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Great news for the Clay community!

Thanks to the Clay Board of Education and the Clay administration, the Clay Local School District will become a 1:1 district beginning with the 2017-18 school year as part of the district’s continued efforts to prepare students for their futures. Students in grades 6 through 12 will be issued a Chromebook to use at school as well as at home. Elementary students (K-5) will have access to grade-level Chromebook carts that will stay at school. The staff in the district received their personal Chromebooks last year as part of the transition for the implementation of the 1:1 program this year.

For a district whose motto is “The District that encourages the child to discover,” this is the ultimate next step. The Chromebooks will provide all the students in the district with the research and productivity tools they need to do their course assignments (e.g., homework, readings, writings, projects, and assessments). This will in turn allow students to be more familiar with the tools associated with completing the state-mandated, online tests; and the students will also have the opportunity to become more proficient with and to integrate 21st century, technology skills into their lives. In addition, this initiative will open the doors to a more personalized education by providing unlimited access to lessons, programs, readings, and textbooks. In the end, the Chromebooks will allow students to have more individualized learning opportunities and a chance to have technological tools they may not otherwise be able to afford.

“We are excited about the opportunity to put Chromebooks into the hands of our middle and high school students and to expand the access to our elementary students,” commented Todd Warnock, Clay LSD superintendent. “This initiative will allow our students to extend their learning beyond the classroom and the school day. It will also assist us in promoting responsible digital citizenship, personal responsibility, student engagement, and college readiness. We have been dreaming of providing this opportunity to our students and staff for many years. It’s finally a reality thanks to the support from Tony Mantell, who retired at the end of July as superintendent; the Board of Education; the administration; the IT staff; and the teachers.”

To prepare for the August rollout, information on the 1:1 initiative will be communicated with the Clay community over the next few weeks via the district website http://clay.k12.oh.us, Facebook, Twitter, email, and text alerts. This information will include the Acceptable Use Policy and the link to the Chromebook Acceptance Policy (for both parents and students in grades 6-12) to sign. This information will also be available at the sixth-grade orientation (Monday, August 21, 6:00 pm) and the Clay Open House (Tuesday, August 22, 6:00-7:30 pm). Parents and students will need to have completed and signed the Chromebook Agreement before Chromebooks will be issued to students in grades 6-12.

Link to Chromebook Acceptance Policy: https://goo.gl/forms/WBmRXUtUknlMZy3I2

Clay Elementary & MS Information

Links to CES information, including Clay Elementary Classroom Supply Lists & Sixth Grade Classroom Supply List.

Carol Vice, Former Clay Teacher & Hall of Fame Coach, Passes.

ROSEMOUNT —Carol Ann Vice, 82, of Rosemount, passed away Friday, July 28, 2017, at SOMC Hospice.

She was born August 28, 1934, in Portsmouth, a daughter of the late Virgil Burgess and Bethel Flannery Burgess Miller.

Carol was a retired teacher with the Clay School District with 30 years of service. Carol coached many sports for Clay including women's softball, compiling a 93.7% winning percentage over 11 years. She guided those teams to 3 State Championships and was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Coaches Hall of Fame. Carol was also a former President of Women's Tennis League in Portsmouth. She was a 1952 Clay High School graduate and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Education from Ohio University.

Clay District Calendars, 2017-18

Clay Internet Calendars. These calendars include a day-to-day calendar, a monthly version, and the internet calendar with all activities listed for each month. An athletic calendar is also included, but please note the away contests may not show since the calendar is based on the opponent publishing these dates.

Vaccine Information

Vaccine Information for Next Year: 7th and 12th Grade Students

Students entering the 7th grade in the Fall of 2017 MUST receive one dose of Tdap vaccine, which is a tetanus, Diptheria, and pertussis booster. In addition, all 7th-grade and 12th-grade students are required to be vaccinated for meningococcal disease (meningitis).

For more information, please contact the district nurse (Mrs. Beth Shaffer - 740.354.6645 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).

Riffe Signs with SSU Baseball

Brody Riffe signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Shawnee State University on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Portsmouth Daily Times article.

GBK Team Honored for Academic Achievement

The Clay HS girls' basketball team was honored for their academic achievement for the second year in a row. The team's GPA (3.972) was one of top five in Ohio regardless of classification, division, or enrollment.

For the fifteenth year, the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association has selected the “Academic Teams” based upon the varsity basketball teams’ overall “Grade Point Average (GPA).” In an effort to continuously reward student-athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the basketball court, the OHSBCA is honoring the entire team for their academic excellence. The GPA is based upon the first semester of the school year and the top nine players on the varsity roster are used to determine the team’s rank for this award.

The team includes Skylar Artis, Sophia Balestra, Lauren Campbell, Cameron Delotell, Kelsey Fowler, Delanie Gilliland, Ashley Hurt, Regan Osborn, Hannah Pauley, Jaelyn Warnock, and Jensen Warnock.

Congratulations, Clay HS Girls' Basketball Team!

Mantell Retires

Mr. Anthony Mantell officially retired earlier this month. The staff honored him for his service on Thursday, the last day of the academic year. He has been an educator for forty years, the last 17.5 years as the superintendent of the Clay Local School District. Best wishes in retirement! His official last day is July 31.

Clay Spring Sports Highlights 2017

Clay HS Baseball

~Sectional Tournament Bracket

Clay HS Softball

~Sect/District Tournament Bracket
~Regional Tournament Bracket

Clay HS Tennis

~District Tournament Bracket
~State Tournament Bracket

Clay Track & Field

Gilliland Signs with Kentucky Christian University

Cole Gilliland, a Clay HS senior, officially signed a letter of intent to play basketball with the Kentucky Christian University Knights on Friday, May 5, 2017.

PDTimes article

2017 Clay HS Student-Athletes Recognized

OHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award - Cole Gilliland & Lynlee Wells

Archie Griffin/OHSAA Sportsmanship Award - Cole Gilliland & Brody Riffe

NFHS Award of Excellence - Grant Hempill & Alaina Stowers

Army Reserve - Scholar Athlete Award - Cole Gilliland

Wendy's Heisman Award - Cole Gilliland & Alaina Stowers

Signings - Cole Gilliland (Kentucky Christian University, Basketball) & Nate Hinze (Shawnee State University, Tennis)

Junior High Archie Griffin/OHSAA Sportsmanship Award - Clay Cottle

Junior High NFHS Award of Excellence - Jaden Jessee

Clay's WSAZ "Best of the Class" 2017

Cole Gilliland & Alaina Stowers

Clay Elementary Efforts Help St. Jude's Research Hospital

Clay Elementary helped raise/donate over $10,000.00 ($10,129.44 to be exact) during this year's St. Jude's Math-a-thon. According to Mrs. Rider, the CES' goal was $6,334.00 ($1 more than last year). Last year, the Clay community raised the most it had ever raised in one single year. Rider said, "I am amazed at the generosity of our school community!" Since 1996, the Clay donations have exceeded $100,000.00 to this worthy cause--St. Jude's Research Hospital.

Character Education

On Thursday, April 20, 2017, Garry Boothe provided a Character Education Program using magic and balloons for preschool through fifth-grade students at Clay Elementary School. Students learned about the negative effects of tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, and bullying. The students also learned about character, citizenship, standing up for yourself, and caring for others.

Hinze Signs with SSU

Nate Hinze, a Clay HS senior, signed a letter of intent on Friday, March 31, 2017, to play tennis at Shawnee State University.

Portsmouth Kiwanis Donates to CES

Wayne Thompson of the Portsmouth Kiwanis donated school supplies to Clay Elementary on March 20, 2017. The supplies were worth more than $300. The Clay Elementary School and its students would like to thank the Portsmouth Kiwanis and Mr. Thompson for the generosity. Mr. Thompson is a 1974 graduate of Clay High School. Accepting the donation on behalf of CES are Katie Ramey and Evan Balestra, both fifth-grade students.

Clay Refinances Bonds to Help Taxpayers

The Clay Local School District has participated in the refinancing of $4.8 million in outstanding bonds in an effort to "lock in a lower interest rate that will save local taxpayers a total of $545,000 in interest payments" over the next twenty years, according to Michael Burns of Robert W. Baird & Company.

Prom Information 2017

Prom REGISTRATIONS are due Friday, March 31.

The Clay HS Junior-Senior Prom is Saturday, April 8, 2017.

The Grand March will take place at 5:30 PM in the Panther Commons. Prom is scheduled for 7:30 PM on the campus of Shawnee State University in the Sodexo Ballroom.

AFTER-PROM REGISTRATION is due by Wednesday, March 15, 2017.