Chagrin Falls High School senior Celia Hawk has been selected as the April Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month...
Rotary Student of the Month
Chagrin Falls High School senior Celia Hawk has been selected as the April Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month. Hawk was chosen based on her leadership and service qualities she has displayed in the community.
During her academic career, Hawk has earned several awards including the Student of the Semester award in her junior year, the Girl Scout Gold Award, the Expected AP Capstone and AP Scholar Diploma and was chosen to perform with Apollo’s Fire at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition, she was the Scholastic Art Silver Key recipient for drawing,
She is also a member of the school’s design team as a PRISM editor, was a member of the feminist club, sang in the select choir, and was a four-time state qualifier in DUO Interpretation.
Hawk’s extracurriculars include time on the stage as she performed in three years of fall plays such as “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Butler Did It” and “Almost Maine.” She also sang as a member of the ensemble in the Chagrin Falls High School Theatre production of “Mamma Mia!”
Outside of school, Hawk has kept busy as a member of the Girl Scouts since first grade, during which time she earned a Gold Award for hosting a clothing swap and running a website, clothingswapgs.com. She interned at the Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce, volunteered at the Chagrin Historical Society and volunteered as an usher at both Playhouse Square and the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre.
Her involvement in the arts continued as she performed in Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute’s “Children of Eden,” “Side Show,” “Music Man” and “Oliver!” Hawk sang for five seasons with the School of Rock including shows like The Pretenders, Cage the Elephant, No Doubt, New Wave and Abbey Road. In addition to her thespian interests, Hawk was a phone banker for the Michigan Democrats during the 2020 election season and attended the remote material science camp through ASM international.
While in school, Hawk took several AP courses including AP World History, AP US History, AP Seminar, AP English Language and Composition, AP Research, AP Government and Politics, AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus AB, AP Studio Art-Drawing, AP Biology, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Literature, AP Statistics and AP Psychology.
Following graduation, Hawk plans to pursue a major in environmental studies and potentially minor in English literature with a goal of getting a career focusing on conservation.
Music Education Program Receives National Recognition
Chagrin Falls has been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education. Now in its 23rd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.
To qualify for the Best Communities designation, band director Casidy Reed answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.
“One of my goals of my first year at Chagrin was to honor the hard work and dedication of my wonderful colleagues and our students. We have incredible support from our community, especially through our Music Lovers booster organization, and I wanted to highlight that excellence. Our students continue to make our jobs rewarding and fulfilling, and I hope to continue honoring our accomplishments in years to come. We as a music faculty are grateful to be a part of such a wonderful district,” says Reed.
Chagrin Falls is one of 47 schools in Ohio to be recognized this year. In the United States, 738 school districts and 80 schools were recognized for their outstanding efforts by teachers, administrators, parents, students, and community leaders and their support for music education as part of a well-rounded education for all children.
Since the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015 and a stated emphasis on a well-rounded education, many school districts have re-committed to music and arts education programs. During the pandemic, music and arts programs were a vital component to keeping students engaged in school. ESSA provides designated funding for well-rounded educational opportunities through Title IV Part A Student Academic Success and Achievement grants. NAMM Foundation research has revealed that these grants are being widely used by school districts to address instructional gaps in access to music and arts education.
Research into music education continues to demonstrate educational/cognitive and social skill benefits for children who make music: After two years of music education, researchers found that participants showed more substantial improvements in how the brain processes speech and reading scores than their less-involved peers and that students who are involved in music are not only more likely to graduate high school, but also to attend college as well. Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically trained children than in those without music training. Significantly, listening skills are closely tied to the ability to: perceive speech in a noisy background, pay attention, and keep sounds in memory. Later in life, individuals who took music lessons as children show stronger neural processing of sound: young adults and even older adults who have not played an instrument for up to 50 years show enhanced neural processing compared to their peers. Not to mention, social benefits include conflict resolution, teamwork skills, and how to give and receive constructive criticism.
Chagrin Falls Schools provide each student with opportunities for music education and growth throughout K-12. Students have the opportunity to be a part of general music classes, music theory, songwriting, choir, orchestra, and band. Chagrin Falls students have auditioned and been accepted in the OMEA Northeast Regional Orchestra, OMEA All-State Orchestra, OMEA All-State Bands, and the NAfME All-National High School Orchestra. Chagrin Falls students have also been members of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Chorus, Cleveland Contemporary Youth Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Akron Youth Symphony, CIM Preparatory Orchestras, the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, and various OMEA District and State Honors Bands.
Community outreach is an important part of the Chagrin Falls music program, including community events, parades, concerts, and theater performances. The Chagrin Falls Music Department partners with Chagrin Arts and other community organizations to host and perform with world-renowned musicians including, “Project Trio”. All music ensembles have the opportunity to perform for the public, performing multiple concerts a year. Next spring, the Chagrin Falls High School marching band, orchestra and concert choir will be performing at Walt Disney World as a part of their musical showcase.
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,300 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.
LLS Student of the Year Fundraising Campaign
Chagrin Falls High School junior Phoebe Gleeson participated in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Student of the Year Campaign to help raise money to support patients and families affected by blood cancers. Chagrin Falls High School is a legacy school with LLS, and the school community offered great support to Gleeson and her team.
The campaign officially kicked off on Jan. 29 and ended March 19. Gleeson and her team attended the recognition ceremony/dinner held at The Hilton Downtown Cleveland on March 19. In addition to Gleeson, team members included Ava Kane, Faith Pfaff, Julia Ashkettle, Mary Catherine Cain, Erin Hartle, Nathan Hill, Ryan Hill, Avery Polcar, Jenna Santamaria, Michaela Plante, Kate Stephenson, Kendall Guddy, Evan Johnson, Mira Haines, Hannah Salmons, Elizabeth Rankin, Julianne Rankin, Maya Sutte and Sam Kleid.
Last year, Gleeson participated in this campaign as a team member, however, this year, she was chosen to be the candidate for Chagrin Falls High School. Their team, called Team Tigers Tackle Cancer, was determined to raise $30,000 in hopes of being one step closer to finding a cure. The total amount the team raised was $37,401.
Team Tigers Tackle Cancer held various fundraising activities. In January, the team organized Super Bowl squares and sold them at school to teachers and students to try and get many others involved. Additionally, the team also held a school fundraiser towards the end of their campaign called Pie-A-Teacher. They had teachers who would be willing to be pied volunteer and sold raffle tickets. Students could use these tickets to vote for the teacher they wanted to be pied, and an assembly was held before the beginning of spring break where the official “Pie-ing” was done.
“From my first-hand experience of watching my dad and grandpa struggle with cancer, I have realized how painful a battle against cancer can be for a family, and I want to be able to prevent other families from going through the same,” said Gleeson. “Additionally, to really continue my father’s efforts, I am going to study medicine in college to eventually become a surgical oncologist. Finding a cure to blood-borne cancers means so much to me, my family and my team.”
Chagrin Falls Schools is a legacy school for their annual participation in the Student of the Year campaign since 2015. This year, the campaign raised over $1 million to fight blood cancer.
