McKinley

CAST students serving at Southeast Community Center

Over the last 18 months, we at McKinley Senior High School have faced unprecedented challenges that have required us to think about our practices in innovative ways in order to meet the needs of our students. While we anticipate that the effects of the pandemic will continue to impact our students, we will continue to respond to our students’ needs with creativity and intentional planning. We are confident that the programs and opportunities we’ve designed for the 2021-2022 school year support our students academically, increase their engagement in many of our extracurricular opportunities, and ensure that we all stay connected as a community. Academic Support: This year, McKinley is proud to provide dedicated time for students to receive English or Math support from a content specialist through our Writing and Math Labs. In addition, every student in grades 9-12 is assigned a support period, called Academic Assist. During Academic Assist, teachers provide students with content-area support, review their attendance and look for any credit deficiencies that need to be addressed. Our after-school enrichment and credit recovery programs are fully operational. Students can receive help from content teachers and are provided a cooked dinner before going home. As the year moves forward, we will be providing a myriad of after-school opportunities that will include tutoring, college placement test help, and athletic study tables. Student Engagement: We hope to engage our students in all things McKinley! Outside of the athletic programs we proudly support, McKinley Senior High School boasts some of the best extracurricular programs in Stark County. Students have the opportunity to participate on our nationally recognized speech and debate team, or may be interested in joining us for Pep Club, National Honor Society, SAFE Zone, Chess Club, CAST, International Club, Band, Choir or our brand new Interact Club — that’s just to name a few. Students who would like to participate in our clubs during the traditional school day or may be interested in pursuing a personal passion, will certainly welcome our new program, Reconnect Wednesdays! Over the course of 13 Reconnect Wednesdays, McKinley students will have an opportunity to take a deeper dive into their personal interests and connect with their teachers in a unique way. Every quarter, students register for two personal-interest courses (or clubs) taught by none other than our CCS teachers during Reconnect Wednesdays.

Community Connection: Community is at the heart of everything we do! This school year, we will continue to be purposeful about connecting with our community and families through our small group mentorship program and our on-staff family and support specialist. In addition, we are excited to welcome many guest speakers, like Rodney Dennis, a local barber and barber college owner, who will be visiting us for a program called Cuts and Conversation, or our guest teacher, Andrea McCormick of Cleveland, a professional artist in residency that joins us two days per week throughout the year, an opportunity provided through the Teach Arts Ohio Grant - A Year in the Life - Musical Theatre! In a few short weeks, our CTE students will be resuming their on-site work experiences and we can’t wait to welcome our community guests back to the All City Grille in November when we open. We don’t mind saying it’s still the best Smokehouse Burger in town! We started the school year strong and have already been able to provide students with school supplies through the STUFF the BUS program and look forward to additional opportunities to be an answer during a very difficult time. At McKinley, we are ready to help our students not only get back to some sense of normalcy, but more importantly, to rise above the challenges we’ve faced over the last year and a half. We are the McKinley Bulldogs! We are prepared and we are #ReadytoRise.

CTE Welding Seniors

Every fall in the CTE Script Analysis course, students seek to learn and create through scene writing. Every day for a month, students write scenes based on prompts given in class. While learning about dramatic structure and writing, students also get the opportunity to transition the PAGE TO THE STAGE! They work out which scenes make the cut, which don’t, and then set out to make it a production. Students gather and make props/costumes/set pieces, and choose music, sound effects and lighting for the show. Students also create concept artwork to publicize, and of course — memorize, memorize, memorize their lines. The title of their show, This Is House, is a direct reflection of their individual and shared experiences as high school students, as well as a touch of humor, imagination, whimsy and a little dark humor. – Kristy McNally, Performance Arts Instructor

COMING THIS SPRING!

Memphis, The Musical | McKinley Senior High School | April 2022 Auditions are Dec. 13-17 | OPEN TO ALL CCSD STUDENTS GRADES 7-12

Memphis is set in the places where rock and roll was born in the 1950s: the seedy nightclubs, radio stations and recording studios of the musically rich Tennessee city. With an original score, it tells the fictional story of DJ Huey Calhoun, a good ole’ local boy with a passion for R&B music, and Felicia Farrell, an up-and-coming black singer that he meets one fateful night on Beale Street. Despite the objections of their loved ones (Huey’s closed-minded mama and Felicia’s cautious brother, a club owner), they embark on a dangerous affair. As their careers rise, the relationship is challenged by personal ambition and the pressures of an outside world unable to accept their love.