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OCTOBER 2014
West Holmes Middle School
Phone: 330-674-4761
1-866-253-9467
Fax: 330-674-2311
Mr. Jeff Woods, Principal
Mr. Rick Mullins, Asst. Principal
Mr. Nic Fioritto, Guidance
Dates to Remember October 2014
OCTOBER 10th PEP RALLY
OCTOBER 15TH PICTURE RETAKES
OCTOBER 16th LITERACY NIGHT 6:00 – 7:30 PM
OCTOBER 20-22 8TH GRD DC TRIP
OCTOBER 23RD COOKIE SALE KICK OFF
OCTOBER 24TH STAFF INSRVC – NO SCHOOL
OCTOBER 28TH GRADE CARDS GO HOME
OCTOBER 31ST FALL DANCE 7 PM TO 9 PM
NOVEMBER 2ND MANDATORY WINTER SPORTS
MEETING – 6 PM @ HIGH SCHOOL
PARENTS:
PLEASE IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY THE MIDDLE
SCHOOL OFFICE WITH ANY CHANGES TO YOUR
ADDRESS and/or ANY NEW PHONE NUMBERS,
ETC. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
ATTENDANCE
In order to succeed in school, students should be prompt and regular in
attendance. However, when it is necessary for a child to miss school,
parents must call the school by 9:00 AM the day of the absence. A
written note(containing the date of the absence, your child full name
and reason for missing school) regarding the absence is to be sent with
the child when he or she returns to school.
If we do not receive a call and/or a note from a parent/guardian your
child’s absence with be unexcused.
If your child misses (3) three or more consecutive days, we will need
a doctor’s excuse.
For a pre planned absence (vacation etc.) use the form on page 26
of your Student Handbook. Please try to have this form completed and
turned into the Middle school office two (2) weeks before your planned
absence.
Always notify the Middle School Office of absences.
Thank you for your help!!
From the Desk of Mr. Woods
Great Job so far on the Magazine
Sale! We have had four turn in days
that have produced good numbers.
The money that we raise from this sale
is used for a large number of items
including: honors breakfast, sports,
clubs, class trips and
student/classroom needs.
After school program is up and
running. If your student is having
trouble finding time to finish
homework, this is a great program to
participate in. Mr. Spencer and Mr.
Fioritto are looking forward to working
with your children. If you would like
your son or daughter to be included in
this program, please fill out the after
school program form in the office.
This form is also the same form we
use for our clubs.
Parents, we have scheduled our
Literacy Night for Thursday Oct. 16.
The night will begin at 6:00 pm and
last until 7:30 pm. Mrs. Lowe and our
staff have planned activities with a
Math & Science theme. This will be an
exciting night to enrich our students
and have a lot of fun at the same time.
WEST HOLMES MIDDLE SCHOOL
8TH GRADE WASHINGTON DC TRIP
October 20-22nd , 2014
Trip Dates:
All students must have deposit to reserve
a spot for this trip. This deposit does go
toward final cost for each student.
This is a non-refundable deposit.
October 3rd Last/Final date to
turn in payment

Cost of Trip $50.00 Deposit
$380.00 Remainder
$430.00 Total Cost
Make checks payable to:
WEST HOLMES MIDDLE SCHOOL
WEST HOLMES MIDDLE SCHOOL DOES NOT
PROFIT FROM THIS TRIP
A quick note on attendance. All
students missing time from school
must bring in an excuse note for any
school time/day missed.
Our school year is off to a great start!
Sincerely,
Jeff Woods,
West Holmes Middle School Principal
Bill Sterling, Superintendent of Schools
WEST HOLMES LOCAL BOARD OF
EDUCATION
Eric Strouse
Tina Zickefoose
Brad Welsh
Brent Snyder
David Kick
This
is
what
we
will
be
studying
during
October…
Mrs. Acker’s. 6th graders in Health are learning about teeth,
skin, eye and ear care. 7th graders are beginning a unit on basic
first aid in different environments. 8th graders are reviewing
bones and muscular system.
KORT is again sponsoring Pink It Up shirts to raise awareness
for Breast Cancer Research. A limited amount will be made
available for the junior high students to purchase in Mrs. Acker's
room. They will be available Oct. 20th. Pink it Up day at both the
junior high and high school will be held on Oct. 23rd.
Students in Mr. Lash’s 8th grade Language Arts classes will be
analyzing the life of a refugee through a novel, informational
texts, and poems. In doing so, we are looking at character and
conflict development in the novel. We are also developing our
research skills by examining documents that depict historical
monuments and memorials in the Washington D.C. area.
Mrs. Patterson's 6th grade math class will be reading, writing
and interpreting numbers in standard form, expanded form and
scientific notation. They will also be adding, subtracting,
Mr. Toye, Mr. Otto, Mrs, Lowe and Mrs. Rickly;s 6th grade
math classes will finish Unit 2 on operations with whole and
decimal numbers. They will then move onto Unit 3, in which they
will work with variables, formulas, and graphs. In addition, Our
math and science literacy night will be on October 16. Be looking
for further details.
In Mr. Wood’s 8th grade American History classes will be
studying Life in the Colonies as well as the French and Indian
War.
Mrs. Rennecker and Mrs. McDowell's students will start a unit
on Edgar Allan Poe. The students will receive their new book
project for the month. We will continue to work on grammar and
writing skills in class. Please refer to progress book for further
details, and to check your student's progress on assignments.
Mr. Hay's will continue working on the core academics for the
month of October. In science we will be studying rocks and
minerals, social studies continue working on Washington D.C.
and our government (historical events). We are looking forward
to the leaves changing colors.
multiplying and dividing decimals.
Mr. Franks' World Geography class will be learning about the
countries, geography and cultures of the European continent.
Mrs. Wengerd's 8th grade classes will be working on functions,
writing functions, solving functions, and graphing linear
equations.
Mrs. Wengerd's Advanced 7th grade class will be working on
algebraic equation and expression, and solving inequalities.
Mrs. Rohr’s art classes this month 8 graders will be making a
clay box. 7th graders will be focusing on color theory, and 6th
graders will be working with shape and collage.
th
In Mr. Teter's classroom we just completed out first round of
SLO's. Now we will set out to learn the content that will allow us
to improve our scores by the end of the year.
Mr. Rucki's 7th grade classes will continue to study Greek
history as they learn about how the Greeks were able to defeat
the powerful Persian Empire and then advanced into their
"Golden Age" of achievements.
The 8th grade U.S History classes will learn about the settlement
of the 13 English colonies and the various aspects of American
colonial life in the 1700's.
Mrs. Rinfret's and Mrs. James' stellar science students have
been studying forms of matter.
Mrs. Doty's 7th grade math classes will be working with
inequalities, ratios, rates, and proportions during the month of
October. We will also continue to explore integers, decimals, and
fractions..
Mrs. Reidenbach's and Mr. Spencer's 8th grade Math
classes will spend the next two weeks learning about square
roots and the Pythagorean Theorem.
Mrs. Snyder's 7th grade science classes have just started a
unit on Energy. The unit will take us through most of October.
We're currently investigating types of energy and how they
convert from one form to another. In a couple of weeks we'll be
taking a closer look at how we can conserve energy at home,
and will be asking for parents to help take an active role with
this. (More info will be coming soon!)
Mrs. Lowe's 6th grade math classes are off to a wonderful
year. Students will continue their learning with statistics and will
receive their first project of the year! The project will be given
Wed, the 28th and will be DUE Wed, October 12th.
Students are to work on their projects outside of class and have a
detailed rubric of the expectations. Please ask your child about
their progress in math:) MATH ROCKS!!!!
Mr. Wengerd's 8th grade class will be studying a unit on Nouns
and will be writing a How-To Paragraph. We will be reading a
novel, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi.
The students in Mrs. Pringle's' LA class are off to a great start in
their quest to read 3,600 pages this year! In reading, we will be
using strategies to aid in summaries of fictional and non-fictional
text. In writing, we will be working on editing and revising
narratives.
Mr. Blake's class will be focusing on Earth's Cycles and
Patterns and Energy Flow during October.
Mrs. Moody's and Mrs. Patterson's 7th grade math classes will
be studying inequalities. They will learn how to write, solve, and
graph inequalities. They will also be learning about ratios, rates,
and proportions in Chapter 4.
Mrs. Moody's Algebra I class will be studying Chapter 3. They
will learn how to solve two-step inequalities and graph the
solutions on a number line. Students will also learn how to solve
compound inequalities and absolute value equations.
In October, Mrs. Lance’s 7th grade Language Arts classes will
be exploring the big question, “Does every conflict have a
winner?” We will be reading short stories and analyzing story
elements. Skill work will focus on predicting and making
inferences. Writings will include response to literature,
journaling, and a letter to the editor. Grammar and convention
study will focus on verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Mrs. Reidenbach's and Mrs. McDowell's 8th grade Language
Arts students just completed their performances of Casey at the
Bat and will begin a Scary Story Unit. The unit will incorporate
spooky short stories, an assignment to write a spooky story, and
as well as read through and perform a brief play.
Mr. Ogi's 6th grade history class will begin to study Ancient
Egypt and the Middle East in October.
Mr. Ogi's 7th grade history class will be starting the Golden Age
of Athens.
Mr. Ogi's 8th grade history class will be covering different
colonial regions and life in the colonies in October.
Mrs. Sponseller-Uhl, Mrs. Murphy, and Mrs. Rickly will be
starting October with nonfiction survival stories. Later in the
month, the students will begin a mystery unit where they will
Mrs. Chaney's 6th grade Language Arts classes will be reading
mysteries in the month of October, and we will continue working
in our writer's workshop.
Mrs. McCluggage and Mrs. Pringle’s 7th grade LA: are
currently working on revising and publishing an expository text in
the form of a How-to article. We are also in the process of
choosing from a selection of high-quality non-fiction books; we
will read this text in its entirety as we practice note-taking
strategies. During this unit, we will be writing several draft essays
and a repor
LITERACY NIGHT….
Literacy Night will be Thursday,
October 16th. This is a
math/science theme with three
stations. One station will be math,
one science, and one will be
about the upcoming new PARCC
assessment. Refreshments for
everyone. Each middle school
student will receive a book and
there will be a drawing for 8
($25) gas cards.
SCIENCE CLUB NEWS…
ARTIST OF THE MONTH…
September Artists of the Month
are 6th grader Katrina Rolince,
7th grader Kaylin Martin, and 8th
grader Madison Hebron. Artists
of the month are chosen based
on their work in art class and are
given a certificate along with
some art supplies. Their artwork
is then displayed outside the art
room and on the school website.
Visit the West Holmes Middle
School website and click on Art
Gallery.
http://www.westholmes.k12.oh.us/schools_middle.html
At our September meeting, club
members competed in a Junk Box War.
Congratulations to the 6th grade team
of Caden Zeigler and AJ Jones for
building the longest, strongest chain!
Our next meeting will be on Monday,
October 27 until 4:30 in Mrs. Snyder's
room. If you haven't signed up for the
club but would like to do so, please see
Mrs. Snyder for a registration form.
ART CLUB NEWS…
Art Club will meet November 12th
after school to glaze the clay
project they made the first art
club meeting. Please have
rides here by 4:30.
REMINDER….
Students are not permitted to stay
after school without supervision for
sporting events. The only students
who are allowed to stay after
school are those students who are
a member
of a club, sport team, or after
school tutoring that is scheduled for
that evening.
Students are
welcome to come back to the game
but just not to stay after school as
no supervision is provided.
BUS NOTES
① MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE YOU COME TO SCHOOL AND BRING YOUR NOTE WITH YOU IF YOU ARE RIDING A DIFFERENT BUS. STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CALL HOME TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO GO HOME WITH A FRIEND, ETC. ② ONLY IN AN EMERGENCY SHOULD A PARENT BE CALLING THE SCHOOL FOR A BUS NOTE. ③ BRING YOUR BUS NOTE TO THE OFFICE IN THE MORNING AND SIGN THE BUS EXCUSE RECORD. Website:
Make sure to visit our Middle
School website for important dates
and information. The web address
is:
http://www.westholmes.k12.oh.us/sc
hools_middle.html
WEST HOLMES
ANNUAL CRAFT SHOW
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2014
Time: 9 am - 2 pm
Where: West Holmes High School
Gymnasium
10909 SR 39, Millersburg,
Ohio 4465
BAND NOTES…
6th Grade Band
The sixth grade students are continuing to
advance on their instruments. They are also
learning proper breathing and tonguing
techniques for their respective instruments.
They are also continuing through the Tradition
of Excellence band book. We will soon begin
music for our winter concert.
7th Grade Band
The seventh grade band has been working on
several pieces this fall in an effort to build as a
performing ensemble. We have also been
working on reading rhythms carefully as well as
learning new notes on our instruments. The
students saw a demonstration of “color”
instruments that can be added to the band. The
response to switch has been great. The
process of switching instruments will begin over
the next several weeks.
8th Grade Band
The eighth grade band members will perform
along with the high school marching band at
Youth Night on Friday, October 10. They are
learning some basic marching maneuvers,
several dance moves, and also how to do
“headchoppers,” one of the high school
marching band’s trademarks. There will be an
after school practice for this on Thursday, Oct.
9 from 3 until 4 PM. Notes will be sent home
about this.
The band will also march in the Killbuck
Halloween Parade on Sunday, October 26.
Students should be at the fire station at 1:30,
the parade begins at 2. We should be done
around 2:25.
Winter Concert
Please mark your calendars for our fall concert,
which will be on Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00
PM. All middle school bands will be performing.
Knights’ Council News…
6th graders have been elected to
represent classrooms. We have
been busy designing t-shirts for
Knights Council and voting on them
as well. We will be voting for
officers this week as well. Finally,
we have been working hard in the
concession stand learning the
business side of making money.
Students are learning that handing
out food isn't the only job they
are to do. They are counting
money back, adding up food prices,
making food, stocking shelves,
cleaning
the
counters
and
machines, washing dishes, and
sweeping the floors. They are
really learning a lot.
BOOK CLUB…
Bibliophiles, will have their first
meeting on Tuesday, October 7.
Members should bring a book or two
that they are reading or have enjoyed
reading recently. Please have
transportation arranged for 4:00 pick
at WHMS.
Swank & Rinfret, Advisor
Pick up is 4:15 at the library.
BREAKFAST…
As you know we are offering
breakfast to our students. The doors of
the school will be opened at 7:12.
Students who are wishing to purchase
breakfast should GO STRAIGHT TO THE
CAFETERIA to purchase their breakfast
then go to their locker and get their
supplies for 1st period. They will take their
breakfast with them to homeroom and eat
breakfast in their homerooms while
watching Channel One. The cost for
breakfast will be $1.00. If your child has
been approved for free or reduced lunches
that applies to breakfast as well. If you
have been approved for reduced lunch,
breakfast will be $ .20. If you have been
approved for free lunch, you are also
approved for free breakfast.
CHOIR NOTES…
All middle school choir members will have
their first performance on Friday,
October 10. We will be singing the
National Anthem and the Alma Mater for
the varsity football game that evening.
Students are asked to wear red, white and
blue for the performance. Choir members
are to report to the middle school
theater at 5:45pm to rehearse with the
high school singers. We will go straight
from rehearsal into the game to our spots
on the track. Choir members who are
involved in other activities that night
(cheerleading, football, band) will be able
to participate in both. After we sing,
students are permitted to leave with their
parents or may stay for the game. More
information will also be coming home with
your child.
A NOTE FROM GUIDANCE
MR. FIORITTO…
Don’t be that crazy sport parent no
one wants to sit by!
From the very first time I picked up a ball as a
toddler I have enjoyed sports (playing,
watching, and coaching). That has not changed
in 33 years. I believe that sports have taught
me many valuable life lessons, but
unfortunately there is an ugly side of sports
that seems to keep showing up more and more.
Watching adults getting unruly at professional
sporting events and berating grown men
making millions is more tolerable. When our
kids are the ones out on the field, the tension
can be explosive and it’s intolerable. There is
nothing more frustrating than crazy sports
parents being obnoxious at youth or high
school sporting events.
Recently a friend of mine who is a high school
coach told me of a situation that he had where
an opposing parent yelled to one of his girls
“you could’ve gotten to that if you weren’t so
fat.” Another time a friend was watching his
son have one of the best football games of his
high school career. As a parent he was excited
seeing his son doing so well. Suddenly a parent
from the opposing team began taunting his son.
What would you do in that situation? Confront
the man? Ask a school official to talk to him?
Sit silently annoyed? It’s tough to know.
Ultimately, he stood up and told the man that
he was talking about his son. Fortunately, the
mocking stopped. It could have gotten much
worse.
I would love to say these are just isolated
incidents but unfortunately they seem to be
more and more prevalent from the youth
leagues all the way up to the majors. As
parents we are to support our children and set
good examples. We want the kids to enjoy
their athletic experience no matter what level
they play in. Below breaks down why parents
act like this and what you can do about it.
Fred Engh, the founder of The Alliance for
Youth Sports, boils it down to three things.
1. Fear their kid won't succeed.
This is the parent that is overly protective and
tries to create an environment where his kid
always wins. A deep fear, that failure and loss
will crush the spirit of his child, drives him to
lash out.
2. Feeding their own ego.
This parent is living vicariously through his
child. Maybe he got cut from every team and is
looking to compensate. Perhaps he was the star
and craves the attention he once had. Sadly, he
will cause his kids to hate sports and maybe
even resent him.
3. Greed for the money.
He thinks his kid is the golden ticket to
financial wealth. Whether it is getting a
scholarship that pays for college or signing that
illustrious professional contract, it's greed plain
and simple.
What to do?
Remember the example you are setting for all
of the kids, not just your own.
1. Avoid confronting a crazy parent.
They're already ugly, rude, and have lost
perspective. Confronting them, more often
than not, escalates their demeanor. Remove
yourself, or even your entire family, from the
situation depending on the extent of crazy.
Seek out an official, parent ambassador, or
police officer to confront the person. They
have been trained on how to handle it. The
offender is also less likely to continue when
confronted by an authority figure.
2. Avoid being critical of kids, yours and
others.
Kids have enough pressure and the entire point
of sports is having fun. A majority of kids
polled said they quit playing sports because it
ceased to be fun due to parental pressure. It is
one thing to use sports to teach the importance
of teamwork, effort, and sportsmanship but
stay away from criticizing performance. Give
them encouragement and ask them if they want
your help before giving it.
3. Avoid being critical of the referees.
They are human beings and should be treated
with dignity. They will make mistakes and
may even show bias. It's fine to question a call
in a calm manner, but berating, screaming, or
using personal attacks is never appropriate.
4. Talk through issues with the coach in
private.
Coaching is difficult and we are all in need of
grace. If you have concerns with the coach, be
sure your criticism is constructive, in private,
and not in the heat of the moment.
5. Do cheer and encourage, but don't be
obnoxious.
Be supportive and positive about your kid and
his team. Avoid overblown excitement and
loudness—it can be embarrassing for your
child. Obviously you don't need to cheer for
the other team, but never cheer against them.
These are kids (even at the high school level)
and cheering for a kid on the other team to fail
strains the community. Be a builder, not a
destroyer.
Sound off: What's the worst behavior you have
ever personally experienced at a kids sporting
event?
Concerned Counselor/Parent/Coach
Mr. Fioritto Guidance Counselor
AFTERSCHOOL POWER OF THE
PEN, ARCHERY, ART, BIRDING,
BOOK AND SCIENCE CLUBS
ARE SPONSORED BY 21ST
CENTURY GRANTS
Sixth Grade Trip
2014
For the 11th year, WHMS sixth graders
had an extended day trip to Cleveland.
On Monday, September 22, 190 students
plus 8 teachers and 7 retired teachers
began the adventure at the Cleveland
Museum of Natural History. The special
exhibit of the Silk Road provided a
window of understanding for Asia. The
second stop was Lake View Cemetery.
Students were divided into smaller
groups to tour the President James A.
Garfield Monument and Wade Chapel.
Students walked through Millionaires’
Row where entrepreneur John D.
Rockefeller and inventor Charles Brush
are interred. There was also a bus tour to
see the graves of additional important
people and a large dam. Tombstones
rubbings provided students the
opportunity to appreciate the beauty of
the stone carvings. The final stop of the
day was the Great Lake Science Center
Omnimax for a special showing of
Alaska. Students were in awe of the
many additional sights to be seen in
Cleveland: Lake Erie, huge bridges, rush
hour, and Browns Stadium. The five
school buses returned to WHMS about
7:00 pm with hungry, tired, but smarter
sixth graders. Students described the trip
as fantastic, fabulous, terrific, exciting, a
great adventure, educational, and
spectacular. Spending a beautiful fall
day on a field trip with the Class of 2021
 it doesn’t get any better than this.
A special thanks to those teachers
who worked the extra time with smiles
on their faces and to our wonderful
retired teachers, Gretchen Sullivan,
Jonathan Swank, Dale Kreischer, Gary
Asche, Bonnie Trubee, Pam Martin, and
Tom Brewer who graciously volunteer
their time each year.
LIBRARY NEWS…
The annual book fair will be taking place
in November in the MS library. Students
will have an opportunity to visit once with
their language arts classes. We will show
a video and pass out flyers highlighting
some of the selected titles and authors.
This is an annual event and is in
cooperation with Scholastic Book
Company. The students really enjoy this
and the books are age appropriate for
middle school. We will have a prize
drawing again this year and donations
are accepted and appreciated. Last year,
over 50 students won prizes of books,
school supplies, money, candy and even
socks!.
The dates for the fair during school hours
will be Tues. Nov. 4 through Friday Nov.
7. The library book fair will also be open
for a PARENT’S NIGHT on Tues. Nov. 4.
from 3:30 – 7:00 pm. Everyone is
welcome.
Parents are invited to stop in anytime for
browsing and shopping, and if you are
interested in being a parent helper this
year, please call the school and ask for
Mrs. Boyd. More information will be
passed out to each student as to what
day they will be attending the WHMS
Book Fair.
Besides books, Scholastic sends us
many items for sale to the students.
These include school supplies, calendars,
journals, stickers, posters, etc.
If you’re all booked up during Book
Fair week (or just want to keep
shopping), be sure to visit the Book
Fair online at
www.scholastic.com/schoolbookfairs.
Then, follow the directions of
choosing your State (Ohio), City
(Millersburg), and School (West
Holmes Middle School). Or go directly
to
http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homep
age/westholmesmiddleschool.
The online Book Fair is available for
an extended time from October 29,
2014 to November 18, 2014.
ATTENDANCE FRACTIONAL SPLIT:
ENTER AFTER 11:30 AM = ½ DAY ABSENCE
LEAVE PRIOR TO 10:30 AM = ½ DAY ABSENCE
WHMS BIRDING CLUB…
WHMS BIRDING CLUB, “Winging
It” is off to a flying start. Our first
activity was a 7-mile canoe trip on the
Mohican River. We were rewarded
with a Great Blue Heron,
woodpeckers, many cedar waxwings,
turkey vultures, and even the evil
black vultures. The water level was
just right for a perfect outing. A
special thanks to our volunteers: Mr.
Spencer, Mr. Rucki, Mr. Teter, and Mr.
Brewer. In October we will have TWO
birding experiences. The first is a
regular meeting on Tuesday,
October 14 at WHMS. Pick up will
be at 4:15. The second October
meeting will be Saturday, October 18,
when the club travels to Hocking Hills.
Information, including permission
slips, will be given to members the
first week in October.
Mrs. Swank & Mrs. Rinfret,
Advisors SKI AND SNOWBOARD
CLUB…
The WHMS Ski and Snowboard Club
has begun the sign up process. If you
are interested in some winter fun,
please see Mrs. Doty for an
information sheet.
All parents and
siblings are able to sign up with the
club for a discounted price as well. If
you have any question please contact
Mrs. Doty or Mr. Fioritto at 330-6744761.
From the Desk of
Mr. Mullins:
Students:
What a great first month to the
school year. Can you believe we
have already passed the halfway
point of the 1st quarter? From
where I sit, the majority of you are
doing a fantastic job here at the
Middle School. There are just a
couple of things that I want to bring
to your attention or remind you of
…

Make sure you are
completing your homework
assignments for all of your
classes. Assignments that
are completed outside of
classroom are crucial to your
learning. It reinforces what
you have done during class
and helps you improve on
your critical thinking skills.

Most of you have been
doing a good job with the
dress code. With the cold
weather approaching,
please make sure that your
pants are appropriate – that
is, no excessive holes in
them. It is a major
inconvenience for you to
have to miss class or for
your parents to have to drive
up to the school to bring you
different clothes because
you are violating the dress
code. Remember, if you
have to ask yourself, “I
wonder if this is OK to wear
to school?”, then it’s
probably not.
Keep up the good work.
See you in the Halls!
Mr. Mullins
Assistant Principal
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT…
Fall, 2014
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I am J. Greg Morrison, Youth Development
Advisor with the Holmes County
Prevention Coalition (HCPC) and Anazao
Community Partners. I have partnered with
the West Holmes School District since
2003, and I’m very excited to be working
with the new sixth graders this year as well
as continuing with the seventh and eighth
grade!
Throughout the school year I facilitate our
Youth Development program at West
Holmes Middle and High School. Funded
through an Ohio grant,
www.starttalking.ohio.gov, Youth
Development has two components: a
semester long Life Skills Training class
and the year long What’s Going On?
discussion group. Because of the short
curriculum, students participate in Life Skills
only once a week during one of their
regularly scheduled study halls rather than a
scheduled class. I begin working with your
child in their sixth grade year for one
semester, with follow up sessions in seventh
in the third nine-weeks and the eighth grade
for the forth nine-week. Also, please note
that the students are not graded for their
participation in Youth Development and
brief, weekly class updates will be made
available to you on my website
www.youthdevelopments.com.
Life Skills is a research-based program that
trains adolescents in skills that promote selfmanagement and self-improvement, social
skills, and substance-use resistance skills.
These skills have been shown to promote
wellbeing and to deter and reduce the
likelihood of risky behavior in at this critical
developmental age. Please visit
www.lifeskillstraining.com for more
information.
The What’s Going On? discussion group is
a time for students to get together for
guided talks based upon topics drawn from
the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental
Assets framework. See also www.searchinstitute.org.
Yours,
J. Greg Morrison
Youth Development Advisor
Holmes County Prevention Coalition
c/o Anazao Community Partners
212 North Washington, Suite 303
Millersburg, Ohio 44654
330-674-4608
www.youthdevelopments.com
www.hcpreventioncoalition.com