The Gliding Stars of Greater Toledo

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February 22, 2013

Choreographed ice skating isn't just for the Olympics. The Gliding Stars of Greater Toledo, which provides customized equipment and volunteer instruction to people with special physical and mental needs, making them feel like skating stars, will present their annual ice show on Sunday, March 24th. Stars train for 26 weeks in preparation for the season end show — this one, the biggest in the organization’s five-year history, features 39 stars, including three wheelchair-assisted skaters with a little assistance from Gliding Stars volunteers. Tickets will be $5 at the door. 2:30-4:00pm. Tam-O-Shanter, 7060 Sylvania Ave., Sylvania.

For more information or to register your child for next year’s event, call Bill Himmel, chapter coordinator, at 419-304-4324 or visit www.glidingstars.org. —JS

Mary Immaculate School

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Mary Helen Darah

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February 22, 2013

A long-standing and venerable resource for the special needs community will close its doors in June of 2013. Mary Immaculate School, which opened in 1960 with a focus on serving and educating children with disabilities, announced its board’s decision to shutter the school due to rising costs and a drop in enrollment and grant funding. Many students who struggled in mainstream classrooms found success with Mary Immaculate’s more individualized attention. “Students who were not thriving in a regular classroom blossomed here,” says Shellie Staudt, principal of Mary Immaculate. Staff and faculty are helping parents and their children with the transition, hoping to guide them towards alternative, but equally supportive, environments. In the meantime, parents are dealing with the loss of what they considered an exceptional resource. “Unfortunately, there are no schools in the area that are comparable,” says Meggin Radlinski, the parent of a Mary Immaculate student and PTO president. “Mary Immaculate has been a dream for us.”

For more information, visit www.maryimmaculatetoledo.org. —MHD

Essay contest winners

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Digital Media

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February 22, 2013

People struggle with disabilities every day, but rarely do they have the opportunity to share their stories — when they do, everyone triumphs. The Lucas County Commission on Disabilities recently honored two Toledo-area students for their compassion and skill with story telling: Jillian Grinos, a senior at Evergreen High School, and Colton Seiler, an eighth grader at McCord Junior High, won the LCCD’s area essay contest for middle and high school students for their writing on the subject “How has having a disability, or knowing someone with a disability, impacted your life?” Grinos, a senior at Evergreen High School, wrote her winning essay about the birth of her sister Emileigh, who underwent open heart surgery shortly after birth, and survives with a mental disability. (Seiler asked to keep the topic of his essay private.)

Grinos' full essay can be seen at www.toledoparent.com. —JS

Childcare & Preschool Guide

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Digital Media

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February 22, 2013

Click here to read the preschool guide

Portrait contest

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Toledo Parent Staff

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February 22, 2013

Kurt Nielsen Photography wants to show the world how beautiful your newborns, toddlers, and children are. Nielsen, a local photog, hosts his annual child portrait contest, to determine which kids are the most photogenic, with free photo sessions at his studio from Monday, March 11 through Saturday, April 13, where contestants can come in to take a fun, candid shot (kids are welcome to bring their own toys or costumes). For a $5 donation to the Ronald McDonald House of Northwest Ohio, parents receive a CD containing their child's photographs. All photos will be posted to Kurt Nielsen Photography's Facebook page, where visitors can vote on which portrait they like best — last year's contest received over one thousand votes. The winning child will be featured on Kurt Nielsen Photography's website and Facebook page, and receive passes to Imagination Station and Splash Bay Resort.

Kurt Nielsen Photography, 5431 Schultz Dr., Sylvania. To set-up a session, call 419-885-7153. www.kurtnphoto.com.

Greater Toledo Train and Toy show

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Toledo Parent Staff

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February 22, 2013

Girls get dolls for Christmas, and boys get toy trains — so the cliche goes. What an outdated notion: who buys toy trains anymore? The further the information age advances, the more that digital toys replace objects like trains. But toy and model trains have gained new lives as collector's items and crafted art pieces; evidence of that will be abundant when Toledo toy masters will display an array of new and vintage toys for aficionados young and old at the Greater Toledo Train and Toy show on Sunday, March 10. The Michigan Lego Club will present the event's centerpiece: a big city train layout, composed of over 150,000 Lego bricks. A rideable Thomas Train will offer free rides for children ages 4 and under, and over 250 dealers will be on-site to sell parts, offer repair advice, or appraise your antique. Something in your attic could be valuable — the Greater Toledo Train and Toy show is where to find out.

$6, early bird admission (8am); $8 after. Free for children under 12. 11am-4pm. Premier Complex, 4480 Heatherdowns Blvd. For more info, contact Randy Ramsey 419-215-4181, or visit www.toymasters.org.