Dime Wars & Helping Local Families in Need

Small [AND LARGE] Acts of Kindness are what this holiday season are really about.  In the midst of many educational changes, horrific tragedies in schools, and other obstacles we must overcome with our students, it is the 'extra' things we do that truly make a difference.  

Every year at Christmas time, Student Council sponsors the Dime Wars, along with various other fundraisers, to help area families in need. 

Here is their story: 

The CHS Student Council held its annual Dime Wars competition the week of December 10-14th.  The purpose of the competition was to raise money for local families in need.  The grades competed to have the most “positive” money in their jar at the end of the week.  It was called Dime Wars because dimes were considered “negative” and subtract in value from the total.  The PRIZE for the winning grade level this year was the right to have the best seat in the house during the winter assembly. 

The seniors were the champions of the Dime Wars this year and as a reward get to keep their floor spot for the assembly on Friday, December 21^st.  CHS Student Council raised $ 500 during the competition.  That money was combined with money raised from the homecoming dance plus a personal donation.  The budget for each child was set at $50 with half being spent on NEEDS and the other half on WANTS.  As a result, student council was able to assist 12 families, including 38 children ages one to seventeen, all within the Celina School District.  

Toy Drive for Dayton Cildren's

Small [AND LARGE] Acts of Kindness are what this holiday season are really about.  In the midst of many educational changes, horrific tragedies in schools, and other obstacles we must overcome with our students, it is the 'extra' things we do that truly make a difference.  Every year, English Teacher Alicia Sneddon organizes a toy drive for patients at Dayton Children's Hospital.  

Here is her story: 

A month ago, planning was well under way for our third toy drive at Celina High School for Dayton Children's Hospital – and toys were very slowly tr

ickling in.  We set a goal of collecting 500 toys.  I thought this goal was a lofty one and I was afraid I had set us up for failure. 

 

Last week, we rode to Dayton with around 50 students and 1,292 toys! THAT'S 1,292 TOYS!  From teddy bears and Cabbage Patch dolls to hot wheels cars and Nerf Guns, it was obvious that the generosity of our community was not only alive, but well.  On some days when I arrived at school my door would be blocked by large bags of toys and students waiting to update our count. Each year, I continue to be reminded that what makes our high school “Excellent with Distinction” are not the scores on tests, but the people who make up the community in and out of it.      I wish that each and every one of you could have sat with us at Steak and Shake.  Some of the students we take on this trip have never been outside of Mercer County.  More importantly, I wish that you could have meet Katie, the 17 year old Leukemia survivor who spoke to the students about her life and experiences.  I wish you could have seen one student silently wipe tears from his face as a lot of life lessons sunk in rather deeply. I wish you could have met the nurses who passed out candy canes and whose eyes lit up as we filled not one but two rooms with toys for future patients. And I wish you could have been there to see some of our students ice skate.  They loved it. And so did I.      Each year I struggle to find words to say thank you, and this year is no different. I hope this suffices. Thank you to those of you who donated, spread the word, helped us pull emergency medical forms, signed permission slips, donated money to pay for the bus, chaperoned, drove a bus, changed your status on Facebook to spread the word, told your family, picked up toys, held a contest in your advisory class, persuaded a certain car dealership to out-donate another dealership, put boxes in your place of employment, let your children or students go, or raised your children to be the fine, upstanding citizens that we took on that bus yesterday. 

This is something I look forward to each and every year and somehow I am pleasantly surprised each time. 

Thank you. 

I hope you have a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! 

Ms. Sneddon    

Read the Daily Standard article here.

Week in 3 Words 2.10.12 -- "Keep it Classy CHS!"

MTV's 'Made' is Coming to CHS

If you have ever watched the MTV show 'Made', you know that it is all about making a teenager's dream come true.  They have help students across the country reach their goals by giving them a one-on-one coach for six weeks.

Now they are looking for new cast members, right here at CHS!

On Thursday, September 8th, 2011, Made will be holding casting calls @ CHS after school.  For the casting packet, click here or visit the tab above.

Here is a video clip from the show:

Sneddon Snippets: 1000 Awesome Things

This is the 4th post in a series on the Bulldog News Blog featuring other blogs in our school. Teaching 21st Century Skills has become a primary focus for CHS and communicating with students, parents, and the community is a vital component in that process.

Several staff members have started 'blogging' (see my blog roll in the left sidebar). Different teachers have different reasons for blogging... some use it to solicit feedback and writing samples from students, others use it to display student work, and still others post assignments and notes. Today's feature is the "Sneddon's Snippets" Blog, one of the official online homes for English teacher Ms. Alicia Sneddon.  She posts assignments, gives the daily list of what students miss if they were absent, and also writes about events in her classroom.  Visit Ms. Sneddon's blog at http://sneddonsnippets.blogspot.com.  

During the first trimester, my English 9A classes started each day by reading the “Awesome Thing” on the blog 1000awesomethings.com by Neil Pasricha. Then, we took turns naming a few awesome things that happened in our own lives. Our responses varied from “chewing gum in class” to “beating St. Marys after 11 years.” Towards the end of the trimester I realized that not only were we learning from Neil Pasricha that “awesome” was everywhere, but we were also picking up on some very key writing skills that Pasricha employed in his blog posts. We learned about figurative language, using fragments for creative purposes, and even how to use our five senses to improve our writing. Soon after, we set to writing our own “awesome things” book with an entry from each student, and we wanted to share these with Neil. Each student also wrote a letter to Mr. Pasricha, many of them asking for a copy of his book, The Book of Awesome. Last Friday, I received that book, via mail with a handwritten note from Neil:

“To Ms. Sneddon & her AWESOME students! Wow! I absolutely LOVED reading all of your awesome thoughts and letters! They made me laugh, they made me cry, and most of all they made me realize… we’re all the same. We’re all in this together! Do me a favor? As you go through life, always remember that we don’t have much time here, so it’s always important to stay YOU, stay TRUE, and stay AWESOME! With love, Neil”

            My classes were inspired by Neil Pasricha and his amazing attitude toward life. I encourage each of you to check out his blog (www.1000awesomethings.com) and see for yourself just how awesome the littlest things in life can be. In the words of Neil himself, “Go forth – and be AWESOME!”

CHS Spirit

In case you haven't noticed, there have been a great number of changes around here this year!  Of course, the obvious ones are the schedule, advisory period, announcements, etc.  However, one of the biggest changes has been SCHOOL SPIRIT.  Maybe its the Marching Band in the hallways playing the fight song every Friday morning, or possibly the great pep assemblies, or maybe the addition of the Spirit Squad -- the bottom line is that students here are FIRED UP!!!  Of course, a winning football team only adds to the excitement.  All of these things help make coming to school fun and ultimately, could help academic achievement.  

I have received many compliments from a number of people about how well behaved and respectful our students are each and every Friday night.  Thank to all of the students and fans for your sportsmanship, your support, and most importantly your school spirit.  Nothing has been more exciting this year than watching the students RING THE VICTORY BELL!!

It is important to remember that we have a lot of great things going on here at CHS.  To help us showcase these great things, we have created a blog titled "CHS Awesome Things" to model the website http://1000awesomethings.com.  Each day we will post a brief summary (with a picture) of something Awesome about CHS.  

Thanks for reading...  

GO DAWGS!