The Amherst Schools is proud to implement a new strategic plan that will guide our district over the next three to five years. The plan covers five major goal areas in:

• Community Connections
• Financial Stability
• Retention & Recruitment
• Quality Facilities
• Student Services & Programs

Here at Steele, we are excited to live our this plan along with our new mission statement:The mission of the Amherst Schools is to educate, equip, and empower all students to choose their path and make a positive impact in our community and beyond. Our faculty and staff remains dedicated to educating, equping, and empowering all of our students.

Marion L. Steele High School will be holding Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, October 10th from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.

We encourage all parents to schedule a time to meet with any or all of their child's teachers. To schedule a conference, please call Mrs. Arendash at 440-988-4433 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Congratulations to our students who were recognized with positive office referrals for being respectful, engaged, and accountable!

Yearbooks are on sale now! You can preorder yours by going to Jostens.com and searching Marion L. Steele High School in the Shop Your School section. Yearbooks are $66 through September 27th, and then the price will increase to $77 for the rest of the year! In addition, through September 27th, you can get up to four free icons when you purchase a personalized yearbook. Don't miss out on these offers, and since we don’t order extra books, make sure to preorder so you don’t miss out on this keepsake. Order your yearbook today! Please reach out to Mr. Rubinski with any yearbook questions.

Homecoming 2024 is right around the corner! Festivities begin on Friday, September 27th with a Pep Rally during the school day for students followed by the Homecoming parade down Park Ave. at 5:00 pm. Following the parade, the Comets will be home for a football game starting at 7:00 pm. The Homecoming Dance will be held on Saturday, September 28th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm in the main gym. Students who would like to get involved in planning homecoming festivities should contact their class advisor.

Freshman Class- Mrs. McNeal

Sophomore Class- Mr. Trunzo

Junior Class- Mrs. Pete

Senior Class- Mrs. Doehr

Seniors! You are cordially invited to attend the 2024 Amherst Schools Distinguished Alumni Gallery of Success induction ceremony on Homecoming Friday, September 27 at 9:30 am in the main gym.

The Gallery of Success was started in 1986 with the purpose of recognizing Amherst’s alumni for their achievements as well as encouraging current students to strive to reach their own goals. The only requirement is that inductees must have graduated from the Amherst Schools. Past inductees have achieved success through diverse avenues. Just a few examples include:

• Dr. Dale Swift, class of ‘76, is a pediatric neurosurgeon who successfully separated conjoined twins.

• J. Ross Baughman, class of ‘71, is a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist.

• Jim and Gloria Dodson, both class of ‘70, have dedicated their lives to fostering children who would have had nowhere else to go.

• Mr. Powers, class of 1906, and Miss Steele, class of 1903, both of whom laid the foundation of the Amherst Schools.

This year, four new alumni selected by our own student council members will be inducted into the Gallery of Success, each with his or her own path to achievement.

This year's inductees are:

• Richard Ferguson, '78 - Supervisory Information Technology Specialist, FBI

• Marcia Miller, '80 - Philanthropist and Chief Investment Officer, Oberlin College

• Jim Wilhelm, '70 - Amherst Fire Chief and Local Historian

• Dr. Joseph Von Kaenel, '79 - Physician, United States Department of Veterans Affairs

We look forward to welcoming the senior class to attend this wonderful event on Homecoming Friday, September 27th.

On Wednesday, October 9th all 9th, 10th and 11th grade students will be taking the PSAT. The test is digital and all students must make sure they arrive at school with their chromebooks fully charged. Backup chromebooks will not be provided. Students will also need to bring their calculator for the math section of the test. The test will end at approximately 11:30am - 12:00pm and students will be dismissed for the day once they are done testing. Students testing with accommodations may take longer to test and will not be allowed to leave early. Seniors do not have school on this day. Please contact your student's counselor with any questions.

Scores for the PSAT will be available in December and students will access their scores through their Collegeboard account. If your student doesn't have a collegeboard account, they will need to create one at https://www.collegeboard.org/

Students can use KHAN academy to prepare for the PSAT. They can create an account at https://www.khanacademy.org/ and will be prompted to link their collegeboard account with their KHAN academy account for specialized test preparation.

This week, our Sophomore class attended the JVS Sophomore Career Days presentation by JVS School Staff and Administration. Students learned about the Lorain County JVS and all the amazing programs the school offers. After the presentation, students chose two labs they would like to visit during the Sophomore JVS field trip on November 21st. We cannot wait to share this wonderful opportunity with them!

Every fall, Steele offers juniors and seniors with a valuable opportunity to attend college representative visits. These 30-minute sessions take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays in our Steele Presentation area, typically at 9:15 am. During these sessions, admissions representatives from various colleges stop in to give an overview of their institutions. They provide detailed information about admissions processes, scholarships, and important deadlines.

This is a great chance for juniors to learn about different colleges and universities and for seniors to ask any questions they might have about the admissions process, majors, scholarships, etc. Students can register for these visits through their SchoolLinks account, which is accessible via their Amherst Launchpad/Classlink login. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Cooney.

Please save the date for our Senior newsletter, which will be released on September 20th. For more important dates and information for the class of 2025, please see the checklist below that was provided for Seniors on the first day of school. Paper copies can be found in the Steele main office. Please feel free to contact us with any questions regarding your senior year!

Mr. Toney Grades 11 and 12 Assistant Principal

Mrs. Cooney Senior Counselor

Mrs. Doehr Senior Class Advisor

The Fall Athletic season is winding down! Get out and support your peers at our athletic and extracurricular events. Your energy and support at home games has been awesome! Keep it up! Our comet teams know when you are there and feed off of your energy! For a full schedule of our events, please visit https://amherststeelecomets.com/events.

Winter sports are right around the corner. If you have interest in participating in a winter sport, please reach out to our winter coaches to see what information they have for you regarding any volunteer activities they have going on between now and the official start date or any information they may have regarding tryouts/first official practices. Reminder that you will need to have a valid physical on file before the first official day and that your Final Forms account will need to be up to date.

Below is a list of our winter sports, coaches, their contact, and the first official start date:

Girls Basketball

Dave Zvara

david_zvara@amherstk12.org

First Day of Tryouts: Friday, October 25th

Boys Basketball

Pat Bray

pat_bray@amherstk12.org

First Day of Tryouts: Friday, November 1st

Ice Hockey

Steve Morris

arcsports1@yahoo.com

First Day of Official Practices: Friday, October 25th

Swimming & Diving

Mary Bartek

mary_bartek@amherstk12.org

First Day of Official Practice: Friday, October 25th

Girls & Boys Bowling

Steven Taylor

steven@sandstoneohio.com

First Day of Official Practices: Friday, November 1st

Wrestling

Tom Milkovich

First Day of Official Practice: Friday, November 15th

Please consider purchasing a Student Home Athletic Event Pass. For $50 you can get into all HOME Regular Season Athletic Events (HS and Junior HS). The pass does not work for OHSAA or SWC Home Athletic Events. If you have not purchased your pass, yet, please email Mr. Wolf at casey_wolf@amherstk12.org to get instructions and a passcode to purchase your pass.

All student athletes (fall/winter/spring), please check your schedules to verify you are in the equivalent of at least 5 one credit courses each grading period. Please note, that PE courses do NOT count towards your academic eligibility because they are only worth the equivalent of a half credit. If you need to add courses, please see your school counselor. If you are unsure or you want help verifying your eligibility, please see Mr. Wolf or your school counselor.

Important First Quarter Dates

Monday, September 16: Modified C-Schedule, State Farm Assembly

Tuesday, September 17th: C-Schedule, Jostens Class of 2027 Meeting

September 23rd - September 28th: Homecoming Week

Friday, September 27th: B-Schedule, Homecoming Pep Rally, Gallery of Success

Saturday, September 28th: Homecoming Dance, 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm, Main Gym

Wednesday, October 9th: PSAT for 9th, 10th & 11th

Thursday, October 10th: Parent-Teacher Conferences, 3:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Friday, October 11th: No School, NEOEA Day

Monday, October 14th: Fall Choir Concert, 7:30pm, Cafetorium

Thursday, October 17th: Fall Orchestra Concert, 7:00pm, Cafetorium

Thursday, October 17th: Class of 2025 Senior Panoramic Photo, 7:45am, Main Gym

Friday, October 18th: End of First Grading Period

August 30th

Back to School 2024-2025

Email: joseph_tellier@amherstk12.org
Website: https://www.amherstk12.org/schools/steele
Location: 450 Washington Street, Amherst, OH, USA
Phone: 440-988-4433
X: @SteelePrincipal