School News

School of Innovation third graders participated in a powerful Problem-Based Learning (PBL) project that beautifully wove together everything they had studied about soil, plants, animals, citizenship and community. They took on a critical environmental issue: the global decline of bees. After reading an eye-opening Time for Kids article about these vital pollinators, the class learned that habitat loss means bees are struggling to find food, but that even small efforts, like suburban and urban window boxes, can provide crucial "snack stands" to keep them fueled. 

Inspired to take action, our third graders launched a community initiative to help our local bee population. They requested flower donations from local nurseries, beautifully decorated their own flower pots, and filled them with a mix of the donated flowers and the seedlings they had successfully grown in class. To ensure their hard work made a real impact, the students then reached out to local businesses, asking them to place the flower buckets outside their storefronts over the summer. We are incredibly proud of how our students turned empathy into civic action, becoming true hometown environmental heroes!

 

Middle school milestones are all about unforgettable experiences! 

Eighth grade students from the School of Innovation traveled to Niagara Falls for an incredible educational field trip. Students had the opportunity to witness the power of the falls firsthand, learn about the local geography, and celebrate their upcoming transition to high school as a class.

We are proud to support experiential learning opportunities that expand our students' horizons beyond the classroom.

 

The School of Innovation was well represented at the Junior Bot Competition that took place at Lakeland Community College! 

The SOI teams faced off against schools from around the area, and in their first year in the competition made a name for themselves!

We are so proud of our four School of Innovation teams for their hard work and grit in the arena: 

- The Storm: 5th Place
- Clanker Crew: 5th Place 
- Destructive Duckies: 7th Place 
- The Wall-eye: 9th Place.

A massive thank you to our partners at Universal Metals and to all the families who came out to support our students. We couldn't do this without you!

 

Congratulations to SOI's 8th Graders Lucianna and Willow for competing in the Region 3 Ohio History Day at the Western Reserve Historical Society in University Heights.

They worked hard to create original projects on the theme "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History."

Willow created a documentary, "Neither Glorious Nor a Revolution: England's Dual Dutch Monarchy", and Lucianna did a museum-style exhibit on the American Prohibition Era.

We are very proud of their hard work and their willingness to compete against some of the best and brightest from around Northeast Ohio. Not only do they know the content, they displayed key Portrait of a Graduate skills as they were creators and critical thinkers and definitely exhibited confidence.

 

Four of our School of Innovation talented writers represented the school at the Regional Power of the Pen tournament. We are proud to recognize our competitors: Jason and Lily from the 7th grade, and Luca and Ashley from the 8th grade.

The students worked incredibly hard on their timed writing pieces and earned impressive scores across the board. A special congratulations goes to Ashley, who was formally awarded a commemorative journal for her "Best in Round" achievement from the District tournament, specifically topping all Round 3 writers in her category. We are now eagerly awaiting the final results to see if our writers will move on to the State tournament later this year.