Chagrin Falls PTO

The 8th graders will travel to Washington DC this month to visit museums, monuments and even Congressman LaTourette!

The Middle School report was presented by Pattie Siko.

• Thank you to our PTO reps for the fabulous “Take Me Out to the Ball Park” dinner they provided during conferences on March 23!!
• The middle school was commended by the Chagrin Valley Conference administrators for the fabulous art forum we hosted on March 17.  Over 100 students from different schools in our conference were in attendance.  Our art teachers worked together to create a wonderful art experience for everyone involved.  It was a great day!!
• We are continuing to recognize our PAW Pack winners weekly.  This is a fun way to support kids who are working hard and doing the right thing every day.  We had our monthly luncheon with the winners last Friday.  All PAW Pack winners are listed and pictured on our building website here.
• The staff and students are gearing up for Ohio Achievement testing next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Seventh grade students will be testing on Monday and Tuesday.  Eighth grade students will be testing on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Our PTO representatives have arranged for the kids to receive ice cream sundaes after lunch on Wednesday.  Our PTO has also arranged for each child to have a hand written note wishing them good luck on their tests!!  Thank you so much to our PTO reps.  THEY ROCK!!!  On Friday, our students will be taking the afternoon off to go roller-skating.  We are hoping that our positive rewards will help relieve any test stress.
• Lori Guerrini and the language arts teachers are working hard to organize our Literacy Day on May 25.  Our students are creating children’s books for Gurney Book buddies.  We will be busing the second and third graders over to share books and snacks.  We have two visiting authors that will be working with our students throughout the day.  We will also have high school students sharing their poetry with our students.  It should be a great day to get lots of Chagrin students excited about reading!!
• The district Art Show may be viewed from April 23-25.  Several of our award winning students will have art work on display.  The awards ceremony will be held on April 22 at 8:00 at Hamlet with one of our students winning the Middle School Principal’s award.  This piece will be hung in the middle school.
• Congratulations to Todd Thombs who has received the Outstanding Mathematics Professional Award for 2010.  This award is given by the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
• Our eighth grade students are gearing up for their trip to Washington, DC.  They will be gone on May 10, 11, and 12.  Our seventh graders are excited about their extended day trip to Cleveland on May 13.  Lolley the Trolley will be picking them up in front of the school that morning!!
• We have 32 students signed up for our Golf Club.  Mr. Thombs and Mr. Johnson will work with students on golf techniques and etiquette.  They will be traveling to Pleasant Hills Golf Course in Chardon over the next four Friday evenings.

• Patty and Cindy Dean would like to thank all who supported DI, with their Malleys Chocolate Fundraiser.

Our Intermediate School team coached by Cathy Digel took First Place at regionals. Our High School team, coached by Carl Cameron, took second place at regionals. Both teams represented us well at the State Tournament. Thank you to the school and the community for their support.

The 7th graders will also take a class trip this month to visit all the great things right here in Cleveland. Of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is on the list.

Middle School PTO Report

The Middle School report was presented by Becky Borden.

• Ohio Achievement Test (OAT)
  • MS to provide assistance for the Sundae Celebration
    • Held on Wed., April 28 from 11:30-12:30
    • “Guest scoopers” from the Bd of Ed will be on hand to help
    • Ice cream will be scooped on Tues with the help of 10 plus parent volunteers and then stored overnight in the freezers

• Personalized note cards with well wishes for testing were prepared for each student and will be on hand at their desk on Monday morning

• Teacher Appreciation
  • MS Hospitality will provide a “Siesta” lunch on Friday, May 7^th
  • Many thanks to our AWESOME Hospitality co-chairs Karen Ostanek & Jill Andrews and their committee members

• Box Tops
  • Angie DeBernardo is preparing a drive this spring at the MS, so hang on to your Box Tops.

• 8^th Grade Awards Ceremony
  • Organized in conjunction with John Abbott & PTO Chairs
  • Scheduled for June 7th at 7 PM, PAC.  Dance to follow for the kids, 8-10 PM.
  • Sub-committees hard at work (See our photo auction gallery in the sidebar on this site!)

Sneakers became art at CFIS this year. This one's a winner in our bi-annual art show.

The Intermediate School report was presented by Kathleen Riley.

• 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.

• Concert Season/Art Show
• Tis the season for concerts at the Intermediate School.  We recently had the fourth grade strings/recorder concert and the fifth and sixth grade general music concert.  Those students did an outstanding job as this is the only concert for them this year. 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 in the gym.  This is an exciting time of year for our students to showcase their talents.

• Ohio Achievement Tests
• Our students just finished taking the Ohio Achievements Assessments (new name) the last three days.  Thank you for helping out with snacks for our students!

• Candy Grams
• PAWS (People always willing to serve) which is our student service learning group just finished a project called candy grams.  Students in our school had the opportunity to purchase these candy grams which allowed them to write something nice on a note and have it delivered to another student or teacher with a piece of candy.  The money that was raised from this project will go to Autism Speaks.

• PAWS is also working on another project.  They are raising money for the American Red Cross by making tie die t-shirts to sell at the art show.  They are making 80 shirts that will sell for $8.00 a piece.  If they sell them all they will be able to donate over $500.

• End of Year Activities
• Thank you for all your help with the following end of year activities:
• Talent Show
• Cook out
• Field Day
  • Assembly
  • We are really looking forward to the whole school assembly on May 11 in the morning with the dance company that is being funded and organized by PTO.  It has tremendous ties to our curriculum and will be very motivating for the students. (See video link below.)
    

    FIfth graders bravely tested the van der Graaf generator during the Science Day coordinated by parent Barb Currey.

• Science Day
• Our fourth and fifth graders will be having separate science days being organized by Mrs. Currey who is a teacher in Cuyahoga Heights and a parent in our district.  She is organizing a day similar to our COSI day which will consist of various stations for student to learn about science in a hands-on way that will mirror our standards.

• Student Council
• Student council is organizing a blood drive in conjunction with the American Red Cross.  We will have a kick off assembly on April 30.

Intermediate School PTO Report

Intermediate School – Jen Bencko

• The second round of our second spirit wear sale winds up this week.  We have visited lunch periods to help market the items.  Items purchased will be delivered Mid-May with a school-wide spirit day at the end of May to help showcase the new spirit wear.  Anyone interested in buying items should contact Lynn Hardacre.  The order form is available on the district website (and under “Downloads” on this site as well).  We anticipate selling these items again next year and would strongly request a hard copy of the order form being sent home like was done with Tiger Trek.  Email has hurt us.
• Plans for field day, the end of the year cookout and the 6^th grade talent show are currently underway.  Amy O’Neil is coordinating the talent show and Jen Bencko the cookout.
• On May 11^th the IS students will be treated to performance by the Jim Linehan Dance Group.  The performance will take place in the morning and will last approximately 45 minutes. Jim mentioned a discount if another building in the district was interested in a show as well.  Amy O’Neil is the contact person for this event.
• The IS will celebrate teacher appreciation day on May 5^th.  A “Fiesta” luncheon is being coordinated by Jill Andrews.

Gurney participated in a Zero Waste Challenge this month through the Greener Grass Club.

The Gurney School report was presented by Regina Lantsberg.

• Thank you to all of the volunteers who provided us with dinners on conference nights!  They were fabulous!
• Zero Waste Challenge: Thanks to Mrs. Garvey, we are looking forward to a successful Zero Waste Challenge tomorrow, on Earth Day!  Her Greener Grass Club has provided us with great morning announcements and information to give our students and parents regarding how to pack a zero waste lunch.  We practiced today and kindergarten did the best (and when we had the teachers try it last week, the kindergarten teachers did the best and won Heinen’s gift cards)!  It was a very close race though.  Tomorrow, our goal is to have less waste (measured in pound per student) than the Intermediate School did when they did this.  If we reach that goal, each grade level will get an extra recess.  The grade level that does the best tomorrow will receive a reusable, Gurney Tiger Pride water bottle for each student!  This has been both a fun and educational activity for the whole school!
• Right to Read Week: Next week is our Right to Read Week.  Information will be coming home this week.  It is a sports theme and students are encouraged to wear different sports jerseys and tshirts on certain days next week.  We have an incentive for students to read at home and enter a drawing to participate in our Friday assembly with a special star guest!  All week, we will be playing music over the p.a. spontaneously as a signal for the whole school to stop and read!
• Kindergarten Screening:  Kindergarten Screening is May 6 and 7^th.  Please spread the word that parents must register their child before they are screened and registration can be done at central office.  If anyone needs to sign up for screening, they just need to call the Gurney office.
• Full Day Kindergarten:  The deadline to sign up for full day kindergarten in May 7^th.  A $200 deposit is required to hold the spot in full day kindergarten.  Rachel Gebler is moving to teaching full day kindergarten for next year.  We don’t know which teacher will take over the ½ day classes – it will depend on the numbers that enroll.
• Summer Reading and Math Camp flyer:  Information on the Gurney Summer Reading and Math Camp is included in the Gurney newsletter.  Please consider registering your child.
• Summer Science Camp flyer:  Information on Camp Invention at Gurney is included in the Gurney newsletter.   Please consider registering your child!
• Dr. Rasinski Training:  Wondering why your child’s teacher was out for 3, ½ days right when we got back from spring break?  Sorry!  But, it was the only time we could get this phenomenal early literacy instructor, Dr. Tim Razinski.  He is a professor at KSU and has written over 200 articles and co-authored or edited over 50 books on reading education.  He is author of the best-selling book on reading fluency, The Fluent Reader.  His research has been cited by the National Reading Panel and has been published in journals such as Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Reading Psychology, and the Journal of Educational Research.  Tim was recently elected to the International Reading Hall of Fame.  So you can see, we couldn’t pass up on the opportunity and he was worth it!

Gurney PTO Report

The Gurney School PTO report was presented by Kristin Wood.

• Recent Events/Updates

• Grant request pending for 1^st grade cameras.
• 3^rd grade Reading and Math Achievement testing finished today – Tuesday and Wednesday am.
• Sports theme for Right to Read week culminating with a special guest on Friday.
• Thank you’s from teachers re: the school conferences dinner.

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • Right to Read Week — April 26 – 30
  • Teacher Appreciation luncheon – May 5
  • Kindergarten Screening – May 6 and 7
  • Tiger Trek Walk-a-thon – May 27

• Approved Requests

Kindergarten science grants

• Miscellaneous

Staffing changes for 2010-11

• • Curtis Howell (2^nd) moving to Middle School; Shelly Zdolshek taking his place in 2^nd grade; Rachel Gebler (half day Kdg) taking Z’s Kindergarten full day class.
  • Julie Greene (2^nd) is taking all of next year off and will return the following year.
  • Sheryl Butler will be the Gurney Math Intervention Specialist for 2^nd and 3^rd grade.  Never had math intervention before.
  • Justin Wise and Kelly Shanaberger (both Kdg) RIF’d – hoping to hire back once Kindergarten numbers come in.
  • Jason Starynchak resigned (1^st).

The Gurney School report was presented by Joanne Mychenberg.

• Thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped make our valentine parties a big success.
• A blog has been created on the Gurney web page.  We encourage parents to please join in the discussion.
• Kindergarten Registration – Saturday, February 27^th from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm at Gurney Elementary.
• 3^rd Graders testing week:  March 22 – 26, 2010 – for gifted identification for 4^th grade programming
• Gurney is piloting two new reading/writing programs at each grade level for a couple months and will hopefully have a new program to present to the Board at the end of the year.
• We had guest artist, David Kadas, visit Gurney this month.

The Gurney School PTO report was read by Gwenn Klose.

Recent Events/Updates:

• Not much has happened since the last meeting except for Valentine’s  Day parties and they were a success.
• Did not have a meeting with Rachel Jones this month due to her illness on our scheduled meeting day.
• Set Teacher Appreciation Lunch for May 5. (Editor’s Note:  This is provided by classroom fees paid to PTO room parents.)

• Upcoming PTO Related Events
  • K Registration – Feb 27
  • K Kick-off – March 18
  • Both events are running well and have sufficient volunteers and staff.

• Approved Requests
  • Grant Request for Nancy Lodge for professional development has been approved.
  • Grant for weather station is still pending.
  • Receipt has been received for the glass shelves and check request is forthcoming.

• Miscellaneous
  • Help is desperately needed for Tiger Tutors.
    • PTO suggested that that Hamlet be contacted for additional resources.

Each month the presenting staff member for the high school report also gives information to the PTO on the events within their department.  This month’s report from David King highlights the Art Department 7-12.  Because the list of award winners at Chagrin was long, I decided it deserved its own post. 

Art Department News

Maggie Robinson won TWO American Vision Awards (best four pieces in the show) and the Sue Wall Award (best painting) at a recent art show -- here is her award-winning work "Popcorn Shop".

• The Middle school is hosting an Art Forum to be held on March 17^th, St. Patrick’s Day.  This is an event that will include the Chagrin Valley Middle School Conference.  An artist or group of artists will come in and work with the students in a workshop format.  There will be two workshops for each participant that day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

High School Photography News:

This year’s 1st semester photography students had a very exciting field trip to the Rotunda building downtown Cleveland which has been abandoned for years. Photos of this experience will be on the CF website soon.

Past 2 years 2nd semester Photography has participated in the community summer art show called “CLICK” put on by the Chagrin Falls Library. Students have received several of the top awards.

Paige Cameron was offered a $40,000-64,000 scholarship to the CIA as a sophomore! This is her award-winning work "Self-Portrait".

High School Computer Graphics News:

Recently 8 of my students participated in the “Cleveland Rock-Off” design competition. We are still waiting to get our results back.

Last year my students participated in a design competition put on by the Chagrin Valley Rec. for a new logo design. Eric Seegot created the winning design.

Misc. High School Art News

2010-2011 we will be running a Digital Photography Course pilot.

Digital Academy has been an excellent experience and I am learning and practicing on show casing student work on the Web.

The site is not complete but is coming along nicely…look for it in the future.

The AP classes are taking a field trip to see the Scholastics show and a tour of the Cleveland Institute of Art studios.

(Find out more about the show.)

Complete List of Art Show Award Winners Read More…

The Gurney School report was presented by Kim Tressler.

• Thank you so much for all the volunteer help with holiday parties prior to winter break and with hanging our spirit banners for Gurney Night!  Also, thank you to the parent volunteers who helped us run the second round of H1N1 vaccinations so smoothly!
• Spirit Week and Gurney Night were both a great success!  The students (and many teachers)really enjoyed the fun apparel associated with Spirit Week such as Crazy Hat Day and Silly Slippers Day.  We ended the week with a great pep assembly run by Mr. Howell and the Girls Varsity Basketball Team along with Mrs. Pelsozy and the Varsity Cheerleaders.  We learned some new cheers and did some whole school relay races!  Saturday night Gurney students and their families cheered on Mr. Howell and the girls to a victory over the Orange Lions!
• Kindergarten Registration will be held February 27^th at Gurney from 8am-1pm.  Notice of this will be on the website, in the local papers, and sent to local daycares/preschools.  Kindergarten Kick-Off Night is March 18^th at Gurney but we are changing the start time from 7pm to 6pm and that will be repeated in all hand-outs at registration.  Next year’s kindergarten options are the same as this year.  Half Day Kindergarten is available (am/pm) and Full Day Kindergarten is tuition based.  Full Day Kindergarten is $2500 with a required $200 deposit by May 7^th to hold a spot on a Full Day roster.  Read More…