Chagrin Falls Schools is inviting the community to participate in an exchange of thoughts through March 9 about the strengths...
Exchange of Thoughts for Chagrin Falls Schools’ Stakeholders
Chagrin Falls Schools is inviting the community to participate in an exchange of thoughts through March 9 about the strengths of the district, as well as opportunities for growth. This exchange is taking place through an online survey where everyone can answer a few short questions and then follow the thought process of everyone involved.
“We are very lucky to live and work in a community that supports public education,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt, Chagrin Falls Schools. “We believe that the most successful public school districts understand the expectations of their community and work collaboratively to develop a vision for the school district.”
Four years ago, the district committed to an aggressive strategic plan.
“Much has been accomplished in our pursuit of a more personalized educational experience for our students,” said Hunt. “It is time to step back, reflect and set our priorities for the next three years.”
As part of that process, the district is asking to hear from all of its stakeholders including staff, parents and the broader community.
“We want to know what you think the district is doing well, where we might be able to improve and most importantly how you envision our schools now and into the future,” said Hunt.
Rather than conduct a typical survey, the district has engaged ThoughtExchange, a company who has developed an online platform for deeper conversations about schools and organizations. With this online survey, stakeholders have an opportunity to engage, contribute, prioritize, discover and share understandings. The district will not only be collecting data but discovering meaningful information specific to the district to inform its action planning moving forward.
“What is unique about this process is that the thought exchange creates an opportunity for the entire community to see both parts of the conversation,” said Hunt.
Participants will be asked to provide their comments and then asked to rank the comments of others. They also have the opportunity to re-enter the exchange as it progresses to see and evaluate these thoughts. The exchange is open through March 9. Stakeholders can join by going to chagrinschools.thoughtexchange.com/invitation.
“Your involvement is critical and your time very much appreciated,” said Hunt. “Let’s exchange thoughts, and let’s shape the future of our school district together.”
CFEF Holds Pancake Breakfast
The Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation will hold its annual pancake breakfast on March 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Chagrin Falls Middle School cafeteria. It is $8 at the door, but teachers and children under 4 eat for free. Besides pancakes, there are raffle prizes, gym activities for children and a magician. All the money raised is donated to the Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation and will go back to the school.
The Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation is dedicated to the continued excellence of the Chagrin Falls School District. The foundation supports educational programs and experiences that enrich opportunities for the students and faculty of the district.
“The Educational Foundation is excited to host our annual pancake breakfast fundraiser,” said Annie Amata, Chagrin Falls Educational Foundation trustee. “It is such a fun event that brings the whole community together for a worthy cause–the students attending Chagrin Falls Schools.”
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration will be held for students entering kindergarten at Chagrin Falls Schools on March 17 at Gurney Elementary School, 1155 Bell Road, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment is necessary.
Both half-day kindergarten and full day kindergarten are offered at Gurney Elementary School. Full day kindergarten is tuition-based at Gurney. Information regarding the tuition and instructional programming for a full day of kindergarten will be available at registration. A $200 non-refundable deposit will be required at registration to hold a spot for your child in a full day, every day kindergarten class. Parents have until May 4 to make this choice. All students who sign up for full day kindergarten before May 4 will be granted a spot in full day kindergarten.
Children 5 years old on or before Sept. 30, 2018, are eligible for kindergarten for the 2018-19 school year. Please bring the following required documentation: child’s original birth certificate; photo I.D. for the parent; proof of residency (current utility bill, tax bill, lease or rental agreement); custody documents, if applicable; immunization records – must provide record of what the child has received (doctor’s signature is not required at this time); and printed and completed registration packet.
Registration will not be accepted without all of the required documents listed above.
Please allow approximately 20 minutes to complete the registration. It is recommended that parents print and fill out the registration packet prior to the registration date. They may find the registration packet on the district website at www.chagrinschools.org. It is not necessary for parents to bring their student on the day of registration.
A kindergarten kickoff meeting for parents will be held on April 5 at 6 p.m. and kindergarten screening will take place May 3 and May 4 at Gurney. Further information will be available at registration. For questions, call 440-893-4030, ext. 4102.
Gurney Winter Olympics
The 2018 winter Olympics have begun in Peyongchang, South Korea, and second-graders at Gurney Elementary School are diligently following the athletes as they compete.
The students chose an athlete to create out of paper, including a printed picture of the athlete’s face. They then wrote an opinion paper about why that athlete’s sport is the best in the Winter Olympics. They are focusing on opinion writing and did research about the sport at home to support their stance with reasons and examples. Students in each class have also been learning about a variety of aspects of the Olympics such as its history, the medals that are awarded, the torches and mascots.
In addition to the academic side of the Olympics, many second-grade classes are making the lesson interactive by holding mini opening ceremonies with their buddy class to introduce their athletes and become more familiar with the games. The second-graders will watch their athletes compete and put medals on their homemade athlete if they win an event.
CFMS Spelling Bee
Students at Chagrin Falls Middle School competed for 22 rounds at their spelling bee on Feb. 1. In preparation for the event, the entire school took a spelling pretest in all English classes.
Based on the test results, 25 students qualified for the spelling bee and were named as finalists.
Seventh-graders who participated were: Jacob Borger, Phoebe Gleeson, Mira Haines, Ava Kane, Sophia Lewis, Michaela Plante, Sofiia Rabinovich, Rose Zabik, Kate Stephenson and Nicolas Zapata.
Eighth-graders in the bee were: Sophia Avery, Duncan Bannerman, Bryson Blair, Noah Elconin, Ali Holtz, Aly Kaplansky, Liliana Hernandez, Wren Opperman, Alex Maciech, Josh Rooney, Calvin Struk-Marn and Ben Thurman.
The bee took place in the Performing Arts Center and after students spelled words such as escabeche, diadromous, coquelicot and ichthyosaurus for 10 rounds, it came down to two spellers: eighth-grader Ben Thurman and seventh-grader Kate Stephenson.
Participants exhausted the study list of words at the beginning of the eleventh round, meaning that the moderators asked the students to spell words for which they had not prepared. In the 21st round, Stephenson was asked to spell “jackanapes” and Thurman had to spell “irrisory.” Stephenson continued on and followed Scripp’s rules by spelling a second word, “rhapsody,” to win the bee.
She will advance to regionals at Cuyahoga Community College at 8:30 a.m. on March 10. The winner of that bee will advance to further rounds, ending at The Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May.
“All spellers did an amazing job,” said Laila Discenza, principal at Chagrin Falls Middle School.
