Chagrin Falls PTO

The Gurney School report was presented by Lisa Todaro.

• Thank you in advance for the always delicious dinners on conference nights!  We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness in providing us with that nice meal so we can take a short break on those evenings.
• Third Grade Testing Week March 22nd:  Next week all of our third graders will be tested for gifted identification purposes.  They will all be taking a cognitive abilities test and achievement testing in reading and math.  These are different from our Ohio Achievement Assessments because they are nationally normed tests which is required for gifted identification.
• Kindergarten:  Kindergarten Kick off Night was March 18th.  We appreciate the parent volunteers who helped to sign parents up for kindergarten screening.  We also had Mr. Holzheimer there to answer transportation questions and Mrs. Ritz there to help with registration for any parent who has completed it.  Parents were  able to choose from three different presentations for the evening:  Full Day Kindergarten Presentation, Half Day Kindergarten Presentation, and a Presentation of Both Kindergarten Programs for parents who have not yet decided.  Parents were also welcome to tour the kindergarten classrooms and the school during this evening open house.
• Parent Conferences/Report Cards:  Gurney Parent Conferences are next week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  All parents who have signed up for a conference will receive their child’s report card at the conference.  If a parent has signed up for a phone conference or an email update, their child’s report card will be sent home for them.

Gurney PTO Report

The Gurney School report was presented by Lauren Jones.

• Recent Events/Updates
  • Set Teacher Appreciation Lunch for May 5 – Spoke with Rachel about idea for a plant and a wonderful lunch and she thought it was a great idea.
  • Rachel had an idea that it would be nice to involve the kids in Teacher appreciation week and each day they can bring in something small to combine into a larger appreciative gift. For instance one flower, a school supply for the classroom, a small sweet or treat, a note or card form the child. This could occur on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with the lunch on Wednesday.
  • We requested the numbers for yearbooks and Tiger Trek T-shirts that are donated to needy families. This year we will but an extra box on the sheet for parents to indicated if they would like to make a donation to help a needy child receive a t-shirt. The same type of box will be on next year’s yearbook order form.
  • Kindergarten registration numbers are low this year but will hopefully increase as the year ends.
  • Right to Read Week is coming up with a sports theme.
  • Gurney staff is already planning for a new reading adventure called One School, One Book.   It is a month long event which consists of a shared book between the grades and is customized to the grade level with fun games and questions/trivia. It will culminate with a shared activity. The parents will need to be an active participant in this activity as they will need to read to their child. There will be podcasts that a child can listen to as well. Gurney is looking for PTO support to help with this program not only monetary but through PR and home support. This program is currently active at Kenston and is receiving accolades. Plans will be finalized this summer.

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • Kindergarten Kick-off – March 18
    • Both events are running well and have sufficient volunteers and staff
    • Need for 300 more spirit banners which will be ordered
  • 3rd Grade Testing – will check with room mothers for snacks
    • Gifted Testing next week Mon-Thurs
    • Achievement Testing April 20 and 21
• Approved Requests
  • Grant Request for Shanaberger  and Gebler approved.
  • Grant request for First Grade flip cameras is pending approval.
• Miscellaneous
  • Hospitality is planning dinners for Conference nights. Lasagna one night and a “picnic” supper the other night.
  • Tiger Trek is in the process of being planned and they are working to get a discounted price on the t-shirts. There will be both paper flyers and download forms for sponsorship and the t-shirts soon.

Spring arrives in Chagrin! CFIS trees are blooming with jackets. Let's hope the nice weather sticks around.

The Intermediate School report was presented by Lisa Blackwell.

• Pi Day The Intermediate School is celebrating Pi day! This is one of the many fun traditions at our school.  As many of you may remember, pi day is March 14, and it starts at 1:59 (3.14 159). On March 15, all the students in the school will write the most digits that they can remember. The student from each grade that memorizes the most digits of pi will get a pie of their choice. The homeroom that has the highest average will get Eskimo Pies. The school records are: Sixth Grade: Emily Hellwig 404 digits (2005), Fifth Grade: Ricky Kochert 303 digits (2005), and Fourth Grade: Dale Klose 215 (2005). Can any of these records fall? Students can access the first thousand or so digits of pi on Mr. Dole’s website!

• Progress Book It is our hope that all parents will use Progress Book as an aid in communication about assignments, homework and student grades.  Please take the time to look at Progress Book on a regular basis.  If you have any questions, please contact your teacher or Mr. Murphy.

• Family Movie Night Friday, March 5, was Family Movie night at the Intermediate School Auditorium.  Students came to see Back to the Future and student council sold snacks.  It was a fun night and a big success.

• Thank You Spring conferences were held February 22 and 24.  We moved them up this year so that students would have more time to use the information from conferences to make improvements in the year.  Thank you so much for the delicious dinners.  Mrs. Andrews did a fantastic job as usual.

• Book Fair Book Fair was held from March 1-8.  Thank you to all the parents who volunteered their time to help out that week.  It was a big success.

• Destination Imagination On Saturday the following students competed in the Destination Imagination Competition at Beachwood High School. Sara Currier,  Malcolm Dempsey, Catie McLennan, Jacob Moore, Reed Sampsel, Alex Amata, Garrett Curtis, Johnnie Wilson, Bennet Eagle, Jennie Stemler, Caroline Digel, Kyra Jeckering, David McCuaig, Rem Weber, Erica Smith, Patrick Emery.    The Snack Lovers team won the DaVinci Award and took First place in their competition.  The Snack Lovers will be going to the State competition on April 17th.    The Flying Monkey’s took second place in their competition.   A great big congratulation goes out to all the teams for a fantastic day!!

• Concert Season ‘Tis the season for concerts at the Intermediate School.  We recently had the fourth grade strings/recorder concert.  Those students did an outstanding job as this is the only concert for them this year.  We have fifth and sixth grade general music concert on March 25 at 7:00 pm in our auditorium.  This is the first year that these students will be performing at night.  Then on May 4 we will have the band concert and on May 6 we will have the orchestra and select choir concert.  From May 4-May 6 we will also be having our art show.  This is an exciting time of year for our students to showcase their talents.

• Ohio Achievement Tests Our students will be taking the Ohio Acheivement Assessment (new name) the week of April 19.

• General Info The student council helped raise $1,000 for Team Lindsay with a dance.

CFIS PTO Report

The Intermediate School was presented by Amy O’Neil.

• The IS will start round two of our spirit wear sale on April 4^th.   You can download the form [download id="13"] .  The sale will run through April 22^nd.  Flyers will go home in all school newsletters next week.  We will be setting up tables during lunch at the IS to market the items to the students.  Information will also be available on the district website.

• An enrichment day is being planned for IS students sometime during the month of May.  We are looking into a dance troupe to perform and are currently in contact with them to determine possible performance dates.

• Teachers were treated to conference dinners courtesy of the hospitality committee, chaired by Jill Andrews.  Thank you to Jill for all her hard work each time conferences take place.

• The IS Book Fair was held the first week of March.  Sandi Ferguson organized volunteers and operations went smoothly.  Thank you Sandi.

• Movie night was a big hit, as usual.

• The 6^th grade Talent Show planning is underway.

The Middle School report was presented by Johna Graziani.

Students visited the Western Reserve Historical Society this month.

• General Info
  • The middle school students have been focusing on tolerance, acceptance, and diversity over the past two months.  On February 19, the staff organized a student empowerment day.  Presentations on Haiti, the meaning of the swastika, anti-bullying techniques, and cultural awareness were given.  Students attended whole group and small group sessions throughout the day.  The goal of the day was, not only to create and awareness of differences, but to begin to teach students how to be a positive member of a community.
  • On February 24 and 25, the students attended the Choosing to Participate exhibit at the Western Reserve Historical Society.  During the visit, students learned how individuals and communities have been bullied because of cultural or religious differences.  All the stories reflected on how our actions can make a difference either positively or negatively on the way other people are treated.  Students also learned that they had the power to make this world a better place for themselves and for others.
  • On March 4, students heard a presentation on internet safety.  A part of this presentation focused on cyberbullying and its effect on individual students.  This was a powerful message that caused many students to reflect on how they communicate on the internet.  Many of our students are beginning to understand that a posting on the internet never goes away.
  • This past week, the students viewed a presentation called “Bringing History to Life”.  The presentation told Anne Frank’s story through the eyes of her best friend.  Students were exposed to the realities of many European countries during the Nazi occupation.  The presentation brought to life the existence of prisoners in concentration camps.  It was an intense program with a very strong message.
  • The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio will continue to work with the middle school staff on ways to promote community at the middle school level.
  • The student council helped raise $1,000 for Team Lindsay with a dance.
  • Kate Agan, 7^th grade, has qualified for the National Geographic Geography Bee. Good job, Kate!

• CVC Art Forum
  
  • Chagrin Falls Middle School hosted the Chagrin Valley Conference Art Forum on March 17.  135 students from 10 schools in the conference participated in the program.  Seven visiting artists provided mini-sessions on a variety of art mediums.  Amy Fenton, the middle school art teacher, organized this day.  We hope to host the art forum again next year.
• OAT Intervention
  
  • OAT intervention sessions began this week.  We will be using advisory time to provide test taking activities.  In the past, these sessions have been after school with only a few students participating.  Therefore, we made the decision to incorporate these sessions into the school day.  Ohio Acheivement Assessments will be given on April 26, 27, and 28.
• 8^th Grade Awards Ceremony
  • The 8^th grade Awards Ceremony has been changed back to 7:00pm. on Monday, June 7.  The presentation will be student led with each homeroom presenting.  We hope to keep this ceremony very simple and student centered.

CFMS PTO Report

The Middle School PTO report was presented by Laura Fricke.

• Conference Dinner – March 24
  • Hospitality Committee will provide “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” themed dinner
• PAW PACK Luncheons
  • PTO section reps have been providing  chips, desserts & drinks
  • Held monthly in  the library for new members
  • Next date: Friday, April 9, 2010
• O.A.T
  • Ice Cream Party – Wednesday, April 28, 2010
  • During lunch 11:30-12:30
• 8^th Grade Promotion
  • Organized in conjunction with John Abbott & PTO Chairs
  • Sub-committees hard at work

The High School Report was presented by Carol Fahey.

First and foremost, thank you for the delicious dinner on Parent/Teacher Conference evening, March 10.  The staff really appreciated your kindness and generosity.

• State Championship – Eight swimmers placed in multiple events at state.  Jamie Englehardt won the state diving championship and set a state record.  Sophomore Cailyn Klarich went to state for the vault.
• Cum Laude Society – Sixteen students were honored at the Cum Laude Society Induction ceremony Wednesday, February 24.  Guest speak was Rich Cochran President of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.
• Academic Recognition – We recognized 386 students during the first semester for their excellence in education.  Tiger of the Semester – 30 students; Cum Laude Society – 16 students; Principal Academic Distinction – 165 students and Principal Academic Merit – 175 students.
• Scheduling – Our Guidance Department has concluded the student conference phase of the scheduling process.  The next few weeks are critical in building the master schedule for the 2010-2011 school year.
• OGT Testing -  Our tenth graders are taking the Ohio Graduation Test March 15 – 19.  Passing all five sections of the OGT is a graduation requirement, and our goal is for our students to do their very best on this state wide exam. Breakfast will be served to the entire sophomore class the entire week.  Our ninth graders will also be taking a practice version of the OGT.  This data will determine appropriate intervention that will be provided next year.  We will be on a two hour delayed start bell schedule for the week.
• CP4Y Service Awards – Students are currently responsible to accumulate 75 hours to participate in senior project.  Many students exceed this on a yearly basis. With the combined efforts of the high school office staff and members of Community Partnership for Youth, students in grades 9-12 who perform 100 plus hours annually will be identified and encouraged to apply for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.  CP4Y is our local certifying organization for the award.  It is our hope that we will be in the position of awarding several CFHS students at our spring recognition assembly.  The Outstanding Volunteer Service Award will also be given to one high school student who has demonstrated a dedication to service that extends above and beyond our requirements.
• Senior Transition Program – A meeting with Karen Lewis, John Rydquist, Loretta Schwalm and Jayne Hasler was held to discuss a transition program for our seniors.  The components of the program include:  (1) Campus Security, (2) Financial Awareness, (3) Legal Issues being 18 and (4) Panel discussion including time management and health issues.  Jayne is currently coordinating this program at Gilmour and we believe this program would also be relevant for our seniors.  The program will be conducted on April 13 for our seniors, logistics and the schedule for the day is currently being put together.

• Motivational Speaker – On March 26 we are hosting a motivational assembly with speaker, Chris Bowers.  Chris addresses risk taking and empowers students to resist peer pressure.  Chris has dedicated his life to the positive influence and motivation of students across the country.  The past two years our speakers have had an impact on our students.  If you have the opportunity please stop by on the 26th during our motivational assembly.

HIGH SCHOOL UPCOMING EVENTS

Have you seen these around town? The Music Man will be performed three times in April. The Spring Musical is always a fantastic production. Come out and see it if you can.

March 26      Motivational Assembly Chris Bowers

March 27 – April 2    No School – Spring Break and Good Friday

April 13     Early Release 1:25 – Staff Development Day

April 14     The Music Man Dress Rehearsal  7:00

April 15 – The Music Man

April 16, 17 – The Music Man   7:30

April 18  – The Music Man   2:00

April 22     Hamlet Fine Arts Show

April 30     Student Council Speeches

May 3 – May 12     AP Testing

May 11   Early Release 1:25 – Staff Development Day

May 13    Senior Awards Night    (Dessert) 7:00 p.m.

May 14      Spring Fest (seniors last day)

May 15     Prom (Cleveland East Marriott)

May 16     After Prom

May 17     Senior Project Begins

High School PTO Report

The High School report was presented by Loretta Schwalm.

• Thank you to Beth Judge who organized dinner for the teachers and staff during school conferences on March 10^th.  A special thanks to all the PTO volunteers who provided food and drinks for the event.

• Julie Gosnell requested volunteers to help with another vision and hearing screening due to a large number of absentees during the first screening.  It was planned for the morning of Tuesday March 9.  Thanks to the PTO volunteers who helped.

• College 101, a program for high school seniors which will focus on preparing students for life away from home, is being planned for April 13^th.  We will be looking for PTO volunteers to help with this program.

Kids test out a classroom DDR system from Motion Fitness.

District News

The Board of Education Report was given by Ann Thomas.

A community member has generously donated a $30,000.00 Dance Revolution System to be incorporated into our Phys. Ed program.  (More about these types of system for the classroom here. )

The Administrative Report was given by Mark Donnelly. (Mark is new to our district as our Business Manager. He comes to us after 10 years with the Akron Schools District and 4 years with the Warren School District.)

• High School Principal Search

We have received 33 applicants for the position. Initial screening interviews will be held late this week and early next week. Final round interviews will take place after Spring Break, possibly before if schedules can be worked out.

The Athletic Director position was just posted today. The Assistant Principal position will be posted just after Spring Break. Hopefully, the new principal can be selected and take part in the interviews for these very important positions.

• Summer Projects

We will be tearing up and replacing the front courtyard and sidewalks from the corner by the HS kitchen door down to the newer concrete in front of the gym.

District PTO Report

Comments from the President Gwenn Klose:

• We are looking for someone who would like to be the Calendar Coordinator. This is a May/June job and helps us out with the all important   PTO calendar. Please, let Gwenn know if you would be able to help with this key project.

• Everyone, please, plan on attending the April meeting on April 21st at 7:30 PM in the Sands Community Room. We will be 1)  voting on the recommendations of approval of Grant Requests by the Financial Committee 2) approve the updated PTO Constitution and 3) the Nominating Committee will present the slate for next year’s Executive Committee. If you haven’t been able to come to a meeting this year, April is a great meeting to get caught up and be informed for next year. Hope to see you all there.

Comments from Secretary Kathryn Williams:

• Thank you notes shared.

Comments and Treasurer’s Report Jen Ganger:

• Treasurer’s monthly financial report distributed and reviewed.

Comments from 1^st Vice President Colleen Mahoney:

• Website/Publicity: Following last month’s meeting, Angie DeBernardo installed a “download manager plug- in”  that will track all PTO website downloads and give a count for each file.  This will help her get a sense of the number of people being directed to the PTO website and what information is being downloaded.   Angie DeBernardo also reports via email:  “I think the best “downloads” come from within the monthly PTO report I’ve been sending out from the minutes.  I think people like to click as they read.  We’ve gotten 10 downloads of the Order Form for the spirit wear sale and 8 downloads of the high school conference form that I linked.  Less downloads on the download page—- but all told we got about 30 items downloaded since I installed the tracker after the last meeting  I sent out a Face Book reminder for Heinen’s registration for Kelly after the Dad’s Club event to a few well connected Face book types.   I’m curious if they got any new registrations.  I’m hesitant to do that often because people will get annoyed — but I think a mid year check in is not so bad – particularly if Heinen’s closes their program in April.   I have been thinking about our publicity for events with the change to electronic communication and I have been wondering if we should try Evite for something.  We have a good email list now so we could create a “guest list” of our 440 members and send out email invitations for something like PTO Bingo Night.  It would let the invitee reply “maybe” and then remind them automatically as the event approaches.  We could allow them to send “invite others” by forwarding it and provide a lot of details.  It might help get around the forgetfulness that seems to come along with email/PDF flyers. I’ve updated the online calendar for March and April — but still need to add in May and June events.”    The Evite was discussed at the March exec meeting and everyone agreed it was a great idea.  The Intermediate School Section Reps may want to try the Evite to promote their spirit wear fundraiser.

• Store Credits: Kelly Hendricks reports monthly increases on registrations at Heinen’s and Giant Eagle.  Heinen’s – 492 registered families (vs. January’s count of 433)   Giant Eagle – 291 families registered (vs. January’s count of 277)    Kelly worked hard to get information about the store credit programs in district-wide e-blasts and building newsletters.  To register at Heinen’s now, click here. Catalogs for the Giant Eagle Apples Program went to all teachers and Kelly has received 6 requests so far.    Still being researched is the Heinen’s account that has 80 families registered to the Treasurer’s office.

• Calendar: Looking for a great volunteer to coordinate for 2010-2011.

• Welcoming: Discussion at the March Exec Meeting included having Section Reps from each building involved with newcomers to answer questions and give advice on an on-going basis.  Perhaps Welcoming Committee members and Section Reps can work together to be sure newcomers get attention throughout the year via phone calls, e-mails or follow-up coffees.

Comments from 2^nd Vice President Gigi Kuper-Lewis (read by Gwenn Klose):

Here is Maggie Robinson's award-winning work "Popcorn Shop". More like this will be seen at the annual Art Show. We need volunteers to help.

• Tiger Tutors-Rachel Gebler reported at the Board meeting about the Tiger Tutor program – all community volunteers that help once a week.  Students in first through third grade can be matched with a tutor.  They can always use more volunteers.
• Theater Program- The head of the theatre academic program, Tom Fulton, also spoke at the Board meeting.  He is pleased with the ten school districts involved in the program and hopes to expand it next year into also offering a curriculum involving technical theatre as well (lighting, stage scenery, producing, etc.).
• OAT Prep-Several teachers at Gurney and the Intermediate school have been hired as tutors for an after school program to assist students with math and reading preparation for the OAT tests.
• Kindergarten-A waiver has been sent to the State requesting permission to charge for full day Kdg. for the 2010 – 2011 school years.  This is pretty much a formality and should be approved.
• Art Show – I spoke with Bridget Roush and everything is coming along fine.  They are looking for more volunteers.  The dates and times needed are:

1. April 5^th or 6^th to hang posters in the community
2. April 20^th at 9:00 a.m. to hang art work at Hamlet
3. April 22^nd in the evening – to call winners
4. April 26^th 8:00 a.m. to take down art work

Contact Bridget Roush or use our PTO email to volunteer.

Comments from Financial Vice President Laurie McCormack:

• Grant Requests – The Financial Planning Committee received and researched 4 requests under $500 that were deferred to the Building Reps for approval. All four of these have been approved
• Financial Planning Committee - Ballot of Grant Requests was presented and recommendations of the committee were discussed. These recommendations will be voted on next month at the April Annual Meeting. We encourage all members to attend next month and vote on these very important requests.
• Membership – there are 20 new teacher members:  4 from HS, 3 from MS, 8 from IS and 5 from Gurney.

Comments from Past-President Lisa Frederickson:

• PTO Constitution-   The constitution has been updated by committee. The new and updated constitution will be posted on the PTO  website. [download id="12"] Please, read it and be ready to approve the changes at the April meeting.

• Nominating Committee-  The Nominating Committee will present the slate of new executive committee members for next year at the all important April meeting. If you would like to be considered for a position or would like to nominate someone, please contact Lisa Fredrickson.

Click to [download id="10"].