Pushing Teachers To Be Better

CCSD was featured on WeAreCentralPA.com. You can read the article and view the video here.

CCMS Art Awarded McDonald's Grant!

Mr. Dumm has been awarded a $500.00 "Mac Grant" by McDonald's as a result of a 2012 National campaign seeking educators who implement creative and quality educational lessons. Mr. Dumm plans to use the grant money to purchase several Wacom digital drawing/painting tablets for the CCMS art program.

Field Trip

On Friday, October 12th, Miss Spayd and her 10th grade Language Arts classes visited Cambria Elementary School for a field trip. There, the students read short stories of their own creation to 1st and 2nd graders on a diverse range of topics. The elementary students as well as the high school students had a wonderful time together and enjoyed the visit. The trip would not have been possible without the collaboration between all the teachers and students and the approval by the board. All participants hope to be able to work together again later in the year since this visit was so much fun and such a success!

Forensics Demonstration

On Thursday, September 27th twenty-eight high school students attend the Laurel Highlands High School Speech League demonstration at Conemaugh Valley High School. At the demonstration, students had the opportunity to watch last year’s state and national qualifiers present their speeches. Eleven various competitive categories were demonstrated. Representing Central Cambria in the category of Duo Drama was Josh Remillard and Christoff Trexler who were named Regional Champions and competed in the national competition last May in Baltimore, MD. (See attached photos)

The demonstration serves as an excellent opportunity to help students select their category for the upcoming season. Students were able to see first hand the skills and talents needed for each category and an example of what a “winning” speech looks and sounds like! Whether a student is interested in writing their own speech to inform or persuade, speaking about National and International affairs or prefers to interept the dramatics, there is something for everyone! 

Sophmore Jada McNeal stated, “I believe forensics is an important extra-curricular to have at Central Cambria because it promotes the dwindling value of direct human-to-human verbal communication.” Senior Steve Sloan added “It improves the public speaking and communication skills which are important skills to have in the age of technology. Forensics helps me make commections with peers with similar interests as well as improve my public speaking skills.” Junior Ashley Wilt noted that she will be a member of the forensics team for a variety of reasons, “I really love the atmosphere at the competitions, I love public speaking and it will prepare me for college presentations.” 

The Central Cambria Forensics Team is coached by Mrs. Michelle Kokus and Mrs. Michelle Shirk. The team will compete in three regular season meets and in both the state and qualifying competitions throughout school year.

Fire Safety

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Mark Swanhart

It is believed that there are only six degrees of separation between all humans; a belief that anyone on the planet can be connected in just a few steps of association. Students at CCHS made their degree of separation to some of Hollywood’s biggest names a lot closer with a visit from Central Cambria graduate Mark Swanhart.

Swany spoke to the students about the numerous contacts he has made during his career which he describes as, “the life I have; I could never have dreamed.” Swany, who started out as a dancer, has reinvented himself numerous times. Swany stated, “I thought I wanted to be a dancer, I thought I wanted to get married, I then wanted to dance for a company, work for Disney, later choreograph.” Swanhart told the students that reinventing yourself is just part of life’s journey.

Mark definitely has a résumé that most could only dream of; having worked with Baz Luhrmann on La Boheme (first in San Fran, then NYC). Baz who is the producer of the Broadway hits including Moulin Rouge and the upcoming Great Gatsby definitely gave Mark the edge he needed in accruing additional jobs in “the biz.” This however was not Mark’s first brush with Broadway he also danced in Fosse. Throughout his career, he has worked alongside stars such as: Nicole Kidman, Sting, Celine Dion and many more. Swany was the artistic director and choreographer for Celine’s World Tour and her first Vegas show at Caesar’s Palace. He has been the choreography and creative director for numerous commercials and music videos. Mark choreographed Circ Du Soleil: Elvis as well as the Bellagio and Macau Casino’s fountains. He is also currently the artistic director for LL Cool J, who, with creative help from Mark, is hosting the Grammy Awards this year. 

Mark shared with the students some “top-secret projects” he is currently working on. One project involves next year’s NFL, which will be held in NYC. Mark’s planned football event is being pitched to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell next week. Additional projects include: a new movie release, an up-incoming TV network show where he will be a panel judge, which is hush-hush until production begins, and a network show idea of his own that he will be pitching to Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

Sure Swany has rubbed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s finest, but he reminds students that while you may not be in LA, which he lovingly refers to as the “biggest microphone in the world where you can say big things” he reminds students that you can make just as great of an impact on the world by “…affecting the person next to you with a kind word. Impacting people is the reason I do what I do, not for the money or the fast cars. I think that being from a small town, Vinco, has given me the right reasons for doing what I do. It has given me the will to succeed and being a CC grad has taught me that I did have something to say to the world and something to give back.”

Another important message that Swany gave the CC students was that while his life may look amazing, for every success he had, he had just as many failures. He told students that they should never give up on their dreams and should pursue their goals even when faced with disappointments, letdowns, and adversaries. Swany goes on to honestly tell students, “you’re not always going to be treated the way that you treat people, but live by my motto: don’t take it personally and continue to impact others with respect and compassion anyway.”

The presentation by Mark Swanhart certainly had an impact on many students at CCHS. Lindsey Monito, a 9th grade student stated, “the presenter today was very inspirational…he reminded everyone that we can achieve our goals…and just because we are from a small town doesn’t mean we can’t do… big things. We have the power to set our goals, work hard, and succeed.”

Hannah Swope another 9th grade student stated, “I found it amazing that [Swany] took time out of his busy Hollywood life to come back to his hometown to give a motivational speech to high school students. He is a great example of how small-town dreamers can achieve their goals.”

Swany definitely left the students of CCHS with a feeling of empowerment. Swany’s final message he left students with was “Why not me? If they can do, why can’t I. And just as importantly, “why can’t you!”

Pink Out

On October 5, 2012, the teachers, staff and students at Jackson Elementary School were encouraged to wear pink in support of raising funds for Breast Cancer Research.

Stomp Out Bullying

On October 1st, the students at Jackson Elementary School were encouraged to wear blue to show their support for the National “Stomp Out Bullying” Campaign.

Central Cambria Students Assist at Local Food Bank

On Tuesday, September 25th students from Central Cambria’s NHS (National Honor Society) attended the first Community Food Bank to be held at the Cambria County Fair Grounds. NHS was contacted by Amanda Maust an AmeriCorps worker associated with St. Vincent DePaul for their assistance with this project.

The food drive was planned to start at 10 am and was run by Josh Murphy the manager for the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. While things did get off to a rocky start with a produce truck running a bit behind schedule, the organizers are hopeful that they may be able to make this event a monthly occurrence with everything running a bit more smoothly.

Regional Outreach manager, Sue Smith stated that they in no way want to this program to replace other food pantries. Instead, they would like to help supplement with fresh vegetables purchased through the charitable monetary donation given by Wal-Mart. This money is then used to purchase produce from our local farmers.

Individuals knew about this supplemental food bank by means of flyers posted at other food banks around the area, an article also ran in the local paper, and a spot on the nightly news aired details about the distribution.

Ms. Sue Smith stated that we were prepared for over 500 families to attend and had help from not only CC students but also St. Benedict, Flood City Church, and some homeschooled students. Sue stated, that “it was phenomenal to have the youth volunteering because it can turn into a life-long pursuit.” Sue also stated that it is important to get the youth involved with such important volunteering opportunities because, “we need to get them prepared to take over.”

Zach Mazzarella an NHS member that participated in the event stated, “ It was nice to see all the volunteers that gave up their time to help others in need.”

Central Cambria NHS students that participated in the event were: Punjari Vyas, Adam Trexler, Mikayla Wyrus, Taylor King Brothers, Sabrina Blake, Sam Stevens, Sarah Hansen, and Zach Mazzarella. The students all shared that they had had a positive experience. Many students mentioned how concerning it was to see so many people show up just from Cambria County. “It really makes one see just how much need is in our local area; I truly felt good after leaving the fairgrounds,” stated senior NHS member Sarah Hansen. Punjari Vyas another NHS stated commented, “Volunteering at the food bank was an eye opening experience. It was nice to speak to the people we helped, and see how truly thankful they were for the time and effort we put in to making the event a success.”

Adam Trexler, NHS student left a lasting impression when he stated, “I am very proud of NHS’s contributions to the food bank and [I] feel honored to be part of an organization that contributes so much to its community. Everyone worked hard provided assistance to each other, and adeptly performed their duties, all while maintaining a positive attitude. Seeing the smiling faces of the people we helped was truly satisfying; I sincerely hope that NHS will be able to participate in more charitable events.”

Doc Dixon’s Anti-Bullying Magic Program

The students at Jackson and Cambria Elementary Schools participated in the Doc Dixon Program on September 13th.

Doc Dixon uses magic to illustrate his steps on handling bullying in appropriate ways. His presentation was both fun and engaging for the elementary students. Studies have proven that people retain more when the information enters their mind with an entertaining and visual aspect. Plus, magic puts an audience in a mood that’s both fun and analytical – the perfect mood when hearing an important message regarding "Bullying."

Doc Dixon described his Four Star Steps of “What to do when you meet a bully:"

1. Stick together
2. Tell the bully to stop
3. Alert an adult at school and home 
4. Respect others and treat them the way you want to be treated

Students received Four S.T.A.R. Steps cards as reminders.