Latest news with #AmazingShake
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Partnership encourages businesses to come into Wahluke schools
Jun. 3—MATTAWA — The Wahluke School District is inviting businesses in Mattawa, or any business outside of Mattawa that's interested, to participate in a new initiative that will bring volunteers from those businesses to Wahluke classrooms. Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said "Partners in Educating Kids" is a way to increase connections between school and community. People have told him, Harlow said, that sometimes it's difficult to build the kind of relationships between WSD and businesses that can be found in other cities like Othello and Quincy. "I just don't believe it," he said. "I think we have an amazing community. We have different challenges, for sure, but it's taking time to develop these relationships. It might look a little different than Quincy or Othello, but it can be done." The PEAK program will start in the 2025-26 school year. Participating businesses can choose to support one or more of WSD's elementary schools, Wahluke Junior High, Wahluke High School or at the district level. Participants donate to the school they're supporting, $500 for an elementary school or $1,000 for WJHS or WHS. "What makes this partnership different is it requires the PEAK partner to be in the building they're sponsoring three times during the year. And (the sponsor visits) can be all sorts of things," Harlow said. Some businesses have already signed up, including the Columbia Basin Health Association, Umpqua Bank, the real estate agency Generations Home Team NW and Grant County Public Utility District. Harlow said he's had people from other businesses express interest. "We're still looking for partners," he said. The South Grant County Chamber of Commerce is a sponsoring partner with WSD, and Pam Thorsen, secretary to the board of directors, said she thinks it's a good way for students and business owners to learn more about each other. "There's a lot of opportunity to engage the community," she said. The children are the next generation of employees and business owners, she said, whether in Mattawa or elsewhere. It's good for business owners to get to know them and for young people to get a look at the world after graduation. Thorsen said there are a lot of people in and around Mattawa — and elsewhere — who have information and experiences that could and would be beneficial to WSD students. She cited a Desert Aire neighbor who's an airline pilot, and the winery employees at a WHS career education fair who detailed opportunities available in that industry. "You just don't know where you might find resources," she said. Harlow said the PEAK initiative grew out of the effort to strengthen connections between the district and its residents. Sometimes it isn't easy to get volunteers for school activities, but in one case, the 2025 Amazing Shake, almost all the volunteers were from outside the district. Harlow said district officials wanted to find other ways to get out into the community and bring the community to school. "Then, just by chance, I was at a presentation at the Pasco School District," he said. Pasco has been sponsoring a similar program for about 15 years, he said. "I'd never heard of it, and I was totally amazed," he said.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Church Hill Middle School hosts ‘Amazing Shake' event
CHURCH HILL, Tenn. (WJHL) — Church Hill Middle School hosted its annual 'Amazing Shake' event on Monday. At the event, around 100 students rotated through different scenarios and were judged by volunteers on a proper handshake, good eye contact, the ability to think fast and to keep good conversations going. 'A lot of students have trouble when they come out to get jobs, introducing themselves and talking to people,' Principal Sherry Price said. 'We hope that we can send our students off to high school and beyond with the ability to talk to people and have conversations and just be as successful as [they] can be.' BVPD: Missing 13-year-old last seen Friday The top 40 students will then move on to the next round on May 1, which focuses on introductions, starting and ending conversations and asking to be scored on soft skills. 'The students love it, some are very hesitant,' Price said. 'They're kind of shy. So we coach them all year. We do a morning meeting from 8 to 8:30 every day in which we practice these skills. They do handshakes with each other. They have to start conversations and that kind of thing. They practice these things all year long so that they won't be so uncomfortable in the first round.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Clark County students participate in competition all about confidence, professionalism
WINCHESTER, Ky. (FOX 56) — Confidence and professionalism are important skills to learn early on. Thanks to a competition all about growth, these Clark County students are a step ahead. A group of students gathered at the Clark County Board of Education for the final interview portion of a competition called 'The Amazing Shake.' The goal is to teach the value of confidence, communication, and professionalism. Amber Murphy is an instructional specialist in the district, and she also helped organize the competition. 'They have amazed me each and every round in all the different scenarios. They've all carried themselves with such confidence, poise, and grace,' Murphy said. Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news There have been five rounds leading up to Friday. This portion of the competition involved eight students participating in interviews about being empowered leaders and how they'll take what they learned here into their futures. Sebastian Allgood and Ashtyn Walters are eighth graders at Robert D. Campbell Junior High School, and both agree that they'll take a lot from this. 'I knew what it was before, but I've never really been in it. For the first year getting this far, it really means a lot,' Allgood said. 'I'm very relieved that I did it, and I'm happy I did it because it definitely gave me a lot of new and great opportunities,' Walters added. Missing woman last seen leaving Hopkinsville hospital Music, food, bourbon and cars: Time for Kentucky's 2025 spring season London mayor under fire for distributing expunged records: Defamation litigation continues The top three students from this round will compete in the global Amazing Shake competition in Atlanta, Georgia, hosted at The Ron Clark Academy. More than winning, the goal is for these students to take these life lessons and skills with them. 'You can't be nervous; you can't be scared. If you're scared on the inside, you must put up a front and be confident. If you're like, 'I'm not going to make it', then you're not going to make it. You have to put yourself in the position to be the underdog,' Allgood said. The Amazing Shake has been a part of Clark County for several years, and organizers said it's something now adults have looked back on when they participated as young students. Music, food, bourbon and cars: Time for Kentucky's 2025 spring season What does it take to be middle class in Kentucky? New study explains Lexington ranked 10th worst large city for football fans: WalletHub 'Just try new things and put yourself out there. You can't go wrong with putting yourself out there,' Walters said. 'It makes me so incredibly proud of every student who competed this week and how they were able to adapt and remain true to themselves while maintaining that professionalism,' Murphy added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
22-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Amazing Shake competition puts students' social skills to the test
We all want to make a good impression and have the best opportunities. Some ambitious kids are showing us we can reach those goals with something as simple as a handshake. Several middle schools in Pittsburgh are starting clubs and classes based on what's called the Amazing Shake. It's a program for students aimed at developing life skills and enhancing social interactions. There are also regional and national competitions where these skills are showcased. Students from Harvest Baptist Academy in Natrona Heights are the next generation of movers and shakers, do-ers and leaders. And they're engaging in a little competition based on simple communication. "Leaders need to be well-spoken. This is all about talking and thinking on your feet. People won't follow someone who's not able to talk and think on their feet," said seventh grader Kate Blakeslee. It's a program called the Amazing Shake, developed at the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta. It's now in Pittsburgh at a few schools that created clubs that incorporate the unique curriculum. "Most people, nowadays, are on their phone, their tablet, or whatever, texting, and when they get out there to the real world, they can't talk," said sixth grader Emmett Tang. So now it's devices down, eyes up and hands out. "We want them to understand you need to look somebody in the eye when you talk to them," said development manager and coordinator Linda Miller. "You need to have a firm handshake and you need to be able to have a conversation with them, right? Just day-to-day things." From the mechanics of a proper handshake to how to work the room, the competition consists of stations where fifth through eighth graders put their manners, respect, professionalism and personality to the test. "Last year, I came in, I could not present in front of anyone at all. But I have grown a lot since then, and I feel like I'm a lot more confident in myself now. I've seen my classmates come in really really shy and then come out just, like, new. They have this new confidence about them. They can do this. They can win this," said eighth grader Joviaunah Moore. We all navigate these things in the real world from a customer service encounter to a doctor's visit — and what if you get pulled over by the cops? They even elevate the experience with a mock TV appearance and a red carpet interview. When it comes to making change, the Amazing Shake hits its mark. Watch for these dynamic young leaders to make their mark in our communities, sooner than you think. The overall winner was Kate Blakeslee, who gets to have dinner at the Grand Concourse and a tour of Acrisure Stadium. They're all winning, in our book and can certainly inspire all of us adults too.
