On Friday, May 2nd, 2025, the 9th Annual Fair Poet finalists read their poems at a school-wide assembly. The Fair Poet contest first began in the Fall of 2016. Since then, hundreds of students have had the opportunity to creatively express their ideas in poetry and in doing so, receive prizes for their writing accomplishments. Each year students receive a theme and submit their poems in the spring. This year’s theme was “COURAGE."

Here are the finalists/winners for Grades 6-8:

• First Place: Autumn Slavkovsky - $100
• Second Place: Violet Cueni - $50
• Third Place: Lucy McCauley - $25
• Fourth Place: Raynah Wiersch
• Fifth Place: Giada Madda

Here are the finalists/winners for Grades 9-12:

• First Place: Genesis Martinez - $175
• Second Place: Bram Miles - $100
• Third Place: Viviann Webster - $50
• Fourth Place: Marissa Malone
• Fifth Place: Hannah McCauley

In addition to these awards, three students were recognized by Hank Werronen, the Fair Poet Sponsor, and received an Honorable Mention award for $50 each.

• Middle School: Adelaide Victor and Giada Madda
• High School: Elijah Powell

Congrats to Seniors Samantha Dodd and Brenden Patterson. Both were honored at the Northeast Athletic Conference "Pat Giuliano" awards yesterday. Pat was a highly respected and dedicated educator, coach, and administrator. He was the commissioner for the NAC, and sadly passed away this year. Samantha and Brenden were selected because they demonstrate fairness, respect, honesty, and ethical conduct in their athletics. Congratulations to these deserving Skippers.

Hello Fairport Parents/Guardians:

There is a recent social media trend (Tik Tok) which has students taking objects such as paper clips, pushpins, mechanical pencil graphite, etc., and inserting them into the USB port or wall outlet, causing it to spark / smoke and ultimately, in some cases, catch fire. We have witnessed this today in our school buildings, several of the acts were recorded and uploaded to social media. Please discuss this with your child and remind them of the dangers of doing these acts. The danger of electrocution and potential fire are very serious. We are working with both the Fairport Harbor Fire Department and the Fairport Harbor Police Department to develop a presentation for students about the danger.

As per our device guidelines, families will be charged the full repair amount, which could be the entire cost of the Chromebook (up to $292), for intentional damage to a device.

7th grade science class enjoyed an owl pellet lab last week. An owl pellet lab is a popular and engaging activity that helps students explore food chains, animal anatomy, and ecosystems. During the lab, the students examined and dissected owl pellets—regurgitated masses of bones, fur, and feathers that owls cannot digest. By carefully pulling apart the pellet, students identified the bones of small animals like mice, voles, or birds, often using charts to match the bones they found.

The 2nd annual Harding Art show was a huge success on Monday. Families strolled, admired gorgeous artwork, and enjoyed cotton candy. Thank you to Mrs. Caruso and her art students for an amazing night showing off the talent we have right here at Harding.

• The band concert is Thursday night at 6pm in the auditorium.
• Seniors last day is 5/14.
• The Excellence Awards are 5/19 at 9am.
• Last student day is 5/20.
• Middle school awards are 5/20 at 8am.
• Senior parade is 5/21at 6pm.
• FHS graduation is 5/23 at 7pm.

The Skippers danced the night away on Saturday at Prom 2025. After an amazing dinner and endless photo booth antics, our King and Queen were crowned. Congratulations to Charlie Beardslee and Jillian Justinger for being named prom royalty. Thank you to junior class advisers Julie Drennan and Phil Moore, as well as our chaperones for arranging a great night.

The 5th grade class and their teachers paid Harding a visit on Friday for a school tour. We met in the auditorium for an introduction, and then their teachers and Harding toured them around the building.