Five Speech and Debate Qualifiers Move on to Nationals
By Katie Nelson, Junior, Chagrin Falls High School
On June 14-19, 2020, Chagrin Falls High School will send five qualifying speech and debate members to the national tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sophomore Grace Hoy and seniors Mikey King, Eli Shall, Maggie Mills and Sasha Haines will attend the national tournament competing in the categories dramatic interpretation, duo interpretation and public forum debate.
“All the national qualifiers are people who have overcome quite a few obstacles to get where they are currently,” said speech and debate head coach Ken Kasee, Chagrin Falls High School.
Challenges the qualifiers have faced include Shall and King placing third in last year’s national qualifier competition and Haines and Mills receiving mixed results on the national circuit.
According to Mr. Kasee, the five team members represent some of the most devoted and diligent individuals on the team. “They represent the most skilled, matched with some of the hardest workers on the team. We have an extremely hardworking team,” said Kasee. These qualifiers all remain extremely motivated throughout the season and work hard in order to achieve success while competing.
Grace Hoy is one of the five qualifiers who has stood out significantly this year. “Grace is new this year as a sophomore and she came in and was immediately successful,” said Kasee. “She has overcome some roadblocks along the way and has still managed to exceed everyone’s expectations and qualify for nationals.” Hoy performs a cutting from the HBO show “Euphoria” by Sam Levinson. She is excited to travel to Albuquerque in June. “I genuinely never thought I would qualify and I am beyond excited to see all the incredible speeches and absorb skills for next season,” said Hoy. By viewing other competitors and watching their performances, Hoy hopes to gain more skills for future speech seasons.
King looks forward to seeing different competitors’ style of performance. “I always feel like there is a greater sense of competition at larger national tournaments because no one has seen each other’s piece before,” said King. King and his partner Shall perform a cutting of the film “Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie” by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. King reflects on his accomplishments that he has shared with his duo interpretation partner, Eli Shall. In December, King and Shall competed at George Mason University’s national circuit tournament where they were tournament champions. “We beat out close to forty other duos from across the country including the national champions from last year. Eli and I both were proud of that,” said King. From their victory at George Mason University, the pair now brings that level of confidence to the state tournament at Wooster High School on March 6-7.
All of the national qualifiers have their own successes that they are proud of, and it would not have happened without the bond of the team as a whole. “My biggest accomplishment this season is definitely creating a close bond with everyone on the team,” said Hoy. “I wouldn’t have been able to finish off the season without them.”
Chagrin Falls Middle School Eighth-Grade Students Celebrate World Languages
Chagrin Falls Middle School eighth-grade students celebrated world languages and cultures in January. The entire grade explored the Cleveland Museum of Art to discover some of the richness of art from countries around the world.
Based on students´ world language classes, customized tours were arranged for each of the groups. “We believe in the power of teamwork to develop the love of learning, the potential in kids, and to inspire active, global citizens,” said teacher Kathleen Aranavage.
While reading the novel, Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso, the Spanish students examined Picassos in the museum, as well as some of the African masks and other artists that inspired Picasso’s cubist works. The French students studied the works of impressionists such as Monet and Cézanne. Chinese students explored the large Chinese collection with their docent. Students not enrolled in a world language class also had the opportunity to learn about works of art from around the world; these students took a tour of Italian art, tying into their middle school world studies curricula. After their customized tours, students had a half hour to explore with their adult chaperone. The day ended with the opportunity to experience global cuisines and interact with servers from different parts of the world. Chinese students dined at Hunan, French students tasted the cuisine at L’Albatros, students on the Italian art tour dined in Little Italy at Trattoria, and Spanish students savored the paella and other Spanish delights at Mallorca.
Chagrin Falls Intermediate School Students Learn from “The Bully of Baker Street” Performance
Chagrin Falls Intermediate School hosted the Great Lakes Theater Company on February 21 for their “Classics on Tour” production of “Sherlock Holmes Meets the Bully of Baker Street.”
Students were able to join the world’s greatest detective as he utilized his remarkable skills of observation and deduction to confront his most sensational mystery while trying to figure out – who is the Bully of Baker Street. Actors used humor, logic and song to perform this original tale, adapted from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, and provide important lessons in problem-solving and empathy.
“We extend our deepest gratitude to the Dolan family for sponsoring this event,” said Principal Sarah Read, Chagrin Falls Intermediate School.
Chagrin Falls High School Students Land Summer Internship at Hyland
Chagrin Falls High School (CFHS) students Anais Levi and Emily Collins received an opportunity for an invaluable learning experience this upcoming summer. After going through an application process, Levi and Collins were two of the five students selected for Hyland’s pilot high school internship program. Hyland, whose global headquarters is in Westlake, Ohio, is a leading content services provider that enables thousands of organizations to deliver better experiences to the people they serve.
This is the first time Hyland is offering an internship program specifically for high school students. In the past, high school students could apply to Hyland’s internships, but they competed against college students.
Former CFHS student and Hyland employee Joseph Maxwell said, “We decided to pilot this program because we recognize that there are a lot of highly skilled students in Northeast Ohio, and we want to help them learn and grow as they navigate their future career paths. We also know they can make valuable contributions to our business, and we hope they will come back as full-time employees someday.”
Throughout the duration of the internship, Levi and Collins will be working in the research and development department. During this time, they will work alongside current testers, product owners and developers while reviewing code, testing software and attending team meetings to work towards completion of a project.
Each with the support of a mentor, Levi and Collins will be involved in the development lifecycle of a project, which will allow them to gain knowledge and insight of the business and how a software company runs. Additionally, the students will have a unique opportunity to work in an enterprise-level codebase where they will be able to learn by actually doing the work and applying programming skills.
“I took AP Computer Science with Mrs. Carolyn Petite when I was in high school, so I know from experience that her classes are enormously impactful,” said Maxwell. “She has inspired me and countless others to pursue careers in computer science, which is no easy feat.”
Levi and Collins will be working full-time, 40 hours a week, from June to August.
Chagrin Falls Eighth-Grade Students and Parents To Read Books on Holocaust, Engage in Conversations about Literacy and Empathy
On February 27, eighth-grade students at Chagrin Falls Middle School met a Holocaust survivor at a “Face to Face” presentation at the Congregation Shaarey Tikvah. The speaker shared an engaging and powerful personal story while inspiring students to value one another.
“At Chagrin Falls Middle School, we are proactive and focus on having a positive culture. We work to be aware and accepting of diversity, therefore we get involved with programs that expose students to opportunities that reaffirm this value,” said Principal Laila Discenza, Chagrin Falls Middle Schools. “Visiting Congregation Shaarey Tikvah will have a lasting impact on our school beyond that of a lesson or team activity.”
The school is extending this learning to families as well. A parent book club, led by Media Specialist Angie Jameson, will take place in March. Eighth-grade parents are encouraged to read the book, “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by Heather Morris. Jameson will help provide guiding questions so that families can have discussions pertaining to what they are learning about in English and social studies, as they are studying World War II and the Holocaust while reading “A Boy in the Striped Pajamas” or “Parallel Journeys.” The two parent book club meeting dates are March 3 and March 17 at 10 a.m. in the Innovation Center. Any questions can be emailed to Angie.Jameson@chagrinschools.org. Parents can click here to register for the book study.
Chagrin Falls Middle School Students of the Month
The Student of the Month award at Chagrin Falls Middle School acknowledges students for their outstanding performance and rewards them for their efforts. The students were chosen by seventh and eighth-grade teams to be a “Tiger of the Month.” These students exemplify the Tiger Techniques of Think, Integrity, Grit, Effort, and Responsibility. These students receive personalized tiger water bottles from the PTO.
Chagrin Falls Middle School February Students of the Month
Seventh-Grader Molly Johnson
Molly always displays a positive attitude in English. She comes prepared and works well with any student. She enters with a smile on her face and spreads positivity and a strong work ethic to those around her. Molly works hard every single day and is respectful to others. She always gives her best effort and never gets discouraged if things get challenging. A most ideal student with outstanding attributes such as a positive attitude for learning, always prepared and works beyond the teacher’s expectations. In social studies, Molly makes a great partner in groups with her firm understanding of concepts and ability to listen and share appropriately with others.
Seventh-Grader AJ Thompson
AJ is polite and enters the classroom each day with a positive attitude. He has an amazing sense of humor that helps the class make connections to the topics being studied. His work ethic is impressive. In English, AJ works hard, stays on task and works well with any student. He is polite, kind and a great role model. He is conscientious and willing to help others if needed. AJ always seems excited about what he is learning in social studies. He is helpful, engaged and positive.
Eighth-Grader Sydney Nichols
Sydney is always prepared for class. She is a responsible student and participates in class. Sydney is a great role model to her peers. She is always prompt, polite and prepared. She cares about her schoolwork and puts forth her best effort. Sydney is an awesome viola player in the eighth-grade orchestra. She is always attentive during rehearsals and is willing to help whenever she can.
Eighth-Grader Ben Cowan
Ben is a respectful, mature and polite young man that is always kind to adults and peers. He goes above and beyond what is expected of him in class and advocates for himself. He consistently enters the class with a positive attitude and prepared to put his best effort forward.
