Chagrin Falls PTO

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Administration Report- Jen Remaley

• The middle school will be welcoming Anny Gua, 7-12 Chinese teacher and John Scott, 7-12 Social Studies teacher to the middle school next year.

• The middle school has adjusted our supplies list for next year. We will be color coding content areas and reducing the amount of supplies for next year.

• The middle school will host an Orientation/Open House for all parents on the evening of August 22. Details to follow.

• Our 8th grade Bridge to the World Project was a huge success. The Chinese students participated in a variety of activities including trips to North Chagrin Reservation, the Great Lakes Science Center, a Lake County Captains Game, and Kalahari Water Park. They ended their trip by traveling to Washington, D.C. with the 8th graders.

• The eighth graders traveled to Washington, D. C. last Wednesday. We had great weather and the kids had a great time.

• We held our Literacy Day on May 10. Our students made children’s books for our Gurney book buddies. Our students also participated in poetry slams and story telling n the afternoon.

• We are looking forward to our 8th grade end of the year celebration on June 6. Parents have been working hard to organize a great day for the students.

• Thank you for Teacher Appreciation and assistance during testing week.  We could not do what we do without the parents. Our partnership is invaluable.

• Kindness month: May. Kindness wall started where kids and teachers can write kind messages

PTO:  Julie Andrews

• PTO- Chagrin Falls Middle School recently hosted the annual CVC Art Forum for the second year in a row. The CVC art forum is open to all Middle Schools in the Chagrin Valley Conference. In addition to students from Chagrin Falls Middle School, 9 districts were represented and there were 12 workshops available.

• Chagrin Falls Middle School had the privilege of hosting Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger, two accomplished poets for the day on April 18. They taught our students the art of writing and performing poetry.
• The first week in May was packed with Ohio Achievement Assessments celebrated with a Roller skating party on the final day.

• Bridge to the World hosted  a weeklong visit from 13 Chinese students from Linhai, China packed with activities and cross cultural friendship building.

• Lori Guerrini directed a fabulous literacy day on May 10th and Gurney buddies joined us for this special event which included reading books that were written for them by our students.

• The eight graders (exchange students included) had a fabulous time in Washington DC touring memorials and museums, visiting with Congressman LaTourrette, seeing Gettysburg and visiting the Flight 93 Memorial.

• May is Kindness Month at the Middle School and some students presented at a very moving assembly which stressed the importance of recognizing that everyone has a deeper story.

• In May, Middle School students performed at an exceptional Spring Choral Concert and displayed many talented pieces in the Art Show.
• June 6th is Celebration Day for the class of 2015 with awards ceremonies, a cook-out at the Rec Center and the ever popular 8th grade dance.
• June 7th is the long awaited trip to Cedar Point.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Administration Report-  Lori Guerrini

• The building just finished their work with The Fat Boy Chronicles. On Monday, the students watched the movie and asked questions of the authors. Several students spent two days in writing mini-sessions with the authors. We will have an evening showing of the movie for the parents after spring break.

• Our Skype session with the Gurney students was a great experience. We are looking forward to another Skype session very soon.

• We are excited about ordering new language arts series for next year. The series is called A Readers Journey.

• We will be hosting the CVC Art Forum tomorrow. 13 schools from our conference are participating.

• Our P/T conferences will be held next Wednesday, March 23 from 3:00-7:00PM

• The 7-12 choir concert will be held on March 21

PTO- Jen Ganger

-                Fat Boy Chronicles – All Middle School students read The Fat Boy Chronicles this month.  The book was written in the form of a freshman boy’s journal.  It dealt with several serious issues.  The kids finished the book by last Friday and this week had several activities including viewing the movie and meeting with the book’s authors.  The book has sparked lots of interesting conversation regarding bullying, and Mrs. Holthaus plans to keep the momentum going with continued discussion and activities.  Mrs. Holthaus also lead a parents’ book group which met three times and got lots of good feedback.

-                Teacher Conference Dinners – Teacher conferences are scheduled for Wednesday March 23.  Jill Andrews is busy getting volunteers to supply teacher dinners.

-                Smoothies – The Middle School Café is now offering Smoothies on Wednesdays.  The PTO is looking for two volunteers per week to help make smoothies during the lunch periods.  We have contacted our volunteers and emailed all Middle School PTO members, and Mrs. Holthaus has also put a request in her Week-at-a-Glance looking for volunteers.

-                Washington DC – The Middle School is now collecting money for the eighth grade trip to Washington DC.  The fee is due by March 25 and the trip is May 11^th – 13^th.  There is a parent meeting on April 20 in the MS cafeteria.

-                Middle School Dance – The combo Dance/3 on 3 Basketball tournament was cancelled last Friday due to the weather.  It will be rescheduled in April.

Congratulations CFMS!

The administrative report was presented by Courtney Polcar.

• Our second annual “Walk to School; Walk to Town Day” was held on October 22. Over 150 middle school students participated in the event. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered and congratulations to the Safe Routes to School Committee.
• Our students viewed a skit by Accent on Youth on October 26. This skit focused on the controversial “cut-through” that students are using to walk to school.
• Our student council hosted a Halloween dance on October 29. Students dressed up in their costumes and danced the night away.
• Our eighth graders took the Explorer Test on November 4. This test is used to gather data on students to support scheduling at the high school.
• The middle school is currently having a magazine fundraiser. The money from this fundraiser will go to support student development days and other special activities throughout the remainder of the year.
• Our middle school was visited by teachers and administration from Chesapeake Middle School on November 9. These visitors were seeking curriculum and scheduling ideas from high performing districts in Ohio.
• The middle schoolers honored our veterans with a special assembly on November 11. Students wrote poems and thank yous that they presented to local veterans. We had veterans from all foreign wars except WWI in attendance.
• Cindy Dean and Rebecca Holthaus traveled to Washington, DC on November 14 for the National Blue Ribbon Ceremony. They returned on Wednesday to present the award and flag to staff and students.

The PTO report was presented by Jen Ganger.

• Blue Ribbon Celebration - Mrs. Holthaus and Mrs. Dean travelled to Washington DC this week to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award for Chagrin Falls Middle School.  The celebration continued today with the students and staff today with an assembly, cake and raising of the Blue Ribbon flag.
• Parent/Teacher Conferences -A big thank you to Chairman Jill Andrews for organizing teacher dinners on conference night on October 27.
• Magazine Sale -Mrs. Holthaus’ magazine sale to fund the Principal’s fund continues through this week.
• Kiss a Pig-The eighth graders are raising money for eighth grade promotion through a “Kiss a Pig” contest.  They put money in the jar of the teacher they most want to see kiss a pig and that teacher, along with Mrs. Hothaus, will have the “pleasure” of kissing a pig.
• Book Fair-The Middle School will be having the annual book fair the week of December 6.  The PTO is providing volunteers to set up, staff and break down the book fair.
• Ongoing projects-PTO committees continue working on the Lock-in, Eighth Grade Promotion and 7^th Grade health screenings.

Middle School students participated in a town-wide scavenger hunt as part of Walk to School Day this month.

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The Middle School Report was presented by Cindy Dean – 7th grade Science Teacher.

• The Middle School would like to extend a big thank you to the PTO for sponsoring our visiting author, Shelley Pearsall, who was with us on Oct. 7. Our students read several of her books and constructed a 12 foot tetrahedron to celebrate reading Shelley’s book, All of the Above.
• The middle school would also like to extend a thank you to the PTO for putting on another successful Sloppy Joe Dinner. The food was great and everyone had fun.
• Our 8th grade committee is working hard to plan a breakfast awards ceremony for our eighth graders. The students will go to the Rec Center for the afternoon and dance the night away at their eighth grade dance. The date for that event is June 6.
• Some middle school parents have developed a committee to plan our annual Lock-In. That event is scheduled for January 28.
• Our parent teacher conferences will be held on October 27 from 3-7. Thanks to the PTO for providing dinner.
• Our next student development day will be held on November 23. Our focus will be on study habits, learning styles, and organizational habits.
• Our Blue Ribbon celebration will be on November 17 at 2:20pm in the middle school gym. Parents are welcome to attend.
• Some staff from Chesapeake Middle School in Chesapeake, Ohio will be visiting on November 9. They chose to visit due to our increase in test scores this year and to view our positive middle school community.

The Middle School PTO report was presented by Julie Andrews.

• We’ve had a busy month at the Middle School with our big Sloppy Joe fundraiser going off without a hitch. The numbers are still being tallied but it looks like we will net around $2500. The chairs from this year are willing to run it again next year which would make for a smooth transition.
• The students created a record breaking over 12 foot  tetrahedron in celebration of Shelley Pearsall, the visiting author’s, appearance. She conducted several sessions with groups of students as well as a school wide assembly and engaging parent presentation.
• Students, teachers and many helpful community members are demonstrating the true gift of collaboration as we approach what is sure to be a fabulous Walk to School, Walk to Town day on Friday. Teams are forming and the prizes are enticing all to get involved.
• The PAW Pack awards program where students are teacher recommended to be rewarded for great behavior and outstanding effort is well underway and PTO provided a party for these students at lunch and are preparing for the October party in a week.
• MS PTO is currently working on dinner for teacher conferences, the Blue Ribbon celebration, arranging the Lock-IN, and plans are well underway for 8th grade promotion.

Chagrin Falls Middle School joins our other three schools this year as a National Blue Ribbon School! Congratulations staff and students.

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The Middle School staff report was presented by Johna Graziani.

• Congratulations to all the parents, students, and staff at the middle school.  We had a great start to the year.  It is hard to believe that we are already into the fourth week of school.  We would also like to give our fall sports teams a great big shout out.  They have had a terrific start to the season.  We always receive compliments from other schools when we are traveling.  Our students show sportsmanlike conduct and always represent the middle school well at all away events.
• We held our first student development day on September 14.  Our focus was on movement, good nutrition, and physical well-being.  The kids engaged in fitness and relaxation workshops while learning about good food choices.  Thank you to all the parents who donated items.  We would like to extend huge appreciation to Katie Wetherbee who worked so hard to make sure the day was a success!
• Our Open House will be held on September 15 from 7:00-8:30.  This will be an opportunity for the parents to learn about some of the activities we have planned for the year as well as a time to meet all their child’s teachers.  Thank you to our PTO reps for supplying refreshments during our lunch periods.
• We held our Welcome Back dance last Friday, September 10.  The students had a great time.  Thank you to all the parents who helped to sell refreshments.  All the money from this dance will go to our Principal’s account to pay for activities for our students.
• Congratulations to Amy Fenton, our middle school art teacher.  She has been awarded the2010 Scholastic Art and Writing Award by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.    This is representation of the great fine arts programming that we have at the middle school.
• Congratulations to Cindy Dean and her first period science classes.  Through global collaboration, the class has been in contact with a classroom in Slovenia.  The students are able to see and talk with one another.  Chagrin Falls is in the forefront of interactive technology through its Bridge to the World project.  Mrs. Dean will be working many teachers in the district to promote global collaboration in other classrooms.
• We continue to award students through our PAW Pack program.  This awards program was started by last year’s PTO representatives.  Thank you to this year’s reps for continuing the tradition.  Students earn the award through hard work, being kind to others, and contributing in a positive way to the middle school community.  They receive a card that gets them discounts to community businesses as well as privileges at school.  The PTO supports a special luncheon for these students at the end of every month.
• As many of you know, the middle school was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School last Thursday.    This is quite an honor for our students, parents, and staff.  The partnership we have is one of the big reasons the middle school earned this recognition.  Rebecca Holthaus and Cindy Dean will be traveling to Washington, DC on November 14 and 15 to accept the award.  We are planning a big celebration when the award is returned to the middle school on November 16.

The Middle School PTO  report was presented by Ingrid Porter.

• The Chagrin Falls Middle School has been named a Blue Ribbon School! A PTO parent will be working closely with Mrs. Holthaus to plan a well-deserved celebration.
• Planning and preparations for the middle school fundraiser, the Sloppy Joe Dinner, are well under way.  The date is Friday, October 1, the night of the homecoming football game, from 5pm-7pm.  Mark it on your calendars – we’re hoping for record-breaking attendance!
• We had our first grant request at the Middle School.  It was from Mrs. Dennison and Mrs. Mrofchak who planned the first Student Development Day which was held today and focused on wellness.  The request was for the purchase of foods for a program called “Eat this, not that” which showed the kids many varieties of healthy food alternatives.  The PTO was able to get the majority of the requested items donated by parents, and approved the remainder of the grant.
• Middle School Open House will be held tomorrow night, Wednesday September 15.  Parents will start in the PAC at 7:00 for an address by Mrs. Holthaus then be dismissed to their child’s homeroom to follow their child’s schedule.  Open House is scheduled to end at 8:30 pm.

It’s time to re-register your school choice with the Heinen’s Reward Program!  Heinen’s begins collecting your shopping credits this week and will use your total from now through April to determine how much they will donate to Chagrin Falls Schools.  1% of every dollar you spend in their stores will be donated to our schools.  Everyone must register their cards EVERY year.  Click the image or here to visit the Heinen’s Rewards page now.  If you are already registered with their program, log in.  Go to “Update My Profile” in the upper right corner.  On the Profile Page, scroll to the bottom section on the ABC School Donation Program.  There is a drop down menu to select a city and then a school.  Update the page and you are done for the year!

Giant Eagle also has a program to contribute a percentage of your purchases to local schools.  You can register for it online at Giant Eagle’s Apples for Students page – and if you happen to have a Target VISA card, you can register that to a school of your choice as well.  There are a number of options that can financially support local schools through the expenses you already incur – and the list of these opportunities seems to grow every day.  Check back at our site for information on new programs like these.  We’ll post them if we find them and explain exactly how they work.  As always, contact us with any questions you may have.

Thanks!!