Chagrin Falls Schools

May 24, 2017 by Staff Report

Rotary Student of the Month

Chagrin Falls High School senior Andrew Kwasny has been selected as the Chagrin Valley Rotary Club High School Student of the Month for May. Kwasny has demonstrated service and leadership through his school activities and community involvement.

Kwasny has spent the past four years as a member of the Chagrin Falls High School football, basketball and baseball teams and has lettered two years in each sport. Additionally, he earned the role of captain of the baseball team. As a junior, he was voted second team all-CVC as a pitcher and participated in summer baseball club teams throughout high school. Kwasny also made All Conference Academic Team for football, basketball and baseball.

A four-year honor roll student, Kwasny has played an active role in the school community. He has been a member of Key Club for four years and participated in Link Crew, a program that helps connect freshmen to their high school experience. Additionally, he has been nominated for two opportunities that teach leadership and positive coaching.

Outside of school, Kwasny works as a CAA basketball referee. He has also worked as a caddy at Chagrin Valley Country Club for the past five summers. He has accumulated more than 150 hours of community service, including volunteering at functions like Santa’s breakfast, the Turkey Trot and various events at Holy Angels Church. While in high school, Kwasny has also volunteered each summer for the Chagrin Falls High School-sponsored football, basketball and baseball camps.

His advanced courses include AP Government, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish, and AP Computer Science. He will complete his senior project at Michael Baker International, an engineering firm in downtown Cleveland. Kwasny plans to attend the honors college at Clemson University to major in civil engineering with a pending minor in computer science.

CFIS Students Selected to Compete in National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship

Chagrin Falls Intermediate School fourth-graders Audrey Holmes and Will Stinson and fifth-grader Alexander Kroon have been selected to compete in the 2017 National Invention Convention & Entrepreneurship Expo in Washington D.C., on June 1-3. Their inventions that were submitted for consideration included: “Car Cozy” by Audrey Holmes, “The Stop Drop Cone” by Will Stinson, and “Sizzlin’ Sox” by Alexander Kroon.

They were selected from all of the students enrolled in Invention Convention within Chagrin Falls Intermediate School this year. They are three of 75 total students selected from across Ohio, and three of 300 students selected from across the United States to compete at the national event.

Student Council Bike Drive

Despite all the flat tires and squeaky brakes, lots of bikes will be rolling to new riders thanks to Chagrin Falls School families and community members who donated to the Junior Student Council bike drive this spring.

On April 23, Chagrin Falls Student Council members Jack Kukla, Chris Currey, Ben Cervelloni, Eneh Turoczi, Cam Lucas, Michael Donley, Allie Kovatch and Joey King met at the Chagrin Falls Schools’ bus garage, where the bikes they had collected over the previous month had been stored.

There they met Jim Sheehan, executive director of the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op, driving a large pickup with a box trailer, expecting to have their help loading 50 donated bikes. He was pleasantly surprised with the number of bikes they had collected, but it was a good thing they had brought along their own vehicles – several pickups and family cars with bike racks – because together they assessed, sorted and loaded 130 bikes (and two unicycles) for a “convoy” haul downtown to the bike co-op. Fifty of the bikes were to be refurbished by co-op volunteers for the Cleveland Refugee Bike Project, while the rest will support their other educational programs.

“We would like to thank our Chagrin schools’ families and community members who generously donated to the bike drive and helped us build such a great Chagrin/Cleveland community connection,” said Jack Kukla. “In addition, we thank the drivers and mechanics at the bus garage who supported us with their time in greeting donors at the drop off site and providing a secure area for the collection. Student Council would like to thank Safe Routes to School, Mountain Road Cycles, Geigers, and Bike Ohio for their community support, and everyone else involved in making the drive possible.”

On May 22, three certified cycling instructors met at the Migration and Refugee Services agency with the first group of refugees that are the recipients of these bikes. These include 17 Arabic speakers, more than half of whom were women. They were all fitted with helmets and sized for their bikes. Four of them learned to ride for the first time right then, and several rode for the first time since their childhood. On May 25, staff and volunteers from the agency brought the individuals to the Bike Co-Op, with an interpreter, for a class on safe bicycling. The conclusion of the class was a ride back to the agency, where they learned how to use their new bike locks, and, after a celebratory dinner, rode their new bikes back to their homes for the first time.

“These folks were so excited to be getting on bikes; you could tell it’s going to be a big part of their lives.” said Sheehan. “What we learn from working with this first group will be important to scaling this program up in the future,” said Instructor Kevin Cronin, founding director of the local advocacy group Bike Cleveland, which is a partner in this project.

Any further donations may be dropped off at Mountain Road Cycles where they will be passed along to the co-op. Go to www.OhioCityCycles.org to learn all about the many great programs they offer.

Rolling Thunder Presentation

The eighth graders at Chagrin Falls Middle School were treated to a presentation from members of Rolling Thunder, a group of veterans dedicated to helping other veterans and their families. The group presented informational slide shows, shared their stories and allowed the students to view and handle relics.

The presentation is part of the eighth grade interdisciplinary unit titled, “A Monumental Experience.” The eighth graders were able to answer the question, “Why do we memorialize and honor the people and events that we do?” The presentation allowed the students to use primary sources as a part of the research needed for the upcoming unit.

In addition, the students will be creating a proposal for a monument they believe should be created. Each will create a three-dimensional model, a business letter-styled proposal and a slide presentation to be given in front of a panel of community member judges. The unit will culminate when they visit the nation’s capital.

“We thank the members of Rolling Thunder for their past service and their thoughtful presentations that added so much to our student’s experience,” said Principal Laila Discenza..

CFMS Careers in Science Day

The Chagrin Falls Middle School science department hosted the first annual Science and Technology Career Day on May 11. Parents and community members were invited to share their careers with the students. The day was a great success. Special thanks to Chagrin Falls PTO for providing cookies and water for the presenters. Also thanks to the following parents and community members who shared their knowledge:

John Butler, neurosurgeon; Jay Schach, entrepreneur/startup; Brian Morrison, clinics engineering/biomedical equipment technician; Joanne Montz, eLearning; Sarah Devonshire, clinical cancer researcher; Mike Nemunaitis, oncologist; Jenica Mignogna, chiropractor; Takashi Shinkawa, geologist/environmental consultant; Joe Purnhagen, marketing manager, The Lubrizol Corp.; Pam Hoover, school nurse; Lori Guerrini, library science; Steven Turoczi, physician; Irina Becker, nurse; Paul Sincaglia, fire protection engineer; Tina Lechman, senior clinical research specialist/medical devices; and Dr. Pam Dennis, veterinary epidemiologist.

Severance Hall Concert

At Chagrin Falls Middle School, there is a culture of communication and collaboration.

“To provide support to students and staff in order to maximize potential, growth and achievement, we must build a climate of teamwork,” said Principal Laila Discenza, Chagrin Falls Middle School. “Therefore, we attended Severance Hall as a whole school to view the Cleveland Orchestra perform Haydn´s Miracle as a culminating experience that brought together our building focus on teaming, well-rounded students and acceptance.”

This interdisciplinary activity provided the opportunity for all students to feel like they were part of a team.

“Unity brings strength, camaraderie, and the ability to overcome obstacles,” said Discenza. “The synergy created was contagious.”

The eighth grade also prepared for their Monumental Experience for their upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., and gained inspiration from examples of outstanding architecture in downtown Cleveland: Severance Hall, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument and Fountain of Eternal Life in Public Square. The seventh grade observed societal norms, expectations and experiences to use for shaping thoughts and beliefs when designing their end-of-the-year project on utopia/dystopia.

“This was definitely a great experience for the music students to be able to evaluate the quality and effectiveness of music performance and composition,” concluded Discenza.