elyria city school district

The Eastern Heights Middle School (EHMS) Drama Club gives students in fifth through eighth grade real experience in theater behind the scenes and in front of audiences. But even more important are the bonds the students form as members of the tight-knit group, and the confidence and poise they exude on stage delivering complex dialogue, drawing audiences into each story. EHMS director, Charlene Hartley, has built the club up from just a few members to more than 20-strong, and it continues to grow each school year. The club kicked off its 2022-2023 season with the musical, "Aladdin Jr.," to rave reviews. They are now showing off their dramatic skills in the play, "Walk Two Moons." The production drew so much interest that Charlene had to double cast the roles to allow as many students as possible to participate in the show. We caught up with a handful of the EHMS student actors to hear all about their latest production, "Walk Two Moons." The performance takes place March 8 and 9, 7:30 p.m. at the Elyria High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are available online here!   

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Westwood Middle School is bringing back a fan-favorite event: The Annual Chili Cook-off and Auction on Nov. 5! Westwood's Chili Cook-off started almost a decade ago, and it's grown in popularity and participation every year. The ultimate goal of the event is to raise enough money to defray costs associated with the school's annual student field trip to Washington D.C. The cook-off draws competitors from every school building and department in the district--all vying to be crowned the Westwood Chili Cook-off Champion. The event has even perked the interest of community partners, some with previous chili competition experience, such as the Elyria Township Fire Department. Westwood staff and students spend months preparing for the auction portion of the event. The prizes they've gathered even include vacation packages to family-favorite destination spots like Disney World, Universal Studios, Gatlinburg and so much more. Principal Jim Rollence shared details of this and so much more on this episode of Petey Podcast! The Westwood Chili Cook-off will take place Nov. 5, 5-8 p.m., at Westwood Middle School, 42350 Adelbert St., Elyria.  Tickets are $10.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

The Elyria Fire Department has a new Chief: Joe Pronesti. Pronesti has been with the Elyria Fire Department for 33 years but grew up in the city of Elyria and in the department. His dad was a fireman in the 1950s. "Growing up, all my heroes were Elyria Firefighters," said Pronesti.  "They are all passed now but I keep pictures of them, and think of them, and I also think of the bosses I had when I first came on the job that mentored me.  It's the only job I've ever wanted, and it's the only city I ever wanted to work in." Pronesti said. " I'm living my dream." 
Congratulations, Chief Pronesti!

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

On Petey Podcast...What are the chances that a lost dog would find its way into a school at the very moment a third grade class in that same school was reading about a lost dog at a grocery store? Well, that's exactly what happened at Eastern Heights Campus when a dog named Hershel wandered into the middle school one day for refuge.  On the other side of the school, Mrs. Cindy Czerski's third grade class was reading the beloved tale, "Because of Winn-Dixie." When Mrs. Czerski learned of Hershel and how he came to be at Eastern Heights, she saw it as the perfect "teachable moment," and used it as a springboard for writing! 

Watch Elyria Schools PioneerTV YouTube for the video!

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

School's out for summer but luckily we have an "in" with a couple of students--sisters, in fact-- from Elyria Schools. Ella and Lilah are Pioneers and have attended Elyria Schools since the age of three. The sisters are students of former McKinley Elementary School and daughters of Petey Podcast host, Amy Higgins. The Foucher sisters joined us for a bit of gab on their experiences in Elyria Schools, memorable moments at McKinley, excitement for the new campus of Eastern Heights, and a little bit of puppy talk (because who doesn't like puppies, afterall!) 

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Do you want to build a mini space vessel and shoot it into the air? Pilot a drone through the halls of your school? Or design a new product and develop the prototype right in your classroom? Or how about teaming up with classmates to conceptualize a product that could revolutionize a cause or an industry. They are doing all these things and more in Elyria High School's "Steam 2.0" class taught by Jeannine Stape.  This past year the STEAM 2.0 class was offered only to seniors but in 2021-2022, Stape will offer a STEAM class like this one, called STEAMploration, to freshmen and sophomores, and STEAM 2.0 for juniors/seniors. 
"You don't have to be going into the engineering field or a science field, you just have to want to do hands-on things, think outside the box and create a product," Stape said. "If it works, great, but if it doesn't, you went through the engineering-design process without even knowing it.
"Students will experience things like 3D printing, coding, laser cutting, without having to take a course just specifically focusing on that," Stape said. "It's a good stepping stone to get their feet wet with this kind of stuff, and if they like it, they can move on to other classes." Take a listen to this show on Petey Podcast and learn how you can enroll in Stape's STEAM classes!

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Co-workers "in the trenches" together often form friendships and connections that can endure for many years, even a lifetime. But it's important to establish boundaries and set common goals that best serve the individuals and the organization. In this episode of Petey Podcast, Social Workers and Therapists, Chantille Jackson and Marissa Pelsozy, chat with us about interpersonal connections in the workplace.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Virtual teaching has opened the door to all kinds of out-of-the-box ideas for lessons, meet ups and student clubs. A stellar example of this is Mrs. Quarm's Baking Club. Michelle (Chelee) Quarm teaches fourth grade at Prospect Elementary School, Elyria, and it's been her tradition to bake healthful muffins and goodies for her students in class. She's known for making warm, tasty treats like homemade  cinnamon rolls and pancakes, especially on test days to give students a hearty start to their day. With the pandemic, Mrs. Quarm's in-class baked goods went on hiatus. Her students, however, didn't want to see her homemade goodies go away so they suggested she host a virtual baking club that they could all participate in from home. And that's how Mrs. Quarm's Baking Club was born! Join us on this episode of Petey Podcast as Mrs. Quarm talks baking with us. Fellow teacher and loyal fan of "Quarm's Baking Club," Prospect Teacher, Lisa Adelsberg, joins in on the fun! Mrs. Adelseberg is also the self-admitted Baking Club taste tester. :)
Expert Resources: Get a few of the recipes we talked about today from Mrs. Quarm's Baking Club. 

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

From the Gingerbread Man to Cinderella,  education professionals Kathy Pero and Carla Valles have taken Readers Theater to new heights in the Elyria Schools. The duo began re-writing and personalizing traditional plays and fairytales;  fitting them as perfectly as a glass slipper to the students they served within their classrooms that provide special education services. Pero, an Intervention Specialist,  first brought her concept of Readers Theater to Valles, her teammate and Special Ed. Paraprofessional,  in 2014. Their exclusive performances began that year with "The Gingerbread Man." Each play they've produced since has been adapted from a well-known story but transformed in words and characters by Valles, who in her free time is a playwright and actor in her own productions and in community theater. The talented twosome joins us in this episode of Petey Podcast! (Kathy Pero currently works at Elyria's Crestwood Elementary School, and Carla Valles works at Northwood Campus.)

Expert Resources: Check out some of the Readers Theater productions of the past on Elyria Schools Pioneer TV YouTube, as well as some of the other fun projects by Pero and Valles on Pioneer TV: The Lorax,  Charlotte's Web,  Charlotte and the Chocolate Factory,  The County Fair,  Service Squad, Science Fair, Cinderella.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

A first grade map project is taking Ely Elementary students around the world! The students have been reading the book, "The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman," about a little friend made of wood who travels the country sending descriptive letters and postcards to family members along the way.  Ely's Mandy Mazzola, a first grade teacher, took cues from the book to launch a social media project, asking her family members and school colleagues to send postcards from cities across the United States and abroad to Ely, so that her students could then plot the postcard locations on their classroom map. The project took on a life of its own and within hours of being posted, was shared dozens and dozens of times, climbing steadily since then.  Hear all about this exciting first-grade map adventure with Ms. Mazzola's on this episode of Petey Podcast! To send a postcard or letter to Ms. Mazzola's first graders, mail to Ely Elementary School, 312 Gulf Road, Elyria, OH 44035.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!

Ahoy! We're setting sail in this episode of Petey Podcast with Job Captain Lizz Most of Architectural Vision Group, the architectural firm heading up the $140-million  school construction project in Elyria. Lizz is a familiar face on the district's sister station: Elyria Schools Pioneer TV on YouTube, and often answers our construction questions and guides our tours through the new schools. We had a great time chatting with Lizz about where we are in this massive construction project and what we can look forward to as the project comes to a close in the 2021-2022 school year.

It's a great day to be a Pioneer! Thanks for listening. Find Elyria Schools on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube!