Shaker Heights Schools eNews

March 24, 2024

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:

Spring Recess | Monday, March 25-Monday, April 1
Board of Education Meeting | Wednesday, April 3, 6 p.m.
No School for Students, Solar Eclipse Day | Monday, April 8
No School for Students/Teachers, Eid-al-Fitr | Wednesday, April 10
Kindergarten Kickoff | Saturday, April 20, 1-4 p.m.

**There will be no Shaker Heights Schools eNews on Sunday, March 31 due to Spring Recess. Enjoy the break!

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

Use these Quick Links to access the following District information:

Important Reminders for March 25-April 10

Spring break begins Monday, March 25.
Administrative offices will be open throughout spring break with the exception of Friday, March 29.

There will be NO Shaker Heights Schools eNews on Sunday, March 31.

School resumes on Tuesday, April 2.
There is no school for students on Monday, April 8, due to the solar eclipse. Staff will report until 11:30 a.m. that day.
There is no school for staff and students on Wednesday, April 10, in observance of Eid-al-Fitr. Administrative offices will remain open.

Report Cards for K-4 Students Available After Spring Break

Report cards for the 2nd trimester will be available soon on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Please note that the link has changed to https://ps-sh.metasolutions.net/public/ since you may have last logged in to view report cards. Families of students in grades K-4 may login on Thursday, April 4, after 12:00 noon, to view the report cards from the 2nd trimester. Click this Help Doc for step-by-step instructions; email powerschool@shaker.org for assistance with Parent Portal access.

Report cards are not available via the PowerSchool app. It is always preferable to log in to the PowerSchool Portal via a browser on your laptop or smartphone.

A Community Conversation on Cell Phones, Social Media and Student Wellness

The Shaker Heights Schools invites all school families to a Community Conversation on Cell Phones, Social Media and Student Wellness, hosted on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the Shaker Heights High School large auditorium.

Attendees will hear brief presentations from the following panelists:

Dr. Megan Moini, M.D. - Internal medicine physician and pediatrician and owner of Emerald Direct Primary Care
Mr. Reginald Williams, Esq. - Attorney and Hearing Officer & Discipline Supervisor, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Schools
Ms. Nancy Schaumburg, LISW-S - Bellefaire Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) Coalition Coordinator and Social Worker at Shaker Heights High School
Ms. Jasmine Venson - Woodbury Assistant Principal (2024-2025 Middle School Associate Principal)

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask the panelists questions during this event.

Youth Field Hockey Clinics

New and experienced players can learn to play field hockey in clinics hosted by current High School Field Hockey players. Clinics consist of drills, games and skill building, and are for students in Grades K-8.

Clinics will be held at the High School turf field. The cost is $60 for six sessions or $15 drop in rate. The dates and times are as follows:

Sunday, April 7th (9-10 AM)
Sunday, April 14th (8-9 AM)
Saturday, April 20th (9-10 AM)
Saturday, April 27th (9-10 AM)
Saturday, May 4th (9-10 AM)
Saturday, May 11th (9-10 AM)

To register, go to https://forms.gle/LU8y2dGGwCuoLpyC6 and Venmo @kerryfenton. Email fieldhockey@shaker.org with questions.

Save the Date: Woodbury Celebration on May 17!

The Shaker Heights Schools and the Shaker Schools Foundation are planning a celebration of Woodbury's history and legacy on Friday, May 17, from 5-7 p.m. All members from the community, past and present, are invited to this open house event to enjoy the history of Woodbury and take a walk through the building prior to the renovations. More details will be shared soon.

Proposed Revised 2023-2024, 2024-2025 Calendars

The District is proposing revisions to the school calendars for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. The proposed calendar changes are aimed at providing time for packing and unpacking while prioritizing student instructional time, family needs and the need for staff professional learning. Additional, optional times for packing, moving and unpacking related tasks will also be provided for interested staff.

Highlights include:

The 2023-2024 school year would end one day earlier (from June 6 to June 5) for K-8 students. Last day for High School students remains June 6.
PreK-8 faculty/staff will be provided professional days on June 6 and 7 for packing of classrooms and work spaces and for clerical tasks.
District DEI Professional Learning Day will take place August 14, 2024.
January 6, 2025, will be a regular student instructional day. The professional day originally scheduled on that date will be moved up to August 15, 2024. All staff and faculty would report on August 15 instead of August 16.
The 2024-2025 school year would end one day earlier in order to maintain 173 student days and 185 staff days, which is the same number of staff and student days pre- and post-revision.

Public comments will be considered by the District prior to adoption of the proposed revised calendars at the Board Work Session on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, in compliance with the 30-day waiting period following the public hearing.

Please follow the links below to review the current and proposed calendars for each school year

2023-2024: Current Calendar and Proposed Calendar

2024-2025: Current Calendar and Proposed Calendar

**Please note, there are no classes for students on Monday, April 8, due to the solar eclipse. This was not a change to the academic calendar that required board approval, so it is not reflected in the above 2023-2024 calendars.

Please click here to submit any public comments on the proposed revised calendars. Comments will be accepted until noon on Tuesday, April 16.

Upcoming FACE Events

The Office of Family and Community Engagement will be hosting the following events featuring literacy and Dyslexia.

The events are open to all. Please use the following links to register:

A Walk in the Shoes Dyslexia Simulation

Thursday, April 4 from 6-8 p.m.

Delisle Options Center

Mercer Celebrates Women's History Month

Students at Mercer Elementary School celebrated Women's History Month in a meaningful way, with in-depth learning and sharing! Each class selected women to study and then created a display to share in the hallway so students could experience a Women's History walk throughout the school.

At each classroom, on every floor, exceptional women are celebrated throughout the halls. Both current and historical, the accomplishments of women are shared as an example for all our Mercer Meerkats to see. Well done, Mercer!

Stay up to date by following the Shaker Schools Foundation on our social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn!

A Night for the Red & White in support of Every Student, Every Grade, and Every School was a HUGE success! Our gala event was held on March 2 at the High School. We had over 500 attendees, raised over $53,000 in donations during our showcase in the High School Auditorium, sold over 180 auction items, and raffled off three big packages! Thank you for your continued support of our amazing Shaker students!

Were you unable to join us this year?

You can view photos and our mission video from the event HERE and make a monetary DONATION to support our mission today! Your support is crucial to our success and very much appreciated!

Learn more at shakerschoolsfoundation.org.

Shaker Heights High School Alumni Hall of Fame Nominations Closing Soon!

Know of a deserving Shaker Alum that should be nominated for the 2024 Shaker Schools Alumni Hall of Fame? Nominate them today. 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! Nominations will be accepted online until April 8, 2024.

From the Margins to the Center

Celebrating Women's History Month, Vol. 8

Women in Black

William Warren

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program Coordinator

This week’s installment of “From the Margins to the Center” features Women In Black, a “world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence.” First established in 1988 in Jerusalem, Women in Black are best known for their peaceful and nonviolent vigils in which women dressed in all black stand together in a public place, silently holding signs that display their cause. Over the years, the movement has spread worldwide, as Women in Black vigils have been held in dozens of countries with tens of thousands of women participating. They also host an International Women in Black conference to share resources around peacebuilding and raising the visibility of their movement. They invite any women committed “for justice, against war” to start their own vigil, even providing comprehensive guidelines and suggestions on how to build and maintain. I invite you to learn more about Women in Black, not just for what they do, but also to learn more about how these dynamic groups support women to utilize their presence and actions for a cause bigger than themselves.

Additional Resources

The Rainbow Run, Shaker Middle School PTO’s annual FUNdraiser, is a 2-mile fun run/walk through the Shaker Middle School neighborhood.

Students, parents and principals from each elementary school will throw colored powder from 7 color stations on runners/walkers as they pass. Food trucks, concessions & DJ celebration for all afterward at the finish line! (Food truck accepts credit cards.)

Rainbow Run will take place on Saturday, April 13, from 12:00-4:00 p.m. This communitywide event will happen rain or shine. Registration is open NOW! You can find registration/fundraising using the following link: https://www.shakerpto.org/packet/78667179

For more information contact Event Co-chairs Rose Clement (roselee11@yahoo.com) or Rhonda Chapman (rjchapman07@gmail.com).

The SHHS Flower Sale is Now Open!

PRE-SALE ORDER DEADLINE MAY 6th

Click here to order!

PROCEEDS BENEFIT: Teacher and Staff appreciation, Black Student Conference, Bridges Summer Program, Career Awareness Events, Spirit Days, Senior Celebrations, After Prom, Innovation Center Requests, AP/IB Testing, Student Activity Fair, MLK Day- just to name a few!

Order early as favorites tend to sell out! Follow us on Facebook.

Questions? Call Tiffany Goldstein at 216-577-5968 or goldeezgirl@me.com

*We are only doing online ordering this year. If you need assistance placing your orders, please call Kate Blaszak at 216-314-4724 or kateblaszak@me.com

Thank you for your continued support!

PTO Council Update

The Parent Teacher Organization will be disbanding the Woodbury PTO Unit as we update the bylaws to better align with the District’s new facilities plan. More details can be found at shakerpto.org . For questions or suggestions, please email ptocouncilpres@gmail.com.

Submit your Preservation Award nominations by March 31

The Shaker Heights Landmark Commission is seeking nominations for the 2024 Preservation Awards program. Exterior projects on any building in Shaker Heights that were completed after March 2022 are eligible. Submissions will be accepted through March 31, 2024. Learn more and submit a nomination.

City Hall, Court, STJ Community Building closing at noon on April 8

Shaker Heights City Hall, Shaker Heights Municipal Court, and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Community Building will close at noon on Monday, April 8, the day of the total solar eclipse. The Police, Fire and Public Works departments and the Thornton Park front office will all follow typical schedules. The Thornton ice arena will have normal operating hours for groups as scheduled and public skate in the rink will continue as scheduled for the day. More information.