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SPRING 2022
CLASS NOTES
THE LATEST HAPPENINGS FROM CHESTER CHARTER SCHOLARS ACADEMY TO YOU
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It is safe to say that first grade Monet would be beyond proud of senior Monet and everything she has accomplished over her 12 years at CCSA. That includes being National Honor Society president, an active member of the Student Government Association, a leader on the volleyball court since 6th grade, recipient of numerous awards and even just speaking. Yes, speaking. | | |
When asked about her early years at CCSA, Monet laughed as she casually said, “I was a bad kid.” In Kindergarten, she came to school every day crying, and for much of 1st grade, Monet was a self-proclaimed selective mute. She rarely did her homework and, according to her first-grade teacher, Mindy Nguyen, could be quite stubborn in class. | | |
Today, you would never know that Monet struggled with school. She is still shy, and makes it very well-known how much she dislikes public speaking, but has flourished to become a leader amongst her peers. She has committed to the honors program of a college, but she’s keeping her lips sealed about her choice until decision day on May 1. Monet is confident that she wants to pursue nursing and one day become a traveling nurse. She credits the Health Science Elective Program at CCSA for helping her realize her passion for helping others. | | |
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Monet lets her shyness dissipate and her true personality show during spirit week: a week-long celebration that comprises dress-up-theme days and friendly competition between the high school grades. Monet and her older brother, Markell, who graduated in 2020, have always fully committed to the Spirit Week themes and went all out to embrace the spirit and pride of CCSA. In honor of Monet and Markell, and in memory of their mother who passed away in 2020, CCSA established The Lee Family Spirit Award, which will be granted annually to students who display outstanding school spirit and enthusiasm.
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The return of Saber Siblings | |
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We are thrilled to announce that the “Saber Siblings” mentoring program is back in action. Saber Siblings was established in 2018 to develop leadership and foster positive relationships between grades. The program started with select high school scholars acting as mentors to middle school students, but the program proved to be a success and has since expanded to our elementary students, as well. This year, there are 120 students taking part in the program, from 2nd grade to 12th.
For one hour each week, our older and younger students meet to read, learn and play together. The program requires our high school students to display empathy, leadership, positive attitudes, and confidentiality as they form a bond with their assigned scholar throughout the year. Students invited to join the group consider it a privilege to serve as role models to younger schoolmates.
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The high school dance class kicked off the spring dance showcases with their performance inspired by the 2019 poem The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander. With the guidance of CCSA dance teacher Christina Brown, the students worked hard to master a variety of disciplines, including ballet, tap, jazz, and African dance.The students received a standing ovation and set the perfect tone for the middle school students to follow. | | |
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The middle school dance class focuses on mastering one discipline of dance per trimester, and trimester 2 featured ballet. The high schoolers performed a beautiful ballet inspired by the life of Sierra Leonean-American ballerina Michaela DePrince. The dancers were the picture of grace, beauty and strength and truly brought DePrince’s harrowing story to life. Following the show, Ms. Brown said, “even today, in 2022, we still don’t see a lot of people of color in ballet, so I make sure I teach my students about that - because you have to know where you come from to know where you’re going.”
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Thanks to the generosity of the Randy Craig Wolf Trust and Francis Alexander, LLC, our in-school recording studio has been outfitted with all the equipment necessary for our students to compose their own tunes. The studio allows students to combine instrumental and vocal recordings with digitized sounds and effects to produce their own music. Frank Hosking, CCSA’s music teacher, says the studio is especially beneficial to our high school students. “It is such a unique opportunity for our students to record and produce their own music." he said. "Seeing them translate what they hear on the radio or their phones into their own work has been really special." Malachi McKinnie-Holmes, a junior at CCSA, used the studio for the first time only a few short weeks ago and has already composed some impressive pieces. We can’t wait to see what other talent comes out of the recording studio as it is used for years to come.
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