Lexington Local Schools gets donation of more than $20,000 in school supplies
LEXINGTON — As students were making their way through the halls Friday morning, one Lexington student posed a question.
"What the heck is going on?" he said to no one in particular.
Plans were underway for a special pep rally at the building that houses grades 7-12.
And why not? It was a special day.
In partnership with School Specialty, Spherion Mid Ohio surprised the students, faculty and alumni with a presentation of more than $20,000 worth of school supplies, which were in a truck parked outside.
School Specialty is the leading education company that provides educational supplies, furniture and equipment to schools and teachers for Pre-K through 12th grade, with national headquarters in Wisconsin.
Each year, Spherion Mid Ohio helps find jobs for local workers, including flexible, temp-to-hire and direct hire. The local company works with more than 200 employers throughout nine counties.
Last summer, 13 students from Lexington worked for School Specialty.
"We're certainly appreciative of both Spherion and School Specialty to be a part of this, but the biggest thanks goes to 13 students who worked for them," Lexington Superintendent Jeremy Secrist said.
Jessica Hiser is the marketing and advertising director for Spherion Mid Ohio.
Partnership helps students get summer jobs
"Spherion and School Specialty have had a partnership for several years, helping students get jobs in the summer," she said. "About two years ago, we recognized that we were sitting on a great opportunity as School Specialty ships school supplies all throughout the U.S. from right here in our backyard.
"We were hiring students from local schools, and we thought, 'Why not make the biggest impact possible and give back to the schools and kind of make it a competition?'''
Every student who was employed at School Specialty through Spherion got one entry for his or her school. The winner was drawn at random.
Madison Local Schools won the contest last year.
Spherion and School Specialty staffers were on hand before 8 a.m. Friday getting everything ready, including the placement of promotional items and job flyers.
Entire Lexington student body was at pep rally
Lexington Local Schools went all-out for the pep rally, busing in students from all three grade schools for the occasion. The entire student body was on hand.
The younger students filed in excitedly, many of them wearing pajamas. They were first in the gym.
When the high school students entered, they seemed jazzed by the presence of the younger kids.
The high school cheerleaders and the famed Band of Gold also took part in the pep rally.
Principal Jamie Masi got the younger students revved up.
"This may be the first pep rally for some of you little guys," he said.
There were only two rules: Listen and "get loud when you're supposed to get loud."
The kids did the rest.
Friday's pep rally doubled as a chance to recognize Lexington's fall sports teams, four of which won Ohio Cardinal Conference championships.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Local Schools receives more than $20K in school supplies
