Twelve third-grade students from Gurney Elementary School visited Hamlet senior living on Oct. 30 to celebrate Halloween with the residents...
Gurney Students Spread Halloween Cheer
Twelve third-grade students from Gurney Elementary School visited Hamlet senior living on Oct. 30 to celebrate Halloween with the residents. The students are part of the Gurney Service Learning Club, along with their advisors Dale Tschappat and Courtney Mooney.
The group took a bus from the elementary school to Hamlet. Upon arriving, the costumed students introduced themselves and shared their Halloween costumes with the delighted seniors. They played Halloween bingo, with the winners receiving spider rings as prizes. Students and residents bonded over sharing favorite Halloween memories and discussing their hopes for trick-or-treating candy.
Gurney student Madeline Schron made a special effort by creating Halloween pictures for each resident to display in their rooms. One appreciative senior said it had been a long time since they received artwork from a child to hang up.
Third-grader Rowynn Waddell explained why she joined the service club, “I want to meet the Hamlet residents. I want to have fun with the people that live there.”
The Gurney Service Learning Club visits the senior living facility monthly, with different themed activities planned each time. Their next event in November will honor veterans through the Wreaths Across America project.
Rotary Student of the Month
Chagrin Falls High School senior Sofia Clark has been selected as the November Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month. Clark was chosen based on her leadership and service qualities she has displayed in the community.
Clark has earned several awards during her time at CFHS. She was a Tiger of the Semester, Spanish Student of the Year, AP Capstone Diploma, Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and a recipient of the College Board Hispanic recognition award.
She is an active member of several clubs and participates in sports. She is in track and field, is the field commander for the marching band and plays in the orchestra.
Outside of school, Clark enjoys performing in the Honors Performance series, Northeast Regional Orchestra, Contemporary Youth Orchestra, America Music Abroad and volunteers with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. She also is involved with the youth community summer theater camp.
In school, Clark has taken several accelerated classes including AP World History, AP U.S. History, AP Seminar, AP Spanish Language, AP Physics, AP English Language, AP Research, AP Government, AP Spanish Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science and AP Economics.
She plans to double major in political science and music education.
Professional Development Day
Chagrin Falls Schools held a Professional Development Day on Nov. 7. The day kicked off with a district-wide all-staff assembly in the Chagrin Falls Middle School Cafeteria, where breakfast from Einstein’s was provided. After the morning assembly, teachers traveled back to their respective buildings. From 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., teachers engaged in building-based curriculum work around high quality learning and student and staff well-being.
Optional gifted education sessions were offered in the morning and early afternoon by Dr. Susan Rakow and Dr. Lisa Huelskamp on topics like executive functioning, a balanced life and tips and strategies for overexcitability. Teachers could sign up for these sessions in advance.
The day wrapped up with choice well-being sessions from 2:15-3:15 p.m. that teachers registered for in advance. Some of the choices involved a healthy cooking demo at Stir Kitchen, spinning and pickleball at Wembley, quiet time, a walk with a friend or yoga. The District Leadership Team also met.
Overall, it was a productive day of collaboration, learning and focus on staff well-being.
Students Honor Veterans with Hamlet Neighbors
On Nov. 9, the Gurney Service Learning Club kicked off the Wreaths Across America project with a visit to their Hamlet Village neighbors. Sixteen third-graders and co-advisors Dale Tschappat and Courtney Mooney traveled by bus to the Hamlet senior living community, wearing red, white and blue to share their patriotic spirit. The district-wide theme for the year is “CF Together” and this month they are honoring those who have served together.
Esther McElhinney, a Chagrin Falls Air Force veteran and representative from Wreaths Across America, was the guest speaker. Both Mrs. McElhinney and her husband are Air Force veterans. She shared about her experience as an Air Force pilot, showing the students a model of a plane she used to fly. The kids were amazed by how fast she could fly and her stories about jumping out of planes.
The students worked with Hamlet residents to color wreaths and write thank you notes to veterans. One veteran even wrote a note thanking veterans for their service and telling about his own service. Several of the Hamlet residents are veterans themselves and told the Gurney students stories from their time in the military, like serving on a submarine during World War II.
One Gurney student shared that he has always wanted to play in the NFL, but after hearing Mrs. McElhinney, he might want to join the Air Force when he’s older instead.
Mrs. McElhinney said, “As a 20+ year veteran, I absolutely loved talking with the children and residents of Hamlet about some of my experiences in the Air Force! They were so curious and thoughtful. It’s obvious that Gurney Elementary is doing a fantastic job teaching the importance of freedom and democracy to these kids. When I moved to the area in 2021 and saw there was a local chapter supporting Wreaths Across America, I knew I must get involved. The amount of sacrifice and loss our veterans have endured is the staggering price of freedom and needs to be recognized. Wreaths Across America does a tremendous job with the Remember, Honor, Teach platform. Teaching the next generation the importance of freedom is paramount to the success of our great nation.”
In a few weeks, the Chagrin Falls Schools’ staff will have the opportunity to participate in a district-wide service project. Together, they will place flags at the headstones of veterans at Evergreen Hill Cemetery. These flags will be markers for the actual wreath laying that will take place on Dec. 16.
Kick-It For A Cause
By Charlie Bird, reporter, Chagrin Falls Middle School Tiger Tales
Kick-It is a charitable kickball event the Chagrin Falls Middle School does every year in eighth-grade. It is hosted by Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a charity organization that raises money and awareness for cancer research. Each eighth-grade class gets a chance to compete, raise money and have a game of kickball out on the field for prizes.
The reason Chagrin Falls Schools does Kick-It is thanks to a boy named Quinn Clarke. Quinn was 10 years old when he had his second struggle with cancer, and one of his wishes was to have a kickball game to raise funds for cancer research. To Quinn’s surprise, more than 500 people showed up. Quinn unfortunately passed away on December 28, 2021 during his third battle with cancer, But, Chagrin Falls Middle School and many schools around the country still and have participated in Quinn’s legacy.
Mrs. Jennifer Remaley, the teacher who sets up Kick-It, said the point of Kick-It was to not only raise funds but to get the word out about cancer research and the negative effects cancer has on our lives. Remaley said, “Childhood cancer is a devastating disease. At CFMS we choose to follow Quinn’s and Alex’s steps by raising awareness and funds to make serious strides in research. Every. Dollar. Counts. Thank you for your continued support!”
An eighth-grade overseer, Morgan Graves, said that Kick-It was a great way to raise awareness and money for a great cause. For Kick-It, you need sponsors/donors to fund prizing, some of this year’s donors were The Popcorn Shop, 2 Belles, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Along with sponsors, eighth graders also have a chance to fund the event when they buy a shirt or bandana matching the color of their class.
“I hope that raising money for Kick-It makes others want to help more,” Graves stated.
Along with eighth-grade planners, Chagrin had senior referees. One of these referees was Grant Alberts.
Alberts said his motive for joining the eighth-graders during kick-it was, “It has a cause that is very important and close to me. It was a great time being with all of the middle schoolers and I had a lot of fun.”
During Kick-It, each eighth-grade class sports a different color. Valletta wore black, Gallo in dark blue, Lardell in green, Mfrochak in pink, Arnavage in red, Materello wore orange and Ausperk sported red. Aranavge won the tournament. Mfochak won overall. First place class will be rewarded with a trip down to The Popcorn Shop during an advisory period with their teacher. Second and third will get a sweet treat. In total, the eighth grade rose $5,012.24.
