Students Inspired by Female Community Leaders
The Chagrin Falls High School R.O.X. (Ruling Our Experiences) program facilitated by Julie Beckerman and Amanda Heintzelman hosted a guest speaker panel featuring female community leaders and role models. Exposing the girls to career role models gave them an opportunity to see diverse women in the community who are successful in their occupation. “The guest speaker panel was a wonderful way to conclude the last R.O.X. session for the school year,” said Chagrin Falls High School teacher Amanda Heintzelman. “It was a positive experience for not only the students attending, but all of the women serving on the panel.”
Presenters included: Tracey Bradnan (Director of Communications & Marketing, Case Western Reserve), Robin Peavy (Co-Owner, Chagrin Yoga), Lauren Daughin (Candy Stick Photography), Katie Corr (Education Specialist, Cleveland MetroParks Zoo), Molly Gebler (Executive Director, Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce), Denise Workum (Trial Attorney IV, Nationwide)
BOE Recognizes Support Organizations
At the June 5 Chagrin Falls Board of Education meeting, support organizations were recognized by school administration and Board of Education members for their continuing funding assistance that raised $640,500 in the 2016-17 school year. These funds were used in a variety of ways including the purchase of technology such as iPad Pro Sets and Microsoft HoloLens. It also includes funding programs in athletics, music, and the arts, as well as professional development programs, student enrichment programs, classroom materials, equipment, and projects, as well as opportunities for extracurricular clubs and activities. Funds also were used for the construction of the new Innovation Center located at the 7-12 campus.
Students Benefit from Artist in Residence Program
This past school year, Chagrin Falls High School art teacher Libby Harrold invited local artist Kristen Cliffel to work with three classes of ceramic students and one class of portfolio students to help them create a ceramic food narrative sculpture. Cliffel came as a part of a two-week residency through the Ohio Arts Council.
Harrold met Cliffel through a summer ceramics course at the Cleveland Institute of Art that Cliffel taught. Harrold found out Cliffel taught in the classroom setting with art educators through the Ohio Arts Council.
“Kristen only completes residencies with teachers she has a prior connection or relationship with, so I was fortunate enough to gain her approval prior to the OAC application process,” said Harrold.
Cliffel earned a BFA in Ceramics from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1990 and has since been the recipient of the 2015 Individual Award of Excellence through the Ohio Arts Council and the 2016 Cleveland Arts Prize for a Mid-career Artist Award. Her work is displayed in private and public collections in areas such as University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies, Metro General Hospital, Lutheran Hospital and Hahn, and the Cleveland Clinic. Her work is large-scale and uses bright colors and surfaces.
The first week of residency was from April 25-28 and May 1. This week was spent working on clay construction, textural details, and realistic sculpture rendering. Week two from May 8-11 and 15, was spent on the glazing process, color schemes and relationships, and the sculpture completion.
The residency began with Cliffel discussing her work, intentions, and life story. She worked individually with students on a daily basis to improve their technical skills and understand the student’s design and narrative intentions. When planning their narrative food sculpture, students were asked to think about questions such as: Who will be eating the food? Where is your food? What is the size of your sculpture? What is the time lapse shown in your food sculpture, that is, is your sculpture half-eaten or melted, etc.? Cliffel especially encouraged students to create a “stage” for their sculpture so that viewers had evidence of their narrative.
During week two of residency, Cliffel and Harrold hosted a community outreach event for CFHS staff members and art teachers from Orange High School to join in a ceramic workshop. There, attendees learned the glazing process of majolica on a ceramic travel mug. “This provided attendees an opportunity to engage in the creative process and come together in an appreciation for art programs and the value they hold in education,” said Harrold.
On the final day of residency, Cliffel had a reflective discussion with students about their own works and progress as artists. Harrold’s goal with the residency was to introduce students to a professional ceramic artist and allow them to directly apply feedback from Cliffel to their artistic vision. The students benefited from Cliffel’s knowledge, expertise, and hands-on experience. Harrold also benefited from Cliffel’s visit. She said, “Kristen provided knowledgeable feedback on ways to better organize space in my classroom, specific ceramic tools to add to the curriculum, various firing methods with my new kiln, and upcoming workshops to attend as an artist and an art educator.”