Have you ever been so moved beyond words that you sit there just thinking...if so, you were in the audience for Chardon High School's flawless performance of Les Mis. My family left Park Auditorium mesmerized as if we were watching actors in New York. Yet, when the lights came on we quickly realized that we were all witnessing the magic of theatre--AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL!

This past weekend was a huge success for the CHS Drama Department with their presentation of "Les Miserables".  The production played to sellout crowds much of the weekend.  Around 150 students took part in the production, providing creativity and dedication in areas of set construction, props, business, lights, sound, make-up and costumes.  The talented cast of 45 has much to be proud of!  This is not a vocal score for the light of heart or for the novice actor.  The audiences were wowed by the professionalism of the production.  Numerous outside comments reflected that this was the best high school musical they had ever seen.  This show exceeded ticket sales over any other show in the last 10 years at CHS.  Congratulations to the students and adults involved in this powerful musical production! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all of the directors, choreographers, musicians, and designers who brought the actors to light! Bravo! Without a doubt, you all will be taking home many awards this Spring!

What a season for our winter athletes. This season saw many monumental accomplishments across the programs. In the attached programs, you will see the outstanding achievements of our student athletes and our great coaches!

On Thursday, March 16, fourteen technology students along with Mrs. Vicki Eby visited Hyland Software Incorporated in Westlake.  Hyland Software is a little bit of Silicon Valley in Northeast Ohio .

Students toured two of the three buildings Hyland occupies, and they were impressed by what they saw. Employees get many benefits not often seen at work places. For instance, during their breaks employees can get a haircut or manicure in the salon...or, they can blow off steam in the game room or on the basketball and tennis courts. In addition, there are quiet rooms where employees can go when they want to work away from the many cubicles. State of the art computer labs are available for training and professional development. Students enjoyed a delicious lunch while learning about the internship opportunities and the application process. Who knows? Maybe some day a CHS graduate will be working at Hyland when a group visits in the future.   

The play, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night recently started running at Playhouse Square. Mrs. Julie Kolcum accompanied a group of girls from her English II Honors class to  see the spectacular performance.  The play was based on the novel of the same title, the coming of age story of a 15 year old autistic boy.  Some of the girls had already read the book in book club this year.  It made for a great conversation on the way home -- discussing the similarities/differences between both.  It was a fun evening for all who attended!

Congratulations to Marissa Perrico who earned third place and David Nedrow earned second place at the Chardon Rotary 4-Way Speech Competition this week!

In the month of April, the following students will be representing Ohio (and Chardon) in the medium school division of the United States Academic Decathlon online national competition. They are working hard getting ready for this competition. Good Luck, team and Mr. Herner!

Kyle Gessel
Molly Greene
Alan Hardesty
Morgan McKeon
Casey Mezerkor
Douglas Mulford
David Nedrow
Megan Schlag
Chad Skerbec

This spring marks the 13th year of the College Prep Senior Book Club, a collaborative project between the CHS Language Arts Department, the CHS Media Center, and the Chardon Public Library. Every spring, groups of seniors each select a book to read independently and then discuss and analyze collectively during weekly book club meetings in a cafe atmosphere set up in the CHS media center. This project-based learning (PBL) activity empowers students to read literature that they enjoy, think critically about literary analysis, and communicate their ideas with peers as they prepare for college and careers. The final step in this PBL activity is for students to creatively present their analyses of their books to their peers and educators.

As we enter April, we are actively continuing our preparations at Chardon High School for the upcoming AIR tests.

Wednesday, April 5:  English Language Arts
Wednesday, April 12:  Biology
Wednesday, April 19:  US History/Government
Wednesday, April 26:  Math

We are preparing for the details of these State Tests. Comprehensive details will follow in a ConnectED message separate from this communication. For any pressing questions, contact your child's School Counselor. 

If you were unable to order your Cap & Gown, Graduation Announcements or other senior items before the deadline date, it is not too late.  Please see Mrs. McBride ASAP to order your graduation regalia. Contact carolyn.mcbride@chardonschools.org for any questions.

Save the Date: April 20th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

"The Crisis In Our Own Backyard"

The ASAP (Active Substance Abuse Prevention) student group, along with Teen Institute is hosting this important event. The evening will offer a series of break out sessions on substance abuse prevention, stress management, social media among other topics. Be on the look out for upcoming information. ​

PD Article: Featuring Complete and Total- brought to local SRO's

Imagine a tightrope walker in a circus. He is on a rope suspended a few feet above the straw covered floor. His purpose is to walk the rope from one end to other. He holds a long bar in his hands to help him maintain his balance. But he must do more than simply walk. On his shoulders he balances a chair--and in that chair sits a young woman who is balancing a rod on her forehead, and on top of that rod is a plate.

If at any time one of the items should start to drift off balance, he must stop until he can get all of them in perfect alignment again—for the tightrope artist doesn’t begin until all the elements above him are aligned. Only then does he move forward, carefully, slowly, across the rope.

The tightrope that any high school administrator walks can be quite challenging. Most of us arrive around 6:30 AM, work with students through lunch, depart after 5:00 PM to check-in with family, head back to school for a meeting or activity, and then work the third shift of catching up on the days tasks.  We head to games, activities, and functions on the weekend, and work to meet a balance of work and personal life.

Day in and day out we strive to build relationships, instructional practices, and big picture goals. Our job is a marathon for those that can handle the organizational and personal demands of leading with a purpose.

You also walk this tightrope. To balance your schedules and those that you care for can be very tiring. 

Life is very much a balancing act, and we are always just a step away from a fall. We are constantly trying to move forward with our purpose, to achieve our goals, all the while trying to keep in balance the various elements of our lives.

If any aspect of our life draws a disproportionate amount of energy, we have to shortchange the other aspects. That throws us off—and we are unable to move forward on life’s tightrope until a balance can be reestablished. We have to deal with any areas that are taking too much energy and put them in perspective, align them, so that we have energy available for all areas.

It’s important to understand that others cannot do this for us. No one can think, breathe, feel, see, experience, or even love for us. It’s up to us to balance all the different aspects of our lives. We just have to decide to do it.

How? What’s the first step? To stop and assess how we’re doing. To look at all the various aspects of our lives that we are constantly juggling, constantly trying to keep in balance—relationships and family, jobs, school, money, health, social circles, spiritual development, mental growth.

Are we able to devote ample energy to all areas? Or are we tipped to one side, unbalanced in one direction? Here’s how to balance it all out:

1. Assess your life as it is now.

Looking at ourselves as we really are is the first step in restructuring our lives. Do you feel physically exhausted, mentally stagnant or find yourself without close relationships? Would you call yourself a workaholic? Do you feel a lack of alignment? If you answer yes to any of these questions, your life is probably out of balance.

2. Make a conscious decision to become balanced.

Choosing reality as our basis of decision is the second step to becoming balanced. Achieving balance allows us to reach our goals and our purpose in life while creating less stress to do so. A conscious decision to change is now in order.

3. And make that decision on a minute-to-minute schedule.

We are all instant forgetters. Remember all those resolutions you made way back in January? Renewing our decisions on a daily, minute-to-minute basis allows us to ease into change, instead of expecting things to change overnight.

4. Set goals in every area of your life.

Set realistic goals in all areas of your life to assist yourself in remembering that your ultimate goal is balance. Your goals should cover:

• Your relationships
• Your physical being
• Your spiritual alignment
• Your mental development
• Your priorities
• Your choices

5. Be willing to take the risk.

Being willing to assess ourselves and take the risk to change will not only enhance our lives, but you will feel more energy and an expanded awareness of what life is all about. Acknowledging that balance is essential and recreating your life to encompass your decision is worth all the risk.

6. Make time to reassess yourself on a daily basis.

None of us can really know how well we are doing with change in our lives unless we are willing to reassess our position. Don’t feel that your decisions are made in concrete; if something feels that it isn’t working, be willing to look at a new decision. Make time for yourself every day, in a quiet meditative state, to relax and “check yourself out.”

In closing, if you have read this far, you get an award.

I am going to live by example. For the next week, you will not see me, or hear from me. My purpose will be with my family as I rejuvenate and realign with those that I love.

I love you all, too. Take care of the simple things: Self, Family, and Friends.

I will see you on April 3...refreshed for the finish line.

​Douglas Murray, Principal

Les Miserables, or Les Mis, is the much loved musical based on the 1860's novel of the same name by famous French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. The show premiered in Paris in 1980. 

Chardon High School's production will open Thursday, March 16th at 7pm. Shows will also be held on Friday,  March 17  &  Saturday,  March 18th at 7pm and Sunday, March 19th at 2pm.

Location   Park Auditorium
                       111 Goodrich Court
                        On Chardon Square

Tickets     Adults -  $12
                      Students & over 65 -  $8

Dates     March 16th, 17th 18th @ 7:00 PM
                   March 19th @ 2:00 PM ​

Photos from Wednesday

You can accomplish anything with hard work, they say. Except working your tail off is not always enough. Need proof? You can’t inflate a flat car tire by blowing into it as hard as you can, the same way you can’t effectively mow a lawn with a pair of household scissors. No, you need the right tools, the right strategies, for the right tasks. You need to work smarter, not harder.

How though? By finding shortcuts.

Here are seven tips to help you work more efficiently and more productively without expending any additional effort—aka: here’s how to work smarter, not harder:

1. Walk away

Walking away from a complex task might seem counterintuitive, but breaks can actually make you more productive. Removing yourself from the work environment immediately reduces stress and gives your brain a chance to “catch up.” If you’re working on a hard problem, your subconscious mind will continue working on it even if your conscious mind is trying to relax—which is why sometimes, solutions magically pop into your mind when you aren’t thinking about the problem. Either way, you’ll come back refreshed and in a healthier, more focused mental state for work. This is the whole premise behind our new bell schedule which highlights a "Topper Time."

2. Recognize and eliminate distractions

This should be obvious, but the most dangerous distractions are the ones you don’t even realize are distracting. Maybe you’re working on google document with a couple tabs of research open, and a third tab that’s, conveniently, open to Twitter/Facebook/ Instagram. You get a new notification, so you click out of your doc to check it real quick. You spend 20 seconds looking at the post you were just tagged in (or the event you were just invited to or the “like” your status just got) before you minimize it again. Twenty seconds isn’t a long time, but it breaks your focus and forces you to restart your last train of thought, possibly costing you a few minutes or more. Compound that happening several times an hour, and you’ve instantly reduced your overall productivity.

3. Ignore low-priority items

Low-priority items sneak up on you, artificially increasing the length of your to-do list and distracting you from more important work. Say you’re working on a big project when a friend sends a text. The next thing you know you are lost in conversation, and then you remember to check your bracket and watch basketball. RE-FOCUS! If you  don’t need to write them down on your to-do list—they aren’t worth your immediate concern, so you’ll get to them when you get to them. (Just don’t do the same for high-priority tasks.)

4. Create routine habits

Habits happen naturally after they’re formed—they become a ritual, something you can slip into automatically, something you don’t even have to think about.  Forming habits is the hard part—a good rule of thumb is to force yourself to commit the action every day, with no breaks from the routine, until it comes naturally.

5. Work in chunks

Instead of sitting down to complete an entire project, sit down to accomplish one goal element or work for a certain number of hours. Forcing yourself to complete the entirety of a project or complex task will stress you out and make you less productive. Instead, allow yourself to work in shorter “bursts” to keep your mind fresh and reduce your anxiety. That way, you can work to the very best of your ability.

6. “Multitask” (not in the traditional sense)

No matter how busy you are, there are always “negative spaces” in your day—and these gaps are when you should “multitask.” Try to fill the empty spaces with productive work. The more you learn and work in these negative spaces, the more you’ll get done overall.

7. Work around your strengths and weaknesses.

You know yourself better than anybody. You have strengths and weaknesses inherent to your being, and they’re going to affect how you work. Navigate around these by taking on more tasks that you’re good at and staying away from ones that slow you down; don’t try to do them all yourself. Every decision that you make should surround your purpose and your why.

Take time to refocus on the simple things as we transition to the last week before Spring Break.

​Douglas Murray, Principal
@chs_dmurray

Congratulations to our gymnasts who finished 5th in the State, and Kayla Benjamin who finished 5th overall, and is All-Ohio. What an accomplishment! Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, endurance and control. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoulders, chest and abdominal muscle groups. Alertness, precision, daring, self-confidence and self-discipline are mental traits that can also be developed through gymnastics. To think about all of the time, sacrifice, development, passion, injuries, along with the peaks and valleys is mind boggling. We are SO proud of these humble ladies who truly have developed such a strong life-bond.
​
GTV Pictures

​On March 3rd and 4th, the CHS Choirs participated in (OMEA) Ohio Music Education Association District 7 Large Group Contest.  Each choir prepared three pieces to sing for three judges.  Once the choir performs for the judges, they participate in a sight reading exercise where they learn and sing a new piece of music, to be performed a cappella, within 5 minutes of preparation.  Ensembles are graded 1 to 5.  1 being top rating.  

The CHS Woman's Choir, comprised of 45 ladies, earned a top rating of 1.  Whitney Beorn and Maya Pedersen provided some beautiful solo performances during the Welsh piece "Suo Gan".  Woman's Choir also sang several festive folk songs.  The ladies outdid themselves with great enthusiasm in their performance.  The CHS Chorale, comprised of 60 male and female singers, also earned a top rating of 1.  Chorale performed a renaissance piece in latin, a poetic piece in spanish, and ended with a Appalachian spiritual.  The CHS Chamber Ensemble, Chardon's elite 30 singers, performed a challenging and beautiful set of music for "comments only", due to contest limitations.  Chamber sang a festive rendition of "Cantate Domino" in spanish, basque, and english.  They performed a beautiful piece reflecting the northern lights of the aurora borealis, and concluded with a powerhouse spiritual.  

We are very proud of their hard work and dedication to prepare and excel in this experience.  They moved the judges and audiences with their passionate singing.  Congratulations to the CHS Choirs!     

Officer Mike Shaw spent time in Mr. Tom Ciferno's Physics classes this week discussing the physics of car crashes. Officer Shaw is a pivotal educator in our building who provides safety, life skills, health and wellness, but every now and then-- the law of physics.

Issac Newton was the first to state the concepts that are necessary to understanding the physics of collisions. His three laws are used again and again in all the fields of physics. Officer Shaw's law is simple with the physics of car crashes...Don't text and drive!

Chardon High School senior Mason Metz signs with Heidelberg University to continue his education and baseball career. ​

In 2015 the Chardon Local School District engaged in strategic planning, which resulted in key recommendations regarding our facilities.

• In July 2016 the District began working with the Ohio Schools Facilities Commission (OSFC) to conduct an initial assessment of our current facilities and provide enrollment projections.
• The assessment concludes that the majority of our school buildings are beyond reasonable renovation and need to be replaced (the State employs the 2/3’s rule: If the cost of renovating is at least 2/3 the cost of building new, the recommendation is to replace)
• Enrollment is projected to decline 10 percent over the next ten years
• The assessment recommends reducing the number of elementary buildings to streamline operational efficiencies
• The District organized a Facilities Advisory Committee, comprised of community members, parents, and staff, to review the assessment and develop a long-range Facilities Master Plan
• The Board of Education hired Then Design Architects (Willoughby, OH) to validate the assessment and assist the Facilities Advisory Committee in developing a conceptual master plan that is cost-effective and meets the long-term educational needs of the District

• The Facilities Advisory Committee, with assistance from Then Design Architects, will provide its recommended Facilities Master Plan to the Board of Education in June 2017.

Read More

Below is a brief video that gives you a sense of the state of our structure.

Have a great weekend with family and friends, 

Douglas Murray, Principal