News

Big congratulations to Laurel’s Speech and Debate team on their success at the National Speech and Debate Tournament! 

Shea Purcell ‘21 has been named an American East Presidential Scholar Athlete, which recognizes exemplary academic achievement throughout her college career.

Fiona Thackaberry Stevens '30 and Laurel School alumna Gabrielle Haigh '09 both appeared in the world premiere of “The Higgler”, an opera composed by Margi Griebling-Haigh, directed by Marla Berg, and conducted by Steven Smith. 

Finley Blackann ‘29 is a Power of the Pen State Platinum winner! She earned this top honor for her incredible Power Round story, “Even Silence Makes a Sound”, which she wrote in under 30 minutes.

Congratulations to recent grad Ivy Hornsby ’25, who earned three major honors for her outstanding community service work. 

Claire Z. '31 and her band, The Untitled Documents, played Cain Park on Friday, June 6 at 7:30pm. The Untitled Documents are four longtime friends—ages 12 to 17—who turn their deep love of music into something electric onstage. 

Congratulations to Dan McGee, Laurel’s Chief Technology Officer, for his appointment to the Board of Directors for the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS).

Social Studies and History Department Chair Elen Roberts was recently featured in a Facing History and Ourselves blog titled “Teaching for Equity and Justice: Community-Building with BIPOC Educators”.

Congratulations to Kemy Cistone '28 and Brooke Barragate ‘26, who were named Honorable Mention for Softball All Cuyahoga County!

Environmental Justice student Anya Ustin ‘27 had an op-ed piece published in The Land in May titled “How the Cleveland Tree Coalition is Improving Quality of Life Throughout the City.”

Congratulations to Hailey Kochis '25, who was selected as the recipient of this year's Beachwood Arts Council Si and Shirley Wachsberger Arts Scholarship Award.

Congratulations to Laurel's JustWrite team, which competed with 300 area students in this year's State Tournament on May 20. With a 1st place finish for Division 1 for Grades 9-10, and multiple individual awards, the Laurel team had a stellar performance.

Congratulations to Avery C. ‘30, Finley B. ‘29, Sophia T. ‘29, & Sophia N. ‘29, who all had an excellent showing at the Power of the Pen State Tournament in May! Finley and Sophia N. made it to the final "power round," which included around 25 of the top students out of 250 eighth graders.

Congratulations to Josie Weisburger '32, Claire Feldkamp '32, Annelise Espiritu '32, and Zoey Thornton '32, who received top honors in the Child Poetry category of this year's Geauga Park District Nature Writing Contest! 

Congratulations to Kennedy Whitaker ‘25, who is the recipient of the Billie Osborne Fears Memorial Scholarship as well as a scholarship awarded by the Alpha Lambda Sigma Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, which was incorporated in Cleveland, Ohio.

Anne Conway Juster ‘80, Mollie Barnard ‘06 and Judith Wynn Rousuck ‘69 were honored at the annual Distinguished Alumnae ceremony for breaking barriers and assuming leadership roles in their careers and communities.

Congratulations to Rosemary Mudry ‘02, Executive Director of the Cleveland Public Market Corporation, has been named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business Women of Influence.

As part of her Capstone project, Claire Leland ‘26 launched the Celiac Support Collective, a nonprofit to help bring gluten-free foods to local food pantries. Spectrum 1’s Community Focus featured Claire, who delivered her first donation to the Emergency Assistance Center in Northfield Center Township. 

Congratulations to Finley Blackann ‘29 who has received the Platinum Pen award from Power of the Pen! Her winning piece will be published in the Book of Winners, which features the best writing pieces from Power of the Pen competitors each year. Finley will head to the State Competition next week.

Two of Laurel's performing arts faculty members are currently showcasing their professional skills outside of Laurel in the Northeast Ohio community! 

Congratulations to Sophia Tsuang '29, who recently won second place at the March International Youth Music Competition as a solo violinist in the Junior II division (10-13 year olds).  

Congratulations to Elizabeth Weingart '26, who won the 2025 Geauga County Bar Association Law Day Essay competition, which aims to raise awareness of Law Day and foster a deeper interest in the Constitution and the rule of law among students.

In April, Laurel hosted the annual Student Art Exhibition, which highlighted the visual arts accomplishments of students in Grades Nine through Twelve. Now in its thirteenth year, this exhibition is made possible through an endowment established by Frank and Virginia Judd Beam '54. 

Congratulations to Sabina S. '32, who was selected as a finalist in the River of Words poetry and art contest! Sabina was selected as a Category II Finalist for her poetry titled "River of Words." 

Congratulations to Kennedy Whitaker '25, who won the Lands’ End School Starboard Scholarship and a scholarship from the Cleveland Cavaliers Community Foundation and Huntington National Bank. 

Taylor Thierry ‘21 was selected in the third round of the WNBA 2025 Draft and will join the Atlanta Dream! Taylor had a very successful high school career as a Gator and went on to play for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Congratulations!

Laurel sent three teams to the Area 2 Envirothon competition. The team of Ashley Eggleston ‘25, Kaisa Strautnieks ‘26, Casey Higgins ‘27, and Katie Spellacy ‘28 won the Aquatics category and placed 7th overall out of 43 teams.

The Junior Model UN team performed well at the recent Spring Conference. Emily Coley ‘30 and Lulu Segal ‘29 both won the Honorable Delegation award in their committee, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), representing China.

After being selected as finalists in this year's Maltz Museum Stop the Hate contest, Lyla Levin '28 was named a Grade 9 runner-up and Sophia Tsuang '29 is a Grade 8 winner of the Youth Speak Out Essay contest! Cleveland.com and the Cleveland Jewish News highlighted the news.

Sheridan Brazile ‘26 has been selected to receive a full scholarship to attend a two-week Summer Springboard pre-college program at the University of Michigan this summer! She was one of only three students selected to receive the Summer Springboard IDEA Scholarship. Sheridan will be in the Kinesiology & Physical Therapy program.

Congratulations to Izanec '25, Katharine Northrop '25, and Ella Witalec '25 who have all advanced to Finalist standing in the 2025 National Merit Scholarship Competition! 

Congratulations to Fifth Grade teaching team member and science teacher Ann Gasser who, along with only 14 other teachers from the Great Lakes states, were accepted into the Shipboard Science Workshop, a partnership with the EPA, NOAA, and the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.  

Congratulations to Avery Cooper ‘30, Sophia Nguyen-Huynh ‘29, Sophia Tsuang ‘29, and Finley Blackann ‘29 who have all qualified for the Power of the Pen State Tournament in May!

Congratulations to Fiona Thackaberry Stevens ‘30 who competed in the Great Lakes Regional NATS Auditions. NATS is the National Association of Teachers of Singing and is the largest professional organization for voice teachers that promotes excellence in singing. 

Congratulations to Kendall E. ‘30, Alaine H. '30, Eloise F. ‘30, Aven A. '31, Annie C. ‘31, and Olivia K. ‘31, members of Laurel’s Middle School math teams from Grades Six and Seven, who competed in March in the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Math annual Problem-Solving tournament.

Congratulations to the Middle School Science Sisters robotics team on their Founders Award win at the Ohio State First LEGO League Championship! 

Congratulations to Serene Hameed '25, who had multiple photographs selected for inclusion in the 2025 Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition. Her piece "My Fro" and a series of photographs titled "In the Chair" will be on view at the Department of Education and Workforce Governor's Office in Columbus, OH from May 2-15. In addition, one of Serene's "In the Chair" photographs was selected as a runner-up in the New York Times photo essay contest for teens.

 

Head of School Ann V. Klotz penned a recent blog titled “Hugging the Whole Experience,” where she reflected on some of the big moments that took place this Spring at Laurel and the changes that lie ahead as she retires at the end of June. 

Gators basketball had an amazing season, making it all the way to the OHSAA State Semifinal game against Bellvue. While the win was not in their favor, the team had an extraordinary season and are the Regional Champions!

 

Congratulations to Laurel’s Track and Field team who competed at the State Meet at SPIRE. Competing for the Gators were Ahnai Welchans '28, Aubrey Welchans '25, Skylar Mitchell '28 and Emnet Gebreyes '27. Well done!

Hillary Teague, Associate Director of College Guidance and Dean of Upper School Students, was included in this Cleveland Jewish News story about the importance of essays in the college admissions process. 

 

The Gators basketball team has shone in the postseason! The team took on Akron Buchtel at the Sectional Finals where they won 87-18. That win sent them to the District Semifinals on February 18 where the team beat Trinity High School 69-33. 

Natalia Navarro ‘25 was featured in a Chagrin Valley Times story titled “Breaking the Stigma: Young Entrepreneur Tackles Period Poverty One Action Step at a Time” about her non-profit For the Flow, which she launched through her Capstone project. 

Claire Leland '26 has been named a finalist in the Teen Accelerate Pitch Contest, which is focused on civic engagement in Northeast Ohio. Claire pitched her non-profit, the Celiac Support Collective, and placed in the top 10. This is the third consecutive year Laurel has had a finalist. 

Congratulations to Nora Kelly '25 and Kate Allen '28 for their stellar performance at the Cleveland branch of the English Speaking Union for the National Shakespeare Competition! 

The Gators had a great day at the OHSAA Sectional Meet on February 7. The team placed 8th and qualified nine individuals and three relays to the District Meet. 

Congratulations to Fiona Thackaberry Stevens ‘30 who participated in a statewide voice competition for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Fiona placed 3rd in Ohio for the Children and Youth Musical Theater 2A category! 

Director of the Upper School Leighann DeLorenzo is directing Dobama Theater’s production of The Wolves, the story of a girls soccer team that navigates big questions all while discovering things about themselves and each other along the way. Madeline Adler ‘25 will be making her professional debut with Dobama where she will take on the role of Swing. 

Congratulations to Ella Witalec '25, who had an incredible finish as a Semifinalist at the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament, one of the most competitive tournaments of the year nationwide! 

Laurel's Model UN team had a fantastic performance at the Cleveland International Model United Nations Conference (CLEIMUN) last week. Congratulations to Kate Allen '28, who won Honorable Mention representing Kenya in the World Health Organization committee, and Rana Abdehadi '28, who won Best Delegate representing Cuba in the World Health Organization committee! 

Andrea DiSalvo, Director of Summer at Laurel, was featured in a Cleveland Magazine story that highlights how the value of Cleveland-area summer camps goes beyond dollar amounts.

The Laurel Figure Skating Team competed in the 2025 Ohio High School Figure Skating Competition in February and scored some amazing results with several first-, second-, and third-place finishes for individual skaters. 

Laurel’s Upper School students recently authored a blog post on InspirED—a Website dedicated to student empowerment, positive school climate, and social and emotional learning—about Laurel’s belonging initiative.

Laurel Head of School Ann V. Klotz recently published a piece titled, “Oedipus Wrecked: A Reflection on a Champion Teacher” in The Educators Room. In it, she fondly recalls a favorite teacher—stern but effective, who impacted not only Ms. Klotz's early learning but her long teaching career as an English teacher. 

Laurel is proud to announce a total of 36 students in Grades 8-12 have received a total of 53 honors in the 2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. 

Congratulations to Lori Kella, Visual Arts Department Chair, who received a 2025 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council this month for her photography. More than 600 Ohio artists submitted their work and Lori was one of only 75 to be selected to receive an Excellence Award. 

Holly Gleason ‘81 has been named the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Association's Independent Journalist of the Year in December. She started the new year receiving an Audie nomination given to recognize the year's achievements in spoken word, especially audio books and dramas.  

Laurel’s Middle School Power of the Pen team had a great performance at a February competition. Congratulations to Sophia N. ‘29, who got 7th place, and Finley B ‘29, who won the individual Eighth Grade competition.

Crain’s Cleveland Business announced in January that Megan Mehalko ‘83, an attorney with Benesch and Laurel’s Chair of the Board of Trustees, has been recognized by the Association of Corporate Growth (ACG) Cleveland as a winner of the 28th Annual Deal Maker Awards. 

Laurel’s Middle and Upper School Speech and Debate team kicked off 2025 with a Laurel-hosted tournament on January 4 that garnered some amazing results, including 1st place in Dramatic Interpretation and a bid to the State Tournament for McKenna Caver ‘26, 1st place in Program Oral Interpretation and a bid to States for Julia Duong ‘26, and 1st place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking and a bid to States for Ella Witalec ‘25.

Congratulations to the Middle School Science Sisters Robotics team on their Second Place Champions Award at the Northeast Ohio First LEGO League District Tournament this past weekend! This small but mighty team is now headed to States!