A Pirate Christmas

A Pirate Christmas stole hearts and shared the spirit of Christmas!

After a one year hiatus due to COVID, New Horizons Academy’s annual Christmas musical returned to the Pettisville Missionary Church stage on December 14, 2021. The musical featured pirates and elves stealing our hearts and sharing the spirit of Christmas in A Pirate Christmas: The Musical by John Jacobson and Roger Emerson.

The sentiment heard over and over throughout the evening was “I’m so glad to see our kids back up on the stage. They are true stars and inspirations to us all!”

Just like the exhausted elves in the musical had to confront the rollicking pirates to find their inspiration and Christmas spirit, NHA’s special needs kids confronted their anxiety, fears, nerves, and stage fright to show us all the true meaning of courage and Christmas.

The contingent of vacationing elves was led by Head Elf Rebecca Myers and the legendary White Beard (aka Santa Claus) Josiah Acevedo while the salty crew of pirates were led by the Pirate Captain Anne Deffenbaugh and the Tiny Pirate Vivian Beck as together, they discovered what true treasure really is.

Our inspirational, preschool to high school cast members included:

Elves—Odin Tressler, Jeremiah Hernandez, Bruce Babcock, Ruby Snider, Danny Halmi, Annabelle Buehrer, Temperence Gillen, Jase Tressler, Orion Bailey-Lacy, Remington Shulters, Chance Zolman, Chase Thompson, Raylan Holbrook, Kyson Davidson, Axl McCarthy, Molly Boylan, Mark Jacobs, Danielle Tillson, Nadia Hancher, Breya Zolman, Clara Hollo, Eric Spiller, Joseph Green, Jimmy Forrest, Abbie Thomas, Cierra Flores, Lily Ringler, Sam Allen, Justin Bauer, Grayson Snider, and Michael Graham with Reindeer Luke Chambers and Jackson Snider.
Tiny Pirates—Colt Tammarine, Elena Smith, Ella Sancrant, Silas Johnson, Samuel Jimenez, Caleb Martin, Aliza Murray, Derek Ramey, Jensen Davenport, Owen Lewis, Tyler Shelton, Draven Tressler, Gavin Appel, Maverick McCarthy, Flynn Gallagher, William Ash, and Dakota Bricker.
Pirates—Isaiah Canales, Darien Homan, Levi Bettinger, Jackson Steiner (and parrot), Eli Saneholtz, Alexander Aguirre, Ben Rickenberg, Kamil Plaza, Seamus Brookes, Ethan Pieper, Taylar Alpaugh, Ashlyn Impton, Cole Hicks, Christian Lee, Izzy Armas, Liberty Wilson, Isiah Anders, Sterling Snider, Jaedyn Knight, Elizabeth Heberling, Auron Tanksley, Dominic Petz, Emma Wymer, Julie Stiff, Mason Rego, Syndel Barker, Cadince Ramirez, and Josh Parran.

Together, they performed Island Christmas; Pirates All Are We; Give and Take; Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Boots; He’s a Pirate; It’s Cool To Be Cool; Christmas Joy; Blimey Carols; and Silent Night.

In addition to the cast of elves and pirates, NHA students served as:

Channel 1 News Casters—Noah Nagel, Gabe Hobby, Kyler Campbell, Daymon Plassman, and Tyler Davidoff
Living Nativity Members—Omira Santillanes, Mark Jacobs, Cole Hicks, Ashlyn Impton, Ruby Snider, Jaedyn Knight, Emma Wymer, Danielle Tillson, Beaux Barrett, Lily Ringler, Christian Lee, Josh Parran, and Mason Rego.
Backstage and Lobby Assistants—Noah Nagel, Ava Keim, Tony Conti, Chase Burmeister, Gavin Leal, Alex Williams, Jackson Snider, Hannah Engler, Chloe Ruhnke, and Justin Tanksley.

This inspirational, Christmas musical was made possible by our dedicated NHA staff and teachers, especially Music Teacher Melissa Valentine. This was her creation and brain child. Without Melissa, this Christmas miracle would not have been possible. Without all of her hard work, vision, dedication, and creativity, the show would not have gone on. She found or created the absolute perfect role for each of our students’ abilities and personalities and corralled and coached over 100 of our special needs kids through the entire Christmas show. Melissa was truly our North Star, leading the way to Christmas!

If you missed this special Christmas production, check out our photos on Facebook or log onto our YouTube channel for your own special, encore performance.

2021-22 NHA Yearbook Sponsorship

We are so thankful to our sponsors for making this past year’s yearbook project possible.

Our goal is to once again provide our students and their parents with this very special memento. We hope to raise funds through sponsors in order to keep the costs of the yearbooks as low as possible, so that more students and their families will be able to afford one.

We invite you to consider being a sponsor of this very special project!

We also gladly accept general donations for those not interested in being recognized as sponsors.

COST: $150.00

This level of sponsorship includes a 3.75″ x 4.25″ (approx.) color advertisement in the yearbook, recognition on our website and recognition on social media with a link to your business’ social media page or website.

COST: $90.00

This level of sponsorship includes a business card sized color advertisement in the yearbook and recognition on our website.

COST: $30.00

This level of sponsorship includes your business or name listed in the yearbook and website.

SPONSORSHIP NOTES

Advertisements must be received by March 31, 2022.
Ads can be emailed in .jpg/.jpeg format to karab@sarasgarden.org.
Ads may be dropped off at Sara’s Garden or New Horizons Academy.

Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We’ll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

Save the Date for the NHA Christmas Musical

Save the date for Tuesday, December 14! You’re not going to want to miss this ye mateys!

The kiddos at NHA’s Wauseon campus will be presenting their annual Christmas musical: A Pirate Christmas!

After missing last year due to unfortunate COVID restrictions, this year’s musical will be an Elves vs. Pirates event as they try to figure out what Christmas is all about!

Please get this date on your calendar and plan to be available from approximately 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. that evening. The musical will once again be held at Pettisville Missionary Church. Obviously we will be monitoring the ever-changing state and health department COVID guidelines and keep everyone informed of any potential issues in scheduling.

If you are new to the NHA family and aren’t familiar with our musicals, ask someone who was here in either 2018 or 2019 – they have been a huge success and our students absolutely love them!

NHA COVID Update

New Horizons Academy (NHA) is committed to the health and safety of our students and staff, and we will do everything in our power to keep them safe! As we begin the second nine weeks of school, we continue to follow the recommendations of the 2021-22 COVID-19 Health and Prevention Guidance for Ohio K-12 Schools from the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Education.

This school year, we have continued to work extremely hard to minimize in-school coronavirus transmission and to keep our students in-person at NHA. We have instituted a mask-recommended rather than a mask-mandated environment along with continued social distancing, frequent hand washing, hand sanitizing, rigorous cleaning, and grade-level pods. We have been remarkably successful with just 6 individuals testing positive for COVID-19:

1 student and 1 staff member at our Springfield Campus
2 students and 1 staff member at our Career Center
1 staff member at our Wauseon Campus

Recently, the state of Ohio has seen a decline in new coronavirus cases, and we would like to see that trend continue. To do that, we are asking you to continue to:

Keep your children home when they are sick
Remind them to wash their hands often with soap and water
Encourage them to carry and use hand sanitizer
Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces
Socially distance at community and group events

With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, we want all of our families to celebrate together and celebrate safely. Thank you for helping us to keep our students and staff healthy and safe this school year!

NHA Parent-Teacher Conferences

For our New Horizons Academy (NHA) parents, parent-teacher conferences are just around the corner on November 1-2. If you haven’t already scheduled one with your child’s teacher, please do so today.

Parent-teacher conferences are a great way to develop or deepen the partnership between parents and teachers. You both want your child to learn, grow, and become as independent as he or she possibly can. Use this opportunity to find out how your child is doing in school and what you can do to help.

Before the conference:

If you haven’t already, schedule a time to meet. Please send back your parent-teacher conference sign-up form with any requests to meet with specific teachers, staff, or specialists.
Review your child’s progress reports and grade card.
Talk with your child and other family members about how they think the school year is going and what your child’s strengths and needs are.
Make a list of questions to ask during the conference.

During the conference:

Remember that it is a two-way conversation and that it works best when both teachers and parents talk and listen.
Share your questions and concerns with the teacher.
Celebrate your child’s accomplishments, and work with the teacher on ways to help your child grow and improve.
Ask what you can do at home to help your child learn and grow.

While talking with the teacher, please keep these basic principles in mind:

—BE HEARD—
Best intentions assumed
Emphasis on learning

Home-school collaboration
Examples and evidence
Active listening
Respect for all
Dedication to follow-up

For more information on how to make the most of your parent-teacher conference and how to strengthen the relationship with your child’s teacher, log onto the Global Family Research Project at globalfrp.org.

2021 NHA Open Houses Announced

WELCOME BACK NHA STUDENTS, PARENTS & OPEN HOUSES! August 16 – Springfield Campus August 17 – Wauseon & Career Center Campuses

After missing out on last year’s school open houses because of COVID, we are so grateful that the Ohio Department of Education is going to allow open houses this year! We are excited to welcome back all of our New Horizons Academy (NHA) students and parents at our school open houses on August 16-17.

To accommodate current health department guidelines and to give parents and students more time to find their rooms and more individual time with fewer distractions to talk with their teachers, principal, therapists, conductors, and classmates, NHA will be staggering its open house schedule by age groups across two nights.

Monday, August 16 Springfield Campus 6201 Trust Dr., Holland

6:00-6:30 p.m. STARS & Elementary Classes
6:30-7:00 p.m. Middle School & High School Classes
7:00-7:30 p.m. PACE Program

Tuesday, August 17 Wauseon Campus 220 Lawrence Ave.

5:30-6:00 p.m. STARS Classes
6:00-6:30 p.m. Elementary Classes
6:30-7:00 p.m. Pre-PACE, CE & Middle School Classes

620 W. Leggett St.

7:00-7:30 p.m. Junior High & High School Classes

Career Center 854 S. Shoop Ave.

7:30-8:00 p.m. Career Center Program

For more information on any of the open houses, please call the school offices:

Wauseon: 419-335-7272
Springfield: 567-703-1322.

NHA Still Accepting Students

New Horizons Academy (NHA) is still accepting preschool to high school students into its regional special needs schools and special education programs at our Wauseon campus (220 Lawrence Ave. in Wauseon), Springfield Township campus (6201 Trust Dr. in Holland), and new Career Center and vocational training campus (854 S. Shoop Ave. in Wauseon). Classes begin August 18, so get your school application in TODAY!

At New Horizons Academy, kids come first. We exist for our students; our students do not exist for the school. Students don’t have to fit into classes. The classes and programs are made to meet the individual student’s needs. If this sounds like the educational program that’s right for your child or the school that you are looking for, then please call Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp today and learn more about our special education programs and schedule a tour of our campuses.

All of our special education students are on individual education plans (IEP’s) and qualify for the Ohio Department of Education’s Autism or Jon Peterson’s Special Needs Scholarships. NHA accepts both the Autism and Jon Peterson Scholarships as payment in full for our students’ tuition and therapy services during the school day. Cost is not and should not be the reason that special needs children miss out on the early intervention, special education, or vocational training experiences that they so desperately need.

Is NHA Right for Your Child?

Regional special education classes for students aged 3-21
With less than a 1:2—staff to student ratio
Individualized, personalized education
Strong academics, community involvement, life skills classes, vocational skills, work site placements, and job coaches
Helps students to reach their full potential and become as independent as they can possibly be
Including early intervention, conductive education (CE), sensory integration, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology, music instruction, and the College Credit Plus (CCP) Program
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) School
Vocational opportunities through the Special Grounds Coffee Shop & Event Center with youth transition to community programs and jobs
Students from 9 counties and over 25 different school districts

Time is short. The next school year is just around the corner; so, for more information or to schedule a tour, call Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272, email rondar@sarasgarden.org, or log onto the school website at newhorizonsacademy.org.

2021 Graduation in the Works!

After a year of pushing back graduation, holding small family ceremonies, and staff not fully getting to celebrate with our students their academic accomplishments, New Horizons Academy (NHA) is so pleased and proud to announce that its 2021 Graduation Ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 23 at 1:00 p.m. at the new Career Center, located at 854 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH 43567. All graduates are asked to arrive by noon.

To be able to celebrate this year with our graduates, NHA must comply with Governor Mike DeWine’s, the Ohio Department of Health’s, and the Ohio Department of Education’s COVID guidelines. All participants, their families, guests, and staff will be asked to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols, including all attendees wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, and sitting with their family or classroom group. These plans are subject to change dependent upon state and local health guidelines.

Among our 2021 graduating seniors are Valedictorian Eli Travis Warncke and Salutatorian Ezekiel David Beck.

Eli is the son of Todd and Amy Warncke. Pettisville Local Schools is his home school district. He is graduating with a 4.0 GPA, having participated in College Credit Plus (CCP) classes through both Northwest State Community College and Cedarville University. Eli was awarded a Presidential Scholarship to attend Cedarville in the fall, studying prepharmacy.

Ezekiel (Zeke) Beck is the son of Tucker Beck and Ashley Estrada. His home school district is Archbold Area Local Schools. Zeke is graduating with a 3.38 GPA, and he is planning on attending the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) in its automotive technology program.

Three students from the Wauseon Exempted Village School District will also be graduating this year from NHA. They include Konner Light, Shalian McCarley, and Chloe Runke. Konner will be looking for a summer job while Shalian and Chloe will be returning to work part-time in our new Special Grounds Coffee Shop.

Due to COVID delaying vocational and work placements, several of our seniors will be deferring graduation and are electing to return for another year at NHA’s Career Center. Students may stay at NHA through their 21st birthday.

Congratulations to all of our graduates! We truly wish you the best, and we hope that everyone, who is available, will come out on Sunday, May 23 at 1:00 p.m. to celebrate their accomplishments with us.

NHA Students Avoid Academic Regression

NHA’s students’ progress is rosier than most of the country’s with our students avoiding academic regression!

Unlike most public school students from across the United States, New Horizons Academy’s students overall avoided academic regression. Most NHA students either held their own or made slight academic progress throughout last year’s COVID school closure and through this school year’s unpredictability.

According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, nationally, students started this school year three months behind in math and one and half months behind in reading. With continued uncertainty, online instruction, and quarantine issues, nationally, this regression continued with most students, at best, ending this school year a half a grade behind. By June 2021, McKinsey & Company predict that many students will be over five to nine months behind. They found that “some students didn’t learn any new materials once the pandemic hit and may have even slipped backwards.” Thankfully, that was NOT the case for most NHA students!

Even though many NHA students are academically behind their typical peers because of their disabilities, NHA students did not experience further academic regression this school year. According to the DIBELS Reading Assessment by the Center on Teaching & Learning, all of our first graders saw an increase in letter naming fluency this school year while all first through third grade students either stayed at the same level or saw an increase in their word reading fluency, in connecting letter sounds, and in oral fluency reading with two students learning 55 more new words in just four months. For our fourth through sixth graders, they all either stayed at the same level or saw an increase in their oral fluency reading with an average of 18 more new words in four months.

Nationally for kindergarteners, the pandemic was even harder! Nationally, kindergarten enrollment dropped by 16% with many parents electing to keep their children at home rather than face online instructional learning with preliterate preschoolers. The Ohio Department of Education found this same trend with an 8% drop in kindergarten enrollment this year.

That may have been the state and national trend, but NHA saw a 23% increase in preschool and kindergarten enrollment at its Wauseon Campus from the 2019-2020 school year to the 2020-2021 school year. NHA kindergarteners saw a 12% improvement in letter naming fluency from the beginning of the school year through mid-year. We hope to see this trend continue through May.

Early intervention is the key to special education services, and NHA is proud to say that early intervention works!

NHA COVID Update

New Horizons Academy (NHA) is committed to the health and safety of its students and staff, and we will do everything in our power to keep them safe! That said, as we start the fourth quarter of this school year, we are celebrating our first baby step back to “normal.”

This school year, we have worked extremely hard to minimize in-school coronavirus transmission with face coverings, social distancing, frequent hand washing, hand sanitizing, rigorous cleaning, maintaining classroom pods, having staff rather than students rotate classrooms, and morning temperature checks for staff and students. We have been remarkably successful with just 9 individuals testing positive for COVID-19:

1 student at our Wauseon Campus
1 staff member at our Career Center
2 staff members at our Springfield Campus
5 staff members at our Wauseon Campus

With less community transmission, our COVID cases starting to drop, and staff getting vaccinated, NHA will no longer will be taking morning temperatures for all of its staff and students. This is the first little step back to normal, and a trend that we hope to continue! With just over a year since our forced COVID-19 school closure, it is definitely something worth celebrating!

To continue this trend, NHA will continue its other COVID protocols and will ask you to continue to:

Keep your children home when they are sick.
Encourage them to wear a mask or face covering.
Avoid unnecessary gatherings with people outside of your home.
Remind your children to wash their hands often with soap and water.
Encourage them to carry and use hand sanitizer.
Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

Thank you for helping us to keep our students and staff healthy and safe!