Mustang Moments

Last Week's Poll Question: "Do You Make New Year's Resolutions?"

61% Responded "No"

39% Responded "Yes"

Chapman Elementary students are working together to develop PRIDE (Prepared, Respectful, Inclusive, Determined, Engaged) in their school. Through a “Buddy Class” program, students are growing skills together that will benefit them for years to come. Click HERE to learn more about this impactful program!

Did you know that “The Lantern” - student newspaper of SHS - can now be found online? The Lantern has been “shedding light on school news since 1942” and is currently produced by both a class at SHS and a group of students in an after school extracurricular club. Twenty-four students in the Multimedia Journalism class combine efforts with ten students in the after school extracurricular group to write news, feature, editorial, entertainment, and sports stories on a weekly basis. The students hope to be adding more multimedia content in the future, including short news videos. Click HERE for the latest issue of The Lantern - and make sure to bookmark this site for the latest SHS news - all from student perspectives!

Know an SHS graduate that has accomplished great things? We are looking to recognize alumni that have made a significant impact in their professional career and/or in their community and are currently accepting nominations for the SHS Distinguished Alumni - Class of 2026. Fill out THIS FORM to nominate a deserving SHS graduate for this honor. This year’s selected class of Distinguished Alumni will be recognized at a special event in April 2026.

Mustang Express gave two amazing performances last weekend at the Van Buren Show Choir Competition! They earned a spot in the competition finals and placed 4th runner up. The “Best Set” award went to Mustang Express and Jensen Niedermyer was awarded “Best Performer” for the group!

Shout out to this great example of 'Model Mustang' teamwork - our student performers, our wonderful Choral Boosters, Choreographer Mrs. Rose, and Director Mrs. Eicher - putting all of your talents together and making Strongsville proud!

6th grade ELA students at SMS recently visited the Strongsville library to choose biography books about people who inspired them, then read and took notes on how their historical figures made an impact. Students wrote informational essays highlighting key achievements and a section on how their person never gave up. They compiled all of their research into personalized biography folders, and brought their stories to life by dressing up, building dioramas, and adding props - creating their very own "Wax Museum." At the museum, each student played the role of their historical figure, created a button visitors could press for more information, and delivered a short speech to share what they learned. This experience helped to build persistence, research skills, and creative storytelling in our SMS students!

Registration for incoming kindergarten students is NOW OPEN. See the informational flyer below. More information can also be accessed HERE.

PLEASE NOTE: New legislation has changed the eligible age for kindergarten entrance to include any student who turns five years old on or before our start date of August 18th. Previously students needed to be five years old by August 1st.

The College Board recently announced their 2025 Honor Roll awards and Strongsville High School was named a Silver AP School overall. Launched in 2023, the AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results for students while broadening participation. Schools can earn this recognition annually based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness.

During last school year, SHS administered 1,160 AP exams. SHS had 199 AP Honor Students, earned Gold status for College Credit Utilization (Criteria - 25% or more of the graduating cohort scored a 3 or higher on at least 1 AP Exam during high school), and earned Platinum status for College Optimization (Criteria - 2% or more of the graduating cohort took 5 or more AP Exams during high school, with at least 1 of those exams taken in 9th or 10th grade. Meaning students are spreading their AP experience across grades rather than feeling disproportionate pressure in any single year). Congratulations on all of the continued success by our AP teachers and students at SHS!

We are proud of three SHS Polaris students - Jace Barnhizer, Summer Zoscak, and Noor Odetellah - who represented Strongsville in a panel discussion at this week’s Strongsville Chamber of Commerce Luncheon!

Jace, Noor, and Summer shared examples of how they are taking the skills they’ve learned in the classroom and applying them to their internship opportunities. The best part? The skills they are learning are setting the foundation for their future careers!

Help support this year's Blood Cancer United (formally Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) Student Visionaries. This year’s Student Visionaries team from Strongsville High School is being led by Anna Placeway, Emily Polo, and Eric Dubsky. The Student Visionaries of the Year program is a philanthropic youth leadership initiative in which high school students compete to raise funds for blood cancer research, advocacy, and support. Student leaders form a team and fundraise in honor of blood cancer survivors. They have created an amazing team, "Mustangs For A Cure" to help them reach a goal of raising $150,00 for Blood Cancer United. They have from January 23rd March 13th to accomplish this task! This year’s team has already been working hard to network with local business leaders, but in order to reach this goal it’s going to take the support of our entire community! How can you help?

1. Donate! Mustangs For A Cure Team Page * Online donations will open on Friday, 1/23

2. Follow them on facebook, Mustangs For A Cure Facebook to cheer them on and follow their progress! Share their page and ask others to follow!

3. Share, attend and participate in their community events.

4. Connect them to local business leaders who may want to join us in their efforts to raise money for Blood Cancer United by emailing mustangsforacure@gmail.com

Last weekend, the SHS Competitive Cheer Team participated in the Division I OHSCCA Competition and earned District Champion Runners-Up! Congratulations also go out to Annie Canonico and Ella Hunley for being named to the OHSCCA All-District Team!

The Strongsville High School Dance Team had success competing recently in both Ohio and Michigan! The team competed at the OASSA Northeast Ohio Regional and qualified for the State Championship in all 4 categories they entered: Lyrical, Pom, Jazz, and Hip-hop! They will compete for a State title at the OASSA State Championship at Vandalia-Butler HS in Dayton on Sunday, January 25th. Please come out and support them! The team also competed at the Dance Team Union Detroit competition and were named Champions in the category of Lyrical (1st place) and 1st Runner-up in the category of Hip-hop (2nd place). Congratulations to the SHS Competitive Dance Team for these tremendous accomplishments:

Kylee Sanuk (Captain), Maddie Gorman (Captain), Maria Anagnostou, Brinn Conlon, Jadyn Dombek, Gianna Dylong, Madelyn Fraifogl, Eliza Gorman, Kate Jurcich, Charlotte Keefe, Uliana Korpan, Nina Kravec, Nadia Luber, Anna Moravcik, Lila Moravcik, Lizzie Stetter, Sloane Straka, Mackenzie Teague, Addy Timura, Elyse Trezbukowski

Lici (White) Hoover (SHS Class of 1990) is an entrepreneur at heart. This mindset has led her to starting her own interior design firm and eventually pairing that with a successful realtor career at Keller-Williams. What kinds of experiences and lessons learned while at SHS helped shape Lici’s career pathway? Click HERE for her alumni spotlight video.

Do you know an alumni in our Strongsville community (parent, community member, etc.) that would like to be highlighted? Please send an email with the SHS Graduate's name and contact information to dfoust@scsmustangs.org

There’s a new feedback link at the bottom of our District’s webpage.
If you have questions, comments, or feedback about our website or about SCS in general - send an email to
feedback@scsmustangs.org

The SHS Theatre Department is collaborating with Playhouse Square to sell a block of tickets for the upcoming national tour of The Outsiders on Sunday May 3, 2025 at 6:30pm. Funds will go toward the mounting of SHS's spring musical, Anything Goes.

SHS FUNdraiser prices range from $37.50 - $117.50 (Regular prices range from $42.00 - $150.00)

SHS Theatre Department will receive $10 for every ticket sold. For those interested, all you need to do is visit the following website: Strongsville High School Fundraiser Night at The Outsiders There are instructions explaining how to purchase tickets. You must enter the promo code SHSMUSICAL in the purple box on the top left. That will open up the ticket purchase below when the web page refreshes. Then, you may purchase any seat offered on the seating chart. Thanks for supporting the SHS Spring Musical!

Doughnut lovers - we have a treat for you! Charitable (so guilt-free), fresh to order (and perfectly glazed), dozens of doughnuts!! The SHS Theatre Department just launched a GroupRaise Krispy Kreme Digital Dozen fundraising campaign to support their upcoming spring musical, Anything Goes. From now until March 27, 2026, 50% of orders will be donated back to our cause when you purchase your doughnuts using our fundraising sales page. $15.00 per dozen!!

** Also, you can order as many dozens as you wish and use them throughout the year. For instance, you could order 5 dozen and use one per month without worry of expiration **

Orders MUST be made through the website below and are NOT LIMITED to the local Middleburg Heights location. So please inform family & friends in other cities and states.

SHS Theatre Krispy Kreme Fundraiser Link

Strongsville City Schools is looking for our next great team members! We are currently hiring for several positions in our District, including the following positions: Bus Driver, Substitute - Bus Aide

You can see a full listing of available jobs in our District HERE.

Right At School provides care for SCS K-5 students before and after school at each of our elementary buildings, with a variety of plan options ranging from once a week to all five days. RAS provides homework support, a fun-based curriculum including American Sign Language, crafts, games and fun activities, afternoon snack, and so much more! For more information on registering with Right at School, visit rightatschool.com. Should you have any specific questions, please contact Matt Urbin, RAS Area Manager (matt.urbin@rightatschool.com / 440.902.1302).

Strongsville City Schools encourages students, teachers, staff, parents, and other members of our community to report any instances of potential violence, bullying, self-harm or any other issue where students may be at risk. Click HERE for additional Stay Safe. Speak Up! Information on the District’s website. Reporting incidents can be made anonymously online or through a toll free number (​1-866-listen2me / 1-866-547-8362).

Treehouse Berea is offering many activities and opportunities for students! From Coding to Robotics to Game Design - there's lots of great STEAM based enrichment experiences for kids ages 6-12. Visit treehouseberea.com to learn more or click HERE for the current flyer about December programming and activities.

Strongsville Chamber of Commerce
Please note the following upcoming events hosted by the Strongsville Chamber of Commerce. Registration is required for all events. Please call 440.238.3366 for more information or to register. Those interested in the following events may also visit the Chamber website at www.strongsvillechamber.com to register and see additional event info.

UPCOMING EVENTS
February Business Luncheon, Hosted by Altenheim Senior Living
Guest Presenter - Paul Psota, CEO - Altenheim Senior Living
Altenheim Shurmer Meeting Center (entrance off Shurmer Rd.)
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
11:30am – 1:00pm
Members: $25/pp, Non-Members: $30/pp

Strongsville High School * Muraski Elementary *

Strongsville Middle School * Surrarrer Elementary *

Chapman Elementary * Whitney Elementary *

Kinsner Elementary * Early Learning Preschool

Website: www.scsmustangs.org
Location: Strongsville City Schools, 18199 Cook Avenue, Strongsville, OH, United States
Phone: (440) 572-7000
Facebook: facebook.com/strongsvillecs
Instagram: @strongsvillecs

Twitter / X: @strongsvillecs