Schools

The Cleveland Heights–University Heights City School District announced on May 20 that Shelley Pulling will become the new principal of Boulevard Elementary School on July 1.

According to a district statement, Pulling brings 20 years of educational experience to Boulevard. She has taught at the elementary school level in a multicultural learning community in the Galveston Independent School District and in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She was an assistant principal for four years and served in the Perry Local School District as principal of Perry Elementary School for the last 10 years. Pulling earned her B.A. in elementary education in 1991 and her master’s degree in educational administration in 1999, both from Cleveland State University.

MAY 7, 2013

• Heights High musicians recognized
• Continuing contracts
• Lay Facilities Committee (LFC)
• Gearity 4th grade trip
• School transportation options
• Teacher evaluation policy
• Donations
• Property tax collection
• Heights tennis team champions
• Acknowledgements
  
  

All board members were present.

The Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA) is seeking host families for its Kosovo Youth Exchange Program (KYEP) for the upcoming school year, when Cleveland Heights High School’s Renaissance International School will welcome up to three students. The application deadline is May 25.

“Opening myself up to a new family and a new culture was the best decision of my life,” said Dorotea, one this year’s KYEP students. A sophomore from Pristina, Kosovo, she is studying at Magnificat High School, where she’s made friends, joined the debate team, and made the honor roll. Along with other Cleveland-based KYEP students—Gresë, also a student at Magnificat, and Arbias, enrolled at Mayfield High School—Dorotea is taking advantage of what the program has to offer. Gresë agrees that her experience has been life-changing: “The friendships I have created are priceless. I am very lucky!”

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education will hold a special board meeting and work session on Tuesday, May 21, at the Board of Education building, 2155 Miramar Boulevard, University Heights, beginning at 7 p.m.

The agenda includes approval of several personnel issues, including the approval of teacher layoffs, a second reading of the New Teacher Evaluation Policy, a discussion of the elementary and middle school start and end times, and a discussion of the Lay Facilities Committee recommendations regarding school facilities.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) will present its recommendations for a school facilities master plan to the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education (BOE) at the board’s May 7 meeting. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Deborah S. Delisle Educational Options Center, 14780 Superior Road.

The public is invited to attend, and the meeting agenda includes an opportunity for audience members to make statements following the LFC's presentation. [Note that BOE meeting protocol requires that audience members wishing to speak at the meeting sign in prior to the start of the meeting. Anyone wishing to make a statement should arrive early to sign in.]

APRIL 23, 2013

• High school ISSN field trip
• Reduction of teaching staff
• Safety and security plan
• New policy adoptions
• Mathematics textbook
  
  

All board members were present.

The Tiger TV News Club at Cleveland Heights High School is producing a new program: “Tiger TV News: For Students, By Students.” 

Perhaps the best news is that anyone can watch it. The first edition is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gm5nVaMEAs

Posted in late March, the first show includes coverage of the school talent show auditions, reviews of the video game “NBA 2K13” and the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” season overviews of the bowling and boys’ basketball teams, and a feature on Heights alumus Jon Hayden and his Coventry Road shop, Focused Tattoo.

All 10 seniors in the Clinical Health Careers program at Cleveland Heights High School have passed the State Tested Nurse Aide (STNA) certification test. This credential qualifies students for jobs and prepares them for college-level medical programs.

The students mastered 40 nursing skills and were evaluated in a written test March 7.

“Preparing for the test was stressful,” said Aliyah McKiry. “But I know it was worth it because I just got a job at Montefiore nursing home.” McKiry was also preparing for the ACT test of general college readiness and keeping up with her classes.

All of the students plan to attend college in the fall to study nursing or another health-care occupation. The schools they plan to attend include Cleveland State University, Cuyahoga Community College, Ursuline College, the University of Toledo and the University of Akron.

On April 23, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education (BOE) voted 5-0 to cut the positions of 42 teachers. According to the district, this constitutes a 7 percent reduction in its teaching staff.

Two of the 42 eliminated positions are half-time; all others are full-time positions, and comprised classroom teachers, special education teachers, a media specialist and social worker.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) will review a draft of its recommendations at its next meeting in preparation for a presentation to the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education at the board’s May 7 meeting. The LFC will meet at 7 p.m. on April 30 in the Social Room at Cleveland Heights High School.

On April 23, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education (BOE) voted 5-0 to cut the positions of 42 teachers. According to the district, this constitutes a 7 percent reduction in its teaching staff.

Additional cuts are planned to administrative and support staff, and are expected to be voted on at the board’s May 21 meeting.

A statement from the district distributed at the conclusion of the April 23 meeting said that the teachers “were recently notified that their positions will not be available next school year.” [Read the district’s statement here.]

Heights High oboist Mary O’Keefe and pianist Kate Miller will perform with the Heights High Symphony on Friday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. O’Keefe will perform “Oboe Concerto in One Movement” by Sir Eugene Goossen, and Miller will perform Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 1, First Movement.”

The May 3 concert is one of three final performances this year by the Cleveland Heights High School Instrumental Music Department (IMD) scheduled for May 1, 3 and 10. All performances take place in the Dina Rees Evans Performing Arts Center at Heights High.

The Barratrous Orthographers, a team of lawyers from Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, were the winners of the 22nd annual Reaching Heights Adult Community Spelling Bee.

The winning team consisted of four-time participants Bonnie Bealer and John Lazzaretti, and five-time participant Becky Bynum. They won in the ninth round of the bee, correctly spelling the word integumentary.

Last year's champions, the Noble-Oxford PTA team, came in second. They were eliminated in the ninth round when they misspelled the word makebate. The second-place team consisted of Lindy Burt, Kathy Soltis and Toni Thayer.

Finishing third and eliminated after misspelling nephelometric was the team representing the City of Cleveland Heights. It included Mary Dunbar and Cheryl Stephens, members of Cleveland Heights City Council, and community activist Jeff Coryell.

On April 11, 25 Cleveland Heights High School students visited Kent State University (KSU) to hear a speech by noted writer, professor, political activist and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.

Professor Wiesel’s message to a large audience, including many students, was a call for compassion and for direct action to alleviate human suffering. He shared personal stories of persecution and suffering during World War II, including time at Auschwitz, and explained how these experiences influence his daily life. For example, when he goes to restaurants he asks the owner to arrange donation of leftover food for hunger relief.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) voted April 10 to recommend Gearity Professional Development School as the site for the University Heights elementary school as part of its lay facilities plan. It also voted to recommend that the plan include geothermal heating and cooling systems in all buildings.

At the LFC's April 10 meeting, district consultants Fanning/Howey Associates and Regency Construction presented cost estimates based on the scenarios requested by the LFC on March 6. The LFC had asked the consultants to cost a scenario that would include the renovation of the high school; renovation of Roxboro and Monticello middle schools; renovation of Canterbury, Oxford and Roxboro elementary schools; construction of a new Boulevard elementary school; and the renovation of either Gearity Professional Development School or Wiley Middle School as an elementary school in University Heights. The LFC had also asked the consultants to estimate the cost of renovating all seven current elementary schools, in order to provide a benchmark.

APRIL 9, 2013

• Recognition: Ellen Posch
• Public comment: Teachers’ Union, Parent concern
• Science Olympiad field trip
• Master teachers
• Library tax rate decrease
• State budget impact
• Upcoming events
  
  

All board members were present.

The Heights High Spring Gospel Choir Concert at on April 26, 7:30 p.m., will feature special guest J.J. Hairston, gospel recording artist.

Hairston is founder and director of the gospel group Youthful Praise, from Bridgeport, Conn. Hairston has received many awards including a Stellar, Grammy and Soul Train Award nomination.

Hairston got his start directing his own high school gospel choir, and enjoys working with and encouraging high school students. He will be performing three numbers with the choir.

In memory of the late Cleveland Heights-University Heights coaching legend Dick Mann, the Cleveland Heights High School athletic department will host a two-mile run-or-walk road race and fundraiser on Saturday, April 27, beginning at 9 a.m. 

The race will raise funds for University Hospitals’ Iris S. & Bert Wolstein’s Kids Kicking Cancer Foundation. It will take place on the morning of the 30th Weingart Relays—Heights High’s annual track and field invitational. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers.

Dick Mann was the track and field and cross-country coach at Heights High for 36 years. Prior to that, he was a student athlete at the school, class of 1950.

Citing continuing uncertainty around Governor John Kasich’s proposed biennial budget and his education reform plan, the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School Board has tasked Douglas Heuer, superintendent, and Scott Gainer, chief financial officer, to develop a plan for substantial budget cuts.

The request was made at the board’s meeting on April 9. An initial draft of the planned cuts is expected to be presented to the Board at their April 23 work session. 

“It’s necessary for us to reduce our operating costs as much as possible without significantly impacting the quality of our academic programs,” said Ron Register, CH-UH School Board president.

Tara Grove, principal of Roxboro Elementary School in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, announced April 8 that she will leave her position at the end of the school year. 

“My husband has been commuting for the past year and a half to Columbus each week,” said Grove in a letter to parents. “After the strain of being apart as a family, we have decided that my husband and I will be moving with our daughter to the Columbus area so our whole family can be together nearer to my husband's job. I am saddened beyond words to leave the Roxboro community after five wonderful years. The students have brought me joy each and every day. The staff is incomparable and I will never forget my time with them all. I have learned so much from our amazing group of educators, parents, and students. I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to the parents and families of Roxboro for everything they have done for our students and staff over the years and for helping make my time here so meaningful and special.”

The Toledo Public Schools (TPS) Board of Education voted unanimously (5–0) to enter into contract negotiations with Assistant Superintendent Romules Durant, thus effectively selecting him as interim superintendent of its schools.

Doug Heuer, Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District superintendent, was the other finalist for the position.

The TPS board has not issued a statement regarding its April 8 vote. According to Patty Mazur, TPS director of communications, "The board wants to wait until contract negotiations with Dr. Durant are complete and he is named as interim . . . The next full board meeting is scheduled for April 23.”

According to Patty Mazur, director of communications for Toledo Public Schools (TPS), the TPS Board of Education (BOE) “has decided to bring two candidates back for second interviews—they are Dr. Romules Durant and Mr. [Doug] Heuer.”

The TPS board is seeking an interim superintendent. Board members interviewed Doug Heuer, Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District superintendent, on April 4, along with a third candidate.

Romules Durant, currently TPS assistant superintendent and the sole internal candidate, interviewed for the interim superintendent position on April 2.

A special board meeting has been scheduled for Monday, April 8, to hold second interviews for both Durant and Heuer, said Mazur. The meeting will begin at noon.

According to an April 3 article in the Toledo Blade, Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Superintendent Doug Heuer is one of three finalists for the position of interim superintendent of Toledo Public Schools. Heuer is scheduled to interview with the Toledo Public Schools Board of Education (BOE) on Thursday, April 4.

Patty Mazur, director of communications for Toledo Public Schools, said that the Toledo BOE had narrowed down the number of candidates from five to three, and interviewed the sole internal candidate, Assistant Superintendent Romules Durant, on Tuesday, April 2.

Mazur confirmed that Heuer was one of two candidates the board would interview on April 4. She said that after the interviews have been completed, the board could announce that it is entering into negotiations with one of the candidates, or it may opt to continue the search.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights middle school students participated in the 2013 Junior Ohio Model United Nations (OMUN), held in Columbus March 10–12, sponsored by the Ohio Leadership Institute.

Thirty-two students from the CH-UH district dressed in costumes and presented and debated resolutions written from their countries’ point of view, and performed in the talent showcase. 

More than 1,000 Ohio students participated, representing more than 150 countries. CH-UH delegations represented four countries:

• �Monticello delegates Jay Callaway, Shane Coar, Aubrey Fort, Leslie Lumpkin, Chante McMillan,  Jordan Nash, Maria Tarnay and Christina Wynne represented Benin.
• �Roxboro delegates Katie Baron, Krista Cobb, Isabel Culver, Dorrie Pharis, Mary Jane Reinhardt, Benjamin Schuster, Lindy Woodson and Claudia Zhu represented Liberia.
• Roxboro delegates Anya Chew, Angel Goodluck, Hannah Gilson, Sophie Gilson, Isabella Jaffery, Georgie Jolivette, Daniel Lawson and David Matia represented Nicaragua.
• Wiley delegates Eric Adeyemon, Jake Bopple, Molly Fleischer, Jesse Gross, Lauren Hailey, Dylan Kuntz, Rhiannon Kuntz and Sophie Levan represented Trinidad and Tobago.

At the Western Reserve District 5 Science Day, sponsored by the Ohio Academy of Science, Beaumont students won seven awards. Of the 23 students who competed, 18 students scored high enough to qualify for State Science Day, to be held at Ohio State University on May 11. This is the largest Beaumont group ever to qualify for State Science Day.

The award winners in Category Awards were Anna Grushetsky '13, first place in mathematics; Megan Jones '13, second place in biochemistry; and Elizabeth Stanitz '14, third place in botany.

Beaumont students who received honors in the Sponsored Awards were Emily Boes '14, Akron District Society of Professional Engineers; Laura O'Meara '16, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Courtney Prebul '13, ASM International; and Julia Parker '14, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC. The awards were presented March 16 at the University of Akron.

For the second year in a row, the Cleveland Heights High School Cheerleading Competition Squad took first place in their division (non-tumble/non-mount) on March 17 at Sylvania Southview High School, Sylvania, Ohio. The competition was sponsored by Cheer for a Cure, which made it even more special. The Heights High squad not only competed against two other teams in their division, they also raised more than $300 for cancer research.

The girls worked hard despite challenges along the way, including finding places to practice and illness. The team expressed special thanks to Coach Nellie Basit; assistant coaches, Coach Angie and Coach Bell; and Athletic Director Kristin Hughes, who all helped out whenever needed.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) is awaiting cost estimates for two versions of scenario 2B, one of six scenarios the committee had been evaluating. District consultants Fanning/Howey Associates and Regency Construction are expected to present costs to the committee at its next meeting on April 10, 7 p.m., at Wiley Middle School.

On March 6, the LFC voted to eliminate the other scenarios. The two variations of scenario 2B would have two middle schools—located at Roxboro and Monticello—and five elementary schools—located at Oxford, Boulevard, Canterbury and Roxboro in Cleveland Heights, and either Gearity or Wiley in University Heights (UH). The scenario retains an elementary school for University Heights, but leaves the site to be determined. One variation would renovate Gearity Elementary School. The other would renovate and repurpose the Wiley Middle School building.

Get ready to have a “gnarly and radical” time as ROXARTS hosts its annual benefit and auction, Saturday, May 4, 6:30–10 p.m., at Coventry's B-Side Lounge, 2785 Euclid Heights Blvd. This year’s event, "Rox-N-Roll: Breakin’ It Down at the B-Side," will take you back to the 80s, so be sure to wear your parachute pants, leg warmers and big hair. 

Get a taste of Asian-inspired food catered by Umami Moto. Enjoy complimentary beer and wine, music and dancing, and participate in the silent and live auctions.

To encourage middle and high school students to focus attention on the corrosive effects of hatred, discrimination and intolerance, while developing critical thinking and communication skills, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage created an annual essay contest in 2008. 

This year, more than 1,600 students from seven Northeast Ohio counties submitted essays to the fifth annual Maltz Museum’s Stop the Hate: Youth Speak Out! contest. The students’ essays address a variety of issues, including cyber-bullying, racism, anti-Semitism and Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) issues, and offer heartfelt and innovative solutions. 

Soli Collins, who lives in Cleveland Heights and attends Roxboro Middle School, is one of three 8th-grade finalists. In her essay, Soli shares her feelings about being a victim of cyber-bullying. She tells how it destroyed an important friendship and how it affected her self-esteem. While the bullying has stopped and the friendship has been somewhat repaired, the effects of the experience still linger.

MARCH 5, 2013

• Public address: artificial turf
• Field trips approved
• Tiger Nation policies
• Safety and security update
• Announcements
  
  

All board members were present.

Twelve Beaumont School students, competing in the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF) last month at John Carroll University, received awards.

Anna Grushetsky and Christina Kerner, coming in first, received gold medals. Second-place winners Yennmay Chia, Erika Klek, Anna Libertin and Julia Parker received silver medals. Emily Boes, Grace Gamble, Megan Jones, Marija Rowane, Elizabeth Stanitz and Ana Maria Vargas came home with bronze medals.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights public school students participated in activities in February to celebrate and learn about the achievements of African Americans.

At Canterbury Elementary School, daily announcements featured important African-American figures and a culminating assembly tied the information together. The Canterbury Concert Series featured an African drummer and dancing, and fourth graders held their annual Wax Museum at which students portrayed figures who came to life and explained their contributions.

Students at Fairfax Elementary School made a quilt featuring symbols used to communicate with escaping slaves. Students also read Follow the Drinking Gourd, The Underground Railroad for Kids, Freedom Calls, and other books, used iPads to record interviews with other students portraying famous black Americans, and created greeting cards highlighting black history.

At its March 6 meeting at Canterbury Elementary School, the Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) selected two variations of one of the six scenarios presented by the building subcommittee on Jan. 29. The chosen scenario, 2B, would have two middle schools—located at Roxboro and Monticello—and five elementary schools— located at Oxford, Boulevard, Canterbury and Roxboro in Cleveland Heights and either Gearity or Wiley in University Heights. The LFC also asked the consultants to provide a benchmark by pricing out what it would cost to retain all seven of the current elementary school buildings.

The LFC plans three community meetings to listen to community comments and discuss the initial survey results and scenario recommendations with the public. The meetings will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, at Wiley Middle School; Wednesday, March 13, at Roxboro Middle School; and Thursday, March 14, at Monticello Middle School. The same information will be discussed at each meeting.

Starting next year, Ohio students will be required to take four—not three—years of math. For Joyce Bukovac, Heights High math teacher and department liaison, this created an opportunity and a challenge. “It is important for students to have strong problem-solving and analytical skills,” she said. She knew it would be important to create courses that would appeal to all students.

Last summer, Bukovac convened the math teachers to develop a plan. The result of their work is four semester-long classes aligned with the Society and Discovery pathways, and plans for next year to develop two more courses.

The Heights High Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Heim, attended the Ohio Music Education Association’s (OMEA) State Orchestra Adjudicated Event for the Northwest Region at Bowling Green High School on Saturday, March 2.

The 51-member ensemble performed a 30-minute program of prepared music at the highest level of difficulty (Class A), followed by a round of Class A sight-read music. The orchestra was awarded a “Superior” rating—the top rating given in the OMEA system. Sixteen high school string and symphony orchestras performed in OMEA classes A, B and C.  

At its next meeting on Tuesday, March 6, the Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) will seek to reduce from six to three the number of facilities scenarios it sends to the district’s consultants to cost out. The buildings subcommittee presented six possible facilities scenarios for the LFC to consider at its Jan. 29 meeting. On March 6, the community subcommittee also plans to share initial results of the community survey it conducted, which concluded March 2.

The March 6 meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Canterbury Elementary School, 2530 Canterbury Road.

Each of the six scenarios includes maintaining the high school at its current location, reducing the number of middle schools from three to one or two, maintaining four or five of the current seven elementary schools, and maintaining an elementary school in University Heights at either the Gearity or Wiley sites.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education has posted the agenda for its March 5 meeting.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the Board of Education building, 2155 Miramar Blvd., following an executive session of the board.

On Feb. 23, Wiley, Monticello and Roxboro middle schools fielded teams in the Science Olympiad Regional Tournament at Case Western Reserve University. Each school team benefited from participating, and a Roxboro team placed high enough to move on to the state tournament in Columbus April 27. 

The Science Olympiad Regional Tournament put the district’s middle school teams up against 20 of the best teams in the region. Over the course of 23 events, Roxboro’s Team A finished in 8th place and Team B finished in 16th place. Roxboro Middle School took 7th place overall, enabling it to send Team A to the State Science Olympiad at The Ohio State University, where 40 middle school and 40 high school teams will compete. The winner in each division will move on to the National Science Olympiad Tournament, to be held at Wright State University in Dayton on May 17–18.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District has announced that Mitch Keller will take the position of interim coordinator of gifted education effective immediately. Keller takes over the position from Jane Simeri, who was recently named as interim principal of the Mosaic School of the Fine and Performing Arts in Cleveland Heights High School. 

“We are very thrilled to have Ms. Keller leading our gifted education services,” Superintendent Doug Heuer said. “She brings substantial experience to this critical position, and I am confident that she will ensure that the CH-UH School District remains at the forefront of gifted education.”

The 70-year-old Swim Cadets synchronized swim club at Cleveland Heights High School presented its annual show Feb. 28, March 1 and 2.

The sixteen-girl team includes nine new members this year. They began practicing in October, and began brainstorming ideas for the show after that.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) has produced a community survey and will hold three community meetings in March specifically to enable residents to comment on the school facilities process and ask questions of LFC members. At the next LFC meeting, scheduled for March 6 at Canterbury Elementary School, the LFC is expected to consider public input from the survey and decide which of six scenarios to ask district consultants to cost out.

At the LFC’s Feb. 13 meeting, the community subcommittee presented the final version of a community survey, which may be filled out online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/CHUH_Lay_Facilities_Survey_2013. The group will also distribute the survey in-person to district PTAs, and at private and parochial schools, religious institutions, libraries and other community venues. The survey both examines broad opinions about the public school buildings and asks for opinions about specific scenarios, such as whether the district should reduce the number of middle schools to one or two.

Each of the small schools at Cleveland Heights High School has its own distinct mission and learning style. Legacy School claimed project-based learning (PBL) as its focus, but had not been entirely successful in its implementation. That changed this school year with Legacy’s adoption of the New Tech model and the unveiling of its new name, Legacy New Tech.

Founded in 1996, New Tech is a national program comprising more than 115 schools in 18 states. New Tech focuses on PBL with an integration of technology into the classroom.

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

• MLK contest winners
• School Board Recognition Month
• Ed Wittenberg
• Public comment
• Field trip approved
• Race to the Top
• Waiver days for staff development
• Expenditures and donations approved
• Five-year budget forecast
• New library board trustee

All board members were present.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) will hear an update from the sustainability work group and the community and buildings subcommittees at its meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 13. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Roxboro Elementary School, 2405 Roxboro Road. The public is invited to attend.

It’s never too early to start planning for post-secondary education. Cleveland Heights High School will host the 19th annual Cleveland Northeast Suburban College Fair on Thursday, March 14, from 7–8:30 p.m. College admissions officers, guidance staff, and alumni representatives from more than 120 colleges, universities and technical schools will be at the fair. Students and their families are invited to attend, to learn about a wide variety of schools, their programs and majors, admissions, financial aid, and what life on campus is like for their students.

Seven Cleveland Heights High School football players and one lacrosse player signed letters of intent on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Kristin Hughes, athletic director, presided over the event, telling the audience of students, alumni, family and media, “It takes a village to sign a letter of intent.” Many people helped these players get to this day.

Feb. 6 is National Signing Day in college football, the first day that Class of 2012 high school recruits can sign binding letters of intent with college programs.

On Feb. 6, 18 spellers participated in 19 rounds of competition in the annual Roxboro Middle School Spelling Bee. After nearly two hours of intense spelling, Isabella Jaffery (eighth grade) earned the title of 2013 Champion by spelling luscious. Beatrice Woodside, a sixth-grader, won second place by spelling electrolysis, and Anya Chew (eighth grade) won third place by spelling oncologist. Sylvie Crowell (sixth grade) came in fourth, and Jesse Hodges, a seventh-grader, finished in fifth place.

Jaffery will represent Roxboro Middle School at the Plain Dealer Cuyahoga County Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 2.  This county-wide competition will start at 9 a.m. and take place in the auditorium at Cuyahoga Community College’s Metro Campus.

Four students and a teacher from the Ambassador School for Global Leadership (ASGL) in Los Angeles visited Heights High and the CH-UH community for four days in early February. The ASGL is a sister school to the Renaissance School—both are members of the International Studies Schools Network (ISSN). The 34-member network prepares students for work and civic roles in a global environment.

The ASGL delegation arrived during a snowstorm—a first-time experience for the students, who declared it “beautiful!” Before attending Heights High for two days, the students met their host families, toured downtown Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University, visited the toboggan runs in the Cuyahoga Valley and spent two hours sledding in Cain Park on a snowy evening.

Sana Fatima, a sixth-grade student at Roxboro Middle School, is excited about her new learning space. “It is like an adventure,” she said. “The furniture moves so we can work in small or large groups. The new space gets us moving and thinking. I like it a lot.”

Roxboro’s new learning community area is filled with light and equipped with flexible space, moveable furniture, a modern lab area and updated technology. It accommodates students working in groups and teachers collaborating with one another. Teachers customize their instruction to the varied learners in the classroom.

The Cleveland Heights–University Heights City School District will host its annual Kindergarten Information Night on Tuesday, March 5, from 6:30–8 p.m. at Oxford Elementary School, 939 Quilliams Road in Cleveland Heights.    

This informational evening will provide an opportunity for parents to meet CH-UH kindergarten teachers and ask questions about the kindergarten program and the school district.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education has posted the agenda for its Feb. 5 meeting.

This Special Board meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at the Board of Education building, 2155 Miramar Blvd.

On Feb. 6, eight Cleveland Heights High School football players and one lacrosse player are expected to sign letters of intent.

Feb. 6 is National Signing Day in college football—the first day that Class of 2012 high school athletic recruits can sign binding letters of intent with college programs.

The signing will take place at 12 p.m. in the high school auditorium, 13263 Cedar Road, and the school district will stream the event live on its website, www.chuh.org.

At the Lake Erie League championships on Jan. 27, the Heights High swim team finished second for both boys and girls—the highest finish in Coach Jim Miller's 11 years with the team, and one he characterized as a highlight of the team’s season.

"It's a great accomplishment and says a lot about the team," he said. "This is one of the strongest teams I've had, and it has the most depth."

Junior diver Ellen Posch advanced to state-level competition for the first time, where she finished 18th of 24 in the one-meter dive at the State meet in Canton on Feb. 21. She was the first swimmer from Heights since 2003 to compete at the state meet.

At its Jan. 29 meeting, the Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) discussed several school building scenarios and formulated a plan to survey the public.

Plan C, the scenario approved by the CH-UH Board of Education (BOE) last July, would have closed three elementary schools; moved fourth and fifth graders to the middle schools; and, through a combination of renovation and new construction, created learning communities—flexible learning spaces—in all grades. The BOE decided against placing a bond issue on the November 2012 ballot due to insufficient public support, and created the Lay Facilities Committee to recommend a new plan.

Eric Silverman, co-chair of the buildings subcommittee, presented six possible scenarios for the LFC to consider. He began by laying out three recommendations that applied to each: keep the current grade configuration, don’t go “all-in” for the learning communities concept, and reduce the number of middle schools from three to no more than two.

The Lay Facilities Committee (LFC) will hear an update on community engagement and discuss several possible school building scenarios at its meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Delisle Educational Options Center, 14780 Superior Road.

The Buildings Subcommittee met on Jan. 15 and 22 to hammer out possible scenarios and will present six of them to the full committee on Jan. 29.

The Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education has posted the agenda for its Jan. 22 meeting.

This Special Board meeting will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Board of Education building, 2155 Miramar Blvd.

 DECEMBER 18, 2012

• Moment of silence
• Sports teams recognized
• Senior activities package
• Field trips
• Courses for 2013–14
• Transportation
• IPad policy
• New audio equipment
• Auto collision equipment
• Safety and security
  
  

All board members were present.

Twenty-four students will be bringing their A-game to the annual Roxboro Middle School Spelling Bee on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m.

On Thursday, Jan. 31, from 9:30–11 a.m., Kindernet invites families who have a child ready to start kindergarten to discover their elementary school in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District. Visitors will have an opportunity to meet kindergarten teachers and their classrooms, meet the school principal, tour the building, learn more about the school, and ease their child’s transition into kindergarten.

The seven participating schools are:

The Heights High Barbershoppers competed in the International Youth Barbershop Chorus Festival Jan. 10–13. The youngest vocalists there, the group received an "excellent" rating, and placed fourth in a field of 19 groups, many of which have been singing barbershop-style music for longer than the boys have been alive. Kari Sharpe, assistant vocal music director, said, “One of the highlights of the trip was the boys' performance of 'The Prayer for the Children'. Many of the adults in the audience had tears running down their cheeks.” Craig McGaughey, vocal music director, directs the group.