THE

Volume XXIII, Number IV Periodical of the Perry Local School District February 2012

District Office

4201- 13th Street S. W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 477-8121 http://perrylocal.org

Perry High School

3737 - 13th Street S.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 477-3486 http://perrylocal.org/phs http://facebook.com/perryhighschool

Edison Middle School

4201 - 13th Street S.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 478-6167 http://perrylocal.org/edison

Pfeiffer Intermediate

School

4315 - 13th Street S.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 478-6163 http://perrylocal.org/pfeiffer

Genoa Elementary

519 Genoa Road S.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 478-6171 http://perrylocal.org/genoa

Knapp Elementary

5151 Oakcliff Street S.W. Canton, Ohio 44706 (330) 478-6174 http://perrylocal.org/knapp

Lohr Elementary

5300 Richville Dr. S.W. Navarre, Ohio 44662 (330) 484-3924 http://perrylocal.org/lohr

Watson Elementary

515 Marion Ave. N.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 (330) 832-8100 http://perrylocal.org/watson

Whipple Elementary

4800 12th Street N.W. Canton, Ohio 44708 (330) 478-6177 http://perrylocal.org/whipple

KINDERGARTEN; READY OR NOT, HERE WE COME!

When: Thursday, February 23, 2012 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm Location: Perry Sippo Branch Library Adults and incoming Kindergarten students: Join area principals and other school officials for a question and answer session, and recommendations of materi-als. While you learn, your child will be entertained with stories, songs, and crafts. Registration is requested. Register online at www.starklibrary.org or call 330.477.8482.

When Skip Angus called Perry High School Construction Teacher Mark Byrd with a special opportunity for his class, Byrd didn’t know exactly what he was getting into. That quickly changed. Byrd’s Senior Construction Class, with the help of the juniors, has spent this school year refurbishing a 100 year old barn on Angus’ farm. Working in the community is something that Byrd finds invaluable for his class. “This kind of opportunity is not something that I can create in the shop back at the school. This gives my students real life experience. We show up at the farm every morning and work, just like a real job”. For Byrd, it goes beyond that of a job, it’s about “giving back to the community. Having pride in your school and community”. A special thank you to Gary Labriola for all his time and help teaching the kids about installing siding at

the barn. There was a slow down in the work however. When a Perry High School grad was in a bad car accident, her family needed a wheel chair ramp built. Mr. Byrd pulled a few students off of the barn work and they began construction and installation of a new wheel chair ramp. “That was one of the most touching projects we’ve done.“ stated Byrd “To be able to help a member of our community in

that way was just incredible.” Inside this edition of the Perryite, there are stories of community service from the youngest kids in elementary raising money for sick children to seniors closing in on graduation gathering food for needy families during the holidays. As we pre-pare students in Perry Schools, we hope to raise well-rounded students in all as-pects of life. Community service is a value that we feel is important to instill throughout the Perry community. It’s just another reason why Perry is a great

place to raise a family.

COMMUNITY SERVICE You must be the change you want to see in the world. -Mahatma Gandhi

A MESSAGE from our Superintendent and School Board President The beginning of a new calendar year, which is already well behind us, also marks the halfway point of the school year! Although it is hard to believe that we’re living in the year 2012, the technology that surrounds us all points out that this is indeed reality. This year brings with it a great deal of opportunities for students of the Perry Local Schools and community. Following the reconfiguration of our district’s grade levels, and the addition of the freshman wing to Perry High School, our students have opportunities like never before. We will continue to emphasize the fact that every child deserves to have access to a high-quality, standards-based education

that is relevant in this 21st century. We are currently in the process of updating and implementing our curriculum in math, English, science and social studies to reflect national and state standards that are more closely aligned with a 21st century education. What this means is that the curriculum will be a little more in-depth, while focusing on higher-level application of knowledge. It is designed to better prepare students for college or career, upon their graduation from Perry High School. In looking at the future job market, we know that most jobs in the future will require some sort of post-high school education, and most of these jobs will require a four-year college degree or higher, with an emphasis on problem solving and working together. Our vision remains that we will graduate 100% of our students, ready for the world that awaits them beyond high school. We will continue to work towards this vision by hiring the right people, forming positive relationships with students & families, maintaining the highest of expectations academically & behaviorally, and working to engage our students in their education through relevant lessons & activities. We are thankful for the Perry schools and community. Thank you so much for your support of our students and schools! Sincerely, John V. Richard, Superintendent Jim Casey, School Board President

Perry Local Schools Mission

To emphasize excellence in learning and provide opportunities for every child to realize his/her potential

in a safe environment. To encourage students to become re-sponsible, productive citizens and life-

long learners.

PERRY HELPING PERRY GROWING BY LEAPS AND BOUNDS Perry Helping Perry Food Pantry has grown tremendously. From one year ago and 9 families, we now help over 100 families and are still growing. Our Christmas Voucher program was a huge success. Toys, pajamas and stocking stuffers were given to over 300 Perry kids. Special thanks go out to: Perry Christian Church, Trinity United Methodist, Richville United Church of Christ, Reedurban Presbyterian, O2 Ministries, Perry Schools, Eagles Woman's Auxiliary, along with several individuals. Homework Clubs at Pfeiffer and Genoa are a huge hit with the kids. Our clothes closet is awesome. Volunteers work constantly sorting thru clothes, cleaning them, sizing and separating. Our ladies work very hard to make our clothes closet the best. Our Cooking from the Pantry Club has been a big success once again. Parents and their children who come to the pantry are able to take advantage of this program, learning new, quick, nutritious recipes that they can prepare as a family. Spring is around the corner and we are starting to collect bikes for kids. This program will help give kids bikes who have never had one. Back to School book bags were plentiful, courtesy of Perry Chris-tian Church and other volunteers. Over 100 were given to students to start their school year right. Shoe vouchers were available at the beginning of school due to the generosity of Perry Christian Church and O2 Ministries. Over 80 vouchers were given out for school shoes. Our Perry Community is the best!

SENIOR MOMENTS from Bette Mizer

January 1, 2012 we welcomed a brand new year. May the memories of the Old Year be the lessons of the New Year! It is time to keep in touch with people who are special and remembered very much. January’s birthstone is the Garnet and the flower is the Carnation. Special days include New Year’s Day, January 1st and Martin Luther King’s birthday, January 16th. During the month of February we send out messages very loving and sweet, because a Valentine is such a nice way to remember the people who make life complete. Birthstone is the Amethyst and the flower is the Primrose. Special days are Valentine’s Day, February 14th and Presidents’ Day, Febru-ary 20th. Patient, kind, hopeful, caring and enduring, LOVE is all of these things. 300 Senior Citizens of Perry Township were in attendance for the annual Christmas Luncheon, held at Edison Middle School. The entertainment included a two-group concert by the Perry Choral students under the direction of Michele Poeppelmeier. This was followed by a choir of 75 students with a variety of dance steps and rhythmic clapping…they were well rewarded with enthusiastic applause from their audience. An excellent lunch was prepared by the Edison caf-eteria staff and served to the guests, along with packaged home made cookies and a gift to take home. Dr. John Richard, Superintendent of Perry Local Schools, sincerely thanked all the Senior Citizens for being present on a rainy and cold December 14, 2011. Donna Checca received the Perry Township Rotary Club’s award for her past and current volun-teer work. Hanover House provided potted poinsettia plants that decorated the tables, which served as the door prizes.

DID YOU KNOW? Our 25th president, William McKinley of Canton, OH, was the first president to ride in an automo-bile, the first president to campaign by telephone and the third president to die from an assassin’s wound.

A February birthday bash and a year long lineup of events, festivals, art displays, and music performances will provide for the celebration of the 200th birthday of our “STATE CAPITAL” this year. Ohio’s State Capital was founded in 1812 and there will be celebrations all year long. NEWS FLASH! The Perry Players proudly will celebrate their 51st Anniversary Season by presenting The Regional Premiere showing of “CURTAINS” the hilarious “WHODUNIT” Broadway Musical Comedy. Discount coupons are available for Senior Citizens at the Central Office. You may deduct $4.00 for your reserved seat ticket. This coupon is valid on Sunday, April 1st at 2:30 p.m., matinee only. Our sincere thanks to Louie Mattachione, for remembering the Senior Citizens. At the forthcoming Election, you will have the opportunity to vote on Issue 12, a renewal of ½ mill levy for Perry Township Police Department. This is not a new tax. The department would like to thank the Perry Community for their continued support. Tuesday, March 6, 2012, plan to be in attendance for the Senior Citizens Spring BINGO event, held at Edison Middle School, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Free to Perry Township residents. Fill out the reservation form and mail it in TODAY. TOGETHER WE TAKE PRIDE! It is time to help Perry celebrate the 42nd Anniversary of Earth Day. They are work-ing to keep Perry Township a beautiful place to live, work, and play! DATE: Saturday, April 21st, 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., helpers and volunteers are to check in at 8:00 a.m. at Perry High School (Athletic lobby). Do you need help cleaning up? Notify the committee. CLOSING THOUGHT: Friendship is the treasure we hold very dear. Joy is the gift we share through the year. With Perry Pride,

Senior Citizen Bingo

Reservation Form March 6, 2012 5:00-7:00PM

Name_______________________________ Address _______________________________________ Telephone_______________________________ Number Attending _______

For reservations, please complete and return this form to

Perry Local Schools, 4201 13th St SW

Massillon, OH 44646 Or call 330.477.8121

PERRY THEATRE

AWARDED “RIGHTS” TO PRODUCE THE NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL

‘CURTAINS”‘CURTAINS”‘CURTAINS”‘CURTAINS” The Perry Theatre will be the first High School in Stark County to have been issued Royalty and Li-censing Rights to produce the recently released Tony Award Winning Broadway Musical Comedy… CUR-

TAINS! CURTAINS opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran for a year and a half with 567 performances before going on it’s national tour. The show received the 2007 TONY AWARD for Best Actor (David Hyde Pierce

of TV’s “Frazier”). The show was also the recipient of the prestigious NEW YORK DRAMA DESK AWARD for “Outstanding Book” of a Broadway Mu-sical. Theatre Director, “Louie” Mattachione was thrilled to be able to secure production and royalty rights to get the show for the Perry Players. The hilarious script is listed as a “Whodunnit Musical Comedy”! Music and Lyrics for the show was created by Kander and Ebb, who produced such shows as CABARET, CHICAGO, ZORBA, NEW YORK, NEW YORK and many others. CURTAINS is loaded with zany characters, a really funny story and GREAT Music. The show offers grand opportunities for wonderful sets and wild choreography! In short….the show is a real WINNER! Mat-tachione promises that Perry Theatre audiences will love it! Many years ago The CANTON REPOSITORY cited the Perry Theatre as being:“THE LITTLE BROADWAY OF STARK COUNTY”. This year marks the 51st Anniversary Season for the Perry Thea-tre. CURTAINS will be a great show to salute the celebration. Show dates for CURTAINS are set for March 28, 29, 30, 31 and April 1. Perry Broadway Musicals have a long history of fast and complete sell-outs. Ticket Order Forms are set to be mailed out to Mailing List Patrons in mid-February. If you are interested in adding your name to the Mailing List, simply contact the Perry Theatre Office (330) 477-3486. Please note: Due to mail schedule conflicts, there will be NO TICKET ORDER FORM appearing in the April issue of the PERRYITE. A Ticket Order Print-Out Form will be listed on the PERRY Web Page beginning on March 1st. (www.PerryLocal.org) Members of the Perry Theatre Directing staff include: “Louie” Mattachione - Production Director Beth Polen - Vocal Music Director Ryan Smith - Pit Director Kimba Karam - Choreographer Frank Trace - Technical Director Bill Schnierle - Sound/Lights Director Jack Everetts - Stage Carpenter Donna Blend - Costume Coordinator A total of 37 students make up the rousing cast of CURTAINS while an additional 36 students will be working on technical crews behind the scenes. A word to the wise….get your tickets for CURTAINS before the CURTAIN comes down!

The “Arts are Alive” at Perry! - “We add the COLOR to our Community!”

ATTENTION PERRY SPEECH & DEBATE ALUMNI & FRIENDS:

Perry High School will proudly host the Big Districts Speech & Debate Tournament on February 17 and 18th. These elite speakers will be competing to qualify to the State and National Speech and Debate Forensics Tourna-ments. The Speech & Debate Boosters will be selling meals and snacks to the competitors, as well as providing complimentary meals, snacks and beverages to the 175 judges for the two-day tournament. The Boosters are asking area businesses and individuals to help defray our costs through donations and/or discounts of food, bev-erages, and supplies. Monetary donations will also be appreciated. Please contact Marsha Craig, 330-327-7303, or Kathy Meeks, 330-232-2903, Booster Club Co-Presidents, to donate food, offer food discounts or to obtain information about corporate sponsorship. Monetary Donations may be mailed to Perry Speech and Debate Boosters, c/o Cassie Elliott, 3737 13th Street, Massillon OH 44646. Please indicate, if requesting a receipt for your donation. Subway in the Canton Wal Mart, El Campasino’s Restaurant, Georgio’s Pizza, and Snyder’s Potato Chips were major Corporate Sponsors for the Perry Speech & Debate Tournament in November. Corporate sponsors are recognized during the tournament, on the Speech and Debate website, and in the Perryite, in addition to being listed in the program for the annual Speech, Debate and Theatre Banquet.

WHIPPLE ELEMENTARY

(perrylocal.org/whipple)

LENDING A HAND TO THE WORLD

AROUND THEM For the past several months the students at Whipple Heights have been working hard to make a positive difference in the community and world around them. The first thing the students did was to organ-ize a food drive that collected over 1,000 items that were then donated to Perry Helping Perry for the Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets. Each stu-dent was given a chain link for every canned good they brought in. By the end of the week the chain link stretched down the entire front hall. Adding to

the fun, crazy hats could be worn to school by those students that brought in canned goods. The stu-dents also wrote letters to our ser-vice men and women, both past

and present thanking them for their service to our country. The third thing the students did was to cre-ate “Feel Good” placemats that were given to the assisted living centers and hospitals in our area. The purpose of the placemats was to “bring sunshine” to those who were stuck inside. The fourth thing our students did was to adopt 16 less fortunate children for Christmas. They donated over $800 to buy pre-sents for these children, made the wrapping paper for their presents and then wrapped the presents so Santa Claus could deliver them on Christmas eve. The next thing Whipple’s students decided to do was create a “mitten tree” in the front lobby of the school. They could bring in anything from mittens and gloves to socks, scarves and hats which were then used to decorate the Christmas tree. They brought in so much that they completely covered the tree and also filled up a box under the tree. All of the Christmas tree donations went to Perry Helping Perry. An upcoming event that the Whipple students always enjoy is the annual “Hoops for Heart” drive to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Whipple Heights students and families are continu-ing to show the community that they are always willing to lend a hand when needed and that they want to make our world a better place to be.

SCHOOL NEWS

PERRY PRIDE

GO PANTHERS!

GENOA ELEMENTARY (perrylocal.org/genoa)

CONNECTING WITH THE HEART During the months of November and December, Gen-oa's fourth grade students began gathering much need-ed items for the patients at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare in Massillon. This is a project the students at Genoa have participated in for the past ten years. Simple things such as toothbrushes, slippers, gloves, hats, socks, etc. were donated just in time for Christ-mas. Genoa's staff also joined in on this annual pro-ject. The selflessness of the students and staff made a difference in helping to improve the quality of life for the patients at Heartland Behavioral Healthcare.

LOHR ELEMENTARY (perrylocal.org/lohr)

DANKE!

We Made a Difference at Lohr and in Germany! During make a difference week the Lohr Elementary students wrote let-ters to servicemen and women. Mrs. Deuble’s class re-ceived an exciting surprise when Chief Warrant Officer Chad Suarez wrote an email back thank-ing them for their letters. Army Chief Warrant Officer Suarez was a Per-ry High School Graduate and his son, Nicolas, is in Mrs. Deuble’s classroom this year. Chief Warrant Of-ficer Suarez is currently stationed in Germany and is home on leave. When he was home on leave he came into Mrs. Deuble’s classroom to thank the students for their letters and explain to them what he does in Ger-many. He said that he is a police officer for the world. The students loved learning German words as well as where to find Germany on the globe!

Lohr Elementary second-graders designed and con-structed a bulletin board to encourage others to better care for their community, and those they visit, by lit-tering less and recycling more.

KNAPP ELEMENTARY (perrylocal.org/knapp)

SPREADING CHRISTMAS CHEER...ALL

THE WAY TO AFGHANISTAN The second graders in Mrs. Elson, Mrs. Fickeisen and Mrs. Lash’s rooms sent more than 150 Christ-mas cards to Spc. Steve Williams, who shared them with his fellow servicemen and women. Steve is the dad of second grader Ashley Williams. Let-ters were also sent to Marine Lieutenant Seth A. Holland who is serving in Af-ghanistan. Seth is a T.C. Knapp and Perry High School alumnus. We are so proud of Steve and Seth and all of those serving our country in the mili-tary.

SALVATION ARMY ANGEL TREE The students and staff were asked to donate any loose change to make a dif-ference in the lives of other children dur-ing Christmas time. They donated nearly $900.00 which was used to adopt six children from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. The teachers from each grade level went out and pur-chased the gifts for each child. Thank you to all of the students and staff who helped to spread holiday

cheer at Christmas.

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WATSON ELEMENTARY (perrylocal.org/watson)

WATSON SCHOOL HAS HEART Watson School once again becomes a school of “Change Bandits” as all students and staff participate in the “Have a Heart Do Your Part” WKDD 98.1 Ra-dio-thon to benefit Akron Children’s Hospital. Kinder-garten teacher Lex Rochford started this annual giving tradition. She enthusiastically shares, “It’s our 8th year to participate and our school has donated over $17,000 so far.” Last February 2011, the school presented a check for $4,500 and amazed the radio announcers that such a small school could raise so much money for the Akron Children’s Hospital Kids. We are hoping to hit the $5000 mark this year, and re-ally impress the radio folks. The Watson stu-dents will raise this money by collecting change, hosting bake sales, and purchasing face paint-ing designs by our creative parents. The teachers look forward to casual clothes days, wearing their denim for their donations of cash, and time helping count the cash. The Watson parents get involved in so many ways from also donating, helping find the change that their little bandits collect, and also lending their exper-tise about Akron Children’s Hospital as employees of the hospital such as Mrs. Hill and Mrs. Wright. These nurses working at the hospital help the Watson stu-dents understand the importance of a hospital that ex-clusively treats children. While other families share their personal experiences of the importance of the medical attention their children received while a pa-tient at this hospital. It seems that everyone knows someone whose life has been touched by this miracle making hospital. The students and staff also collect boxes of new Valen-tine’s for the patients to send out to their friends and families. Be sure to tune your radio to 98.1 WKDD on Saturday February 11th at 11:00am as Watson stu-dents, staff and families will go live on the radio to present the Valentine’s Boxes and the check for this year’s collections. We hope to achieve our $5000 goal. Tune your radio to find out!

PFEIFFER INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

(perrylocal.org/pfeiffer)

GIVING BACK IS WHERE IT’S AT Pfeiffer Intermediate is very fortunate to have stu-dents who want to give back to others. Many stu-dents at Pfeiffer donate their time and energy in a va-riety of community service projects. Some of the projects are located right here in our community while others reach as far as Afghanistan! No matter where they take place the goal is always the same, to help those in need. GOODY BAGS FOR TROOPS Cody Ellis is a 5th grader in community 5.5 who has sent gift bags to members of the US Army’s I-148th Company C who are stationed in Afghanistan. Cody collects candies, gum, pens and anything else he can get his friends, family and church to help donate. His community is currently signing valentines to put into the next round of gift bags. This will be the third round of donations Cody has secured, organized and sent to the troops. KNIT ONE, SAVE ONE Mrs. Lynn Olszewski has started a knitting club at Pfeiffer within community 5.5, and their service project is to make infant caps to donate to Save the Children. Save the Children is an international organization that distributes infant caps to third world countries where infant mortality rates are high. Currently, about 27 students are working on this project. BIRTHDAY GIFTS TO CHARITY Abigail Her-vey is a sixth grade student who collects gifts for her birthday and then donates them to various charities. She has donated to Aultman Hospital, Akron Chil-dren’s Hospital, food banks and Shelby’s Sweets and Treats to name a few. Abigail believes that the best gift she can get is to bring happiness to someone else’s day.

PERRY CLOTHES CLOSET

Mrs. Elizabeth Merritt’s students sorted the Pfeiffer Clothes Closet, keeping sizes appropriate for our building, and sending the rest to Perry Helping Perry. The clothes are given to students in need during the course of the year. They also organized a new book room, combining two storage rooms from Pfeiffer, and shipments from the elementary schools into one location. All of the books have been unpacked, sort-ed, and are now being lexiled, in order to help teach-ers select the most appropriate reading books for their students.

SHELBI’S SWEETS AND TREATS

6th grade students Adelynne and Hailey Martin hon-or the loss of their sister, Shelbi, by working on their family’s ice cream truck named after Shelbi. Shelbi’s Sweets and Treats is a non-profit, all vol-unteer ice cream truck business in which 100% of the proceeds go to bringing joy to families dealing with childhood cancer. The girls work on the truck by loading ice cream, cleaning, ordering and prep-ping the truck for various events throughout year. The truck is constantly on the go to daycare facili-ties, schools, nursing homes or other events, and the girls work hard to make sure it is ready to go when needed. They also enjoy delivering gifts to children and families. The Martin’s sponsor the Christmas program at Akron Children’s Hospital and help with many activities at the hospital in order to bring joy to families going through their most difficult times. For more information, visit their website at: http://www.shelbissweetsandtreats.com/

ART CLUB PAINTS MURAL Pfeiffer Intermediate School’s Art Club began working this month on two large–scale permanent murals for Akron General’s Heart and Vascular Center. The club consists of 57 art-loving students who are excited to share their love of art and talents with the local Akron community. Murals are public art, which can serve the purpose of enhancing the community, bringing together schools, their students, teachers, and in this case the patients and families visiting the local hospital. One of the murals will be based on the artwork of pop artist, Burton Morris. Each child will create a pop-art style bright colored construction heart tile. An intermediate student will personalize each tile and the hearts will hang side-by-side creating a large mu-ral. The second mural will be placed up high in the Heart & Vascular Center’s main entranceway. The design will be created using a newer style of therapeutic art called “Zentangle” and it will read “WELCOME” in big bold letters. It is the hope of the 6th grade students at Pfeiffer to create a welcoming atmosphere for the patients and their families.

GEOGRAPHY BEE

Thirty-four 7th & 8th grade students participated in the Edison Middle School Geography Bee on Tues-day January 10, 2012. The students were asked questions in the areas of: U.S. Geography, U.S. Cit-ies, Continents, World Geography, and Physical Ge-ography. After a preliminary round, 10 finalists were chosen to compete in the Final Round: Jeffrey Swan, Hannah Petitti, Samuel Ramos, Ben Drake, Jaret Hughes, Nicholas Thompson, & Trey Fricker. Congratula-tions to our Champion-ship Round Partici-pants (pictured right): Third place finisher Christian Everett, Run-ner-up Jake Zartman and Champion Mitchell Yerian. Mitchell will be competing with hundreds from the state to qualify for the state level competition. Good Luck!

ART AWARD WINNERS

Competing with students in grades 7-12 from schools around the area, sixteen Edison Middle School students submitted artwork to the Scholastic Art Competition this year. Congratulations to the following students for receiving recognition in the competition: Quinton Ailes re-ceived a Silver Key for his Ink Sketch “Forest.” Rachel Pit-man received a Silver Key for her Graphite Drawing “Our Corner.” Quinton and Rachel’s art work (pictured above) was on dis-play at Kent State Stark in the Fine Arts Building from January 18th to February 2nd. Jordan Flinn re-ceived an Honorable Mention for her watercolor painting “Bubbles.” Katie Foster received an Honor-able Mention for her clay pot “Ice Cream Pot.” Katy Krepp received an Honorable Mention for her water-color painting “Who Dun’ It?” Erika Wright received an Honorable Mention for her Printmaking Collage “Scrapbooking.” Congratulations to all participants! Your hard work and dedication makes Edison proud.

iROBOT

Mrs. Laskey’s Gateway to Technology class at Edi-son spent the second part of the semester dealing with an Automa-tion and Ro-botics unit. Students learned about the historical development of the robot, future de-velopments in robotics, and the differences between inexpensive open-loop control robots and the ex-pensive closed-loop control robots. Students solved a series of problems that provided de-sign, fabrica-tion, pro-gramming, and trouble-shooting op-portunities using Lego Mindstorm robots. Check out the pics to see their final products.

EDISON MIDDLE SCHOOL (perrylocal.org/edison)

EDISON STUDENTS MAKE CHRISTMAS

FOR OTHERS Edison's Christmas chain project was a phenome-nal success!! Edison students donated $.25 to pur-chase links for Christmas Chains. Stu-dents pur-chased a total of 8,062 links for a total of $2,000.00 to help fellow students! All money was donated to take Edison students shopping to help give them a special Christmas and the remain-der of the money was donated to the Nate Baker family. Also, our students collected books, toys and pajamas that were donated to Perry Helping Perry. These gifts helped make Christmas special for young children in our community. It was won-derful to see the generosity displayed by our Edi-son Middle School students!

PERRY PRIDE!

VALENTINES FOR VETERANS The Perry Service League is a community service or-ganization at Perry High School that strives to serve our school and our community. In January and February, our members will be making Valentines to send to vet-erans and enlisted men and women. If you know a veteran or enlisted man or woman, even if you have sent his or her address to us before, please fill out the form below and send it to Miss Emily Van Wey at Perry High School, or email the information to

Miss Van Wey at vanweye@perrylocal.org.

Please, email or mail addresses by February 9th. Ad-dresses received later will still be sent a Valentine, but

it will be delayed.

I know a Veteran or Enlisted man/woman!

Please send them a Valentine!

Please PRINT in ink. Name: ____________________________________________ Full Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Branch of the Military: (or anything else you would like to tell us about his/her service) ____________________________________________ Your Name and Phone Number:

____________________________

We will only reach you if there is a question about the above name or address. Emily VanWey Perry High School 3737 13th Street SW

PRIDE

EXCELLENCE

TRADITION

PERRY HIGH SCHOOL (perrylocal.org/phs)

GRADUATION:

NEW LOCATION, SAME TRADITION For years, Perry High School has prided itself by hold-ing a commencement ceremony with a grandeur that the accomplishments of the senior class deserve. The Canton Baptist Temple has served as a wonderful ven-ue for out ceremony for years, providing an experi-ence that allowed close family members to observe the graduation of their loved ones. In recent years, tickets have been severely limited due to the seating lim-itations of The Canton Baptist Temple. A survey was distributed to parents of seniors and no doubt was left that a new venue must be found. The decision was made to relocate our ceremony to the new Faith Family Church located off of I-77 just north of The Strip. Their state of the art facility will allow us to double the capacity for our family and friends so that we may allow more to share in this tre-mendous occasion with our graduates. It delights us to invite you to save the date of May 20th, 2012 to share in the Perry High School Com-mencement Ceremony with your graduate at 3:00PM. Faith Family Church, 8200 Freedom Ave. NW N. Canton, OH 44720

DAVID SCHOLAR PROGRAM The Paul & Carol David Foundation, a Stark County based foundation created by Paul David, the late founder of the Camelot Music chain, and his wife, Carol, is accepting applications now through April 16, 2012, for the David Scholar Program. The David Scholar Program awards renewable scholarships to graduating seniors from Stark County high schools to be used at accredited two or four year colleges in the continental U.S. The Foundation is pleased to announce that this year’s award of each scholarship will be $5,500 annually over four years (subject to renewal requirements each quarter/semester). For more information: www.davidscholar.org.

PARENTS OF 2012 GRADUATING SENIORS

Would you like to congratulate your graduating son or daughter with a personal tribute in the 2012 PHS yearbook, The Clock? If you would like to order a personalized ad please email Joy Minor at minor@perrylocal.org. The cost is $20.00 for ap-proximately 250 characters. All personalized ads are DUE BY May 1, 2012.

COMMUNITY NEWS

PERRY TOWNSHIP SOCCER CLUB Spring Registration Perry Township Hall Feb. 11th & March 10th from 9am – 1pm Offering Recreational and Competitive Programs For more info please visit our website at: www.perrysoccer.com

Paul Hervey 330.437.0026 FZRLAW.COM Canton Estates / Trusts / Probate

Corporate formation

Business planning, Litigation

Banking and creditors’ rights

FIRST SATURDAY DINNERS Richville United Church of Christ 6125 Richville Drive SW March 3, 2012 from 4-7 pm Meatloaf FRIDAY, March 23, 2012 from 4-7 pm Lenten Fish Fry April 7, 2012 from 4-7 pm Pork Chops $8/adult; $4/child (12 & under) Take-Out Available Questions? Call 330.832.1891

ANNUAL BOOK SALE AND BAKE SALE Perry Sippo Friends of the Library's Annual Book and Bake Sale to benefit Stark County Dis-trict Library Perry Sippo Branch March 17, 2012 9:00 am-2:00 pm Exploration Gateway Atrium 5710-5712 12th St. NW Graciously accepting your gently used donations any day prior to the week of the sale and after. Large donations? Please call ahead @ 330.477.8482.

STARK PARKS ACTIVITIES **All programs require pre-registration. Please

call 330.409.8096 or visit www.StarkParks.com

to reserve your spot.

Woodcarving Get-Together

Feb.1 and Feb.15, 6:30 pm, Exploration Gateway

Froggy Went a Courtin’

Feb.14, 6 pm, Exploration Gateway While Valentine's Day candy and flowers may work wonders on humans, animals use other tac-tics. (Some of the program content will not be suitable for children.)

Duck, Duck, Goose!

Feb.15, 6 pm, Exploration Gateway Be prepared to identify the ducks, geese, and swans you see by learning distinguishing field marks and behaviors.

Bird in Hand

Feb. 25, 10 am, Exploration Gateway Chickadees, despite their tiny size, will some-times fly in to take a seed from a person's out-stretched hand. Bring a hat and gloves and be prepared to stand or sit very still.

Fe“Leap” Year Celebration

Feb. 29, 5:30 pm, Exploration Gateway February 29th only happens every 4 years, so it's time to celebrate! Bring your camera and have your photo taken with the Stark County Park Dis-trict's mascot, Feleap, between 5:30 and 6:30 pm. Enjoy a display of leaping animal mounts in the Canalway Center and a slideshow of native toads and frogs.

PHS ALUMNI SCHOLARSHIP DANCE March 3, 2012 featuring: Jimmy & The Soulblazers 9:00 p.m. to Midnight (Doors open at 8:00 p.m.) The McKinley Eagles (5024 Monticello Street N.W.) includes admission and all refreshments Donation: $20 per person to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Large Flat Screen TV Drawing tickets sold sepa-rately. No Refunds on Tickets.

Home of the Panthers!

WHAT IS THIS? IT’S A QR CODE.

QR stands for Quick Response. These codes allow people to find out more information on a product or service with their smartphone. By scanning this with your phone, you’ll be taken to the Perry Local Schools website.

VIEW THE PERRYITE IN FULL COLOR!

Go to http://perrylocal.org/community/perryite for a full color version of the Perryite, as well as, past editions.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Our elementary schools began the year with many events that made a difference within the Perry community. With parent and student support, thousands of canned goods and non-perishable foods were donated to Perry Helping Perry. Students from Lohr, Whipple and T.C. Knapp Elementary Schools continued their community support by creating placements for local nursing homes in order to share cheer and good spirits. To reach out-side Perry Township limits, thank you letters written by students were sent to community members and friends in the armed forces. There was an overwhelming response from these letters and placements that illustrate how we made a difference to those around us. Students received thank you letters in response to their acts

such as these.

Dear Students, Hello from San Houston, Texas! I received all your “thank you” letters in the mail and I wanted to let you

know how much I appreciated them! Reading all of your letters made my day so much better! Knowing that I

have people that appreciate me makes my job a whole lot easier…

Sincerely your Friend, PV2 Amore

I wanted to say THANK YOU to your students for the beautiful placements, I’m sure they will brighten the pa-

tients day. Just looking at them makes me smile.

-Lori Harmon

My name is SR Reason and I am a sailor here in Great Lakes, IN… Will you please give thanks and praise to

the 4th grade artists and patriots for me? These letters were the best pick-me-up since I could not go home for

Thanksgiving. …The letters remind me every day why volunteering to serve my country was such a great deci-

sion. With all the thanks in my heart, sincerely,

- SR Reason, Aleace

Perry Local Board of Education Jim Casey, Marlene Capuano

Jon Deitz, Betsy Elum & Bob Schnabel ________________________________________________

Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 pm at Edison, and are open to the public.

The Perryite is published six times a year by the Perry Local Board of Education, and distributed to the community resi-

dents, businesses, and staff members.

The Perry Local Schools is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, age or handicap with respect to employment and educational programs and opportunities for students.

Perry Local School District 4201 13th Street S.W. Massillon, Ohio 44646 ECRWSS

Postal Customer

Nonprofit Organization U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Canton, Ohio

Permit No. 2286

FOLLOW YOUR PANTHERS ALONG WITH TWITTER Here are the available twitter feeds: -PerryBoysBball -PerryGirlsBball -Perry_Wrestling -PerryBowling -PerryLocal -PerryAthletics -PerryTrackXC

HOW TO FOLLOW TWITTER ON

YOUR CELL PHONE*

1. Create a new text message to 40404 2. In the body type

“follow accountname” ie. “follow perrylocal” 3. Send the text message Anytime the account is updated on Twit-ter you’ll receive a text message with the new update. Standard text message rates apply. * No twitter account needed.

-PerryBaseball -PerryGymnastics -PerrySoftball -PerrySwimDive -PerryTennis -ThePHSNews

ATTENTION CURRENT KINDERGARTEN PARENTS - School will be canceled for all district kinder-garten students on May 28, 29, and 30 so that district teams may screen incoming kindergarten students.

ATTENTION 2012-2013 KINDERGARTEN PARENTS - Kindergarten screening will be held on May 28, 29, and 30. Your child must turn 5 by August 1, 2012. Details will be provided in the next issue of the Per-ryite and on our district website.

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Kindergarten registration will be held on Thursday, April 12 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at your neighbor-hood elementary school. When you register your child, please be sure to bring his/her birth certificate, social security card, immunization record, proof of residency (e.g., voter registration card, lease agreement, mort-gage statement, utility statement, bank statement, or rent receipt), and custody papers if applicable.

PRESCHOOL SCREENING FOR SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

A screening for preschool children ages 3-5 who have suspected delays is scheduled for Thursday, March 29th at T. C. Knapp Elementary. This does not include children enrolling in Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. If you have concerns that your preschool child may demonstrate significant delays in the areas of speech/language development, motor development, cognitive development, and/or social-emotional/behavioral devel-opment, please contact Lindsay Akers, beginning on February 27th, at 330-478-6174 to schedule a screening appointment. For more information on identifying and serving preschoolers with special needs, please visit www.perrylocal.org/preschool.

TYPICAL PEER PRESCHOOL SCREENING A screening for preschool-age children who are typically developing and are eligible for preschool enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10th at T.C. Knapp Elementary. Children must turn 3 years old before September 1st. Children must demonstrate age-appropriate speech/language skills, play skills, social skills, and behavior to be considered for enrollment. All typical peers must be reliably toilet-trained before classes begin in August. If your child meets these criteria and you are interested in scheduling a screen-ing appointment, please contact Tammy Cardinal, beginning on March 5th, at 330-478-6187. For more infor-mation about the preschool program, please visit www.perrylocal.org/preschool.