at work adding content to their work in progress.

The Football Team lost a heart breaker on Friday night, but continue to show improvement as the season progresses.

Jillian Turner advanced to the District Championships in tennis after a great showing at Sectionals, where she earned a 3rd place finish.  Way to go JT!

The Boys Soccer Team brought home the NLL Championship yesterday with a win over Perrysburg.  Check out the highlights below of that game, and their 1-1 tie against St. John’s Jesuit on Saturday.  Their run is not over, but Senior Night last week honored a special group of athletes.  These Seniors have won two straight District Championships, made it to the Elite 8 in the state of Ohio, and earned multiple league titles.  Soon, they will hang up the black and gold jerseys for good.  For now, we will focus on savoring every moment of what hopes to be an exciting tournament run.

🎃ctober 3rd Wildcat Weekly Update…

High school students who are exploring career options in the education field spend a portion of their day in the Northview pre-school, learning to design lesson plans and to work with young people.  Ms. Beckstead’s students spent time helping to facilitate stations this week, where preschoolers molded, drew, hammered, kneaded, and patterned, built, organized, and, most importantly, played.

Freshmen in the Leadership Academy had a debate on principles and values, defending their stance on why this belief is more important than that one.  This conversation is part of a year-long effort to explore who they are at their core.  Mr. Creech is helping them to learn to articulate their thoughts on the direction in which their moral compasses are pointing them.

Mr. Briggs’s youth cross country program continues to grow, so much so that Coach Downing was seen helping out last week.  He explained to the little kids that running cross country is like a really long “go-route.”

Northview Choir Teacher Jeremy Davis was recognized by the Board of Education as a Sylvania Schools Teacher of the Year.

Our golfers were welcomed to Rotary, and honored for their accomplishments this season.

The Sylvania Water Polo Club held Senior Night last week, taking on Napoleon…

The other Wildcats proved too tough, however, winning the varsity match with good goalie play like you can see in video below.

Mr. Briggs’s physical education students worked to develop core strength yesterday in a wide variety of ways…

Senora Jurski’s Spanish II students are learning both Spanish and about current events, as they completed a gallery walk around the classroom, reading about contemporary events, pulling out key vocabulary, and writing about their findings in Spanish.

Ms. Davis’s Introduction to Education students are starting to understand different styles, looking at images that can be seen from multiple perspectives.

Our counselors hosted their first Coffee with Counselors of the year, introducing the College Prep Challenge for freshmen and sophomores.

There were scores of Wildcats running loose in downtown Toledo this weekend, helping to support Race For The Cure in a variety of ways.  Some students volunteered…

…the LadyKats Soccer Team ran the course…

…and the band provided some entertainment.

The entire race was in honor of Kelli Andres, mother of Northview Senior, Patrick.  Kelli, who passed away two years ago, was a friend to many, and is now an inspiration to many more.

We had an unannounced, unplanned, dress-like-your-assistant-principal day last week. 🙂

Several current Northview students and alumni were spotted at the BGSU STEM Camp this weekend, giving youngsters a glimpse into the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The LadyKats Volleyball Team fell to Notre Dame this weekend, but rebounded to sweep Whitmer 3-0 this week…

The Boys Soccer Team knocked off #1 State-ranked DIII Ottawa Hills 3-1 last week, and crushed University of Detroit Jesuit High School 8-0 this weekend.

@LucasCountyCmsn Carol Contrada to @NVLeaders – don’t sit out during turbulent times; find your passion and make your corner of the world better! @SylvaniaSchools

Sylvania High School alumna and Lucas County Commissioner Carol Contrada returned home last week to deliver our first Leadership Lunch of the school year for our Leadership Academy members.  Commissioner Contrada’s theme ranged from poetry to politics, and helped explain her fight for justice in her world.  Her philosophy on leadership draws closely on the quote from Shakespeare that, “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”  She believes the same holds true for leadership.  She shared with students that growing up in the late 1960s, she was inspired to get involved by tumultuous world events, and motivated to help create a better world by literature, art, music, and theatre.  Her path to leadership has been more of the “thrust upon you” journey, from those early years, inspired by investigative journalists exposing corruption and abuse in society.  She had a desire to help right those wrongs.  Fast forward to her time as a Commissioner, she has listened to and learned from firefighters and sheriffs about their worlds and what needs to be improved.  She related her learning process to To Kill A Mockingbird‘s Atticus Finch quote, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”  She talked specifically about how what she has learned from our first line public servants helped her understand the need for and the effort to build a new jail, criminal justice reform in northwest Ohio.  Their subsequent work together resulted in large amounts of grant money awarded to Lucas County to improve our society in this area.  She encouraged students to find their own inspiration in this turbulent time in our nation’s history, citing Dante’s The Divine Comedy quote, “The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.”  Commissioner Contrada, a practicing attorney today, who once taught high school English, told students to be open minded about the future.  She was sure as a high schooler that she was not going to be a lawyer or a politician, and that she wanted to be a writer.  Her belief in serving her community, the problems she saw in society, and the inspiration she received from the great writers of humanity changed her plans, dramatically and for the benefit of everyone in northwest Ohio.