Monday, March 12, 2012
The city officials visited Garfield Elementary on Friday to teach the children about local government and to listen to their future electorate
Mentor City Manager Kenneth Filipiak and Councilman Ray Kirchner visited the third graders of Garfield Elementary on Friday. In addition to teaching them about local government, they also polled the future voters. "What would you like to see in Mentor?" Filipiak asked. Most of the children mentioned businesses: another Toys 'R Us, an arcade, more Mexican restaurants. One asked for water slides at the city's pools; another, for flying cars. One student asked for more museums. Kirchner replied that the city, unfortunately, had lost a pair of museums in the last few years -- the Western Reserve Model Railroad Museum and the Museum for Speed. However, Kirchner added that they still had the James A. Garfield National Historic Site down the …
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Kerry Mitchell, of Kirtland, told the fifth-graders of Garfield Elementary about her experience in Japan when the fatal earthquake hit
Like most Northeast Ohio natives, Kerry Mitchell didn't realize how serious the Japanese earthquake and ensuing tsunami was until she saw the news with its images of toppled buildings and 35-foot-tall waves. However, unlike most, she was in Japan when she saw those images. Mitchell, 24, of Kirtland, spent the last 18 months teaching English to elementary and junior high students in the village of Asahi in the Chiba prefecture of Japan. Mitchell visited Garfield Elementary School to talk about her own experience during the earthquake with the school's fifth-graders Tuesday afternoon. "I was at my elementary school between classes in the teacher's lounge," Mitchell said of where she was on March 11 when the quake hit. "The shelves started …
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The schools in Mentor have scheduled some makeup dates for their calamity days while keeping an eye on legislation that would return their number of available days to five
The schools in Mentor have had to call off days for snow, fire and flooding this year. At this point, only a plague of locust would be surprising. Lake Catholic and Mentor Schools have each used six calamity days, except for Garfield Elementary School which had to cancel an additional three days because of a fire. The schools only get three calamity days and that mean, if nothing changes, they will have to schedule three extra days of school. However, that is a pretty big if. State House Bill 1 cut districts' calamity days from five to three this school year, but State Sen. Tim Grendell has proposed legislation that would return the number of calamity days from three to five. The proposed bill was approved by the Senate and is being …
Friday, February 25, 2011
Both schools are over their allotment of calamity days and will have to make them up unless the law changes
Mentor Schools and Lake Catholic High School are closed today because of concerns about snow, wind and messy roads. The National Weather Service has warned the region that a winter storm could drop between 6 to 10 inches of snow by 4 p.m. today. Then winds between 15 and 25 mph could make things even messier this afternoon. This is the fifth snow day of the year for Mentor Schools and Lake Catholic. A recent state law change made it so districts only have three calamity days instead of the previously allotted five. This means that the schools will have to make up at least two days unless the law changes back. State Sen. Tim Grendell has proposed legislation that would return the number of calamity days from three to five. It is possible, …
Saturday, February 19, 2011
City Manager Ken Filipiak and Councilman Ray Kirchner visit elementary school to tell students about how local government affects their lives
- GOVERNMENT
- Jason Lea
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Saturday, February 19, 2011
"How many of you have ever used a city service?" City Manager Ken Filipiak asked a gym filled with third graders Friday morning. He and Councilman Ray Kirchner had volunteered to talk to Garfield Elementary students about local government. Only a smattering of kids raised their hands. "More than that, I think," Filipiak replied. "How many of you have skated in the city's ice rink?" More hands rose. "Swam in one of the pools?" Almost every hand raised. Filipiak and Kirchner also reminded the students of several other ways they were connected to the city. If they had ever called a police officer or firefighter, went to the city's parks or used its bike paths, they were part of Mentor. "Believe it or not," Filipiak said, "the issues we deal …
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Schools administration shows video on anti-bullying efforts, recognizes transportation department during board meeting
Mentor Schools administration building was packed Tuesday night for the Board of Education meeting. Parents, students and school employees filled every available chair at the beginning of the meeting. Most of the crowd came for one of two items on the agenda – the presentation of an anti-bullying video and the recognition of the district's traffic department. Superintendent Jacqueline Hoynes started her report by showing a video that outlined the district's anti-bullying program. The video did not reveal anything new that the district has not said before, but it did show many students and school principals talking about the tenets of its anti-bullying program. The video also featured the school's Give a Hand, Take a Hand program that helps…
Rosanna Del Rio
9:36 pm on Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Happy to see Mr. Filipiak and Mr. Kirchner return to Garfield Elementary again this year. Thank you gentlemen for your time spent with these children. more ›