Shakira Jones, above, looks through the lens of the camera to take a photo of her classmate, Jasmin Guzman, who wore a cap for the occasion. The class took turns dressing up and taking photos of each other using the photo booth they created.

One classroom at the WSOS Stricker Family Development Center, under the direction of Teacher Jo Simms and Teacher Assistants Pat Kimmet and Michelle Mahler, has completed an interdisciplinary project that the Ohio Resource Center for Mathematics, Science and Reading (ORC) is considering for a best practice designation.

Simms has partnered with Jeff Heaton, art teacher at Fremont Ross High School, to conduct the camera project. The preschoolers visited Heaton’s class and learned to take a photo, what is a close-up shot, how pictures are stored in a camera, and have examined a camera to learn its various parts. They also visited a darkroom and participated in a photo shoot.

"We have had a great time with this project," Simms said. “The kids have been so excited, and Mr. Heaton has been so good to us. The kids realy enjoyed going to Mr. Heaton’s class.

The preschoolers even constructed their own photo booth to look like the one they used at the high school classroom and took photos of their classmates and their families.

Throughout the project, Simms and her assistants have documented all the learning activities that the project afforded the students and connected them to the Ohio Early Learning standards.

There are three goals of the interdisciplinary project. They are: to develop and disseminate inquiry- based projects aligned to Ohio’s Early Learning standard; to encourage the use of inquiry-based experiences for young children designed to increase their conceptual knowledge and address content specified in the standards; and to highlight exemplary teaching and learning practices from early childhood classrooms.

The ORC commissioned the development of such a project to serve as a model for use by teachers in a variety of early childhood learning environments. The projects were submitted March 31 and, if chosen, will receive $500, access to professional resources, content and technical support, and materials needed for completing the project. It’s possible that the schools/centers involved could receive $750 to offset the costs of any teacher reimbursement, instructional materials, and any other items needed for documentation that are unavailable at the school or center.

Also, the chosen projects will be featured on the ORC website for use by other preschool teachers.

Simms and others at the Stricker center will learn if they are successful in early June.

Board Profile
Chris Galvin wants to ensure `marvelous` customer service at WSOS

CHRIS GALVIN

Full name: Christine "Chris" K. Galvin

Address: Post Clinton

Family: Chris said she was widowed after 40 ‘marvelous’ years with her best friend Marty; she has four adult children, Beth, Dan, Molly, and Trish; seven stepchildren, Ray, Linda, Mary Ruth, Bob, Judy, Riley, and Craig; 11 grandchildren,Christopher, Amanda, Jim, Jennifer, Caitlyn, Grant, Evelyn, Lissa, Emmet, Sullivan, and Isabella; and a pet daschund Geli.

Occupation: She is currently the Director of the United Way office in Ottawa County, a position she has held for the past 13 years. She said she is continuously curious about her community and enjoys seeing her job evolve as well as the skills she needs to meet the needs of the community.

Board Status: Chris joined the board in October 2006 for a two-year term, which may be renewed.
Goal as a board member: She said she aims to help prepare every child to arrive at school ready to learn and become an informed and involved citizen. She hopes to be able to ensure that each person served by WSOS experiences ‘marvelous’ customer service and walks away with dignity and delight.

Interests/Hobbies: She calls herself an information junkie who loves ideas and conversation. She also refers to herself as a frustrated detective and says that keeps her connected to interesting people who teach her all sorts of things from knitting to kinesthetics. She also enjoys movies, meditation, poetry and people-watching.

Cathy Young, Clarissa Rodriguez, Yvonne Harnden, Deb Conner, Sarah Frustaci, Norma Nickelson, and Kami Sayre

Seven parents, who participated in the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI), graduated in March after an eight-week training course that opened up the world of parenting to them.

PLTI is sponsored by the Sandusky County Family and Children First Council in partnership with WSOS. It provides parents with leadership skills and tools to become more involved in their communities in order to make positive changes for their children.

There are three aspects of the training: a one-day retreat, followed by eight weeks of meetings on parent leadership, and classes on politics and the media. The participants also develop a project that they work on for their granduation. The purpose of the project is to give them the opportunity to apply the principles they learned in the classes.

Applications are currently being accepted for a new class that will begin as soon as there are sufficient participants – about 20 parents.

Graduates of the program are Cathy Young, Clarissa Rodriguez, Yvonne Harnden, Deb Conner, Sarah Frustaci, Norma Nickelson, and Kami Sayre.

The Community Development department has been hard at work in the past year, pursuing a variety of planning and development projects to create jobs and improve the quality of life for area families.

After wrapping up a City of Norwalk Comprehensive Plan process that involved over 700 city residents, we are presenting the final draft of a Huron County land use plan that we co-authored with OSU Extension. We are also assisting Willard with a downtown revitalization plan, and beginning work with the Village of North Baltimore to take a comprehensive look at their downtown as well.

Waiting in the wings are some countywide planning projects designed to coordinate transportation options with all the service agencies and special needs groups in three rural counties. The goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of rural transportation, bringing essential services where needed while minimizing duplication.

We continue to help businesses locate or expand in our area. In addition to some larger manufacturing projects in North Baltimore, Norwalk, and Wyandot County tapping Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for business expansions, we also help entrepreneurs access local revolving loan funds as well as our own WSOS business and micro loan programs. A prime recent example is the coming start-up of a new restaurant in the Village of Lindsey financed in part by the Sandusky County Commissioners.

We also continue to help four counties and a city with their Formula CDBG funds, helping implement projects ranging from township roads and municipal water lines to building accessibility projects and public service programs. Also, a recently awarded USDA grant will enable us to follow up on our comprehensive "Good START" community planning process with real, brickand- mortar implementation of development projects in two targeted, economically distressed areas. We are grateful for the role we play in partnering with local officials, development offices, businesses, and others to help improve conditions for residents and businesses in our area.

* About 50 WSOS volunteers were honored on April 26 at a Volunteer Appreciation event spearheaded by Sandusky County’s First Call for Help.

* Staff and participants will visit the county commissioners in each of the WSOS four-county service area to thank the commissioners for their support of community action programs in the past year. These visits are made to recognize Community Action Month in May.

* After School Program students and Stricker center preschoolers participated in the Light of Hope event in April conducted by CASA of Sandusky, Seneca and Wyandot counties to promote child abuse awareness.

Eight participants, above, received their certification as marine mechanics in March at the graduation ceremony of the Skills for Life Marine Mechanics training program in Ottawa County. Earning certificates were from left, above, Marcus Dilly, William Haynes, Don Phillips, Thomas Hogan, Earl Hilt, James Krzynowek, Charles Hogan, and Kevin Stefanko. Instructor Greg Sharpe, second from left standing, distributed the awards.

Of the eight, four received scholarships to participate in an advanced training program provided by Volvo Penta, one of the largest manufacturers of marine engines. The scholarships went to Hilt, Krzynowek, Phillips, and Thomas Hogan. These four also earned perfect attendance certificates.

The Skills for Life Marine Mechanics program is a partnership of the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation (OCIC), Penta Career Center, and WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc. It is also supported by area marinas and Volvo Penta of the Americas.

A familiar face
Sanchez finds fulfillment helping childcare providers become excellent

DENISE SANCHEZ

Full name: Denise Sanchez

Address: Lindsey

Family: Son Joshua, 19; four brothers, two sisters, and her mother, a former WSOS employee.

Occupation: Currently, Denise is the Teacher Mentor for Child Development programs. However, she has held several positions in her 31- year tenure at WSOS. She was hired in 1976 as a Head Start center aide. A year later, she became a classroom teacher. Then, she served as a Home Visitor, the job she transitioned from to become the Teacher Mentor about eight years ago.

Favorite part of the job: The best part of her job, she said, is the feeling of accomplishment when she can help the teachers and other child care providers improve the way they serve the children and families. "It just feels so good," she said.

Goals: Densie said her most immediate goal is to complete her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, a goal she’s currently working on. She is building on her associate’s degree. Another of her life’s goals is to see her son, Joshua, graduate from college.

Interests/Hobbies: She loves scrapbooking, she said, but baking is the hobby that helps her when she’s worrying about something. "I can bake up a storm if I have something on my mind," she said. Her other interests include photography, which gives her more work for her scrapbooks, and needlepoint.