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. | |
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Visit our District Calendar online for a complete list of upcoming activities, events and athletic competitions.
Please note the following upcoming important dates:
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Labor Day, Schools and Offices Closed | Monday, September 4
- Curriculum Nights:
- All Grades 1-4 | Wednesday, September 6
- Middle School | Thursday, September 7
- High School | Wednesday, September 13
- PreK | Tuesday, September 19
- All Kindergarten | Wednesday, September 20
- Woodbury | Thursday, September 21
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Click on the appropriate link below for school-level and building PTO news:
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September is Attendance Awareness Month!
Student success starts with school attendance. Students who are absent from school miss important learning opportunities, which can be difficult, or even impossible, to make up.
This year, Shaker Heights Schools has joined the Cleveland Browns Stay in the Game! Network. The mission of the Stay in the Game! Network is to prioritize attendance by connecting its users to resources aimed at tackling chronic absenteeism. The network also provides incentives to participating Districts to incentivize and reward great attendance.
A student who misses as few as two days of school a month is chronically absent, and chronic absenteeism rates in the state of Ohio nearly doubled from pre-pandemic years. Starting as early as kindergarten, chronic absence is a sign that children will be off track for reading by the end of third grade, achieving in middle school and graduating from high school.
Join Shaker Heights Schools and the Stay in the Game! Network by committing this September to celebrate showing up for school each day!
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Transportation Information
The transportation department continues to assign students to buses and make necessary adjustments to bus routes for the new school year. Please note, it may take up to 3-5 business days for new students to receive a bus assignment, depending on how quickly information is received and if it is necessary to reroute the bus. The District's transportation system will update as soon as the bus assignment is complete, allowing families to view bus route information in Here Comes the Bus and PowerSchool once it becomes available.
All alternate stop and bus change requests for families will be processed, in order of receipt, after Labor Day.
Thank you for your patience as the District works to get newly enrolled students onto bus routes!
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The PreK School Year has Begun!
Shaker Heights Schools was excited to welcome our youngest learners on Monday, August 28. The students arrived with their backpacks on and ready to start a year of fun, learning and growth!
The PreK staff was at the ready to welcome the students with warm smiles and a comforting hug when needed. Students quickly figured out where to hang bags, sit for story time, where all the best toys are and more!
The PreK program experienced growth this year with the addition of one full-day classroom and one half-day classroom expanding to full-day.
The District is working on a plan to renovate Ludlow School in order to expand the PreK program in the coming years. You can learn more about those plans on our Long-Term Facility Planning webpage.
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For More School News...
To see some of the other exciting things that have been happening around the Shaker Heights Schools, click the links below:
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Why South Africa
By Lawrence Burnley, PhD, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer
As we begin a new school year, I’m excited about many things. Near the top of this list is the launch of a historic international study experience for Shaker High School students. On March 20, 2024, a group of students, staff and faculty will travel to South Africa for the first South Africa Cultural Exchange (SACE) program. This initiative will mark the first comprehensive international educational and cultural exchange experience on the content of Africa in the history of Shaker Heights Schools. Intended to be a permanent option for Shaker students and staff moving forward, SACE promises to be a phenomenal learning and life-changing experience.
I was interested in learning about the various locations of international study experiences Shaker students had available to them. What I learned is that, with the exception of a service trip to Tanzania, Shaker does not provide its students with the opportunity to learn about the histories, people, cultures and contemporary realities of the diverse countries and people of the African continent through international study experiences.
To read the full piece, click here.
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SGORR Leader Retreat Recap
The CORE Leaders for the Student Group On Race Relations (SGORR) met for their annual retreat on August 20 and 27. The retreat was facilitated by Will Warren, the new DEI Program Coordinator, also serving as the SGORR adviser. CORE Leaders worked on building rapport with one another, discussing the purpose and vision for such a large and influential student organization, which is celebrating its 40th year this school year.
This year’s guest speaker was Dr. Shemariah Arki, assistant professor of Africana Studies and director of the Center for Pan African Culture at Kent State University. Dr. Arki’s presentation focused on intersectionality and identity, as well as the difference between allies and co-conspirators.
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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.
Brooke Bribriesco
PTO Council President
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We're excited to announce our partnership with Sgt. Clean Carwash!
Sgt. Clean is a new car wash located at 16101 Chagrin Blvd. Buy a Gold Membership package today and get 40% off your membership for the first 4 months! Sgt. Clean will donate $10 for every new Gold membership sold, the offer expires September 10, 2023. Get your discounted membership by texting SHAKER to 30400. All funds raised will benefit Shaker Schools Foundation's Level the Playing Field Fund, which provides athletic scholarships to Shaker students.
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Holiday Trash Delay for week of September 4
Due to the Labor Day holiday, Monday-Friday trash pick-ups will be delayed by one day. Get information on other Labor Day closings and schedule updates.
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Doggie Dip at Thornton Park Pool September 9
On Saturday, September 9 from 10 am-1 pm, bring your pup to Thornton Park Pool, where they can swim in the unheated/unchlorinated water and enjoy the company of their canine friends. Well-behaved dogs are welcome. A lifeguard will be on duty. Only dogs will be permitted in the water for safety reasons. Register in advance for discounted admission for your pups.
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