The Gurney Elementary preschool has a new communication board on their playground...
Preschool Communication Board Helps Students
The Gurney Elementary preschool has a new communication board on their playground. The board, created by Chagrin Falls Schools’ speech language pathologist Megan Hauser, helps students with language delays to develop their communication skills and to interact with the people around them by using symbols and images to express their wants and needs.
“The communication board gives our teachers and students a tool to pair spoken language with visuals so that those who may have delays in expressive and receptive language have a way of connecting words with ideas,” said Hauser.
The board is customized to meet the needs of our preschool during their outdoor learning experiences. Children use the board by pointing to a picture or symbol that expresses what they need or would like to say. For example, a student can ask a friend to play by pointing to the picture of “play” on the board. A student can also ask a friend to join a specific activity by pointing to the picture of the “mud kitchen” or “sand table.” The board also helps students who struggle to understand spoken language. Images that show emotions can be used to help children express their feelings. Other images help students answer simple yes or no questions.
Using a communication board can ease the difficulty of communicating with people who have language limitations, but it also helps develop positive social interactions. Students who would normally not interact with others because they might not yet have the spoken vocabulary now have a way to ask questions or invite a friend to play by pointing to the board and using the symbols to show what they want.
“It has been great to see the kids using the board and making connections with other kids,” said assistant Principal Sarah Read. “We are seeing more students interacting with each other and starting to build friendships because they now have a way of communicating with each other in a positive way. We are excited to see how our students’ language will continue to grow using this amazing tool.”
National Merit Semifinalists
Chagrin Falls Schools seniors Michaela Plante and Rose Zabik have been named National Merit semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
The 2021 PSAT/NMSQT served as an initial screen of entrants to the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. The Selection Index scores of students who met program participation requirements were used to designate a pool of more than 16,000 semifinalists on a state allocation basis, representing less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors, who will compete for a share of 7,250 scholarships worth nearly $28 million.
Semifinalists are the highest scorers in each of the 50 states and represent less than one percent of each state’s high school seniors. Although semifinalist qualifying scores vary from one state to another, the scores of all semifinalists are extremely high.
Before semifinalists can be considered for Merit Scholarship awards, they must qualify as finalists by completing the National Merit Scholarship Application using NMSC’s Online Scholarship Application and fulfilling several other requirements. Finalists will be announced in February.
National Merit Commended Scholars
Chagrin Falls High School seniors Broderick (Bode) Freese, Ryan Hill and Jenna Santamaria have been named National Merit Commended Scholars.
In late September, more than two-thirds (about 34,000) of the approximately 50,000 high scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT receive letters of commendation in recognition of their outstanding academic promise. Commended Students are named based on a nationally applied Selection Index score that may vary from year to year and is typically below the level required for participants to be named semifinalists in their respective states. Although commended students do not continue in the competition for National Merit Scholarships, some of these students do become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.
