Union-Scioto Local School District

Congrats to our all-call winners!! HS Katelynn Ferguson (not pictured) Kyra Stulley Jayden Hodge Preston Weaver Summer Salley MS Eric Reed Kinzli Batson $25 gift/gas card!! It pays to listen!! A special thanks to Blake Lloyd of North Fork Animal Clinic for sponsoring the prizes!! Go Tanks!!

Today, Tues. 2/6/24 Bus # 23 students will be arriving home approx. 25 minutes late. Bus # 23 services Overlook Apts., Westland Estates, Overbrook Apts., and 2088 Anderson Station Rd. Thank You.

Today, Tues. 2/6/24 Bus # 23 students will be picked up approx. 35 minutes late. Bus # 23 services Overlook Apts., Westland Estates, Overbrook Apts., and 2088 Anderson Station Rd. Thank You.

Today, Friday 2/2/24 Bus # 's 5 students will be approx. 25 minutes late arriving home. Bus # 5 services Adena Rd., Orange St., Appleton, Lake, Piatt, Allen, Yaples, Melrose, Avalon, and Baldwin Ct. Thank You.

This morning, Friday Feb. 2, 2024 Bus # 21's students will be picked up approx. 65 minutes late. This afternoon, Friday Feb. 2, 2024 Bus # 21's students will be approx. 50 minutes late arriving home. Bus # 21 services Co. Rd. 550, Maple Grove, Mt. Carmel Rd., Sulphur Lick, Blazer Rd., and Steiner Rd. Thank You.

All-call for 4:00 pm today! Last night was The Best of Ross County Art Competition at the Pump House. Very proud of our students and Ms. VanVoorhis! Great Job! Honorable Mentions: Rayann Lynch, Eliza Howell, Mahek Patel, Natalie DePugh, Elizabeth Slack, and Ella Smith. 2nd Place: McKenzie Long, and 1st Place: Hallie Uhrig. Congratulations to all of our students who participated! If you would like to see the show, it will be on display at the Pump House until the end of February. The Unioto Chapter of the National Art Honor Society will be competing in the Ohio Youth Governor Art Competition on Saturday, March 2@10am, for regional competition, and any student who wins will compete at the State Level on Saturday, March 9@10am. State winners will be displayed at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower on April 21-May 16. Tonight is Military Night at our basketball game. All veterans and active military men and women will be honored at the end of the JV game. Dinner will be provided in the auditeria beginning at 5pm. Next Friday, February 9, there will be no school for students due to staff professional development. Students…get over being a sugar cookie and keep moving forward! Yes, I said sugar cookie. This is the opening phrase of Ch 4 of the #1 New York Times Bestseller “Make Your Bed” authored by retired US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven who spent 37 years as a Navy SEAL and commanded at every level. Our administrative team participates in a book study almost every year and this year we are reading this book. Yes, principals, supervisors, and superintendents have homework too! If you think when you get out of school you won’t have to deal with homework anymore you are sadly mistaken! We believe it is important to continually learn and improve as individuals, educators, and leaders. I am very thankful we have an administrative team that values growth and learning like they do. Get over being a sugar cookie! When I first read this beginning phrase I thought…sugar cookies? I love sugar cookies! Especially the sugar cookies our cafeteria ladies make. Some of the best for sure! The chapter describes what being a sugar cookie is as it relates to Navy SEAL training in the following excerpt. “In all of SEAL training, there was nothing more uncomfortable than being a sugar cookie. There were a lot of things more painful and more exhausting, but being a sugar cookie tested your patience and your determination. Not because you spent the rest of the day with sand down your neck, under your arms, and between your legs, but because the act of becoming a sugar cookie was completely indiscriminate. There was no rhyme or reason. You became a sugar cookie at the whim of the instructor. A Navy SEAL would have to swim in the cold water, then lay face down in the sand and roll from side to side until your entire body is covered in sand. Every crevice in your body and spend the rest of the day as a sugar cookie.” Covered completely with sand! You could have had the best training day of your life and have the best than any other Navy SEAL and still be randomly forced to become a sugar cookie. Do your absolute best and still have to suffer pain and unfair punishment? That isn’t fair and is the worst kind of not being fair. You do everything right, above board, with absolute integrity, by the book, your very best and you are punished?? Well…life isn’t fair and the sooner you learn that the better off you will be! Many times you will be at the mercy of random acts, unfair circumstances, how you are treated, and what you have to endure that others don’t. But you are never at the mercy of how you respond. How you accept, deal, and adjust. This is always yours to choose. We are all defined by how we deal with life’s unfairness. The timing of reading this chapter could not have been more perfect as I reflect on several situations some of our students, student-athletes, staff members, and some families have had to endure recently, and over the past few months. Endure. Many have unbelievably difficult and unfair circumstances. My mom always said there is someone out there who has it way worse than you. I didn’t like hearing that…at all. Why? It wouldn’t allow me to complain and focus on all the wrong and unfairness. It influenced me to be thankful for my situation and to be thoughtful of others. “Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out.” Another excerpt from the book: “Sometimes no matter how hard you try, no matter how good you are, you still end up as a sugar cookie. Don’t complain. Don’t blame it on your misfortune. Stand tall, look to the future, and drive on!” You gotta love being a sugar cookie! 3 days til Monday and you gotta love being a sugar cookie!! Students replying with “Sugar cookie” in the subject line of your email reply by 4pm on Tuesday, Feb 6 will be entered into a drawing for a chance at some nice prizes. Go Tanks!!

Unioto Preschool Registration for 2024-2025 will be on Thursday, March 21 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Registration packets are available to be picked up in the elementary office and are also available online at http://tinyurl.com/UESpreschool24 Completed packets will not be accepted until registration on March 21st and will be processed in the order in which they are received. If you have any questions, please call the office at (740) 773-4103.

The Middle School Softball program will be holding signups, followed by a short parent meeting this Sunday February 4th at the high school softball field at 1 pm. This includes any 6th, 7th or 8th grader who is interested in spring softball. Go Tanks!

There will be no school for students on Friday, February 9, 2024. Staff will be participating in Professional Development.

Breakfast and lunch menus for February are now available!

This afternoon, Monday 1-22-24 bus #22 students will be approximately 45 minutes late arriving home. Bus #22 services Egypt Pike, McDonald Rd., Bowdle Rd., Preserve Way and Forest Edge. Thank You.

This morning, Monday 1-22-24 bus #22 students will be approx 50 minutes late being picked up. Bus #22 services Egypt Pike, McDonald Rd., Bowdle Rd., Preserve Way and Forrest Edge. Thank You.

Good Morning!! I have been driving the roads this morning and I am amazed at how hard the road crews for our townships have been working to get the roads cleared so we can have school today! Doing their very very best to ensure the roads are safe for travel for all of us! Students you may not realize the time and effort it takes for others doing all they can to make sure you have the most opportunities possible to learn and become the best student and person you can be. So, be thankful for our Union and Scioto township crews, the County crews, our maintenance staff, and all the others who have been up and at it since 2 am!! Be thankful!! With that being said, unfortunately, the snow just keeps coming and is just too much too fast, even for all of our incredibly hard working road crews. I am so sorry to disappoint you on a Friday morning, but we will need to cancel school today! Do your best to enjoy the day and do not allow this bad news to ruin your weekend! How you respond to circumstances in your life, good or bad will determine who you are and who you can become! I know our students can bounce back from this setback and will make the best of this situation. Monday will be here soon enough. Stay positive!! No school today, Friday, January 19, 2024! Athletic events will be decided at a later time today. 3 days til Monday!! Go Tanks!!

Unioto will be on a 2-hour delay tomorrow, Wednesday, January 17, 2024. Thanks!

We are still in need of a coach for our 7th grade/B team for baseball this spring. Tryouts will be on Feb 22nd and 23rd from 4 pm till 530 each day at Ross County Park on Egypt Pike. Rosters will be posted at school on Feb 26th for individuals who make the 8th grade and 7th grade teams. If we don't get enough 7th graders or a coach for the 7th grade, tryouts will be for just one team. Made up of 7th and 8th graders. We currently have open gyms every Friday from 6-8 pm at the old high school. If you are interested in coaching please contact JD Smith at jdsmith.sbo@gmail.com or attend an open gym on a Friday to let us know. Go Tanks!

Congratulations to the following students for making the Middle School "A Honor Roll," for the 2nd 9-weeks!

Congratulations to the following students for making the Middle School A/B Honor Roll, for the 2nd 9-weeks!

All-call for 4:00 pm today! Running club announcement: We had another great Fall season of Running Club. We averaged 112 students over 11 weeks. We had 32 of 75 students compete in the elementary fun run here at Unioto during the X-country meet. The students did an incredible job! We trained both short and long distances running a 1.2-mile route most practice days. Thank you to our helpers! Christie Chester - parent Coach Don Ooten Coach Alyssa Ooten High School help from the Cross Country team Ava Rooker Zack Ooten Jayden Lewis Liam Lynch Brianna Nelson Gideon Tennant Gwyn Eldridge I wanted to share some exciting news that could impact fans and guests attending events at Unioto. We will be using HomeTown Ticketing to provide digital tickets for HS events. We will also be offering a credit card option at the gate. Cash is still an option as well. Visit our website at www.unioto.org, click on parent resources, and click on the HomeTown Ticketing link on the right-hand side of the page. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Bowdle at mbowdle@gotanks.org. Our second semester district/community newsletter will be mailed out to families this month very soon! You can expect highlights from the district and buildings, updated winter and spring athletic schedules, and other district-related information. A special thanks to Brian Conrad with Cleanway Carpet & Powerwashing for sponsoring free admission for our students at our girls' basketball game this week vs Amanda Clearcreek. Thank you!! A special thanks to Joe Uhrig of Uhrig Financial for sponsoring free admission for all students for this Friday and Saturday’s home basketball game. Thank you!! (January 5th & 6th) Happy New Year students! Happy meaningful & productive New Year! I have had several conversations recently with friends, family, and students about New Year’s resolutions. What are your New Year’s resolutions? What are your goals for the new year? Do you follow through with your new goals even after a brief time or when the excitement and energy wanes? What lofty goal are you going to attempt this year and not follow through with? I am sure we all at some point have experienced the excitement of setting goals and for whatever reason, we simply do not follow through. A new year can heighten the awareness and desire to improve yourself in some or many areas. It comes with hope and excitement, a new beginning, a fresh start, and an opportunity to accomplish all the wonderful goals you have established. You may have said to yourself something like: This is going to be the year. This year I am going to do it. I may have failed in the past or not followed through with my resolutions, but I will this time. This is going to be my year! I certainly can attest to saying those statements to myself at times. Some advice shared with me that might be helpful in this area is to set your goal or New Year’s resolution(s) low enough that even the worst of you can accomplish it. Be big enough (mature) to be small enough (less prideful) to recognize lowering your goal increases the likelihood of success. Obviously. Not saying don’t set high goals. Be realistic. Set attainable goals, understanding who you are and what you will actually do. With any goal, regardless of what it might be, progress or improvement is your meta goal. In the game of goals, progress/improvement is your overarching goal. So, no matter how small or slow, if you are progressing and improving, you are becoming more of who you can be. You are getting closer to your best. You are better today than you were yesterday and will be a little better tomorrow. Incremental progress can be so powerful! It can also push you to accomplish even more. Once a person starts to recognize the improvements and the value that comes with that, the more motivated and encouraged they can become. You will go so far as a person and improve to the point that when you look back you don’t even recognize who you used to be. One small step at a time can lead to exponential growth. Keep this in mind, you are not perfect. Is anyone perfect? Of course not. Understand that failure will be part of the process but that doesn’t mean you are not worthy of improving. Don’t beat yourself up when you fall short, just continue with the small steps forward. It’s an opportunity to start again a bit more knowledgeable than the last time. Be excited for the new year and who you will become! Please enjoy the video about the key to progress. https://www.instagram.com/p/C1CzkE0PLjL/ Students responding to this all-call with a brief description of what they learned about progress and name the person in the video by 4:00 pm on Tuesday, January 9 will be entered into a drawing for a chance at some AirPods Pro, Apple Watch, and gift cards! It pays to progress and listen!! Compliments of Blake Lloyd of North Fork Animal Clinic for gift options for our students. Thank you! Go Tanks!!

There will be no school on Monday, January 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Reminder: students will be dismissed two-hours early tomorrow December 20. School resumes for students on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.