Hudson Monthly February 2015

INSIDE HUDSONITE STARS IN GERMAN PLAYSPAGE 6

FEBRUARY 2015

COMMON GROUNDFind out how Common Core is impacting Hudson Students

2 HUDSON MONTHLY FEBRUARY 2015

FEBRUARY 2015 HUDSON MONTHLY 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR4

5 HUDSON VOICES

GIVE MY REGARDS TO BROADWAY

AT THE CORE

WINTER GAMES

6

BY MICHELE KISTHARDTLuke Slager is creating quite the life for himself in Germany. He even recently claimed the lead in a German-speaking play. Find out what’s next for the Hudson High grad.

BY STEPHANIE FELLENSTEINTake a look at how Hudson schools are implementing Common Core standards and preparing for the new PARCC assessments this spring.

BY MARIE POMPILIThe Special Olympics Ohio Winter Games transformed Brandywine Ski Resort and the Kent State

University ice arena into Olympic venues for a few days. Find out what events took place.

CHLOE BIGHAM, 6, READS AT HER DESK IN REBECCA RICE’S FIRST-GRADE CLASS AT EVAMERE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

HUDSON MONTHLY /LISA SCALFARO

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Vol. 16, Issue 6FEBRUARY 2015

1050 W. Main St., Kent, OH 44240

www.recordpub.comPhone

330-541-9400Fax

330-296-2698Email

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EDITORStephanie Fellenstein

ext. 4185

GENERAL MANAGERRon Waite

PHOTOGRAPHERLisa Scalfaro

HUDSON HUB-TIMESEDITOR

Andrew Adamext. 4175

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Michele KisthardtMarie Pompili

DESIGNERMalissa Vernon

Hudson Monthly is published 12 times a year by Record Publishing Co., David E. Dix—Publisher, P.O. Box 5199, Kent, OH 44240. It is included once per month with the carrier-delivered Hudson Hub-Times. Mail subscriptions are available for $36 per year. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without written permission of the Record Publishing Co., L.L.C. © Copyright 2015


While researching Common Core at Hudson High School, I came upon a copy of The Explorer, the school’s student newspaper.

The Explorer is a powerful document filled with school news, current events, sports and opinions. It doesn’t shy away from hard-hitting topics like the war on terror, Washington politics or technolo-gy. The paper even covers hot local topics like the proposed hotel on Barlow Road.

While they may not quite realize it at this point, these young journalists have much responsibility.

It is their job to carry on the freedom of the press; to make sure that journalists like Daniel Pearl, Kenji Goto and the editorial staff at Paris’ Charlie Hebdo have not died in vain.

This month marks the 13th anniversary of the death of Daniel Pearl. Today’s high school seniors were most likely in preschool or kindergarten at the time.

Pearl was a journalist, the South Asia bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal. He was research-ing shoe bomber Richard Reid a few months af-ter 9/11 when he was kidnapped in Pakistan. Pearl was beheaded, leaving behind a wife and a son who

would be born three months later, plus par-ents and siblings and friends and co-workers.

He made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom of the press. As did Goto and Stephane Charbonni-er, Jean Cabut, Georges Wolins-

ki and more.Maintaining the freedom of the press is more

essential than ever. So future journal-ists, I ask you: Are you up for the

challenge?

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Recently, the Hudson Hub’s front page re-ported concern by the president of our city coun-cil on increas-ing community awareness of the heroin epidemic that is directly im-pacting the lives of residents. Ad-mittedly, it is just one chemical being abused, but many are unaware of how heroin abuse in particu-lar is growing.

Heroin is highly addictive, and not easy to rehab. After detox, the goal is to discov-er those factors that led to the use in the first place. There are arguments that prescrip-tion pain drug use leads to abuse, and that when those scripts run out, or are other-wise not renewed (maybe for suspicion of abuse), then the pain control seeker moves to illegal narcotics, which are usually cheaper than the pre-

scriptions.One way her-

oin use comes to our attention is through the re-porting of thefts, misuse of cred-it cards, or bur-glaries, where often families be-come victims of another fami-ly member’s ad-diction. Unfortu-

nately, our other involvement typically begins when we re-spond with EMS for an un-conscious person. More often than not, the caller elicits in-formation that the victim has overdosed; EMS then follows their protocol, typically involv-ing the administering of Nar-can, which counters the ef-fect of the heroin, and then the victim’s breathing and oth-er vitals are monitored while they are transported to the hospital. In a number of re-cent cases, the overdose has resulted in death of the victim.

Because heroin is an unreg-

ulated narcotic, the user does not really know what they are putting in his or her body. For example, in a number of area deaths (northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania) with-in the last year, Fentanyl has been found combined with the heroin; anecdotally, Fen-tanyl is 25 times more pow-erful than heroin, and without knowing it is in there, more deaths by overdose have oc-curred.

Statistically, from 2010 through 2012, Hudson had one reported heroin over-dose each year. We recog-nized that we were ‘losing’ information, as our report sys-tem gave each call a single name. This means that if the call came in as an EMS assist, and it was then discovered the reason was for a heroin overdose, we were not nec-essarily capturing that. We have since made modifica-tions, and in 2013, we had ten heroin-related calls, three which involved overdoses. The remainder were posses-

sion crimes, typically where heroin was found in cars after they were searched for other crimes, or under our invento-ry policy, when a vehicle was being towed for another in-fraction.

In 2014, we had seven her-oin related calls; three over-doses, two resulting in death, while we made death notifi-cations for two other families, as their loved one died of a heroin overdose in a border-ing city. The other two calls involved an EMS assist for heroin withdrawal, and for possession.

There are most assured-ly overdoses of our residents which have occurred outside of our city or county, which would not be reported to us.

Heroin is not buried in the 1960s, nor confined to our cities; it is here in our sub-urbs, and our rural towns, so we are not immune. Recogni-tion that we have a problem is the first step towards hope-fully working on a solution to this epidemic.

A heroin epidemic

by Hudson Police Chief David Robbins


Hudson High grad lands lead role in German production

GIVE MY REGARDS TO

by Michele Kisthardt • Photos special to Hudson Monthly

Former Hudson resi-dent and Hudson High School graduate Luke Slager recently played the lead role in a theater production of Blaubart (the English translation of the French folktale is Bluebeard) in Göttin-gen, Germany, where he now lives and works. It is a remarkable feat for an English-speak-ing American to star in a German-speaking production, but what’s more astonishing is that Slager didn’t take any German language class-es as a student at Hud-son High School. In fact, he nearly failed his first German class in col-lege. Yet, this young man went on master the lan-guage, graduate from Ohio University with a double major in History and German, and earn a Fulbright grant to teach English in Germany.

Slager, 26, moved from Chicago to Hudson with his parents Tim and Me-lissa Slager in 1998. He entered Hudson City schools in third grade and was active through-out high school in the-ater productions. Slager says, “I was in choir and acted in plays and mu-sicals every year, led by drama coach and choir director Amy Foulkes. I think I was in nine differ-ent plays in high school.”

Slager says one of his favorite acting memories in high school was per-forming as Lumiere in the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” He recalls, “I wore a big candelabra on my head.”

After high school, Slager took a break from acting while he was a student at Ohio Univer-sity. He says, “I was more focused on school and social life at Ohio.” It


was during that time that Dr. Nikhil Sathe, a Ger-man language professor at Ohio, encouraged Slager to consider adding a Ger-man major to his already declared history major.

Slager was open to con-sidering that idea as he yearned for a study abroad experience in Europe. He reflects, “I had just seen the movie ‘The Lives of Others,’ and I thought it was such a cool film. That’s what got me interested ini-tially.” The film, set in East Germany in 1984, won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007.

Once Slager set his mind to refining his study skills, he found great suc-cess in his German class-es. “Through an Ohio Uni-versity program, I went to Salzburg, Austria, as a sophomore, where I stud-ied German intensively. I had a great experience. It was a beginner crash course,” Slager says.

Slager did so well that Dr. Sathe invited him to return on the Ohio-spon-sored trip to Austria as a program assistant dur-ing the spring of his senior year. Slager explains, “I taught a small group of be-ginning German students, while I took advanced German classes.”

During his senior year, Slager applied for a Ful-bright award, and while he was studying in Austria, he learned that he was select-ed for the program. In the fall of 2011, after his grad-uation from Ohio, Slager began working as an Eng-lish language teaching as-sistant at a high school in Göttingen coordinat-ed through the Fulbright Program and the Pädago-gischer Austauschdienst (PAD) in Germany. He says, “Most of the schools in Germany are vocation-al, but the school I was assigned to was oriented

as a university prep high school.”

Though Slager had nev-er visited Göttingen, it was a great fit for a young adult fresh out of college. Göttingen is a universi-ty town in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a popula-tion of slightly over 100,000 people, many of whom are students or faculty at the renowned University of Göttingen. Slager says the town is cosmopolitan and well-known internation-ally for its academic pro-grams. In fact, at least 44 Nobel laureates have links to Göttingen.

That setting also re-ig-nited Slager’s passion for theater, as Göttingen is home to multiple theaters and, according to Slager, has one of the largest am-ateur theater populations in the world. Slager found a group of roommates over the Internet to share a flat and quickly immersed himself in his job and the town’s bustling theater scene. His first acting role in Göttingen was in an English-speaking produc-tion of “Arsenic and Old Lace.” The play was affil-iated with the university, however, you didn’t have to be enrolled as a stu-dent to participate in the productions, according to Slager.

His 10-month stint as a Fulbright grantee passed quickly. Slager was hap-py living in Göttingen and ultimately found oth-er teaching opportunities that enabled him to stay for another year. In his sec-ond year in Göttingen, he performed in an Eng-lish-speaking production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

When that second year ended, he left Germa-ny and returned to Hud-son and spent the summer working on the landscap-ing crew for the city of Hudson’s Parks Depart-

ment, where he’d worked every summer since his high school days. His in-tent, at the time, was to attend graduate school in Ohio in the fall, but, at the last minute, an opportu-nity arose to teach Eng-lish as a second language in Berlin.

Living in Berlin was a bit of a culture shock for Slager. He says, “Berlin is a really competitive place to live and work. It was diffi-cult getting settled.” From travel visa delays to high rental prices, Slager says it took about two months to settle in to Berlin.

His job required him to travel to various schools — from kindergartens to high school — and to pri-vate companies, as well, teaching English. Without a car, Slager says, “I cer-tainly learned to navigate Berlin’s transportation system.”

To make ends meet, Slager took on translation work, including one of his favorite freelance assign-ments, website translation for Austrian ski and spa websites. Slager reflects on his time in Berlin, say-ing, “If you had a steady high paying job, Berlin would be a great place to live. I realized teaching wasn’t for me during that time. I have more respect for teachers now. You have to be made of hard stuff to be a teacher.”

After deciding to make a career change, in April 2014, Slager was offered a job as a copy editor at Co-pernicus, a scientific pub-lishing house in Göttingen, the same town where he lived during his Fulbright assignment. He quickly settled into a small studio flat, a short 10-minute bike ride to his office.

Slager edits scientif-ic journals, mostly on cli-mate sciences and geolog-ic sciences. Slager says, “I communicate with the sci-


end. I’d go to work, then ride my bike to rehearsals,” says Slager.In November, Blaubart debuted at the Deutsches Theater (German Theater) in Göttingen. Slager says, “It was sup-

posed to be at the Theater im OP (ThOP) in the University that was originally a surgery lecture room. Unfortunately, that theater had water damage, and we had to find a venue at the last minute. We were so fortunate … someone from the Ger-man Theater offered us the studio stage, which was a great setting.”

Slager says he does get a little nervous before opening night, but really doesn’t suffer from stage fright. Still, the experi-ence is intense. He says, “It was 100 minutes of dialogue. I was sweaty and exhausted after each production.”

Reviews for the show, as well as Slager’s performance, were outstanding. In fact, Slager says, the production received a lot of hype and all performances at the theater sold out. He says, “I enjoyed the show, and it was a success.”

Soon after the play closed, Slager was “home” in Hudson celebrating the holidays with his parents, sisters, Sadie and Mary Beth, and his extended family. Slager says missing family is one of the drawbacks to living abroad. “My mother and aunt were able to visit once and a handful of friends,” says Slager, who is looking forward to an upcoming visit from his sis-ter Sadie, adding, “It’s very expensive to get to Göttingen.”Luke Slager appeared in an English-speaking production of

“Arsenic and Old Lace” in Goettingen, Germany.

entists who write the articles. Over 70 percent of our journals are from non-English native speakers. It requires a delicate touch working with the scien-tists. I spend all day reading and editing.”

When Slager moved back to Göttingen, he immediately be-came re-immersed in the the-ater scene. He attended a try-out for a German production of Bluebeard, and, to his sur-prise, he was cast in the lead role of Bluebeard. He was the only male in the eight-person production.

How did he prepare for the role? Memorizing lines, says Slager, has never been difficult, but doing a play in German pre-sented different challenges. He says, “I speak German well, but there are definitely sounds that are more difficult. I worked with a wonderful speech therapist, who was interested in theater,

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Luke Slager, right, who appeared in numerous productions at Hudson High, got back into acting in Germany.

to help me with my accent,” shares Slager.

Slager says the role required up to 20 hours a week in re-hearsals. “I didn’t have a spare minute near the end. I’d go to work, then ride my bike to re-hearsals,” says Slager.

In November, Blaubart de-buted at the Deutsches Theater (German Theater) in Göttin-gen. Slager says, “It was sup-posed to be at the Theater im OP (ThOP) in the University that was originally a surgery lec-ture room. Unfortunately, that theater had water damage, and we had to find a venue at the last minute. We were so fortu-nate … someone from the Ger-man Theater offered us the stu-dio stage, which was a great setting.”

Slager says he does get a little nervous before opening night, but really doesn’t suffer from stage fright. Still, the experience

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is intense. He says, “It was 100 min-utes of dialogue. I was sweaty and exhausted after each production.”

Reviews for the show, as well as Slager’s performance, were out-standing. In fact, Slager says, the production received a lot of hype and all performances at the theater sold out. He says, “I enjoyed the show, and it was a success.”

Soon after the play closed, Slager was “home” in Hudson celebrating the holidays with his parents, sis-ters, Sadie and Mary Beth, and his extended family. Slager says miss-ing family is one of the drawbacks to living abroad. “My mother and aunt were able to visit once and a handful of friends,” says Slager, who is looking forward to an upcoming visit from his sister Sadie, adding, “It’s very expensive to get to Göt-tingen.”

Former Hudsonite Luke Slager appeared in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Germany.

What’s next for Slager? “My cur-rent visa is good through 2016. I don’t have any immediate plans. I have a comfortable flat and good job. I could see myself back in the states at some point,” he says. Un-til then, he’ll stay busy working, acting and riding his bike around Göttingen.v


Pastor Michael C. Conklin

“Visitors Expected”

SUNDAYSERVICES

Formal Liturgy 8:45 a.m.Sunday School 9:45 a.m.Contemporary Worship 11:00 a.m.

7855 Stow Rd • Hudson, OhioA Congregation of the E.L.C.A.

330.653.5980 | rejoicelc.org

Dr. Arthur J. Helin, PastorSunday School 9:00 a.m.Sunday Worship 10:15 a.m.

7755 S. Boyden Rd • Northfield, Ohio330.467.4137

Child Care Available

NORTHFIELD PRESBYTERIANCHURCH

Worship with Holy Eucharistand Sunday School 10:00 a.m.

330.342.0429 • hudsonanglican.com55 Atterbury Blvd • Hudson, Ohio

Rev. Dr. Joe Boysel, Rector

HOLY TRINITY ANGLICANCHURCH

Sunday Service & School 10:30 a.m.Wednesday Testimony Meeting 7:30 p.m.ReAdiNg ROOm iN HudSONevApORAtOR WORkS #7tues., Wed., thur., Fri. & Sat. 10:00 - 1:00Sunday 11:45 - 12:30

7200 valley view Rd • p.O. Box 653330.653.6965

FIRST CHURCH OF CHRISTSCIENTIST

Rev. Hoyte WilhelmSunday Worship 9:00 a.m. & 11:15 a.m.Sunday School 10:15 a.m.

330.650.2650 | hudsonumc.comOpen Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors.

HUDSON UNITED METHODISTCHURCH

2600 Hudson-Aurora Rd • Hudson, Ohio

A Christ Centered Church

Rev. Rob SparrSunday School (all ages) 9:30 a.m.Sunday Service 8:30 & 10:30 a.m.

330.650.1626 • www.hudsonpc.org

HUDSON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, EPC

201 W. Streetsboro St • Hudson, Ohio

Rev. Sue TinkerSunday School 9:15 a.m.Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m.

21 Aurora St • Hudson, Ohio330.607.0856 | fpchudson.org

Growing, Loving, Serving

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOF HUDSON, PC (USA)

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GLORIA DEI LUTHERAN CHURCH

330.650.6550 • www.gloriadeihudson.org2113 Ravenna St • Hudson, Ohio 44236

Jeff Schofield, Lead PastorWednesday Family Night 6:30 p.m.Hope preschool programSunday Worship Celebration 9:30 & 11:00 a.m.

3033 middleton Rd • Hudson, Ohio

Real Life • Real Change • Real Hope

330.655.5170• www.hopecma.com


Rebecca Rice’s first-graders at Evamere El-ementary School spent a wintery January morning embracing Common Core standards without even re-alizing it.

“What did we do really well today?” Rice asks the students gathered around on the rug in front of her.

Some mention how qui-et they were, while others talk about how they were focused on their work.

Rice pulls out a book, “Sylvester and the Mag-ic Pebble,” and explains that the class is working on “why readers ask ques-tions?”

Before she even begins the story, she tells the stu-

dents to turn to the person next to them and tell them one question they have.

Elena gets to tell the class her question — what would a person use a mag-ic pebble for? Everyone agrees that it is an excel-lent question.

“It’s like the question is jumping up and down in your head,” Rice says, smil-ing, while she cracks open the book.

The first-graders may not notice Common Core wo-ven into their daily lives, but the practices are every-where.

The room is silent as Syl-vester and his magic peb-ble are introduced. Two pages in, Rice pauses. The

students turn to the friend next to them and eager-ly discuss who Sylvester is and what the heck is going on with his magic pebble. It’s still a mystery.

No longer is a book read from start to finish and then tossed aside with no further investigation. With-out realizing it, the stu-dents already are adding “evidence” to support their theories and searching for context clues, part of the reading/language arts re-quirements in Common Core. For example, in a sep-arate reading group lat-er that same morning, one student says she suspects the seasons have changed because the picture of a

tree in the book no longer shows green leaves, but col-ored leaves.

Rice even asks her stu-dents why readers ask questions.

Soon the giant pad of pa-per next to her is filled with ideas — questions mean readers are interested, and questions mean the read-ers want answers.

It is exactly these ques-tions that get to the root of Common Core. Students now need to process the in-formation and apply it to their own lives.

Kind of advanced for first-graders? Not really, Rice says.

“When the standards came out and I compared

A look at life three years after Hudson

implemented Ohio’s Common Core standardsby Stephanie Fellenstein • Photos by Lisa Scalfaro


them to the old standards, I first thought, ‘Oh my goodness. Are they going to be able to do this?’” Rice says. “They really can.”

And when the new stan-dards are boiled down and compared to old, they’re not that different, Rice says.

“It just made things rich-er and meatier,” she says.

GETTING TO THE CORECommon Core is a set

of academic standards in math and English language arts — reading, writing, speaking/listening and lan-guage. They outline what a student should know by the end of each grade level.

Ohio adopted the Com-mon Core standards in June 2010. Developed by teachers, parents, school administrators, education-al experts and state lead-ers, the standards were ful-ly implemented across the state during the 2013-14 school year.

Hudson actually imple-mented them the year be-fore.

According to the Com-mon Core State Standards Initiative, the standards “ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills and knowl-edge necessary to succeed

in college, career and life, regardless of where they live.”

What does that exactly mean?

Well, it means that 43 states, the District of Co-lumbia, four territories and the Department of De-fense Education Activity have adopted the Common Core. The students in each of those states must meet the exact same standards at the end of each grade level.

However, how those stan-dards are reached is en-tirely up to each individual school district.

“Common Core is only the standards,” says Hud-son Schools Superinten-dent Phil Herman. “The curriculum is ours, the cur-riculum maps are ours and the materials are ours.”

State adoption of Com-mon Core is not mandato-ry. Minnesota has adopted only the English/language arts standards, and Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, In-diana, Virginia and Alas-ka have opted not to adopt the standards.

HUDSON’S APPROACH“There is a tremendous

misunderstanding of what Common Core is,” Herman says. “It is a language arts

LANGUAGE ARTS CHANGES• Regular practice with complex texts.• Reading, writing and speaking backed by evidence

from both literary and informational texts.• More focus on non-fiction texts.

MATH CHANGES

Kindergarten-grade 2: concepts, skills, problem- solving related to addition and subtraction Grades 3-5: multiplication/division of whole numbers

and fractions Grade 6: ratios and proportional relationships, early

algebraic expressions and equations. Grade 7: ratios and proportional relationships, arith-

metic of rational numbers. Grade 8: linear algebra and linear functions.• linking topics and thinking across grades• rigor: making sure there is a deep understanding of

concepts — conceptual, procedural and application.

How the Common Core standards changed things

These general practices are used from kindergarten through grade 12. What is expected at each grade level is different.

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.3. Construct viable arguments and critique the

reasoning of others.4. Model with mathematics.5. Use appropriate tools strategically.6. Attend to precision.7. Look for and make use of structure.8. Look for and express regularity in repeated

reasoning.

Visit www.corestandards.org/Math/Practice/ for a detailed explanation of each practice.

Common Core’s Eight Mathematical Practice Standards

Koen VanScoy, 7, flips the page of his Clifford book.


and math standard. We have had state standards for a long time. When Ohio decided in 2010 to adopt Common Core, we began trying to align to the new standards. We looked at how our stan-dards stacked up. Maybe something that was done in the third grade before is now being done in sec-ond grade.”

Curriculum Director and Assistant Superin-tendent Doreen Osmun says the standards are great.

“They are rigorous. They have taken those re-ally good, tried and true learning experiences, and bumped it up,” she says. “Say the students need to write an animal report. Instead of just making it informational, now stu-dents are trying to per-

suade each other why their animal is the best. Maybe they will write a commercial. The stan-dards bump the rigor up just a little.”

Rigor is a word often at-tached to Common Core.

Collaboration — similar to what goes on in a busi-ness board room or hospi-tal lab — is another Com-mon Core buzzword.

CORE CALCULATIONS

Collaboration is seen in full force in Kara Gilanyi’s seventh-grade math class at Hudson Middle School.

“It’s more like a math workshop,” she says. “Them working, less of me talking. I am a facili-tator.”

The “new” Common Core math is heavy on al-gebra, plus seventh grade sees a lot of ratios and

Hudson Monthly Photo / Stephanie FellensteinHudson Middle School Language Arts teacher Jennifer Lawler discusses a project with some of her students.

1032986100


proportions.Students sit in groups of

four throughout the room. Giant dry-erase boards are in the middle of each group. The students scribble down numbers, dividing quickly to find their answers.

The lesson of the day in-volves solving for part, base or percent — 70 percent of 600 — using the percent proportion or percent equa-tion.

“Turn to your neigh-bor and see if you got the same answer,” Gilanyi says. “What do you think?”

Gilanyi says she likes the way the Common Core is set up, finding it easier to understand and more orga-nized than previous stan-dards.

“I have specific things I need to teach. I like that,” she says. “I think Common Core has great potential. It’s really been a smooth

transition. How you run with Common Core is up to you. I notice so many more resources now.”

Gilanyi, in her sixth year teaching in Hudson, says the eight mathematical practices are a big thing now.

“We want them to be thinkers, problem solvers,” she says.

The Common Core also offers a lot of “I can” state-ments and rich vocabulary. The vocabulary includes not just math words — di-vision, factor, multiplication — but also words like ana-lyze, represent and identify. Words that students would use elsewhere in life, Gilanyi says.

She admits the rigor is harder.

“As a teacher, I need to monitor that,” she says. “I need to make sure everyone is working where they need

to be.”Peer collaboration and

evidence-supported argu-ments are also seen in Jen Lawler’s eighth-grade lan-guage arts at the middle school.

Her students are finish-ing up a unit on “How far are you willing to go for what you want?” While the Common Core language arts standards offer a ba-sic structure, Lawler takes those standards and adds her choice of novels, fun apps and engaging tech-niques. In January, her stu-dents were finishing up “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” studying the Ho-locaust and creating Edu-creation App presentations about their hopes and plans for the future. Not all at the same time, of course. The unit stretched across an en-tire quarter.

The Educreation presen-

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tations are fun and thought-provoking at the same time.

Eighth-grader Reese Bor-jas plans to be a lawyer. She was spending part of the class period figuring out how she would get to and from Stanford, while classmate Anthony Novak, who hopes to study marine biology, was researching colleges.

Karsen Guldan was al-ready done with his proj-ect. He runs through the fi-nal product that includes a voice over and animation all related to an acting career and Juilliard.

“It was really fun and in-troduced me to a new app,” he says. “It is a visual rep-resentation of what we’ve been talking about.”

Class is winding down and Lawler reminds every-one about the Tom Sawyer homework.

“You need two quotes to support the theme from the beginning, the middle and the end,” she says.

Again, the Common Core standards ask that students not just read the book and name the theme, but that they find evidence to sup-port that theme.

Jackie Hannan’s students at Hudson High School know all about themes and supporting evidence.

“The Common Core stan-dards are great,” Hannan says. “They really stretch a kid to make a deeper con-nection. What we’re asking them to do is much deeper and richer.”

Hannan uses her 10th-grade honors class as an example. They just fin-ished reading “Strength in What Remains,” a non-fic-tion book about Deogratias Niyizonkiza, a man who sur-vived genocide and civil war in Burundi and made a new life for himself in the United States.

Using the book and Co-lumbia University’s student acceptance requirements, Hannan’s students had to decide if they would admit Rebecca Rice with her first-grade class.


Deo to the university if they were on the admissions board. Their essays had to include evidence from mul-tiple sources, Hannan says.

In January, the 10th-graders are busy finishing up a writing piece — the last part of their grade for the second quarter. The as-signment? Invite a special guest to speak to the stu-dent body and persuade the student government to choose that guest.

“It has to be someone who can come,” Hannan says, walking around the desks. “As much as I’d love to listen to Abe Lincoln, he can’t physically make it.”

Pens hit the papers immediately. Suggest-ed guests range from Kid President and Angelina Jo-lie to Stephen Colbert and Bill Gates.

Again, collaboration is a big part of Common Core, and the students toss ideas back and forth before their final speaker choice is ap-proved by Hannan.

Hannan admits she struggled at first to get her students engaged. A fel-low teacher suggested she rearrange her classroom, getting rid of the tradition-al rows of desks. “I need-ed them to interact and they weren’t until I moved all the desks together,” she says.

Osmun agrees, saying with Common Core, every child is engaged. “There is no round robin reading anymore.”ASSESSING THE STANDARDS

Some opponents of Com-mon Core fear the stan-dards have been “dumbed down” to the lowest state’s level. Others fear a loss of local and state control over education.

Hudson educators say this is not the case. They say the standards just offer a starting point, it is their job to make sure their stu-dents are challenged.

An attempt, which failed, was already made to repeal the Common Core.

“The amount of work and time to invest in Com-mon Core only to switch to the Massachusetts stan-dards and then to new Ohio standards [is not a good idea],” Herman says. “Every time we change, we take a step back. We say, ‘Show the target and hold it steady.’ We expect this of our teachers, staff and stu-dents.”

Assessments are neces-sary to make sure the Com-mon Core standards actu-ally are working, and this is where Common Core is getting a bad rap, say some Hudson educators.

While technically not part of Common Core, the state’s new assessment tool — Partnership for As-sessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) tests — will see if the Common Core idea is working.

The states that adopt-ed Common Core had two testing companies to choose from for their as-sessments — PARCC or Smarter Balance. The Ohio Department of Edu-cation chose PARCC, Os-mun says, adding that the two testing companies were very similar.

“PARCC replaces the OAAs (Ohio Achievement Assessments) and meets the No Child Left Behind/or what is known as the ESEA Federal Law,” she says.

Grades three to eight, and all high school fresh-man, the class of 2018, will take the PARCC test for math and reading.

The current high school sophomores are the last class to take the OGTs (Ohio Graduation Test.) The OGTs include science and social studies tests currently. The new tests fo-cus on subject-specific ar-eas. For example, instead

Hudson Monthly Photo / Stephanie FellensteinNatalie Gundling, left, and Giuliana LaMarca, right, work on a writing

assignment in Jackie Hannan’s 10th-grade honors English class.

Hudson Monthly Photo / Stephanie FellensteinMath teacher Kara Gilanyi works on a proportion

problem with some of her seventh-graders.

Hudson Monthly Photo / Stephanie FellensteinHudson High Language Arts teacher Jackie Hannan discusses a

writing assignment with Sophomore Tyler Richey.


of a general science and social studies test, there will be phys-ical science, biology, U.S. Histo-ry and government tests.

“There are more testing ses-sions [with the new PARCC tests],” Osmun says, “but the test sessions themselves are shorter. Students will still end up with more time taking tests.”

Students taking the PARCC tests must accumulate at least 18 points to graduate.

Based on test performance, students can earn one to five points for each exam. A “5” for advanced down to a “1” for lim-ited knowledge on a subject. Assessments are taken for Eng-lish I and II, algebra I or inte-grated math I, geometry or in-tegrated math II, physical science or biology, American History and American Govern-ment.

Beginning in 2015-16, dis-tricts may replace their own final exams with the PARCC

assessments to cut down on double testing.

Herman already predicts there will be changes in the fu-ture, limiting the amount of testing.

Advanced Placement exams, International Baccalaureate and other college programs can use those final exams to earn graduation points in place of the PARCC assessments.

Students also can retake the exams until they meet the graduation-point requirement.

“One of my frustrations is that we won’t see the results [from the spring 2015 PARCC tests] until next December,” Osmun says. PARCC will use those original results to set the test’s parameters — proficient, skilled, accelerated, etc.

“There is a tremendous amount of angst because of the rate of change,” Herman says. “Our teachers want our stu-dents to succeed. I feel confi-dent that we are.”v


The annual Special Olympics Ohio Winter Games took place this month at Brandy-wine Ski Resort and the Kent State Ice Are-na. Athletes are true competitors and ex-hibit true sportsmanship by living out their Special Olympics Oath: Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt.

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Tu-rin, (Piedmont), Italy. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The 21st century has witnessed spectacular Winter Olympic Games every four years, held in some of the most beau-tiful places in the world. While our little slice of heaven looks a little less celestial than say, St. Moritz, Switzerland, it is ev-erything to the 156 athletes who competed in the Special Olympics Ohio’s annual Win-ter Games.

Now in its 33rd year, The Special Olym-pics Ohio Winter Games offers four events in which athletes can compete: alpine skiing, nordic (cross country) skiing, figure skating, and speed skating. Athletes are from all four corners of the state with the majority com-ing from accredited organizations based in Hamilton, Franklin, Cuyahoga, Lake and Summit counties. Athletes and their fami-lies stay at the Clarion Inn, Hudson, where the red carpet is laid out and free breakfast is served. Unlike the typical Olympics, no one athlete is spotlighted ahead of time un-less it is done by his or her local newspaper. All delegates are celebrated for their skill and their ability to challenge themselves to the level where they can compete.

When the Winter Games began in 1983, the Columbus-based Special Olympics Ohio staff needed to find a venue that could accommodate the athletes and competi-tions. “We searched for Class A facilities and contacted the [then] owners of Bos-ton Mills Ski Resort,” says Marty Allen, pro-

gram director, Special Olympics Ohio. “We toured Boston Mills and the owners said they’d love to host. Since then, the com-munity has been very supportive provid-ing volunteers and great support.” Ice skating was initially held at Vir-ginia Kendall Park in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park un-til it became ap-parent that the unpredictable Northeast Ohio winter wouldn’t guarantee a fro-zen lake. The skating events were then moved to the Kent State Ice Arena. The ski events were also moved from Bos-ton Mills to Bran-dywine as the lat-ter does not open to the public un-til 3 p.m. allow-ing all events to run smoothly and the re-sort to stay open for business during the Games.

Skating through the competition

Joe Antenuc-ci is the Special Olympics Ohio north section di-rector and the skating director for the Winter Games. He over-

by Marie Pompili • Photos Special to Hudson Monthly

Ohio Special Olympics showcases talented athletes


sees both the figure skating and speed skating events at

Kent State. Roughly one year in advance,

Antenu-cci re-serves i c e t i m e f o r t h e c o m -

pulso -r y a n d

skill events, working with

Kent State so as not to inter-fere with hock-

ey practic-es and o t h -e r r e -served i c e t i m e . I n speed s k a t -i n g there can be up to

eight

events de-pending on how

many athletes qualify — the accredited programs sub-mit their entry score (i.e. the time it takes for the ath-lete to skate an event) for consideration. Skate times, gender, age, and physical ability determine where an athlete is placed. Typically the speed skating event will include 800-, 300-, 1000-, 100-, and 500-meter events with the occasional 1500-meter race added when a particu-lar athlete’s skill level war-rants it. “Many will move on to skate in the Nation-al or World competitions,” Antenucci says. In addition, there cannot be any more than eight participants in a division with no more than 15 percent disparity in the slowest and fastest times. “We try to have at least two skaters in a division,” Ante-nucci says. “If we have four or more skaters in a divi-sion we will run two races

and then look at the total scores to determine the win-ners.” A skater can skate in no more than two events de-pending on his or her ability.

One thing to note here: many of the skaters have considerable athletic abili-ty. While there are minimum time limits set on the short-er events (i.e. the 500-meter has a minimum time of three to five minutes), there are no time limits set on the longer events. “We are not trying to make it an endurance event. It should be fun,” says Ante-nucci, adding that there are many talented individuals who can skate “really fast.”

Fast speeds increase the chances for injury, but Ante-nucci and his team are pre-pared. Although he hasn’t seen truly bad injuries in many years, there are the in-evitable falls that occur dur-ing the speed event. Volun-teers discreetly skate during the competition, making sure that skaters stay on the outside of the cones mark-ing the skating area. There are mats attached to side walls for added protection. Athletes are required to wear elbow and knee pads as well as a C collar to pro-tect against further injury and they are not permitted to wear figure skates due to the jagged toe blades that can catch on the ice during a race. “We try to make it as safe as possible so that the athletes can become bet-ter skaters,” Antenucci says. Athletes in the speed skat-ing events tend to be a bit older as many school pro-grams do not participate in this type of competition. There are even some skaters in their 50s and 60s.

Figure skating is struc-tured much the same way as it is in the typical Olym-pics, featuring both com-pulsory and skills events. The athletes receive rough-ly eight weeks of training be-ginning in September, most often practicing at least one time per week or more as available ice time per-mits. Individual programs

are responsible for training their athletes. As with typ-ical skating programs, fig-ure skaters range in skill lev-els from Basic Level One (bunny hop) to Basic Lev-el Six (forward lunge and simple jumps). Antenucci has found that as the years go on, skaters perfect their jumps and bring more skill to the competition to the point where the judges ex-pect to see said jumps, spins and figure eights. Speaking of judges, they are experi-enced in judging many fig-ure skating competitions and evaluate the skaters in much the same way they would in typical competi-tions. Scores are posted in the same way they would be in typical events and medals (bronze, silver and gold) are awarded from a podium set up on the ice.

Antenucci has been with the Winter Games from the beginning, helping with the Nordic (cross country) and Alpine skiing events as well as skating. While work-ing at the Summit Coun-ty Board of Developmental Disabilities, he was invited by a friend to help out with the basketball competition during the Special Olym-pics Summer games. He was hooked. “It gets you and then you keep wanting to do more and more,” he says. “I’ve found that you can create expectations of them and they can rise to those expectations,” Ante-nucci explains noting that this is especially true in in-dividual sports. “With good training they become ath-letes. They are true ath-letes. They might have a disability that makes them need adaptations, but they are athletes,” he says emphatically. This year, 18 speed skaters and 27 figure skaters competed.

Fighting a downhill battleSkiing athletes range in

age from the Cleveland Mu-nicipal School District spe-cial needs students who


train on Tuesday and Friday after school to the guy who is, in the best guess of Larry Grewe, skiing director, roughly 50 to 55 years of age and who has competed in the Games for the past 30 or so years. “He’s there for other people,” Grewe observes. “He inspires them”. Athletes come from all over the state with a large number com-ing, surprisingly, from the Cincinnati area. “There is a ski resort just over the border in Indiana where they train,” Grewe says. “We also have a number of skiers from Franklin county who ski at [Snow Trails] in Richland county. Not surprisingly, however, the largest num-ber of skiers are from Northeast Ohio.

There are three different ski runs in the Alpine events to accommodate three levels of ability. The beginner/ novice level event is held on Frosty, a green run featuring a beginning slope and the fewest number of gates. Shred-der, a blue run, is for the intermedi-ate skier while the black diamond hill Champagne is reserved for those with advanced ski skills as it is longer and steeper. Antenucci estimates that there are typically between 10 and 15 skiers who can ski slaloms with the highest number of gates on the ad-vanced run. Alpine ski events are held over two days: Tuesday consists of practice runs and establishing qualify-ing times so that groups can be formed. Wednesday the athletes compete in their slalom events. According to Mar-ty, groupings can accommodate a max-imum of six athletes based on ability, with five or six divisions based on the fastest times recorded. When asked what is done when a skier takes a nasty spill, Grewe stresses one thing: volun-teers cannot touch the athlete or his or her ski equipment lest the athlete will be disqualified from the event. “It goes against your natural instincts to help,” he says, “but you can only encourage them to get up by talking to them.” Of-tentimes volunteers will ask for a par-ent or coach to assess the situation and make the decision as to wheth-er an athlete remains in the race or leaves and find themselves yelling from the top of the hill: “Don’t touch them.” Additionally, Nordic skiers compete in lanes side-by-side on 100- or 1000-me-ter runs created by modifying the bot-tom of the ski hills. They cannot touch each other either or they will be dis-qualified. This rule is also true for the skating events.

The unpredictable Northeast Ohio weather does not affect the ski events and the show will go on despite very cold temperatures, lack of natural

snow, or a 50-degree day. As long as Brandywine can make the snow, the athletes will compete. Grewe recalls the year where high winds prevented the ski lifts from being used — the tow rope was extended and hauled the ski-ers to their starting spots. Viewers of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi can recall a similar site in the beach resort town.

Grewe also points out that the ath-letes in the ski events are true com-petitors with considerable skiing abil-ities. “People understand that Special Olympics are for people with special needs. I think people believe the ath-letes have very low abilities. Not true. There are people who can ski as well as I can and I’ve been skiing for about 30 years.”

Ninety-two skiers will compete in the Alpine events this year with 19 skiers competing in the Nordic events.

Sometimes You Just Need a Little Help

“The great thing about the Special Olympics is that our athletes can do a lot of different sports no one thought they could do,” Allen says, acknowl-edging that each sport is required to make some sort of adaptation to ac-commodate the athletes. For exam-ple, those with developmental chal-lenges might need to do a 50-meter half lap to compete rather than the whole or a visually-impaired cross country skier might need the help of a human guide or a rope. Special Olympics Ohio works closely with the ski resorts, Kent State and the Cuyahoga Valley Nation-al Park to ensure that all athletes can compete. However, it is important to note that despite the adaptations that might need to be made for the ath-letes, the rules for all competitions re-main the same as they would for typi-cal competitions.

Community Support is StrongRoughly 20 or so years ago, Doug

Palmer, a ranger with the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, expressed an interest in working with the Special Olympics to host local events. At that time, the skating and Nordic skiing events were held at Virginia Kendall Ledges. While this is no longer the case, the CVNP is still an active participant in the Winter Games, acting as a sort of “host” for the games, participating in the Opening Ceremonies and handing out hot chocolate donated by McDon-ald’s of Hudson at the ski lodge during ski events. Park ranger Margaret Ad-ams, the liaison between Special Olym-pics Ohio and the CVNP, sends out a notice announcing the need for volun-

Athletes compete in both skating and skiing events at the games.


teers throughout the park system and enlists its VIP team to help out. “One of our missions is ‘Parks for all People’,” Adams says. “It is everybody’s nation-al park.”

Volunteers from Ravenna High School serve as the skaters who monitor the skating events from the rink, and ski in-structors and resort workers help keep everyone on top of the ski hills focused, in line, and in the competitive mindset, no easy feat when it is a beautiful day and everyone is having fun. They also help set up the courses and help with opening and closing ceremonies. The American Legion Tallmadge Post and Akron FOP have also lent many hands to make the Games a success. “We have very experienced volunteers because they keep coming back,” Allen says.

The rewards for volunteers are many and each year the directors find that they have more help from the surround-ing community. Adams has grown to love the Winter Games and cherishes her time with the athletes. “I love it. I get a lot of hugs and love. These kids are the epitome of sportsmanship — they are

competing one minute and then min-utes later are cheering each other on … even as they are getting their rewards,” she says.

“The great thing about the Special Olympics is that our athletes can com-pete in a lot of different sports no one thought they could do,” Allen says. Grewe echoes his thoughts:

“If people would come out and see what is going on they would be im-pressed.” Athletes have been known to move on to non-Special Olympics com-petitions, exceeding the expectations of coaches, parents, and others. “These athletes have the capabilities,” Allen says, “but we exist because the opportu-nities in sports are not always there for them. Some can integrate into existing sports programs. We’ve seen some of our skiers integrate into community compe-titions such as the old Winston Skiing Competition at Boston Mills.”

In 1968 Eunice Kennedy Shriver es-tablished the Special Olympics af-ter spending roughly a decade work-ing to find a place where people with developmental disabilities could grow

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and shine through par-ticipation in sports and other activities rather than being ignored and labeled in-capable. After hosting sum-mer camps and the like (one year hosting in her own back-yard), Kennedy Shriver and her volunteers hosted the first Special Olympics in 1968 at Soldier Field in Chicago, drawing 1,000 athletes from 26 states and Canada com-peting in track and field, and swimming events. Today, the mission of the Special Olym-pics remains the same: “to provide year-round sports training and athletic compe-

tition in a variety of Olym-pic-type sports for children and adults with intellectu-al disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, expe-rience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their fami-lies, other Special Olympics athletes and the communi-ty.” Today, the Special Olym-pics boasts roughly 4.4 mil-lion athletes participating in approximately 80,000 events and competitions worldwide. There are chapters in all 50 of the United States.v 10

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Folk musician John Mc-Cutcheon will perform at the Hudson Library & His-torical Society at 7 p.m. Mc-Cutcheon is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the hammer dulcimer, and his thirty recordings have won numerous honors in-cluding seven Grammy nominations. The performance will take place in the library’s rotun-da and all ages are invited to attend. Register for this free special event at hud-sonlibrary.org. For more in-formation call 330.653.6658 x1010.

Western Reserve Acad-emy Archivist Tom Vince will lead a tour of Pierce House, on the Academy grounds. Located on Col-lege Street, Pierce House now serves as the home of WRA’s head of school. Built in 1855 by then presi-dent George Pierce, the home served as a private residence until 1931, when it became the official resi-dence of the academy’s headmaster. The property includes a large patio, a grape arbor and a car-riage house with a distinc-tive cupola. More details about the Pierce House tour will be posted at www.hudsonheritage.org.

Local resident Joan May Maher will speak at a Hud-son Heritage Association meeting about her moth-er, Dorothy May, and her work to restore a barn lo-cated at 32 Baldwin Street, which served as a female seminary in the 1840s. After completing a significant restoration, Dorothy and her husband Robert moved into the barn in 1966, and it still serves as their resi-dence. Joan May Maher will share details of the res-toration and also historical information about the semi-nary. The meeting, free and open to the public, will take place at Barlow Commu-nity Center at 7:30 p.m.

The 58th Annual Hudson PTO Pancake Breakfast will take place in the Hudson High School Commons from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. All proceeds will be given back to the Hudson City Schools in the form of grants and scholarships. There also will be enter-tainment and raffles. Pre-sale tickets are available at Acme and Learned Owl Book Shop. Anyone inter-ested in volunteering or making raffle donations can contact Marietta Mar-quart at 610-745-2607. Additional information can be found on the Hud-son PTO website at hud-sonpto.org.

Teens in grades 6 to 12 will learn how to create a sim-ple 3D model on Tinkercad software, and then design something on the library’s 3D printer. The program, which is free, but requires registration, takes place at the Hudson Library and His-torical Society at 3:30 p.m. For more information, or to register, call the Teen Desk at 330-653-6658 ext. 1032.

Part of Teen Tech Week March 8 to 14 at the Hud-son Library and Historical Society, teens can devel-op their own video game in “Scratch” and then make a game controller using “Makey Makey,” an invention kit that turns ev-eryday items into touch-pads. The program takes place at 3:30 p.m. and all equipment will be provid-ed. For more information, or to register, call the Teen Desk at 330-653-6658 ext. 1032.

EDITOR’S PICKFEBRUARY

MARCH

FEBRUARY13

7

11Hudson High School’s drama students will present the children’s play “Jack and the Frankenbeanstalk” on Feb. 13 and 14 at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Directed by Amy Foulkes, tickets are $5 each and are available at the door or at the high school main of-fice the week of the show.Mash-up the stories of “Frankenstein” and “Jack and the Beanstalk,” to get this wildly fun and witty play. Dr. Frankenbean and Ogre have worked for 20 years to create genetically-modified beans, but some of their fellow villagers disapprove. The village people — an Indian, a cowboy and a construction worker to be ex-act — think that genetically-engineered beans are a crime against nature, and they pursue the evil doctor. Three of these beans are acquired by a dim, young lad named Jack, but instead of turning into a large beanstalk, they become the Bean Brothers — Favo, Pinto and Garbanzo. This funny and fast-paced show is “stalk” full of laughs.

AND 14 FEBRUARY 12

MARCH 10 MARCH 12 MARCH 12


The Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble will per-form in the Hudson Library and Historical Society’s ro-tunda at 2 p.m.The program, titled “Ten Cups of Wine,” is offered as a toast to the Library, a celebration of its tenth anniversary in the new building. It will feature several new instrumental and vocal pieces includ-ing a Munchu lullaby from Northeast China and an erhu solo imitating the sounds of birds.This concert is free. No registration is required. For more information call 330-653-6658 ext. 1010 or visit hudsonlibrary.org.

Anyone interested in volunteering with one of the Park Ambassador volunteer groups at the Cuyahoga Valley Na-tional Park should attend an orientation at Happy Days Lodge Feb. 18 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., or Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Boston Store Visi-tor Center. Volunteer op-portunities include visitor center assistant, Lock 28 presenter, roving histori-an and artisan, Speakers’ Bureau, Trail Mix Ambas-sador or wildlife watcher. For more info, contact the volunteer office at [email protected] or 330-657-2299.

The Hudson Senior Citi-zens meet each month at 12 p.m. for a catered luncheon. Reservations are required. For more information or to make a reservation, call Nancy Yari at 330-656-2922.

Children of all ages can enjoy an afternoon of Thomas activities, snacks and crafts at 2:30 p.m. at the Hudson Library and Historical Society.Thomas the Tank Engine and friends were created by Reverend W. Awdry, who made up the stories based on his own adven-tures to entertain his son. This program is part of a series of family literacy programming sponsored by Target. Register the whole family at www.ti-nyurl.com/hlhschildrens.For further information, visit the Children’s Library or contact the library at 330-653-6658 ext. 1020.

The finale to Teen Tech Week is a “Super Smash Brothers” tournament on the Wii U at the Hudson Library and Historical So-ciety at 2 p.m. Winners will receive a gift card to Game Stop. For a com-plete list of tournament rules, visit the Teen Desk or www.hudsonlibrary.org. To register, call the Teen Desk at 330-653-6658 ext. 1032.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind is looking for volunteers to raise guide dog puppies. For more information, call 440-382-9848, email [email protected] or visit www.Guidingeyes.org.

Children are invited the The Learned Owl Book-shop for story time every Tuesday and Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Some new favorites like “If Kids Ran the World,” “Baby Bed-time,” “The Hug Machine” and “Matilda’s Cat” will debut as well as old, famil-iar favorites. Seasonal titles will be read during the holidays and if someone has a personal favorite, they can read that too.There is no need to sign up ahead of time. There will be a story read no matter how few or how many chil-dren are present.

FEBRUARY 15 FEBRUARY 21 FEBRUARY

18OR

21

MARCH 14TUESDAYS

SATURDAYSAND SECOND

FRIDAYVOLUNTEERS

NEEDED

FEBRUARY 15The Learned Owl History Book Club will meet at 2 p.m. The topic for Febru-ary is the Native American tribes of Ohio. All are wel-come to come to the meet-ing and no registration is required. Participants are asked to read any book on the topic and then dis-cuss it with the group. For more information, call 330-653-2252.


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Hudson’s Davey Spitz attacks the basket during a junior varsity basketball game against Wadsworth Jan. 20. Hudson won 54-50.


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Hudson Monthly February 2015