Percussion performance part of presentation at Greenfield school board meeting

By Angela Shepherd
GEVS

Rhythm was just one of the things showcased at Greenfield’s April 20 school board meeting. Other meeting components included a food service report, approved student trips, and employment.

A percussion group made up of Greenfield Elementary students, and known as the Tiger Beats, performed for the school board members. Following the performance the members of the group, all of whom were not able to attend the meeting, were recognized by the board.

They used different types of items – various xylophones, buckets with drum sticks, and tubes – to shape their sounds. The group meets before school to explore music making and was born of an idea by music teacher Kylie Bayless, according to Greenfield Elementary Principal Lindsay McNeal.

The group was one of the highlights of McNeal’s brief presentation to the board. Other highlights included a recent visit by reading specialists from Southwest City Schools so they could see Visible Learning in action, Greenfield Elementary being recognized as a Governor’s Science of Reading Champion School, and a recent fifth grade career fair where students were able to explore many different career fields. 

In other business, Shelley Smith, the district’s food service director, provided an annual report. Included in the report were that 129,538 breakfasts and 142,947 lunches were served August through March of the current school year. This is an eight-percent and one-percent increase, respectively, over the same time period the previous school year.

Nutritional requirements are changing, Smith said, with reduced sodium and less added sugar requirements and her department is trying to work this into the menus before it is mandatory in 2027. 

Some goals for the coming school year, she said, are sandwich board signs for the Tiger Bites serving locations, adding murals to the serving areas in the cafeterias, adding self serve salad bars, and getting more student feedback to ensure positive menu changes.

Smith also reported that the summer feeding program, Tiger Bites, will begin June 1 and run through July 31 with the same serving locations as previous years.  

Other meeting items included the approval of a resolution to establish a program enabling the donation of unneeded property under a certain dollar amount to qualifying non-profit entities. District treasurer Brad Barber said that without a program like this, non-profits that could benefit from an item that is no longer needed by the school district have to go through the same process as anyone else and bid on it. With a program in place, however, it will make it easier for organizations to obtain something the school doesn’t need anymore.

Barber also talked about an event that will be held at the main campus in June called Charitable University. It is a free course through the Ohio attorney general’s office for non-profits to help educate them on staying compliant. Stay tuned for more information on this event. 

In the report from J.V.S. Delegate Spencer Bradley, which superintendent Quincey Gray presented, McClain students featured in the April student spotlight were Dalton Rowland (law enforcement program) and Logan Warner (collision repair program). Gray also reported that the senior ceremony for Great Oaks is scheduled for May 11 at the Nutter Center. 

Consent agenda items approved by board members include a trip to Gettysburg and Washington, D.C. for the middle school from May 22-25, a new mowing contract for Rainsboro Elementary, and the McClain FFA trip to Oklahoma State University May 31 through June 3. Accepted through the consent agenda were the resignations of McClain High School custodian Tina Merchant, bus driver Jackie Hamilton for the purposes of retirement, and preschool teacher Kayla Marlowe at the end of the school year. A quote for the purchase of Chromebooks was also approved. 

Employment recommendations approved by the board were Heather Boehle - fifth grade ELA and social studies teacher at Rainsboro Elementary; Jamie Buskirk - fourth grade ELA teacher at Greenfield Elementary; John Gill - ELA teacher at McClain High School; Sidney Payton - fourth grade ELA teacher at Greenfield Elementary; Braden Wright - kindergarten teacher at Greenfield Elementary; Kaleb Frazier - McClain High School custodian; Melissa Trent - main campus head cook; and Katherine Strack - cafeteria, secretary. Students helping during the summer are: Braiden Waker - maintenance; Isaac Mincey and Jacek Valler - technology; and Delaney Bland, Aidan Ponder, Vada Ponder, Allison Shope, and Claire Crago - bus garage.

The next regular session of the Greenfield Exempted Village School District Board of Education is scheduled for May 18 at 7 p.m. in the central office boardroom. To keep updated on what is going on in the Greenfield Exempted Village School District, go to the district website at greenfield.k12.oh.us or go to the district’s social media pages. The individual buildings also have Facebook pages. For any questions regarding the district’s fiscal matters, you can call Barber using the following number, or email him at brad.barber@greenfieldmcclain.org. The district’s central office may be reached by calling 937-981-2152. 

Below, members of the Tiger Beats, a percussion group at Greenfield Elementary led by music teacher Kylie Bayless, are pictured during parts of their performance at the April 20 school board meeting.