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

Winter Edition
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 .
 
 Published Cappies 

The "Cappies of Greater Cincinnati" celebrates young writers and theatre artists. Students travel to see local high schools' theatre productions and write reviews. The high school critics have the opportunity for their critiques to be published in the professional media. This year, Maggie Brown and Delaney Slattery from the CCS critic team were both published! An excerpt of Maggie's critique of Scott High School's production of Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon can be seen here. Her review of Saint Ursula Academy's  performance of The Wizard of Oz can be found  here .   Delaney's review of William Mason High School's production of Sweeney Todd can be read   here .  Well done, writers!
 
Honor Band

District Honor Band is extremely competitive and quite anaccomplishment if you are accepted. This year, five of our students were admitted into Honor Band. We have one student representing our school in each band. 

Wind Symphony-Maggie Brown
Symphonic Winds- Drew Crane
9th Grade Band- Jacquelyn Michel
8th Grade Band- Garrett Hesselgesser
7th Grade Band- Jack Diebold 

In order to be accepted, t he students have to prepare scales, difficult excerpts of music, and perform a sight-reading piece. Our CCS band director, Carolyn Kennedy, said,"We are up against large schools like Lakota, Fairfield, and Mason, and there are only a certain number of seats in each band, which makes it an even greater accomplishment for our students who are coming from such a small program because most of the students that do get in are from large schools."
 
 
Solo & Ensemble 

Sophomore Andrew Crane went to "Solo and Ensemble" on  Sunday, January 21,  as the only representative for CCS. He played a Class A piece, which happens to be the most difficult class of music. He scored all 1's, which is the highest rating you can receive. "Solo and Ensemble" is a festival in which you are judged by other music teachers on your performance. Carolyn Kennedy said, "It is an honor to participate in." Congratulations, Drew! 
 
Student Wins Dolores Award 

In the beginning of December, freshman Olivia Reese starred as Young Shirley Abramowitz in the Lockland Center Stage Players Company production of Coney Island Christmas. As a result, Olivia won the CSP Delores Award for best performance in a production series. This award was based on votes from the audience as well as her peers involved with the production. Superb, Olivia! Continue pursuing your passions!  
 
Fire Safety Poster Contest 

Liam Faig, a 2nd grader in Mrs. Schmidt's class, won the Fire Safety Poster Contest.  He was treated to a ride in the fire truck and visited the Fairfield Fire Station where he had a tour and had breakfast with the firefighters! 
 
Nickels & Dimes 

The junior/senior high campus held a coin drive the week of  January 22. The prize  was a week out of dress code  for the class who  brought in the most money. The Senior class won with $514.4 4! In total, the  drive raised just over $2,000. The money will be used toward the Festival of Fun for the organization "Focus on Youth." It is a Christian, nonprofit organization for foster care, adoption, and behavioral health services. The festival will be  April 14th and is hosted by the CCS Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy . The donations of our students will truly bless these children in foster care! Thank you to all who donated. 
 
Third-Grade Chapel  

Class chapels at the elementary are following the same theme this year - "Yes He is." The third grade held t heir chapel on January 26. They
 performed skits, played the piano, and recited Bible verses. They sang several worship songs as well, and one song was accompanied with motions to match the  lyrics. The students' favorite part was when the third grade led three cheers!  Awesome job, students! 

 
Eagle Scout Legacy  

Junior Sam Bird became Troop 912's 24th Eagle Scout in October of 2017. He has   been in scou ting for 11 years and has been extremely involved with monthly camping, service projects, and summer camps. He has participated in great adventures such as rock climbing, canoeing, caving, and spending a week in the Florida Keys at the Boy Scouts of America Sea Base. He is a member of the Order of the Arrow which is the scout's Honor Society, and he has attended National Youth Leadership Training.

For Sam's Eagle scout project, he worked with the Animal Adoption
Foundation to turn a fenced-in field into a dog agility park.  He
provided them with new landscaping, clean tarp walls, much needed shade sails, and newly constructed agility equipment.

CCS Troop 912 has a long legacy of Eagle Scouts which includes sons of many of our staff members...Mr. Rice, Mrs. Cotterill, and Mrs. Granger.  You can see all of the Eagle Scouts  here. Sam, your dedication to hard work and serving the community is inspiring! 

 
ACSI District Spelling Bee

Six schools came together and participated in the ACSI Spelling Bee held on January 20.  CCS had students earn ribbons in most of the grade- level bees, and we even had one 5th grader,  Jane Olaniyan,  move forward to the regional bee! Congratulations, young spellers!
 
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12.  This year, students submitted more than 330,000 works of visual art and writing to the Scholastic Awards; more than 90,000 works were recognized at the regional level and celebrated in local exhibitions and ceremonies. The top art and writing at the regional level were moved onto the national stage, where more than 2,700 works earned National Medals. 

Several of our students were acknowledged for their artwork.  Gold Key works  automatically advance to national judging. In New York City, nationally-renowned  creative professionals review Gold Key works from across the country. Jurors select work for national recognition based on three criteria: originality, technical skill, and emergence of a personal vision or voice. 

Junior Sam Bird received both a Gold Key a Silver Key.
Chloe Hasley in the 8th grade received a Gold Key and two honorable mentions. 
Ohenmaa Sarfo-Bonsu received a Gold Key for her self portrait.
Zach Schlake received an honorable mention for his self portrait.
Congratulations , talented artists!
 
 
 
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.