GOOD NEWS ABOUT CCS

In this issue of CCS alumNews we are going to highlight some positive things about the school's extra-curricular activities that everyone may not have heard. Probably there are more things than I will list, but here is a list of things that spring to mind.

Fifty Five CCS Students Head to New Orleans

This year's Mission Trip had a more sober tone than most years. From November 7 through 13 over fifty CCS students and an army of adult helpers worked in one of the areas of New Orleans hardest hit by hurricane Katrina.

They worked with respirators and special safety gear gutting houses which have not been touched since the disaster. Below is a message from Dr. Kevin Savage (high school science teacher) from day one of the trip. For more of Dr. Savage's daily notes and pictures of the work that they were doing, visit: http://apps.cincinnatichristian.org/neworleans/

We have just returned from our first full day in New Orleans, and we are getting ready to eat dinner. It was a full day, and many of the adults and students are very tired from the combination of over 850 miles of travel, and a very strenuous afternoon of work.

We are working with a ministry called Nazarene Disaster Relief (NDR), and we are blessed to be staying at a Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Facility that the Salvation Army has loaned to NDR for hosting work groups like ours. This facility was rebuilt after Katrina, and is wonderful. It has a full kitchen, a large dining room, a chapel, and dorm rooms that sleep five. Each room has beds, dressers, and closets, and there are large bathrooms with multiple showers, etc. It’s an amazing new facility in the midst of much destruction.

The bus with the students arrived at about 8:00 am this morning after a long, but uneventful overnight drive. After arriving, the students unloaded their gear, made lunches, and immediately began a pre-work orientation meeting. We ate lunch at the NDR facility and the boarded the bus to head to our work site near Chalmette, Louisiana. Chalmette is located about 25 minutes from where we are staying, and is about 5 to 10 miles east of downtown New Orleans along the Mississippi River. We learned during our orientation that only six properties in the entire community of Chalmette were not covered by flood waters, and the flood waters ranged from a few feet in depth to approximately 20-22 feet. The storm surge from hurricane Katrine that was resposible for the flooding was estimated to be approximately 25 feet in height, and moving with a speed of 8 feet per second. Flooding in the Chalmette area was complicated by a large oil spill that resulted from the flooding. Our hosts explained that only 10-20% of the pre-Katrina residents of Chalmette have returned and are living in or on their properties.

Our task in Chalmette is to “gut” homes that were flooded. The process basically involves removing all the possessions still in the home (furniture, clothes, toys, heirlooms, etc.) and placing them in sorted piles along the curb. Once the possessions are removed, we begin the process of removing all of the drywall, cabinets, appliances, plumbing fixtures, carpeting, etc., from the home until all that is remaining is the 2 x 4 framing. The homes we are working in and on experienced flooding that resulted in about 6 feet of water in the homes - the high-water marks are clearly visible on the walls throughout each home. In the first home, all of the owner’s belongings were still in the home, but in random and chaotic piles as the flood waters swirled through the home and re-arranged everything in it, leaving behind a 3-4 inch thick later of mud and sediment. Students working in this home found a wedding veil, and photo albums belonging to the family who once lived there.

As this first day comes to a close, I am again encouraged by the passion that CCS students have for serving others, and for serving our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There were no complaints, in spite of being tired from the trip, and hot from working in Tyvek and respirators - the kids simply did what was asked of them, and did it to the best of their abilities. I love to watch our kids jump into a task, and just WORK! It is a blessing for me, and all of the adults, to be with them - they are an awesome group of young people on a simple journey of being Jesus’ hands and feet to a community that so desperately needs the hope that these young people have brought with them.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we have traveled, and for your continued prayers as we work through the week. I’ll try to post another update tomorrow evening. God’s blessings to each of you from the Crescent City.

Peace,

Doc Savage and the CCS Mission Team

2006 CCS Cross Country Team Goes to State

For years the CCS Cross Country team survived mainly because of the plucky determination one girl, Catherine Mead. Catherine is a senior this year, but for four years has been the main reason CCS has fielded a team. At times, she was the only runner, male or female, who competed for the school. Still, she racked up victories in invitational and conference meets and qualified for OHSAA State Tournament as an individual runner. In 2004 she was joined by Randy Terrell who also qualified for State.

Then came 2006. This year the boys’ team had enough runners to compete as a team. Thanks in large part to the transfer from Toledo Christian of Josiah (Sophomore) and Isaiah (Freshman) Bragg, the boys team won the Middletown Christian meet, the Winton Woods meet, and the Miami Valley Conference Championship. Catherine still ran by herself for the girls, but she was named Outstanding Female Runner in the MVC conference.

Still the boys did not really know how good a team they had as they entered the OHSAA State Tournament. They not only qualified for State, but along the way they finished first in the Section, first in the District, and in a stunning upset of more established teams, were champions of the Region. In the end the team finished 13th overall in the state out over 250 teams in Division III.

Congratulations also to first year coach Bob Leibold who was named conference Coach of the Year.

2006 Volleyball Team is District Runner-up

The CCS girls’ Volleyball team accomplished several “firsts” this year. They were the first CCS team to win a Miami Valley Conference title. They were the first CCS volleyball team to win a Sectional Championship. And they went all the way to the district championship game before grudgingly giving way in a hard fought 2 games to 1 match against Fairlawn.

The girls were consistently ranked in the Enquirer’s poll of top ten teams in the city, and they finished with a record of 17-4.

The team accomplished one other “first” this year. Coach Sharon Long was named the MVC Coach of the Year.

CCS Baseball and Softball Teams are Building a Dynasty

For the past six years the CCS boys’ varsity Baseball team and the girls’ varsity Softball team have been quietly building a dynasty within conference play. The boys’ team has been conference champion in the Metro-Buckeye Conference and then in the Miami Valley Conference in 2001, 2004, and 2006. The girls’ team has won the conference in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006.

Last year, in addition to the conference championships, the Softball team was Sectional champion and District Runner-up. The Baseball team was Sectional runner-up in 2006.

Phil Dickerson (baseball) and Stephanie Burlew (softball) accompished another rare feat. They both were conference Players of the Year in 2006.

More Notable Athletic Department Accomplishments

In 2004, largely on the strength the individual accomplishments of juinior Joe Horn and the 4 x 200 relay team, the boys Track Team Finished 2nd in the State. In 2005, Coach Gina Jacobs was named MVC Coach of the Year.

In 2005-06 the girls Basketball team won their first Conference Championship and coach Floyd Brewer was named MVC Coach of the Year.

This fall the CCS Golf team sent its first two represetatives ever to the Regional finals.

New sports being added this year to the slate for CCS:

Boys and Girls Swimming

Boys Varsity Wrestling

Boy's Varsity Tennis

CCS Drama Department Gains Notoriety

The school has long been proud of the accomplishments of the drama department, but in recent years the rest of the world has started to notice, as well.

The spring musical has been presented at the Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center for over ten years now. That has been a great opportunity to raise the school’s profile. Starting in 2005, the fall play has found a new home at the newly constructed Fairfield Community Arts Center Theater. The theater has all of the components of the Jarson-Kaplan, but on a smaller scale. It seats about 200, compared to the JK’s 400.

Last year the first show there was the small cast musical “Snoopy!!!”, and this year we presented the Christian allegory “The Singer”. “The Singer” is poetic novel by Calvin Miller, retelling the story of Jesus. The book was dramatized for the stage by CCS senior Megan Bishop, and CCS senior Sarah Murphy added an original score for “The Ancient Star-Song”.

Since 2002 CCS has been a charter member of the “Cappies” chapter in Cincinnati. The Cappies exist to promote high school theater by organizing teams of theater critics from over 25 local high schools who attend and review each participating school’s performances. The best reviews are chosen by an adult mentor for publication in the local newspaper. Being chosen for publication is quite an honor, because at each show 50-60 reviews might be submitted. Several CCS reviews have been published, and in 2002 the CCS critic team was named Best Critic Team.

The Cappies also evaluate performances for a “Tony’s” style award gala each year. Over the past six years CCS has been nominated for many performance awards. Notable among those were nominations for Best Female Lead in a Musical for Felisha Lotspiech (Meet Me in St. Louis) and Ashley Wallace (Oliver). Last year for Fiddler on the Roof, Liz New won the award for Special Creativity in a Musical for her role as the Fiddler, and Best Ensemble in a Musical went to Kristen Wohleber and Anne Schmitt as the Bottle Dancers.

This year’s musical is a return to one of the first productions we performed at the Aronoff Center, “Annie”. The performances are March 8-10.