Holocaust exhibit at CSD next week
Sixth grade students at Community School of Davidson, putting lessons from life into learning experiences for themselves and others, are inviting the public to the school's fifth annual Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, May 23.
Anne Frank once said "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." The students at CSD take seriously their mission to use these lessons from their Holocaust studies to promote tolerance.
The students are actively transforming the entire middle school into a Holocaust museum. Student docents will lead visitors through the museum depicting Adolf Hitler's rise to power, atrocities committed against fellow humans, the strength and perseverance of resistors and survivors and complete the journey through the liberation of the concentration camps.
Students will share what they learned as a result of their experiences with their study of the Holocaust in this educational museum. The knowledge and compassion each student embraces during this unit is poignantly displayed through their museum exhibits.
Prior to the museum opening to the public, the students will host a special screening of the museum for families at which time Holocaust survivors will share their experiences, further encouraging the students to promote tolerance and to make an impact in their future and the future of those around them.
Doors open for the exhibition Wednesday at5 p.m. CSD middle school is at 565 Griffith Street in Davidson. The memorial museum exhibits are appropriate for attendees age 12 years and older.
Shorter receives academy honors
A student from Huntersville has been recognized for combining academic and athletic excellence at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in Charlotte.
Morgana Shorter, a junior at the technology-focused magnet school in west Charlotte, was named a junior marshall for the academy's 2012 graduation ceremonies — an honor reserved for those in the top 10 percent of academic standings in the class. Shorter was also recognized for having the highest grade-point average among the members of the varsity basketball and the varsity softball teams.
The POB Sports Awards were presented last week at the 2012 Sports Banquet at the Cardinal Café on the POB campus.
Shorter attended Torrence Creek Elementary and Bradley Middle schools before entering the academy.
DES students donate books
A determined effort to help others while broadening the scope of educational and entertaining options for fellow students drove students into action in Troy Gray's third grade class at Davidson Elementary School.
Over a three-week period, the class conducted a book drive campaign that resulted in the collection of more than 160 new and gently used books to donate to Winding Springs Elementary School in Charlotte.
Davis Pharr and Amanda Sambach, Student Council representatives in Gray's class at DES, helped to organize the event and joined Gray and assistant principal Molly McKinney on a trip to Charlotte to present the books to the second grade class at Winding Springs.
"We chose this project," Gray said, "so that we could help an underprivileged school and promote the importance of reading every day. The whole class participated by bringing in a variety of interesting books."
When asked about the project, Pharr said, "It felt good to give these books because they don't have them at the school. I hope that they will enjoy reading them and let other kids read them when they're finished."
Health screening for CMS athletes
Student-athletes in CMS have until Monday, May 28, to register for a free screening program offered by Carolinas HealthCare System. Students have the opportunity to receive free athletic screenings through Heart of a Champion Day program, pioneered by CHS. This year's event will be held Saturday, June 2.
This is the fifth year that CHS has offered the benefit to CMS students. The screenings check for heart abnormalities that could lead to death and may include an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. Neither heart test is offered during a routine athletic screening.
Last year, about 2,000 student-athletes participated and nearly 200 were found to have medical conditions that required follow-up. Students who want to participate must register at www.heartofachampion.org by May 28. Click on the "Students" tab at the top of the page. Screening appointments are limited, so those interested in taking part are urged to register as soon as possible.
Individual schools in the CMS system are organizing groups to participate in the program and, in addition to the various school plans, CMS also plans to provide free transportation to the screening location.
