This was a phenomenal week of learning and serving at Chardon High School. While the 12th graders were working on their Senior Projects, Juniors were taking the ACT...our Freshman and Sophomore students were demonstrating our core values to their families, neighbors, and community. 

As you can see from the word cloud image (noted above), students spent their day focusing on numerous areas of service. From helping a sick sibling to serving a community member--students modeled our core values on the first day of Spring.

We are extremely grateful for your flexibility while we administered the ACT Test. Moving forward to next year, we will continue to communicate ways that we can meet the needs of all of our students.

Students in Mrs. Ricci's and Ms. Tekavec's third quarter Topper Time made (86) red baby beanies/hats for the American Heart Association's "Little Heads, Big Hearts" drive and made (34) blankets for Project Linus. Some students learned how to crochet and the "veterans" fine-tuned their crochet skills learning new techniques.

*Community Members*-Mrs. Ricci is accepting any donations of all colors of yarn and fleece to continue these great service projects. She can be contacted at Karin.Ricci@chardonschools.org

It is hard to believe that we are at the dawn of Spring Break! Looking back at all of the phenomenal work that our students and staff have accomplished this year is quite impressive. I cannot express (in simple words) how grateful I am for the extraordinary students that we educate at Chardon High School.

Spring provides us the opportunity to transition into a new season of growth. With such a LONG winter, we are all ready and optimistic for the snow to melt, and for new growth to spring from the earth.  Long winters can often create a lull and lethargy to our energy--not to mention a ton of yard work.

Throughout the long winter, the one guiding light each day are the students. They are kind, humorous, compassionate, and engaging. We truly have amazing students at Chardon High School! 

Take time this break to refresh, unplug, and spend time outside. I am looking forward to some personal time with my family---together!

Have a beautiful break!

Douglas Murray
​Principal

On March 20th, all Junior students will be completing the ACT Test.  This is the second year in which Ohio School Districts are required to administer this test to Juniors as a pathway towards graduation.

To properly administer this test, there are specific guidelines that must be followed which include uninterrupted testing time.  In order to achieve this testing environment, Chardon High School will implement a blended learning day.   This means that Seniors, Freshman, and Sophomores will not be permitted to enter the school building this day.  To repeat Seniors, Freshman, and Sophomores should not report to school on March 20th.

Juniors:
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On March 20th, you need to report to school by 7:30.  Please do not be late.  Testing rooms will be posted on March 19th and during the morning of March 20th.   If you are testing, you must bring a photo ID to be admitted into your testing room.  This can be a State ID or your school ID issued at the beginning of the year.  Student are reminded to wear comfortable clothing and come prepared with an ACT approved calculator and pencils.   Students are not permitted to use any electronic device during testing.  Cell phones and Chromebooks need to be turned off.  Any use of electronic devices can result in your test score being invalidated.  Testing will take approximately 3 to 4 hours. Students will not be permitted to leave until all test materials have been collected from their testing rooms.  Following testing, students are permitted to leave school for the remainder of the day.  The cafeteria will offer snacks for sale, however a full lunch will not be served.  Any student without transportation is permitted to stay in the cafeteria until regular dismissal time.  Please see Mr. Murray, Mr. Higham, Mr. Bandiera, or your school counselor if you have additional questions regarding the ACT.
 
Freshman, sophomores, and seniors

One more time, do not report to school on March 20th.   On this day, students will be required to complete an outside of school assignment and report on it via the Google Form that will be shared with you on Monday. 

Seniors will complete assignments as part of your Senior Project.  You can complete activities such as meeting your mentor, working on portions of the project, shadow a professional in an area of future employment, complete journals, work on your presentation, or prepare your final reflection essay.  Once this work is completed, pleas log this on the Google Form that will be sent to you on Monday.
 
Freshman and sophomores are working on a blended learning experience with a focus on the Core Values: Community, Humility, Achievement, Respect, Dignity, Optimism, and Nurture.  Please take this day to complete some form of community service.  Help your parent, grandparent, or neighbor.  Think of a way you can demonstrate our core values to those outside of our building.  Chardon students are outstanding and we want you to demonstrate this to our community.  Please complete a form of service reflected around our core values and log completion of your service in the Google Form which will be shared with you on Monday.  Any senior student who does not currently have an English Class at Chardon High School should follow this assignment based upon our core values.  
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Failure to complete these assignments may result in an unapproved absence.
If you have any questions, please see the Chardon High School Administrators.

​  The link sent to Infinite Campus and Gmail accounts will become active the week of  3/19/2018
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Download the PDF from the last several communications.

If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Murray, Mr. Bandiera, or Mr. Higham at Chardon High School (440) 285-4057.

​This spring marks the 14th 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.

Each year, I share this information with students, and parents to help families prepare for this extraordinary time of the year.

School Fees * ALL Students

When you check your student's grades in Infinite Campus  also check their School Fees.
Statements will not be sent to grade 9 or 10.  It is your responsibility to monitor your students fees.
All Spring Sports adjustments have been made and the process of recording payments that have come in previous to the fee was posted  in Infinite Campus takes a while.  

You may see a surplus recorded for your student.  This can be from a class fee or workbook fee  canceled, changed or an adjustment for 2nd or 3rd sport has been made.

If you have any questions please call Mrs. McBride 440-286-0441.

SENIORS

There are about 100 Seniors that have NOT purchase a cap & gown.  If you have not ordered on please see or call  Mrs. McBride.  These need to be ordered A.S.A.P.

If you are planning not to participate in the commencement let Mrs. McBride know that also.

Thanks for your attention to these important matters.

Please save the date for an important event planned by our student-led prevention groups. Hear from students, staff and community professionals about the issues facing high school students today.

Thursday, April 5th 6:30  to 8:30 p.m at Chardon High School

Douglas Murray
​Principal

On March 20th, all Junior students will be completing the ACT Test.  This is the second year in which Ohio School Districts are required to administer this test to Juniors as a pathway towards graduation.
To properly administer this test, there are specific guidelines that must be followed which include uninterrupted testing time.  In order to achieve this testing environment, Chardon High School will implement a blended learning day.   This means that Seniors, Freshman, and Sophomores will not be permitted to enter the school building this day.  To repeat Seniors, Freshman, and Sophomores should not report to school on March 20th.

Juniors:

On March 20th, you need to report to school by 7:30.  Please do not be late.  Testing rooms will be posted on March 19th and during the morning of March 20th.   If you are testing, you must bring a photo ID to be admitted into your testing room.  This can be a State ID or your school ID issued at the beginning of the year.  Student are reminded to wear comfortable clothing and come prepared with an ACT approved calculator and pencils.   Students are not permitted to use any electronic device during testing.  Cell phones and Chromebooks need to be turned off.  Any use of electronic devices can result in your test score being invalidated.  Testing will take approximately 3 to 4 hours. Students will not be permitted to leave until all test materials have been collected from their testing rooms.  Following testing, students are permitted to leave school for the remainder of the day.  The cafeteria will offer snacks for sale, however a full lunch will not be served.  Any student without transportation is permitted to stay in the cafeteria until regular dismissal time.  Please see Mr. Murray, Mr. Higham, Mr. Bandiera, or your school counselor if you have additional questions regarding the ACT.
 
Freshman, sophomores, and seniors

One more time, do not report to school on March 20th.   On this day, students will be required to complete an outside of school assignment and report on it via the Google Form that will be shared with you on Monday. 

Seniors will complete assignments as part of your Senior Project.  You can complete activities such as meeting your mentor, working on portions of the project, shadow a professional in an area of future employment, complete journals, work on your presentation, or prepare your final reflection essay.  Once this work is completed, pleas log this on the Google Form that will be sent to you on Monday.
 
Freshman and sophomores are working on a blended learning experience with a focus on the Core Values: Community, Humility, Achievement, Respect, Dignity, Optimism, and Nurture.  Please take this day to complete some form of community service.  Help your parent, grandparent, or neighbor.  Think of a way you can demonstrate our core values to those outside of our building.  Chardon students are outstanding and we want you to demonstrate this to our community.  Please complete a form of service reflected around our core values and log completion of your service in the Google Form which will be shared with you on Monday.  Any senior student who does not currently have an English Class at Chardon High School should follow this assignment based upon our core values.  

Failure to complete these assignments can result in an unapproved absence.
If you have any questions, please see the Chardon High School Administrators.

This past weekend a group of 14 students headed to Holiday Valley in New York on a ski trip. Holiday Valley got 16 inches of fresh snow the day before the trip which made for some really awesome conditions on the slopes and a really fun experience for the students. Miss Fisher, the adviser, would like to thank all the students that went on the trip for making the experience great. These students truly represented Chardon well!

Results from the AMC problem solving competition are now in! Congratulations to Jessica Krebs for the highest score on the AMC 12. Congratulations to Natalie Dumm and Natalie Fullerman who tied for the highest score on the AMC 10. Other students in the top three included Joey Jeckering (AMC 12), Tyler Mothserbaugh (AMC 12) and Chris Carter (AMC 10). Great work!  

Thank you to all students who participated in this challenge. To find out your score please see your math teacher or stop by Miss Fisher's classroom (Room 307). Also, just a reminder that Math Club meets every Tuesday morning in room 307 from 6:45 to 7:30.  Any student who enjoys math and would like to improve their problem solving skills is welcome to come join the fun.

​The Lav Report contains information on GO! Ask Act Achieve, which is a tool from INFOhio that students can use when working on a research assignment. This resource takes students through the research process. It begins with asking questions to find a topic, covers how to evaluate sources, and ends with a self-evaluation and presentation ideas. Check it out today!

This month's Teacher Newsletter includes the latest digital enhancements to INFOhio content. Ancestry.com, Read Aloud, and Science Online have all undergone recent improvements. In addition, there is an article featuring current resources available from EBSCO. EBSCO provides several research databases to students and teachers through INFOhio, but there is so much more they offer. Links contained in the article lead to a science article, a literature lesson plan, and finally to a webinar summary that deals with "Asking Questions in the Age of Google". Something for everyone!

Delayed Start: If we implement a delayed start (see schedule). We will move the end of the quarter to meet the educational needs of our students until Monday, March 12.

School Closing: At this point, we have met our ceiling of days. If/When we enter into day (6) or even (7), the teachers need to create "blizzard bags" (Content/Curricular Relevance) for each class that you teach using either Google Classroom or Infinite Campus by 10:00 AM on the calamity day.  We will move the end of the quarter to meet the educational needs of our students until Monday, March 12.

Misc Details:

• Once the decision has been made to close schools or delay the opening, the Superintendent will activate our Blackboard Communication System and update via Twitter @chardonsupt and @chardonschools, our district website and local television stations. It is strongly suggested that parents subscribe to the text/email notification systems now offered by the major Cleveland television stations in order to receive school closing information as soon as it becomes available.
• All parents will receive an automated phone call indicating that school has either been canceled or will open using a delayed start of two hours.  If school is closed and you did not receive a call it is necessary for you to confirm your telephone contact information with your child’s school as we use the most recent telephone numbers on file for sending automated messages.
• Under a delayed start, all buses will arrive at their morning stop locations exactly two hours later than normal schedule within the constraints of weather and road conditions. Students (including non-public school students that receive transportation through Chardon Schools) should plan to arrive at their assigned stops approximately 10 minutes prior to that time.
• Under a delayed start, all schools will open for operations exactly two hours later than their normal schedule. Students that walk to school, drive, or receive rides to school should plan on arriving two hours later unless directed otherwise for special programs.
• Under a delayed start, all schools will offer a lunch program with options that meet school nutrition standards.
• Under a delayed start, all schools will dismiss at the usual time.
• Under a delayed start, there will be no transportation to/from Auburn Career Center for AM classes. These students should plan to arrive at CHS for their afternoon classes following the modified schedule for that day. The bus for PM Auburn Career Center Classes will depart CHS at 11:00 AM.
• Under a delayed start, Lake Academy/LEADS will be picked up exactly two hours later than their normal time.
• Under a delayed start, there will be no morning preschool class. Afternoon class will report at noon.
• Under a delayed start, morning Latchkey programs at all schools will be canceled for that day.
• Under a delayed start, all private, parochial and special education schools that receive transportation services from Chardon Schools will be picked up exactly two hours later

​Just a reminder that the AP (Advanced Placement) Exam registration period will open on March 12. The College Board has set the AP Exam fee at $94/test this year. Your child will receive registration information during the week of 3/5. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that all students enrolled in an AP class register for the AP Exam. 

​Please plan for this upcoming expense. If you feel your child qualifies for a fee reduction through College Board, please reach out to Tim Hurlbut at timothy.hurlbut@chardonschools.org in the Counseling Dept.

A resounding message from parents, staff, and community members throughout our analysis of reconfiguration has been that we need to unify as a district: in our message, in our purpose, and in our programming. We must unify as one district, because we are all Hilltoppers! Moving forward, we will be unifying under the Chardon Hilltopper brand. 

As part of this effort, we are calling attention to the core values firmly established in the culture and climate of Chardon High School: ​

Beginning Tuesday, March 20th, Hospice of Western Reserve will be facilitating a group for students who have experienced a loss and would be interested in participating in a small group experience during the school day. Grief is a normal reaction to loss and the STARS group provides a caring and accepting space to assist students in the healing process. 

If you would like your student to participate or want more information  please email  joan.blackburn@chardonschools.org or contact guidance.  

Have a great weekend with family and friends,

Douglas Murray
​Principal