School News – by Steve Poe, Superintendent/Principal

Our National Honor Society members introduced two new projects this year!  First, they collected handmade cards from our elementary and high school students for the “Holiday Cards for Our Military Challenge.”  These cards were sent to our military warriors abroad to boost their spirits during the holiday season.  Additionally, our NHS members focused on boosting morale in the high school.  They have been posting weekly inspirational messages throughout the school and have created a monthly newsletter called the ‘Monthly Motivator.’ This newsletter highlights student involvement and achievement.  Great job, NHS!

The annual Science Fair will look a little different this year because judging will take place virtually.  This is an exciting opportunity to have additional science experts from the mainland (who normally wouldn’t be able to get to the island) judge the projects.  As always, the judges will provide helpful feedback on student projects, but will not necessarily select who moves on to the district level.  This year, any student who completes a project and wishes to move on to the district Science Fair is able to do so without having to be scored at the local level.  This opens up the opportunity for more students to participate in the District 2 Science Fair that will take place virtually this spring.

The Panther Basketball team has been playing against two foes this year: the competition and the coronavirus.  Our schedule seems to change daily, but one thing that has not changed has been the hard work and dedication of our student-athletes.

Seniors Nora Ladd, Lucille Schneider, Elena Schroeder, and Talii Steidl have been determined to finish their panther careers on top!  Our junior high team ended a three-year losing streak with a big win over Fairport Harbor.  Additions to the schedule have been made and there are eight games scheduled for late January into mid-February. Please check the school website for games and visit PIBpanthers.com for live broadcasts of the games. Go Panthers and get your growl on!!!

The Put-in-Bay Panthers All-Star Basketball team (grades 3 to 6) started off the season in a “Zoom practice” with a coach from the Cleveland Cavaliers!  He provided live instruction on everything from ball-handling drills to proper shooting form.  We would like thank the Cleveland Cavaliers for offering this opportunity for our kids!   Coach Danes and the All-Stars played a championship game on January 27.

The Student Council sponsored Spirit Week the last week of January.  Each day was given a theme, and students were asked to dress accordingly.  We had a lot of creative thinkers!

Grade cards were sent home on January 29.  Parents who wish to discuss their child’s academic performance are advised to call the school.   We will make arrangements to schedule a parent/teacher conference.

On January 29, we also celebrated the end of the semester with a fun competition called “The Battle of the Brains.”   Students and teachers were randomly assigned to teams to answer trivia questions.  Correct answers earned points for their teams and the winning teams won some neat prizes.

As the winter season progresses, we are hoping “Mother Nature” cooperates so we can open the ice rink.  When it is open, we ask that a parent accompany students in grades pre-kindergarten thru grade six.  Masks are required of all participants inside the playground area.  Stay safe and have fun!

On Friday, February 5 our elementary students will celebrate the “100^th Day of School” with fun activities involving the number 100.

Winter Break is scheduled for February 19 thru February 28.  Students return to school on Monday, March 1.