Chagrin Falls High School senior Maggie Munday has been selected as the January Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month.
Rotary Student of the Month
Chagrin Falls High School senior Maggie Munday has been selected as the January Chagrin Valley Rotary Student of the Month. Munday was chosen based on her leadership and service qualities she has displayed in her community.
Munday has been the recipient of several awards during her high school career. These include the Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Award, Outstanding Junior English Student of the Year (2018), High Honor Roll, AP Scholar with Honor, Tiger of the Semester and Academic All Ohio for soccer.
Further, she received the AP Seminar and Research Certificate, and will receive the AP Capstone Diploma upon completion of AP exams in May.
In her time at CFHS, Munday has been involved with several clubs and sports. She has been a member of girls’ varsity soccer and varsity track and field for four years. In addition, she is a Link Leader and is a member of Interact Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Tiger Society and Student Council, which she was vice president during 10th and 11th grade, and currently serves as the executive vice president throughout her senior year.
Outside of school, Munday is on the LifeAct Youth Advisory Board, which is a local nonprofit organization that aims to prevent teen suicide. She also enjoys playing piano, which she has been playing for 12 years.
Her accelerated classes include AP English Literature, AP Computer Science, AP Spanish, AP Psychology and AP Calculus AB.
After high school, Munday plans to attend either Boston College or The University of Virginia, where she will major in either English or computer science.
Students Learn From Each Other
During the first week back from winter break, French teacher Christine Briggs decided to bring together her eighth-grade French students at Chagrin Falls Middle School with her high school AP French students for a joint lesson.
The AP students prepared a five-minute conversation in pairs about their winter vacation. They then performed their conversation in French in front of the class. Eighth-graders intently followed along and took notes on what they understood from the conversation.
Briggs said it was a win-win situation for both groups of students. The AP students felt proud at their growth in the language since their own time in middle school. Their activity was great practice for their AP French test in the spring. The eighth-graders got a glimpse into what their own grasp of the language can be if they continue to work hard. They even had the chance to impress the AP students by how much they were able to comprehend from the conversations.
“I look forward to facilitating increased interactions between these two groups when the inevitable overlap happens again,” Briggs said.
Biographies and Memoirs Project
Students in Stefanie Ashkettle and Karen Phillips’ CFHS College Prep English classes are starting off second semester with a biography/memoir choice reading unit.
Ashkettle and Phillips collaborated with library media specialist Angie Jameson to curate a list of titles to advertise to the students.
Students traveled to the high school library Jan. 10 to participate in a book tasting activity where each student had the opportunity to engage with numerous books. During the activity, students became familiar with the synopsis and writing style of various authors and reported out in a small group setting so students’ were exposed to a variety of titles.
Senior Recognized for Equestrian Performance
Senior Laila Latifi has earned recognition from the Ohio Professional Horseman’s Association for her love of equestrian sport. She and her horse, Joey, have competed in the junior hunter jumper division and received two awards in 2018.
Latifi has been awarded the 2018 Laddie G. Andahazy Horseman’s Cup, which is given for the trait of sportsmanship. She is also the first recipient of the newly created college scholarship in memory of horseman, trainer, father and friend of the OPHA, Michael W. Rheinheimer.
The OPHA was created by trainers and riders in 1980 with the intent of serving the needs of professional horsemen in their area. Its mission includes promoting sportsmanship, creating a healthy environment for young people, promoting camaraderie among all equestrians, and to raise the quality of local horse shows as well as horses and riders so they may compete at the highest levels.
“Laila has consistently excelled academically, however, it is her personal characteristics that impress me more,” high school Principal Monica Asher said. “She is hard-working, contentious, kind and compassionate. This award is a reflection of those characteristics and we are incredibly proud of her.”
The OHPA now has more than 430 members consisting of professionals, amateurs and juniors. The association hosts two triple point horse shows and sanctions more than 85 other shows in Ohio and surrounding states.
