Gurney Elementary School turned into a toyland during the early morning of April 23 as parent volunteers and staff transformed both the exterior and interior of the building into a giant, colorful land of toys and games.
Gurney Turns into Toyland
Gurney Elementary School turned into a toyland during the early morning of April 23 as parent volunteers and staff transformed both the exterior and interior of the building into a giant, colorful land of toys and games. The school’s annual “One School, One Book” month-long program kicked off the moment students got off the school buses and walked into the building. They were greeted by cheering staff and administrators as they witnessed a life-size chessboard, Scrabble, tinker toys, Yahtzee, Clue and Monopoly games as they walked through their school doors.
It is the 10th year as a school-wide book club. Children, parents and Gurney staff will be reading “Toys! Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions” by Don Wulffson together. They will read and learn about the history of some well-known toys and games. There is a theme every day, podcasts with “celebrity” readers, family nights to encourage reading together and playing with toys and board games and incentives with the reward of Chipotle gift cards. While most reading is done at home with parents, there are planned classroom lessons and activities to support comprehension and extend the learning.
A website has been developed that includes a calendar of events, photos, links to learn more about famous toys, podcasts and information on the school-wide community service project. A link can be found on the Gurney Elementary School homepage.
This year, the school wants to spread the fun to children who may have to spend time away from their own toys because they are in the hospitals. They are collecting new toys in their original packaging to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital. Items for both hospitals must be brand new due to infection control policies and the safety of the patients. Items can be dropped off in the main office of Gurney Elementary School.
“One School, One Book” would not be possible without the generous support of the Chagrin Falls Dads’ Club, Chagrin Falls PTO and Chagrin Rotary Club.
“This school community embraces the ‘One School, One Book’ program like no other,” said Principal Rachel Jones. “It may look like a lot of decoration and surface-level activity on the outside, but to the student who struggles each day, who doesn’t always persevere, or who never quite feels connected, it can be exactly what was needed to flip the switch and inspire or engage that child in reading and learning. And, when parents really commit to reading the chapters each night to their child, which is the spirit of the program, children really feel the home-school connection that we know has a significant impact on their educational development.”
For more information on the national One School One Book Program, visit www.ReadToThem.org.
CFMS Students of the Month
The Student of the Month award at Chagrin Falls Middle School acknowledges students for their outstanding performance and rewards them for their efforts. The students were chosen by seventh- and eighth-grade teams to be a “Tiger of the Month.” These students exemplify the Tiger Techniques of Think, Integrity, Grit, Effort, and Responsibility.
March’s Tigers of the Month were Mila Gresh, Jimmy Richmond, Ella Cimperman, and Danny Wujnovich.
Seventh-grader Mila Gresh has been a rock star on the cross-country team and has improved throughout the year. In her academic career, she is a quiet leader in groups and brings creativity to every project for class. She has developed from being a shy student into someone who thinks outside the box with unique perspectives in her Socratic seminars, debates and discussions. Outside of the classroom, her artistic skills enhanced the school lobby and she has helped plan the Cardboard Boat Regatta. She is detail-oriented and an excellent team member. Mila advocates for herself when she needs to and is a hard worker. She is kind in her words and actions, which makes her a great asset to the seventh-grade class.
Jimmy Richmond is a seventh-grader who strives to do well. He works hard in math every day to become a math guru. He is an active member of the class and works well in groups. His dedication to the numbers has helped him to excel in math. He is friendly and always has a smile on his face. He works well with others on group projects and takes pride in a completed assignment. Jimmy is willing to ask for help when he needs it and helps the class run smoothly. He shares ideas about the many books he has read in language arts class and has overall good manners.
Eighth-grader Ella Cimperman is a leader through quiet example. She is always polite and is a good teammate. She attends to precision and gives her best in everything that she does. She is a pleasure to have in English class and always has a positive attitude. Ella’s kindness and work ethic are exemplary. These traits combined with her ability to put her best effort forward make this a well-deserved recognition.
Danny Wujnovich is an eighth-grader who is helpful to other students in the class, works well in groups and is polite to staff members. He is conscientious in his classwork and wants to do well. In his academics, he accepts suggestions well. His smile and sense of humor make the class more enjoyable for everyone. Danny is a contributing class member during language arts and keeps a positive attitude. He offers thoughtful responses in class and takes the initiative to be responsible for his own learning.
Power of the Pen Tournament
The Chagrin Falls Middle School (CFMS) Power of the Pen team will have five of its members moving on to the state competition at Wooster College at the end of May. Those members are Sofia Clark, Marie Kanzinger, Christina Bencin, Kate Stephenson and Olivia Wirbel.
On April 6, eight CFMS Power of the Pen students competed in the regional competition at Villa Angela-St Joseph High School. Students who received qualifying scores from the district competition moved on to participate at the regional level. The team competed against 276 writers from 56 other schools across Northeast Ohio.
The CFMS students who participated were seventh-graders Sofia Clark, James Wilkinson and Anna Baker. The eighth-graders who participated were Ella Snyder, Kate Stephenson, Marie Kanzinger, Christina Bencin and Olivia Wirbel.
Power of the Pen competitions require students to respond to creative writing prompts in three 40-minute rounds.
In the seventh-grade competition, Sofia Clark placed first out of 132 competitors. In the eighth-grade competition, Marie Kanzinger placed first, Christina Bencin placed 26th and Olivia Wirbel placed 32nd out of 144 competitors. Kate Stephenson qualified with a Best in Round win. All five qualify for the state competition at The College of Wooster at the end of May.
As a result of the combined scores, the eighth-grade team won a second-place trophy, and the CFMS Power of the Pen team won third place overall in the tournament. Additionally, Marie Kanzinger was awarded a Best of the Best honor for her story “Mother and Daughter.”
“This group of writers has been such a pleasure to work with this year and I am extremely proud of these student authors,” said Larry Richmond, who has been the team’s coach for 10 years. “Each writer brings such a unique perspective to the prompts during our practice sessions. I have enjoyed the camaraderie of this team. They have been so supportive of each other’s creative endeavors.”
Power of the Pen is dedicated to helping young people find and develop a creative voice and learn writing as a life skill. It also offers interscholastic tournaments and a network of ideas and tools for teachers to improve student writing.
Stop the Bleed
Chagrin Falls Schools has partnered with University Hospitals and the Chagrin Falls Fire Department to bring a training called “Stop the Bleed” to the district. The goal of the program is to train individuals and to be equipped to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.
Staff training was during their professional development day on April 18. In addition to the training, each classroom and common area will be provided with Stop a Bleed “bucket.” These include a basic tourniquet and packing and chest wound materials, which are vacuum sealed and do not expire. The kits have enough supplies to save one or two lives each. Additionally, the kits include tape, rope, doorstop, toilet paper, privacy sheet, medical shears and other safety items. The bucket has room in it for additional materials that the district or classroom teacher may want to add.
This bleeding control training was developed after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn. It has already been implemented in schools such as the East Guernsey School District in Lore City, Ohio. Bleedingcontrol.orgstates, “Anyone at the scene can act as an immediate responder and save lives if they know what to do.” Bleedingcontrol.orgis an initiative of the American College of Surgeons and the Hartford Consensus.
