Life Unleashed, in its pilot year at Chardon Middle School, is a leadership program customized for the school's seventh-grade students...
Life Unleashed at CMS
Life Unleashed, in its pilot year at Chardon Middle School, is a leadership program customized for the school’s seventh-grade students. Overseen by the school’s guidance department, the Life Unleashed workshop series is led by the program’s founder and president Jonathan Schulz and generously funded, in part, by non-profit Chardon Schools Foundation.
The workshop series, which debuted at CMS this fall, utilizes an interactive format to encourage student engagement and hands-on learning. Through the in-school workshops, students discuss, learn and practice leadership skills, with an ultimate goal of empowering students to implement those skills at school and in their community.
During the fall session, students were asked to identify leadership traits; brainstorm examples of familiar leaders; and engage in a team-building puzzle without verbal conversation, motivating students to flex their non-verbal communication skills.
The latest Life Unleashed installment was held Jan. 19-20 with a primary focus on communication, including how to build basic communication skills such as speaking and active listening.
Students discussed how effective communication is important to their daily lives now and will be in the future; and participated in team-building exercises, including the practice of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills through role-playing and other group activities.
A final Life Unleashed workshop, for which planning is underway, will be held in the spring.
Chardon Teachers Gather to Help Veterans
On Jan. 20, teachers from the Chardon Education Association gathered at Claridon Woodlands in the Judge Lester Taylor Lodge to recharge and reconnect with each other and support an important Geauga County organization: the Geauga County Veteran Food Pantry.
According to CEA member and event organizer, Amy Cohn, “A ‘Party with a Purpose’ is an opportunity for our group to get together and socialize while benefiting a specific non-profit organization. Throughout the years, I have attended parties for cancer awareness, restoration from home fires and raising funds for new playgrounds. Prior to COVID-19, our district hosted a Party with a Purpose to gather school supplies for WomenSafe.”
The group collected 177 nonperishable food items and $100 in cash and gift cards for the pantry.
Cohn explained, “When my children were young, we volunteered at our church pantry which was an extension of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. This opened my eyes to the needs of both children and adults in the Northeast Ohio area. Some populations have specific needs, such as the Veteran Food Pantry. Many veterans in our area have limited resources and transportation along with the need to be with those who understand what they have been through. When the Geauga Veteran Food Pantry opened, several school and community organizations donated, but there will always be an ongoing need. Hopefully, bringing continued awareness through CEA will benefit our veterans for years to come.”
Not only did each teacher who attended donate, some brought donations from those who could not attend. CEA member Lynn Monaco agrees with Cohn about the importance of supporting those in need in Geauga County, but she also expanded on the importance of gathering as a group in such a beautiful setting that is offered to the public through the Geauga Park District.
Monaco stated, “It was so enjoyable to see colleagues from my own building that I don’t see often, as well as colleagues from other buildings! It felt relaxing to be in the wooded park, just catching up with others, while also knowing our donations would benefit local veterans.”
The Chardon Education Association is currently planning their next get together, which will benefit another non-profit organization here in Geauga County.
