Three Chagrin Falls High School seniors came in first place in the Ohio Stock Market Game, a statewide competition sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA)...
CFHS Students Score First Place
Three Chagrin Falls High School seniors came in first place in the Ohio Stock Market Game, a statewide competition sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Seniors Colin Cusack, Matisse Despres and Noah Girard, students in business teacher Nancy Vondrak’s financial literacy class, received a Target gift card and a certificate from SIFMA.
The team was invited to compete in a Portfolio Challenge via Zoom on April 29. The team gave a 10-minute presentation to a panel of judges who were financial professionals, explaining all they have learned and gained from this experience.
“I’m so proud of these three seniors,” said Vondrak. “They collaborated and communicated well to research, discuss and make investment decisions. This is truly a student-led activity, and Colin, Matisse and Noah nailed it! To place first in the state in this game is a big achievement and honor!”
The Ohio Stock Market Game ran from February through April. Student teams were given $100,000 and decided which stocks or mutual funds they wished to invest in based on their research or ideas. Students log in to their accounts and trade via the Stock Market Game web page. Team rankings were updated after the New York Stock Exchange closed each day and were posted on the rankings page.
Gurney Holds Ribbon Cutting
On May 12, Gurney Elementary School hosted an event celebrating the installation of a Captain Planet Foundation Project Learning Garden. In 2019, Mrs. Albrecht, first-grade teacher, applied for and was awarded a grant from The Captain Planet Foundation, Dole Packaged Foods and Heinen’s for a Project Learning Garden.
“Both Dole Packaged Foods and Heinen’s are committed to educating children on the benefits of consuming more fruits and vegetables,” said Principal Rachel Jones. “Both academic research and over 25 years’ experience in schools across the country have demonstrated that school children increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables when given opportunities to engage in these types of learning gardens. Children learn to make decisions that carry over outside of school, providing a platform for a lifetime of healthy snack and meal choices. We are so fortunate here at Gurney to have our very own learning garden.”
The Project Learning Garden from the Captain Planet Foundation, which includes four raised garden beds, provides great opportunities for multidisciplinary and hands-on teaching and learning. Gurney’s teachers will be able to create real-life applications for many math, social studies, language arts and science units while engaging students in the new garden. Students will get to do some taste testing of new foods, learn more about healthy foods, conduct investigations, and learn what it takes to best support plant life. The garden will also inspire many creative writing and art activities.
The Learning Garden includes a mobile cooking cart and many recipes for using foods grown in this garden to engage students in cooking activities. The Gurney Student Garden Club, run by Mrs. Albrecht and Mrs. Goodin, third-grade teacher, will experience leadership opportunities related to maintaining the garden and supporting all classes with information, resources and guidance for the use of the garden.
In addition to Captain Planet Foundation, Dole Foods and Heinen’s providing the garden and mobile cooking cart, the school consulted with Jeff Griff from Lowe’s Greenhouse to learn more about what could be done to make sure these gardens are set up to last a long time, be manageable year-round, and be safe. Griff created plans for the outdoor location that included creating a fenced-in area, gravel base outside of the garden boxes and an irrigation system.
“In addition, because of the amazing generosity of funds, time and energy from Chagrin Falls Education Foundation, Chagrin Falls Dads’ Club and Chagrin Pet, Garden and Power Equipment, we were able to make all of this happen so that the Learning Garden from the Captain Planet Foundation will be part of our Gurney students’ programming for many years to come. From the gravel base to the irrigation system and fencing, these groups have truly helped us turn this area into a lasting, outdoor learning opportunity for all of Gurney Elementary School,” said Jones.
CFMS Students of the Month
The mission of the Chagrin Falls Middle School Students of the Month is to acknowledge and reward students for exemplary performance. The students depict Tiger Techniques: Think, Integrity, Grit, Effort and Responsibility. Each month, the seventh- and eighth-grade teams collaborate and choose a male and female “Tiger of the Month” and the students receive personalized tiger water bottles from the PTO.
Students of the Month for April 2021 were Eliza Gonzales, Jude Armstrong, Caroline Lynch and Peter Angelino.
Seventh-grader Eliza Gonzales is a joyful learner who always brings positive energy to the classroom. She sees the best in her peers and always encourages others to participate in discussions and activities. Eliza is always prepared for class and works hard. She participates often, and has thoughtful contributions to our book discussions. She is always smiling and works well with anyone. Eliza is a smart student who is always ready for class and is not afraid to challenge herself when it comes to school. She is a wonderful and positive role model to her peers.
Seventh-grader Jude Armstrong is a fun and energetic student who is always participating and eager to learn. Jude’s clever observations make him a valuable member of his class. His ideas help his entire team solve problems in interesting ways. His oboe chops have improved and his tone is awesome. During band, he is always prepared and does his best every class.
Eighth-grader Caroline Lynch is always hard-working and puts forth her best effort on class assignments. She is helpful to others in English class and sets a positive example for her peers. She is thoughtful and kind to her peers and teachers. You can see her “smile” through her mask. She is a pleasure to have in class and is always on task and focused to complete whatever the task.
Eighth-grader Peter Angelino is a conscientious, hardworking student who always gives 110 percent. Peter is such a polite young man and always does his best. He is always prepared for band class and is a musical leader to other students. He is kind to everyone and a very polite young man.
PTO Art Show Opens Virtually on Friday
The Chagrin Falls PTO 2021 Art Show has gone virtual this year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 show was canceled. As school started this fall, the PTO was determined to find a way to showcase the many talented student artists this spring. The entire art show and award videos will go live on May 14 at 5 p.m. Residents can log on to www.cfsartshow.com.
This year’s show will highlight outstanding works of art from Chagrin Falls 7-12 students across all disciplines and is a testament to the dedication of the incredible art department and to the perseverance of the students who work so hard to perfect their skills. Each piece has been individually photographed and uploaded to a dedicated art show website that the PTO created so residents can view from the comfort of home and share with friends and family near and far.
The show features 953 pieces of artwork from all mediums including new technologies such as animation and illustration and digital fabrication, which utilized the Chagrin Falls Innovation Center. The website will be live throughout the summer.
In addition to Art Department Awards, Principal’s Awards, PTO, Dad’s Club and Board of Education, there will be awards from local arts organizations Valley Art Center and Cleveland Print Room; Hamlet Awards including Best In Show. New this year will be a Purchased Award from Chagrin Falls Village Council, the winning piece will be on display at Village Hall for a year.
All artwork that makes it into the show are silver award winners. The faculty then selects 60 gold award winners. This year’s show was a true juried show, which means the judging was blind. All of the artist’s names were hidden on that version of the website and each piece was identified by a three-digit number. There are six outstanding artist awards in the high school (two each) for photography, 2D and 3D. These awards are given for a student’s cumulative body of work.
The show will return to Hamlet in 2022. Co-chairs Nancy Burham and Beth Gresh hope to continue producing an online version of the show as it enables students to not only share the show with family and friends, but also garner attention for a great program.
