To celebrate construction progress being made at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, the Chagrin Falls Schools’ community is invited to a beam signing at the Chagrin Boosters’ tailgate on Sept. 7, beginning at 5 p.m.
Community Invited to Beam Signing
To celebrate construction progress being made at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, the Chagrin Falls Schools’ community is invited to a beam signing at the Chagrin Boosters’ tailgate on Sept. 7, beginning at 5 p.m. The beam will eventually be raised and placed in the kitchen area of the new intermediate school. At the tailgate, the beam will be on Lenny May baseball field, and community members will have the opportunity to “make their mark” by signing their names in this historic event.
The Chagrin Falls Intermediate School has completed year one of a two-year construction project under the design of Stantec Architects and construction managed by The Gilbane Building Company. As of summer 2018, the project is on time and on budget with construction progress continuing on the site and updates being published on the district website.
“We are grateful for our community investing in this real need to rebuild and renovate Chagrin Falls Intermediate School,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt. “This is certainly an exciting time for our School District as we progress forward and invest in our future. We look forward to celebrating our progress with the community in this beam signing event.”
Invention Receives State Recognition
Fourth-grader Ella Beatty created an invention to help people remember their “to-dos” that has earned her recognition and a future college scholarship. Beatty was always forgetting things, so she decided to make a fun and fashionable way for people to remember their errands and chores. Her invention, called the “Rememblet,” is a bracelet that uses interchangeable snap-on icons to, as her slogan states, “make your to-do list unforgettable!”
The wearer can snap on different icons depending on what category they want. These categories include home, school or chores. Each starter pack includes a bracelet and 10 of the most commonly used icons.
In building a prototype, Beatty’s father taught her how to use a sewing machine and she chose the fabric she wanted to use. After four different revisions, it was ready for presentation to the public.
On July 29, Beatty, among 437 other students, presented her idea at the Ohio State Fair. The top 10 presenters from each grade level were recognized on stage. Groups were broken up into grade levels K-4 and 5-8. The categories that students competed in were: Transportation/Financial Infrastructure, Technology/Wearables, Sports/Games/Toys, Household Tools, Home Technology/Smart Home, Home Organization, Health/Medical Technology, Government/Public, Safety, Energy, Earth & Geosciences, Consumer Goods & Fashion, Agriculture/Pets-Animal Care.
Beatty was the top winner in the K-4 age group and received a $2,500 Ohio Advantage 529 scholarship. A 529 Ohio Advantage savings plan is a way for families to save money for their child’s college education without taxes affecting the funds.
She also won a free consult with a patent attorney. She plans to continue to improve the design and process and will hopefully reach the point where the “Rememblet” and its pieces can be sold.
The winners of these competitions will meet at the annual National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., to celebrate the nation’s best young inventors and entrepreneurs May 31 to June 2, 2019.
Students Travel to Sister School in China
As part of the trip to Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing, a group of 12 Chagrin Falls High School students and teachers traveled to China for an additional two-day trip on June 15 and 16 to visit their sister school in Linhai City. Huipu High School is located in the Zhejiang Province and welcomed the Chagrin Falls community to its exchange study program. The trip was a part of the Chagrin Falls School’s Bridge to the World program.
When the students arrived, the high school held a grand opening ceremony in the VIP room of the administrative building. There, vice president of the school, Ren Meigin, hosted the welcome. President of the school, Li Xiaodong, said he hoped the exchange activities could deepen the educational cooperation between the two schools and enhance mutual understanding and further friendships. Then, Ms. Yan Guo, a teacher representative, delivered a speech. She expressed her gratitude to the school and parents for their warm reception.
Ms. Guo said, “I hope that the two schools can carry out multi-disciplinary, multi-form and multi-level exchange activities in the future, thus promoting Sino-U.S. cultural exchanges and promoting the construction and development of the Confucius Classroom.”
The Confucius Classroom is supported by the Asia Society and is a national network of exemplary Chinese language programs chosen through an application process. The network has over 35,000 students studying Chinese in more than 100 elementary, middle, and high schools in 27 states and the District of Columbia. The schools involved have a mutual commitment to international exchange, collaboration, and helping students become globally competent. Confucius Classrooms are linked to partner schools in China to increase opportunities for language learning and joint projects and exchanges among students, teachers and administrators.
Huipu created several activities to immerse the students in the Chinese culture and academia. Following the welcome, students went to their host homes to participate in family free activities and interacted with families on “zero distance.” This was meant to help students experience daily life, etiquette, diet and culture of Chinese families and see the similarities and differences between China and the Western culture. They also participated in “Han Culture” special experience courses and a “Millennium Ancient City” local culture experience.
On June 16, students discovered what learning was like in a Chinese classroom through Chinese calligraphy, martial arts, Tai Chi Kung Fu fans and stepping on a cereal known as sorghum. In addition to the courses, Chinese and American students joined at the gymnasium for a Sino versus U.S. basketball game. Members of the Huipu men’s basketball team participated and students bonded through sharing their athletic ability.
Later that day, both Chinese and American students and teachers visited the Linhai Museum and Ziyang Ancient Street to experience the charm of the city of Linhai. After the museum trip, American teachers and students understood the long history and cultural heritage of Linhai. The immersion stimulated the student’s enthusiasm for learning Chinese and the Chinese culture. Teachers and students agreed that though the activities were short-lived, they left a deep and unforgettable impression.
The last week of August, Huipu High School teachers and students visited Chagrin Falls High School for their own exchange studies.
