The State of the Schools open house is scheduled for 6 – 7:30 PM on Thursday, January 31, at Loveland High School
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District has invited the community to participate in the 2018-19 State of the Schools – a giant open house with students showcasing the learning that takes place around the district’s three core goals of growth, care and innovation.
“We had a wonderful response to our State of the Schools last year when we turned the event on its head by allowing our students to lead,” said Dr. Amy Crouse, superintendent. “What better way for us to showcase what goes on here at Loveland other than to put our students in the spotlight?”
The open house will consist of a gallery walk, where students from all grade levels will display various learning projects and interact with visitors through creative exhibits and presentations. The world-class Loveland Robotics will demonstrate robots and the exposure students gain not only to science, technology, engineering and math, but also to communication, leadership and project management through participation in the program.
There will also be music performances by Mallet Madness and the Loveland Show Choirs, among others, and art exhibits, as well as meet-and-greets with some of the many accomplished Loveland student athletes. Visitors will be engaged in a way-finding mission through the gallery walk, and rewarded with entries to drawings of gift baskets based on the completion of visits to the various booths.
“The State of the Schools is truly a highlight of the year,” said Dr. Crouse. “We hope the community takes advantage of this unique opportunity to see our amazing students in action, meet and interact with Tigers of all ages, and gain better insight into the work we do here at Loveland.”
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The Loveland High School Cheerleaders were dressed for Christmas at a recent basketball game
Cassie Mattia is a resident of Historic Downtown Loveland
by Cassie Mattia
Loveland, Ohio– Hundreds of parents and spectators will be cheering their way into a packed gym for the 2019 Eastern Cincinnati Conference Cheer and Dance Competition on February 2nd at Walnut Hills High school.
The ECC Cheer and Dance Competition will be held at the Walnut Hills High school gymnasium on February 2nd; where the dance competition will begin at 11 a.m. and the cheer competition will begin at 1 PM Admission will be 6 dollars for adults and 4 dollars for students and seniors. For more information visit the Eastern Cincinnati Conference website at www.eccsports.com.
Student athletes from Loveland, Milford and Kings, to name a few, will take part in one of the most important cheer and dance competitions of the season sponsored by the ECC beginning at 11 AM. Each school in the ECC will be represented in the competition that is said to be the highlight of the cheer and dance team’s year.
“It is the one time a year that these cheer and dance teams can come together as a league and compete in their sport. They do so much for the school throughout the year; it’s their chance to be highlighted,” Assistant District Director of Student Athletics at Loveland High school, Eric Fry explained.
Each cheer team can bring 30 cheerleaders and each dance team can bring 16 dancers. Fry says in the past this competition has been so well attended that there has been a line to get in the door.
“The past several years the gym has been packed! The crowd is cheering for the athletes and there is a great atmosphere all the way around,” Fry said, “Walnut’s gym has a great set up for this competition and has worked well the last couple of years.”
Loveland High School Cheer Team dressed for Christmas at a recent basketball game
Last year, Milford won the event in cheer, Loveland came in 4th in cheer and Kings won in dance. This year for the first time Loveland will be competing in the dance competition.
“I know that teams have been working hard for this competition. I know the Tigers will be there and represent well,” Fry said, “Kings has had a phenomenal dance program and Milford has been doing well in years past in cheer. This year is anybody’s championship to take!”
Loveland High School Cheer Team dressed for Christmas at a recent basketball game
Those who attend cheer and dance competitions as spectators are of course entertained by the athleticism and musicality of the student athletes, but many don’t truly understand how technical the competition itself actually is and how intensely the teams are scored. Tournament Manager, Heather Kaiser, says judges for the ECC Competition are selected based on experience and have to be licensed cheer and dance judges from the Universal Cheerleaders Association and Universal Dance Association organizations.
“This is a pretty competitive event so we use some of our very best judges. Judges are looking for an overall well executed performance routine,” Kaiser explained, “Difficulty comes into play as well. Cheer has to compete in two different categories, Game Day and Performance. Dance performs in two different categories as well, Pom, Jazz or Hip-Hop. For both the cheer and dance competitions two scores are then averaged to pick an overall winner,” Kaiser said.
Last year, Milford won the event in cheer. This photo is from January 4th during player introductions when the Loveland Men traveled to play Milford H.S.
Seems simple enough right? Wrong! On the ECC website I found score sheets for both the cheer and dance competitions and the judges really have to pay close attention to every single detail as the points given to the teams are broken down into subcategories. For example, on the Cheer overall score sheet judges are expected to score “Jumps” out of 15 points. They must look at proper technique, form, height, synchronization, type of jumps, connections, combos and variety. Judges also look deeper into
Loveland High School Cheer Team dressed for Christmas at a recent basketball game
“Dance,” which is out of 10 points. In this category judges look at technique, sharpness, placement, timing, spacing, use of levels, overall choreography and visual appeal. Lastly, on the overall score sheet for Cheer judges score the “Overall Impression,” which is 5 points. The judges base this score on routine creativity, flow, use of formations and transitions. This is just one of the score sheets involved in the Cheer competition! There is also a “Game Day and Crowd Leading” score sheet, which is 50 points, a “Game Day, Fight Song and Band Chant” score sheet, which is 50 points, and a
Loveland High School Cheer Team
“Tumbling” score sheet, which is 35 points. While the Dance competition is one individual score sheet the subcategories on the score sheet are just as intense! Judges look at “Execution” of movement, skills, synchronization, uniformity, spacing, communication and projection for a total of 50 possible points. The score sheet also includes “Choreography,” where judges look at creativity, musicality, routine staging, complexity of movement and difficulty of skills for a total of 40 possible points. Lastly, the judges will score the “Overall Effect,” which is based on the overall impression of the music, costume and choreography for a total of 10 possible points.
Loveland High School Cheer Team
“Teams can stand out if they really focus on the difficulty category,” Kaiser said, “For cheer; crowd leading routines are very appealing. Tumbling and dance also play a big part. For dance; choreography plays a huge part. If they include turns and lifts the judges find that really appealing as well,” Kaiser explained.
The Loveland High School Cheer Squad dressed in a Christmas theme at a December basketball game
As the competition draws nearer athletes are fine tuning their final routines and, according Kaiser, couldn’t be more excited to show their parents, friends, coaches and the judges the final product.
The athletes take extra pride in this event because it’s against the teams they see all year long.
“The athletes take extra pride in this event because it’s against the teams they see all year long. Conference Championship games are always a big deal in every sport plus they get so many fans to come to this particular event and the support is HUGE,” Kaiser said.
This will also be the first year the ECC will include cheer and dance to be counted towards the All Sports Trophy Title.
“The competition is fairly new, so the league wanted to get it right before it was included in the ECC All Sports standings,” Fry explained.
The ECC Cheer and Dance Competition will be held at the Walnut Hills High school gymnasium on February 2nd; where the dance competition will begin at 11 a.m. and the cheer competition will begin at 1 p.m. Admission will be 6 dollars for adults and 4 dollars for students and seniors. For more information visit the Eastern Cincinnati Conference website at www.eccsports.com.
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland High School Winter Sports season has been very productive for the Loveland Tigers. Loveland currently has all of their Winter Sports teams ranked in the top half of the ECC Conference standings. Loveland looks to bring home their First Men’s Basketball, Women’s Basketball, Boys Swimming, Girls Swimming, Academic and Girl’s Bowling ECC Championships.
The Loveland Men’s Basketball team currently is 9-4 (5-2 conference) and is one game behind Turpin at the halfway mark in their conference schedule. They are tied for second in the ECC with Walnut Hills and West Clermont.
The Loveland Women’s Basketball team currently is 10-4 (5-3 conference) and is 3 games behind Walnut Hills just after the halfway point of the ECC Competition. They are currently fourth in the ECC behind Walnut Hills (8-0), West Clermont (6-2), and Kings (6-3).
The Loveland Academic team is 5-1 (5-1 conference) and tied with Walnut Hills for 1st Place in the ECC at the halfway mark in their conference schedule.
To keep up to date on all Loveland Tiger High School sports and know when the next competition is, visit http://eccsports.com.
These photos are from the home game against West Clermont on Saturday, January 5th. Loveland lost this game 60 – 53.
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Coach Julie Plitt after the Tigers won the District Volleyball Championship in 2016
by Matt Huether,
Loveland, Ohio – This past Fall Loveland High School Athletics lost two of its distinguished Varsity Head Coaches. Coaches Julie Plitt and Fred Cranford both resigned after their respective Fall sports season due to family reasons. Both have been an integral part of Loveland Athletics since their arrival.
Coach Plitt led Loveland to a 22-2 record and their second straight ECC Conference Championship this season. Coach Plitt also reached a coaching milestone this season winning her 400th career game as Head Coach. This came in her 21st coaching season against Lakota East with a score of 24-26, 25-23, 25-15, 25-13. Coach Plitt’s coaching career includes 10 years with Reading, 7 years with Wyoming and 4 years with Loveland. In Coach Plitt’s four years with Loveland, she had much success with a 78-20 record.
Coach Cranford led the Loveland Tigers Varsity Football team for 6 seasons. During his first season as Head Coach, Loveland won the OHSAA Division II State Title as well as the ECC Conference Championship. This was Loveland’s first Division 2 State Title in the school’s history. During Coach Cranford’s 6 seasons at the helm for Loveland, he held a 33-32 record.
When asked what their impacts were on their respective Programs Loveland Athletic Director Brian Conatser said both were great leaders and were well-respected coaches making big impacts on their team’s success and the Loveland Athletic Department.
Principal Peggy Johnson said that Cranford stepped down because of the age of his children and because his wife travels for business. He told Johnson, “My kids are of the age, I need to be there for them.” Cranford has three school-age children.
Two of Plitt’s children will be attending Ball State next year. Marie Plitt will play volleyball and Drew is already playing football there. Johnson said that for Plitt to continue coaching volleyball at the high school level she would miss her daughter’s college career. “It’s very exciting to have children playing college sports, and I understand her choice.”
Brice, Julie, Marie, Steve, and Drew Plitt on the occasion of Marie’s Volleyball Senior Night on October 11, 2018.
Johnson said a timeline for hiring will be established; the positions will be posted and a committee will be put together to evaluate candidates comprised of parents, Athletic Boosters members, Constater, and other coaches outside of the respective sport. Conaster will make a final recommendation to the Board of Education.
Conaster described both Plitt and Cranford as outstanding leaders of young men and women. “On the court, on the field, they had high expectations of the student-athletes and held them accountable, and obviously with a lot of success.” Conaster mentioned Cranford coaching a State Championship football team and said that no-one can have a conversation about southwest Ohio volleyball without including Loveland and Julie Plitt in the conversation. “We owe both a lot of gratitude for setting the culture in making Loveland High School Better.”
Cranford will continue teaching physical education at Loveland High School. Plitt teaches health and physical education at Wyoming City Schools.
On behalf of Loveland Magazine, we would like to thank both coaches for their efforts and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland Stage Company will be presenting 2 scholarships in the spring of 2019. The first scholarship is the annual Loveland Stage Company Creative Arts Scholarship of $1000, which is awarded to a graduating high school senior who is pursuing a study in the creative arts in college.Students who live in Loveland or are graduating from Loveland High School or whose families are members of the Loveland Stage Company qualify to apply for the scholarship.
The second scholarship, the $1000 Jacqueline Knapp Memorial Scholarship, is offered to both graduating high school students and students already enrolled in college and attending school in the fall of 2019.Applicants must have participated in at least one Loveland Stage Company production in a technical/backstage/supporting role.
Information and applications for both scholarships can be found on the Loveland Stage Company website.Both are due by Sunday March 10, 2019.
Loveland chiropractor Douglas Portmann, DC at Wards Corner Chiropractic & Sports Rehab is one of the best chiropractors in the Loveland area.
Joseph M. Timmerman is a resident of Historic Downtown Loveland and attends Loveland High School. He took this photo at the the Peters Cartridge factory.
The Peters Cartridge Company was a company in Kings Mills, Ohio that specialized in gunpowder and ammunition production. Its historic buildings, built in 1916 at 1415 Grandin Road, were added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 10, 1985.Wikipedia
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School will host the Class of 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame inductions on Friday, January 18, at half-time during the Tiger varsity basketball game vs. Anderson. The game start time is 7:30
Members to be inducted include: Nick Baker (LHS Class of 2008); Dave Hirsch (former Loveland athletic director, 1985-1995, and coach); Terry McCoy (LHS Class of ’65, and long-time freshmen and middle school football coach); Alison (Stier) Roscoe (LHS Class of 2003); Erin (Bauer) Sprague (LHS Class of 2008).
“I congratulate all these accomplished individuals for being selected to the Loveland Athletic Hall of Fame,” said Kevin Taylor, program president. “Becoming a member is the highest honor that an athlete can achieve at the high school level.”
Nick Baker graduated from Loveland High School in 2008. During his time as a Loveland student-athlete, Baker earned a total of eight varsity letters in cross country and track. He was a state qualifier in cross country four times and a four-time Fort Ancient Valley Conference (FAVC) Track Runner of the Year. He set two school records for 3200 meter run (9:29 minutes) and 4×800 meter relay (8:05 minutes). Baker went on to run cross country and track at Ohio Northern University.
Dave Hirsch served as athletic director at Loveland High School from 1985 to 1995, and as coach and assistant coach for numerous sports over the years, including football, golf, basketball, baseball and softball. Hirsch instituted the full-time trainer program at LHS in 1992, as well as the Loveland Athletic Hall of Fame with a committee of former Loveland athletic directors in 1990. He earned the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) State Award for Exemplary Contribution and Service twice, in 1999 and 2006 respectively.
Terry McCoy graduated from LHS in 1965. He served as Loveland Middle School and freshmen football coach for 33 years, and as statistician and record keeper for the Loveland football program for more than 30 years. In addition, McCoy served as track coach at both the middle school and high school, including as LHS varsity coach, and was selected as FAVC Varsity Track Coach of the Year in 2003. During his time as coach, Loveland brought home 15 league championships in football and track.
Alison (Stier) Roscoe graduated from Loveland as part of the Class of 2003. She played varsity soccer at the high school 1999-2003, serving as captain all four years. She was selected as best offensive player and most valuable player each year and as FAVC Player of the Year three times. She set Loveland records for girls soccer career assists (44) and career goals (46). Roscoe also had a highly successful career on the varsity basketball team, as well as the varsity track team. She went on to play soccer at Eastern Michigan University.
Erin (Bauer) Sprague earned a total of eight varsity letters in cross country and track. As a cross country runner, Sprague was a state qualifier four times, with a best finish of 26th. She set the school record for 4×800 meter relay in track. Sprague earned the Team Tiger Award and was selected as the Edward Jones Athlete of the Year in 2006. After graduating from Loveland in 2008, she went on to run cross country for Malone University in Canton, Ohio.
The Loveland Board of Education met on January 10 to elect leadership positions and establish the meeting calendar for 2019. (Pictured left to right: Michele Pettit, Ned Portune, Eileen Washburn, Art Jarvis and Dr. Kathryn Lorenz.)
Board also sets Meeting Calendar for 2019
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland City School District convened for its annual organizational meeting on January 10 to establish the 2019 leadership and meeting calendar.
The board appointed Art Jarvis to continue to serve as president and Dr. Kathryn Lorenz as vice president for 2019. In addition, the board members participate in various committees and initiatives to advance the interests of the district and the board, including policy work, facilities, student experience and safety, among others.
The board voted to conduct regular monthly business meetings at 6 PM. on the third Tuesday of each month, unless otherwise noted.* The meetings will be held in the Loveland Middle/Intermediate School Media Center on 757 South Lebanon Road. Additional meetings during the month will be designated by the board at a time and place properly announced.
January 22, 2019 (fourth Tuesday)
February 19, 2019
March 19, 2019
April 16, 2019
May 21, 2019
June 25, 2019 (fourth Tuesday)
August 15, 2019 (third Thursday)
September 24, 2019 (fourth Tuesday)
October 15, 2019
November 19, 2019
* No regular business meeting is scheduled for July or December.
The board voted to conduct other regular meetings, primarily as work sessions, on the first Tuesday of each month unless otherwise noted.* These meetings will be held in the Board of Education office at 6: PM on the following dates:
February 5, 2019
March 5, 2019
April 2, 2019
May 7, 2019
June 4, 2019
August 6, 2019
September 3, 2019
October 1, 2019
November 7, 2019 (first Thursday)
December 10, 2019 (second Tuesday)
*No regular work session meeting is scheduled for July.
Take Home Tano is about fresh, wholesome food for the frenzied family
Loveland, Ohio – The community is invited to a presentation of the Loveland City School District facility master plan options, developed by emersion DESIGN architects after the completion of the educational facility evaluation and physical assessments of the buildings in 2018. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 23(6:30-8:30 p.m.)in the LMS/LIS Cafeteria on 757 South Lebanon Road.
This is a first opportunity for Loveland community stakeholders to see the options the architects have produced.
“This is a first opportunity for Loveland community stakeholders to see the options the architects have produced, which were guided by data collection and needs identified during the assessment phase,” said Superintendent Dr. Amy Crouse. “We invite all community members to attend this presentation, as their feedback is critical to the success of the planning process.”
The meeting is the third in a series of community meetings to engage the public in the master planning process. Each option presented will be accompanied by a conceptual budget range. After the initial presentation, the audience’s feedback will be sought and collected in smaller break-out groups.
Following the meeting on January 23, the community’s feedback will be considered as the options are evaluated throughout the coming months. The final master plan recommendation, along with financing recommendations, will be presented to the Loveland Board of Education in the spring.
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The Loveland High School winning alliance at the December VEX Robotics Competition qualifying tournament.
Loveland, Ohio – Loveland Robotics hosted its very first VEX Robotics Competition qualifying tournament on December 22. Nineteen teams from the local area competed in the tournament, including teams from Milford, Indian Hill, Mariemont, and seven teams from Loveland. The winning alliance was two Loveland High School teams, which qualified the teams to state. A third Loveland High School team won the Sportsmanship Award at the competition.
With all of the recent robotics news and events, here is some background on the Loveland Robotics Program: It started as a single FIRSTLego League (FLL) team in 2005 and then added one FIRSTTech Challenge (FTC) team in 2011. In 2015, the program began to expand with the addition of several new teams. The Loveland Robotics Boosters was formed in 2017 to support the Robotics Teams of Loveland City Schools, and was officially recognized as a booster organization by the Loveland Board of Education in September 2018. Their mission is to foster growth of technology and innovation through funding, volunteerism, and educational outreach.
Loveland Robotics now supports over 100 Loveland students on 15 teams in five different programs.
Loveland Robotics now supports over 100 Loveland students on 15 teams in five different programs. These include three FIRSTLEGO League Jr (FLL Jr) teams, threeFIRSTLEGO League (FLL) teams, three middle school VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) teams, four high school VEX Robotics Competition (VRC) teams, and two FIRSTTech Challenge (FTC) teams.
To support these programs and help provide competition opportunities in the local area, Loveland Robotics hosted an FTC scrimmage in November and a VRC Qualifying Tournament in December. Loveland Robotics is also hosting the Cincinnati area FLL District Tournament in January, and Loveland High School will be the site of the Ohio FTC Championship in February.
The 2018-2019 competition season is off to a great start as FTC Team 5040, Nuts & Bolts, has qualified for both the Ohio FTC Championship and World Competition. FTC Team 10464, The Bionic Tigers, has qualified for the Pennsylvania FTC Championship. VEX Teams 10565B and 10565D have both qualified for the Ohio VRC High School State Championship. FLL Team 38182, Mercury’s Mechanics, has qualified for the District FLL tournament.
Applications for next year’s teams will be available in early April and links will be posted on the Loveland Robotics website (http://lovelandrobotics.weebly.com/). Students who would like to know more about the Loveland Robotics Program can emailstewaram@lovelandschools.org.
Loveland Magazine is a sponsor of Loveland Robotics.
“We had a wonderful response to our State of the Schools last year when we turned the event on its head by allowing our students to lead,” said Dr. Amy Crouse, superintendent. “What better way for us to showcase what goes on here at Loveland other than to put our students in the spotlight?”
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by Matt Huether
