News From Boone County Schools

The Brainy Bots faced stiff competition at the state FLL (FIRST LEGO League) robotics tournament, but triumphed as the overall state 2nd Place Champions. As the overall runner-up, the team earned an invitation to compete at the FLL North American Open Championship in California this May. That's a first for any Boone County team and the Brainy Bots will be fund-raising and seeking sponsors to help the team pay for the costly trip to California.

FLL is an international program that challenges elementary and middle school robotics teams to design and build robots using Lego systems and solve real-world problems based on themed challenges. The program is designed to encourage and motivate scientists and engineers of the future.

We're proud of our other Boone County teams who also won state awards this year:

- Mann Elementary School's "Mann Lego Mechanics," first place, Research Award, and second place, Robot Performance Award

- New Haven Elementary School's "Jr. Brainy Bots," second place, Inspiration Award

For more information on the tournament, click here.

Ockerman Elementary Principal T.W. Loring wins "Two Headed Calf Award"

Each year, Beringer-Crawford Museum presents the "Two Headed Calf Community Service Awards" to three Northern Kentuckians with outstanding contributions to the preservation and celebration of local history, art and culture. The awards are given in three categories; Community Service, History and Education.

This year they have selected Ockerman Elementary Principal T.W. Loring in the education category. He was selected for demonstrating academic excellence and innovative approaches in history, the arts or archaeology. Mr. Loring will receive this award in a banquet on March 9th at Northern KY University.

Congratulations on this much deserved award Mr. Loring!

WCPO Spelling Bee

13 students from Boone County Schools have qualified for participation in the WCPO-TV Region I Spelling Bee on February 23rd at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. These spellers attained a score of at least 7 on the online semifinals test. They are:

Nathan Frederick - Burlington Elementary

Lindsay Volpenhein - Camp Ernst Middle

Kylie Buckler - Kelly Elementary

Lauren Arnold - Goodridge Elementary

Shelby Snyder - Conner Middle

Samuel Dittenber - Erpenbeck Elementary

Shabnam Tursunova - Florence Elementary

Manu Nair - Gray Middle

Benjamin Codell - Longbranch Elementary

Savanna Emrick - New Haven Elementary

Holly Hendrix - North Pointe Elementary

Janet Portillo - Ockerman Elementary

Haven Caldwell - Mann Elementary

Ockerman Middle School Awarded an "Artist in Resident"

Ockerman Middle School was awarded an Artist in Resident Grant from the Kentucky Arts Council for one week in February. Obtaining this artist was a community effort including OMS PTA, teacher dedication, faculty help and the generosity of Marriott Hotels. The Marriott is providing free lodging for the resident.

This grant will enable Ockerman to have the expertise of Susan Pope (pictured right) in integrating the Arts into the school curriculum. Susan will assist the teachers at Ockerman with professional development and model teaching through this great and exciting experience for our students.

National Reflection winner invited to Washington, DC

Mann Elementary's Ainsley Hoh was invited to Washington, DC as a 2011-2012 National Reflections winner. The National PTA site has all the information and when you click on the Reflections link there are quotes from some of the children including Ainsley.

Run Like a Tiger 5K/1 Mile Fun Run

New Haven Elementary School will host the Run Like a Tiger 5K/1 Mile Fun Run on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 9 AM at Idlewild Park.

Registration must be received by March 15, 2013. Click here for registration form.

Parent Tip

Let's Talk Sports- was created to help shift the emphasis away from just winning and enable parents to help their young athletes get a handle on learning and developing key life skills through their participation. It is a free and fun activity for you and the family created by The National Alliance for Youth Sports. To learn more, visit their website by clicking here.