Engaging Over Summer

Rising Senior Emma Taylor attended the North Carolina Governor's School, a four-week residential program at Meredith College, where she focused on the Social Sciences as well as some electives. Her learning focused on the exploration of the latest ideas and concepts in the social sciences, research outside of class and a final presentation on "External Powers in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict." 

Rising Senior Ella Voloshko shadowed CCS alum Tricia Wilson Magee ('96) at the United States District Courthouse in uptown Charlotte where Tricia is a Judicial Law Clerk for the Honorable Judge Frank D. Whitney. Ella sat in on sentencing hearings, met the judges, and spent time with the law school interns working in Judge Whitney's chambers. It was an inspiring experience for Ella and an opportunity to learn a great deal from Tricia about the interesting work that she does.

Middle School Language Arts Teacher Karen Plettner attended the She Speaks Ministry Conference by Proverbs 31 Ministry. The two-day conference is for female Christian communicators to be encouraged to use their voices to make an impact and give the hope of Christ to those within their sphere of influence.

In addition to intense summer workouts, the CCS football team volunteered at Elevation Church to pack meals with the group Feed The Hunger based in North Carolina. The team packed nearly 10,000 nutritious dehydrated meals that will be distributed with a Bible to those in need in countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Rising senior Oliver Tobin traveled with Moondance Adventures to Tanzania this summer. In addition to hiking to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, he worked in a Maasai Village and planted a garden for a local school. 

Rising freshmen Gavin Lawrence and Ethan Walker attended the Clemson University Tennis Camp to hone their skills and prepare for the upcoming season. Gavin and Ethan also advanced to the N.C. tennis state finals with their USTA Junior Team Tennis team.

Rising sophomore Victoria Taylor attended the Grounded Youth Conference at Charlotte Christian and learned about topics ranging from the current youth identity crisis and why the solution is for them to find their identity in Christ to how to share Christ intelligently, in love and effectively through conversations with others.

Rising freshman Gianna Gaskins participated in the Duke Pre-College Program. The 10-day residential program afforded her the opportunity to live in the campus dorms and take a course, Mock Trail: Practicing the Tools of Justice. A highlight of the course was touring Duke's Law Library and meeting the dean of the School of Law. "This program was a life changing experience and encouraged me to continue to work hard in school so I can attend Duke or a similar university."

Rising senior Whitney Johnson attended the Southeastern Summer Theater Institute in Hilton Head, S.C. She spent two weeks at the institute, working on acting, singing and dancing in small groups and one-on-one coaching sessions with professors from some of the top musical theater universities in the nation.

Upper School Principal Shonn Brown completed the Van Lunen Fellows Program, a year-long executive management training program. Its purpose is to examine and strengthen “leadership from within” in order to lead their staff and community well. All sessions are led by faculty who are experienced heads of Christian schools with proven executive management skills.

Lower school teachers in grades JK-2 and academic specialists spent a full week learning the fundamentals of the Orton-Gillingham approach to phonics instruction and how to apply the principles in a classroom setting. The goal of this training was to equip our teachers to even better support our students as they progress in their reading journeys.

Middle School Counselor Lauren Duncan attended the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Dream Big Conference in Atlanta, Ga. Mrs. Duncan joined other school counseling professionals for four days of premier learning and networking. She is excited to return to CCS to help continue to grow our school counseling program based on best practice models and evidence based materials.

Lower School Assistant Principal Jen Payne, Lower School STEM Teacher Jenna Peede and Upper School Broadcasting & Film Teacher Chad Fair are all participating in Baylor University's master's program in school leadership and were in Waco, Texas at the same time this summer.

Upper School Math Teacher Susan Jones was a Question Leader for the AP Calculus exam. She is responsible for the scoring consistency and training of the teachers who will be scoring one of the FRQ questions for the AP Calculus exam.

Lower School Principal Brandon Henderson attended the CESA New Principals Institute in Atlanta, Ga. Mr. Henderson joined other first and second year principals in order to gain a deeper understanding of their role and discuss practical strategies and best practices for success. The time was also designed to build a rich network of support with Christian school peers who face similar challenges and opportunities in their careers.

Rising senior Karsen Betzold attended the Belmont University Summer Vocal Arts Intensive where she auditioned to be a part of their program and took classes from Belmont professors in music theory, music masterclasses and mass choir. They had performances throughout the week to showcase their areas of study in musical theater, commercial and classical music. She also volunteered at the CCS Back to Broadway summer camp and helped teach lower and middle school students a short musical and choreographed dances.

Rising sophomore Casey Branner attended the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) summer seminars. He participated in weeklong summer workshops where high school students live college life by attending demonstrations and lectures and collaborating with peers. He learned 2D animation and created a short scene and a character sheet.
 

Rising senior Sophia Fair participated in a physical therapy internship this summer with Architech Sports and Physical Therapy. Sophia learned about physical therapy and how to diagnose and treat patients from little kids to geriatric patients.
 

Faculty and staff have had the opportunity to participate in elective CPR training this summer sponsored by CCS. Upon completion, participants receive certification in the American Heart Association CPR AED Program. We are thankful for a school that values safety for our CCS community!

Rising senior Dominique Kay recently attended the US Naval Academy Summer Seminar where she participated in workouts and classes designed to mimic life at the Naval Academy. She also attended briefings about leadership and careers in the Navy and Marine Corps.

Rising senior Graham Cash recently attended Wake Forest University Summer Immersion Program for Business. This immersion program guides students to develop practical skills and think critically while gaining valuable exposure to important business topics and methods of analysis and gives them the opportunity to pitch ideas showcasing the knowledge they gained throughout the week.

Director of College Counseling Jodi Foxx was featured on the "College Matters. Alma Matters." podcast! She speaks about the joy of a 24-year career working with students and the approach she takes to help them find the college that is right for them. Click here to listen or search for the episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Assistant Athletic Director Amanda Naeher recently led a Coaches on Mission field session for faith-based soccer coaches from various clubs, high schools, colleges and professional teams. The session focused on elite coaching but more importantly an emphasis on encouragement and positive reinforcement. Coaches on Mission focuses on providing team culture building along with field sessions.