At Reaching Heights
Heights Summer Music Camp Filled with Good Vibrations! Join Us on June 21 for the Finale Concert
Wiley Middle School is brimming with music this week
as 85 young Cleveland Heights-University Heights
musicians take part in the fourth annual Heights
Summer Music Camp. You're invited to the camp's
Finale Concert this Saturday, June 21 at 10:30 AM at
Wiley. Don't miss this free performance as
campers share what they've learned in a week of
musical immersion.
Twice each day, Music Director Scott Astey leads the
camp orchestra through intense rehearsals. Campers
also enjoy chamber groups, sectional practice, music
theory, crafts, and a choice of guitar, jazz or chorus.
Reaching Heights sponsors this fun-filled musical
week that strengthens skills and deepens a
commitment to music among the 4th-8th grade
participants. More than half the campers are
returnees, some for a fourth year. Two-thirds of the
Patti Music Lesson Scholarship winners are at camp.
The impact of both programs shows in the quality of
music at the camp and bodes well for the Heights
tradition of musical excellence.
The camp staff also includes district music teachers
Pam Adamson, Bob Adamson, Brett Baker, Tamar
Gray, and Betsy Neylon. Freelance musicians Nick
Diodore and Erik Hasselquist and more than a dozen
Heights High alumni and current students serve as
counselors.
Click here to learn more about the camp.
Reminder: Grant Applications are Due June 30
Applications for School Team and Community
Connection Grants from Reaching Heights are due
June 30. School-based teams may apply for up to
$1,500 to implement a strategy that addresses an
achievement issue that is of concern to the team. The
grants promote collaboration, innovation and problem
solving.
Community Connections Grants are available
for school-based outreach activities that strengthen
commitment to our youth and schools by: promoting
service learning and opportunities for students to
develop skills for civic involvement; involving parents
and volunteers in school life; and encouraging
community knowledge of our students and schools
and promoting use of the public schools
Grant deadlines are June 30 and October 31,
2008. See the Reaching Heights website for
detailed information about grant guidelines.
More information about both programs can be found
at http://reaching
heights.org/grant/
In Our Schools
Congratulations, Heights High Class of 2008!
On June 2, the Heights High Class of 2008
attended
their commencement ceremony in the historic State
Theatre. Seniors Jeanniece L.L. Jackson and Cierra
Janell Burgess addressed their peers and guests,
and class president Reginald Golden presented the
senior class mantle to next year's senior class
president, Shequea Howard. The senior class was
offered more than $9 million in scholarships and
accepted $4.1 million in scholarships to attend four-
year colleges and universities. Seniors received more
than $114,000 in scholarships from community
organizations in Cleveland Heights and University
Heights.
The 2008 Commencement ceremony airs daily on
Channel 22 at 3 PM and 7 PM. Multiple DVD copies
will be available for checkout at the Heights Main
Library on Lee Road at the end of June.
Heights Boys Track Team-State Champs!
After winning the Lake Erie League Conference
Championship and the Regional Championship, the
Heights High Boys Track Team went on to set school
records in the high jump, 4x100 meter relay, 4x200
meter relay, and set a school and District record in the
4x800 meter relay on their way to winning the State
Championship. Heading for the tournament, the track
team got a sendoff from staff, students, and
community. "That gesture gave the whole team a little
extra energy - the kids felt recognized and
encouraged," Coach Claude Holland said. They
returned with a very big trophy.
A strong group of seniors and many talented
underclassmen medaled in several relays and
individual events. Perhaps the crowning event was the
all-senior 800 relay, an event that Heights has
excelled in for several years. Sylvester Watts, Adam
Katt, Jared Hall, and Dontave Cowsette won the event
with a school record and a first-place finish of 7:41.38.
Other boys results include:
· Jared Hall, 2nd place, 800m, 1:51.83
· Dwayne King, 2nd place high jump, 6'09.00"
· Jonathan Hardy, Dontave Cowsette, Bryan
Underwood, Jarell Settles, 3rd place 4x200 relay,
1:26.54
· Jonathan Hardy, Wael Elhalaby, Ryan Bounds, Bryan
Underwood,2nd place, 4x100m relay, 42.08
· Bryan Underwood, Wael Elhalaby, Jared Hall,
Dontave Cowsette, 5th place, 4x400m relay, 3:17.88
Girls results include:
· Christian Johnson, 1600m, 8th place, 5:01.13
· Aaliyah VanLeer, shot put, 8th place,
35'07.25"
A video highlight of the State Division I Track Meet can
be found at ohiohssports.com/video
Summer's a Great Time for Reading
One great thing about summer is the time it
allows for
reading. Assigned summer reading for all CH-UH
students is at chuh.org/boe/summer_reading.shtml. While all
students are expected to read their assigned books,
teachers encourage students to read whatever they
want! The CH-UH Library has a fantastic selection of
books, digital media, magazines, computers,
programming for all ages, comfortable seating, and is
air conditioned. Find out more at heightslibrary.org
Congratulations Betsy Neylon and Michelle Alexander
Last month, the Cleveland Heights-University
Heights
PTA Council awarded their annual Educator of the
Year and Helping Hands awards in recognition of
excellence by teachers and staff at the CH-UH
schools. Elementary music teacher and Heights
Summer Music Camp Coordinator Betsy Neylon
received the Educator of the Year award. Parents
who nominated her said: "Ms. Neylon is nothing less
than an extraordinary music teacher, not only for her
skill as an educator but also for her dedication to her
students." The Helping Hands award was presented
to Special Education Aide Michelle Alexander.
Congratulations to both!
In Our Community
Celebrate the Solstice With a Garden Tour
On Saturday, June 21, from 1-6 PM, celebrate the
summer solstice featuring the most daylight of the
year by visiting garden jewels in Cleveland Heights'
Oxford, Fairfax, Coventry and Roxboro neighborhoods.
Homeowners and/or landscape designers will be
present at sites to answer questions and offer
gardening tips. Tour booklets with a map and garden
descriptions will be available.
Tickets, $15 in advance and $20 on tour day, are
available at Appletree Books, 12419 Cedar Rd.;
Heights Floral Shoppe, 3477 Fairmount Blvd.; Heights
Garden Center, 13410 Cedar Rd.; Seitz-Agin
Hardware, 2271 Lee Rd.; and Vidstar Video, 1836½
Coventry Rd. The Heights Youth Club, at 2065 Lee
Road, will be open Saturday for tickets and a plant
sale. A Meet the Kids open house from 4-6 PM offers
youth performances, music, tours and refreshments.
Proceeds from the day's events benefit Heights Youth
Club, a non-profit organization providing supervised
programs for youth ages 6 to 18.
Learn Tips on Creating a Healthier Home
Have you ever wondered about the cleaning
products in your home? How can you monitor the
quality of food you serve your family? Join us for a
morning filled with helpful information about ways to
create a healthy home environment for your family.
Healthy Child Healthy World, Luna Moms Club of
Cleveland, and Heights Parent Center are throwing a
Healthy Home Party, Friday, June 27, at 9:45 AM, at
Heights Parent Center, 14780 Superior Road,
Cleveland Heights (the former Taylor Academy). RSVP
to rachel
mears@strollerstrides.net. Children are welcome!
In Education News
Zelman's Not Alone: Seven State Educational Leaders Heading for the Exit
Susan Tave Zelman, Ohio's outgoing
superintendant of public instruction, is one of seven
long-serving state schools chiefs set to step down in
the next year. Reasons for their departures include
policy conflicts with governors, term limits, and a
simple desire for a change after years at the helm of a
state education agency. The turnovers come at a
precarious time for public schools, with state budgets
in turmoil, the federal No Child Left Behind Act in flux,
and education, as always, a contentious political
issue. The departures are the subject of a feature
article by Michele McNeil in the June 18 issue of
Education Week.
At one time, the primary responsibility of a state chief
was ensuring fiscal responsibility and oversight of
state and federal resources, said Gene Wilhoit,
executive director of the Washington-based Council of
Chief State School Officers. Now, he said, state
superintendents and commissioners of education are
expected to be "transformational leaders" capable of
fixing public school systems that may be plagued by
high dropout rates and big achievement gaps.
In February, Zelman found out the morning of Gov. Ted
Strickland's State of the State address that he would
propose to strip the chief's position and the state
board of education of most of their authority so he
could name his own education secretary. The Ohio
commissioner is currently hired by the state board.
"I was very taken aback," Zelman, who took office in
March 1999 and whose resignation is effective in
December, said last week. "I believe the state
superintendent should work in partnership with the
governor. ... It was clear to me this wasn't going to be
a very good partnership." She hopes Gov. Strickland, a
Democrat, will have a hand in picking her successor
and drop his plans to change the overall education
governance structure. "I believe in an apolitical state
board of education, in what's good for the children as
opposed to what's good for a governor," she said.
McNeil's full article is available at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2
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