News

Congratulations to Laurel's Upper School JustWrite team, which won first place overall this past weekend at the first-ever Regional JustWrite Tournament, which Laurel hosted! The team earned the tournament sweepstakes award for the third year in a row, and Laurel students also won four of the six Excellence in Poetry awards. 

The Middle School Robotics Team, "The Science Sisters", Laila S. ‘30, Annabel L. ‘30 and Giulia F. ‘31, had an incredible performance at the Hathaway Brown FIRST LEGO League Challenge Qualifier on November 23. They tied for the highest robot table score with an impressive 235 points and shined in robot design, core values, and their innovation project.

Laurel’s Speech and Debate team has had a busy November starting with Asal Mohammadi ‘27 finishing the Perry Tournament with a 6-0 record and earning 1st place out of 101 Lincoln-Douglas debaters. She also earned a bid to the State Tournament! Claire Sheeler ‘25 placed 4th in United States Extemporaneous Speaking and also earned a bid to States.

Laurel's Middle School Mock Trial team is new this year and teaches students about the law while building teamwork and public-speaking skills.

Congratulations to Kaya Sgro ‘26, who was named 2024 Greater Cleveland Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association First Team!

 

Congratulations to Frankie N. ‘29, Maddie M. ‘29, and Ariya P. '29, who played this fall on the U14 Shaker Youth Soccer Association travel team, which won the tournament championship for both the Ohio State Travel Soccer League Fall Tournament and the State Championship.

The Chagrin Valley Times featured Laurel's new "Gator Garage" on its front page this month! Art Teacher and Gator Garage Director, Emily Felderman; Associate Director of Outdoor PreK and Grades 3-5, Shannon Lukz; and several Fourth and Fifth Grade students were included in the piece.

Dr. Tori Cordiano, Director of Research for Laurel’s Center for Research on Girls (LCRG), authored a recent piece in Motherly titled “A Love Letter to Children’s Books" where she says “Books are magic. Their ability to transport us to a different world and help us see another perspective is unmatched."

Congrats to Fiona Thackaberry Stevens ’30, who will is a Soloist and a Street Child in "A Christmas Carol" with the Great Lakes Theater Festival at Playhouse Square. The production runs from November 23 through December 22. This is Fiona's debut performance with the Great Lakes Theater Festival and her fifth professional production.

In her latest blog piece, “Reflections on Headship: Bring on the Muffins,” Ms. Klotz delves into the complexities of running a school amidst the many priorities of family and life, and how it is often hard to notice the life you are living while living it.

Emma Miller ‘11 has been selected as one of only five emerging Jewish educators nationwide to receive the 2024 Pomegranate Prize from the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. The Cleveland Jewish News highlighted her honor.

 

Ella Witalec ‘25 has been named a semifinalist in the 2024-2025 Coca-Cola Scholars program. Ella is one of only 1,336 Semifinalists chosen from over 105,000 applicants this year (only 1.27%) and is now in the running for one of 150 scholarships worth $20,000.

After a strong performance at the State District Tournament this month, Rida Tahir ‘27 qualified for the OHSAA State Tennis Tournament where she played singles. Laurel's assistant soccer coach, Emma Daniel, was voted Division II Private School Assistant Coach of the Year!

Congratulations to Laurel's Model UN team for their stellar performance at the 8th annual Mentor High School Model UN Conference last week. 

Natalia Navarro ‘25 has won the Kent State Art Without Limits pitch competition! Natalia pitched her non-profit, For the Flow, which works to eliminate period poverty through action, education, and advocacy. Her winnings will be used to provide period products to women in Northeast Ohio.

Laurel Alumna Siena Maschke '24 was named athlete of the week for the North Coast Athletic Conference for women’s golf. She led the Denison Big Red to a sixth-place finish at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational. Congratulations!

Laurel School is pleased to announce Christina Breen has been selected to serve as Laurel’s eleventh Head of School, effective July 1, 2025. Cleveland.com, the Cleveland Jewish News, and The News Herald highlighted this news in October.  

 

In an October Cleveland Magazine article, Andrew Cruse, Laurel's Director of College Guidance, and Megan Weiskopf, Laurel's Director of Teaching and Learning, comment on how a GPA is not necessarily reflective of the depth of learning done in the classroom.

 

Eva Ko ‘25 was a recent guest on WKYC’s “We the People” where she and Environmental Justice Director Angela Yeager spoke about Laurel’s inaugural EJ semester and the first-ever in-person Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit. Watch the full story here.

Cecilia Doherty '26 was selected to play the oboe in the Ohio All State Orchestra for the 2024-2025 school year. She will join musicians from around the state for a performance at Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland on February 7, 2025.

History Department Chair Elen Roberts and Tristan Williams ‘25, Cecilia Doherty ‘26, Faye Moledina ‘25, and Ivey Williams ‘25 were recently featured in a Spectrum News story about the opportunities Laurel is providing young voters to educate them about the election process and voter registration.

 

Katie Izanec ‘25, Katie Northrop ‘25, and Ella Witalec ‘25 have been named National Merit Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of high school seniors across the country. Of approximately 16,000 semifinalists, 6,870 will advance as finalists and compete for $26 million in National Merit Scholarships awarded in the Spring.

The Shaker Arts Council (SHAC) recently announced the unveiling of five newly wrapped utility boxes throughout Shaker Heights. We are excited to share that Kimberly Dailey’s art was selected to appear on a utility box in Shaker Square! Kimberly is the Multi-media and Design Manager in Laurel’s marketing department.

 

Laurel alumna Jami Morris ‘21, a current Senior Golfer at Penn State University, started the summer raising $107,000 to add to the $200,000+ she raised the two previous summers with Hit Fore Hope, her non-profit organization that raises money for the Seidman Cancer Center at University Hospitals. 

Lauren Calig, Director of Multicultural Curriculum & Global Programs and Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, contributed an article titled “Into The Woods” this Fall to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Magazine. The article highlights Laurel’s inaugural Environmental Justice Semester and how it came to be.

Who is the best high school girls tennis player in Northeast Ohio? Cleveland.com is asking that question and has included Laurel’s own Rida Tahir ‘25 on the list. Polls stay open until September 9. Cast your vote for Rida here.

Isabelle (Izzy) Kaufman ‘25 and Lilly Chaiten ‘25 raised $25,000 for UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital by horse-showing in the 2024 Rainbow Jumper Challenge at the Chagrin Valley Hunt Club in August. Both girls had exceptional rides for their first time competing in this type of event.

Dan Dvorak, director of strength and conditioning at Laurel, provided some valuable insight in an August Plain Dealer story about how parents can talk to their kids when it comes to the ups and downs of youth sports.

When highlighting how Laurel approaches STEM for a recent Cleveland Magazine piece, Second Grade teacher Mindy Byrnes said, “In grades K to 8, it’s all about integration and exploration”. While Mindy discussed the use of technology in lower grades, she said “The tech is a tool to gain more complex growth-mindset skills, such as realizing progress from hard work.”

In August Jonathan Leiken, father of Sascha Leiken ‘25, directed his daughter and other Laurel students in Laurel Summer School Studio’s production of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. Cleveland Jewish News interviewed the two about their experience working with one another.

Madeleine (Maddy) Adler ‘25 and Isabelle (Izzy) Kaufman ‘25 were included in a Cleveland Jewish News story where they offered advice to incoming freshmen. Tips included being open-minded, pursuing new interests, and getting outside your comfort zone.

In her latest blog post on The Brevity Blog, Laurel Head of School Ann V. Klotz remembers her fondness for writing fiction as a child and her path to becoming a nonfiction writer. She said “Each day is full of stories. Which ones to choose? Which ones do I remember and shape or craft?”

Congratulations to Laurel’s Speech and Debate team on their performance at the 2024 National Speech and Debate Tournament! Ella Witalec ‘25 placed 6th in the nation in US Extemporaneous Speaking, Kaitlyn Ernst ‘24 finished in the top 33 Lincoln-Douglas debaters, and Laurel was recognized as a National Speech School of Honor!

Lauren Calig, Director of Multicultural Curriculum & Global Programming and Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging published a piece in Well-Schooled, the site for educator storytelling. "Inside the Environmental Justice House" looks at a day in the life of Laurel's Environmental Justice (EJ) Semester and the unique learning that takes place.

In a June article, The Morning Journal states that “Amherst native Saniyah Hall’s stardom at Laurel becomes national sensation. Not only is the junior-to-be one of the best recruits in Ohio, Hall is the No. 4 nationally-ranked recruit on ESPN’s HoopszGurlz Recruiting Rankings – Super 60.”

 

Congrats to Fiona Thackaberry Stevens ‘30 who will play Tessie in Porthouse Theater’s production of “Annie”. The show runs July 20 - August 4 on the grounds of Blossom Music Center and will include 15 performances. The Akron Beacon Journal included mention of Fiona in this article.

Head of School Ann V. Klotz penned her latest piece in Multiplicity titled “A Marvel of Chaos”. In it, she talks about the highs and lows of making plays with young performers as she recalls directing this year's Grades 3-5 performance of "Meanwhile, Back at the Castle", a play she wrote many years ago for a children’s theater Ann ran in college.

Congratulations to Shaliz Bazldjoo '24, Yimo (CiCi) Cao '25, Eliana Fieldman ‘27, and Haadeya Salman '27 who all received a National Silver Medal in this year's Scholastic Art & Writing competition. 

Nicole Franks, Laurel’s Director of Early Childhood, was featured in a June Cleveland Jewish News story linking student developmental success and the steady partnerships between both home and school.

Congratulations to Kennedy Whitaker '25 who was awarded the Ronald Reagan Leadership Medal for 2024! This prestigious award is presented to high school juniors or seniors who best exemplify drive, humility, and service before self. 

Bree Rubin '27 recently completed a successful USA Gymnastics Season, competing for Prestige Gymnastics. Bree won her fourth consecutive Ohio State All Around Championship, also winning Beam, Floor, and Vault. 

Congratulations to Savannah Hameed '24 on receiving the Cleveland Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) annual Philip W. Porter Scholarship. 

Alaire Bang ‘24 is the recipient of this year’s Beachwood Arts Council Si and Shirley Washsberger Arts Scholarship. 

Ella Witalec '25 and Kaitlyn Ernst '24 represented Laurel Speech and Debate at the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament in Chicago in May. Ella finished as an Octofinalist in Extemporaneous Speaking and Kaitlyn finished as a Semifinalist (top four in the nation!) in Lincoln-Douglas Debate.

Savannah Hameed '24 and Aubrey Welchans '25 competed in the OHSAA Regional Meet for track and field in May. Aubrey finished 7th in the 400m run, and Savannah finished 9th in the shot put and 10th in discus. 

Eighth Grade students recently visited the Upper Chagrin Preserve for a citizen science project where they conducted a survey. The survey focused on microinvertebrate types and numbers. The Geauga County Maple Leaf joined students, along with Carrie Ruhrkraut, Associate Director of Middle School, to highlight the survey.

Finley B. ‘29 and Evie E. ‘29 competed at the Power of the Pen State Tournament in May. Finley placed in the top ten percent of the 250 7th Grade participants and made it to the final “Power Round” where her piece won first place with a score of 95! The Laurel team of two placed 5th in the entire competition, a huge feat with only two qualifiers. 

Congratulations to Laurel School's Class of 2024! These Seniors from the #1 all-girls school in Ohio were accepted into 144 schools across 36 states as well as DC, the UK (Scotland), Europe (Monaco, France and Switzerland) and Canada. 

Congratulations to Saniyah Hall ‘26 who has been invited to the USA Women’s Basketball U17 National Team Trials.

Congratulations to Laurel's JustWrite team, a Grades 9-12 interscholastic competitive writing team, who won the Grand Champion Award at the Ohio State Tournament! Each of Laurel's 20 writers qualified individually at the Regional tournament last December and won a variety of awards at States. 

Head of School Ann V. Klotz had her personal essay String of Pearls published in Midstory Magazine this month, as well as  a new piece in Well-Schooled where she reflects on what it means to always be a teacher first.

Artwork by Visual Arts teacher Lori Kella was recently featured in Life out of Balance at the Emily Davis Gallery at The University of Akron (March 15 - April 19, 2024). Vignettes, a solo exhibition of her photography, will be on view at William Busta Projects from May 3, through June 8, 2024.

The Land highlighted the first in-person NEO Youth Climate Summit on April 14 with an article recapping an inspiring afternoon led by area youth eager to make environmental change. 

Congratulations to Ella Witalec '25 who has been named a National 2024 Aspirations in Computing Awards winner by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) in partnership with KeyBank. 

On April 18, Laurel hosted the annual Student Art Exhibition, which highlighted the visual arts accomplishments of students in Grades Nine through Twelve. 

Saniyah Hall '26 has been named Player of the Year by Cleveland.com! She is the nation’s No. 3 ranked sophomore according to ESPN and averaged 25.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 3.8 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. 

Amira Evans '29 has been named a 1st place winner of the 2024 Yom Hashoah Creative Arts Contest for her poetry entry. 

WKYC Channel 3 featured the April 14 NEO Youth Climate Summit at the CWRU Think[box], which Laurel Environmental Justice (EJ) Semester students organized along with Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s Office of Sustainability, Global Shapers Cleveland, and many other community sponsors.

Big Congratulations to Luna Mold '33, Hannah Walker '25, Tatum Zollar '25, and Ivy Hornsby '25, who were all named finalists in the 2025 Young Entrepreneur Pitch Contest! 

 

Laurel Alum Elizabeth "Lizzie" Johnston '20 was featured with a Q&A this month in row2K about her role as coxswain for Michigan State. 

Congratulations to Beth Clark, Upper School history teacher, who was nominated and selected by alumna Sophie Bravo '20, a Rochester Institute of Technology student, as part of the school's Distinguished Teacher Recognition Program. 

Laurel's Junior Model UN Team saw much success at the recent Cleveland Council of World Affairs' annual Spring Conference. 

Laurel is proud to announce a total of 33 students in Grades 8-12 have received a total of 52 honors in the 2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. 

Jade Gladue ‘24 will perform in the Cleveland Orchestra’s production of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” in May. The Geauga County Maple Leaf featured Jade in a recent story highlighting their role of the Third Spirit in the production. 

The starting lineup of our Laurel Gator’s basketball team was included in a Channel 5 story this month where they weighed in on the excitement around women’s basketball as Cleveland prepared to host the women’s Final Four in early April.

Siena Maschke ‘24 was recently featured in the Ohio High School Golf Blog. This in-depth feature highlights how Siena found interest in golf at a young age, and her path to success, which led her to become the 2023 Golf State Champion!

Congratulations to Finley B. '29 and Evie E. '29 who have qualified for the Power of the Pen State Tournament after impressive performance at Regionals!

Abbie Bole, Primary School Science Teacher, has been selected as a finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the nation's highest honor for teachers of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). 

Ivey Williams ‘25 and Eva Ko ‘25 were recent All Things Green podcast guests. They spoke about their experience as Environmental Justice (EJ) Semester students, how it impacted them, and their work to help plan the upcoming NEO Youth Climate Summit, which is taking place April 14, 2024 at the CWRU Think[box].

Eve Belding ‘25 participated in the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF) in March where she presented her finite element analysis (FEA) research on knot strength and knot load-carrying capacities. 

Elana Glasner, Middle School Learning Strategist and math teacher, was included in a recent Cleveland Magazine piece about the benefits of Laurel's Learning Strategies department and the Learning HUB, which welcomes students seeking some additional academic support. 

Congratulations to Amelia Glasier '24, Serene Hameed '25, Camille Jackson '24, and Kayla Pierce '24, for their second-place finish in the Veale ThinkBIG! Challenge. 

Congratulations to Laurel's Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries—Team Laurel—who raised $10,276 this year to help support blood cancer research. Student Visionaries of the Year is a philanthropic leadership development program for high school students. 

Congrats to Laurel’s Middle School Math Teams for their Stellar performance at the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (GCCTM) Problem Solving Tournament. 

Congratulations to Ella Witalec '25 who was crowned the State Champion in United States Extemporaneous Speaking at the OSDA State Tournament this month.

Congratulations to Emi Dallas '24 and Alaire Bang '24, who both received awards at the 28th Annual Beachwood Art Council's Ileen Kelner Juried High School Art Show! Siena Maschke ‘24 also entered her ceramics piece titled “Flare Up” in the show. 

Congratulations to Laurel's 15 State Qualifiers and 3 National Qualifiers for the 2023-2024 Speech and Debate season! The team will travel to the State Tournament in March to face the strongest competitors from all across the state of Ohio and includes all students pictured here.

Congratulations to Concetta Yormick ‘25 and Natalia Navarro ‘25 who were both selected as finalists in Teen Accelerate, a civic-oriented pitch contest focused on solving problems in Northeast Ohio. 

 

WKYC TV featured Laurel Alumna Sydney Strickland Saffold ‘04, a Cleveland Municipal Court Judge, alongside her mother, Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold, and her brother, Judge Jeffrey Saffold. 

 

Congratulations to Environmental Justice (EJ) Semester graduate Asalé Jones ‘26 who earned a scholarship from Black Environmental Leaders and was honored as a future leader for her work making positive change in the community.

 

Congratulations to Danielle Atkins '24, a member of the Euclid Symphony Orchestra as a double bassist, who played with the orchestra on February 17 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center for their presentation: “Spiritual Echoes: A Black History Celebration” conducted by Jimmie A. Parker, Sr. 

Dr. Rachel Herlein, Assistant Head of School for Academic Excellence, was featured in a recent Cleveland Jewish News story highlighting the changes—both academic and social— that come with transitioning from middle school to high school. 

On February 1, Abby Byrne ‘25 was one of three featured speakers in the first annual “Speak as we Find” event at Beachwood High School. With the theme of “New Findings and Unseen Ideas, from Resistance to Enlightenment,” Abby was selected to speak based on her entry about modern feminism, and, in her words, “the deleterious misogyny within American society.”

Laurel Speech and Debate had an outstanding first tournament of the new year in early January where they competed at Wadsworth and placed 5th overall in team sweeps. All Upper School students who placed earned bids to the State Tournament! Individual results follow.

Shaliz Bazldjoo ‘24 was featured in the Chagrin Valley Times as part of an ongoing series about Northeast Ohio high school students in the class of 2024. 

The Laurel Gators played in the Classic in the Country on January 14-15 and Saniyah Hall ‘26 broke the all-time single-game scoring record against Anthony Wayne. With 43 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and four steals. 

Congratulations to Jannah Kazmi ‘26, a recent EJ Semester graduate, whose opinion piece was recently published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com about the benefits of eating less meat.

Laurel's Middle School Junior Model UN team saw much success at the annual Cleveland Council on World Affairs' Henri Pell Junod, Jr., Junior Model UN Conference held at John Carroll University on January 10-11. 

Congratulations to Jazmin Ross '25, 1st place winner in the 9th-12th grade division of the 34th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest sponsored by East View United Church of Christ in Shaker.