Everts Chapter of the National Honor Society inducts 22 at Circleville High School

The Everts Chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) at Circleville High School has inducted 22 new members into its prestigious ranks of distinguished academic excellence. 

The 2021-2022 Induction Class was represented by the following students: Claire Barthlemas, Avery Ferrell, Caitlyn Garrett, Maggie Gibson, Morgan Griffith, Carley Hinton, Jack Holcomb, Camille Hoop, Sydney Huffer, Allison Jones, Natalie Keaton, Erika Kluczynski, Brooklyn List, Laylyn Milliron, Ryan Roy, Alexis Sharp, Christiana Marcella-Sill, Lillianna Stafford, William Thomaschek, Alexis VanFossen, Meg Warner, and Landon Wolfe.

The 2021-2022 Class of the Everts Chapter of the National Honor Society was inducted on December 21st at Circleville High School.

CHS senior and NHS Everts Chapter president Addison Lowe served as the presiding officer of the ceremony. Mrs. Fraley’s high school symphonic choir performed Canon in D introit, the alma mater (The Red and Black), and an arrangement from Don Craig entitled “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”

According to NHS.us, student eligibility is open to “students in grades 10–­­12 who meet the requirements for membership outlined by their school’s chapter are eligible to be invited for membership.

At Circleville High School, the honors are open to all juniors and seniors who have maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher, received a recommendation from a staff member through an evaluation survey, submitted additional letters of recommendation, and were evaluated in the four NHS pillar areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. These pillars character traits are detailed below:

Scholarship

Per national guidelines, at a minimum, students must have a cumulative GPA of 85, B, 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, or equivalent standard of excellence. (Each school chapter is allowed to require a higher cumulative GPA.)

Service

This involves voluntary contributions made by a student to the school or community, done without compensation.

Leadership

Student leaders are those who are resourceful, good problem solvers, and idea contributors. Leadership experiences can be drawn from school or community activities while working with or for others.

Character

The student of good character is cooperative; demonstrates high standards of honesty and reliability; shows courtesy, concern, and respect for others; and generally maintains a clean disciplinary record.

National Honor Society officer Jordan Rhymer provided commentary for the ceremonial lighting of the candles as vice-president Alaina Francis lit the candle for scholarship, secretary Lilia Winter lit the candle for character, treasurer Taaliya Fulgham lit the candle for service, and historian Olivia Wastier lit the candle for leadership.

Incoming Circleville City Schools board member and Circleville High School Alum (Class of 1973) Patty Truex gave the keynote address for the event.

After recognizing some Circleville High School alumni that have been of great importance to her – including the late Eric Clark – Truex charged the new inductees with a challenge to continue making our community a better place.

“Do not let today be the end of your efforts,” said Truex. “Let this be the beginning. You are the future of Circleville or some community, our country, and our world. Continue working on your academics, but do not ignore those important pillars of scholarship, character, leadership, and service – those are the pillars our community needs.”

Congratulations to these 22 Tigers for their induction into the Circleville High School Everts Chapter of the National Honor Society.

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CHS inducts 21 new members into National Art Honors Society

The 21 new members of the National Art Honor Society were inducted on Tuesday, December 7th.

Circleville High School – On Tuesday afternoon the Circleville High School Chapter of the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) inducted 21 new members into its prestigious ranks.

New members Maddie Davis, Autumn Bartchy, Ella Jenkins, Christiana Sill, Alaina Francis, Audrey Fausnaugh, Jaymen Salas, Minea Thoumaly, Landon Wolfe, Morgan Sark, Veronica Maio, Ryan Roy, Natalie Welsh, Chip Stanley, Lillianna Stafford, Brooklyn List, Emilia Riggs, Morgan Pence, Ava Murphy, Drake Dawson, and Pheonix McCoy represented the 2021-2022 Class of NAHS inductees.

The National Art Honor Society was started in 1978 by the National Art Education Association for students in grades 9-12. The intent of the society lies within helping students attain their highest potential in all forms of art and to raise awareness for art education in the school and community.

Monday’s ceremony was overseen by NAHS student officers Kaylyn Miliron (president) and Sydney Williams who spoke to NAHS core values of leadership, character, acceptance, initiative, and service as a part of the induction ceremony.

The Circleville High School 9-12 art program is overseen by Mrs. Soni Grady.

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Blog: Get to know new board member Terry Leasure

New board member Terry Leasure (right) pictured with wife Debbie (left) take in an Ohio State Football game together.

This past November, Circleville High School Alum (Class of 1972) Terry Leasure was named to the Circleville City School District Board of Education taking seat in January.

With one interaction with Leasure it is clear that he holds an immense sense of pride for his beloved hometown. And that should be of no surprise, as he is a lifelong resident, graduate, parent and grandparent who has raised three children and is now grandpa to seven grandchildren in Circleville.

Leasure and his wife Debbie, a 25.5-year educational support staff veteran in the district, even met in 1969 as 8th and 9th graders in the Circleville City School system.

Debbie (left) and Terry (right) attend Circleville High School prom in 1970.

“I come from the south end of Circleville,” said Leasure. “I played all three sports here, my kids all played, my brothers played, and I have lived here all my life – Circleville is my town. I had no desire to ever move from here. This is where my roots are. This is where my family is.”

Together, Terry and Debbie raised three Tiger graduates – Kym (Class of 1997), Kyle (Class of 2000), and Kaleigh (Class of 2004). In raising all three, Leasure is quick to recognize the tradition and legacy of support both he and his children have received as students within the school system he now helps to serve.

“Circleville has done a great job over the years with superintendents, principals, and assistant principals,” said Leasure. “I think they have wrapped themselves in good people and my hat is off to all of the board members over the years because they did their job and picked the right people to run this place. Circleville has a great staff.”

Beyond the positive experiences his own kids have had in Circleville City Schools, Leasure calls upon mentors such as Mr. Fritz Jacobs, Mr. Paul Sargeant, and Mr. Don Poling as supportive school affiliated influences on his upbringing.

Grounded in a strong philosophy of people-first and community involvement, Leasure believes in being a part of a school environment that is driven by an intent to use every resource necessary to preserve the future- helping students grow daily.

“I think we need to do whatever we can with all of the power have to keep kids educated, interested, and passionate about school,” said Leasure. “We have to get to them when they are young. I think the main thing is we have to get them interested in grade school (elementary) and keep them interested all the way through high school when they get their diploma. We must do whatever we can to put in their toolbox what is necessary to help them succeed in life. They are our future.”

Outside of school, Leasure enjoys volunteering to do the play-by-play for football and basketball games with CGTV5, watching the Ohio State Buckeyes, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Reds, and spending time with his seven grandkids – Anniston Dunkle (age 15), Braxton Dunkle (age 13), Landyn Leasure (age 11), Claire Bower (age 10), Cade Bower (age 9), Jordan Leasure (age 8), and Brynlee Leasure (age 2). Leasure is a football coach of 49 years, baseball coach of 5 years, 6th grade basketball coach of 21 years, and has spent over two decades helping with alumni tournament and gate functions for Circleville Athletic events.

Terry is 1996 graduate of Columbus State with an Associate’s of Applied Science in Law Enforcement Technology, is in his 24th year as Community Work Hour Coordinator with the Pickaway County Probate and Juvenile Court, and has been recognized by the City of Circleville Park Board with his very own “Terry Leasure Day” (celebrated each June 5th in recognition of his 38 years of service to the community).

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Blog: Get to know new board member Patty Truex

This past November, Circleville High School Alum (Class of 1973) Patty Truex was named to the Circleville City School District Board of Education taking seat in January.

For Truex and her family, ties to the Tiger Community run deep in the Circleville City Schools school system (Husband Dave – Class of 1973, daughter Jada – Class of 2000, son Mitch – Class of 2003, and daughter Jill – Class of 2008). When considering running for the same school board and school system that has given her family so much, it was a love for education that motivated her to run for one of two open board seats this year.

“I love kids, I love education, and I love Circleville,” said Truex. “I had a former student nudge me along [to run as well] and when I became aware that I may be the only female candidate who was running for the board, I felt that I could not let that happen for the girls in Circleville and for the women of the community. Not that I want to make that a big deal, but without [female leadership anywhere] it becomes a big deal in its absence.”

As a former middle school teacher of 35 years with the Teays Valley Local School District, Truex points to values her parents, Ralph (Class of 1943) and Rosemary Ankrom, instilled in her at a young age that started a lifelong passion for education. The Ankrom extended family includes three siblings, Joyce, John, and Betsy who also are Circleville graduates

“I value education because [mom and dad] valued education,” said Truex. “They were both just service-oriented people and community oriented people. Dad loved the friendships he had in the community and he couldn’t find ways to serve enough – that was the kind of person he was. Mom was always a big supporter in the background of all of us.”

Truex (left) pictured with her dad Ralph (right).

Beyond her experience instructing the next generation, Truex’s resolve to dive in where her school community needed her has always been at the forefront of her community work – having previously served in Parent-Teacher Organizations, volunteering with levy committees, serving on the Circleville High School Alumni Association (a member since 2005), scoring for the CHS softball team, volunteering with the local Beta Rho Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society, and previously volunteering with the Circleville City School Foundation (8 years).

Truex holds a B.A. in Education and M.S. in Elementary Education both from The Ohio State University. She and her husband Dave are lifelong Circleville residents where they reside supporting their schools and five grandkids. Outside of time with family, Truex is very prideful of her morning walking club with close friends and she regularly volunteers at Trinity Lutheran Church in a variety of roles.

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She and her husband Dave are proud grandparents of five grandkids (Joseph – age 9, Jerrah – age 4, Abbey – age 2, Jaylah – 1, and Logan – 7 mos).

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Circleville Elementary School to host community COVID-19 vaccine clinic for ages 5-11 November 10th

On Wednesday, November 10th from 4-6 p.m. the Pickaway County Public Health Department (PCPH) will be on campus at Circleville Elementary School to host a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for kids ages 5-11.

This optional clinic for county families is the first offering of its kind following the November 2nd Centers for Disease Control (CDC) authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination pediatric formulation for children in these age ranges.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 is administered as a two-dose primary series, three weeks apart, but is a lower dose (10 micrograms) than that used for individuals 12 years of age and older (30 micrograms).

In addition to this clinic offering, PCPH will begin scheduling appointments during our regular clinic hours (Monday 12-3:30pm, Tuesday 9-11:30am, Thursday 12-3:30om, and Friday 9-11:30am) and will be partnering with Pickaway County school districts and other community organizations to make the vaccine available at outreach clinics. Please call 740-477-9667 ext. 240 to schedule an appointment for regular clinic hours.

To pre-register for this Age 5-11 COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic to be held at Circleville Elementary School, complete the registration form available on the Pickaway County Public Health Department’s website by clicking here.

As always, when it comes to health and wellness Circleville City Schools has pulled together a one-stop-shop for all things COVID-19 information, resources, and data available on our website. Click the link here to view.

Health agencies announce changes to quarantine procedures in K-12 schools

Earlier this week, the Ohio Department of Education and Pickaway County Public Health announced updates to existing quarantine procedures for K-12 classrooms to reflect changes to CDC health guidance announced the Week of October 18th. 

Characterized by substantial changes to the COVID-19 quarantine process, key changes to K-12 classroom exposure include the following provided they have no symptoms:

• Close contacts in a K-12 setting ONLY may attend school if they monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and wear a mask for:
  • 14 days if unvaccinated (can be reduced to 7 with negative PCR or antigen test performed 5-7 days after exposure) 
  • 14 days if vaccinated (can be reduced to 5 with negative PCR or antigen test performed 3-5 days after exposure) 

• Unvaccinated close contacts can continue to participate in extracurricular activities if they follow the Ohio Department of Health’s “Test to Play” guidelines 

It is important to note that these changes reflect quarantine restrictions from K-12 classroom exposure only. In the event, the affected individual has been exposed outside of school or in the home they will need to quarantine even if there are no symptoms. 

Please Note: The tests referenced above are SARS-CoV-2 viral (PCR or antigen) tests. They should be proctored and cannot be an over the counter, at home test that was self-administered without a proctor.

For complete documentation on current changes, we encourage Tiger Families to review the links below at their convenience. 

COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Flow Chart for K-12

Mask to Stay/Test to Play Guidance from Ohio Department of Education

CHS students take home top county honors in Herald Pumpkin Show Art Contest

Six Circleville High School art students have been recognized for their art work as a part of the 2021 Circleville Pumpkin Show art contest. Circleville High School had the most artwork selected of any of the participating schools in the county.

Annually, the Circleville Herald hosts a contest where students submit Circleville Pumpkin Show related pieces of art for judging and for their Pumpkin Show Book publication. Additionally, students are paired with a local business sponsor who then receives the art and displays it in their office as Pumpkin Show décor leading up to “The Greatest Free Show on Earth!” Each Tiger will receive a $100 monetary award for being selected for this year’s art publication.

This year’s Circleville High School winners and corresponding sponsors of our students’ art is as follows:

Ella Jenkins (sponsored by Kingston National Bank)

Meg Warner (sponsored by the Savings Bank)

Kaylyn Milliron (sponsored by Jack Pine)

Jaymen Salas (sponsored by Circleville Post Acute)

Autumn Bartchy (sponsored by Horizon)

We would like to congratulate CHS art teacher Mrs. Soni Grady and all five of these Tigers on their award winning pieces of art! We look forward to seeing these displayed in these local businesses and we thank them for their support of local schools in our community.

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Six Circleville High School students take home PCCYL Honors

Pictured left-to-right: Craig Fleck, Kat Stanley, Taaliya Fulgham, Addison Lowe, Jordan Rhymer, and Olivia Wastier.

On Sunday, September 12th, six Circleville High School seniors were recognized at the annual Pickaway County Youth Salute dinner and awards banquet hosted by the Pickaway County Council on Youth Leadership.

Seniors Craig Fleck, Taaliya Fulgham, Addison Lowe, Jordan Rhymer, Kat Stanley, and Olivia Wastier represented the Tigers at the 2021 ceremony.

The purpose of the Pickaway County Council on Youth Leadership is to recognize, encourage, and applaud the positive accomplishments of our community’s young leaders. Additionally, these individuals must meet qualifications that speak to their standing as good citizens, students, and they must have been elected to a leadership position by their peers within the past two years in school, church, youth, or community organizations.

Craig Fleck took home the Richard B. Fisher Outstanding Essay Award for the county and Olivia Wastier took home district representative honors for the upcoming national youth leadership conference.

Craig Fleck reads his award winning essay at the PCCYL ceremony.

Wastier is one of five county representatives to take home such honors from the Class of 2022.

Kat Stanley was named first alternate for the national youth leadership conference in the event one of the five county representatives can not go.

Congratulations to these students for their outstanding representation of Circleville High School and for their continued excellence in leadership in and out of the classroom. We would also like to thank the PCCYL and its council members for highlighting our students and students across the county for their exceptional contributions to youth leadership.

Olivia Wastier, Circleville City Schools’ district representative poses for a photo.

Circleville City Schools announces 8th grade D.C. Trip; 9th and 10th grade trip also planned for next spring

One of the unfortunate byproducts of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past few years has been the loss of the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip for the Class of 2024 and 2025. As a result, last month at the August meeting of the Board of Education, school leadership voted to approve not one, but TWO Washington D.C. Trips for students in grades 8, 9, and 10 this school year.

This year’s D.C. trip will take place during the last week of school running from May 23rd through May 25th. While these trips will take place at the same time, they will have separate itineraries and not be grouped together. Therefore, the 8th grade CMS D.C. trip students will not interact with the high school students on their trip.

On Wednesday, September 29th, Circleville City Schools will hold two mandatory parent meetings for any student in grades 8, 9, and 10 who plan to go on the Washington D.C. Trip next May.

The Circleville High School D.C. Trip meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium with the Circleville Middle School D.C. Trip meeting to follow at 6:30 p.m. in the middle school gymnasium for parents with students in both buildings and affected grade levels.

We are incredibly excited to bring back this experiential learning opportunity for students in grades 8-10 this coming May 2022 to visit the nation’s capital. As with many scheduled events during the pandemic, these trips may be subject to change based on health and safety protocols with an array of different travel partners, museums, and lodges.

A message from Superintendent Dr. Kimberly Halley

September 3rd, 2021

Hello Tiger Families! 

After 13 days of school, the Labor Day holiday weekend is upon us and we hope your family enjoys the long break! We have loved having your children back in school with our incredible staff who help them achieve.

During this short time, the COVID-19 active positive cases have increased significantly in Pickaway County and within our District. Additionally, the quarantine and positivity rates have significantly impacted student and staff attendance.

For up to date data and trends in Pickaway County, please visit https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/. 

New Updates: This week the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released new guidelines for schools regarding exposures, isolations, and quarantines. On Wednesday, the Pickaway County Public Health Department released an updated flowchart to correspond with the ODH guidelines when it comes to quarantines. As a reminder, we encourage students and staff to stay home if they are feeling unwell. A summary of the new ways to avoid quarantines (and stay safe) BEFORE they occur can be summed up in the following graphic:

It remains our goal to maintain a traditional school format of in-person learning, five days a week with your children! Therefore, we need the help of our parents and families to voluntarily choose to have your child mask at all times while inside our schools. If illness, positive cases, and quarantines continue to rise at debilitating rates, schools across the country and state will be forced to move again to hybrid schedules or fully remote (at home) learning. I do not want that for us in Circleville because I believe that students and staff function best when we are together inside our school buildings.

This new ODH guidance (mentioned above), CDC links, and the District COVID-19 Dashboard of data can all be found on the district website under the District Information Tab and on the COVID-19 Resource Page.

Head to circlevillecityschools.org to view.

We are working hard to provide accurate and timely communication updates to our Tiger families daily. 

Information on vaccine availability for eligible students with the health department can be found at https://pickawaycountypublichealth.org/register/. Individuals can locate other providers by logging on to http://gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov/.

Enjoy your long weekend, stay safe, and as always – Go Tigers!

Sincerely, 

Dr. Kimberly Halley

Superintendent of Schools