(Chelsea Update would like to thank Kathryn McCalla for the information in this story.)
Students in Beach Middle School‘s leadership class kicked off the trimester by learning about Avalon Housing, the charity they close for this trimester.
Avalon provides supportive housing for people at risk of homelessness in the Ann Arbor area. The students decided upon three activities to support the charity to get Beach students involved, having fun, and supporting a great cause.
The first was the 7th and 8th grade Halloween dance with a haunted NASCAR track, which took place on Oct. 25. Students were escorted through two “haunted” science rooms before entering the dance. Some students were surprised by the good scare they got before enjoying dancing, a costume contest, gym time, and snacks.
The Change Challenge ran from Oct. 28-Nov. 1, which took place during first-hour class and students competed to get the most change. Beach students and staff donated over $600 during this event. 6th Grade Blue deserves a great deal of credit for bringing in the most money, but the rules of the contest stated that cash would be deducted from the change total, so Jason Morris’ 1st hour class took home the pizza party prize.
Finally, the awesome trio of Sarah Bunten, Scott Riedel, and Dennis Strzyzeski agreed to be duct-taped to a pillar in the cafeteria. Students purchased strips of duct tape–and Principal Nick Angel purchased 3 whole rolls–so that our teachers could be suspended in air. (Thank you to the brave three.)
In addition to raising money for such a worthy cause, Leadership students help out around the community earning service hours as a part of course credit. They hear from a variety of guest speakers, have weekly meetings with some extraordinary residents of Silver Maples, and learn leadership principles and techniques.
Our walking trip to Silver Maples during the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 6 was a highlight for our students, capping off a great six weeks of meetings.
