Congratulations to Highland Middle School 8th graders Ava Simpson and Kaitlyn Troyer who placed in the annual “Patriot’s Pen” essay contest, sponsored by the Medina VFW Post. An awards ceremony was held December 7. This year’s theme was “What Makes America Great?” The contest is open to students in grades 6-8. Ava, daughter Nick and Amanda Simpson of Hinckley Township, won 1st place and received $750. Kaitlyn, daughter of Kevin and Karen Troyer of Sharon Township, won 3rd place and received $150. The girls read their essay at the awards ceremony. Pictured from left are Post Commander Ron Kesek, Ava Simpson, Kaitlyn Troyer and Jr. Vice Post Commander Nicole Mollohan.

On Tuesday, December 17, Highland Schools will hold a district wide fundraiser for the United Way of Medina County. The annual ”Holiday Hat Day” allows any student, teacher, bus driver, custodian, aide, secretary, etc. to donate $1 to wear his/her favorite holiday headgear (Santa hats, elf hats, scrooge hats, antlers and the like). Money will be collected at each building. The goal of the United Way of Medina County is to ensure that area children get a strong start in school, young adults have access to mental health services, and children do not go hungry. 

Since 2014 the United Way has:

• Helped 7,000 students focus on learning by providing kindergarten readiness programs, academic support, and nutritional food.
• Helped 17,000 youth by providing mental health access in schools. 

All proceeds collected from the Holiday Hat Day will benefit the United Way. Thank you!

On November 6-7, comic book artist Mike Gustovich did a two-day residency with Highland Middle School 8th grade art students. Made possible through a Martha Holden Jennings Foundation grant via the Cliffside Artists Collaborative in Hinckley, Mr. Gustovich is an Ohio artist known for his comic book art in the 1980's and early 1990's. He created the superhero team "Justice Machine" in 1981, which went onto be featured in the comics from several publishers and also inked most of the1990's Milestone Media series "Icon." Specializing primarily in inking, he produced art for dozens of series from various publishers including Marvell Comics, DC Comics, First Comics, Comico and Eclipse Comics. During his residency, he demonstrated how pages are designed with quick gestures and taught students basic visual storytelling and a formula on how to draw the superhero form. Students were enthusiastic as they had the opportunity to try some of the new techniques during class time. Mr. Gustovich will return to HMS for a second residency in February.