The following e-mail newsletter is published to inform parents and community members about Heights High. For more information or to be removed from this list, contact Parent/Community Liaison Joy Henderson, J_Henderson@chuh.org or 320-3052.

Important Dates

March 4-6: Swim Cadet Show, 7:30 p.m.
March 11: College Fair, 7 p.m.
March 13: SAT test, 8 a.m.
March 14: Daylight savings begins – turn clocks ahead one hour
March 15-19: OGT test
March 16: Leading Ladies Mind, Body and Soul Wellness Fair, 6:30 p.m., Social Room
March 18: Parent Workshop: Applying to College, 7 p.m., Social Room
March 23: Parent Connection Council meeting, 7 p.m., Media Center
March 29: Spring Break begins
April 6: School resumes

The Senior Scene

The guidance department publishes the Senior Scene four times a year to inform seniors and their families about the college going process – especially important deadlines and opportunities.

The one-page sheet is pink and available in all small school offices and outside the Career Resource Center, located up stairs from the door facing the football practice field, near the social room.

School announcements remind students to pick up the Senior Scene.

The current issue includes information about financial aid for college. The sheet lists over 25 scholarships available to Heights students, with awards from $50 to full tuition.

Important Senior Dates

May 10: Senior Project Begins
June 2: Senior Awards Night, 6:30 p.m.
June 4: Distribution of caps/gowns/graduation tickets, Auditorium (8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.) Schedule for pick-up by small school will be announced later
June 4: Prom, 6 -11 p.m., Landerhaven
June 7: Graduation rehearsal, 10:30 a.m. - Noon, State Theater. This is mandatory.
June 7: Commencement, 6:30 p.m., State Theater

Fresh Start for Freshmen

To help improve the transition to ninth grade, Heights High has instituted programs to help freshmen feel comfortable and succeed.

Stephanie Ashford is the Ninth Grade Liaison and helps ninth grade teachers coordinate, plan, and execute many of these activities.

Ms. Ashford will provide Fresh Start for Freshmen regularly in this newsletter, providing information specific to freshmen students and their families.

Parents can contact Ms. Ashford at S_Ashford@chuh.org. She also teaches African American Literature.

Making the Choice: Upstander or Bystander

On January 29, Legacy and R.E.A.L ninth graders attended the interactive “Choosing to Participate” exhibit at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

The students toured the multimedia modules and learned about the real-life scenarios of individuals who became “upstanders” in their communities by taking action when they saw injustice.

One of the videos showed local upstanders from Shaw High School who volunteer in a local elementary school. Others included the Little Rock Nine and a community in Montana who came together to combat a series of hate crimes against Jewish families.

The ninth graders were challenged to consider the effects of their everyday choices and inspired to make a difference in their own community. “Choosing to Participate” complements the English 1 and World History curriculums.

The exhibit is sponsored by Facing History, a nonprofit organization that teaches civic responsibility, tolerance, and social action to young people.

Jump Start the College Process

On Thursday, February 4, Mosaic ninth graders visited Kent State University campus. The students toured academic buildings, residence halls, recreation center, and ate lunch at one of the student cafeterias.

Amber Sa´ad, Chloe Sudduth, and Travis Thompson thought the trip helped them learn more about what to expect at college.

While Amber was familiar with Kent—she lived there as a younger student—she was impressed with several aspects of the campus. “There are so many opportunities there—the recreation center was amazing,” she said. “And the food was better than I expected.”

Chloe has relatives who attend Kent, but she surprised that there are 28 majors offered. She enjoyed walking the campus. “The campus was so clean and pretty,” she said. “I really liked the honors dorms; they are a good reward.”

Travis was surprised that the school was so big. “I liked seeing the campus – it is spread out,” he said. “I also liked the information sessions because we learned more about the requirements.”

“We wanted to inspire our freshmen to be successful in high school so they can go to college,” Katie Cahn, Mosaic counselor and trip organizer, said.

The Freshman Seminar curriculum includes college readiness activities and the trip reinforced the classroom instruction.

These freshmen students have ideas about what they want to do after high school: Amber wants to attend Clark Atlanta University or Spelman College and study medicine, Chloe wants to study fashion design, and Travis wants to play college football and study business.

A Call for Service

Freshman Seminar students in Renaissance are creating public service announcements for non-profit organizations. The students are writing scripts and using Photo Story to create PSAs for Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, The Greater Cleveland Big Brothers and Sisters Program, and the Cleveland Food Bank.

Next year’s incoming ninth graders will view the messages – the school hopes this will encourage ninth graders to volunteer.

Hosting Foreign Exchange Students

Expanding Your World

The international student exchange organization AFS is looking for families to host high school students for next school year.

The students arrive in mid-August and live with a family for the school year. The family provides housing and food and helps the student learn about our culture and values.

For the families who have hosted, they most often say that they did not expect to get so much in return.

Here is a sampling of comments from current and past host families about the hosting experience:

“We learned so much about our student’s culture – it was great to learn as a family.”

“We also learned about our own culture through the eyes of this visiting teenager.”

“My son was always the little brother. With our exchange students, he learned to take on a leadership role.”

“After our student left, we maintained a lasting and deepening relationship with both our student and his family.”

“Hosting made our family bigger and our world smaller.”

Host families do not need a big house, numerous bathrooms, or high school children at home. They just need the desire to share their regular family routines and culture with an interesting young citizen of the world.

For more information about hosting, contact AFS volunteer Krista Hawthorne at klas1985@roadrunner.com.

Poetry Out Loud

Senior Natajah Roberts won the Heights High Poetry Out Loud competition. She recited Litany by Billy Collins, Meditation at Lagunitas by Robert Hass, and The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats.

She will compete in the state competition in Columbus on March 13. Other participants included Sofija Conic, Emmanu-Evette Adjei, and Brandi Gipson.

Leading Ladies Mind, Body and Soul Wellness Fair

Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Social Room

Heights High students invite teens accompanied by an adult to learn about healthy food, activity, and lifestyle.

Included in the fair are cardio workouts, nutrition seminar, relaxation techniques, food tasting, and prizes.

Bring a healthy dish to share.

The goal of the fair is to help fight the obesity epidemic. The fair is sponsored by the Leading Ladies, dedicated to encouraging young women to develop positive attitudes and become resourceful, resilient adults. The fair is also sponsored by the ASF exchange students and Student Council. For more information, contact Sabrina Humphries at sabrinahumphries@yahoo.com.

Students Making a Difference

Adrienne Yelsky’s American History, Lessons of the Holocaust and Social Problems class sent $310 to Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, to provide aid to the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. It provides aid to people in 60 countries whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.