Kenston School News

November 23, 2017 by Staff Report

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from the Kenston Board of Education.

Kenston Schools will be closed Nov. 23 and 24 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

KIS Students of the Month

Kenston Intermediate School is pleased to announce their Students of the Month for November.

Students selected for “gratitude” honors were fourth-graders Mustafa Arshad, Sidney Baker, Ally English, Sabrina Hayter, Kristina Hemingway, Grace Leygraaf, Jonah Link, Audrey May, Will Radefeld and Raegan Timmons; and fifth-graders Izzy Beskur, Grace Doyle, Lucas Hajec, Emma Hart, Hannah Makesh, Sydney Osterman, Ben Peters, Kate Smith, Chloe Syslo and Mallory Yates.

KHS Speech & Debate

The KHS Speech and Debate team placed sixth out of 20 schools for the second week in a row at their tournament at Hawken School Nov. 11.

Tia Speece was crowned tournament champion in Lincoln Douglas Debate, going undefeated for the second week in a row. Samara Benza placed second in Declamation. Savannah Georgian placed third and Jessica Sunderhaft placed fifth in Program Oral Interpretation. Emma Nidy placed fifth and Laura Parsons placed sixth in Dramatic Interpretation.  Competing in their first high school tournament ever were Nathan Gaskins in Congressional Debate, Phoebe Peiffer and Chloé Peiffer in Public Forum Debate and Avery Steinberg in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

One School One Book

The 2017 One School, One Book selection, “Flora and Ulysses” by Kate DiCamillo, was revealed to Timmons Elementary Students last week complete with a drumline greeting, a creatively decorated building and a special delivery containing a copy of the book for each student. The program is like a giant book club, where everyone is reading or listening to the same book, participating in shared activities and developing a love of reading. The initiative is supported by the Timmons PTO and Chagrin Valley Rotary Club.

Silver Bells Holiday Boutique

Kenston High School Parent Teacher Organization is hosting the Silver Bells Boutique on Dec. 2 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kenston High School, 9500 Bainbridge Road. The show will feature over 75 unique local vendors, junior craft vendors, cookie sale and raffle prizes. The fundraiser supports Kenston AfterProm and other PTO programs.

A+ Rating by Niche

The Kenston Local School District received an A+ report card as part of the 2018 Best Schools & Districts by Niche. Niche rigorously analyzes dozens of public data sets from the US Department of Education and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards and profiles for every K-12 school, college and neighborhood in the United States.

According to Niche, the Kenston Schools are the 34th best district in Ohio and first in Geauga County. With an overall grade of A+, the district received A+ grades in academics and health and safety; A grades in teachers, clubs and activities and college prep and a C- in diversity.

Rotary Senior

Erin Mast has been selected Kenston’s Chagrin Valley Rotary Club Student of the Month in November. She maintains a 4.3 GPA.

Her academic and musical achievements have earned her recognition during her tenure at Kenston High School. She has earned the title of A.P Scholar with Distinction, has made honor roll every semester freshman to senior year. At this year’s graduation ceremony she will receive an honors diploma and service cord as one of the top 15 students in her senior class.

Erin has immersed herself in extracurriculars, which have given her the chance to explore her interests and give back to the school. She is an active member of National Honor Society, lead editor of the literary publication JANUS and has been deeply devoted to the KHS music department.

Outside of school Erin is a member of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra and serves as principal flute this season.  Her musical endeavors include flute section leader for the marching band, KHS choir, KHS symphonic band, the a cappella ensemble Varsity Jazz and flute choir member. This past spring, she contributed to the spring musical by serving on stage crew, fly crew and props team in addition to being a cast member.

She plans on attending a four-year university to study arts administration or another combination of a music and business major.

KHS Momentum Award

The State Board of Education of Ohio recognized Kenston High School as one of 214 schools to receive the Momentum Award for exceeding expectations in student growth for the year. A school is eligible for the award if it receives straight A’s on all value-added measures on the report card. The school must have at least two value-added subgroups of students, which include gifted, lowest 20 percent in achievement and students with disabilities.