Prayer

1st Grader: “I love to pray. I pray at home, at night and in the morning.”

2nd Grader: “Can Jesus be talking to us right now and we hear Him?”

4th Grader: “Can we pray for the entire class time?”

Lesson

Teacher: “What was God warning?” 3rd Grader: “You will die if you eat the bad fruit.”

Teacher: “When the people looked at the snake on the pole they were healed!” 3rd Grader: “But it was not the bronze snake that did the healing, it was God!”

Teacher: “What is sacrifice?” 4th Grader: “To give God something that you really love!”

Teacher: “What does you must be born again mean?” 5th Grader: “It’s not going back into your mother’s womb, it’s repenting.”

Teacher: “What is grace?” 6th Grader: “Giving you something good you may not deserve.”

6th Grader: “We are made in God’s image to do His work, to help others.”

Character Education

1st Grade: A student ended up with a bag of crayons with not many colors in it. Another student shared theirs without being told to. This was showing great reliability – which is one of the 3Rs of classroom conduct in LifeWise.

Student: “Jensen didn’t have a glue stick, so I gave him mine.”

The Homecoming spirit parade begins on Friday, September 25th at 6pm behind the school and circles the track. The Homecoming court procession begins at 6:20 on the 50-yard line at Antwerp Field, with the new king and queen being announced shortly thereafter. Pictured above are (l-r, back row) Sophomore Attendants Auston Fish and Sophia Stairhime, Senior Attendants Roman Delong and Clare Ehrhart, Senior Attendant Emily Laker (Missing: Keegan Gray Wyckoff), Senior Attendants Briley Bagley and Michael Rohrs, Junior Attendants Jason McKay and Alia Clem, Freshman Attendants Laylah Bermejo and Kahne Moore. (front row) Prince Boone Rothenbuhler, Princess Isabella Rivera

Congratulations to the 2026 Wayne Trace Homecoming court! Pictured above (l-r) are Khloe Bidlack, Elynn Clemens, Miley Jacobs, Stefany Lopez-Castillo, Ella Crosby, Mailey Stoller, Easton Jay, Nathan Wenninger, Eli Treece, Ben Gurney, Zach Stoller, Carter Baumle and Carter Noffsinger. (missing from the photo is Haylee Danner)

The event is free and open to anyone ages 12 and over. Food and drinks will be provided, along with prizes and NSCC swag! In addition to being able to play in the tournament, attendees can try out our new esports gaming stations, explore the lab, and learn more about the growing world of competitive gaming and associated college programs. 

“This new lab represents another way Northwest State is creating engaging learning opportunities while connecting with the community,” said Kyle Klinker, NSCC Esports coach. “Esports continues to grow across colleges and universities, and we’re excited to bring that experience to the Van Wert Campus.” 

Community members, students, and gamers of all skill levels are encouraged to attend, compete, or simply stop by to check out the new space. You’ll also be able to see our new esports team mascot, the NSCC Van Wert Vortex.

Please use the QR code to pre-register and reserve your spot (and your pizza!). 

God/Jesus

Teacher: “Do you know who God is?” Kindergartener: “Our Savior!”

Teacher: “What did Jesus do?” 2nd Grader: “He died on the cross and came back in three days.”

2nd Grader: “Why does Jesus have holes in His hands?”

2nd Grader: “God is the King of all Kings!”

2nd Grader: “Can God tell Santa Clause if we are good?”

3rd Grader 1: “Mrs. Laukhuf, why are we here?” 3rd Grader 2: “Because God made us and loves us and created us for a reason!”

Teacher: “Who is Jesus?” 4th Grader 1: “Jesus is the Chosen One.” 4th Grader 2: “Jesus is God’s Son”

Teacher: “What makes Jesus different?” 5th Graders: “He’s perfect, never sinned, Son of God, Lord and Savior”

Bible

Teacher: “What is this?” (Holding up a Bible) Kindergartener: “The Biblebook”

1st Grader: “The Bible is how we hear from God.” 2nd Grader: “The Bible is a message from God.”

2nd Grader: “We learn about God in the God book.”

Teacher: “The Bible is for?” 2nd Grader: “Everybody in the world.”

Teacher: What is the Bible?” 3rd Grader 1: “The Bible is stories about Jesus so we can be saved.” Student: “God’s Word for us.” 6th Grader 1: “A book about miracles and God’s work.” 6th Grader 2: “What His chosen people have done.”

A 4th grader described the Bible as “Trendy”.

Student: “The Bible has stuff that happened long before IT.”

Teacher: “Who wrote the Bible?” Student: “God gave people the words to say.” 

By: Paulding FFA Reporter, Makenna Manz

On Tuesday, September 1st, the Paulding FFA Chapter held its first meeting of the 2026-2027 school year. This kickoff meeting included first-year FFA members as well as any returning members and their parents to give them an introduction to the Paulding FFA Chapter. Over 65 members and parents attended, along with many FFA Alumni. Dinner was provided by the FFA Alumni with their classic sausage sandwiches as well as chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. The meeting was arranged into two stations for the members. The stations included officers explaining different CDEs, hands-on activities, and icebreakers so members could get to know each other through fun games in the shop and get to know the officer team. While new members were going through these stations with the officers, their parents were with the FFA advisors receiving a walkthrough of the chapter’s expectations, opportunities, and events. This meeting provided an excellent opportunity for parents and students to better know this year’s officers, advisors, and the chapter. The Paulding FFA is excited for a new school year full of new memories and experiences!

Five Paulding County wrestlers represented the area on a national stage September 5 and 6, competing with the Empyre Wrestling Team at the Wild, Wild Midwest National Duals in Noblesville, Indiana. The event brought together high school wrestlers from across the region for a demanding weekend of dual-team competition.

The Paulding County group included three Wayne Trace wrestlers and two Paulding wrestlers. Four of the competitors are seniors, while one is a sophomore, giving the county a strong mix of veteran leadership and developing talent as offseason competition continues.

Paulding senior Stroker Etter led the way in the 215-pound weight class, finishing the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record. Etter’s dominant performance included three pins, a hard-fought 5-2 decision and two forfeit victories, making him one of the standout performers for the local contingent.

Fellow Paulding senior Landon Dasher also turned in a strong showing at 157 pounds. Dasher finished 4-2 over the two-day tournament, collecting three pins and one forfeit victory as he helped pace the Empyre Wrestling Team lineup.

Wayne Trace senior Colton Kimmel competed at 126 pounds and matched Dasher’s 4-2 record. Kimmel earned three of his victories by pin and added a 6-3 decision, showing consistency throughout the weekend against a challenging field.

Wayne Trace senior Ben Gurney wrestled in the 138-pound weight class and finished 2-4. Gurney’s wins came by an 11-3 decision and a forfeit, adding valuable points and experience for the team during the national duals format.

Wayne Trace sophomore Camden Kimmel rounded out the Paulding County group at the event. Kimmel competed to a 1-5 record, earning his victory by pin and gaining important mat time against strong offseason competition.

Overall, the five Paulding County wrestlers combined for several key wins, highlighted by multiple pinfall victories across the lineup. Congratulations to Stroker Etter, Landon Dasher, Colton Kimmel, Ben Gurney and Camden Kimmel on representing Paulding County, Paulding High School and Wayne Trace High School with strong efforts in Noblesville. Best of luck to all wrestlers as they continue their offseason schedules and prepare for the upcoming wrestling season.

Archbold, Ohio – The Northwest State Community College Board of Trustees met in regular session on Friday, August 28th at the Archbold Campus. A major highlight of the meeting came at the very end, when a motion was made to extend the contract of NSCC President Dr. Todd Hernandez. The motion was carried, and after the meeting concluded, Dr. Hernandez and Board Chair Mickey Schwarzbek signed the agreement.

MORE ON PRESIDENT HERNANDEZ

Dr. Todd Hernandez has been President of Northwest State since April 1, 2021. With this new contract extension, Hernandez will continue to lead the college at least through June 30, 2031. Hernandez continues his efforts to energize the northwest Ohio workforce, and provide great educational opportunity for students throughout the College’s six-county service area of Williams, Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding and Van Wert counties with his “Elevate Northwest Ohio” initiative, which seeks to increase educational attainment to the region. Northwest State naturally plays a critical role in that endeavor.

Dr. Hernandez expressed his gratitude to the Board for the opportunity to continue to serve the College and the community in this capacity, and noted how this extension is a direct reflection on the great work the faculty, staff and administration are doing providing education, training and services to our community to help improve the lives of individuals and strengthen communities – which is essentially the NSCC mission.

In other Board action: 

• Approved the employment of Erin McDonough as Director of Development and Alumni Relations.

• Approved the promotion of Marianna Doolittle to Interim Dean-Arts & Sciences, Nicole Hand to Workforce & Apprentice Programs Manager, Colin Doolittle to Dean-Industrial Technologies & Black Swamp Safety Council, Brittany Chamberlain to Vice President-Human Resources & Leadership Development, Timothy Lucas to Electrical & Automation Training Coordinator, and Daniel Robarge to Equipment Specialist.

• Approved the transition of Katy McKelvey to Special Assistant to the President, and John Mueller to Faculty-Industrial Technology (Automation).

• Approved the transfer of $750,000 of unallocated reserve funds to the contingency reserve fund.

• Approved the rescheduling of the October board meeting from October 16th to October 30th, to be held at the NSCC Van Wert Campus.

• Approved Faculty Workload Policy (amended), to comply with ORC 3345.45 (The Advance Ohio Higher Education Act).

• Approved new Cash on Hand Policy, regarding minimum cash reserves and financial reporting.

• Approved the local administering of state appropriated capital projects under $4 million.

• Approved miscellaneous employment contracts, two retirements, and four resignations.

Lifewise Central Local received a Partner Level Donation with Goodville Mutual Insurance and Straley Insurance matched that donation to total $2,000. We are so appreciative of the community support. 

DEFIANCE, OHIO – Genealogy enthusiasts and family historians are invited to a free seminar featuring author and genealogist Sunny Morton on Saturday, September 26, at the Serrick Center, 202 E. Sessions Ave., on the Defiance College campus.

The program is presented by Defiance Public Library.

Morton will present two sessions offering practical strategies for researching family history and overcoming common genealogy challenges.

The first session, “Fable or Fact? Verifying Old Family Stories” will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will explore ways researchers can evaluate family stories and determine whether long-held traditions are supported by historical evidence.

Following an hour-long lunch break, Morton will present “Using U.S. Church Records as a Brick Wall Strategy” at 1:00 p.m. The session will examine how church records can provide valuable clues when traditional genealogical research reaches a dead end.

Morton is the author of “Searching for Sisters: A Guide to Researching Catholic Nuns in the United States” and co-authored “How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist’s Guide.”

Both sessions are free and open to all adults. Registration is required, and attendees can register at defiancelibrary.org/seminar or by calling 419-782-1456. The registration deadline is 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 25.