Chagrin Falls High School senior Josh Rooney has been selected as the October Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month...
Rotary Student of the Month
Chagrin Falls High School senior Josh Rooney has been selected as the October Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month. Rooney was chosen based on his leadership and service qualities he has displayed in the community.
Rooney is a National Merit semifinalist and he is an AP Scholar with Distinction. He has received a math department award as well as the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science award. He also is on the Chagrin Falls High Honor Roll. He is a four-time all-state swimmer. In addition to swimming, he also participates in lacrosse.
Rooney is a member of Student Council, Superintendent Advisory Committee, a tutor for the Tiger Society, and he is on the Honors Advanced Data Structures App Team.
Outside of school, he is involved in club swim and is a lifeguard and swim instructor.
Throughout his time in the classroom, Rooney took several accelerated classes including AP World History, AP Statistics, AP United States History, AP Calculus AB, AP Seminar, AP Computer Science A, AP Chemistry, AP Physics I, AP Calculus BC, CCP English Composition, AP Spanish Language, AP Government, CWRU General Chemistry II, CWRU Organic Chemistry I, and CWRU Calculus III.
After graduating, Rooney plans to study at a four-year university in the fall, currently undecided in his major.
Excellence in Financial Reporting
Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to Chagrin Falls Exempted Village School District for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020. The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program, which includes demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.
The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management.
Write Place Courage Writing Contest
Winners were announced for Chagrin Falls High School’s The Write Place courage writing contest for September. The winners are Isabel Igoe, Gurney Elementary; Maelin Livingston, Chagrin Falls Intermediate School (CFIS); Claire Hoelzel, Chagrin Falls Middle School (CFMS); and Courtney Myers, Chagrin Falls High School (CFHS).
The Popcorn Shop donated prizes for Gurney, CFIS and CFMS. The CFHS winner received a $10 Tiger Perk gift card.
The school year theme is “choose courage” throughout the district.
Library Wellness Grab-And-Go Bags
The first set of library wellness grab-and-go bags were distributed on Oct. 1 to students at Chagrin Falls middle and high schools.
This idea was developed during the Covid-19 pandemic to stay connected with both the remote and in-person students. The bags were so well received by students that media specialist Angie Jameson and her student interns have continued creating them through each month and season.
Students Fraya Brattebo and Audrey Holmes planned and assembled these engaging activity bags that included personalized book lists featuring Brazilian authors, supplies for four crafts and a wellness message.
On Oct. 9, Brattebo and Holmes joined Jameson at the Ohio Educational Library Media Association Conference in Columbus to present to librarians from around the state on their experience designing, marketing and assembling the bags.
Leading Chapter Award
Chagrin Falls High School has earned the 2020-21 Leading Chapter Award in the North Coast District. The honor, based on student participation throughout the school year, is the highest recognition a school can receive from the National Speech and Debate Association. Only the top school in accumulated members and degrees per district earns the designation each year. Out of more than 3,000 member schools nationwide, CFHS is one of 108 to receive the Leading Chapter Award.
Philanthropy Day
On Oct. 13, Chagrin Falls High School senior class members volunteered at a variety of nearby organizations for the school’s annual Philanthropy Day.
Service opportunities included helping clean up the gardens at Holden Arboretum, interacting with students at Gurney Elementary School and the Intermediate School. Other volunteer locations included Meals on Wheels, Life Act, Chagrin Falls Historical Society and Santa’s Hide-a-Way Hollow.
Philanthropy Day has been growing each year since 2014, when that year’s seniors ventured out beyond Chagrin Falls to volunteer in Ohio City.
“When I became the assistant principal, I wanted to use this as an opportunity to engage students in meaningful community service and to build on the school’s relationships with community partners,” said Assistant Principal Amanda Rassi, who organizes the day each year. “We believe that service work is a social responsibility and that a single person performing an act of kindness does have the power to make a difference. Our students are making a difference.
