Loveland Magazine

LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor

Since 2004

Tag: Zoom

  • 1st grade teacher to her ‘Stay at Homies’ Thank you for believing in me

    1st grade teacher to her ‘Stay at Homies’ Thank you for believing in me

    by Jennifer Miller

    During this past year, I took on the challenge of teaching a remote section of first grade for Loveland Schools. To date, this has been the most difficult work situation that I have faced as a teacher during my twenty-three-year career. I started the school year with 38 first graders. Just that hurdle alone made this an imposing task from the start. I remember thinking to myself, “How will I ever be able to deliver meaningful instruction to that many six and seven-year-olds? How will I establish a relationship with each one of them? What if I let my students down?” 

    My remote teaching team and I immediately had to dig in and make this work for our students. I quickly figured out how to manage thirty-plus students on Zoom calls during the day and created a daily schedule. I did my best to find helpful answers to parent questions and concerns, even though I often didn’t have the answers because so much of what we were doing was new to us all. As the first few weeks turned into the first month of remote learning, I found my way and admitted to my parents that I may not have all the answers about all the new challenges of this unique school year, but what I do know about is the development of six and seven-year-olds. So I asked for their trust. And the rest, as they say, is history.

    After many afternoons and nights of stress and reinventing my practices to meet the needs of the situation, I pulled up my bootstraps and really dug into the school year. I had a job to do and my students deserved and needed my very best. I became the technology and wifi expert at my home, I figured out routines such as bi-weekly supply pick-ups; monthly drive-ups at my home for treats, crafts, and encouragement; and I came up with a working schedule that would not overwhelm our district’s young remote learners – or their parents or caretakers, with whom I recognized the need to partner with more than ever. As the year progressed, I had many students transition back to in-person school and from late winter to the end of the school year, I had eighteen students. 

    I can say with confidence that my students had a wonderful and meaningful learning experience this school year. My parents, students and I worked hard to create a caring and respectful online learning environment. On any given day on any given zoom call, my students and I could be found laughing and learning and being silly. We knew the names of each other’s pets, siblings, and other family members. We even knew what everyone had for lunch. Simply put, we were a learning community and, by extension, a family.

    I invited my families to drive by my home in Loveland every month of this past school year so that we could say “hi” in person. I usually had a small treat for them, and I collected a lot of notes, cards, and flowers through the windows of their cars. Those drive-thrus proved to be one of the highlights of our school year together. A few even left me in tears afterward as I realized how awesome we all had made a difficult situation. To be honest, it was a great relief and extra rewarding to find that we could still have such a strong, supportive, and caring learning community in the midst of a pandemic while doing remote school from home. We celebrated birthdays, holidays, and milestones together such as the 50th and 100th days of school. During the Spring we celebrated being reunited with family members and friends as vaccines became available. And on a daily basis, we celebrated each other’s reading, writing, and goals scored over the weekend at soccer. And of course, lost teeth and new haircuts.

    As I look back on our school year, I can safely say that we all had a wonderful school experience. Somewhere in between bad wifi connections and reminding them to “unmute,” all of our wrinkles and rough spots were smoothed over. My hope for my remote students is that when they look back on being a kid many years from now, that some of our memories will be there for them and spark joy. Maybe they will remember our renditions of the Gingerbread Man through reader’s theater. Or maybe the puppet shows put on with their siblings as they retold a story via video. Or maybe it was the simple joy of buddy-reading with a friend in a Zoom breakout room. I know for me, when I look back on this school year, I will remember the faces that greeted me each day with a smile during this pandemic and the trust they had in me all along. 

    To My Stay at Homies: Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in yourselves. Thank you for always having a smile on your face even when you didn’t want to be on a Zoom Call. Thank you for letting me into your home each day. Thank you for sharing your funny stories and jokes with me. Thank you for finding humor in something each and every day. Thank you for laughing at how silly Frog and Toad were with me. Thank you for always asking how I was doing. Thank you for being my anchor during a tough and sometimes sad time. Thank you for being you.

    I love all of you and I can’t wait for more hugs and to see you at LPS in August. 

    Love,

    Ms. Miller

  • LHS’s Coach Parker is Stronger Than Ever…and so are his Tigers!

    LHS’s Coach Parker is Stronger Than Ever…and so are his Tigers!

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – The LHS Women’s Basketball Team is still doing it #ourway while keeping their head coach #parkerstrong!

    The 2020-2021 LHS Women’s Basketball season was quite the eventful one! The Tigers not only captured the ECC title for the second year in a row during a chaotic Pandemic but were also able to successfully motivate their coach, Darnell Parker as he battled cancer and dealt with the loss of his father giving him the strength to not only beat Cancer but also win the ECC Coach of the Year title for the second year in a row.

    Here at Loveland Magazine, we decided it would be a great idea to catch up with Coach Darnell Parker via Zoom to see just how he felt about the 2020-2021 basketball season, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and his personal journey with cancer.

    So without further ado, Loveland Magazine TV brings to you our loyal readers, “One-On-One Zoom Style With Darnell Parker!” Believe me, you don’t want to miss this inspiring interview!

    Click below to view the Zoom interview now!

    Thank you to team photographer Gayle Rothmeeler for allowing the use of her wonderful photos during this Zoom interview!

  • Take a look: Do you know who created VOIP?

    Take a look: Do you know who created VOIP?

    by Barbara Kyles

    Do you know about Marian Croak? Take a look and welcome to Black history!

    I share with you this story from BlackHistory.com:

    Meet the Black Woman Who Created VOIP — The Technology Behind Skype, Zoom and More!

    Read on…

    Marian Croak, African American woman who created VOIP
  • LHS Athletics Enter Into Phase 3 of “Skills Practice”

    LHS Athletics Enter Into Phase 3 of “Skills Practice”

    LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – Its been a tough road for athletes all across Ohio in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Competitions have been canceled, sports seasons have been postponed, and in-person practicing has been banned. Although this new normal has been hard on many high school athletes and coaches, many were glad to hear that the Ohio Governor and Health Department’s Responsible Restart Ohio implemented a “three-phase process” that would ease both athletes and coaches back into practicing and competing.

    LHS’s Athletic Director, Brian Conatser, couldn’t be happier to get the Tiger Athletes and Coaches back into LHS’s athletic facilities, but in the safest way possible!

    “We are in Phase 3 of our skills practice which will last until July 6th,” Conatser explained, “Once we get more guidance from the Ohio Governor and OHSAA, we will move forward with those restrictions and guidelines.”
    On June 1st, LHS opened its Athletic Facilities in accordance with the OHSAA skills training guidelines.
    “Our coaches are extremely committed to working with the Athletic Department to implement COVID-19 procedures and guidelines. As an Athletic Department, we walked through the process as a team, fine-tuning our plan prior to our athletes returning to campus,” Conatser said, “The plan is extremely thorough and detailed, as the safety of our student-athletes and coaches are our primary concern.”
    Conatser provided the guidelines given to him by OHSAA that both coaches and student-athletes are following as they begin to return to athletics.
    1. Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the 2020-21 Final Forms COVID-19 waiver prior to the 1st training session.
    2. Every student-athlete and coach MUST complete the LHS COVID-19 Self-Evaluation Google Form every day prior to each skills training session.
    3. Social distancing includes a 6-foot separation.  Entrances and Exits are outlined and over-communicated to avoid congregation and lingering of student-athletes.
    4. Facial coverings must be worn when in the building (gyms, fitness center, athletic training room). Facial coverings may be removed during the training session.
    5. Sanitation products and stations are located at the entry and exit of our inside facilities. We also ask EVERY student to bring: Water bottle, Sanitation wipes, Hand sanitizer, and Facial covering.
    6. All equipment, balls, etc. must be wiped down at the beginning and end of each training session.
    7. Three phases:  Phase 1: May 26th – June 8th / Phase 2:  June 9th – June 22nd / Phase 3: June 23rd – July 6th

    Conatser gave credit to Loveland’s student-athletes, coaches, and parents for playing such an important role in the three-phase process.

    “From parents dropping off their kids in designated spots to everyone following the COVID-19 guidelines. The coaches deserve an overwhelming amount of credit,” Conatser said, “These outstanding professionals make sure their programs have all of the information well ahead of time via communication from ZOOM, Google Hangout, email, Twitter, etc. We are looking forward to a safe and productive summer of skill training.”

    For more Loveland Tiger sports updates stay tuned to the Sports 411 With Me, Cassie Mattia!

  • Loveland Magazine TV: Mihaela Manova is Part of Loveland’s DNA!

    Loveland Magazine TV: Mihaela Manova is Part of Loveland’s DNA!

    Each citizen in Loveland makes up an important piece of the community, but in saying that it’s up to the citizen as to what they do with their role as an important piece of that community. This is what makes up a community’s “D.N.A.”

    Over the past two years, Loveland Magazine has been in search of community members that truly play an important role in Loveland’s D.N.A.

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – Many people from all over Ohio in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic have had to find “virtual” ways to communicate with their friends, families, and co-workers. The “Zoom” application (allows you to connect and hold meetings with anyone that also has the application virtually) has skyrocketed in popularity over the past couple of months as it has proven itself to be quite a useful tool for workplaces, schools, media outlets, and local governments to connect with one another.

    Due to the social distancing regulations and the Stay At Home Order, here at Loveland Magazine, we decided to try Zoom for ourselves and conduct our first virtual interview for our Loveland Magazine readers! Our segment, “What’s In Loveland’s DNA,” has featured several amazing Loveland community members over the past year and the feedback from the community about the segment itself has been overwhelmingly positive. Instead of our typical sit down one-on-one interview in our LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV studio we decided to conduct our latest DNA interview using Zoom!

    Mihaela Manova

    We would like to take this time to introduce our newly selected DNA candidate, Mihaela Manova. Mihaela is not only the 2nd youngest DNA candidate we have ever selected she is also the first to be interviewed using Zoom at Loveland Magazine! Mihaela is a big part of the Loveland High School culture and an even bigger part of the Loveland community. Mihaela recently joined the Loveland Magazine team as a staff writer, quickly gained her very own climate column, and was recently promoted as Editor of our Covering Climate Now series, a global journalism initiative committed to bringing more and better coverage to the defining story of our time. Mihaela is a native of Bulgaria and visits her homeland often, making her the ideal choice to cover international stories. She has already begun impacting her adopted small-town home of Loveland with her inspirational voice! Mihaela is a member of Loveland High School’s Class of 2020 and has chosen to study Journalism at Miami University-Oxford in the Fall.

    Mihaela recently did her own “What’s in Loveland’s DNA” segment on Madeline Killion which you can read HERE.

    Loveland Magazine Publisher David Miller had many great things to say about Mihaela!

    “Being from Bulgaria, Mihaela brings a unique perspective to our newspaper and has made an enormous impact on us,” Miller said, “Her youthful honesty, respect, and complete dedication to her craft are invaluable. It’s as if we have an international reporter on staff now. She has certainly altered Loveland’s and Loveland Magazine’s DNA.”

    So without further ado, LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV presents “What’s In Loveland’s DNA: Mihaela Manova!”

    Click below to see the exclusive Zoom interview with Miss Mihaela!

    Read more of our, What’s in Loveland’s DNA” stories…

  • LHS’s Head Football Coach Shares What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

    LHS’s Head Football Coach Shares What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – Summer will be here before you know it, which means football season is right around the corner! Many LHS athletes have been working hard during the Stay At Home Order so that they are prepared when competition starts up again. Coach Andy Cruse and his football players are one of the Tiger teams that have made sure that they are staying in shape for the 2020 upcoming season!

    Coach Cruise told us that his players have not only been working hard but they have also been very creative with their workouts.

    “One of the things we have tried to do as a football program to make sure we continue to make progress in the off-season is using the Team Buildr App. This app is great for bodyweight workouts and it also includes videos that show the proper technique for each exercise,” Cruse explained, “The app also has both dumbbell workouts and home gym workouts. We also created a 3k push-up challenge for the month of April, in which each player completes 100 push-ups a day. Many of our players are doing it with family members and often record themselves doing it to have a little fun with it. They are doing this on top of their regular workouts,” Cruse said.

    Andy Cruse when he was introduced as the Tiger Head Coach in February of 2019  (File Photo)

    Coach Cruse said that twice a week he is holding Zoom meetings with his players in order to get to know them better and discuss football.

    “The Zoom meetings have been very positive. I think the players are really enjoying having interaction with their teammates and coaches during this time,” Cruse said, “We have encouraged our players to do position-specific drills as well. As a program, we are retweeting our players working out and spreading positivity as much as possible during this time,” Cruse added.
    Due to all of the gyms being closed and of course, LHS athletes are not able to use any of the LHS facilities, Tiger athletes have been forced to get creative with how they are staying in shape. A few Tiger football players shared with us what they have been doing at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Gabe Ogdan was a Captain of the 2019 team. (File Photo)

    Gabe Ogdan said, “I’m lucky enough to have my own home gym, but still have had to get creative for certain things! It’s been interesting but with not as much school I’ve been able to devote more time to speed and agility training as well as weight lifting and bulking.”

    Max Huddleston said, “My home gym is minimal, and for some exercises, I may not have the right equipment. For example for pull-ups,  since I don’t have a pull-up bar, I’ll do them on a steel beam in my basement.”
    Mason Moore said, “I don’t have a home gym and the heaviest dumbbells I have are eight pounds, so I have to do my best to get my workouts in with what I can make do. I use paper plates as ab sliders, I do pull-ups on a metal beam on my ceiling, and I do lots of cardio along with the bodyweight workouts our coaches have us do.”
    My dad is a landscaper so he had some stuff I could get creative with. I used bricks and stones to do various things and made a bench out of stones and a board and used a tube and metal bars to make a bar. – Weston Manske
    Zach DeWitt said, “I am thankful to have many opportunities to maintain and build upon what we have been building this offseason. The absence of a field, however, has made me turn the front yard and driveway into everything I need for speed and agility training.”
    Luca Aquilino said, “Since I only have a couple of things of workout equipment I’ve been sticking to lots of bodyweight workouts from our TeamBuildr app.  I’ve had to use wooden shelving in my garage to do pull-ups and I have had to put bands around trees and around my basketball hoop to add a little bit of weight to workouts.”
    Weston Manske said, “My dad got a bench this past weekend so now I can use that but before I had to get creative. My dad is a landscaper so he had some stuff I could get creative with. I used bricks and stones to do various things and made a bench out of stones and a board and used a tube and metal bars to make a bar. At my mom’s, I have resistance bands and then I found cinderblocks in my shed I use. I’ve also found basketball hoops are good for pull-ups.”
    Be sure to tune in to Loveland Sports 411 With Cassie Mattia for Loveland’s latest sports news and updates!

  • LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach Weighs in on What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

    LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach Weighs in on What his Athletes are Doing to Stay in Shape!

    by Cassie Mattia

    Loveland, Ohio – Loveland High School is staying “Loveland Strong” by keeping both their students and athletes motivated through virtual classes and workouts! This year during these unfamiliar times, LHS coaches are dedicating a lot of their time to making sure their athletes are staying in shape.

    This week we chatted with LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly, to see just what his team is doing to stay in competition shape during the COVID-19 Stay At Home Order! Coach Kelly told us that in late February the coaching staff designed a series of workouts that are released to the team every couple weeks.

    LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly (Loveland Magazine file photo)

    “These workouts are specific to what we do as a program so they focus on things we believe are inherent to the success of the women’s soccer program,” Kelly explained,  “Anyone that has been in the program knows this and passes on the importance of the workouts to our incoming freshmen. Each day the girls can choose between a beginning workout, intermediate workout, or an advanced workout…so they have three choices each day depending on how they feel.”

    Coach Kelly said that in order to encourage unity within the team, the coaching staff asked the 9 returning varsity juniors and seniors to be group leaders. The group leaders are responsible for following up with 6 to 7 players every day about how their individual workout went.

    Maria Bashardoust during the 2019 season. Maria has committed to play for Cleveland State this Fall. (Loveland Magazine file photo)

    “Each individual player in their respective group sends a snapshot of themselves after the workout each day, also indicating how they feel and which workout they completed,” Kelly said, “As you can imagine, the snapshots have continued to get more creative with text, emojis’, etc. They have even come up with taglines on their snapshots and also on twitter like #Beastssss, #LetsGetIt, and #WinTheOffseason to name just a few. The 9 leaders are assigned to one of the varsity coaches who they connect with every day by sending their group’s snapshots. These snapshots are compiled every two weeks and sent out to the players and parents in a video for them to watch so they can know what each of their teammates is doing. This has also created a little bit of a rivalry on which group or individual can come up with the best snapshots,” Kelly added.

    LYSA COVID Relief

    LYSA Challenge Grant to our soccer community DONATE NOW

    The LHS Women’s Soccer coaching staff provided the women’s team with shirts in early March to keep them motivated to keep pushing themselves. Kelly said most of the team wear the shirts during each of their workouts.

    The shirts above are the workout shirts the LHS Women’s Soccer Team has been wearing during the COVID-19 outbreak to stay motivated!

    “In addition, the leaders have gone to the houses of their group members and left chalk messages on the driveway to help support and motivate them. We have the coaches and girls answering 12-15 questions about themselves on a slide with pictures, designs, etc. that represent them, kind of a “Get to Know” them or an “In the Spotlight” feature so they can learn more about their teammates while we are away from each other,” Kelly said, “We will put all these together into a slide show that we will send out each week with 7-10 new entries. We also have former players including some as far back as 2010 (and earlier) and some from our State Championship team that reached out and sent a 1-2 minute video message we are sending the current players to encourage them. These former players know the importance of what we do in the workouts and they wanted to encourage the current players during this difficult time to make sure they are staying focus and doing what needs to be done.  They all view each other as one big family regardless of when you graduate…once a Tiger, always a Tiger,” Kelly said.

    The 2017 State Champion Ring (Loveland Magazine file photo)

    Coach Kelly really wanted to focus on the team connecting during these tough times so the coaches decided to hold a Zoom call every 2 weeks with all the team leaders and their groups. This has allowed each player in the Women’s Soccer program to get an idea of what is going on and has allowed the coaches to see how each player is doing, if they have any struggles, and how they can help support each player.

    LHS’s Women’s Soccer Coach, Todd Kelly (Loveland Magazine file photo)

    “As a result, we are connecting with either our leaders or our players each week on a video call. Since the leaders have access to a coaching staff member, we are interacting each day to ensure they have what they need to get through these unchartered times,” Kelly explained, “These are just a few of things we as a staff and program are doing to stay connected with our players and encourage them.  It is important we all stay connected and supported and we want the girls to continue working out for their physical and mental health…and ours too.”

    Thank you to all the LHS staff, coaches, administrators, and parents for keeping the students motivated and dedicated to bettering themselves as students and athletes! Here at Loveland Magazine, we will continue to bring the latest updates on COVID-19 and the effects it’s having on the community of Loveland as well as the latest LHS news!

    Stayed tuned for the next “What are LHS Athletes Doing to Stay in Shape” segment!

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  • Power Ryde “u-hauled” fitness to their loyal customers

    Power Ryde “u-hauled” fitness to their loyal customers

    Casey Hilmer, her fiancé and one of their instructors, Nicole Phillips, rented a U-Haul which could hold 10 bikes simultaneously and spent a day and a half delivering 30 bikes.

    Miami Township, Ohio – “We closed Power Ryde on Monday, March 16, in the evening due to the governor’s orders,” said Meg Hilmer. Casey, Meg’s daughter, and business partner at Power Ryde started immediately doing free live strength classes daily on their Power Ryde Facebook page and Instagram, which she continues to do today.

    Casey also created a Power Ryde YouTube channel and saved the workout videos there as well as on Power Ryde’s Facebook page so people could do them later. Many people, Power Ryders as well as non-Power Ryders workout with the videos and continue to do them many with their families.

    “Casey and I decided a few weeks ago to rent our spinning bikes to our clients so we would have some revenue to cover our overhead of rent, utilities, etc,” said Meg. Casey sent an email to all of their clients and got over 90 requests for bikes which she gave out on a first-come, first-served basis. Then Casey, her fiancé and one of their instructors, Nicole Phillips, rented a U-Haul which could hold 10 bikes simultaneously and spent a day and a half delivering 30 bikes. It was no easy feat as the bikes each weigh 225 pounds. “Most people paid us in cash or check so we wouldn’t have a credit card processing fee as well as signed a rental agreement that we had our attorney draw up,” said Meg.

    This is what the Power Ryde studio in Miami Township looked like before the “Stay at Home” order.

    It took working around the clock, with many others, almost a week to get the video live-streaming working to their satisfaction. The first sessions weren’t recorded, but now they are.  The clients that are renting bikes can watch live-streaming as well as watch the recorded videos later. Meg says they are still perfecting the live-streaming. “We are using Zoom which was never designed to stream fitness classes.”

    Even if people didn’t rent bikes, they can always sign in for a drop-in class of which there are 1 or 2 daily for $10. “Although our RealRyder bikes move side-to-side, we have several people doing drop-in classes on traditional stationary bikes that don’t tilt side-to-side. The instructor just tells them what to do when everyone else is turning or shaking their bike,” explained Meg.

    Some lighthearted fun on the Power Ryde FaceBook Page

    “Our clients have been very patient as we get everything working correctly and have been very appreciative that we have rented the bikes to them. We are so appreciative of them as well as our instructors who are learning to teach classes virtually,” Hilmer said.

    Here is a link to a podcast that Cherylanne Skolnicki, a Loveland resident and Founder/Owner of Brilliant Balance, did last Thursday. She featured Power Ryde in her “Making Lemons out of Lemonade” section of her daily podcast, Tea Time.

    Meet Meg & Casey Hilmer

    We’ve all heard the saying, “When one door closes another door opens.” I don’t know that I ever truly believed this mantra. I used to think people, myself included, said this to make themselves feel better in the wake of failure or rejection. But then I realized when one door closes it allows the opportunity for another door to open. The difference being, we have to be active in opening that door.

    This is how Power Ryde came to be. After being turned down from medical school, I was both relieved and frightened. Relieved, because I didn’t know if I was truly passionate about medicine or, if it was a path I had put myself on four years prior and was scared to deviate from. Frightened, because if I wasn’t going to medical school, what was I going to do? My mom was in a similar boat. After working at a Cincinnati Bell for 31 years and being retired for two, she was looking for something to do…but what?

    Health and fitness are two things we are both very passionate about. Although my dad was the one who first sparked my interest in fitness through running, I can remember from a young age going to aerobics and kickboxing with my mom on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

    I never thought I would own my own fitness studio, although I will admit I had dreamed about it. From the time I fell in love with RealRyder “spinning” in Ann Arbor, Michigan, there had always been a part of me that wanted to share my love for these bikes with friends and family in Cincinnati. But it wasn’t until early October 2012 that my mom and I decided to take a leap of faith and turn that doorknob to see what a future as studio owners had in store for us. So welcome to Power Ryde; we are very excited to share our love for fitness with you.