Operation : Rocket Fuel "excellence in service to others"

Transportation

The transportation department is in superpower mode as fall sports have wrapped up and winter sports have begun. Our drivers are working hard to get our athletes, coaches, and staff to and from games all around the area! Go Rockets!

Sports are not the only trips that have been taken. Field trips are slowly coming back, and our students need a way to get there! We have had the pleasure of transporting students to apple orchards, as well as to KSU to work with new technology tools while showing their understanding of their curriculum. The excitement of the students on these trips is indescribable! Additionally, we have a few more trips lined up in December that we are very excited for!

Very soon our buses that go on field trips will have an EZ Pass! This will save the district money on tolls and will also provide a better option for the routes we take to get to some of our destinations, especially during high traffic times. We expect to have our EZ Passes either during or shortly after winter break!

Photo: Transportation Secretary, Von Starkey, ensuring proper transportation for our students!

Technology

Streetsboro City Schools Technology Integration team and leadership at the Research Center for Educational Technology (RCET) at Kent State University have long enjoyed a successful partnership in bringing unique experiences to our students. During the first two weeks of November, Mrs. Jessica Baker’s third grade class from Streetsboro Elementary School traveled down to Kent each day to participate in technology-enhanced, standards-driven, focused instruction in Kent State’s AT&T Classroom. While there, students enriched science and math standards through the use of Lego Spike coding, Minecraft for Education, and Book Creator. To learn more about this wonderful experience, click on the following link: AT&T Classroom at KSU

Minecraft was not just used at the AT&T classroom this month. Students in the 6th grade showed their understanding of Mesopotamian culture through the creation of Ziggurats in social studies classes. In just three days, students were able to create breathtaking replicas of these ancient structures on their Chromebooks using Minecraft for Education. 7th Graders also used Minecraft to build fully functioning Roman aqueducts in JUST TWO DAYS! Like Minecraft, Book Creator was also used in-district. Students at Defer showed their understanding of various Ohio landforms through the creation of eye-catching and information-rich books, and third graders created cause and effect stories. Their creations were stellar!

We are continuing to service all Chromebook repairs in-house. We are fortunate to have students, staff, and families who take pride in treating their devices with respect to avoid major damage. As a reminder, always keep Chromebooks in protective cases/sleeves when they are not in use. This simple task adds an abundance of additional protection to the frame of the Chromebook. Also, opening and closing Chromebooks slowly helps elongate the life of the hinges that keep our devices together. Again, we are thankful to all who have aided in the 1:1 process by practicing best practices to keep our technology safe and working!

If you would like to learn a few tech tips or tricks, check out our monthly "Tech Tapas!" Tech Tapas is a digital newsletter that offers "quick bytes of technology" to get your going!

Photo: Our district IT & Network Specialist, Rick Alleshouse, repairing a student device

Food Services

November was stuffed with turkey dinners and full bellies. Every cafeteria is experiencing a rise in participation for both lunch and breakfast. Our goal is to serve as many students as possible and ensure there are no hungry students. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always available.

Be on the lookout for new menu items in December and the new year. There are creative food innovations in the works that we hope to roll out soon.

I am thankful for the amazing cafeteria staff. The entire staff is made up of wonderful people who truly care about the students and want to make sure they are fed high quality meals every day. No words can tell them how much they are appreciated, but saying thank you every chance you get is a great start.

Did you know food service can cater your event? Having a meeting or social gathering and need food? We can help. Email the Director of Food & Nutrition at mpettitt@scsrockets.org or talk to your Cafe Director for more information.

Please check NutriSlice and principal updates to see when the next special occasion is coming to your student’s school.

Photo: Cafeteria Director Eileen Simmons and Cafeteria staff Brigette Teece work hard to prepare nutritious food for SMS students!

Facilities/Maintenance

Our team sourced and deployed iMop Lites to each building this month. The iMop will assist with quick spill cleanups, restroom scrubbing, or anywhere else a powered solution is needed that will both wet-mop and suck up any residual liquids.

We continue to work with our HVAC partners at Gardiner, and have replaced or repaired several HVAC components in most buildings - blower motors, controlling units, and temperature sensors in classrooms to make sure we provide a comfortable learning environment.

The district’s Operations Safety Team installed new panic buttons in each building that will summon our police and fire departments in the case of a violent threat inside or around our schools.

We continue to see heavy use of our buildings from our internal sports teams, community members, and various other partners - each event scheduled, managed, and staffed by our Facilities team. You can learn more about using our facilities, here: https://bit.ly/RocketRent

Photo: Maintenance Supervisor, Dave Clark, keeping our buildings in order and running smoothly!

Business Operations

Director of Operations, Andreas Johansson, presented at the OSBA Capital Conference on November 15, 2022. Andreas did a wonderful job delivering a session titled, “Board Members - Get Answers to your Bus Questions!” This presentation was in collaboration with Doug Palmer from the OSBA. To learn more, and to see the slides, visit the associated resource folder here: OSBA Capital Conference Resources

There are some very exciting events coming to our buildings this December. The PTA Holiday Connection will take place on Saturday, December 3rd at Streetsboro Middle School from 11:00am - 2:00pm. This is a great event where you can shop from over 25 vendors as well as decorate cookies, make crafts, buy some goodies, and even take a picture with The Grinch! To learn more, Click Here! Additionally, Thrive's Holiday Spectacular is taking place at Streetsboro High School on December 3rd at 8:00pm. This is a great opportunity to see many students, staff, and community members shine on the stage! For additional information, Click Here!

Photo: Operations Executive Administrative Assistant, Alana Links, keeping the OPS department organized - always with a smile on her face!