Fairview Fast 5
District News from the Fairview Park City Schools
Spring is a busy time in the Fairview Park City School District. The district calendar is filled with the usual school and extracurricular activities, as well as annual celebrations and traditions that define us as a school community. It is an exciting time as students diligently work toward the end of the school year, looking ahead to the promise of summer. Across the district, families are excited to celebrate with their children at numerous end-of-the-year events, including commencement.
This “Fast Five” newsletter issue is a gateway to just a few of the significant events this spring. I invite you to join Fairview Park Mayor Bill Schneider and me on Thursday, May 2, for the annual State of the Community Address. We are thrilled to host this event at Fairview High School this year. This setting offers us a platform to showcase the exceptional talents of our students, the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the beauty of our facilities. More details about the event can be found below.
Before the State of the Community Address, stop by the Innovation Center at FHS for the Creative Arts and Design Showcase. This unique exhibition will showcase the impressive artistic talents from all grade levels. If you can’t make it on May 2, the Showcase will be open to the public again on Saturday, May 4. More information is below.
In addition to the Showcase, join us in the auditorium that afternoon for our first Super Pops Concert of the season. The Band and Orchestra groups from Gilles-Sweet, Mayer Middle School, and Fairview High School will start their concert at noon. On Tuesday, May 7, the grades 5-12 choir programs will hold their performance at 7 PM. For more information and to purchase tickets in advance, see below.
The ninth annual Gilles-Sweet Derby Dash returns on Saturday, May 18. This community tradition has raised well over $100,000 for elementary school students and programs. Find out what makes this family-friendly race one of the year's most anticipated events.
Finally, in this “Fast Five” issue, we celebrate two students from the Class of 2024. Both have excelled in and out of the classroom, and their hard work, dedication, and leadership have paved the way for future success.
As I mentioned, it’s a busy time of year. Visit our district website at www.fairviewparkschools.org to stay updated with everything happening. Thank you for taking time to learn more about the Fairview Park City Schools and for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Keith Ahearn
Fairview Park residents interested in learning more about city and school initiatives are invited to attend the Fairview Park State of the Community on Tuesday, May 2.
This year, the address will be held in the Fairview High School cafeteria. Since the pandemic, the annual State of the Community address has been at the Fairview Park Gemini Center.
Remarks from Fairview Park Mayor Bill Schneider and Fairview Park City School District Superintendent Keith Ahearn will begin at 7:00 PM, although plenty of activities will be happening before the event.
“It’s a great event where you get to celebrate the collaboration between the city and the schools,” Ahearn explained. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to do this presentation with Mayor Schneider. I know it’s his first State of the Community address, and I’m certain the community will tune in to hear his vision.”
During a busy last month of the school year in May, the community is invited to take some time and enjoy a variety of student-created artwork from all grade levels at the Creative Arts and Design Showcase.
The showcase will be free and open to the public on Thursday, May 2, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM and then again on Saturday, May 4, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The showcase will be held in the Innovation Center inside the Fairview High School/Mayer Middle School campus.
For FHS art teachers Ryan Graff and Chris Kaminski, the showcase is a unique opportunity, one that has not been available since before the pandemic.
“The Innovation Showcase we did before COVID was a big hit, and we did that over at Gilles-Sweet,” Kaminski explained. “After COVID, we have this new space [Innovation Center] and a space to do something like this. We just wanted to share with the public some of the cool things that the kids do around here and in the district.”
Focus isn’t a problem for senior Tyson Crandall.
As a state champion and All-Ohio runner on the Warriors cross country and track and field teams, Crandall has spent most of the last four years refining his skills to be one of the best in the state.
“For me, it’s almost like a lifestyle, and that’s with a lot of stuff that I do,” Crandall said of his preparation mindset. “Pretty much, I ask myself if this is going to make me a better athlete. If the answer is no, then I’m probably not going to do it.”
Leading up to high school, Crandall focused on many sports, including soccer, baseball, and golf. However, during his freshman track and field season, he ran a time of two minutes flat in the 800m, which he said was “pretty good” and “one of the better times in the state and country for freshmen.”
Over the years, service and leadership have been important to Owen Darnell. Now, the Fairview High School senior has earned a special opportunity to pursue both, along with a college degree, thanks to a four-year national scholarship.
Recently, Darnell was awarded a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship. The highly selective national scholarship offered by the United States Navy allows incoming college students to complete their bachelor’s degree while preparing to serve as a commissioned officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. Darnell chose to pursue serving in the Marine Corps.
“For me, not only is college important, but being able to pay for it is just as important,” Darnell explained. “I thought [the NROTC scholarship] was the best of both worlds. I get to go to college. I get to go to the military. I’ll have it all paid for. I thought it would be kind of crazy if I didn’t take up the opportunity.”
Like other annual springtime traditions, such as baseball, rain showers, and blooming flowers, another Fairview Park tradition returns this May.
The ninth annual Gilles-Sweet Derby Dash will be held at the James B. Daley stadium on the Fairview High School/Mayer Middle School campus on Saturday, May 18. This family-friendly event begins with a 1-mile fun run/walk at 8:30 AM, followed by a 5K race at 9:00 AM.
This community fundraising event benefits students and programs at Gilles-Sweet Elementary School.
“It could be a field trip, service learning project supplies, an assembly, technology or maybe flexible seating for a classroom,” Gilles-Sweet Elementary Principal Matt Krivak explained. “For example, right now, the computer lab has all flexible seating and all of those were purchased with Derby Dash proceeds.”
The Fairview Park City School District invites you to the annual Super Pops concerts this May!
Music students from Gilles-Sweet Elementary, Lewis F. Mayer Middle School, and Fairview High School will be performing at their final concerts of the year.
All concerts will be held in the Frank W. Barr Auditorium at Fairview High School, 4507 West 213th Street in Fairview Park. Tickets are $7, and the money raised from the Super Pops concerts directly supports district music programs and students. Tickets go on sale beginning April 29.
In last month's issue of the "Fast Five," we recognized student-athletes who had standout performances during the winter sports season. We omitted that five Warrior swimmers qualified for the District Championship in February held at Cleveland State University, after advancing from the sectional meet. These swimmers included Isabel Klauminzer, Kayleigh Crawford, Hannah Meyers, Maddy Sterling, and Nola Foote, who make up the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Freestyle Relay. Congratulations!
