Mustangs in the Middle Newletter
March 23, 2026
Important Dates to Remember
Model Mustang Experience - Tuesday March 31 6pm-8pm at SMS
Spring Break - Friday April 3-Friday April 10 NO SCHOOL
Ohio State Testing Dates:
ELA Part 1 - 4/15
ELA Part 2 - 4/16
Math Part 1 - 4/28
Math Part 2 - 4/29
Science 8 - 5/1
Grade Level Newsletter
Model Mustang Experience
DON’T MISS THE MODEL MUSTANG EXPERIENCE (TUESDAY, MARCH 31ST)
Don't miss the "Model Mustang Experience" on Tuesday, March 31 from 6pm-8pm at Strongsville Middle School. This FREE community event will highlight our ‘State of the Schools’ and show how education is evolving to prepare today’s learners to be tomorrow’s leaders and thrive in their future. Participate in hands-on activities with our SCS students, teachers, and staff, as they share their learning and work, showcasing interactive experiences that demonstrate the extraordinary ways our District is building "Model Mustangs!" Let's celebrate together the great work happening in our schools on Tuesday, March 31!
Save the Date 8th Grade Promotion
Guidelines on When to Keep Your Child Home from School
Please click on the LINK for guidelines from our District Nurses about when to keep your child home from school.
Mint Donation Requests
Camp Discovery
EXPLORE/EXPERIENCE/DISCOVER
Calling all rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders! Get ready to Explore, Experience, and Discover Polaris like never before! Through a series of FUN, hands-on classes led by our amazing teachers, you’ll dive into exciting activities, build cool projects, and explore real career pathways. It’s your chance to experience the exciting world of Polaris while learning new skills, trying something new, and discovering what inspires you!
When: Monday, June 8 - Thursday, June 11, 2026
Session 1: 9:00 A.M.-11:30 A.M.
Session 2: 12:00 P.M.- 2:30 P.M.
Cost: $100.00 per session, includes all supplies and materials, and a free T-Shirt. Lunch is provided daily for campers enrolled in both sessions!
Strongsville D.A.R.E Ice Skating Party
Mustangs Spring Team Shop
Mustangs Spring Team Shop - Now Open Through Thursday, April 2
Looking to add to your "Green & White" wardrobe and get some updated Mustangs gear? Click HERE to visit our special, limited time Mustangs Team Shop for short-sleeve t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and MORE! Personalized merchandise is also available. Hurry - this Team Shop closes at 11:59pm on Thursday, 4/2!
SMS Student Council and Builders Club Announcement
The SMS Student Council and Builders Club is sponsoring a paper products drive to support our local Strongsville Food Bank. This drive will run through Friday, March 27th. 6th grade students will bring in boxes of tissues. 7th grade students should bring in packages of toilet paper rolls. 8th graders are to bring in packages of Paper Towels. Students should put their paper products in the pod area designated by their team teachers. The team from each grade level with the most paper products will receive a prize. Thank you for giving back to your community.
Middle School Boys Golf Skills Clinics
Who: For boys currently in grades 5th ,6th, 7th and 8th - will cap the number at 30 golfers. This is for Strongsville City School students’ who may have a desire to play for the high school team and play in junior golf tournaments over the summer. The coaching staff will pick 12 middle school golfers from these clinics to be a part of the middle school golf team in the fall (August and September).
What: The Golf Camp is designed to develop the proper techniques in the golf swing as well as develop these skills for the short game and putting.
When: Wednesday’s April 22nd, 29th, May 6th from 5:45 -7 pm and Sunday’s April 19th, 26th, May 3, skip May 10, May 17th from 5:00-6:15 pm. We will also meet on Monday May 11th from 4:30 - 7:00 so the players can play some holes- schedule is subject to change due to weather or conflicts with the country club. I will let you know as soon as possible if this occurs.
Where: Columbia Hills CC, 16200 E River Rd, Columbia Station, OH 44028. This is a country club so please wear proper golf attire (collared shirt and no jeans) and have your own clubs.
Cost: The cost will be $90. Please make checks payable to the Strongsville Athletic Boosters.
Camp Coaching Staff:
Directors: Coach Steve King, Head Boys Golf Coach
Coach Joe Yuska, JV Boys Golf Coach
Coach Brad Zahar, Middle School Golf Coach
Assistants: Strongsville High School Varsity Golf Players
Please feel free to email me at sking@scsmustangs.org or call/text me at (330) 241-0415
Steve King
Strongsville Head Golf Coach
Yearbook Order Form
It's the perfect time to order your yearbook! Please note that this year's deadline is final to ensure the yearbooks arrive in time for students to sign each other's copies. You can find all the ordering details on the flyer below, and the form provided contains everything you need to complete your order. Don't miss out!
Empower You
6th Grade Choir Musical March Madness
The two 6th grade choir classes competed in an activity called Musical March Madness. The students battled in a 1v1 format through an actual bracket to see who could find the musical lines and spaces first. The winner from each match then moved on in the bracket to play another winner. When the dust had settled Emmalee Sanders and Randy Cook were crowned Musical March Madness Champions for 2nd and 10th period respectively! Congratulations to them on an incredible performance!
All City Orchestra Festival
SMS Mathemagicians
The SMS Mathemagicians were busy on Saturday 3/7. 50 students competed in the GCCTM contest against 3 other schools in Northeast Ohio. 4 events were a part of this competition including a mental math round and a “hurdle” round where teams raced for sets of problems. These SMS teams earned top honors:
6th grade:
Aarna Padwal, ShriNidhi Kundar and Vihaani Cheruk
Jonathan Walker, Michael Simonetta, and Dominic Simonetta
7th grade:
Anna Hockett and Bhakti Patel
8th grade:
Aditya Raj, Rachitt Battini, Havey Lamovsky
Additionally, 6 SMS students advanced to the State Math Counts competition held in Columbus Ohio. Qualifying students Nanthini, Harshith, Christopher, Harsh, Ishaan, and Ani all had an excellent showing at the state level.
SMS Takes Over Polaris Palooza
Our Strongsville Middle School robotics teams DOMINATED the competition—bringing home top finishes across the board!
On Thursday, March 19th Strongsville Middle School competed in two events against all of Polaris Career Center’s partner middle schools, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, Brooklyn, Berea-Midpark, and Fairview Park. The ten SMS teams showcased in two robotic challenges, “Mad Grab” and “Dragster.”
Dragster Event (36 teams!)
1st Place – Draco (Aarav Patel, Hitarth Patel, Alex Votruba)
2nd Place – Cobra (Micah Gupko, Krishay Patel, Abhinav Subramanian)
Mad Grab Event (18 teams!)
1st Place – The Supreme Snatcher (Rachit Battini, Harshith Nelabhotla, Ani Varigonda)
2nd Place – H.A.M. Sandwich (Evan Hockett, Ishaan Jayant, Henry Jevec)
3rd Place – Dr. Robotic (Jonah Ehrlich, Baylor Freese)
Incredible teamwork, creativity, and engineering on display—so proud of these students for representing SMS at the highest level!
Strongsville 1st Place in GCSCL Middle School U800 Premier Section
Our SMS students stood in 1st Place in the 2025-2026 Greater Cleveland Scholastic Chess League in the team awards for Middle School U800 premier section.
SCS Financial Fast Facts
Click HERE for this month's edition of the Financial Fast Facts Newsletter from our District's Treasurer, Mr. George Anagnostou. This newsletter features information about where Strongsville ranks compared to other school districts in Cuyahoga County Effective Residential Tax Rates, and the December 2025 Financial Update. Since our District's fiscal year runs from July through June, December marks the halfway point of the fiscal year making this an important milestone to review our financial health.
Over the last two school years, as part of our District's strategic plan, we launched Financial Fast Facts to keep our community informed about Strongsville City Schools' finances. What began as informative infographics evolved into a video series and now we are adding newsletters. Past Financial Fast Facts can be found HERE.
We hope this newsletter helps to further explain our District's finances. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please reach out to the SCS Treasurer's Office (ganagnostou@scsmustangs.org / 440.572.7021).
March 2026 Strongsville Branch Library information
CCPL Program Guide
The Cuyahoga County Public Library program guide is now digital! Want to find out about all the amazing library programs and resources happening around the system? You can view our Program information by going to cuyahogalibrary.org and click on Research & Discover to use the Press Reader resource here:
https://cuyahogalibrary.org/research-discover/resources-a-z/pressreader
English as a Second Language Classes by Aspire Greater Cleveland.
If you need to learn English or improve your language skills, we can help. Aspire Greater Cleveland offers FREE beginner, intermediate and advanced-level English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes. Strongsville Branch will be hosting morning classes on Thursdays and Fridays. Please call 833.ASPIRE2 (1.833.277.4732) to register or visit https://cuyahogalibrary.org/services/adult-education/aspire-greater-cleveland for more information.
Cuyahoga Works: Job & Career Services
Schedule an individual career coaching session at the Strongsville Branch with one of our Career Services Coaches. Career Services Coaches are available by appointment on Tuesdays to help you discover your occupational interests, create an effective job search strategy, and prepare for job interviews. They can also provide tips that will help you develop top-notch resumes, cover letters, and LinkedIn profiles. Career Coaching is available by appointment ONLY! To schedule a FREE appointment at our branch, please call Cuyahoga Works Job & Career Services at (216) 475-2225 or email the team at Careers@cuyahogalibrary.org
Storytimes:
IN-PERSON Storytimes.
Storytimes are for Birth to Age 5 not yet in Kindergarten. No registration needed!
Baby & Me (Birth to 18 months with a Caregiver) - Mondays / 10:00 - 10:20 a.m. OR Thursdays / 10:00 - 10:20 a.m.
Preschool (Ages 3 - 5 not yet in Kindergarten with a Caregiver) - Mondays / 11:30 a.m. - Noon OR Tuesdays / 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. OR 11:30 a.m. - Noon
Toddler (Ages 19 - 35 months with a Caregiver) - Wednesdays / 10:00 - 10:25 a.m. OR 11:30 - 11:55 a.m.
Family - Thursdays / 7:00 p.m.
Teen Knit & Crochet Club. Grades 6 - 12. Monday, March 2nd / 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Do you like to craft? Do you know how to knit, crochet, or hand sew? Join us in the TEEN SPACE and bring your own project to hang out with other teens who also love to make things! NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED!
Young at Heart. Tuesday, March 3rd / 7:00 p.m.
A book club for adults who love Children's and Teen books. The title for our next discussion is Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt. Please call the branch to register.
Benjamin Rose Workshop: Scams & Fraud. Wednesday, March 4th / 10:00 a.m.
Learn how to spot a scam and what to do. Learn ways to guard against identity and medical identity theft. Benjamin Rose is a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a trusted partner in the aging journey. This workshop is geared towards older adults and their caregivers.
Southwest General Health Talk: The Power of Breath - A Guide to Conscious Breathing for Health and Wellness. Thursday, March 5th / 6:00 p.m.
Breathwork, or mindful breathing, is a powerful tool for managing stress, improving focus, and enhancing overall well-being. It involves consciously controlling your breath to influence your nervous system and mental state. Join Dipali Desai, MD, family medicine physician and Integrative Psychiatrist on the medical staff at Southwest General as she explores different breathwork techniques, their benefits, how to incorporate them into daily life, then leads us in a short breathwork practice.
Kindergarten Readiness: Colors and Shapes For Children entering Kindergarten next Fall & a Caregiver. Friday, Masrch 6th / 11:00 a.m. - Noon.
Join us as we help your child build kindergarten readiness skills in a program aligned to Ohio's Early Childhood Standards. This session, we will focus on the colors and shapes.
Oreo Cookie Day. Ages 6 - 10. Saturday, March 7th / 11:00 a.m. - Noon.
Taste test these unique Oreo flavors and rank them in order from best to worst flavor as well as make a tasty Oreo mousse to take home. Registration is required. A release and hold harmless form must be filled out by a parent for child to attend.
Audio & Video Studio Orientation. Ages 11 & up. Monday, March 9th / 7:00 p.m. IN PERSON OR Saturday, March 28th / 10 a.m. VIRTUAL
Have you ever thought about recording your own music, making a video, digitizing memories and more? The Strongsville Branch Library is home to both Audio and Video Recording studios that can help you do just that! You must go through an orientation to use the spaces. Patrons 11 & up can participate in the orientation and must turn in the User Agreement form at the branch for the orientation to count. Register online to attend the virtual session.
A Chemical Free Backyard. Tuesday, March 10th / 7:00 p.m.
Join us as Mel Hauser, Community Outreach Coordinator for Good Nature Organic Lawn Care, will share information on how you can reduce your dependency on chemicals in your yard. Learn “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” about the chemicals we use in our own backyards to make our lawn and gardens look nicer and thrive. In addition to reviewing some products, we’ll cover procedures and practices you can use on your lawn and in your garden that reduce your dependency of using dangerous chemicals. A Q & A will follow this 45-minute presentation.
Benjamin Rose Workshop: Benefitting from Benefits. Wednesday, March 11th / 10:00 a.m.
A representative from Benjamin Rose will present this workshop on benefitting from benefits. Don’t lose out on the benefit of seeing what benefits you may qualify for. This workshop will explain the various different social programs that are available and how they work. It will also cover why it is important to review your Medicare Part D plan every year at open enrollment. Benjamin Rose is a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a trusted partner in the aging journey. This workshop is geared towards older adults and their caregivers.
Technology Training Class:
Computer Basics. Friday, March 13th / 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Create designs and graphics for print or digital media with this free website. Prerequisite: Computer Basics or equivalent experience. Preferred: Account with Canva.com (bring your password!)
Snapology: Discovering Dinosaurs. Ages 7 - 10. Saturday, March 14th / 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Snapology’s Robotics Dinosaur class combines the excitement of dinosaurs with hands-on STEM learning, giving kids the chance to build and program their own moving dino creations using LEGO® robotics. As they bring prehistoric creatures to life, students explore basic engineering, coding, sensors, and coding in a fun, age-appropriate environment. Registration is required.
Teen Sewing Basics. Grades 6 - 12. Tuesday, March 17th / 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Learn the basic parts and functions of a machine, practice basic stitches, and make a fun project! All materials and equipment are provided. No prior experience is necessary. In order to participate in youth programs that could be considered harmful, Cuyahoga County Public Library requires parents to complete a Release & Hold Harmless Form.
Benjamin Rose Workshop: Recognizing & Avoiding Elder Financial Abuse. Wednesday, March 18th / 10:00 a.m.
In this workshop, you will learn what elder financial exploitation is and why older adults are at risk, who the abusers are, and where to report the abuse. Benjamin Rose is a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a trusted partner in the aging journey. This workshop is geared towards older adults and their caregivers.
Wednesday Evening Book Discussion. Wednesday, March 18th / 7:00 p.m.
Our Wednesday Evening Book Discussion meets at 7p.m. on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. We welcome all adults interested in reading and discussing great books! Our next discussion title will be Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. Copies of the book will be available for check-out at the circulation desk of the Strongsville Branch Library.
Toddler Sensory & Art Play. Ages 1 - 3 with a Caregiver. Friday, March 20th / 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Engage your little one's senses, develop skills, and build brain connections through open-ended art using a variety of tactile materials.
Blood Drive. Friday, March 20th / 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. AND Monday, March 30th / 1:00 - 6:00 p.m.
In just an hour of your time you can help save up to three lives. Make sure hospital patients get the treatment they need. Donate blood today. For more information or to make an appointment visit www.redcrossblood.org or call the American Red Cross at 800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767).
Monday Afternoon Book Discussion. Monday, March 23rd / 2:30 p.m.
The Monday Afternoon Book Discussion meets at 2:30 p.m. in the Library on the 4th Monday of each month. No registration is required. New members are always welcome. We welcome all adults interested in reading and discussing great books! Our next discussion title will be The My Friends: A Novel by Fredrik Backman. Copies of the book will be available for check-out at the circulation desk.
Benjamin Rose Workshop: Planning for the Future. Wednesday, March 25th / 10:00 a.m.
Participants will learn how to prepare an estate plan, how to prepare advanced health directives, and how to prepare yourself for unexpected life events. Benjamin Rose is a Cleveland-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve as a trusted partner in the aging journey. This workshop is geared towards older adults and their caregivers.
What's "Cooking" After School. Grades 1 - 4. Wednesday, March 25th / 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
This month’s culinary creation will be - Making Moroccan Carrot Salad. Registration is required. Spaces are limited. This program may include activities that could be considered harmful. In order for your child to participate, you must sign the Release and Hold Harmless form.
Stocks Made Simple. Thursday, March 26th / 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
This program gets rid of the complex jargon and helps patrons speak the language of stock gurus. Participants learn to tell the difference between investing, trading, and gambling (speculation). Lastly, participants will learn to tell the difference between good stocks and bad stocks and learn to read financial statements and simple stock charts. Money Moves are a team of instructors with diverse backgrounds, certifications, and careers in finance. Our head instructor, who will be teaching the program, has been a financial educator for over 5 years and actively manages an investment portfolio of over $400K in assets composed of stocks, options, bonds, REITS, index funds, and rental real estate.
67 Book Club. Grades 3 - 5. Thursday, March 26th / 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Lock in, chat. Forget brain rot! Instead pick up a book at the library beginning the 1st of each month and join us in discussion and a light snack. Registration is required. Our March Discussion Title will be El Deafo by Cece Bell.
Spring Has Sprung! Ages 4 - 6 with Caregiver. Friday, March 27th / 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.
We will dye eggs, make a craft, hear stories, and do the Bunny Hop. Registration is required. This program may include activities that could be considered harmful. In order for your child to participate you must sign the Release and Hold Harmless form.
Office Availability
Building is Open 7:30-3:30 Monday-Friday when school is in session.
School Information
School Counselors
Mrs. Pietrocini -6th grade
Mrs. Marozsan - 7th grade
Mr. Greer - 8th Grade
School Information
Main Office: 440-572-7090
Building Secretary: Mrs. Hallie Malloy
School Attendance: 440-572-7090 Option 2
Attendance Clerk: Mrs. Lynn Haddad
Administration
SMS Principal: Mr. John Telloni
6th Grade Principal: Mrs. Tera Thomas
7th Grade Principal: Mr. Chris Howell
8th Grade Principal: Mr. Bryan Szczepanski
SCS Anonymous Reporting System
Parents/students have access to our anonymous reporting system. CLICK HERE to access. The more information shared when reporting, the better chance we have to investigate and support.