November 2024

Congratulations to 2024 Division I Girls Golf State Champion Eva Becerril! The junior shot a 68 on the second day of the 2024 tournament to finish with a 143, winning the championship by three strokes. Her round was the only sub-70 round in the girls tournament and one of only six across all of the state finals this season. Eva won her second GMC Athlete of the Year award earlier in the season.

The 7th and 8th Grade Girls Cross Country team won the OHSAA Post Season Cross Country Invitational on October 20. Congratulations!

8th Grader Andrew Poore was an Individual State Champion in Cross Country. Andrew ran a perfect season, winning all nine of the races he competed in during his first year running Cross Country.

Sycamore students brought home impressive awards from the OHMIO, which combines scores across three rigorous contests: OCTM, Individual Contest, and Individual Ciphering.

Overall Awards:

• 2nd Place Overall: Aiden Zhong
• 3rd Place Overall: Aaron Zhang
• 13th Place Overall: Hannah Wang

Individual Contest Wins:

• Aiden Zhong placed 1st in Individual Ciphering and 6th in Individual Contest Score.
• Vivaan Shah placed 3rd in Individual Ciphering.
• Aaron Zhang placed 7th in Individual Ciphering and 6th in Individual Contest Score.
• Sunav Adhikari placed 13th place in Individual Contest Score.

The SHS Marching Band celebrated the end of a remarkable season with their annual Strike Up the Band for Hunger event, which was a tremendous success! The event collected an impressive stock of donations for Operation Give Back. In addition to supporting the community, the band continued its streak of excellence by earning superior ratings at the OMEA State Marching Band Finals.

Congratulations to all the band members and staff who dedicated over three months of hard work to make this season unforgettable!

The Board of Education has officially approved the construction of new turf baseball and softball fields! This exciting development will elevate our facilities, but the project will involve careful planning and coordination. Over the next few weeks, we will work closely with vendors to establish a project timeline, including when we can expect to break ground.

While we're eager to see this progress, we want to be transparent that the entire Spring season may likely be played at alternate locations. Our Athletic Department is collaborating with Coach Muehlenkamp and Coach Rechenberg to finalize these plans, and we’ll share more details as soon as they are available. Stay tuned for updates as we look forward to this major upgrade for our Aviator athletes!

Missed our first Ask Us Anything session on October 23? You can watch it below! Mark your calendars for the next upcoming sessions:

• December 4, 6:00-7:00 pm with the Board of Education
• February 26, 7:30-8:30 pm with our Grades PK-6 administrators
• April 9, 7:30-8:30 pm with our Grades 7-12 administrators

The Board of Education will vote on a proposal to change the cutoff date for kindergarten eligibility from September 30 to August 1, starting in the 2025-26 school year. This change is intended to better align with academic expectations and ensure students are developmentally ready for kindergarten.

We understand that the change to the kindergarten cutoff date impacts many families who were planning for their child to enter kindergarten next year. While the new cutoff will officially go into effect this year, we are actively exploring options to support families with children who have birthdays between August 1 and September 30. At the October 30 Board of Education meeting, a proposed bridge plan was presented to address this transition.

Based on valuable feedback from both staff and families, our district administrative team is working to adjust this plan to better meet the needs of our community. Our goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible, and we will share more information as these modifications are finalized. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to refine this process to support our families and young learners.

For questions, please contact Assistant Superintendent Brad Lovell at lovellb@sycamoreschools.org.

The Board of Education meeting originally scheduled for November 6 has been canceled. Following our recent meeting on October 30, there are no pressing issues requiring immediate attention.

Additionally, members of the Board and some of our administrative team will be attending the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) Capital Conference in Columbus from November 10-12. Our next scheduled meeting will take place on November 20. Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to reconnecting later this month.

We look forward to welcoming to community for our first theater performance in the new Sycamore Junior High Community Theater! Tickets are available at www.avestheatre.org

November 7: Sycamore High School Orchestra Concert 7:00 pm

November 13: E.H. Greene Orchestra Concert at SJH Theater 7:00 pm

November 14: Sycamore High School Choir Concert 7:00 pm

November 16: SBOB Arts and Crafts Show at Sycamore High School

November 19: E.H. Greene Choir Concert at SJH Theater 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm

November 20: Board of Education Meeting 7:00 pm at Kenwood Learning Commons

November 22: NO SCHOOL Professional Learning Day for Staff

November 25-29: NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Break

December 4: Board of Education Meeting 7:00 pm at Kenwood Learning Commons

Fashion for the Cure is all about connecting with our community and making a difference! This year, our incredible committee has set an ambitious goal to raise $85,000 for the Dragonfly Foundation, supporting pediatric cancer patients and their families. Though our main event will be on Feb. 21, 2025, there are plenty of ways to support us before then! Check out our upcoming fundraisers and let’s make a huge impact together:

Operation Give Back is supporting over 1,100 local children and families this holiday season. To help, consider donating to their Holiday Store:

If you would like to donate new toys, the list to the right, highlighting the most requested toys, can be used as a guide to help with your shopping. Toys are targeted for children newborn through age 18. Donated items can either be dropped off at the OGB office or you can arrange pickup.

OGB is also collecting new pajamas for children of all ages.

Gift cards are the perfect gift- especially for our teenagers. Ideally, gift cards valued at $20 are greatly appreciated!

To make shopping easier, OGB has developed an Amazon "Wish List". Simply click here to order your donation. All purchases will be sent directly to OGB and you will receive an email or text from the OGB office confirming your donation was received.

Each family visiting the Holiday Store receives a Blessing Bag filled with much needed food and toiletry items. Click here for more information and to see a list of requested items. OGB will provide the bags and are happy to drop them off to you.

OGB will provide the children's wish lists to you, and then you and your group take care of the rest! OGB expects the cost per sponsored child to be approximately $125-$150.If you are interested in sponsoring a local family (or two), please contact Sheila for more information: (sheilalichtenberg@ogiveback.com).

Sycamore High School is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and we’re taking a trip down memory lane! Each week, we’ll share yearbook photos from the past 50 years on our Facebook page—be sure to follow along!

To mark this milestone, we have two exciting events:

• December 18: SAFA's Alumni and Friends Holiday Luncheon, with building tours and a chance to reconnect with former staff and classmates.
• December 20: 50th Aves Theatre Gala featuring performances by alumni and current students, a silent auction, and fundraising to support new equipment for our Grades 5-12 theatre program. You can even sign up to perform in a group number! Click here for more information.

Join us for these unforgettable celebrations!

Jen Brewer

Front Office Receptionist

Sycamore High School

Help us acknowledge an awesome Aviator at your school! Please fill out this form to submit a Sycamore staff member to be recognized on social media as an Awesome Aviator. You can submit as often as you wish! Recognition will take place monthly.