In Fall 2008, Bowsher High School hosted a bone marrow drive to benefit senior student Chayla Wright, who was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia and needed of a bone marrow transplant. Though a match was found, Chayla lost her battle before the transplant could take place. Inspired by her story, current Bowsher senior Jeff Schifflett has enthusiastically agreed to serve as a stem-cell or bone marrow donor for an 11-year-old girl living in Virginia. His decision to serve a total stranger and provide a family of hope is an inspiration to the school and the community.
An honorable knight
Zach Poolos, a 7th grade student at The Knight Academy, was recently named an Ohio Lottery Region 2 “Academic All Star.” As a 6th grade student, Zach received all A’s (and is currently receiving all A’s as a seventh grader). He was nominated “Student of the Month” in May 2009.
Saving butterflies
Environmental Science students at St. Francis de Sales will be putting their classroom lessons into practice this spring, building a large greenhouse on the school’s campus, and learning to grow the plants that provide habitats for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly.
The butterfly, native to the Great Lakes area, was popular in the Oak Openings area, but vanished from that habitat in 1988, due to a change in the land and the encroachment of non-native species and woody plants. The insect was placed on the National Endangered Species List in 1992. At that time, staffers at the Toledo Zoo, including biologist Dr. Peter Tolson and Education Curator Mitch Magdich, participated in developing an Ohio Karner Blue Recovery Team to reintroduce the butterflies into Oak Openings Metropark in 2007. Metroparks workers used land management techniques to restore the habitat of the butterflies. Visitors to Oak Openings can now see the small butterflies living on the wild lupine plants.
Those staffers, and others at Toledo Botanical Garden, will offer assistance to the SFS students as they cultivate plants in the greenhouse thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Toledo Rotary Foundation. The project will be shared with Gesu School. The plants they grow will be given to TBG and The Toledo Zoo for replanting at various Karner Blue habitats.
Bringing the curriculum outdoors
St. Francis Environmental Science teacher, Kristi McKinley, explains that the plan is for the greenhouse project to increase the population of the butterfly species. She notes that, in addition to the greenhouse, her students will benefit from state-of-the-art sensors and equipment to maintain the perfect environment for growing the plants. Students will complete activities in workbooks connected to computers for gathering data, which can be used with SMART boards in the science classrooms.
Ms. McKinley has worked for nine years in the Education Department at various zoos, and is pleased that some of her former colleagues will be partnering with her students on this project. “The environment is everyone’s responsibility. I am excited that my students will get a chance to learn that first-hand with this project, and to contribute to making Toledo even more beautiful.”
The messier, the merrier
If your party clothes aren’t ruined at the end of one of Sara Smith’s parties, you must be at the wrong address. Being covered from head to toe in paint, mud, and flour is an essential part of a Messy Day party. An educator with a master’s in early childhood education, Sara started throwing backyard parties for her son on his first birthday, and ended up with an annual event. “After a few years, I had 80 kids in the back yard, about half of whom I actually knew,” she laughs. “My husband told me to stop thinking about it as a business and just do it!”
Parties feature between five and 12 stations that might include a kiddie pool full of flour, water balloons with paint instead of H2O, shaving cream (“great for Mohawks!” says Sarah), and mud. The play inspires collaboration, decision making, scientific and creative discovery, and bonding. “It really is a day where parents can just say ‘yes’ to their kids, when so many times we have to say ‘no,’” she says. “All the barriers come down; relationships just blossom.”
Parties are appropriate for any age group; in fact, Sara has even coordinated some corporate events. A variety of options begin with a five-station party for $225, with 8 and 12 stations available, as well as an a la carte option.
Messy Day Party LLC, Blissfield. 419-482-8FUN (8386). messydayparty.com. —NB
Kinetic learning in a flash
Kids can sometimes have a little too much energy — everyone has experienced the maniacal force of a hyper toddler. But Toledoan Laurie Gumbash has devised a way to channel that youthful energy into a medium for learning with The ABC’s of Movement, a new method of teaching children their ABCs utilizing movement flash cards that associate letters with a particular action (for example, the letter C is the crab walk.) Each card comes with a full color photograph of a child demonstrating each letter movement as well as instructions to trace the letter, a rhyming sentence, an alliteration (words with the same first consonant sound) sentence, performance instructions and modifications for children with special needs.
Gumbash, a physical therapist with nearly 20 years of experience working with special needs children, says that “evidence is mounting about the benefits of combining learning with physical activity” and cites America’s obesity epidemic as one reason why her flash cards are beneficial. “Kids need to get moving and these cards lay the foundation for a lifestyle of activity,” she says. $22.99 for cards, available online www.abcmovementflashcards.com.
Dorm life for high school kids
Who said dorm rooms are just for college students? Maumee Valley Country Day School, which had its highest enrollment in over 20 years in 2013, is opening an onsite residence hall to provide an independent school experience for families outside of the greater Toledo area, for children of alumni who no longer live in Toledo, and for the school's growing international student program. The Dayal House, named after the family whose generous donation built the hall, will be situated on the east side of the school's spacious, wooded 75-acre campus and will include a large commons area to serve all upper school students grades 9 through 12. The new facility will be open for the 2013-2014 school year and promises to bring some expanded opportunities for Maumee Valley Country Day Students. “We are excited to be able to support the school and this project,” said the Dayal family in a statement. “The Dayal House will provide a wonderful opportunity for students, both domestic and international, to receive a Maumee Valley education, thereby maximizing their college options.” Maumee Valley Country Day School, 1715 S. Reynolds Rd, Toledo. 419-381-1313 or visit www.mvcds.orghttps://www.mvcds.org.