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Robotics team advancing to States

Find it online here

ImagiNeers robotics team advances to state championship

Wednesday February 4, 2015 12:57 PM

One of Dublin’s middle-school robotics teams, the ImagiNeers, has qualified for the state championship for third time in a row.

 The FLL (First Lego League) State Championship will take place at the Ervin J. Nutter Center at Wright State University on Feb. 7-8.

On Saturday Jan. 10, at the Dublin Robotics District Tournament at Jerome High School, the team scored 330 points on their robot game and finished 6th out of 32 teams.

The team won the project presentation award for their innovative solution called “Uspell.” It is a prototype of a pen that can display spelling mistakes on a LCD screen.

The ImagiNeers consists of students ages 9-14 from Wyandot Elementary as well as Sells and Karrer Middle School.

The Dublin Robotics Program sponsored 19 First Lego League teams from four middle schools and 10 elementary schools at the district tournament.

At the competitions, teams are judged on two parts: the two-and-half minute robot game and their project presentation.

The robot game is played on a large table and the robot must complete as many tasks as possible to earn points. The robot is programmed using a block coding computer program, which is downloaded to the robot and then adjusted as necessary.

For example, students can program their robot to pick up a small ball, drive to a Lego soccer goal on the table and throw the ball into the goal. If the robot “scores” then the team earns 60 points.

For the project presentation, the students are asked to identify a topic they are passionate about, brainstorm a creative solution, research existing ideas, invent something new and share their idea with others.

ImagiNeers team member, Ria Singhal, 12, said that at first their presentation of their Uspell pen felt boring so in between the regional and district tournaments, they decided to change things up.

“At the district tournament, we explained our information in a fun way by making our own Jeopardy board and presented it more as a game show,” she said.

Team member and 7th grader Rithika Nidimusali enjoys making the robot run and seeing if it was accurate.

“I like the teamwork part of it. In school we do more individual work but here we can work as a team on everything and it’s super fun,” she said.

Working as a team, everyone can use their strengths to help build the best robot possible.

Sanjay Janavdhan uses his creativity and programming skills to build “really great helpful attachments” for the robot.

Abhi Manyu Singhal, a junior at Coffman, joined the club as a 7th grader. He lamented that he “missed out on three years” so now he is the ImagiNeer’s mentor and has introduced seven new robotics teams in central Ohio suburbs like Westerville and Powell.

“I mentored the teams, showed them the ropes, and taught them about programming and project research. One of the teams advanced to the district tournament so it was neat to see how excited the kids were about it.”

His efforts have earned him the “Mentor Award” at states three years in a row.

“I’m showing kids that science is cool and that they can do it too,” he said. “Robotics got me hooked on science. It showed me that science wasn’t just for those nerds who are in the lab with chemicals.”

Singhal is involved with FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition), which is the high school robotics club, and plans on studying computer programming in college.

Through being in the club, the ImagiNeers learn to help others, work as a team, manage their time, and how to use technology, said Coach Rajiv Singhal.

“Every meeting, we spend the last ten minutes talking about what we learned,” said Singhal. “We want the focus to be on discovery and having fun.”

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Board elects officers, hears task forces updates

Originally published in ThisWeekNews 

Wednesday January 21, 2015 7:10 PM

At the first Dublin Board of Education meeting of 2015, the Board President and Vice-President were re-elected and online school board meeting agendas were debuted.

The district will no longer distribute hard copies of agendas. Instead, community members are invited to go online to view the agendas, minutes, schedules and more.

Digitizing the agendas will increase productivity and save thousands of dollars annually, according to a district press release.

The school board meeting started an hour earlier, because of the OSU championship game.

Lynn May was re-elected as Board President and Stuart Harris as Board Vice President. Both ran unopposed and were first elected to the Board in 2005.

The facility task force reported that the engineering architectural firm of Garmann and Miller will attend the Feb. 9 school board meeting to answer questions. They will present their findings to the board on Jan. 26. The task force will recommend an architectural firm in Feb. and a construction management team in March. The task force assured community members that the Riverside Elementary traffic problems will be addressed.

The gifted education task force has been sharing the draft service model with colleagues, parent groups, and the community.  Additional input will be requested from middle school math teachers and administrators regarding advanced/accelerated math. The task force hopes to present their final draft to the board in February. They have scheduled three additional community meetings to share revisions and gather feedback. Future community  meetings will be held at 7p.m. Jan. 21 at Coffman, Jan. 22  at Jerome, and Jan. 28  at Scioto.

The middle school schedule task force held several parent forums last week to address questions. They are still on track to make a recommendation to the board by mid-February. They are closely reviewing middle schools in Illinois and Minnesota that appeared on the “Top 10 Best Education Suburban Districts” list.

For the staffing task force, Richard Bailey explained that a more robust and detailed online screener would be put in place to help narrow the candidate pool to only the best possible. This week, the new screening tool will take effect for all new and current applicants.

Treasurer Steve Osborne discussed the Fiscal Year 2014 Audit Opinion and Audit Reports from Plattenburg Certified Public Accountants.  There were no citations or findings for recovery. Osborne said it was a very good report and he thanked his staff.

Dr. Hoadley reminded community members of the State of the Schools at the Dublin Recreation Center on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. and the next Superintendent Community Coffee on Jan. 27 at 10:30 a.m. at Sunny Street Cafe.

The meeting ended with Rick Weininger moving that the district make a statement of support for the Buckeyes as they met the Oregon Ducks in the National Championship game.

The Board meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7 p.m.

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‘Forbes’ picks Coffman grad as one of its ’30 Under 30′

Originally published in The Dublin Villager. See it online here. 

Wednesday January 21, 2015 11:23 AM

While Partha Unnava was attending Dublin Coffman High School, he broke his ankle playing basketball, spent six weeks using uncomfortable traditional crutches.

He started to think how he could build less-painful crutches.

After graduating in 2010, he started a company, called Better Walk, that makes comfortable crutches.

Last week Unnava was named one of Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 for 2015.

Unnava said he was incredibly humbled and a little surprised by the recognition.

“I actually woke up Monday morning and saw a tweet saying ‘Congrats’ from my friend,” Unnava said.

“I didn’t know the list was coming out, so it was definitely a great way to start a Monday” he said.

Unnava called the award the entrepreneurial equivalent of winning a Grammy Award.

“It’s been a personal goal of mine for a while and so I was very excited,” he said.

Better Walk is getting ready to start manufacturing and incorporating its crutches into hospitals during the next couple months, Unnava said.

He said the company is working to replace standards of care with solutions that make sense.

Unnava said the company has a couple more products that follow this philosophy that are in the works.

The recognition has brought a flood of e-mails to Unnava and has helped him expand his network.

“Being a younger entrepreneur, it can be hard, but having this award to my name improves my credibility,” he said.

Unnava said his Dublin education helped him learn how to work hard inside and outside the classroom.

“During high school, especially through the marching band program, that’s really where I developed a strong work ethic,” he said.

Playing trumpet helped Unnava understand that all those long hours under the summer sun really can pay off.

Jeremy Bradstreet, Coffman’s band director, taught Unnava in the top concert and jazz band.

“Partha was an extremely hard working student around the band wing,” Bradstreet said in an email.

“He was outstanding leader in the marching band,” Bradstreet said.

Bradstreet described Unnava as extremely sincere, dependable and he said he made practices more enjoyable because of his humor.

Inside the classroom, Unnava said he remembered in his AP Physics class how he learned math and physics not through memorization, but by understanding the concepts.

“Teachers like (David) Scott focused on showing us how something worked, instead of making us do a million practice problems for homework,” he said.

Scott, a physics teacher at Coffman said that Unnava was one of the youngest students he ever taught in Physics and in AP Physics.

“Partha was always curious, enthusiastic, and hard-working in class,” Scott said via email.

“Partha finished his science requirements early and completed upper level courses so that he had time to do research at Ohio State while he was in high school,” Scott said.

“Partha got along with students of all kinds and of all ages,” Scott said.

“Although hard-working and ambitious, Partha always considered the needs of others and respected them.

“Partha always showed great respect for me and for other teachers.”

Unnava attended the Georgia Institute of Technology (also called Georgia Tech), where he studied biomedical engineering and was in the jazz band.

He now lives in Atlanta.

“If you had told me when I was on crutches that this would be my life now, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Unnava said.

“I’m so thankful for all the things that have happened in my life.”

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Students learn about sustainable food, environmental science

Wednesday January 21, 2015 11:29 AM
AQUAPONICS LABORATORY
(Photos from Gardner Watkins)

David Dailey drilling holes after school 

Originally published in The Dublin Villager. See online version here 

At Dublin Scioto High School students are learning about sustainable food and environmental science first hand through a new aquaponics lab.

Aquaponics combines raising aquatic animals and hydroponics.

Hydroponics is the growing of plants in water instead of soil.

500 gallon tank

Gardner Watkins, the environmental science teacher at Scioto, said he hopes the aquaponics lab will become a valuable educational tool and a sustainable food source that can provide vegetables and fish to the Scioto cafeteria.

Currently, there are tilapia, oregano, rosemary, spinach, miniature Mexican watermelons, numerous types of lettuce and red, white and blue strawberries growing in the lab.

They grow in eight double beds, which resemble bunk beds where the fish are on the bottom and the plants are on top.

“If everyone tried aquaponics, we would reduce food costs substantially,” said Watkins.

He has involved as many students in the project as possible.

Window garden

Environmental Science students are feeding the fish, monitoring the water quality and studying the growth rate of the fish.

The AP Physics students are designing LED lights and chemistry students are fixing pH levels in the water.

They have already done one harvest and plan on harvesting again this week.

Watkins submitted the idea last year for a $10,000 grant.

The idea made it to the semifinal round, but did not win.

Miniature mexican watermelon vines

“But then a week later, Mae McCorkle, a local philanthropist, heard about what we were doing and awarded us $10,000,” Watkins said.

“That blew us away,” he said.

Once they had funding, Chris White, a senior, asked Watkins if he could help build the aquaponics lab as his Eagle Scout project.

“I was already interested in aquaponics and so I was more than willing to help,” White said.

Tilapia

“With the help of Mr. Watkins and my troop, we made a prototype, calculated the cost, showed it to engineers, and revised the design,” he said.

But the design and building process was far from simple.

“We faced a lot of challenges,” White said.

“All in all we went through 11 design changes before we started building and even when we started building we had to make even more changes,” he said.

“We also faced time constraints so we had to do some of the construction off-site.”

White remains in charge of getting the system up and running.

The lighting and plumbing are expected to be finished this week.

He said he plans on continuing to learn about aquaponics and study renewable energy in college.

Other students, such as David Dailey, a senior, often stay after school to work on the project.

“Right now I’m just drilling a few holes to hold the lights in place,” Dailey said.

“I like building things and I know that this project will help a lot of people so I don’t mind putting in the hard work,” he said.

Watkins described Dailey as his “go-to guy” and praised how he thinks outside of the box and always makes designs better.

They have almost used up all of the grant money but they remain optimistic about the future of the project.

“I’m very grateful to Mrs.McCorkle for giving us the grant and making this possible,” White said.

“Without her, this project might not have happened.”

Page A8 of Jan 22 issue

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Middle school schedule discussed in parent meetings

Originally published here

Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:03 AM

Parents braved the cold weather recently to attend a meeting in Karrer Middle School to discuss possible changes to the Dublin middle school schedule.

Dustin Miller, the Dublin City School District’s director of secondary education, walked parents through what the Middle School Schedule Task Force has been working on and what feedback from the community the task force has been receiving.

Mark Mousa, Karrer principal, said the task force has been “working together with other schools from the region to see what they are doing and what is working for them.”

The task force, which is made up of 13 teachers, four principals and two central office administrators, is not limiting research to only Ohio, Miller said. They are traveling to study some of the nation’s top suburban districts in Chicago and Minneapolis.

The schedule is being examined because Dublin Superintendent Todd Hoadley said he heard repeatedly from parents that they were concerned, the district now has two full school years of data to examine and the district promised to re-evaluate the schedule when the previous changes were made.

Mousa said making changes to the middle school schedule was comparable to “repairing an airplane while it’s flying” because the effects of the changes can only be fully understood years later.

No additional staffing is expected to be needed and Miller said task force members are not looking to limit the number of courses being offered.

Middle school teachers filled out a brief survey in the fall and those results showed they are concerned students do not have science and social studies every day, that courses are often pitted against each other and that they want more time to meet with students.

The task force listened to student feedback, which included comments such as wanting a longer lunch time, study center every day, more choices for related arts, science and social studies every day and shorter class times.

Parent feedback revealed they like the current start and stop times, see the value in offering a study center, think blocks are too long for students, want more choices for related arts and want science and social studies classes every day.

The next steps for the task force include partnering with similar districts, analyzing feedback and data and then preparing a recommendation to Kim Miller, Dublin’s chief academic officer.

Sara Hallermann, a parent, voiced concerns at the meeting about students having a schedule that was too fragmented and could hinder deeper learning.

Miller agreed teachers are not able to “dig deep” within 50 minutes so the district is working to find a “happy medium” concerning class times.

Other parents said they were annoyed some of the language arts class time was being used for 20 minutes of silent reading.

Mousa clarified that silent reading is less regimented and while students are reading, teachers use that time to meet individually with students.

Brian Niekamp, parent of a seventh-grader and a fourth-grader and an Upper Arlington teacher, said he was very impressed with the meeting.

“I heard the right talk from the administrators,” Niekamp said. “They seem to have the middle school students at heart and are not just focused on the test scores.”

Blair Mallott, a task force member and an intervention specialist at Davis Middle School, said she thought the cold weather might have had an impact on attendance.

“I’m looking forward to the other meetings at the middle schools,” she said. “There is a lot of good information here.”

Future middle school schedule community meetings are planned for 7 p.m. at Davis Middle School tonight, Thursday, Jan. 15, Sells Middle School Tuesday, Jan. 20, and Grizzell Middle School Wednesday, Jan. 21.

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Dublin’s celebration Monday at Coffman

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY
Video from King’s speeches, music, student speakers and volunteer opportunities planned

By DEBBIE GILLUM
Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:06 AM

Dublin’s 2015 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Remembrance Celebration is planned from 11 a.m. to noon Monday, Jan. 19, in the Dublin Coffman High School Performing Arts Center.

Unlike in previous years, the keynote speaker this year will be Martin Luther King Jr. himself.

Short video clips of King speaking will be shown three times throughout the celebration.

Deb Maynard, a celebration committee member, said she is confident it will be a “fantastic” program and community members will have a great time.

“Honoring Martin Luther King and recognizing what he did for our country is very important,” Maynard said.

She said she believes serving others is one of the most important things people can do.

The program will start with a video of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and then a soloist will sing, If I Can Help Somebody Along The Way which was made famous by Mahalia Jackson, who is known as the Queen of Gospel, according to Maynard. The song corresponds to the theme which is “If I Can Help Somebody.”

Speakers will include Dalton Maynard, Superintendent Dr. Todd Hoadley and Dublin Mayor Michael Keenan.

There will be performances by the Rock Squad (Coffman’s step team), the Coffman Jazz Band, Mount Olivet Baptist Church gospel choir and a gospel choir of selected Coffman students.

One student from each of Dublin’s three high schools was selected to give a brief speech in regard to the program’s theme.

Yannick Gbadouwey, a senior from Jerome, said he is excited to represent her school and is honored that principal Cathy Sankey selected him.

“The title of my speech is ‘If I Can Help Somebody’ and it will be about how the day signifies the message of working together in order to solve the current problems of the present and to help each other,” she said in an email.

Kali Steele, a sophomore will be the speaker from Scioto and Kaden Molock, a senior, is the speaker from Coffman.

The Drum Major Award, will be given to a deserving Dublin citizen who embodies the spirit of Martin Luther King.

Joe Neidhardt was posthumously awarded the first Drum Major Award last year.

After the ceremony, community members can gather to serve as part of the National Day of Service and choose from four volunteer opportunities.

Volunteers can be matched with a senior for a “This is My Life” interview, go to a rehabilitation facility to spend time with a patient in need of social interaction, register for the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program, or write a friendly card for a local senior.

There will also be a Red Cross blood drive from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Dublin Community Recreation Center.

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District receives state grants totaling $85,000

Originally published in ThisWeek News 

Wednesday January 14, 2015 10:58 AM

Dublin City Schools’ commitment to efficiency has earned the district two grants totaling $85,000 from the Ohio Development Services Agency, district officials said this week.

The ODSA awarded the district $50,000 for post-secondary job training and employment programs for students with developmental disabilities.

The district also received a $35,000 grant from the ODSA to assist with improving the efficiency of their printing and copying services.

“By eliminating unnecessary costs and sharing services, communities save money and become more efficient,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency.

The post-secondary job training grant was one of 10 awarded statewide to assist with efficiency and collaboration programs throughout Ohio.

The grant effort was a partnership between the district, Via Quest, and Tri-Rivers Educational Computer Association, district officials said.

The program funded by the grant will provide post-secondary transition services such as career oriented job training and employment opportunities.

“We believe through the implementation of this program, Dublin City Schools will better serve our students and meet state regulations in post secondary transition planning, as well as save dollars by providing opportunities for students with disabilities to graduate and gain meaningful, paid employment within the community,” said Todd Hoadley, Dublin’s superintendent.

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Results show Dublin’s performance success rising

 Originally published here 

Wednesday January 14, 2015 11:02 AM

This year’s Ohio Achievement Assessment showed 71 percent of Dublin’s third-graders are reading at a proficient level or above.

Test results revealed 645 students, or 37 percent, read at advanced or accelerated levels. That number grew by seven students from 2013.

The results also showed that 376 students currently read at a basic or limited reading level. In 2013, 276 students read at that level and in 2012 it was 232 students.

Craig Heath, Dublin City School’s director of data and assessment, said the 2014 results were not out of the ordinary.

“The scores this year were very similar to what we have seen at this point in the past three or four years,” Heath said.

“Our students, teachers and parents have done an outstanding job preparing for all of these assessments this year, while keeping their eyes on the most important part of education, which is student learning.”

Heath said the district was in great shape and the scores from other schools throughout central Ohio were consistent with Dublin’s scores.

Jill Reinhart, Dublin’s director of literacy and English language learning, said there is a lot to be proud of in Dublin, but there is still work that needs to be done.

“I don’t want to see any student not on track,” she said. “I won’t be happy until we have zero students reading at basic or limited levels.”

Reinhart said she is pleased with how Dublin is committed to early intervention and providing personalized assistance.

Students took the OAA assessment the week of Oct. 6. The test was a 21/2-hour combination of multiple choice, short answer and extended response questions. The results were released Dec. 5.

Students will have another opportunity to take the Third Grade Reading OAA April 28.

Those students will also be taking the Measures of Academic Progress Assessment in Reading in early April.

The MAP test is taken online for one hour and consists of 50 unique questions chosen depending on the student’s previous answers.

MAP scores can be used to meet the requirements for the Third Grade Reading Guarantee. The Third Grade Reading Guarantee ensures students will read at an appropriate grade level and score above a state-mandated score on assessments.

In order to move onto fourth grade, students must score above a 394 on the standardized test. Last year, students needed to score above a 392.

In 2013, 99.7 percent of Dublin students met the reading guarantee requirements by the time they finished third grade.

The Third Grade Guarantee only applies to students who have been in the district since kindergarten.

Reinhart said Dublin has more than 1,400 students across all grade levels, whose first language is not English.

From both the OAA and MAP testing, teachers and administrators obtain a lot of valuable information, Heath said.

Students who score in the 95th percentile on two standardized tests can be identified as gifted.

Whether students are identified as gifted or struggling readers, Reinhart said teachers individualize instructions for each student based on their needs.

“We determine what the specific problem is and then our teachers construct personalized instructions to meet their needs,” she said.

Reinhart said individualized plans are constantly re-evaluated and improved to best serve the student.

Students in grades 4-9 will take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers which will replace previous standardized tests.

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Davis middle-schooler’s invention wins award

(Originally published for ThisWeek News)

Wednesday January 7, 2015 8:56 AM


Davis Middle School student Jonathan Steinke won a national award for his invention “The Grab N Gulp,” a handle that attaches to a water bottle.


The award came from the Student’s Ideas for a Better America organization, which is part of the National Museum of Education.  


“I was really excited and didn’t expect to win,” Steinke, a 7th grade student, said.


Steinke won a certificate and a $100 award check.


He competed against 24 other students in grades three through seven.


When he was in 5th grade, Steinke entered his invention in the Invention Convention as the Glove A Bottle, a water bottle with an attached handle, and won first place.  


This invention transformed into the Grab N Gulp, which now has a handle that straps onto any water bottle, is easier to use and has a catchier name, according to Steinke’s mother, Trisha Wright.


His invention came about because he is a hockey player and found it difficult to get a quick drink from a regular water bottle because he had to take his gloves off first.


Steinke said that he likes how inventing allows him to be creative and help solve problems.


He said he will start letting teammates use his invention and he hopes that other teams, even the Columbus Blue Jackets, will eventually use the Grab N Gulp.


He hopes to start selling Grab N Gulp and then work on making other inventions.


Wright said she is proud of her son and is impressed by how he is always thinking.


“I remember one of his first inventions was a contraption to divert rainwater from the roof into a smaller pipe so that the water could generate electricity or be used for another way. He called it the Rain Mill,” she said.


Wright said that Steinke became interested in inventions in third grade and now he keeps a journal of his ideas for inventions.


Joonho Oh, a 4th grader from Dublin, also won in the competition with his “Wash your iPad” invention.


Both Steinke and Oh participate in a program called Bridge the Gap.  


It teaches students about the invention process, marketing, patents and business development.


They meet at Tech Columbus every other Wednesday, under the instruction of Cherylyn Rushton and Tom Carlisi.  


“It’s more than just learning about inventions. They learn how to do an elevator pitch, they learn public speaking skills through pitching their ideas and they gain confidence,” Wright said.


Steinke heard about the Invention Convention contest through Bridge the Gap. He is in his 2nd year of the program and is learning how to write a business plan for his invention.  


Not surprisingly, Wright said that when Steinke grows up, he wants to be either an engineer or an inventor.
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Spring break is March 16-20; graduations are May 30

(Originally published in ThisWeek News)

Wednesday January 7, 2015 8:59 AM

With the winter holiday break now over and Dublin City School District classes canceled Tuesday, Jan. 6, because of a snow storm, many area residents are already looking forward to spring break.
This year the district’s spring break will be March 16-20.

Graduation will be May 30 and classes end June 2 for students in grades K-11.
Other days off for holidays, conferences and professional development include Jan. 12 and 19, Feb. 16 and 27, April 3 and May 25.

District officials said they had considered changing spring break dates to meet Ohio Department of Education deadlines for Ohio Graduation Testing, but an appeal to the ODE allowed the district to keep its March 16-20 spring break and hold the testing sessions the first two weeks of March.
May 30, graduation ceremonies for Dublin’s three high schools will be held in the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the Ohio State University campus.
Dublin Scioto High School’s graduation will be at 10 a.m.

Dublin Coffman High School seniors will graduate at 1 p.m., and Dublin Jerome High School seniors at 4 p.m.
Graduation dates were determined based on the academic school year and the availability of the Schottenstein Center, district officials said.
The 2014-15 school year will end for staff and students June 2.

Calendars are set two years in advance by a calendar committee consisting of administration and staff, according to Doug Baker, the district’s public information officer.

If the district misses more than six scheduled school days, contingency days will be used after the last day of school.

In 2014, the district used six calamity days, one over the allowed five.
They made up the extra calamity day on June 2.
This year, schools no longer have calamity days.
Instead a district has a set number of hours of classroom instruction that must be achieved.

The remainder of the 2014-15 school calendar includes:

• Jan. 7: Middle school schedule community meeting (7 p.m. Henry Karrer Middle School).
• Jan. 9: End of first semester.
• Jan. 12: No school- Middle school and high school teacher work day, elementary teacher professional development day.
• Jan. 14: Middle school schedule community meeting (7 p.m. John Sells Middle School).
• Jan. 15: Middle school schedule community meeting (7 p.m. Ann Simpson Davis Middle school).
• Jan. 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
• Jan. 21: Middle school schedule community meeting (7 p.m. Willard Grizzell Middle School).
• Jan. 27: Coffee with Superintendent (10:30 a.m. Sunny Street Cafe).
• Feb. 6: Dublin Community Night with the Blue Jackets (7 p.m. Nationwide Arena).
• Feb. 10: State of the Schools (6 p.m. Dublin Community Recreation Center).
• Feb. 12: Syntero’s Balancing Act Series (7 p.m. at Dublin Coffman).
• Feb. 16: Presidents Day, no school.
• Feb. 21: Dublin Literacy Conference (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dublin Coffman).
• Feb. 23: Coffee with Superintendent (7 a.m. Panera in Dublin).
• Feb. 26: End of second elementary trimester.
• Feb. 27: No school, Elementary Teacher Work Day MS/HS Teacher Professional Development Day.
• Feb. 28: Dublin PROUD Science Fair (9 a.m. to noon at Willard Grizzell Middle School).
• March 13: end of 3rd nine weeks.
• March 15: Dublin Community Night with the Blue Jackets (5 p.m. Nationwide Arena).
• March 16-20: spring break.
• March 27: district dodgeball tournament (7 to 10:30 p.m. at Scioto High School).
• March 28: Summer job fair for students (9 a.m. to noon at Jerome High School).
• March 30: Coffee with Superintendent (7 to 8:30 p.m. Sumeno’s Italian Restaurant).
• April 3: No school, teacher conference time/ comp time.
• April 11: community champion awards Ceremony (10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Dublin Jerome High School).
• April 16: Dublin City Schools family night.
• May 15: Hall of Fame induction ceremony (6 to 9 p.m. at La Scala Restaurant).
• May 22: Last day for preschool.
• May 25: No school, Memorial Day.
• May 30: Graduation ceremonies.
• June 2: last day for students and staff.