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The Shaker Schools Connection
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Student Spotlight: Senior Corin Manning is all about STEM at school and in her free time.
Student News: Learn more about student activities and achievements from the past month.
IB in Action: Boulevard Building Assistant Mike Bernosky enjoys searching for and learning about fossils---and then sharing what he's discovered with students.
Employee Spotlight: High School Counselor Renee Manuel helps students realize that with an open mind, anything is possible.
Community Engagement: Sign up for Face Academy II and submit your family photos to FACE for a National Family Week video!
City News: Event information from the City of Shaker Heights.
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 Student Spotlight: Corin Manning
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The seeds for Corin Manning's STEM love were planted early: when she was in kindergarten, her parents enrolled her in a NASA-sponsored program called Science, Engineering, Mathematics and Aerospace Academy (SEMAA) at Tri-C Metro Campus (it's now called the Minority University Research and Education Project). Ever since, the Shaker Heights High School senior has been engaged in science both inside the classroom and during her free time. This year, her course-load includes Advanced Digital Design, Honors Physics, AP Calculus and Honors Engineering Applications. When she's not studying, she spends time on her hobby-turned-part-time-job: web development.
Learn more about this phenomenal 17-year-old and how she cultivated her passion for STEM.
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Senior Corin Manning in the High School Engineering Lab
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Adapted Ice Breaker Challenge Raises $6,000
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| On October 21, the Shaker Heights High School Hockey Program hosted its third annual Adapted Ice Breaker with Youth Challenge, a nonprofit that provides athletic opportunities to students with physical disabilities. The event is a fundraiser for Youth Challenge and a hands-on community service opportunity for our high school athletes. This year's event raised $6,000 for Youth Challenge. Since 2016, the Adapted Ice Breaker has raised $17,500. |
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2018 Ice Breaker Challenge participants
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Senior Emet Celeste-Cohen Named NSPA Reporting Finalist
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Senior Emet Celeste-Cohen
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Congratulations to Shaker Heights High School senior Emet Celeste-Cohen, who was named a 2018 Social Justice Reporting Finalist by the National Scholastic Press Association. Emet was honored for his March 5, 2018 article in The Shakerite, "
Extending the Power of Preschool
," which considered kindergarten readiness among Shaker students and examined the District's tuition-based PreK program, Shaker's First Class. Emet was one of ten student-journalist Social Justice Reporting Finalists from around the country. Well done, Emet!
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High School Art Students Install Chalk Murals at the Van Aken District
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Earlier last month, Shaker Heights High School art students began to install a series of beautiful chalk murals at the Van Aken District. The murals are a part of a four-part interactive series commissioned by Arts Van Aken to incorporate public art into the Van Aken District. Each mural was on display for one week and passers-by were encouraged to add their own designs to the student work.
The first mural was designed by Art Club student Jana Chow, a freshman. Her mural was in response to the Art Club's prompt, "My heart sings when... ." The next mural was designed by High School Honors Drawing student Alona Miller, who responded to the prompt, "My family is from ... ." Two additional murals by drawing students Zoe Rosenfelt and Lilith Joachimsmeyer-Gordon also have been installed. Well done, students!
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| Clockwise from upper left: Lilith Joachimsmeyer-Gordon's concept sketch; Freshman Jana Chow and art club students work on her mural design; Zoe Rosenfelt's mural; Alona Miller's mural; and the Art Club's finished mural. |
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Two Seniors Named National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars
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Lia Gomez-Perez and Kevin Lamonica
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Seniors Lia Gomez-Perez and Kevin Lamonica were named Scholars in the College Board's National Hispanic Recognition Program. Each year, the program recognizes approximately 5,000 of the 250,000 Hispanic/Latino students who take the PSAT. Lia Gomez-Perez is also a National Merit Semifinalist.
Recognized students are from the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and the Marshall Islands, as well as other students attending schools abroad.
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Raider Rower Finishes Fourth at Head of the Charles
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Congratulations to Senior Sophie Calabrese, who placed fourth in the Women's Youth Singles at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, October 20-21. She covered the winding three-mile course in a speedy 21:40! Job well done also by Nathan Murray, Lincoln Luzar, Maxim Ehlers and Aidan Baker, who competed in the the Men's Youth 4. Way to go Shaker Crew!
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See Pippin at the High School November 15-17
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The cast of Pippin
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Shaker Theatre Arts and Music Departments proudly present Pippin, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Roger O. Hirson, playing November 15, 16, and 17 at 7 p.m., in the High School Large Auditorium.
Director Scott J. Sumerak says, "Nothing is more universal than the search for purpose. Pippin explores that idea and asks, 'What happens when we don't find it?' Sometimes, the best part of life is realizing that you have everything you need within yourself."
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and senior adults and are on sale now at
www.shaker.tix.com. Tickets may also be purchased in person from the Box Office one hour prior to curtain (6 p.m.) on performance nights.
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MAC Scholars and Sister Scholars Attend MSAN Student Conference
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MAC Scholars and Sister Scholars visiting Harvard
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Six members of the High School Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars and Sister Scholars Program recently attended the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) Conference held in Newton, Mass., October 24-27. All student participants visited Harvard University and one of the following universities: Brandeis University, Framingham State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northeastern University and University of Massachusetts-Boston. The Conference---called Deeper the Roots, Stronger the Tree---engaged students in discussions on race and academic achievement, equity, and discipline disparities. Students also created action plans to take to their respective school districts in order to assist in closing the opportunity/achievement gap. Shaker Heights Schools is one of the founding districts of the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN), a network of school districts across the country working to close the achievement gap.
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IB in Action: Boulevard Building Assistant & Inquirer Mike Bernosky
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Mike Bernosky
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A shelf from Mr. Bernosky's fossil display
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Boulevard Elementary School Building Assistant Mike Bernosky may have selected some fairly dated decor to fill the empty display case in the school's main hallway, but his arrangement is turning heads. Mr. Bernosky, a fossil enthusiast, stocked the cabinet with items from his personal collection of fossils---trilobites, prehistoric snails and fish and more---to commemorate National Fossil Day on October 18. Even better, he'll make the items come to life when he shares the knowledge he's gained as a fossil hunter with groups of Boulevard students in the coming months.
"To me, what's interesting is about hunting for fossils is that I don't know what I'm going to find when I head out," Mr. Bernosky says. "It's like a giant treasure hunt. And I always learn something new every time I go."
For the past 15 years, Mr. Bernosky's passion for fossils has led him to quarries and mines all over the country where he spends hours at a time digging through the earth and breaking chunks of rock in search of prehistoric leftovers buried beneath our modern world. Occasionally, his wife, who teaches science at Cleveland Metropolitan Schools, and his 10-year-old daughter accompany him. Each one of his pieces has a story: there's the mammoth tooth that he won in a raffle, there's the Edmontosaurus femur he found at a site in Montana, and the colorful chunk of petrified wood his daughter stumbled upon in Arizona.
Read our IB in Action spotlight on Mr. Bernosky.
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Employee Spotlight: Renee Manuel
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High School Counselor Ms. Manuel
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Shaker Heights High School Counselor Renee Manuel's open-minded spirit has served her well: it's led her to new professional opportunities throughout her career and has created a home life that's full of love and a backyard that's clucking with chickens.
Perhaps more important is that she uses her own experiences as a way to connect with her students and to show them that with an open-mind, the possibilities are endless.
Read our Employee Spotlight on Ms. Manuel.
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High School Community Meeting on Thursday, November 8
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| The District will host a High School Community Meeting Thursday, November 8, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Large Auditorium of the High School. Dr. Stephen Wilkins, Interim Superintendent of Schools, and High School Substitute Principal, Dr. David Glasner, will be available to take your questions and concerns. We remind you that discussion of personnel matters is limited in accordance with Board policy. We also want our families to know that issues involving the principal on administrative leave do not involve police matters, and that the safety and well-being of our students has never been in question. Should you have any questions about this event, please contact Scott Stephens in the Office of Communications and Public Relations at 216-295-4309 or [email protected]. |
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Youth Ending Hunger Spaghetti Dinner
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 Join the the annual Youth Ending Hunger Spaghetti Dinner on Thursday, November 8, from 5-7 p.m. in the High School Upper Cafeteria. The event---with assistance from the Mano en Mano club---will raise funds for the YEH club's KIVA fund, which allows its students to lend money via the internet to low income entrepreneurs and students in more than 80 countries. Kiva's mission is to "connect people through lending to alleviate poverty."
Come for the delicious food and bring the whole family! Cost is $8 for adults, $6 for students and $4 for children.
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This is a reminder that there will be no classes for students the week of Thanksgiving, November 19-23. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Woodbury Clock Tower Wins Shaker Heights Landmark Commission Historic Preservation Award
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Interim Superintendent Dr. Wilkins with Van Auken Akins architects Melissa Fliegel and Jill Akins
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Shaker Heights Schools, Van Auken Akins Architects and contractors Envirocom Construction Inc., Thorson Baker & Associates and Professional Service Industries Inc. shared a Historic Preservation Award granted by the City of Shaker Heights for the restoration of the Woodbury School bell tower.
The tower was deemed structurally unsafe in 2015, disassembled and comprehensively restored in 2016. Although the tower's original 2,000-pound bell was removed during the restoration work, it remains at the school, displayed on a pedestal on the Woodbury front lawn. Today, the tower is historically identical to when the school was built 100 years ago.
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High School Mindful Mornings Programs
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Mary Bourisseau has combined her passion for well-being and mindfulness with her work as a Shaker Heights High School Counselor into an opportunity that she hopes will reduce stress for high school students and staff. Beginning this month, Mrs. Bourisseau will host Mindful Mornings in the small auditorium at 7:40 a.m. daily so that High School students and staff can participate in a morning meditation. Attending is easy: guests sign in, take a seat and engage.
High School staff has noticed increased levels of anxiety among high school students in recent years. "Students already use the zen room in the nurse's office---it's got mood lighting, putty and music to help kids relax," Mrs. Bourisseau explains. "We know that at least half of all college students access some form of mental health help, so we want to do what we can now to give our students the tools they need to help them manage their stress and emotional well-being."
Read more about Mindful Mornings.
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Online Report Cards for Students in Grades 5-12
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Families with students in Grades 5-12 will access student report cards online via
ProgressBook. Sharing report cards electronically streamlines the process of receiving final grades for families and represents significant savings in postage and service contracts for the District.
At the end of each grading period---every nine weeks at the High School and Middle School (the first quarter ended October 26), and every 12 weeks at Woodbury---families will receive an email and text notification that report cards are available for viewing. Simply log in to your family's ProgressBook account as you would to view your student's grades and click on the new "Report Card" tab. High School and Middle School report cards are available now.
The District will mail report cards home for students in Grades 5-12 by request only. Contact your building office if you would like a printed copy of your student's report card.
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Hybrid Pianos to Replace District's Traditional Pianos
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Lomond students practicing on the hybrid piano
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The piano in the music room at Lomond looks just like a traditional upright piano, but it's much more than that. It's a hybrid piano---half traditional, half digital. The digital capability enables teachers to connect the pianos with iPads or a USB device to save music and also allows students to play at the piano with headphones. The first hybrid pianos were installed at Lomond and at the High School for use by the pit orchestra. Onaway received its hybrid piano this year. Mercer also will receive a hybrid piano this school year.
"They're a special investment, so the transition will take time," says Lomond music teacher Cynthia Steiner. "This technology is awesome because these pianos really engage students in music."
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Congratulations to David Glasner, Ph.D.
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Dr. David Glasner
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Congratulations to Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction David Glasner, who earned a Ph.D. in Urban Education with a specialization in school administration from Cleveland State University last month.
The topic of his dissertation focused on the impact of tracking students in mathematics on middle school achievement. Well done, Dr. Glasner!
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High School Staff Presents on Bridges Program at National Conference
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Last month, the Shaker Heights High School Bridges team of Sarah Davis, Joe Konopinski, Brian Berger and Jayce Bailey traveled to the College Board Forum 2018 in Dallas, where the group made a presentation on the High School's Bridges program. Bridges aims to increase the number of diverse students and student success in the High School's Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Courses. The High School team of speakers shared information on the Bridges program with conference attendees who were interested in starting similar programs at their schools and districts.
"We're finding more and more that schools are taking on this type of program," says Mrs. Davis, who facilitates the Bridges program and teaches AP US History and other world history classes at the High School. She shares responsibility of the Bridges program with Mr. Berger and Mr. Konopinski. "It's even happening at the post-secondary level. The more we can all share ideas and invest in this kind of change, the better."
Read more about Bridges and its impact on student achievement.
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Heights Career Tech to Offer Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Program
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 Students in the Heights Career Tech program will soon have another professional pathway to choose from. Beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, the five-district consortium (which includes Shaker Heights High School) will partner with Cuyahoga Community College's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program.
The two-year program will begin with 18 juniors taking two courses, Hospitality Fundamentals and Fundamentals of Food Production, at Tri-C's Eastern Campus in 2019-2020. The following year, the program will expand to include 18 juniors and 18 seniors. The senior courses are Restaurant Management and Room Service and Operations.
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District Announces One-to-One Device Plan for 2019-2020 School Year
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The District announced a Chromebook purchase and distribution timeline that aims to create a District-wide, one-device-to-one-student learning environment for grades 5-12 by the 2019-2020 school year.
"Our District vision is to provide all students with access to technology that supports 21st century learning and skill development," says John Rizzo, Executive Director of Technology and Media Services. "We all know that technology is constantly changing---this plan enables us to respond proactively to those changes."
The roll-out will begin this year, with an increase in the number of classroom-assigned Chromebooks for Grades K-4. In 2019-2020, the District will assign Chromebooks to all students in Grades 5-12.
The District is still in the process of developing policies and procedures for student Chromebook use and distribution. Stay tuned to shaker.org for more updates.
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Community Engagement
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FACE Academy II
Join the second FACE Academy on Tuesday, November 13 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the Innovative Center in the lower level of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building, 3450 Lee Road.
This free event is an adult-education opportunity for families to learn more about how best to help their students succeed both in and out of school.
Heavy appetizers will be served. Information on break-out session locations will be provided at registration check-in.
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Send in Your Family Pics!
The Family and Community Engagement Center (FACE) seeks pictures of our Shaker families to include in a video that celebrates National Family Week, November 18-24.
Send us your family selfies, vacation pics, epic game night celebrations---however your family enjoys spending time together!
All photos must be at least 500kb and received by November 12.
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FROM THE CITY OF SHAKER HEIGHTS
Fun for Parents and Kids at Thornton Park
Shaker Heights Recreation is offering Parents Night Out at Thornton Park (3301 Warrensville Center Rd.) on select Fridays from November to March. Take a well-deserved break, while your kids have fun ice skating, watching a movie, and eating pizza and popcorn. Kids ages 5-12. Cost: $20 for Shaker residents; $25 for non-residents. $5 discount per additional child. Admission includes skate rental. Visit the
Parents Night Out Facebook event
page for details.
The popular Friday Night DJ Skate is back on select Fridays through March. Skate to the tunes of DJ Elliott Hastings. Admission: $3 for residents age 6-17; $4 for residents 18-plus. Skate rental: $3. Times subject to change. Check the
Friday Night DJ Skate Facebook page for updates.
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Read Shaker Schools' Latest Feature in Shaker Life
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 The Fall 2018 issue of Shaker Life magazine includes a feature that answers the age-old question: What did you do last summer? The piece includes profiles of four Shaker Heights Schools students: senior Leo Schirokauer, seventh grader Kimora Langford, sophomore Alexa Clawson and junior Molly Harper.
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Have a comment, suggestion or concern? Share it with us using our new Feedback form on the District's website,
www.shaker.org
. Simply choose the "Contact" drop-down menu at the top of the website and click on "Feedback." You can select the particular department you want to receive your message.
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15600 Parkland Drive, Shaker Heights OH 44120
shaker.org ยท 216-295-1400
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