UPDATED 5/9/2008 at 8:04 a.m.

The district's e-mail system remains down Friday morning. Some messages sent to staff during this outage have been received, but the issue is not fully resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience, and will respond to your e-mails as soon as we are able.

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Mentor Schools' e-mail system is currently down. E-mails to teachers and staff in the district have not been received since mid-day Tuesday, so response times will be slower than normal. Submissions to our Rumor Control and Transition FAQ page have also been affected by the outage, as well as our calendar of events.

Our IT department is working to restore our e-mail server and hopes to have it back online soon. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

With Memorial Jr. High School soon to graduate its final ninth grade class, Art Teacher Kurt Reichert wanted to help his ninth grade students leave their mark.

Reichert designed a mural, painted by 61 ninth grade Fine Art students this spring, which now spans the back wall of the Memorial media center with a message both universal and specific to the school. A portrait of Anne Frank, instantly recognizable as the photograph that appears on the cover of her widely-read diary, serves as the focal point of the mural, which measures 8 feet high and 24 feet long. A personal hero of Reicherts, Anne Frank is also well-known among Memorial students, as her diary has been part of the English curriculum there for many years.

'Anne Franks grace during her ordeal with the persecution she suffered from bullies has always been an inspiration to me,' Reichert said.

The colors are mostly soft, beige-like variants with three shades of blue gently pulling the words 'ACCEPTANCE & RESPECT' off of the canvas.

'To illustrate the ideals of Memorials anti-bullying philosophy I chose the words ACCEPTANCE and RESPECT,' Reichert said. 'The quarter-circle designs going different directions represent that even though people are all different, basically they are all the same.'

Small puzzle-piece-shaped sections of the mural are cut from the canvas and mounted above the piece, producing the illusion that they are floating. These puzzle pieces reflect the logo of the schools anti-bullying campaign. Beneath the portrait is a quote that epitomizes Anne Franks resiliency in the face of persecution: 'In spite of everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.'

The project was undertaken in the work style of the Italian Renaissance. Reichert designed and drew the piece, and his student 'apprentices' did the more laborious painting. The result is a visual legacy from the students at Memorial Jr. High to the new students at Memorial Middle School. The school makes the transition to middle school this fall, which is an important year for Reichert for another reason.

'As I bid farewell to the 61 Fine Art I students who did such a stellar job of painting this mural, I also think about one more year of teaching before I retire in 2009,' he said. 'When I come back during my retirement to visit I will always stop to see this mural. I know that when I look at it I wont see letters, quarter-circles, puzzle pieces or Anne Frank. When I look at it in the future I will see Hayleigh, Dana, Danielle, Kaitlyn, Shelby, Brent, Brad, McKenzie, Willie, Kat, Nick, Brett, Sydney, Caleb, Sarah, Annmarie, Rachel, Brandon, Matt, Chad, Jennifer, Kayla, Staci, Hayley, Carli, Nick, Loretta, Tessa, Brandon, Meghan, Molly, Alex, Tyler, Shana, Shelby, Tony, Sazan, Corinne, Lauren, Amanda, Emily, Christine, Eric, Riley, Rachael, Brianna, Betsy, Brandon, Annie, Angela, Lexi, Cassy, Jackie, Stephanie, Kelsey, Adrienne, Sarah, Rachel, Kristen, and Page, and be just as proud of them as I am now!'

With the introduction of the CardCredit electronic meal payment system in January, thousands of students are enjoying a hassle-free way to buy lunch. Mentor Public Schools is looking at increasing the efficiency and speed of our lunch lines even further by going to an all-prepaid meal system. By eliminating cash transactions in the lunch line, all students will move through the lines faster and have more time to eat their meals.

In addition to the CardCredit online credit and debit card options, the district would still accept physical checks and cash, but would no longer process money in the lunch line or provide change. Payment would have to be submitted to teachers at the beginning of the school day, and all funds would be deposited into the child's account.

We are interested in gathering parent feedback on this issue and answering any questions you might have. For more information, or to offer your opinion, please contact Food Service Supervisor Jeni Lange at lange@mentorschools.org or 974-5227.

Shore Jr. High's annual art show, featuring wearable sculpture, runs from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 8 at the school. Student artwork will be on display in the art hallway, rooms 126, 128, 130, the Media Center and Main Office.

The featured Wearable Art Exhibition starts at 8:15 p.m. in the cafeteria. Join us for this one-of-a-kind event! Shore Jr. High is located at 5670 Hopkins Road.

Every day in the Mentor Public Schools, so many individuals do their part to make this district an outstanding place to learn and work. From a student who overcomes adversity to improve his or her grades, to a teacher who leads the way in teaching fellow staff to use a new piece of software. These are the acts deserving of applause, and Mentor Schools is saying Bravo! to those who demonstrate a commitment to success.

Each month, Superintendent Dr. Jacqueline Hoynes pays a surprise visit to these exemplary members of the Mentor Schools Community to say 'thank you' and deliver a $25 gift certificate, courtesy of Bravo! restaurant.

April's award recipients are:

Anthony Pierce, sixth grader, Brentmoor Elementary

Ann Deitrick, teacher, Brentmoor Elementary

Angela Andrews, senior, Mentor High School

Ellen Geisler, teacher, Mentor High School

Allison Richards, sixth grader, Fairfax Elementary

James Watson, teacher, Fairfax Elementary

Andrew Mayher, senior, Mentor High School

Gina Ferris, senior, Mentor High School

Winners of the April 'Outstanding Classified Staff Member Award' are:

Sue O'Neill, classroom assistant, Brentmoor Elementary

Judi Ivancic, classroom assistant, Fairfax Elementary

Mentor High School senior Angela Andrews received a Bravo! award for the month of April.

Mentor High School's Concert Mixed Choir and Concert Women's Choir earned top marks from the Ohio Music Education Association.

Both groups received the Superior rating "I" for outstanding performances adjudicated at the state Class A level on Friday, April 25.

The Mentor Public Schools community would like to congratulate our choirs on their excellent work.

A broken thermometer in the nurse's office of Headlands Elementary Thursday morning prompted the immediate evacuation of students and staff from the area as a precautionary measure against potential mercury exposure. The thermometer that was discovered during a thorough cleanup of a storage area, fell to the floor and broke. No mercury was immediately apparent.

We have taken every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of our students and staff. A hazardous materials cleanup team was called to the school after the area was secured to safely remove any material that may remain. The Mentor Fire Department confirmed that the district was taking the appropriate action.

The Lake County General Health District inspected the area as a precautionary measure, and the area is being cleaned according to EPA guidelines. The health department indicated that the trace amount of mercury found in the cabinet is not enough to produce potentially harmful vapors. The cabinet is being disposed of appropriately, and the surrounding area cleaned and inspected.

There is no evidence to indicate a potential health risk to any students or staff.

Jarod's Law is a state school safety law designed to make all school buildings in Ohio as safe as they can be for students, staff and visitors. Mentor Public Schools is committed to providing a safe and secure environment in which students can grow academically and socially, and much of this new law is already standard practice in the district. Some new rules will have to be followed, but these are generally minor changes in the way we do things. For example, teachers can still have hand sanitizers in their rooms (a chemical product governed by Jarod's Law), but must keep a Material Safety Data Sheet on hand as well.

The first inspections of Mentor Schools begin in May. Below are the answers to some common questions pertaining to Jarod's Law.

Where did this law come from? The death of a child due to a falling lunch table prompted the Ohio General Assembly to enact Jarod's Law (House Bill 203) in 2005. The Ohio Department of Health developed the regulations, which were finally adopted in the fall of 2007.

Who does the inspections? The Lake County General Health district will perform the inspections of every building in the school district during regular school hours. Inspectors are called sanitarians.

Can students and staff still have food and drinks in class? Students and staff may still eat and drink in regular classrooms. However, food and drink are prohibited in any classroom where chemicals are used such as science rooms, visual arts rooms and technology education rooms.

What kinds of issues does Jarod's Law cover? Anything related to health and safety, from eliminating mold to fixing cracked sidewalks. The list of requirements is very long, however many of the items are already common practice or common sense.

What happens if a school doesn't pass the inspection? There is no fine or sanction for not meeting inspection requirements. Inspection reports are public documents and will be sent to the Board of Education, Ohio Department of Health and Ohio Auditor's office. Any issues of noncompliance must be fixed and documented, and these remediation reports will be sent to the same people.

Where can I go for more information? You can read the complete text of the Jarod's Law regulations online at www.odh.state.oh.us

What has the district been doing to prepare for Jarod's Law? We are thoroughly reviewing the procedures and checklists to ensure we are in full compliance. Information has been distributed to staff at all levels of the school district.

Access to the CardCampus Parent Portal has been restored after an outage on Tuesday, April 29. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. If you experience any problems logging into the parent portal, please e-mail it-support@mentorschools.org.

A recent inquiry into the lead content of artificial athletic turf surfaces indicates no safety concern with the type of turf used at the Mentor High School Jerome T. Osborne Sr. Stadium.

Testing of artificial turf by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, where the issue originated, indicated high lead levels in the grass fibers of older, nylon-based turfs. The material used at our stadium does not contain nylon.

While there is no indication of a health or safety risk relating to our turf, the district will have the turf thoroughly tested by an environmental lab as a precautionary measure.