December Parent Child Class - Art Art Art! - Thank you to all who attended and participated in our art-based parent child class Dec. 13. It was a lot of fun to see the adults and children exploring all of the activities. Playdough was made, pictures were drawn, and paintings were created. I hope you had as much fun participating as I did observing. Click here to enjoy photos of the event.

November Parent Child Class - We had a wonderful turnout for our November Parent Child Class. The children really enjoyed showing their special guests all the work they have learned how to do so far. It was so exciting to see them working so hard and explaining each activity. We also set up a fingerpainting area where the children and adults were encouraged to display their creativity. Click here to enjoy photos of the event!

 

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Planting the Lower El Garden - Lower elementary began planting their gardens. They planted bulbs as well as perennials. Thank you to the parents who volunteered time from their busy schedules to help us with this. Also, thank you to the parents who donated plants. The children had a great time planting and now we have something beautiful to look forward to in the spring.

Click here to enjoy pictures of the activities!

Knowledge Master Teams Place 3rd and 11th in State - On January 23, ten 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, enrolled in Knowledge Master, the year-long after school enrichment class, participated in the first of two Knowledge Master Opens. The students, divided into a 5th Grade Team and a 6th Grade Team were challenged on their knowledge, comprehension, and application and analysis abilities. They competed with 616 other teams made up of 8500 students from 44 states plus France, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. In an Open, all 5th and 6th Grade teams are required to answer the same questions and points are earned based on the number of correct answers as well as the speed of their response; no points are deducted for incorrect answers.

Ruffing's 6th grade team ranked 3rd in the State and 73rd overall, with 91 correct answers out of 100 and 716 total points - only 34 points separated them from the team that placed 2nd in the State. The first year participants on the 5th grade team ranked 11th in the State and 173rd overall, with 81 correct answers out of 100 and 514 points.

Congratulations to Jonas Albert, Beatrice Cahill-Camden, Kevin Griesser, Ryan Sonkin and Daniel Waxman-Lenz and to Julia Karlovec, Hugh Kdayssi, Soren Gran, Emma McCann, and Gabby Valdivieso on a job VERY well done!! Both teams look forward to the Spring Knowledge Master Open on March 12.

Upper Elementary Campouts - On September 6 and 7, Bob's class went on its annual fall campout at Camp Hilaka. This rustic facility, owned by the Lake Erie Council of the Girl Scouts, is located near Richfield, in Summit County. Click here to enjoy pictures of their activities. On September 20 and 21, William's class had their campout. Click here for pictures.

 

Girls Season Ends With Loss to Fuchs - Ruffing's girls saw their season come to an end with a first round loss to Fuchs Mizrachi in the first round of the Eastern Independent School League Tournament. Tied 8-8 at the half and trailing by only two after three quarters, the girls saw Fuchs go on a 12-3 run to close out the game. Addison Ruhlman led the Ruffing scoring with 8 points, Hannah Irvine tallied 4, and Natalie Trotta added a basket and inspired defensive play on Fuchs' star guard. Ruffing finished 5-6 on the season. Addison Ruhlman averaged 5.7 points per game, Hannah Irvine 4.4, and Emma Freer 4.3 to lead the scoring.

BOYS BASKETBALL WINS THIRD PLACE AT TOURNAMENT - By winning two out of three contests in the seven school Eastern Independent School League Tournament, Ruffing's boys capped off a 7-6 season. In the opening round of the tournament, Ruffing faced Gross Schechter School. After holding an early first quarter lead, Ruffing fell behind for almost the entire game, trailing by five with just over a minute to play in the fourth quarter. Controlling the backboard after free throw misses by Schechter, Ruffing had one final chance with Schechter holding a 22-21 advantage. Andrew Taylor-Shaut made a twisting jump shot - his only basket of the game - from the left baseline with one second left for the game-winner. Joe Eyerman led the scoring with 13 points, including two key fourth quarter scores. In round two, the opponent was the eventual tournament champion, Agnon School. The teams played evenly for much of the game, with Ruffing leading by four at the half and the score tied entering the fourth quarter. Agnon's superior depth was the decisive, as Ruffing fell by a 43-30 score. Joe Eyerman led a balanced Ruffing attack with 9 points, followed by Andrew Taylor-Shaut with 8.

The following day, Ruffing squared off against Fuchs Mizrachi School for third place. Joe Eyerman (18 points), Danny Lawrence (10 points), and Ian Adams dominated the backboards and played stifling interior defense en route to a 41-34 victory. Christian Freer and Andrew Taylor- Shaut neutralized Fuchs' sharpshooting guards and combined for 10 points themselves.

For the season, Joe Eyerman was the leading scorer, averaging 11.5 points per game. Ian Adams (8.8), Andrew Taylor-Shaut (5.2), Danny Lawrence (5.1), and Christian Freer (3.8) were the next leading scorers, while Ian Round, Erik Thiem, and Gabe Whitehead contributed off the bench. Andrew, Christian, Danny, and Gabe will return next year to form the team nucleus for what promises to be another successful season.

Science - Middle School science students began their study of electricity and magnetism with a unit on static electricity. The static electricity labs culminated with an "up close and personal" interaction with the van de Graaff static electricity generator. As each student placed his/her hand on the sphere, static charge built up on the outside of the body, including the scalp. As strands of hair become negatively charged, the repulsion of like charges caused each strand to separate from the adjacent ones, creating the "hair-raising" effect shown in the accompanying pictures.

Community Service - An important aspect of Montessori education is service to the community. On September 28, a group of Middle School students went to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and worked hard to produce cob (a mixture of clay, sand and straw) for other volunteers to use this weekend as they continue building the walls of the Stewardship Center. Click here for pictures. Another group of 7th and 8th Grade students spent several hours at the Nature Center on September 21, removing invasive species from the prairie grass area. Click here for pictures.

Middle School Campout - The Middle School spent the first week of school (August 29-31) at beautiful Camp Asbury near Hiram. The retreat and conference center is owned by the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church, and features a beautiful lake, hiking trails, and confidence courses. To see some of what the class enjoyed, click here.