The last Worthington school board meeting of 2009 included hugs and handshakes for Issue 49 campaign members and public recognition for both high schools' advanced placement scholars.

Board members also approved the new Wellness4Life physical education course of study and considered a senior capstone course in Project Lead the Way.

The board met Monday, Dec. 14, at the Worthington Education Center.

Superintendent Melissa Conrath and board President David Bressman, along with teachers' union presidents Pete Scully and Pam Sturiano, gave out certificates to campaign volunteers who helped to make Issue 49 successful.

Issue 49 was the 3.9-mill incremental levy request approved by voters last month.

"The people we recognize today gave endless hours on this campaign and I know none of them had any idea how much we would ask of them," Conrath said. "On behalf of every child we have served this year, I want to give a heartfelt thank you from everyone in this district."

After recognizing the volunteers, the five board members, Conrath and Treasurer Jeff McCuen stood and gave the volunteers a standing ovation.

The board unanimously approved Wellness4Life, the district's new physical education course of study.

Physical education teachers showed up at a board meeting last month wearing identical chartreuse T-shirts with the Wellness4Life logo to explain the course of study to board members.

Designed and written by the district's physical education teachers, the course emphasizes lifetime fitness and includes wellness strategies, character development and wellness connections to integrate physical education with other classroom courses.

Teacher Margo Postak said assessment of the new course of study would be based on where a student begins the program and where he or she ends it.

"Whether a student is a good athlete or has no coordination, we have a program that can help them improve," she said.

Board members also heard a first reading on a culminating course in the Project Lead the Way program, which is the district's new engineering program.

Teacher Bryan Brown said "Engineering Design and Development" is a capstone course for seniors.

"The course is a year-long senior project where students apply knowledge they have learned in the three former courses and work with an engineering mentor," he said. "They also present what they have learned in a multimedia presentation at the end of the course."

Brown said the Project Lead the Way program recently received national certification so students can earn college credit for completing program courses.

The high school students recognized for receiving Advanced Placement Scholar awards all earned a score of 3 or higher on advanced placement courses.

Five of the students were named National Advanced Placement Scholars, earning an average grade of at least 4 on all AP exams taken and grades of 4 or higher on five or more of the exams.

They are: Suyang Li from Thomas Worthington High School and Vivian Chang, Joy Jing, Harika Rayala and Yucheng Zhang from Worthington Kilbourne High School.

The first school board meeting of 2010 will be an organizational meeting to elect new board officers, set for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Worthington Education Center, 200 E. Wilson Bridge Road.