8th graders at Magsig Middle School enjoyed a change in their schedule Friday, May 18th when they had the opportunity to visit five of the twenty professional speakers who volunteered to meet with students interested in their occupation. The Magsig Career Day planning began with Guidance Counselor Seth Rings and the ELA teachers collaborating to learn about the students’ interests, hopes, dreams and future goals. Pictured is Kim Bittorf, Interior Designer for Salem Office Products/WorkSmart. Read More

Magsig Middle School celebrated Foreign Language Week in a big way, including having students come to school dressed in another culture’s attire. The six students looking at the “Language Tree,” student-made leaves with words used in English that are borrowed from other languages, in their school’s front foyer are (l-r): Kathryn Cordeiro (German), Brieanna Bell (Spanish), Sophie Roytman (German), Preeti Balachandran (Spanish), Zoe VanZino (German), and Amy Anand (French). See the full article on the Magsig web page. A big part of the week was a fundraiser for Charity: Water, to raise $500 of the cost of a water filtration system for a school located in a third world, underdeveloped country. Students bought paper water droplets that were attached to the hallway walls and extended throughout the school; depicting which of the four “families” at Magsig raised the most money. With two days of fundraising to go, the Magsig students and staff had exceeded their goal with $661 raised. From a purely educational perspective, German students created a mock Berlin Wall after learning about divided Germany during the Cold War and the Fall of the Berlin Wall; Spanish students had a market day simulation where they were required to speak Spanish to buy and sell goods at the market; and French students created Mardi Gras masks after learning about the significance of Mardi Gras in French speaking cultures. Other events during the week included “World Capitals Bingo,” “Dancing,” and “Music Videos from around the World.” Students also made flags of the world they attached to the ceilings of the main entrance and lunchrooms. Both students and teachers provided mementos and artifacts from around the world that were on display in the front hallway. A bulletin board highlighting world cultures and languages in the US includes a long article about 8th grader Josh Schmellenkamp’s immigrant grandfather, who emigrated to the U. S. after serving in the German military and being a prisoner of war in France. Read More

The District’s Middle School MATHCOUNTS teams had exceptional performances at the Chapter Competition at the University of Dayton with the Magsig Team placing first overall and the Watts Team placing second out of 14 teams in the region. Both teams now move on to the State Competition on March 10 at Columbus State Community College. Coach Shivam Sarodia, a former Watts MATHCOUNTS National Competitor who is currently a freshman at CHS, will continue to coach both teams together as they prepare for the state competition. To see the students identified by name go to the Watts or Magsig home page. Pictured, l-r, with their school after the name: John Xiang-W, Jaekyeong Choi-M, Pamela Zhang-W, Max McLain-W, Adam Julian-W, Michael Li-M, Anirudh Ragaswamy-M, Jaewoo Choi-M, and Coach Shivam Sarodia. Individual success at the Chapter Competition included: 4th - John Xiang (Watts); 5th - Adam Julian (Watts); 7th - Michael Li (Magsig); 8th - Anirudh Rangaswamy (Magsig); 9th - Amol Gandhi (Magsig); and 10th - Jaewoo Choi (Magsig). Read More

Both Magsig Middle School’s and Stingley Elementary School’s PTOs purchased new salad bars for their respective cafeterias. The salad bars are stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, high quality proteins and whole grain rolls by Student Nutrition Services. Centerville’s initiative to put salad bars in schools comes from our desire to empower students to make healthy food choices by giving more students greater access to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. We know a healthier meal means healthier bodies that translate into more successful learning. Student Nutrition Services Supervisor Stephanie Zinger reports salad bar prices are normal plate lunch prices: Magsig- $2.75 and Stingley $2.50. Free and reduced lunch prices apply for those who qualify. Stephanie can be reached at 433-8841 or Stephanie.zinger@centerville.k12.oh.us. Read More