The regular meeting for the Continental School Board was held at 6:00 p.m. on September 18, in the administrative office. The meeting was called to order by Board President Dean Bidlack, who opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Hearing of the Public:
•Cindy Erickson from the Putnam County ESC was present to update the board on the Putnam County ESC’s upcoming events and activities.
The Board congratulated the following student that was selected as September “Artist of theMonth”:
Jr High/High School – Mason Dias is an 11th grader at Continental School and is the son of Jessica Sprague and Grady Dias. His drawing titled, “Eye of the T-Rex” is on display in the administrative office at Continental School.
Elementary – Mason Ordway is a 3rd grader at Continental Elementary. He is the son of Robert Ordway and Lori Ordway. Mason’s drawing titled, “John Deere Green” is on display in the administrative office at Continental School.
Building Reports:
Jr. High/High School
Mr. Tim Eding, JH/HS Principal, reported:
•The annual Junior High Fundraiser is in full-swing. Orders are due back to the school on September 24th.
•This Friday is already the midterm of the 1st quarter!
•Most area colleges/universities as well as various branches of the armed forces have scheduled visits in the coming month or so. This gives our Seniors and Juniors the opportunity to hear options for after high school.
•We will be sending our 16 House Leaders to a student leadership event at West Carrollton HS on September 26th that is sponsored by Jostens. This event, titled “Better Than Good” is intended to help students foster a positive climate and culture in schools.
•The Art Club is hard at work designing this year’s Fall Fest Mural. They will be painting the mural during the school day on September 26th.
•The Putnam County CIC and their Workforce Development Program is sponsoring a Putnam County Manufacturing Day on October 3rd. Our freshmen will be touring Unverferth Manufacturing in Kalida to see the opportunities available in our local area.
•The HS Band competed in a competition at Elmwood HS last weekend and has three more competitions/band shows scheduled for the coming weeks. You can catch the marching band in action on September 21st at Ottawa-Glandorf HS, October 5th at Columbus Grove HS, or October 19th at Maumee HS.
•The E-Sports team began competition last night in the E-Sports Ohio fall league in both Fortnite and Valorant. They also hope to compete this winter and are looking at possibly adding at least one more team.
•Auditions for the Fall Play were held on Monday. The Fall Play, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, is scheduled for November 8, 9, and 10 in the Casteel Auditorium.
•Whirlpool in Ottawa has been working with Mr. Schmidt to donate two Universal Robots that are being retired from their production lines. Jacob Sloan, a graduate of CHS who works for Whirlpool, is helping to facilitate the donation to the school. (I will have more information at next month’s meeting–we have tentatively scheduled their installation/handoff to Continental Schools for September 25th and 26th.)
•Student of the Month Recognition will resume next month.
Elementary
Mrs. Tracy Potts, Elementary Principal, reported:
•We have had a great start to the school year.
•Items checked off the elementary to-do list include:
- Bus Safety for kdg-3rd grade is complete
- Picture Day
- Fire drill
- DIBELS – Testing for Title
- Vision and Hearing Screenings
•Practice Lock Down and Evacuation: Sept. 23, 2024
•Packs for Pirates started Sept. 6. We are serving 66 students.
•Big Brothers/Big Sisters – We are in the beginning stages of interviewing Bigs and matching them with a little.
•High Dosage Tutoring – Ohio law requires all districts and schools to provide high-dosage tutoring opportunities to all students on Reading Improvement Plans (RIMPS). High-dosage tutoring must continue until a student is reading at grade level.
•Gifted: Mrs. Baughman will start providing Gifted services on Sept. 23rd to studentswho qualify. The district uses the data from the Cogat and Iowa assessments to determine eligibility.
Upcoming Events:
•Friday, September 20 – midterms
•Thursday, September 26 – 5th grade to Conservation Day
•Friday, October 11 – Fire Safety Presentation
Treasurer’s Report:
Treasurer Amy Rau-Lawhorn updated the Board on the District’s financial report including investments, cash reconciliation, and Board spending plan.
The Board:
•Approved the following Donations:
$100 from Vivian Rettig in memory of Shirley Sarka to Continental Community Scholarship Fund
$1250 from OHSAA to Athletic Fund
•Approved a Then and Now Purchase Order from Ottawa Glandorf Schools for $4759.11.
Superintendent’s Report:
The Board:
•Heard the transportation report for August 2024.
•Heard opening day enrollment numbers.
Kindergarten-56
1st Grade-47
2nd Grade-37
3rd Grade-45
4th Grade-30
5th Grade-40
6th Grade-39
7th Grade-35
8th Grade-32
9th Grade-25
10th Grade-40
11th Grade-42- VANTAGE-19
12th Grade-33-VANTAGE-19
•Congratulated Robin Etter on 15 years of service as a school board member. She will be recognized at the Northwest Region’s Fall Conference on Thursday, October 24, 2024 at Lima Senior High School.
Personnel:
The Board:
•Approved the September 2024 Putnam County substitute teacher list, provided by the Putnam County ESC.
•Approved the following Pupil Activity Contracts for the 2024-2025 school year, pending proper certification and background checks:
Ryan Keck, Head Baseball Coach
Ben Homier, Assistant Softball Coach
Lindsey Miller, 7th Grade Girls Basketball Coach
Sarah Donaldson, 8th Grade Girls Basketball Coach
•Approved November 13-15, 2024 as dock days for bus driver Becki Bidlack.
•Approved Lisa Johnston and Emily Baxter as a temporary substitute teacher who does not hold a post-secondary degree, as is otherwise required pursuant to Ohio law and regulations, including Ohio Revised Code 3319.226 and 3319.30, Ohio Administrative Code Section 3301-23-44, and/or Board Policy 3120.04 -Employment of Substitutes, during the 2024-2025 school year. This is pending satisfactory background checks, if applicable, as well as a valid non-renewable temporary substitute teaching license issued by the Ohio Department of Education to serve as a substitute teacher.
•Went into executive session per ORC 121.22 to discuss employment of employees.
In: 6:47 p.m. Out: 7:55 p.m.
Vantage Report:
•Robin Etter gave the Vantage Career Center report.
Points of Information:
Upcoming points of information were shared with the Board.
•Continental Fall Festival will be held on September 27 and 28.
•Junior Olympics will be held on Sunday, September 29 at the track beginning at 1:00. This event is put on by the Lion’s Club and the Blue and Gold Club. Our student athletes will also be volunteering their time to help make this event a success.
•The annual Kicking Cancer girls soccer game is Saturday, September 21 at 11:00. Continental will be hosting Miller City.
•The annual Volley for a Cure Volleyball game is scheduled for Friday, October 4 at Miller City. The Junior Varsity will begin at 5:30 with Varsity to follow.
The next regular Board meeting is October 16, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the board office. The meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m.
