S am's Spotlight
Let's celebrate as a CCS family!

February
Blessings, CCS families!  The purpose of "Sam's Spotlight" is to communicate the noteworthy accomplishments of our students and staff, so we can celebrate as a CCS family.  

If you have praiseworthy news items to share with the Cincinnati Christian Schools family that involve either CCS students and/or staff, please email 
Leah Perry 
at  leah.perry@cincinnatichristian.org .
 
The Black History Cougar Mall     
 
On Friday, February 2, the elementary hosted a guest storyteller.  T he students rotate three times throughout the annual Black History Cougar Mall, and during one of the rotations, they visit a special planned event. This year it was Miss Omope, who has visited three times in the past. She told stories about the Underground Railroad. She returned the following Friday and  spent 45 minutes with all of the students. She wore traditional attire and told African stories.


 
International Week

February 20 through March 1 at the elementary campus celebrated different nations, cultures, and societies.  Every classroom chose  one country, and the students spent time researching traits specific to that country. They learned details about such things as  the government, climate, geography, flag, people, sports, food, customs, and religion. They also heard about a missionary to that country. Many of the teachers were able to get missionaries from the specific country to come and share with their classes. All of the grades then  took a day to present their countries to their peers while the other students had passports allowing them to travel to two countries per day.

 
A Little Bit of CCS in the Super Bowl

Joe Boyd, parent of CCS students Aidan (2019) and Eli (2017), is
the  CEO of Rebel Pilgrim Creative
Agency. Rebel Pilgrim produced a Super Bowl commercial for Rookwood Pottery and the Cincinnati Zoo! It aired just before kick-off on Sunday, February 4. Check out the commercial, which features Fiona, the hippo, here or click on the video. Watch behind-the-scenes footage at WCPO and catch a few glimpses of Eli, who worked on the crew as a grip!
 
Leadership Scholarship Awarded 

Merrick Heid was awarded the West Point Society of Cincinnati's Leadership and Ethics Scholarship.  She was one of only four out of 200+ students to be granted this honor, and she was given the highest amount the West Point Society of Cincinnati offers in its scholarship! 

Mr. Miller sponsored her attendance as a sophomore, which enabled her scholarship application as a junior.  This means that Mr. Miller and Merrick had to complete one year of monthly mentoring regarding ethical leadership, covering topics of ethical decision-making skills, what leadership is, how to lead effectively, how to lead ethically and with integrity, and how to lead with/without words. To even apply, Merrick also  had to present a written scenario that she could use to lead a group of students from all over Cincinnati through ethical decision making and leadership.  Congratulations on all your incredible hard work, Merrick! 

This year, Mr. Holthus has sponsored the attendance of sophomores Rhyan Pater and Kyra Becker. Good luck as you begin this journey, ladies! 
 
TechOlympics 

TechOlympics 2018 is Cincinnati's premiere technology competition and expo. The event involves about 550 of the best and brightest high schoolers from the tristate region who are interested in technology, computers, programming, and gaming. Students competed with other schools in challenges ranging from programming to design to networking. Caleb Smearsoll, Nathan Smearsoll, Mason Dulemba, Isaac Armour, Tyler Burns, Joe Eberhardt, Andrew Rogers, Nathan Eshman, Kaitlyn Fritz, and Collin Fritz represented Cincinnati Christian Schools. A mong our top finishers were:

Nathan Smearsoll --2nd place - NXT Robotic Programing
                                  --3rd place -  Hacker Heaven,
                                  --2nd place - Code Golf A 
   --4th place - Mystery Coding 

Tyler Burns -- 2nd place - Kerbal Space Race

Congratulations, students! 
 
JH Boys Championship Game

On Thursday, February 8,
 the gym was packed with the fans and supporters of the Junior High Boys Basketball team.  They played in theMiami Valley Conference Junior High Boys A Team Championship against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. Ben Gillens said, "It  went awesome. It was a  very  close game through the 3rd quarter, but we pulled away in the end. It was super fun to play in front of such a huge crowd of high schoolers, teachers, and family. 
The game ended with the score of 55-34, CCS being victorious! Matthew Cardwell, Logan Woods, and Devin Taylor led the way with 16 points, 13 points, and 18 points. Congratulations, boys! 
 
Pushing All The Way Through 

This year at graduation, you can expect to hear speeches from Jacqueline Biddle and Grace Edmonston. Jacqueline is the Valedictorian of the class of 2018, and Grace is the Salutatorian. Grace said, "I am not salutatorian because I wanted to show off how smart I am, or to brag about my grades, or even to get into the best college I could. I became salutatorian because I could not accept not doing my best for the Lord in every aspect of my life, and academics just happens to be the most prevalent part of my life right now." 

Jacqueline said, "I'm so thankful that I have a God who is so faithful. These past four years have been full of hard work and sacrifice, not just for me but for the many people who have helped me along the way. One thing I would tell underclassmen is that God's blessings at times don't look like blessings at all, but trust in Him because He absolutely knows what he's doing. At times it was difficult and required a lot of determination, but I'm so thankful that He has blessed me with this opportunity." 

Well done, ladies! 

 
Victorious!  

The 3rd/4th grade Girls Basketball team at the CCS elementary campus won the "Bethany Shoot-Out" Basketball Tournament! They beat St. Columban in the championship game. Congratulations, young athletes! 

 
Making the World Cleaner  

Junior High students, under the leadership of Mr. Tim Burkett, attended the Southwest Ohio  Thermo Fisher Scientific STEM Challenge at Harrison High School on February 23. In teams of four, students had to use K'Nex pieces & K'Nex motors to create a machine (or process) that could remove harmful material from a body of water.  The competition was judged by a group of engineers and scientists from the Thermo Fisher company.  Cincinnati Christian Schools took first place overall against 30 teams from eight schools! Congratulations, young inventors! 

 
 
 
If you have praiseworthy news items to share with the Cincinnati Christian Schools family that involve either CCS students and/or staff, please email it to
Leah Perry at leah.perry@cincinnatichristian.org.