Fairview Fast 5
District News from the Fairview Park City Schools
Dear Fairview Park City School District Community,
I wish you and your families a Happy Holiday Season on behalf of the Fairview Park City Schools Board of Education and our entire school community. This is an especially hectic time of year, and we appreciate you taking time to learn more about the great things happening in our schools.
In this month’s issue, you will find noteworthy news, inspiring stories about student and staff achievements, and examples of how our students apply their academic skills to foster learning, growth, and success.
You will read about how our schools celebrated Veterans Day, recognizing military service members and their families' sacrifices to our country. See how fourth and fifth-grade students used their knowledge of the design process to build virtual floats for the Macy’s Day Parade. Fourth grade students heard from civic leaders on “Government Day” at Gilles-Sweet Elementary school and learned more about how government works. Students at FHS applied engineering principles and used design software to build bird houses. Finally, our student contributor, Grace Wering, shares another interview in the “FHS Alumni Spotlight.”
As always, we invite you to engage with us. You can visit our website at fairviewparkschools.org to see more news, resources, and events. Thank you for being a partner in the success of our educational community.
Happy Holidays,
Keith Ahearn
Last month, Fairview High School and Lewis F. Mayer Middle School students learned about service and sacrifice during an emotional Veterans Day assembly on Nov. 10.
“It was stated to me that it’s been a very long time since this had happened,” Campus Principal Chris Vicha explained. “It probably had not been done since the mid to late nineties, and that was confirmed by a few other staff longtime members. Our goal moving forward is to do this every single year.”
Recognizing veterans was more than just the assembly. Weeks before the event, students were encouraged to invite military family members to the school for a special breakfast. Students also prepared to welcome veterans by creating red, white and blue paper chains with handwritten notes for veterans. Approximately 9,000 pieces of paper were used to adorn the hallways in the school.
On November 17, fourth grade students at Gilles-Sweet Elementary experienced how democracy works, thanks to Government Day.
Government Day welcomes elected officials from all branches of local, state and federal government to meet with students and help explain how it all works.
“We put it at the beginning of the unit,” Laura Ponsart, fourth grade teacher and organizer of Government Day expressed. “We have an introduction of government and the three branches. In come all of these people, and then we talk about what each branch does and how they affect one another.”
by Grace Wering, sophomore
Fairview High School engineering students are really building a strong foundation for their future skills.
Students in Heather Delis’ Advanced Introduction to Engineering Design course have spent their first semester learning the basics of reading, creating, and designing plans to solve various engineering problems.
“Ten years ago, I was almost like the computer class,” Delis explained. “Kids wanted to come in and learn on the computers because they didn’t have it in every room. And now, I’m seeing a shift to where they also want to build.”
To help students gain hands-on experience learning about measurement and reading technical drawings, Delis assigned a birdhouse-building project for her students. The goal was for students to build the birdhouse using only one picket of cedar fencing. Using plans provided by Delis, students used Onshape, a computer assisted design (CAD) software, and traditional building methods to learn these skills.
The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is one of the highlights of the holiday season. But what happens if you can’t make it to the parade?
Fourth and fifth grade students in Graham Codney’s Technology class at Gilles-Sweet Elementary got the next best thing by creating their own virtual parade balloons.
“We try to tie-in the design process into this project,” Codney said. “It’s something they work on and focus on at the middle school/high school. And this is a simple way to introduce that process to elementary students.”
Besides learning the elements of planning and design, Codney says his students also engage in many other important skills, including collaboration and communication.
The Fairview Park City School District has a number of concerts and performances for parents and the community to enjoy this year.
Band & Orchestra Holiday Concert:
Join students from grades 5-12 for an afternoon of holiday music at the Frank W. Barr Auditorium at Fairview High School on Saturday, December 9. Performances begin at 12:00 PM. Please bring a canned food item to donate to the Fairview Park Hunger Center - see more information below. Performance include: Gilles Sweet 5th Grade Band, Gilles Sweet 5th Grade Orchestra, 6th Grade Band, 6th Grade Orchestra, FHS Jazz Band, MMS Concert Band (7-8), MMS Concert Orchestra (7-8), FHS Symphonic Band and FHS Chamber, String & Symphony Orchestras
Holiday Choir Concert
Join choir students from the middle school and high school for this holiday concert in the Frank W. Barr Auditorium on Tuesday, December 12. Please bring a canned food item to donate to the Fairview Park Hunger Center - see more information below. Performances include: 6th grade Glee Club, Middle School 7th & 8th grade concert choir, FHS Choral and FHS Scarlet Singers.
Third Grade Choir Concert
Gnomes to the rescue! Here’s a brand new holiday musical where our friendly gnomes save Christmas all the while telling silly jokes and causing a ruckus. The Gilles-Sweet Third Graders deliver this musical with the heartfelt theme to always believe in what you can’t see. The concert will be on Wednesday, December 13 in the Fairview High School auditorium beginning at 7:00 PM.
Holiday Performances at SouthPark Mall
If you missed performances earlier in December, don't worry! Join Fairview High School students at SouthPark Mall in Strongsville for holiday performances on Friday, December 15.
- 10:00 AM: Chamber Orchestra, String Orchestra & Full Orchestra
- 11:00 AM: Symphonic Band and Jazz Band
- 12:00 PM: Scarlet Singers and Chorale
Tri-M Music Honor Society Food Drive
Tri-M Music Honor Society is holding a food drive for the Fairview Park Hunger Center at the Holiday Concerts at Fairview High School this December. They are accepting donations of non-perishable food items packaged in jars, cans and sealed packages. Thank you!
Please bring items to the following concerts for their collection:
- Holiday Band & Orchestra Concert: December 9 from 12 PM - 4 PM
- Holiday Choir Concert: December 12 at 7:00 PM
- 3rd Grade Choir Concert at FHS: December 13 at 7:00 PM
