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Twenty-eight local students in Grades 6 – 12 won $11,950 in prizes GEM Project Dayton’s 4^th Annual GEM Art Contest for Suicide Prevention.  The awards were presented at UD’s Roger Glass Center for the Arts on February 23, 2025.  Approximately 180 people attended the awards ceremony, which was open to the public. Among the winners were five Oakwood High School Students.

Oakwood Winners Include:

• Erin Geraghty, Grade 10
• Matilda Prizler, Grade 11
• Lili Kiewitz, Grade 11
• Kate Arzola, Grade 12
• Violet Meehan, Grade 9

After the awards were presented, the GEM Team was surprised with a large donation of $23,500 by Dayton’s 100+ Women Who Care that will allow GEM Project Dayton to continue to grow and reach more students and schools in the Greater Dayton Area.  The goal of the GEM Art Contest is to reach all corners of the community and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide.  

GEM stands for Goal: Everyone Matters.  The contest was developed by a team of high school students involved with the local Hope Squads in Montgomery County schools.  The mission of the art contest is to give youth hope to keep going and find a way through tough times by looking for the positive and light in the world.   The artwork generated from this contest will be printed onto posters, notecards, and other items that will be distributed throughout the Greater Miami Valley supported by a generous grant through Culture Works and the Montgomery County Arts and Cultural District.  

GEM Project Dayton promotes suicide prevention and awareness in the community and is a fund of The Dayton Foundation.  NAMI Montgomery County, TJ’s Place of Hope, and Crayons to Classrooms are supporting partners.  

This year’s art contest has been made possible by these generous community sponsors: Old Scratch Pizza Cones for a Cause, Jay’s Light, The Kawai Family Foundation, The Physicians Charitable Foundation of Miami Valley, ASIST Trainers Leigh Ann Fulford & Sallie Wilson Luther, Dayton Children’s, Bob Eling & Laura Enzbrenner, The Mark A. Kreusch Memorial Fund, NGU Wellness, Spike the Stigma-MENd the Mind Volleyball Tournament, Get Dressed!, and The Rubi Girls, Women of Fairmont Presbyterian Church.

Details of the contest can be found at www.gemprojectdayton.org and questions may be directed to gemprojectdayton@gmail.com.  

Oakwood Schools is preparing to welcome the Class of 2038.  Kindergarten registration for the 2025 – 2026 school year begins Feb. 24, 2025.

To register for next year, youngsters must be five years old on or before August 1, 2025.  Families must reside within the Oakwood Schools district boundaries and demonstrate proof of residence as outlined in the District’s Residency Guidelines found on the District website.  

To review the guidelines and begin the online registration process, visit the Oakwood Schools website.

Once registered, families will receive additional information about Kindergarten Screening, which will take place at the Oakwood Community Center. Screening information will be sent to all registered families in mid-March.

Oakwood City Schools uses Payschools Central to manage student fees and lunch accounts. In Payschools you can:

• Manage all student accounts and fees in one place
• Set up auto-replenish to automatically fill lunch accounts when they're running low
• Set up reminders and alerts
• Review student purchases
• Complete an application for free and reduced lunch
• Handle payments 24/7 at your convenience, on any device

Beginning February 12, 2025, PaySchools will implement an updated fee structure. While this change is intended to simplify payment processing, it may result in an increase in transaction fees. You can add money to a Payschools account via ACH or Credit Card online anytime, in any increment. For more information, log into your PaySchools account by visiting their website.