To present a speech in front of your peers is nerve-racking. To perform the words of Old English written by the most renowned, beloved playwright is incredibly intimidating. Theatre students participated in the first round of the Annual CCS Shakespeare Competition again this year.  Isabelle Armour, Jillian Lewis, Aria Granger, Laura Howard, Kenzie Turner, Freddie Jackson, Drew Crane, Joshua May, Aaron Dong, Hannah Hockney, and Maggie Brown presented monologues from various plays written by William Shakespeare. Forty students in the audience also acted as judges and nominated Aaron Dong to continue on in the competition as the CCS representative. The final results were: 

1st Place- Aaron Dong, A Midsummer Night's Dream
2nd Place- Joshua May, King Lear
3rd Place- Maggie Brown, As You Like It

Congratulations, students, for working on very difficult texts and presenting them boldly! 

Clever Crazes is a fun, educational website that encourages kids to keep fit and stay active.  Each day, CCS elementary students can engage in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) to help build strong minds, healthy bodies, and core ethics!   Every month, all students who are using the website have the potential to be winners of various prizes. Our CCS elementary student winners so far this year are Micah Katz (5th Grade), Ohenmaa Sarfo-Bonsu (6th Grade), Courtney Snider (6th Grade), Emma Eshman (6th Grade), Steven Burton (3rd Grade), Lily Clark (4th Grade), Emma Barthelemy (4th Grade), Gabriel Binzer (3rd Grade), Jaden Oletu (1st Grade), Symone Stewart (Kindergarten), Avery Fitzgerald (Kindergarten), and Jordan Smith (Kindergarten). Go Cougars! 

Backtrack Vocals, an a capella group based in New York City, performed for both of our junior and senior high choirs recently.    They performed covers of pop songs that the students recognized and were able to sing along with, as well as a medley of Mary Poppins tunes. Their beatboxer gave a solo performance that was especially entertaining.  After the performance, the group took the time to answer many of the students' questions, including what it's like to be a professional traveling musician, how the group started, and how many hours they practice. When asked if they all started in choir, Mrs. Kennedy was pleased to hear them all say "yes." Senior Bernadette Beacham said, "Each member was super friendly, and they were enjoyable to listen to." What a special visit for our young singers to experience! 

Mrs. Mellish's 1st grade won second place recently.  This class also had two students in the top ten, and nine in the top 50, out of 1,236 Butler County students who played! Four of her students scored over 900 of 1,000 questions they had to answer! Go, Cougars!

Senior Payton Keiner is the reigning Ohio division II 100 backstroke champ and is going to swim collegiately at Liberty University while studying nursing.  She was recently interviewed for a very thorough article about her story in Hamilton Journal News. (Read here.)
 

When asked about how she approached this year, she said,  "This year, since this is my senior year and most of the technique focus is there, my big focus has been on being positive and having a kind of relaxed attitude."   It's definitely paid off, given her success this year!  

LaRosas's also recognized her and honored her as MVP of the week!

Way to represent, Cougar! 

The CCS Pastor Appreciation Day tradition at our elementary campus is an annual fave. Local pastors, who shepherd the students and their families, gathered to eat lunch, worship, and be celebrated by the students they know and love!   Debra Sanderson (Principal's Assistant) said, "The kids loved to show off their pastors to their friends. It was a very nice and appreciated event for the students and the pastors." Check out a video of the pastors and kids having a good time in chapel on the CCS Facebook page! 

Yet again, CCS art students represent our school with talent abounding! Sam Bird won a Gold Key Award and his piece will be headed to New York for further competition. Hannah Ferguson won two Silver Key Awards and three Honorable Mention Awards. Hannah Hockney won a Silver Key Award. Hannah Randall won a Silver Key Award and Olivia Mayleben won an Honorable Mention Award.  Amazing work, Cougars!

Click here to see their work!

Several CCS writers were recently honored through the Scholastic Art and Writing contest.  Junior Abby Sohn received an Honorable Mention in the journalism category for her article, The Great Pumpkin Spice Debate.  Abby is the Opinions Editor for The Paw Print, the CCS student newspaper.  Senior Konner Logan received a Silver Key for his short story, In a Row, and senior  Alex Batson, received an Honorable Mention for his story, The Hunt.  Only seven to ten percent of student work submitted received a Silver Key, and only ten to fifteen percent of submissions received an Honorable Mention. What an honor, students!  Congratulations! 

Delaney Slattery, Bernadette Beacham and Brooklyn Allison, three of our trained Cappies critics, wrote play reviews that have been recently published on the Cincinnati Enquirer's website.   Cappies offers the students a chance to see other theatrical art in Cincinnati; Delaney said, "It gives me insight as to what other schools' drama programs look like and how they work." This is not the first time CCS critics have been published, but it was Delaney's first published review.  She said, "I was very excited when I found out that I was published. I found out through an email while I was at work, and all my co-workers thought I had won the lottery or something." CCS performance theatre continues its history of excellence! Go, Cougars!

Check out their published reviews out here!

Cougar Mall takes place three times a school year at the elementary campus, each one with a different theme. Three parents from different African countries shared information about their country and culture with the elementary students.  ( Mr. Kitenda from Uganda, Mr. Yefru from Ethiopia, and Mrs. Ifeakanwa from Nigeria.)  Also, a very special guest speaker, Mrs. Stella Onurah, presented on the educational resources of her country, Nicaragua. What a wonderful cultural learning experience for our young Cougars!

Five former student-athletes were recently selected to the 32nd annual class of the Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame. One of these honorees is Randy Lane, who graduated from Malone in 1983, and played soccer.  As a freshman, he led the Malone Pioneers to an 8-4 overall record, marking the first winning season in Malone men's soccer history.  He is also one of only two Pioneer men's soccer players to collect NAIA All-American Honors, earning Second Team All-American accolades following his senior season and All-American Honorable Mention recognition as a junior. 

Randy graduated from CCS in 1979.  He was coached in soccer by Sam Dillard (our Sam Dillard Memorial Chapel namesake) and by Steve Gillens (current Athletic Director) in basketball.  He is another alumnus who has done great things for his college. Congratulations, Randy! 

To read the full article click  here.