News

On April 29, we celebrated a true Laurel legend! In honor of her 45 years of service, we surprised our beloved Señora Hardy with a special assembly where Shaker Heights Mayor David E. Weiss officially proclaimed April 29, 2026, as "Marti Hardy Day!" News Channel 5 was there to cover all the fun!

Ana Rubio-Calvillo ’27 has been named a 2026 Coolidge Senator! This honor is given to the top 100 applicants nationally to the Coolidge Foundation full-ride scholarship, and it means she is a top finalist.

Elizabeth Weingart '26, has been named the second runner-up of the 2026 Geauga County Bar Association Law Day Essay Competition, which comes with a scholarship fund award!

Laurel’s annual Student Art Exhibition returned this spring, showcasing the incredible creativity of our students in Grades 9-12. From drawing and painting to ceramics, photography, textiles, and digital art, the exhibition highlights a wide range of artistic expression developed throughout the year.

Congratulations to Rida Tahir '27, whose research project, titled “Beyond Active Treatment: Cultural, Socioeconomic, and Psychosocial Barriers to Cancer Survivorship Plans”, was awarded 1st place at the recent Case Western Reserve University Community Engaged Cancer Research Program (CECRP).

 

Congratulations to Laurel’s Junior Model UN team on a great showing at the Spring Cleveland Council on World Affairs conference! 

Congratulations to the Middle School Mock Trial team who delivered a powerful, polished performance based on the story of “The Outsiders”, bringing energy, creativity, and commitment to every moment in the courtroom. 

Amelia Bravo ’26 was featured in the Cleveland Jewish News for her singing as a member of HaZamir: The International Jewish Teen Choir, which she has been a member of since Eighth Grade. In the story, she shares why she loves being part of the HaZamir community and connecting to Judaism through song.

Congratulations to Hazel Segal ‘27, who has been accepted into the highly competitive Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program. This international program pairs established, award-winning writers with high school and college students for a rigorous, six-week intensive focused on the craft of poetry, fiction, or spoken word.

 

 

Claire Witalec ’28 recently published a study titled “Competing Standards Revisited” (page 36) in the National Speech and Debate Association's Rostrum Magazine. Claire worked with Rich Kawolics, retired Laurel Chemistry teacher and speech and debate coach, to co-author the piece.

 

Congratulations to Yael Ratner '26, who has been named a 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing National Winner for her mixed media piece, “My Wound.” 

 

Congratulations to Fiona Thackaberry Stevens ‘30, who received 1st place in Classical Music and 3rd place in Musical Theater at the Great Lakes Regional NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Auditions. 

Huge congratulations to Noa Karr '28, who is the U1000 Ohio Girls Chess Champion! 

All Ohio Awards were released for Division IV Basketball and a big congratulations goes to Tristan Williams '26 on being named Player of the Year and 1st Team! Cleveland.com highlighted the news.

Jaanvi Patel '33 participated in the Ohio Academy of Science 2026 Regional Science Day at Kent State University and earned a Superior ranking, which advances her to the State Science Day in May. 

 

Dr. Tori Cordiano, Laurel consulting psychologist and Co-Director of Laurel’s Center for Research for Girls (LCRG), was included in a recent Cleveland Magazine article about rising anxiety among students.

The Laurel School basketball team made history on Friday, March 13, capturing the program’s first-ever Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) girls basketball state championship with a 60-58 victory over Bellevue in the Division IV title game at the University of Dayton Arena.

Laurel helped welcome more than 500 students from 25+ schools across Northeast Ohio who gathered at the Huntington Convention Center on March 12 for the Northeast Ohio Youth Climate Summit. Signal Cleveland, The Lakewood Observer, and TV20 News highlighted the Summit and Laurel student involvement. 

Rida Tahir '27 and Lina Rietsch '28 participated in the Northeast Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (NEOSEF) at Lakeland Community College, and both earned an award!

Congratulations to Megan Lum Mehalko '83, former Laurel School Board Chair, current Trustee, and co-chair of Benesch’s Corporate & Securities Group, on being named a 2026 Notable Woman in Law by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Emily Felderman, artist and art educator for Grades 3-5, had her work featured on the Instagram page of Textiel Plus, a Dutch international-oriented textile magazine focused on contemporary textile art. 

Congratulations to Emnet Gebreyes '27, who was a long jump state qualifier at the State Indoor Track & Field Tournament. 

Laurel Seniors, Martha Neff '26 and Asalé Jones '26 participated in the 30th Annual Ileen Kelner Juried High School Art Show sponsored by the Beachwood Arts Council. Martha painting "Self Portrait" was awarded first place, and Asale’s photograph "Predetermined  Scene #6" received an honorable mention.  

Head of School Christina Breen recently joined the "In Her Land" podcast for a thoughtful conversation on leadership, resilience, and educating the next generation of young women.

Congratulations to Hannah Rosenfeld '27 , whose Capstone Project RISE (Reentry Inspiring Systemic Equality) earned 2nd place in the Small Business Track at the Veale Youth Entrepreneurship Forum thinkBIG! 

 

Laurel’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter competed at the state conference in Newark, Ohio, where students spent two days deepening their knowledge of entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, and banking, and competing in a wide range of events.

Congratulations to Michelle Mankaryous ’26 and Cecilia Doherty ’26, who have advanced from Semifinalists to Finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program!

 

Congratulations to Kaya Sgro ‘26, who was selected as one of 10 students this year to be awarded the Schubert Award, which covers full tuition for four years of study at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Cleveland.com took a survey of the girls' basketball coaches to list the top guards and top forwards for the 2025-2026 season. Congratulations to Jordyn Meyer '27, Olivia Schneider '26, and Tristan Williams '26 for making the list!

Laurel parent and sports journalist Nina Mandell (Mia C. '38), published a book, A Fraction of a Point: A Gymnastics Dynasty on the Line (Kent State University Press, March 2026). 

Jami Morris ‘21 was featured in a Chagrin Valley Times article about her recent induction to Laurel’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Jami is a two-time golf State Champion and founder of the non-profit organization Hit Fore Hope, which raises money for cancer research and the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center.

Congratulations to Taya Offut Decker ‘27, who produced an album through her Capstone project and gave a “Tiny Bench” performance at WJCU this month!

Summer at Laurel was highlighted in the special camp issue of Cleveland Magazine. The story focused on micro-camps, shorter camp options that offer new opportunities without the full-summer commitment.

Congratulations to Hannah Rosenfeld ’27, whose Capstone Project, RISE (Reentry Inspiring Systemic Equality), has been selected as one of just three finalists in the Veale Youth Forum’s ThinkBIG! Competition.

 

Ann Thoburn Fauver ‘40 was included in a WGBH video news story that takes a behind the scenes look at how figure skating is judged. 

Congratulations to Claire Witalec ’28, who recently competed at the Columbia University Invitational, where she finished as co-champion, a performance that earned her a second bid to the Tournament of Champions (TOC), the most prestigious national circuit debate tournament of the year.

 

Congratulations to the 27 students in Grades 8-12 who earned an incredible 41 honors in the 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards! Sixteen students were recognized for their visual art, earning four Gold Keys, eight Silver Keys, and 11 Honorable Mentions, while 12 students received writing awards, including one Gold Key, eight Silver Keys, and eight Honorable Mentions.

Yesterday’s Cleveland.com high school sports update “In a girls basketball game that lived up to every bit of the hype, the Laurel Gators outlasted the Brush Arcs 74–73 in overtime Monday night in a non‑conference showdown at Brush.” Another amazing win for the No. 2 ranked Gators!

 

Congratulations to Laurel’s Figure skating team on their 3rd place overall win at the Ohio High School Team Figure Skating Championships. 

Congratulations to Laurel’s gymnastics team on their 3rd place team finish at the Lakewood meet!

Congratulations to Rida Tahir ‘27 on being one of only 16 students statewide to be named to the Ohio Safety Advisory Council.

The Laurel Gators took on Green High School on January 22 for a Special Senior Night honoring Tristan Williams ‘26, Olivia Schneider ‘26, and Sydnee Robinson ‘26, and walked away with an impressive 68-20 win, which capped off a month of exciting wins.

Laurel swimmers have had a successful season thus far. On January 7, the swimming and diving team competed at Baldwin Wallace and achieved impressive results. Elizabeth Matsievich ‘29 placed 1st in the 500 freestyle with a PR and is currently ranked 30th in the state among Division II girls.

Laurel’s Speech and Debate team has had a stellar season so far, with Claire Witalec '28, Ana Rubio-Calvillo '27, and Julia Duong '26 having qualified early to the State Tournament. 

Sable Comet ‘27, August Sumlin ‘27, and Shaashwatiyaa Balamurugan ‘28 represented Laurel at the District 7 OMEA Solo & Ensemble at Madison High School, each performing a Class A solo, the highest level of difficulty for high school musicians. 

 

Congrats to Zip Tried, our Upper School Robotics team, on earning the Sustain Award at the Kirtland FIRST Tech Challenge tournament and the Motivate award at the Northeast Ohio District Competition. The team has advanced to States!

Congratulations to Reese Samala '29, who competed in the highly competitive Junior Olympics fencing tournament.

Congratulations to Eloise Porter ’30, who earned an 8th place medal at the Power of the Pen District Tournament!

Hannah Feldkamp ‘28 authored a piece about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the Youth Environmental Press Team (YEPT).