Strategic Plan Community Meeting ScheduledAll residents are invited to attend…
October 3, 2013

Strategic Plan Community Meeting ScheduledAll residents are invited to attend the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools Strategic Plan Community Meeting on Oct. 22 from 7-8:30…

Strategic Plan Community Meeting Scheduled
All residents are invited to attend the Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools Strategic Plan Community Meeting on Oct. 22 from 7-8:30 pm in the Performing Arts Center. The discussion will include an overview of the community survey results and current school data. All who attend will be invited to participate in the strategic plan process.
Support Music With Candles
The Chagrin Falls Music Lovers are launching a new fall fundraiser by selling Yankee Candles. First quality autumn and holiday candles, along with charming display accessories, are offered within $1 of retail.
Music Lovers supports all bands, orchestras, choirs, general music and stage productions at the Chagrin Falls Schools.
Participating music students will be selling Yankee Candles Oct. 4-14, with orders arriving Nov. 7.
Community members wanting to support Music Lovers can go directly to http://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/ (please use group number 990053570). Online orders are sent directly to the buyer or can be shipped as gifts to out-of-town recipients. Contact Tracey Gardner for details at 440-893-9593.
Chagrin Falls Schools music instructors and students appreciate everyone’s support.
Sign up for E-Communications
Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools uses a variety of avenues to communicate to the district stakeholders. The district encourages residents to sign up for e-communications by going to the district homepage at www.chagrinschools.org. In the lower right hand corner under Quick Links, there is an “E-Newsletter” icon to select.
Residents can choose to receive updates from the district and/or individual buildings. Once a resident is registered, he/she also will receive the district’s new monthly digital magazine, Super News. The magazine can also be found on the district’s website.
“I encourage all residents, even those that do not have children in the district, to sign up to receive our Super News publication,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt. “It is an excellent way for everyone in our community to stay connected with the great accomplishments and happenings in our district.”
The district also has a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CFEVS) and most of the school administrators and principals have Twitter accounts.
Students Raise Funds for Juvenile Diabetes Research
Junior Claudia Lewis and her freshman teammate Katie Malik are type 1 diabetics. They organized the Chagrin Falls High School junior varsity and varsity soccer teams, along with family and friends, to raise money and walk in the Sept. 29 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. They were honored to cut the ribbon at the start of the walk.
As of Sept. 30, they have raised more than $4,600. Their teacher Lisa Salyers, who is also a type 1 diabetic, raised money for the team and walked with the students as well.
“It was such a great experience to be around so many people who are just like me, living with type 1 diabetes. I cannot express how grateful I am for everyone who came to the walk or donated to our team. The support from family, friends and teachers was amazing and Katie and I were so happy we could experience the walk with so many of them,” said Claudia Lewis.
Walk to School Walk to Town
The fifth annual “Walk to School – Walk to Town” event sponsored by Safe Routes to School took place Sept. 27 with more than 500 students from the Chagrin Falls Schools. Students, parents, teachers and community businesses banded together to enjoy Chagrin’s walking community and all that downtown Chagrin Falls has to offer.
Chagrin Falls Middle School students began their day at 6:45 a.m. with a walk from the Intermediate School parking lot to Tiger Stadium to enjoy Einstein’s bagels and lemonade. Student Council awarded prizes for the Most Spirited Team and Best Costumes.
In the afternoon, teams walked to town to the Masonic Temple to partake in an historical scavenger hunt to sites throughout town where historical society volunteers taught them a little bit about Chagrin Falls’ history. There were prizes for the top three teams.
At Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, students met at the public library at 7:30 a.m. and enjoyed a brisk walk to school to also enjoy Einstein’s bagels and lemonade. That afternoon, students walked into town to participate in a Fun Fitness Fair in Riverside Park, with healthy food, prizes, and many movement related activities and games provided by local merchants, including corn hole, grass hockey, kuk sul do and bike drills. Prizes for both events included gift cards to local stores so that students can return to town to shop locally and enjoy the downtown area.
Finally, at Gurney Elementary, students walked around the new playground’s walking track with their teachers at recess time. They challenged themselves to walk five laps (half mile) or 10 laps (one mile).
“This powerful encouragement program incentivizes students who might not normally walk to school or to town to give it a try and find out first-hand how fun it can be to enjoy being active while walking with friends,” said Kathryn Garvey, president, Safe Routes Chagrin. “Walk to School events help to emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.”
School families were encouraged to keep the momentum going all weekend by participating in the 5K walk/run for Chagrin Documentary Film Festival at Tiger Stadium on Sept. 29. Money raised went to the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society. The winner of the customized sneakers from Chagrin Falls Middle School was seventh-grader Margaret Munday.
“Walk to school has become a community/building event,” said Robert Hunt, superintendent, Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools. “I saw every constituent group of our community represented today as they came together to support safe routes and our students. The Safe Routes Chagrin team has provided a venue and purpose for us all to come out for the betterment of our students and school.”
Safe Routes Chagrin earned recognition as the National Safe Routes to School program of the year and recipient of the 2012 James L. Oberstar Award from the National Center for Safe Routes to School — not just because of Walk to School Day and the Chicken, but for the overall scope of its programs that include new sidewalks, Safe Houses, volunteer crossing guards and many other activities. Safe Routes Chagrin is a cooperative endeavor between the Village, the school district, the police department and the community.
Special thanks to the following businesses and organizations who donated to make this event such a success: The Chagrin Falls Dads’ Club, Einstein Bros Bagels, The Cleveland Clinic, The Popcorn Shop, Yours Truly, Middlefield Cheese, Blue Sky Green Fields Organic Fruit, Golden Gate Lodge 245, The Chagrin Falls Historical Society, The Chagrin Falls Library, Morris Eason Round1, The Pond Ice Arena, Mountain Road Cycles, Earth Day Coalition and all the businesses who donated prizes and all the parent volunteers and teachers who helped.