Shaker Heights Schools eNews | January 15, 2023

January 15, 2023

The Shaker eNews is a weekly roundup of important information including District events, school newsletters and District, PTO Council, Shaker Schools Foundation and City news. Be sure to read the entire Shaker eNews each week to stay informed!

The Shaker eNews is published weekly on Sundays.

Visit our District Calendar online for a complete list of upcoming activities, events and athletic competitions.

Please note the following upcoming important dates:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Donations Drive | Monday, January 16
Schools & Offices Closed in Observance of MLK Day | Monday, January 16
Board of Education Work Session | Tuesday, January 24, 5 p.m.
Board of Education Work Session | Tuesday, January 31, 5 p.m.
Rising 9th Grade Information Night | Thursday, February 9, 7 p.m.
Board of Education Meeting | Tuesday, February 14, 6 p.m.
Conferences, No School for Students | Thursday and Friday, Feb 16-17
President's Day, Schools and Offices Closed | Monday, February 20

Click on the appropriate link below for school-level and building PTO news:

Use these Quick Links to access the following District information:

Watch the January 9 Board of Education Work Session on Facilities Planning

The Monday, January 9, Board of Education Work Session addressed long-term facilities planning. We encourage families, staff and community members to watch the recording of the discussion here. The link includes a video index to highlight the video segments below, which you will see on the right side of the page. Please click on the topic link or scroll to the noted timestamp.

Based on the Board of Education’s consensus and direction, the District will be further exploring the following facilities plans:

Expanding renovated elementary buildings to accommodate fifth-grade classrooms
Locating a possible centralized preschool at Ludlow or decentralized locations at some elementary buildings
Building a new High School in the current High School campus area
Renovating Woodbury with additions to create a 6-8 middle years building

Highlights from the meeting include:

Woodbury Principal Eric Forman and French teacher Ann Marie Radefeld presented on the Woodbury facility. (begins at 11:05)
PreK teachers Allison Colvin and Kristin Koenigsberger along with speech-language pathologist Jane Scully spoke regarding PreK needs. (begins at 20:20)
Chief Strategic Priorities Officer Dr. Marla Robinson and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Grosse discussed Grade 5 and PreK elementary building capacity. (begins at 01:25:40)
Mr. Grosse and Treasurer Bryan Christman shared information regarding facilities plan cost estimates. (begins at 02:16:15)
The Board addressed decision points needed to further the long-term facilities planning discussions including renovating or building a new High School, as well as renovating or building a new middle years building. (begins at 03:13:54)
Superintendent Dr. David Glasner reviewed the timeline and next steps in the long-term facilities planning process. (begins at 04:08:48)

Discussions, including plans for the High School, will continue in the coming months with the Board aiming to vote on a master facilities plan in Spring 2023.

To sign up to receive ongoing information about the District’s long-term facilities planning process, please click here. (Current staff and families will automatically receive updates.)

Two More Ways to Celebrate MLK Day

Two more ways remain to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

On Monday, January 16 from 12-2 p.m.: Participate in a drive-through donation drive at the Shaker Heights Middle School. For details and items needed for donation, click here.

For those who missed Thursday night's program featuring Reverand Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., a video of the program will be shown at the Van Aken District at 3:00 on Monday, January 16. This event is free and open to the public.

For additional details as well as more information on personal reflection activities, please visit shaker.org/MLK.

Residents Invited to Share Thoughts on the Shaker Heights Public Library

Join a small group discussion on Thursday January 19 from 7-8:30 PM in the Middle School Cafeteria. Refreshments will be provided. RSVP by 1/16/23 and receive a $10 thank you for your time. Up to 8 participants in this session. To volunteer, email or call: megan.jurkovic@kirtlandconsulting.com or 216.200.6845

Red Raider Day at SHHS Hockey Game

All K-8 Shaker Heights school students can attend the Friday, January 20th Varsity Ice Hockey for free as a part of Red Raider Day at Thornton. The game vs. Walsh Jesuit High School starts at 7:45 at Thornton Ice Rink. (3301 Warrensville Center Rd, Shaker Heights, OH 44122)

Wear your red and white in support of our Raiders!

District Working to Set 2023-2024, 2024-2025 Academic Calendars

The Shaker Heights City School District is in the process of revising the 2023-2024 academic calendar, which was originally adopted in 2021.

The revisions were necessary due to recent changes in bargaining group contract terms and a restructuring of the District’s professional learning opportunities. The District has removed the calendar from shaker.org pending the updates.

The District’s Calendar Committee is working to develop calendar proposals for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. Calendar proposals for each academic year will be released to stakeholders for feedback via a survey from January 18-January 26. The final calendars will be presented to the Board of Education at the February 14 business meeting and adopted at the May 9 meeting.

Attention Families of Rising Fifth Grade Students!

The Woodbury administration staff is presenting several opportunities to provide families with rising fifth grade students (currently in grade four) with all the information they need to prepare for the transition to Woodbury Elementary School next year.

Fifth Grade Information Roundup

Administrators will be visiting each K-4 building's PTO meeting on Wednesday, January 18 during the regularly scheduled PreK-4 PTO/CommUnity Speaker Series meeting, which begins at 6:45 p.m. at Mercer Elementary School.

Woodbury Building Tours

Over the coming months, members of the Woodbury leadership team will offer opportunities for a conversation about what's to come in 5th grade as well as a tour of the building. All conversations and tours are scheduled 6:30-8:00 p.m. Please select the date from the following list that works best for your schedule:

February 2

March 7

May 18

June 20

July 12

August 2

While this is in general a parent/guardian-facing event, students are welcome to attend.

Tips from FACE for a Strong Second Half of the School Year

The Office of Family and Community Engagement (FACE) would like to provide the following tips and reminders to help you and your student have a strong second half of the school year:

Update your personal contact information (phone number, email address, home mailing address, emergency contacts). Report any change in your address, phone number or e-mail address to your building's administrative assistant or to the Registration Office (Email morris_g@shaker.org or call 295-4321).
Check your student's attendance and grades using PowerSchool.
Check your communication preferences for school district updates. See more here.
Setup conference times with teachers, coaches and/or principals if needed (Google Meets, Zoom, FaceTime, in person, etc.).
Talk with your student about how school is going, upcoming school events, if any support is needed, etc.
Establish a daily routine for home (wakeup, school day time, meal time, study time, bedtime).
Inform your student's teacher, coach, and/or principal of any health concerns or family changes that may cause your student to have a stressful day.
Ensure you and your student are familiar with the Safe School Helpline, which is a confidential way to report concerns about unsafe or potentially disruptive activities or situations and is available 24/7.
Call: 1-800-418-6423, ext. 359
Text: TIPS to 614-426-0240
Inform your student's teacher, coach, principal of any good/positive news that should be celebrated or encouraged
Check the school calendar for important dates and events

Volunteer, see Community Resources or connect with your school building FACE Liaison if extra support is needed.

Shaker Heights Students Celebrate MLK with Service

Throughout the last week, students at all eight Shaker Heights Schools engaged in a variety of schoolwide service projects in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The projects were coordinated by the Shaker Heights PTO and supported by the Shaker Schools Foundation. Here is a list of each school's service project:

Boulevard: Students decorated 'peace plates', which will be on display throughout the building to remind students of one of the key messages of Dr. King.
Fernway: Partnering with Walls of Love, Fernway conducted a donation drive for winter gear and toiletries, then students packed the donations into bags and decorated uplifting cards to include. They also read "Be a King" prior to the project.
Lomond: Students created collaborative artwork during art class that will be on display in Van Aken for the community to reflect upon and enjoy.
Mercer: Students worked together to tie fleece blankets and decorate kindness cards and photos frames, which will be gifted to residents at the MARC Senior Apartments, a community for those 62 or older who are handicapped or disabled.
Onaway: K-4 students tied fleece blankets while our youngest learners in the PreK sorted toiletry donations, all to benefit Bellefaire JCB.
Woodbury: Students collaborated with their advisory period classmates to decorate their classroom doors with themes meaningful to Dr. King's life, legacy and teachings. Themes were thoughtful, relevant and meaningful. Winners of the friendly contest will be selected this week and shared to social media!
Shaker Heights Middle School: Middle School students created birthday cards for Dr. King, which are on display at the school. Additional activities are planned for the coming weeks!
Shaker Heights High School: Students at SHHS came in on their day off school Friday to tie blankets for the North East Ohio Homeless Coalition and provide meals for those in need through the Outreach Program by preparing workstations, packaging food and then, of course, cleaning up after the work was done.

Tickets on Sale Now for Our 31st Annual Gala, A Night for the Red & White: A Benefit for Shaker Schools

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Hilton Cleveland Downtown, 7 pm

NEW THIS YEAR!!

We will be providing discounted ticket rates for first-time Red & White attendees and young Shaker alumni! Our event will be hosted by Shaker alum David Pogue and will be focused on the theme “Excellence is Inclusive: Providing Opportunities for all Shaker Students.” Funds raised will remove barriers and support inclusivity for a wide range of student experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Please visit shakerschoolsfoundation.org/redandwhite/ for more information or email redandwhite@shaker.org

Purchase your tickets today!

Shaker Heights High School Alumni Hall of Fame Nominations Open!

We are thrilled to announce that it is time to nominate Shaker Alumni for the 2023 Shaker Schools Alumni Hall of Fame! Anyone may nominate a Shaker alumni for this honor. Please share with everyone! The nomination form is available at shakerschoolsfoundation.org/alumni or submit online nominations HERE!

Staying Connected

We want you to stay connected. In order to receive PTO emails and access to the directory, faculty/staff and families are asked to create an account on Membership Toolkit. There are no fees to join the PTO. A Membership Toolkit account will give you access to the district family directory. Once you are registered, you will have the opportunity to decide what, if any, of your family information is included in the directory. Visit www.ShakerPTO.org to register.

Sharee Thornton & Erika LoPresti

PTO Council Co-Presidents

Holiday Trash Delay This Week

Due to the MLK Holiday on January 16, Monday to Friday trash pick-ups will be delayed by one day. View the Holiday Trash Schedule.

Chat with the Mayor Saturday, January 21 at Shaker Library

Saturday, January 21 from 11 am-12 pm, residents are invited to drop by the café at the Main Branch of Shaker Heights Public Library, 16500 Van Aken Blvd., to chat with Mayor David Weiss. There is no set agenda for this drop-in event, so come talk about a City project, a neighborhood issue, or whatever else is on your mind. The Mayor will be joined by the City’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Colleen Jackson; and the Recreation Department Director, Alex Nichols.