VOFT raises funds Edwards Middle Schools (grades 6-8) raised over $6,600 in support of local families in need by participating in their school's first annual Volunteer Opportunities for Teens (VOFT) Dance event on Friday, May 29th. Over 80 percent of Edwards students participated in the project. Teachers among the first Two Brunswick City Schools educators have been selected to join the inaugural year of a global master's degree that includes travel this summer to study wild cats and wild horses in Mongolia, "the land of the blue sky." From June 14 to June 23, Veronica Balogh (Visintainer Middle School - 7th Grade Science/Social Studies) studied in Mongolia, visiting a primary research site for the Pallas Cat Conservation Project and then traveling to Hustai National Park. In these two locations, the group of 20 U.S. educators will explore the great steppe of Mongolia and engage in the conservation stories of two key local species: the Pallas cat and Przewalski's horse, which is considered to be the only true wild horse left in the world. Later in the summer, Edwards Middle School educator Trista Smith (Edwards Middle School - Science), another student accepted into the global master's degree program, will travel to the Central American country of Costa Rica to study neotropical systems, including lowland rainforest, cloud forest, and coastal environments. This group of educators will conduct field research projects exploring the biotic, physical and cultural forces that affect tropical biodiversity. Balogh and Smith are two of 150 U.S. and international educators accepted to the first year of the Global Field Program (GFP) from Project Dragonfly at Miami University. As part of the program, all GFP students will engage in field conservation work this summer in Africa, Asia or the Americas. Groups of GFP educators will also study cheetahs in Namibia, tag leatherback sea turtles in Trinidad, investigate howler monkeys in Belize, research marine and terrestrial ecosystems in Baja, and study the relationship of wildlife and the Maasai people of Kenya. Throughout, the master's students will engage with international colleagues and scientists to work together to bring about local and global change. The GFP master's degree is based on the successful Earth Expeditions program from Dragonfly and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Since 2004 when Earth Expeditions began engaging educators in firsthand educational and scientific research at conservation hotspots around the world, more than 750 educators have been selected from 43 states and several international countries. More information is located at www.ProjectDragonfly.org. Be careful in the sun By Shannon Ludrosky Summer is here and so are the great times. You might think that you can do whatever you want to in the sun and just have some fun. But don't forget the sunscreen! According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) only 16 percent (which is about 128 out of over 800) of sunscreens are considered "safe and effective." Some of the safe and effected sunscreens are Tropical Sands, Badger Sunscreen, California Baby, and many more. To see the full list, visit http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?sunscreens=1&overall=g . Remember, when you go outside to have some fun in the sun, put on some sunscreen! Readers go for the gold The 459 students at Hickory Ridge Elementary in Brunswick celebrated their annual Right to Read Week May 26-29, 2009. The theme this year was "Go for the Gold." The school celebrated with a visit from the Brunswick Public Library, daily "Drop Everything and Read' (D.E.A.R.) times, a mini Relay for Life, "Olympic" games (including potato-sack and duo-team hula hoop races, pictured), and some non-fiction research about different countries around the world. Right to Read Week was also a kick-off to Hickory Ridge's summer reading program. All students received silver medals for their participation courtesy of the school's PTG. These students have a chance to "Go for the Gold" by completing the summer reading program for their grade level. All students that complete the program and bring back their finished work will receive a gold medal from principal Mary Ann Melvin and be invited to a special celebration in the fall They're the best of the year Congratulations to Sherry Haibach, (Willetts Middle School), who earned district Teacher of the Year honors. Also, congratulations to the following teachers who earned honors at their individual schools: Brad Dye (Applewood); Jeannette Timko (Crestview); Renee Cancilliere (Hickory Ridge); Debbie Miller (Huntington); Rachel Daw (Kidder); Cheri Brown (Memorial); Wendy Calhoun (Towslee); Sharon Tomasch (Edwards); Bob Blessinger (Visintainer); and Diane Breuler (BHS). BEF Educator Excellence Awards Announced The Brunswick Education Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2009-10 Educator Excellence Grants: Current Vocabulary (Sheri Hudak - Crestview Elementary); A Picture IS Worth a Thousand Words (Christina Collins & Debra Trissl-Babin - Huntington Elementary); Freedom's Trail (Kristen Luckas & Pam Mehlman - Huntington Elementary); E=MC2: Enrichment=Maximizing Communities (Carissa Crytzer, Ellen Foster & Linda Romph - Huntingnton Elementary); Button Bling: A Third Grade Economics Project (Lea Ann Besancon, Janet Genco & Karen Finn - Kidder Elementary); Memorial's Get Ready for Kindergarten Camp (Cheri Brown & Tami Pinzone - Memorial Elementary); Inspiring Written Voices (Kelly Rutkowski - Visintainer Middle School); Middle School and Me (Jennifer Jeppe - Visintainer Middle School); Autobiographical Book Publishing (Rhonda Januszewski - Visintainer Middle School); Sisters in Science: Females Excelling in Environmenta and Agricultural Engineering (S.I.S.) (Laila Discenza - Visintainer Middle School); Mi Libro es su Libro (Melanie Lopano - Brunswick High School. Noteworthy News * Congratulations to Visintainer Middle School, who earned a Silver Award in the 2009 Buckeye Best Awards from the Ohio Department of Health. The award recognizes exemplary scores regarding the school's policy and practices on three sections: physical education and activity; tobacco education; and nutrition education. * Joseph Buccini, a junior at Brunswick High School, was selected as a winner of the 2009 Plain Dealer "Tribe Reporter for a Day" Essay Contest. As a winner, Buccini earned the opportunity to experience a behind-the-scenes look at a Cleveland Indians' ballgame from the media's perspective on April 29th. This included: receiving media credentials and being introduced to key staff and media; observing a press conference hosted by Indians' manager Eric Wedge; observing batting practice; participating in a discussion with guest speaker Paul Hoynes, Cleveland Plain Dealer; interviewing three Tribe players in a pre-game press conference; observing the game from the stands and writing an article highlighting the experience. * The Brunswick HS Football Staff will direct a football camp for boys in grades 4 through 8. The camp will be held at the High School stadium on July 7th-9th from 9:30am - 12:30pm daily. Registration forms are available in the High School athletic office and the Brunswick Rec Center. * The following students placed first in the 33rd annual "What I Like Best About My Hometown" Art Contest sponsored by the Brunswick Fraternal Order of Eagles #3505: Madeline Mihacevich (Kidder Elementary), 3rd grade; Mary Grace Bauer (Hickory Ridge Elementary), 4th grade; Macey Wissinger & Morgan Schultz (Kidder), 5th grade; and Mary Cooper (Edwards Middle School), 6th grade. The students, who each received gift certificates as prizes, also had their artwork submitted to the Eagles' Grand Aerie in Grove City, Ohio for a district-level contest.

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