Chagrin Falls Schools received a grant for $25,000 for digital texts. The grant is funded in part through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio...
District Receives Grant for Digital Texts
Chagrin Falls Schools received a grant for $25,000 for digital texts. The grant is funded in part through a federal Institute of Museum and Library Services grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio.
After submitting a grant request over the summer, Chagrin Falls Schools’ library media specialist Angie Jameson spoke at the State of Ohio Library Board meeting on Sept. 16 to discuss the needs of the district and how these digital texts would be used to support leisure and curricular reading at all four buildings. The grant was officially awarded that day. There were only three schools in Ohio to receive the grant.
“As we move through the pandemic, I wanted to ensure access to books for leisure and curricular needs on a digital platform,” said Jameson. “We’ve seen the need for flexibility, and we’ve had to pivot so quickly to changes over the last two years. It was important to me to feel secure in our digital collection moving into the 2021-22 school year.”
The fourth- through twelfth-graders have been introduced to Sora, the district’s digital book provider, for four years, but rollout for Gurney just happened in January. To go along with the district’s “Choose Courage” January theme of trying something new, Jameson and Molly Klodor, technology integration coach, visited each Gurney classroom to share the process of logging in and using the platform with students and staff.
Senior Named Academic All American
Chagrin Falls High School Senior Hattie Sherman has been named Academic All American by the National Speech & Debate Association. Sherman is a four-year team member. She is the current squad leader of the interpretation squad. She competes in Humorous Interpretation and recently bid in to the state tournament to be held at Wooster High School, March 3-5.
The Academic All American award recognizes students who have earned the degree of Superior Distinction (750 points); completed at least five semesters of high school; demonstrated outstanding character and leadership; and earned a GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent).
“Hattie is not only an accomplished speaker, but also a leader on the team,” said Speech and Debate head coach Ken Kasee. “She has spent much of her practice time this year in service to her teammates, bringing food to practice and even driving them home. She is thoughtful and compassionate in everything she does.”
Rotary Students of the Month
Chagrin Falls High School senior Wren Opperman has been selected as the December Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month and senior Anne Mills has been selected as the January Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month. They were chosen based on their leadership and service qualities they have displayed in the community.
During her academic career, Wren Opperman earned a variety of awards including National Merit semi-finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Capstone Diploma, Yale Book Award for Outstanding Personal Character and Intellectual Promise, third place winner in the Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech essay contest, and second place winner in the Eurofishion International Song Competition.
Opperman has been an active member of the track and cross-country teams where she participated in the 4×800, was 800-meter district champion, 4×800 state fourth place, Academic All Ohio, All Ohio 2018, Academic All Ohio 2019 and state qualifier in 2018 and 2019. On the speech and debate team, she is the original oratory squad leader, club president and a national tournament qualifier.
In her extracurriculars, she was a crew member for the school musical where she was also an ensemble member. Her blog post, “A soundtrack for Earth Day-and a Youthful Alternative,” was published on medium.com.
Her publications have exceeded past medium.com with research and publications including “Traditional Ecological Knowledge is Myanmar,” published in Asian Journal or Fisheries Science and selected poster for American Fisheries Society Report, Fauna and Flora International; “Dolphins, Cooperative Fishing and Ecotourism,” selected poster for The Wildlife Society; “Dolphins Adventures in Myanmar,” published in New Moon Girls Magazine; and “Playful Interactions on vs offline,” presented poster at Ohio Junior Symposium and outstanding achievement in STEM.
In school, she took AP World History, AP US History, AP Seminar, AP Calculus, AP Language, AP Government, AP Environmental Science, AP Research, AP Stats, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Literature, AP 2D Portfolio Prep, AP Psychology, and AP Economics.
Outside of school, Opperman has played piano for 11 years and worked as a dishwasher for three years. She has also volunteered with Asia Services in Action where she was a tutor and refugee coordination volunteer and also volunteered for the NEO Voter Advocates.
After graduation, she plans to attend a liberal arts college and major in international relations.
Anne Mills earned many awards during her academic career including National Merit semi-finalist, Smith College Book Award, AP Scholar with Distinction, Scholastic Honorable Mention and the CHFS Art Show Gold Award.
She is also a student athlete, acting as the co-captain of the Varsity Girls Swimming team and participating in club swimming.
Mills has taken multiple accelerated courses including AP Computer Science A, AP Physics 1 and 2, AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Micro and Macro Economics, three college English classes through CCP, and a Flexible Credit Great Books course that focused on literary analysis.
Outside of school, she is an associate concertmaster with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, assistant principal second and associate concertmaster for the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, plays the solo violin, and plays chamber music. Her involvement in the arts extends to include an RISD “Drawing and Abstraction” course and Carleton “Art in a Changing Landscape” summer program.
Mills will attend Dartmouth in the fall with an interest in cognitive neuroscience and design.
