Navin program targets social and emotional growth of students With a B grade on the latest state report card, Marysville’s Navin Elementary is finding success at expanding young minds. A new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program put in place at the school is seeking to expand hearts. Navin Principal Lynette Lewis told the Marysville School Board Thursday that educators in the school have adopted principles, programs and in-school clubs to ensure that no child feels alone. She said the mentality starts with “Navin’s 5 Simple Rules” for the staff: •Love your kids. •Love them more when they’re difficult. •Love them…
Author: Chad Williamson
Responding to a shortage across the region, the Marysville School District is bumping the daily pay for substitute teachers. At its Thursday night’s meeting, the district’s board of education unanimously approved an increase to $100 per day, up from $90. “We’ll see if that makes a difference,” Superintendent Diane Mankins said. “It’s more of a supply issue.” The problem is nothing new. Mankins said that for the past 10 years districts in central Ohio have struggled to attract substitute teachers. Marysville gets its substitutes from the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio (ESCCO), which also serves Fairbanks, as well as…
Marysville elementary school parents learned recently that the district will soon begin the process of redistricting. A letter sent to parents Thursday states that the district will begin the process of realigning elementary attendance boundaries for the 2020-21 school year. “Our goal is to stabilize the wide range of enrollment levels in our K-4 buildings and allow for future growth,” the letter reads. A task force will begin looking at new boundary options beginning this month. The task force is comprised of parents from each building, the director of transportation, the district enrollment specialist, the elementary principals and the assistant…
Be on the lookout, or rather keep your ears open, for anyone under 30 who might hit you with the phrase “OK Boomer.” They are not calling you by a new, cute nickname. Also, they have absolutely no intention of considering your advice. They probably think what you just said is dumb. “OK Boomer” is basically a dismissive phrase for statements made by someone older that are either completely out of touch or massively embellished. It is meant to target Baby Boomers, but the phrase has clearly skewed out of any relevant generational label and basically just means “OK old…
North Lewisburg Village Council has taken its first steps to address a problem with a troublesome box truck parking along city streets for extended periods of time. Council heard first reading Tuesday on an amendment to the village parking ordinances. The new restrictions pertain specifically to commercial and heavy vehicles. The move comes in response to an issue first raised at October’s council meeting, regarding a commercial truck parking along village streets, particularly on West Maple and South Sycamore streets, for days at a time before moving to another location. The truck reportedly creates difficulties for other commercial vehicles attempting…
Chase Kilgore of Marysville jumps over a Central Crossing defender to pick up yardage on Friday. The Monarchs buried the Comets, 35-0, and earned a Division I playoff berth. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Since being hired three years ago, Marysville football coach Brent Johnson has been obsessive about a workmanlike process of rebuilding the Monarch grid squad. After cruising past Central Crossing 35-0 Friday night, Johnson and the Monarchs were left wondering immediately after the game if their 6-4 record would be good enough to get them into the Division I state playoffs. “We’re bringing them in tomorrow morning,”…
Ryan Kern (32) of Marysville picks up yardage against Hilliard Davidson on Friday. The Monarchs fell, 23-14 and slipped to 5-4 for the season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) A pedigree on the gridiron can only be earned by years of winning. Athletes learn to do things the right way from their predecessors in a program that grows from its own success. When you have a pedigree you carry a confidence, people know you and things seem to go your way. With two state championships and four regional championships since 2000, Hilliard Davidson has that stature, and at some point…
For Memorial Health to compete with the health systems of Columbus for employees, it must offer competitive wages, even at its lowest levels. Memorial Health Board of Trustees members learned at Thursday night’s meeting that the local system’s minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour in the first half of 2020, more than twice the $7.25 federal minimum wage well above the $8.55 state minimum. Memorial CEO Chip Hubbs said the increase is in response to similar action by central Ohio’s four largest health systems. He said Memorial must offer competitive wages that allow it to maintain the quality…
Marysville school officials and students, as well as members of the area business community are shown during a recent open house at the autotech lab of the Marysville Early College High School. The autotech program is the first at the district which will serve students from both Marysville high schools. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) As a junior at Marysville High School, Caleb Erwin was pretty much undecided about what he wanted to do with the rest of his life until a new program ignited a passion. Erwin was in the first class of students to take part in the…
Ryan Kern runs for a touchdown against Upper Arlington on Friday. The score, however, was nullified by a penalty. The Monarchs lost on the Golden Bears’ field, 10-6. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) When Marysville’s Ryan Kern broke free around the left end with about two minutes left in the game Friday night, the ghosts of seven straight losses to Upper Arlington came with him. With each of the 14 yards he covered en route to the end zone for the go-ahead score, years of missed opportunities against the Ohio Capital Conference Central Division elite washed away. It would be…
Gym credits and vape clouds were on the agenda for the Marysville Board of Education Thursday night. Revisiting a topic from the August board meeting, first reading was held on a policy change that would allow show choir to count as a physical education exemption. Currently, only school affiliated sports and marching band allow students to fulfill their physical education requirements for graduation without taking a gym class. During the August meeting a student and choral booster president spoke to the board about the waiver for show choir, after the Ohio General Assembly, prompted by representative Tracy Richardson of Marysville,…
Marysville’s Carson Smith (5) goes in for a touchdown through a hole provided by the Monarch line. Marysville won its Homecoming game over Westland, 36-13. (Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson) Marysville’s football team isn’t fooling anyone. From the opening gun, the Monarchs line up and try to pummel you between the tackles. They know it. You know it. The fans know it. The chain gang knows it. The stat guy knows it. Even the kid that dropped his souvenir football over the back of the bleachers knows it. It’s what Marysville does. You either stop it or you don’t. Westland…
When I went to cover Marysville’s football game last Friday night, I walked into Dublin Coffman Stadium and realized something — I hate Dublin Coffman Stadium. It has nothing to do with the turf, the lights or the hotdogs. It’s my own personal hang-up. That stadium is where, in 1989, I played my last high school football game. Compared to everywhere else we played, it was massive — tall light poles, huge bleachers and a scoreboard that blared music through speakers clear enough that you could actually understand the lyrics. The team was big also. Not just physically, but in…
There is a parking problem in North Lewisburg, highlighted by a recent roving box truck. Mechanicsburg Police Captain Scott Bodey offered his monthly crime report to members of North Lewisburg Village Council Tuesday and noted an issue with a specific box truck. The Mechanicsburg department is contracted to provide police coverage to the nearby village. Bodey said the wide commercial truck is parking on village streets, particularly West Maple and South Sycamore streets, for a few days at a time before moving to another location. Bodey said other commercial vehicles attempting to make deliveries to village businesses are sometimes forced…
The placement of just one letter creates the difference between a break and a brake, but on the gridiron the difference is two letters – a W or an L. Without a 100-yard rusher or passer and outgained in every offensive catgory, Dublin Coffman still easily handled Marysville 28-9 Friday night, as the Shamrocks took advantage of opportunities while the Monarchs found ways to slow their own momentum. Marysville, still struggling to compete with the elite programs of central Ohio, found ways to kill its own momentum and dropped its seventh straight game to the Shamrocks. “When we needed a…