Eastwood Elementary Update

With the first few weeks in the books, we wanted to say thank you for all the support and flexibility you have shown us as we get the year underway! There are a lot of moving parts in getting a school building running a schedule, but with your support, we are getting our schedules and routines set.

The newsletter will be looking differently as Smore is transitioning from the older version to a newer one. This newer addition will look different, but we hope to still provide similar information as before.

Each month, we will be highlighting different grade levels and departments to allow parents and community members to get to know a little more about our Eastwood Elementary family. This month, we are highlighting our First Grade Family.

Name: Lisa Downey

Your Job at Eastwood: 1st grade teacher

Years at Eastwood: 29

Hobbies: time with family, Ohio State Football, swimming and volleyball

Family: Chris, husband Taylor, daughter, 24 Bryce, son, 22

Pets: golden retriever named Zeke

Favorite Vacation: Cancun, Mexico or maybe it will be the Florida Keys (I will let you know when I return next week!!) 🙂

Favorite Meal: Chicken chunks and fries

Favorite Dessert: Cheesecake

Favorite TV Show: any reality TV

Favorite Sports Teams: Ohio State Buckeyes

Best Thing About Eastwood: Being able to teach at my alma mater and the awesome community

Quote to Live By: Love like there is no tomorrow!

Name: Katelyn Eckel

Your Job at Eastwood: 1st grade teacher

Years at Eastwood: 5 years

Hobbies: camping, spending time with family and friends

Family: Husband - Nathan, Oldest - Cainan, Middle - Blaine, Youngest - Granger

Pets: dog - Max

Favorite Vacation: Jamaica and Mexico

Favorite Meal: Mexican food

Favorite Dessert: peanut butter and chocolate

Favorite TV Show: The Big Bang Theory

Favorite Sports Teams: Ohio State

Best Thing About Eastwood: The community and people I work with are very supportive.

Quote to Live By: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” ―Walt Disney.

Name: Amy Kozma

Your Job at Eastwood: First Grade Teacher

Years at Eastwood: 30

Hobbies: Watching Hockey and Catching Caterpillars

Family: Chris, Nicholas (25) Nathan (16)

Pets: Gordie (a Belgian Malinois)

Favorite Vacation: The Bahamas

Favorite Meal: Ribeye Steak with Sauteed Mushrooms

Favorite Dessert: Ice Cream

Favorite TV Show: Schitt’s Creek

Favorite Sports Teams: Columbus Blue Jackets

Name: Karen Selhorst

Your Job at Eastwood: 1st Grade Teacher

Years at Eastwood: 24

Hobbies: Spending Time with Family; Travel

Husband: Rick; Family: Amanda, Mike and grandson Calvin; Megan and Chris; Jenna; Brian

Pets: dog - Sophie

Favorite Vacation: Banff in the Canadian Rockies

Favorite Meal: Chicken Marsala

Favorite Dessert: Anything Chocolate

Favorite TV Show: Ghosts

Favorite Sports Teams: Ohio State, Cincinnati Bengals

Best Thing About Eastwood: Terrific Families, Wonderful Students, and Excellent Staff

Quote to Live By: It’s Nice to be Important, But It’s More Important to be Nice

Name: Bri Waddell

Your Job at Eastwood: First Grade Teacher

Years at Eastwood: This is my 5th year

Hobbies: Spending time with family and friends, taking walks, traveling, and eating at Mexican restaurants.

Family: I live with my husband, Michael and daughter, Faye.

Pets: Ollie (dog)

Favorite Vacation: Cruise to Bermuda

Favorite Meal: Crab Legs

Favorite Dessert: S’mores

Favorite Sports Teams: Michigan Wolverines! Go Blue!

Best Thing About Eastwood: the community, the students and my coworkers

Quote to Live By: Do the next right thing

Name: Melissa Schimmoeller

Your Job at Eastwood: I am the Intervention Specialist for grades K & 1.

Years at Eastwood: This is my 2nd year at Eastwood, but the start of my 19th year in teaching. I am so excited to be “home” where I was born and raised and am now raising my own family.

Hobbies: Outside of teaching, I enjoy baton twirling, taking pictures, journaling, and rock collecting.

Family: My husband, Dustin, and I have been married for 14 years. Dustin and I both graduated from Eastwood in 2000. We have 2 sons Cole (7th grade) & Keaton (5th grade) and a daughter Sylvia (3rd grade).

Pets: Our family lives on a small farm. Currently we have 16 ducks, 6 geese, 2 cows, 3 dogs, 1 car, 1 bearded dragon, and 2 geckos!

Favorite Vacation: My favorite family vacation was in 2021 when we went to Cancun, Mexico and swam with the dolphins!

Favorite Meal: I love Italian food and my favorite is Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken.

Favorite Dessert: My favorite dessert is cheesecake with strawberries.

Favorite TV Show: My family loves watching Big City Greens together.

Favorite Sports Teams: I cheer for Ohio State, Cleveland Browns, and Columbus Crew!

Best Thing About Eastwood: At Eastwood, it is more than a school. We are a very special community that supports and invests in each other. I love that I am part of the Eastwood family.

Name: Mandi Canby

Your Job at Eastwood: Paraprofessional in 1st grade

Years at Eastwood: 4th year at Eastwood

Hobbies: I love creating memory books on Shutterfly, canning and making Jam

Family: My husband Tom and I have been married for 23 years this coming October. We have 3 daughters. Embeth is our oldest, she is a 19 years old with Special Needs. She is currently at Penta for the Transition to work program. Marin and Kora are 10 years old twins. They are currently in 4th grade here at Eastwood Elementary and both play soccer and volleyball.

Pets: Hope, she is a 3 years old Pomeranian. We rescued her this past February.

Favorite Vacation: We take an annual trip to Northern Michigan to walk the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. This is our 15th year and we are staying in Harbor Springs.

Favorite Meal: Pizza Hut Pizza

Favorite Dessert: Snickers Salad

Favorite TV Show: Criminal Minds and Bones

Favorite Sports Teams: OSU and Pittsburgh Steelers

Best Thing About Eastwood: Eastwood Is home, I am alumni and it always feels good to come home to family.

Quote to Live By: We are Can Be’s not Can Not’s

Name: Stacee Shultz

Your Job at Eastwood: Paraprofessional 1st Grade

Years at Eastwood: Currently in 4th year

Hobbies: Challenger Baseball; Enjoy photography and nature

Family: Brian(Spouse)

Pets:None

Favorite Vacation: Pigeon Forge TN(Smoky Mountains)

Favorite Meal: Tuna Gravy on toast

Favorite Dessert: Eclaire cake

Favorite TV Show: Don’t really have a favorite

Favorite Sports Teams: Tennessee Volunteers; Tennessee Smokies; Greater Toledo Challenger STARS

Best Thing About Eastwood: All of my special friends that I get to work with every day

Quote to Live By: Believe in the magic of your dreams

I still bleed ROYAL Blue but now am able to fly Eagle High

Name: Erin Wolf

Your Job at Eastwood: Small Group Intervention

Years at Eastwood: 6

Hobbies: Gardening, Beekeeping, Crafting

Family: Husband: Matt, 2 daughters: MacKenzie- 11 and Cassidy- 8

Pets: 2 dogs: Charlie and Gracie, 2 outdoor cats: Martin and Olivia

Favorite Vacation: A Beach or Any vacation with my family

Favorite Meal: Pizza or Tacos

Favorite Dessert: Chocolate

Favorite TV Show: Grey’s Anatomy

Best Thing About Eastwood: The staff and community, it’s also my alma mater

Name: Miss Clark

Your Job at Eastwood: Student Teacher

Years at Eastwood: 1

Hobbies: I like to go on walks, bake, and paint my nails!

Family: I have two sisters. Maddie and Delanie and my parents, Amy and Steve

Pets: I have two dogs, Scout and Penn

Favorite Vacation: My favorite vacation was a family trip to Bar Harbor, Maine.

Favorite Meal: Philly Cheesesteaks

Favorite Dessert: Brownies

Favorite TV Show: The Gemstones

Favorite Sports Teams: Ohio State and the Browns

Best Thing About Eastwood: The amazing staff

Quote to Live By: Let it be, then let it go

Name: Lilly Reimer

Your Job at Eastwood: I am a student teacher with Melissa Schimoeller in the fall and Bri

Waddell in the spring.

Years at Eastwood:

Hobbies: I enjoy hanging out with my friends, being outside, walking my dogs, and coloring.

Family: My mom, dad, stepmom, four younger siblings, and boyfriend.

Pets: My two huskies (Echo and Nala), a black lab (Brutus), cats, and chickens.

Favorite Vacation: Clearwater, Florida

Favorite Meal: Tacos

Favorite Dessert: Brownies

Favorite TV Show:

Favorite Sports Teams: Ohio State Football

Best Thing About Eastwood: I have felt very welcomed since starting at Eastwood and I enjoy

greeting all the students in the morning while they come into school.

Eastwood Elementary welcomed the class of 2036! This super sweet group of boys and girls have really enjoyed the first few weeks of school! They are making new friends, learning the classroom rules and routines, and loving the playground! The children are working cooperatively in centers, learning all about colors, numbers, and letters, and have already worked on their Chromebooks as well! We are looking forward to a GREAT year with our newest Eastwood Eagles!

The first grades are off to a great start to the school year! Students have been doing activities that are helping them to become comfortable with classroom routines and to remember the classroom and school rules. Also, students have been meeting new friends! We have read books about kids at school - a place for us to learn and work together!

Fourth grade had a great start to the year with learning rules and expectations, getting-to-know-you activities, math games and logic puzzles.

Now that routines are being established, remember that if you want to enter the building, you must stop in the office to be Raptored and to receive a badge. We will be stopping anyone who enters the building and does not have a badge on. Our top priority is the safety of your children and to accomplish that, it takes all of us being diligent. We are not trying to offend, we simply are trying to follow procedures for safety reasons.

Along the same line, please try to contact the office by noon if your child has a change in end of day plans. Again, our goal is to get your child to where you expect them to be, but the more that destination changes, the more challenging it becomes. If a change is needed, please call our office and our secretaries will deliver the message to your child and the teacher.

Our 3rd graders will take the fall state test in English/Language Arts on Tuesday, Oct. 24th and Wednesday, Oct. 25th. This test comes in 2 sections and each test is 90 minutes in length.

The state removed the third grade guarantee from legislation, which means no 3rd-grader will be retained in 3rd grade unless the parent and school agree to the retention. If the student is promoted through this exemption must continue to receive intensive reading instruction until the student is able to read at grade level.

A reminder to kindergarten parents to get physical and dental forms and immunization records turned in if not already done.

Below is a site to help you make the decision of when to keep your child home when they are not feeling well.

Ineedtostayhomeif-1 (1).pdf

Hello Eastwood Elementary Families,

I recently concluded my “role of counselor” visits with all of the K-4th grade classes. I really enjoyed sharing with your children about my role and how I can help them. Here’s a quick recap of my visit with each grade…

In kindergarten, I showed students my one and only magic trick where I turned sad feelings into happy feelings. Perhaps they mentioned it! Even though I don’t have a real magic wand, I can use my amazing listening ears and caring heart to help them with their sad feelings. They learned that I am a safe person who can help them in different ways, such as making and keeping friends, handling big feelings, making Eagle Way choices, and feeling good about themselves.

In first grade, we read the story, “The Invisible String.” The story is about a child named Taylor who has a problem. One by one, animals stop by and try to tell Taylor how to act or what to do, such as shout about the problem, hide and pretend it’s not there, or take it out on someone else, to name a few. One by one, they failed to offer comfort to Taylor. Then, the rabbit arries. He simply listens and stays by Taylor’s side. When Taylor is ready to share about his problems and feelings, the rabbit is still there. Students quickly realized that their school counselor is very much like the rabbit in the story…who stays by their side, helps, and supports them.

For second grade, we read the story, “What Do You Do With A Problem?” The child in the story has a persistent problem that shows up one day. He isn’t sure what to do with the problem. The longer he avoids it, the bigger it seems to get. He eventually finds the courage to face it and also learns along the way that problems can come with opportunities to learn and grow.

For third grade, we looked at different important parts of my role, such as listener, supporter, problem solver, and peacemaker. We went over different scenarios and students determined whether or not the example described their school counselor (e.g., Example 1: “I can talk to my school counselor about my feelings” YES! Example 2: “I go to my school counselor’s office when I’m in trouble.” NO!) Students learned a lot about what is true and not true about their counselor.

For fourth grade, student volunteers participated in an activity where at the start, they held a heavier object, labeled “problem,” on their own with no help. I emphasized that it’s okay to ask for help with a problem. Throughout the activity, we discussed examples of problems that 4th graders might experience at school or outside of school. I checked in on the students carrying the weight of the “problem” by themselves. I reminded them to ask for help at any time. After a short amount of time, additional student volunteers came up and helped out their peers with the “problem.” Students quickly realized that when we carry a problem alone, it can become heavier and feel bigger. When we ask for help with a problem, it feels lighter, smaller, and easier to carry.

For all the grade levels, my goal was to help them understand that we all experience different feelings inside our body. All feelings are normal and okay. Sometimes small problems can be solved on our own (such as talking to a friend who hurt our feelings). When students have sad or uncomfortable feelings, there are many caring adults at home and school who they can talk to about these feelings. They learned that their school counselor is a safe, caring person. I emphasized that their teachers and other staff are also friendly, caring helpers at school.

I truly enjoyed my time with your children. I look forward to more lessons together throughout the school year. I also look forward to getting to know your children and watching them grow. Please reach out any time with questions or concerns. I’m happy to help! Thank you!

Best Regards,

Nikki Ohms, M.Ed., LPSC

School Counselor

Eastwood Elementary

4700 Sugar Ridge Rd. Pemberville, OH 43450

nohms@eastwoodschools.org

419-833-2821 ext. 205

Please mark your calendars for the music program dates.

The following programs will be presented on the stage of the Eastwood High School auditorium at 7pm.

More details will be sent home as each date approaches.

3rd Grade - Thursday, December 14th - The “Nutcracker” musical & other holiday selections

2nd Grade - Thursday, February 15th - “Music Takes Wing”

1st Grade - Thursday, March 21st - “Songs of the Sea”

Kindergarten - Thursday, April 25th - “Count on Music”

The 4th Grade will present recorder concerts at Eastwood Elementary in the gym Thursday, May 9th during the Elementary Art Show.

One concert with 2 classes and another with 3 classes.

Times will be announced closer to the date.

We are very excited to share the music we are learning throughout the year with our friends and families!

Please contact Mrs. Walters with any questions: kwalters@eastwoodschools.org

September

18th-6:00- BOE meeting- Central Office

19th-2-Hour Delay

21st-Fall Pictures

27th-PTO Family Night-5:30-8:30- on the playground

October

16th- BOE meeting- 6:00- Central Office

18th- 2-Hour Delay

24th- 3rd Grade state test- ELA- Part 1

25th- 3rd grade state test- ELA- Part 2

26th- Grandparents/Special Person Donut-7:30-8:30

27th-End of 1st Quarter

- Halloween Parade at Football Stadium/ Parties throughout day

November

3rd- No School

8th- Early Dismissal at 2:20 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences

9th-Early Dismissal at 2:20 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences

10th-No School- Parent/Teacher Conference from 8:00-12:00

15th- Picture Retakes

20th- BOE meeting at 6:00 at Central Office

22nd-23rd-24th- No School