SUBURBAN LIFE Your Community Press newspaper serving Deer Park, Kenwood, Madeira, Sycamore Township and other Northeast Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2018 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
MadTree, Brink earn huge honors at beer awards Sarah Brookbank Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Sycamore High School Synnovation Lab students working on a Spanish project on Sept. 13. From left: Casey Goans (backward baseball cap), Grant Bolotin, Nicolai Geraci, Liam Fleck and Marty Khan. PHOTOS BY REBECCA HUFF FOR THE ENQUIRER
Personalized learning is the focus of new Synnovation Lab Rebecca Huff
Special to Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Students spend six hours of their day hopping from one 45-minute class to another. In each classroom, some students are bored and some are struggling, but with only 45 minutes to cover the content, some of the struggling students, unfortunately, get left behind. Sycamore High School is trying to change that 45-minute pacing and instead meet the needs of every individual student by developing a personalized learning space called the Synnovation Lab. The lab opened Aug. 15 and holds 100 freshman and sophomore students that mimic the demographic of the rest of the high school. They are taught the same curriculum as other freshman and sophomore students, but with a different approach. “It’s all about achievement and mastery,” said Greg Ulland, Sycamore High School ninth- and 10th-grade math teacher. Students work at their own pace and complete assignments for mastery instead of completion. “The freedom provides great opportunity, but also more responsibility than they’re used to,” said Breen Reardon a ninth- and 10th-grade English teacher. “No one is telling you what to do every minute and so that’s a very good thing, but it also can make it a little more challenging for you, too.” Reardon, of Loveland, compares results of this approach as opposed to the traditional teaching style. “The skills are being improved at a faster rate and I just think on a more personal rate than I was able to do in a regular classroom.” Assistant Principal Ashley Warren said the Synnovation Lab is also preparing students for the real world by teaching them “executive functioning skills.” “Student ownership is the most important thing for the Synnovation Lab and that’s something that isn’t really taught very explicitly because students
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Brink Brewing and MadTree took home big wins over the weekend at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival. According to the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, breweries from the Buckeye state won a total of 14 awards at the brewing competition. “This record-setting year for Ohio breweries at the GABF competition goes to show that we’re making worldclass beers here in the Buckeye State,” Executive Director of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association Mary MacDonald said in a statement. Brink Brewing, located in College Hill, snagged two medals — a gold for Moozie in the sweet stout or cream stout category and a silver for Hold The Reins in the English-style mild ale category. That, in turn, made Brink the 'Very Small Brewing Company of the Year,' the top honor given to a brewery producing under 1,000 barrels of beer in the previous calendar year, the brewers association said. Brink’s Moozie stout also won gold last year. MadTree Brewing, located in Oakley, won its first ever medal at Great American Beer Festival for Happy Amber in the extra special bitter category. “Some of the best beers in the country are made here, both in our big cities and small towns, by established powerhouses and new startup breweries. It’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker in Ohio," MacDonald said.
The new Synnovation Lab at Sycamore High School allows students to take control of their learning including studying wherever is comfortable.
Greg Ulland, Sycamore ninth- and 10-grade math teacher, does not check for completion on assignments.
Brink Brewing Company won two medals and “Very Small Brewing Company of the Year” award. PROVIDED
Junior newspaper carriers needed are used to having teachers dictate what they do,” she said. For Zoe Lewis and Joseph Lansberg of Symmes Township, that ownership and flexibility is their favorite aspect of the lab. For others, it’s the social interaction. “It’s more fun because you can interact with people and you don’t have to wait for a teacher to help you all the time because you can get students here to
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help,” said sophomore Marty Kahn, of Symmes Township. The lab’s flexible seating arrangement makes it perfect for cooperative learning. “My favorite part is that I get to coach these kids individually, I get to answer the question that they actually have, not everyone’s question. I teach all day, but I teach to people not to classes,” said Ulland, of Wyoming.
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