Xenia Community School News

Xenia High School Student Named State Officer for Key Club Organization
Xenia Community Schools Supt. Jeffrey K. Lewis, Ed., Receives Congratulations at Retirement Reception
XHS Football Team Works Together as a Team to Beautify Downtown Xenia
Local FFA Members Succeed in Statewide Judging
Central Middle School Hosts Annual Hall of Fame Dinner to Honor 'Graduating' Students

Xenia High School Student Named State Officer for Key Club Organization

Xenia High School student Joseph Gregory has been elected as Division IV Lieutenant Governor for Key Club.

The division includes approximately eight to ten highs school organizations that elected Gregory to the post.

"I’ve found my niche in Key Club," Gregory says.  "A friend invited me to become involved and I love being involved in the community.  You can tell that everyone really appreciates your efforts when you volunteer throughout the school and town."
 
Gregory is the son of Joe and Denise Gregory of Xenia.

Key Club is one of the oldest and largest service programs for high school students in the U.S. It is a student-led organization which stresses the importance and qualities of good leadership through service to others. Members of Key Club, also part of the Kiwanis International family, build themselves as they build their schools and communities. 

Key Club strives to build and recognize character through such qualities as: caring, character building, inclusiveness, leadership, personal improvement, ethics, morals and loyalty.

Xenia Community Schools Supt. Jeffrey K. Lewis, Ed., Receives Congratulations at Retirement Reception

Family, friends, coworkers, business owners and community leaders all stopped by to congratulation Xenia Community Schools' Supt. Jeffrey K. Lewis, Ed.D., at a recent open house to honor his years of service and upcoming retirement.

Dr. Lewis has spent the last six years leading the district and was honored for his efforts in passing a bond issue that will build five new elementary schools in Xenia.

The Xenia Board of Education sponsored the reception while the Xenia Community Schools (XCS) Administrative Council will plant a tree in his honor at the new Board of Education offices tentatively scheduled to be based in former Arrowood Elementary School after the new schools open.
XCS Central Office will place a commemorative bench at the location to also honor his efforts in creating five new elementary schools.

XHS Football Team Works Together as a Team to Beautify Downtown Xenia

Working as a team off and on the football field, members of the Xenia High School football team recently spent a Saturday morning cleaning and planting several garden island beds in downtown Xenia as part of the Bloom in Xenia program. Bloom in Xenia is designed to beautify downtown and welcome visitors in a positive manner.  Xenia Community Schools' Central Office is also involved and has adopted five containers surrounding the Greene County Court House. Bloom in Xenia allows local businesses, organizations and groups to adopt containers or island beds for the growing season.  Hasseim Allen, Julius Young and Sam Marone strike a pose at the corner of Main and N. Detroit streets. Expanding their team spirit to the entire community, members of the XHS Football Team, front row, left to right, Ausdyn Thurman, Brian Dixon; second row, left to right, Billy Pugh, Aaron Anderson, William Stanaway, Montana Goisuch, Anthony Valeriano and Andrew Francis, line up for their efforts.

Local FFA Members Succeed in Statewide Judging

Members of the Greene County FFA recently successfully competed in four-statewide Career Development Events (CDE).  These events or judging contests, demonstrate a students' knowledge of a particular aspect of the agricultural industry. CDE's create meaningful connections between classroom instruction and careers based in agriculture.
 
Classroom instruction comes alive as students demonstrate their skills in a competitive setting.  Students competed in the following judging events: Dairy Products, Equine Management, General Livestock and the Greenhand Quiz Competition.
 
The Dairy Products contest is designed to test skills and knowledge related to the dairy products manufacturing industry.  In the event, FFA members identify a variety of cheeses, address quality concerns with fluid milk samples, and calculate dairy-industry related math problems.

The team placed 7th in the state and were honored at the State FFA Convention held in May. 

Members of this team included: Meagan Minton, Jon Rohrback, Rebekah Jones, Ashlynn Murnahan, Brooke Rogers, and Holly Moody.

Additionally, Meagan Minton placed fourth individually in the state. 

The Equine Management contest provides students an opportunity to judge performance classes, evaluate feed samples, identify equine-related tack and equipment, and complete a written test on the industry.  This contest is designed to develop an FFA member's knowledge of the equine industry.  Team members included Candace Pritchard and Steve Kelleher.

The General Livestock contest is designed as a practical method of teaching students to recognize quality characteristics and evaluate livestock. The contest consists of classes of market and breeding beef, sheep, and swine.  Performance data selection and feeder cattle grading classes are also scored. 

The team placed 18th in the state and participating members included: Hallie Hiser, Josh Shaw, Lauren Corry, Samantha Boeck, Taylor Ferguson, Megan Moorman, Brittney Miller, Nicole Miller, Ryan McClellan, and Mark Mongin. 

The Greenhand Quiz Competition is designed to test the knowledge of first year students in agriculture education.  In January, these members were given one hundred multiple-choice test questions, ranging from naming the parts of the FFA emblem to recalling the historical background of our great organization. 

The team place 15th in the state and participating team members included: Dana Moorman, Hallie Hiser, Marissa Baker, Rebekah Jones, Zach Young, Levi Brown, Lauren Corry, Laurel Amstutz, Brooklynn Dean, Deric Fetters, Ben Turner, Sam Olgesbee, Jessica Arthur, Logan Carter and Matt Magill.

Jon Rohrback, front left, carefully completes his scoring sheet during the recent competition.

Caleb Nicol takes a quick sniff of a milk sample while competing in the dairy products contest.

Central Middle School Hosts Annual Hall of Fame Dinner to Honor 'Graduating' Students

The best and brightest were honored at the recent Central Middle School Hall of Fame dinner.  Five students in the eighth grade are chosen annually by their teachers for their outstanding academic achievement, leadership and character to be inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.  The all-girl quintet for 2010 includes, left to right, Olivia Hampton, Dominque Couser, Abby Saner, Alex Qumsieh and Anna Spitz. All students have been involved in sports, drama, Blue Crew, student council and other activities as well as displaying a strong work ethic in the classroom.