McKinley

Officer Sharpe Officer Sharpe with Cedar students.

We all know Officer Sharpe. If you hear cheering, squeals of joy or a celebration coming from the hallways, cafeteria or the playground, you can bet that Officer Sharpe is “in the House.” On Wednesday, May 19, Officer Sharpe came to Cedar with a different focus. He arrived at Cedar with nearly 300 signed copies of his new children’s book, “Lil Mar, Losing His Balance”. Miss Allen’s class was chosen to host Officer Sharpe for a live virtual reading of his book. The reading was attended by the whole school in a Google Meet, and Officer Sharpe then toured the building, handing a signed copy of “Lil Mar, Losing His Balance” to EVERY student at Cedar! The message was clear to all: “THE KEY TO SUCCESS IS FINDING BALANCE IN YOUR DAY,” and all students have a reminder of this message to revisit as they read their own copies at home! Thanks for the visit, Officer Sharpe – stop by any time!

Clarendon

Community Partnership with Huntington Bank Pays Off!

For the past five years, Clarendon Leadership School and Huntington Bank have cultivated a valuable partnership that allows students to get direct contact, advice and education from Huntington Bank officers. In past years, the volunteers have helped with mock interviews and faceto-face instruction that included financial literacy, and financial games with students. This year, we had to get creative to continue the partnership during COVID by offering online instruction. On Friday, April 23rd, over 75 Huntington Bank volunteers, including President William Shivers, held virtual “Financial Literacy” classes with the eager fourth and fifth grade students and staff at both Clarendon and Mason Elementary! The students learned about career opportunities, financial literacy and community service. In a postsurvey, students overwhelmingly reported that they loved the Life Simulation Game. Students shared that they learned the difference between debit and credit cards, and the importance of saving and spending money wisely. Their biggest takeaway? Many shared they learned that “children are expensive!” Thank you to the dedicated people of Huntington for your time and expertise! Middle school students who participated in the summer Tom Tod Ideas program called, “Camp What If ...” presented their projects on their last day to parents, CCS staff, and community partners at Grace Presbyterian Church. Tom Tod’s Patrick Gerber explained that the projects were born after students had a variety of experiential learning opportunities. For Creative Design Week, they met with Canton Art Museum Education Director Eric Emerson, Just Imagine Art Gallery Manager Victoria Boatright, and Arts in Stark Art Teacher Kaley Weaver. For Invention Builders Week, they met Matt Manda, Landscape Architect who designed Centennial Plaza, Nick Brewer and Luke Gale, owners of Milestone Games, and Chuck Duplain, owners of the Downtown Escape Room. And finally, for Story Teller Exploration, they worked with Kelly Williams, owner and producer of Hollywood Studio, Angela Lemmo of the Canton Ballet, and Charlee Parker, local rap artist at the Auricle.

The final presentations had the students in three groups presenting an invention or creation they developed together.