The Week of 9/7/26

What a week at SOI! Our Sparks went "All In" during this short but super-busy week to "Make it Count!" ⚡

Week in Review

• 📸 Tuesday: We struck a pose for Picture Day! Ordering details from Cirino Photography can be found below.

• 🌟 Wednesday: We honored our outstanding 7th-grade high achievers!

• 🏆 Thursday: We celebrated our dedicated 8th-grade Honor Roll and Principal's List students.

• 🚒 Friday: We held our annual First Responder Ceremony featuring Willoughby Hills Fire Chief Gandee and Mayor Hallum.

• 🌊 Friday PBL Kickoff: 7th grade welcomed back their Lake County Partners to dive into their water quality Project-Based Learning unit!

Highlights & Reminders

• 🎬 Back-to-School Video: Thank you to everyone who submitted photos! Enjoy the video recap below:

• 🏃 Fun Run Coming Soon: Get ready to move! Information below. Rallyup site does not go active until tomorrow!

• 🏈 Weekend Spirit: The NFL season is officially here—GO BROWNS! (and Guardians)

Thank you for your continued partnership as our Sparks lead by example each and every day! Have a fantastic weekend!

Warmly,

Mr Bonick

SOI families - Cirino Photography just released the 26-27 School portrait images from photo day into your gallery. Please click on the link below to view and order your student(s) portraits from this year. Please note that if you order under the bulk ship option, your order will be shipped to the school and sent home with your student in a few weeks. The deadline to order school day portraits for the free shipping is September 17th. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out directly to Cirino Photography they are here and happy to help at 440 953-8200 or cuyla.cirino@gmail.com

https://my.photoday.com/gallery/soi-school-portraits-26-27

Arrival and Dismissal Times

• Beginning next school year, car riders can arrive at 7:15 am.

• For afternoon dismissal, we ask that parents begin arriving at school at 2:20 pm.

• To help ensure a safe and efficient dismissal process, families are encouraged to arrive at or near the designated dismissal time. Arriving significantly before dismissal can create traffic congestion around the school and does not expedite student pickup.

• Car Drop Off and Pickup will still be in the back of the building

Hello SOI Families—

For your convenience, all required ODCY forms attached and linked below.

Required Y‑CARE Enrollment Forms for SOI

Please complete all forms accurately. Use “N/A” where applicable. Incomplete or blank sections will delay enrollment. Drop off hard copies at your Elementary school at your earliest convenience.

All Forms attached or can be found at the following link: Child Care West End Willoughby | Lake County YMCA

Required Documents/no exceptions:

• Y School Age Child Care Registration

• ODCY Child Enrollment Form
  (Required for all children per state licensing guidelines)
• ODCY Medical Care Form
  (Completed only if applicable—e.g., allergies, inhaler, or EpiPen; expires annually)
• Parent Release Form
  (Allows a child to transition from licensed space to a Y staff member for parent pick‑up)

• Walking Trip Permission Form
  (Authorizes children to walk between licensed program spaces within the building)

Thank you again for choosing Y‑CARE. We truly value your partnership and look forward to supporting your family in the upcoming school year! Please email me if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Pattie Ritt

Senior Child Care Director
LAKE COUNTY YMCA - WEST END YMCA at Union Village

36909 Ridge Road, Willoughby, OH 44094

(P)440 710-6754 (F)440 946 2963
(E)pritt@lakecountyymca.org (W) lakecountyymca.org

Progress with Chess is BACK! If your Spark is interested in playing chess and wants to join the club, please see the flyer below.

This year's registration will be handles directly by Progress with Chess

• The club will be from 2:30-3:30 on the designated days to coincide with the new building times

If you've joined the Box Top App, thank you! We earned an additional $15.00 last week just on the referrals. That brings the referral bonus to $100.00 total.

If you haven't, it's not too late to join and scan your first receipt!

Don't forget to click on "Join The Monthly Challenge" for September. There are new Bonus Offers for this month, too.

For the latest standings, see the attachments.

s always, thank you for your support!

President - Kathryn Toma

Secretary - Rachel Stone

Treasurer - Leigh Klekar

Vice President of Fundraising - Amy Bell

Vice President of Events - Jody Kipsoi

The Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools Board of Education has placed a proposed 0.75%

earned income tax on the November 3, 2026, ballot. The outcome will determine whether the

district continues operating two comprehensive high schools or transitions to one.

The proposed 0.75% earned income tax would generate about $14 million a year on a

continuing basis, with roughly $9.6 million for operations and $4.4 million dedicated to

permanent improvements such as buildings, technology, security, and buses. A resident with

$50,000 in active income would pay approximately $375 per year.

An earned income tax is applied to the active income of district residents and does not apply to

passive income, such as Social Security benefits, pensions, capital gains, interest, dividends, or

other investment income.

If the proposed tax is approved, under the district's current plan:

● North and South would continue operating as two comprehensive high schools.

● Other reductions would happen on a more measured timeline.

● We would have more time to evaluate enrollment, building use, and long-term facility

needs.

What happens if the earned income tax levy fails? Beginning in the 28-29 school year, the

Board would need to implement the following cost-savings measures:

● Reduction in district staffing to match new footprint

● Consolidation to one high school and one middle school

Full details are available at www.weschools.org/futurereadyfinances.

For tryouts/practices/Schedules or any other information regarding district sports please visit the website of the school your child will be participating for. Also, make sure you know which middle school they would be competing for...this will be their home middle school if they did not attend SOI.

The School Smiles Dentist is coming to our School! All students who have signed up for the program and are eligible for dental services will be seen on September 21st by the dental team. As a reminder, the dental team will set up in the school and see your child during the school day. School Smiles offers an Exam, Cleanings, X-Rays, Fluoride, as well as same day treatment if needed. This treatment can consist of Fillings, Sealants, or SDF.

If you are interested in signing up your student to be seen please follow the link to the School Smiles Website at www.schoolsmiles.com/student-signup. For any questions, please call 855-497-6453

• We do accept the following insurance plans so that anyone and everyone that wants to signup can and can be seen:

• Medicaid: if they have Medicaid it is covered at 100%, the patient is never billed.

• Private Insurance: we accept these plans just like any private practice and will coordinate with families to collect co-pay/deductible that apply. Our office handles this.

• Self-Pay option: we include the discounted rate of only $49 and includes their cleaning, x-rays, prophy, fluoride and sealants. It is the parent’s choice to choose this option and we leave it available because we do have some families that prefer to pay vs having the foundation option

Renovare are the Defending Champs! Who will win Session 1??

My new student House Committee met for the first time this week and they have some awesome suggestions!

Each week I try to highlight one student who turned in their fully stamped Kudos Card as part of our PBIS program. These students get a certificate, their picture in the newsletter, and a happy call home! I am proud of them all!

Every day I get a brave student who wants to do the morning announcements with me!

Sept 8th: 4th Grader Hiya Patel

Sept 9th: 3rd Grader Elizabeth Toman

Sept 10th: 6th Grader Jack Dooley

Mr Bonick (Principal): 440-283-4234

Attendance Line: 855-612-7207

Nancy Suszek (Secretary): 440-283-4445

Angela Buemi (Principal's Secretary): 440-283-4235

Michelle Messina (Guidance): 440-283-4146