Chagrin Falls Historical Society Visits Gurney
On Aug. 29 and Sept. 4 and 5, third-grade students at Gurney Elementary School had interesting visits with two members of the Chagrin Falls Historical Society. Former Gurney Elementary School teacher Harriet Bakalar, along with Kathryn Kanzinger, visit students every year to teach the classes about Chagrin Falls’ history.
Students enjoyed learning about the mills that used to be around the village and the products that were made in those mills. They brought some bowls, butter molds, irons and handles from axes and sledgehammers. They also talked about what clothing was like, what school was like and how transportation has changed over time.
“They always leave tubs of artifacts behind so that our students can look at games that children used to play and more,” said third-grade teacher Lisa Todaro.
Chagrin Falls Schools Publishes 2017-18 Quality Profile
Chagrin Falls Schools is among many other Ohio school districts to concurrently release the 2017-18 Quality Profile. The Quality Profile takes a focused look at what the school district and students are doing beyond test scores.
Residents are encouraged to review Chagrin Falls Schools’ 2017-18 Quality Profile. The report can be found on the District homepage (www.chagrinschools.org) or at this link: bit.ly/2017_18CFQualityProfile.
The Quality Profile highlights awards and accolades, commitment to improvement, academics, digital learning arts/music, fiscal stewardship, student leadership and activities, enrichment activities, the Innovation Center and parent and community involvement.
“We will continue to engage our community in the ongoing work of defining our success locally and utilize the Quality Profile as a tool to report our progress,” said Superintendent Robert Hunt. “We are open to and appreciative of the community’s feedback.”
Media Specialist Introduces Research Database Program
Research is a skill that students must learn as they advance in their academic careers and Chagrin Falls Schools has taken an initiative to teach them early. Chagrin Falls Schools’ grades 7-12 media specialist Angie Jameson was featured in an online blog postabout how the district is putting young learners on a path to discovery by using research-friendly platforms like Kids InfoBits.
Kids InfoBitsis an age-appropriate research platform that gives students access to full-text content that is constantly updated to match elementary-level curricula. It is created by Gale, a Cengage Co. that partners with libraries globally to empower the discovery of knowledge. Students can research any categories that are of interest to them such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, social studies, people andtechnology.
“I love the browsing ability that comes with Kids InfoBits,” said Jameson. “Introducing our students to research and synthesis skills using topics they are interested in results in much deeper engagement compared to assigning students a research topic while attempting to teach these difficult skills.”
Jameson had previously taught a 10th-grade AP English course on how to properly research, include citations and avoid plagiarism. After becoming the media specialist, she decided to introduce research lesson plans to the intermediate level teachers. Kid InfoBits fit perfectly into the curriculum.
As Chagrin Falls Schools is a technology-focused district, it needed a digital resource that could teach research skills while easily fitting into classroom workflow. Kid InfoBits works with G Suite as well as Microsoft 365. The goal is to have students become familiar with these sharing and saving programs now so that in high school and college, these are second nature to them.
Maggie Stauffer, a paraprofessional who teaches intermediate library classes, adds, “It was fun to introduce the students to Kids InfoBits. They were surprised that this reliable information was available to them at school and at home.”
Jameson worked to get students excited about research in their brief, 36-minute weekly class and her efforts have paid off. She has noticed an increase in site usage and said, “The read-aloud option and ability to translate the content into any given language…that’s what made us realize just how amazing the Kids InfoBits accessibility features are.”
Student Designs 2D Linoleum Labels
A growing trend in the library field involves replacing the Dewey Decimal system with genre-styled organization. Angie Jameson, grades 7-12 library media specialist for Chagrin Falls Schools, took the project on as one of her first goals in the 2017-18 school year. Assisted by student aides and library paraprofessionals, the team began looking up every book in the collection and searching for its genre. The task was more time consuming than Jameson anticipated, so instead of rushing to purchase the stock genre stickers from Demco, she decided to reach out to the 2D art teacher Jill Eisert to collaborate on the label design.
Eisert was happy to jump on board to collaborate on this project. Sophomore artist Robin Barth took on the challenge of creating all 15 designs in medium of linoleum relief printmaking. The process involved drawing the designs, transferring them to linoleum and carving each by hand using relief carving tools. Each piece was printed by hand using a printing press before images were digitally photographed and inputted into the final designs.
At the start of the 2018-19 school year, Jameson and the library team will use the student art to categorize each book in the fiction collection by genre. The books in the high school and middle school libraries will be reorganized by genre to enhance the students’ browsing experience and empower students to find books based on their interests. Other libraries around the United States have seen an impressive increase in circulation after genrefying their collection, and Jameson is eager to finish the project and present the new system to students and staff.
Students Selected to join Attorney General’s Board
Two students from Chagrin Falls High School were chosen to serve on Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s Teen Ambassador Board for the 2018-19 school year.
CFHS students Mitchell Gravely and Ashton Hunt, along with more than 300 other students, will advise the attorney general’s office on issues relating to teens and will work with each other to develop solutions. Students also attend presentations, hear from elected officials, interact with assistant attorneys general and are given the opportunity to participate in events around the state. They will serve a one-year term and meet in Columbus twice during their tenure on the Board.
The mission of the Teen Ambassador Board is to provide Ohio’s future leaders with a deeper look into Ohio law and government. This year, participants represent 52 Ohio counties and over 160 schools throughout the state. Applications for the board are available for high school juniors and seniors from public, private, home, charter and online schools in Ohio.
In a press release from the attorney general’s office, DeWine said, “We created this board to give Ohio high school students an opportunity to learn about law and government and to hear their ideas. We look forward to working with this group of students.”
Board members have already presented workshops at the 2018 Two Days in May Conference on Victim Assistance and the 2017 Law Enforcement Conference. Their presentation was about popular apps that teens use, how to understand the apps, their potential dangers and available security measures.
In the past, the Teen Ambassador Board has also met with DeWine, members of the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives, toured the Ohio Supreme Court and met with Supreme Court Justices. They also interacted with senior administrative staff, employees and Bureau of Criminal Investigation scientists of the attorney general’s office.
The 2018 Teen Ambassador Board kick-off meeting was held in August. Gravely and Hunt now look forward to participating via an app called Discourse, where they will comment on issues to help the attorney general get a teen’s perspective.