Even though school is out for summer, students can still be extending, enriching and enhancing what they know, as well as working on learning new skills.  The concept of WoWWithOutWalls is learning that can happen anytime and anywhere.

On May 17, each Westerville middle school sent their building Chess Club representative to participate in the Middle School Chess Tournament held at the Early Learning Center.  Family members, friends, and Westerville City Schools staff eagerly watched the round-robin matches.

The Westerville Education Foundation held its fifth annual Mini-Golf Fundraiser on May 18 at the Westerville Mini-Golf and Batting Cages, 450 W. Schrock Road.  In addition to family fun on the venue's two miniature golf courses, the event featured food, music, entertainment, and prizes such as Columbus Clippers tickets, family passes to Zoombezi Bay and the Columbus Zoo, and an overnight accommodation at the Hampton Inn & Suites.

Westerville City School District (WCSD) Treasurer/CFO Bart Griffith on Wednesday presented Board of Education members with a revised five-year financial forecast, confirming that several factors, including continued belt-tightening measures by district officials, will allow the district to remain cash-positive through Fiscal Year 2017.  Maintaining a cash balance through FY17 is two years longer than originally projected when voters approved an emergency operating levy in March of 2012.

Forty students from Blendon, Genoa, Heritage and Walnut Springs middle schools visited Ohio Wesleyan University on May 16 for a campus tour and meetings with the Admissions Department to learn about campus life, admission requirements, college preparation, and career information.

Celebrating student achievement is fairly common at middle schools in Westerville, but what makes Blendon Middle School’s Renaissance Awards Program stand out is the way that achievement is celebrated.  Starting with an awards program in the school gym, each qualifying student receives not just a certificate for their accomplishment, but a tangible reward donated by various local businesses.

On May 8, 40 highly talented visual artists from each of the four Westerville middle schools attended the fourth annual “Career in the Visual Arts” trip.  Students visited the Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), thanks to funding from the Career Education and Gifted Education Departments.

Westerville City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Good was surprised on May 15 when Sunrise Rotarians named him as the monthly recipient of the Westerville Sunrise Rotary Diane J. Conley Service to Youth award.  He was attending the breakfast meeting, held at the Old Bag of Nails, to support all Service to Youth winners during the 2012-13 school year.  Under his leadership, the district was rated as Excellent with Distinction for three years in a row by the Ohio Department of Education.