Fairview Fast 5
District News from the Fairview Park City Schools
Welcome to another edition of the Fairview Park City Schools “Fast Five” newsletter, your go-to source for updates and stories from around the district. Spring is a season for renewal and growth. This month’s newsletter illustrates the spirit of growth, excellence, and connectedness that make our school district and community so special.
Students at Fairview High School are excited to share their spring musical production of “Mamma Mia!” starting on Friday, March 22, at 7 pm. You can learn how to purchase tickets for the show below. Please consider joining us as our students showcase their music, dance and storytelling talents.
You will learn more about a budding partnership between the Early Education Center and Home Depot. Students worked collaboratively with volunteers from Home Depot to build a wooden toolbox, practicing their fine motor skills, following directions, and experiencing the pride that comes from using your hands to create. You can also read about how a group of fifth-graders at Gilles-Sweet Elementary became published authors, thanks to a year-long investigation into what makes a successful writer.
We celebrate an FHS student who bowled a perfect game this season. His hardwork resulted in an invitation to compete for a local university, allowing him to pursue a passion for the sport and continue his post-secondary education.
This issue highlights many of the standout performances that marked a successful winter sports season for our student-athletes.
Finally, you will read more about a student-led initiative called “Sources of Strength” that has positively impacted the culture and climate of the 6-12 Campus. Students and staff worked together to create activities that focus on social inclusion and encouraging students to focus on their strengths and the strengths of others.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Fariview Park City Schools. During this season of renewal, we are proud to highlight stories that show the hard work and dedication that drives our school community forward. Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Keith Ahearn
Sources of Strength is a new program at the high school and middle school designed to promote wellness, kindness, and strength inherent in the school community - including within each student.
“It’s about bettering themselves and feeling better about themselves,” Eighth Grade English Teacher Janice Frygier explained. “Strength is the keyword in this program. So, what are your strengths? What strength can you find from others? You have strengths within yourself to help yourself. But, then, sometimes you need to lean on somebody else or ask for help, which is what the wheel stands for.”
The Sources of Strength Wheel identifies eight areas where individuals can find strengths. The areas include family support, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, physical health and mental health.
Young writers at Gilles-Sweet Elementary spent time this year learning what it takes to be successful, including the most exciting part: seeing their work in print.
Since the beginning of the school year, over 40 of Courtney Rushnok’s fifth grade students have been developing their writing skills. In February, the class celebrated the printing of their book, “Tales From Around the Class,” which featured their creative work from throughout the semester.
Rushnok’s first unit on writing focused on the writing community. Students explored a variety of writing styles and authors to determine what interested them the most. These writing styles included fiction, personal narratives, fairytales, poetry, and more. Students also read about how these writers continued to be successful in their craft.
“With the writing community, it’s about introducing students to a variety of books and different stories,” Rushnok explained. “All the different books they read inspired us for things we could write about ourselves…the books helped inspire the ideas.”
Fairview High School senior Cole Joseph has done two things this year that some people only dream about.
The first was bowling a perfect 300 game for the Warriors. Joseph achieved that and bowled 12 strikes in a row in a match on January 16. According to a 2017 CBS News article, the chances are 11,500 to 1 for an “average” bowler to achieve this feat. It’s safe to say that Cole Joseph is not your “average” bowler.
The second thing was turning a passion into a successful plan for the future. Joseph achieved that by taking his love for the sport and translating it into a scholarship to compete athletically for Baldwin Wallace University next season.
Both accomplishments did not come easily.
by Grace Wering, sophomore
Besides being involved in choir and sports at Fairview High School, he also served as president of his class. His love of music and music education started right here in the Fairview Park City Schools and translated into a career that he now loves.
Thanks to a great partnership, children at the Parkview Early Education Center are literally learning hands-on skills for their future.
Earlier this winter, Pre-Kindergarten and Daycare students had a truly constructive visit from representatives from the Home Depot in North Olmsted, as the home improvement store took its Kids Workshops on the road.
Home Depot locations nationwide hold free, in-store Kids Workshops for families on the first Saturday of each month. After signing up, families can work on a kid-friendly, do-it-yourself project for about two hours. Upon completion, kids take the projects home.
Preschool/Daycare Teacher Kevin Buehner, who experienced the Home Depot Kids Workshops with his own family, came up with the idea of bringing the program to Parkview.
“I called up the North Olmsted location, and reached out to their customer service desk to find out who I could talk to about coming out to the building in January and February,” Buehner said. “I let them know that we had approximately 20 kids, and they brought just enough for all the kids to work on the same thing. They came out with three employees and the school-aged kids just loved it.”
The fifth-seeded Fairview Warriors (19-6, 6-2 CVC) beat sixth-seeded Cuyahoga Heights on Friday, March 8, 2024 by a 49-46 margin in the District Final of the 2024 OHSAA Tournament inside Wooster High School to advance to Fairview’s first ever Sweet 16 Regional Semifinal.
Sophomore Will Allen was named to the Northeast Lakes Division III All-District First Team. JR Beato, junior, and Burke Lowry (sophomore) were named to the All-District Third Team and senior Collin Lucas was an Honorable Mention. Head Coach Ryan Barry was named Co-Coach of the Year.
We will have more information coming out in the next couple of weeks about this historic season for the boys basketball team.
Thank you to our coaches, players, and fans for a fantastic season.
Tyson Crandall
Senior Tyson Crandall won a State Championship at the OATCCC Indoor State Track Meet in Geneva. Tyson competed in the 800m and won the title with a time of 1:55.14. According to coach Jen Dahler, his years of hard work and sacrifice earned him this State Title. "He is truly the hardest working athlete I have ever coached," Dahler said.
Sylvia Jankowski
At her first OHSAA state gymnastics tournament, ninth-grader Sylvia Jankowski earned a 9th-place finish on the beam with a score of 9.3. Her top-ten finish earned her the title of All-Ohio! Congratulations - what a great season!
7th Grade Boys Basketball
The 7th grade boys team clinched a Chagrin Valley Conference championship in February by defeating Kirtland, 44-43. Congratulations on a great season!
8th Grade Boys Basketball
The 8th grade boys team clinched a CVC championship in February with a 37-31 win over Grand Valley. It's now back-to-back conference championships for this talented group of student-athletes.
