Mustang Moments

• Important Dates to Remember

• 60 Seconds with the Superintendent

• Mustang Spotlight - Ms. Marie Dykstra, Music Teacher at Muraski Elementary

• Author Visits Strongsville High School

• Kindergarten Registration Meeting - Wed. 1/11 (5:30pm)

• Upcoming Facilities Development Committee Meetings

• SHS Student Wins Stock Market Challenge With Polaris Team

• Winter Concerts - Watch Them On-Demand

• SHS Band Students Represent Strongsville in Recent Honors Performances

• Wing Ding Fundraiser for SHS Wrestling Program (Sat. 12/10)

• Right at School - Before & After School Care for SCS Elementary School Families

• Stay Safe. Speak Up!

• Community Events

Thursday, December 15 - 6:30pm
Facilities Development Committee Meeting
Meeting will begin with a tour of Muraski Elementary (20270 Royalton Road),
followed by a tour of Surrarrer Elementary (9306 Priem Road)

Monday, December 19
NO SCHOOL for students / Professional Development Day for staff

Tuesday, December 20 - Monday, January 2
NO SCHOOL (Winter Break)

Thursday, January 5 - 7:00pm
Strongsville Board of Education Meeting*
SCS Administrative Offices (18199 Cook Ave.)
* SCS Board of Education Meetings are live streamed HERE

Wednesday, January 11 - 5:30pm
Virtual Informational Meeting for Parents of Incoming Kindergarten Students
Live stream meeting HERE

The students in Strongsville Middle School’s Career Connections class, led by Mr. Rodak, assisted with the annual Senior Holiday Luncheon last week at Strongsville’s Rec Center. The students were responsible for serving food and beverages at the luncheon, working alongside volunteers from Strongsville Rotary. Click HERE for this week’s episode to see and hear more about the impact this experience had on our students, as well as the seniors who attended the luncheon.

Ms. Marie Dykstra is in her 2nd year teaching music at Muraski Elementary. Ms. Dykstra is a graduate of the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. Mr. Griffen, Principal at Muraski says “Ms. Dykstra has been an incredible addition to the Muraski staff. Her passion for music, positive attitude, and willingness to do whatever it takes for our students goes a long way in providing students with valuable learning opportunities in the area of music.”

“My favorite part of working with students is participating in their creativity. I love hearing students express themselves through improvising and composing music. It is the most meaningful part of my job. I hope to cultivate an environment for risk-taking, which allows students to volunteer ideas and try new things. It's a blast when a student organically adds new rhythm, moves, or words to a song we are doing. I try to pick out little things they do and have the class try it out. Reflecting on this is a great reminder for me to focus on this every day they have music class,” said Ms. Dykstra.

“My position includes teaching all grades between Kindergarten and 5th grade. This provides variety, change, and surprise! I get to move quickly throughout my day, seeing different colleagues and students. It keeps things interesting and exciting. I enjoy having students for multiple years in a row. As I continue in my career, I am so excited to continue investing in my students year after year. I love growing and changing alongside them. One more important factor in the joy I experience in my job is the staff who support me and Muraski’s music program with their flexibility, kindness, and humor. These relationships are priceless.”

Thank you Ms. Dykstra for instilling the love of music and providing opportunities for Muraski students to express their creativity! #BeTheDifference

Kyra Ann Dawkins, author of The We and the They, volunteered her time to speak with members of the National English Honor Society (aka The Society) on November 30th. Kyra grew up in Solon and after attending Columbia University, decided to stay in New York City where she works in the publishing industry. She recently published her first book (The We and the They). Kyra spoke to the students about the process of writing a novel from the conception of an idea to the editing to the publishing process as well as her creative style, pulling from experiences in her past, and how she strives to continue moving forward. This was a unique and informative experience for our students as they continue to develop their literacy skills and appreciation for the arts.

There will be an informational meeting for parents of incoming kindergarten students (2023-24 school year) on Wednesday, January 11 at 5:30pm. The virtual informational meeting will be live streamed HERE.

Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) requests for the 2023-24 school year will once again occur exclusively online. Online FDK requests will begin at 8:00am on Thursday, January 12. More information, including the registration links, will be communicated soon.

Interested in learning about the future plans of the elementary buildings in our District? Make plans to attend an upcoming Facilities Development Committee meeting. The next FDC meeting is on Thursday, December 15 at 6:30pm. The meeting will begin at Muraski Elementary (20270 Royalton Road), and then move to Surrarrer Elementary (9306 Priem Road). The meeting includes tours of each building. FDC meetings are open to the public - all who are interested are encouraged to attend and participate.

Last week, the Business Professional & Office Technology program at Polaris took 1st place in the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland! The winning three person team included Faisal Hassan (senior at SHS). Over 300 students from schools throughout Greater Cleveland competed this year! The Stock Market game is an action-packed competition where high school students experience the feeling of standing on the trading floor of the NYSE. As first place winners, the Polaris team took home $1,000 plus the traveling “bull” trophy to keep until next year (it’s been at Polaris 3 out of the last 5 years). Other members of the team included Logan Gomez (Olmsted Falls High School senior) and Mason Fiorilli (North Olmsted High School senior).

Wonderful winter concerts showcasing our instrumental and vocal groups have been happening at all of our schools. If you can’t make it to a “live” concert or want to see an encore performance, click HERE for all of the concerts you can watch “on demand” now and throughout winter break.

Congratulations to SHS Band students Adriannna Kostyack, Abby Maher, and Amelia Ragan. The three performed in The Ohio Band Directors Conference Honors Band at The University of Akron. They worked with Composer Steven Bryant and the conductor of The Duke University Wind Ensemble.

Congratulations to Jamil Halabi, Mercury Lawson, Jose Fernando Sanchez-Perez, Ace Lawson, Daniel Castner, Carter Koch, Abby Maher, Devin Russell, Olivia Simpson, Micah Docuyanan - the ten SHS band members have been selected for the Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony (CYWS) and performed their first concert of the season at Severance Hall earlier this week. This prestigious group is made up of high school students from throughout Northeast Ohio. The CYWS will have several performances during the year and will also travel to Scotland and England to perform this upcoming summer.

Don’t miss the upcoming “Wing Ding” fundraiser to support the SHS Wrestling program. The event is scheduled for Saturday, December 10 from 4pm - 7pm at Mulligan’s (20880 Royalton Rd.). Tickets are $25 and available from any SHS wrestler or contact Coach Orlosky at torlosky@scsmustangs.org. Click HERE for the event flyer.

Our District partners with the nationally recognized school enrichment provider, Right At School, to provide before- and after-school care for elementary students. Right at School offers before- and after-school care every weekday (Monday-Friday) at each of the elementary school buildings in our District. For additional program information, please click on the following links to access websites dedicated to each of our elementary school locations: Chapman, Kinsner, Muraski, Surrarrer, Whitney

Strongsville City Schools encourages students, teachers, staff, parents, and other members of our community to report any instances of potential violence, bullying, self-harm or any other issue where students may be at risk. Click HERE for additional Stay Safe. Speak Up! Information on the District’s website. Reporting incidents can be made anonymously online or through a toll free number (​1-866-listen2me / 1-866-547-8362).

Christmas In The Village - Saturday, December 10 & Sunday, December 11 (2:00pm - 5:00pm)

The Historical Village will be open THIS WEEKEND (Saturday, December 10 and Sunday December 11) from 2:00pm - 5:00pm each day for touring, visiting with Santa, learning about Holiday traditions in the log cabin, and exploring the model railroad, school house, general store and hat shop. Don’t miss the “Gingerbread House Decorate & Take” - stop by the Lothrop House (main yellow house) and decorate a gingerbread house to take home. Hosted by Girl Scout Troops 70870, 71411, and 70527. This is a FREE family event however donations are welcome.

Baldwin Wallace Holiday Math Mini-Camp (Sat. December 17)

Kick off winter break with amazing hands-on math fun at Baldwin Wallace’s Holiday Math Mini-Camp on December 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kindergarteners through sixth graders will enjoy holiday math-themed crafts, games, puzzles, and learning activities with brilliant and talented Baldwin Wallace University faculty and student mathematicians!

Drop off your kids at the Knowlton Center to get holiday errands and shopping done and we’ll have a blast! In addition, kids will have math takeaways sure to snowball into many more hours of fun to stay engaged with math over holiday break!

The camp is $70 per student, which includes lunch, crafts that can be holiday gifts, and take-home activities. A Sibling Discount of 10% off per additional child is available and will be automatically credited at checkout. Click HERE for the event flyer. Questions? Please email dcl@bw.edu

One-Day STEAM Class at Strongsville Rec Center

Challenge Island is offering K-6th graders a fun way to celebrate the holidays with this one-day STEAM class at the Strongsville Rec. Center.

STEAMing through the Holidays - December 12th / 5:45pm – 7:15pm

Give kids the gift of engineering, imagination and creativity! We will get in the holiday spirit as we design and build spinning snowman and create snow flake copters. We will learn about penguins and engineer a penguin slide to race our penguins to see which STEAMteam® will have the fastest penguin?

Space is limited and registration is currently open. Click HERE for the event flyer. You can register by calling the Rec. Center front desk at 440-580-3260 or online at https://strongsville.activityreg.com

Winter Chess Camp - Strongsville Rec Center
Winter Chess Camp is coming to the Strongsville Rec Center! Winter Chess Camp (for ages 6 – 12 years) is a super-fun, high-energy chess experience in which kids celebrate a new chess tactic each day with silly videos, music driven puzzlers for prizes, colorful silicone TactixBands, and so much more! Winter Chess Camp meets for 3 hours in the afternoon for a full week - Monday, December 19 - Friday, December 23. Click HERE for the event flyer. Space is limited and registration is currently open. You can register by calling the Rec Center front desk at 440-580-3260 or online at https://strongsville.activityreg.com

Strongsville Chamber of Commerce

Please note the following upcoming events hosted by the Strongsville Chamber of Commerce. Registration is required for all events. Please call 440.238.3366 for more information or to register. Those interested in the following events may also visit the Chamber website (www.strongsvillechamber.com) to register and see additional event info.

UPCOMING EVENTS

December Holiday Luncheon

Music Provided by SHS Strings Orchestra, Directed by Mr. Andrew Hire
Ehrnfelt Rec & Senior Center, 18100 Royalton Road, Strongsville
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
11:30am - 1:00pm

Strongsville Library

Please note the following December 2022 events being held on ZOOM virtually or in-person and presented by the Strongsville Branch Library. Registration and an email address are required for all events for us to send you virtual Zoom invitations. Please call (440) 238-5530 to register or for more information. Customers may also visit www.cuyahogalibrary.org to register and to see more library event information.

**The Library and Administrative offices will be closed December 24th & 25th for the Christmas Holiday. We will resume normal hours on Monday, December 26th at 9:00 a.m.

IN-PERSON Storytimes. Strongsville Branch Library has resumed storytimes in-person. Join us for rhymes, songs, fingerplays and stories. Group is small and registration is required. Please register each child separately. Only the participating child and one caregiver will be admitted to the program (no siblings, please), due to social distancing space requirements. In-person programs may be held over Zoom if required by CDC and CCPL guidelines. Participants may be recorded and/or surveyed to capture this program’s effectiveness. Learn more about parent options at www.cuyahogalibrary.org/parent-options. To check for in-person storytime availability, please check our schedule online or call (440) 238-5530.

Teen Tote Bag Sewing Craft. Teens Grades 6-12. Thursday, December 15th / 7:00 p.m. IN PERSON. Join us for a fun night of sewing where we'll create a tote bag. We'll go over the basic pieces and functions of the sewing machines, then sew a tote bag. No experience necessary, beginners welcome!

Studio Orientation. Monday, December 19th from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. / IN-PERSON. Have you ever thought about recording your own music, making a video, digitizing memories and more? The Strongsville Branch Library is home to both Audio and Video Recording studios that can help you do just that! You must go through an orientation to use the spaces. Patrons 11 & up can participate in the orientation and must turn in the User Agreement form at the branch for the orientation to count. Register online to attend the virtual or in-person sessions.

Strongsville High School * Muraski Elementary *

Strongsville Middle School * Surrarrer Elementary *

Chapman Elementary * Whitney Elementary *

Kinsner Elementary * Early Learning Preschool

Website: www.strongnet.org
Location: Strongsville City Schools, 18199 Cook Avenue, Strongsville, OH, United States
Phone: (440) 572-7000
Facebook: facebook.com/strongsvillecs
Twitter: @strongsvillecs