on the inside

Once in a while, the staff is granted the honor of being able to tour the new school building while it is still under construction. This afternoon, the staff took one tour and members of the PTO followed in another tour. Below are some photos from the amazing adventure...

Below you will see the lunch room. The windows in the cafeteria face north and bring a lot of sunshine to the room. It will be a welcome change to the sometimes crowded stage that now is the place our students eat lunch.

This is a look down the south hallway, looking east to west.

The gentleman from Gilbane who conducted our tour is explaining the purpose behind the slanted ceilings...the large windows allow for light to come into the classrooms which then will be reflected by the slanted ceiling, allowing for sunlight to be utilized in each classroom.

Below is a peek at what will be the media center. The windows face west and look out at Otterbein. Mrs. Jackson will have more room so she can fill it with even more wonderful books for you to read!

A look at our gymnasium and stage is below. Mrs. Black thinks she has a great gym now, wait until you attend your physical education classes in THIS gym!

The staff and members of the Cridersville PTO would like to thank Gilbane for sharing their time with us. We appreciate the job you are doing for our new schools buildings!

Keep up the great work.

first day of school!

The first day of school always brings something entertaining to Cridersville School. Today we had guest visitors of Respect, Responsibility and Raven Recycle. All staff and students were given 3D glasses, too. You can see that our principal, Mr. Tester, jumped right into the fun by wearing his glasses.

Respect, below, talked about what it means to be respectful not only of ourselves, but of our belongings as well as those things that belong to others. Respect talked about taking our words with us everyday. She emphasized how important it is to use the words, Excuse me, please. Before you know it, it will be habit and then we won't even have to think about it!

Responsibility talked about being a star student and what responsibility really means. She talked about being responsible for our things...our library books, our homework, our school supplies, and our manners. Responsibility stressed that school is our job and we must take it seriously.

Finally, Raven Recycle, below, talked about the recycling that is done at Cridersville School. When we recycle, we are being both respectful and responsible. We need to take care of our planet and our surroundings.






The first day of school also brings all students and staff outside to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

almost ready

As we get set to begin yet another school year, let us remind ourselves how important it is to monitor our children's activity on the internet. Monitoring the appropriateness of websites (and who they communicate with) has never been more important. The following information, developed by the safety experts at McAfee, provides tips to help keep them safe online.

Talk with them about what they do online. Check out their social websites (and any personal profiles they’ve posted)—and set up your own account and profile on those sites. Also, familiarize yourself with the latest Internet trends.

Establish clear ground rules. Limit the amount of them they’re allowed to spend online. Discuss what should never be shared with others: passwords, phone numbers, full names, addresses, where they go to school, etc.

Keep tabs on their online messages. Make sure their communications are appropriate, including instant messages, e-mail, and e-mail attachments.

Encourage your child to ask for help. Tell them to trust their instinct if anything seems “off” (inappropriate photos, being bullied, or someone asking to meet offline)—and to let you know immediately.

Stress that nothing on the Internet is ever private. Whatever they post online is out there for anyone to see (even on a page labeled “private”). Even something e-mailed to one person can then be forwarded to thousands more.

Read more about the ABC's of online safety here.

catching up

Ah, summertime..even webmasters take some time off. I know, I know, it has been since March..but here are some photos. The PTO hopes that everyone is enjoying their summer vacation. Before you know it, it will be time to shop for school supplies!

Girls Basketball Makes Final Four!

Today at Cridersville, a pep rally was held to cheer our Lady Redskins on to victory. Our girls have made it to the final four in the state! They play on Friday, March 20 in Columbus. Mr. Searcy, our guidance counselor, wore traditional redskin attire and helped to get our students excited. The team came to our school and we hopefully, cheered them on to keep them in the spirit of winning.

No matter what happens Friday, our Lady Redskins should BE PROUD.

It was also St. Patrick's Day today and some of our staff wore green mixed in with all of the red for the team. Go Redskins and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

new school

If you haven't driven by the new school site lately, you really should. You can see walls! It has been amazing to see what has happened to the place we will soon call home. It went from a field to what you see below. Be sure to check out our school's homepage to see the addition Mrs. Jackson made to the site. She lost her shoes in the mud getting some incredible photos. Thanks, Mrs. Jackson!

Valentine Parties

Homerooms celebrated Valentine's Day with parties on February 13th. I find it amazing how many creative valentine boxes I find every year!! Below are some of my favorites and even one amazing cookie that served two purposes: the craft project and the treat.

Thanks to so many parents and relatives of Cridersville kids who help out at our parties. The kids really look forward to the parties and your time and donations mean the world to them!

Green Team Assembly

The elementary schools reward students that stay on green all month with different activities. Sometimes students get an extra recess, maybe a movie and sometimes they get to attend an entire assembly in their honor. Centennial Elementary School held a Green Team Assembly on Friday, February 6. This month they invited Cridersville Elementary School's Jump Rope Club to show off some of their jump rope tricks for the kids at Centennial. Mrs. Black and Mrs. Hilty chose some of the kids who know most of the tricks very well.

A big thanks to Mr. Newland and Centennial Elementary!

February Skating Party

The PTO sponsored the February skating party at Edgewood Skate Arena on Monday, February 9. The PTO began to sponsor skating parties a long time ago and at one time, our students went to the Dixie Roller Arena on Dixie Highway. Many middle school students return and go skating with their younger siblings who still attend Cridersville. Thank you to parents who volunteer to ride the bus! Thanks also to those parents who drive their kids to the skate arena and help our students putting on and taking off their skates.

January Board Meeting

The January Board of Education Meeting was held at Cridersville on Tuesday, January 27. A few students were recognized by their nominating teachers. Lauren Snider receives her awards from Board Member Pat Gibson.

Below, Mrs. Doll shares the reasons why she chose Eva Williams to receive the recognition.

Another student, Jessica Converse, receives her award from nominating teacher, Mrs. Rees.

Two long time volunteers were also recognized. Ms. Irene Cole and Ms. Deb Stroh were honored for their long time commitment and time they spend volunteering at our school. Miss Cole works with Ms. Schlenker in a kindergarten room and Ms. Stroh works with Ms. Bailey's second grade class.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone!

coming along nicely

Remember when the site was just a grass field?

It now has a fence up to keep curious onlookers out of the area and safe.

The photo below was taken from the entrance to Otterbein. I chatted with one of the workers out there tending to the fence...I asked him how it was working out there in this cold weather. His simple response was this: "It is really cold." I sort of laughed and said to him: "Well, on behalf of the Cridersville School Community, we want to say thanks! This was once just a field and soon it will be the home of our new school." I was excited when talking about it and he may have thought I was a bit crazy for being out there in the frigid temps to take photos, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

If you haven't been down Reichelderfer Road lately, take a drive down there. And if you happen to be close enough to one of the many construction workers, please be sure to let them know that we appreciate their work.

Have a happy day!

oh no!

Today felt very cold again. This past week almost felt at times like a heat wave of sorts. I was in Wapak this morning and saw this on the high school sign. Thank goodness it wasn't THIS cold!!