Contact:
Kelly Misch
Communications Director
Chardon Local Schools
440.286.0409
Super Bowl Champ / Author Draws Literacy Night Full House
We Believe Community Connections Build Stronger Schools
March 9, 2024 (CHARDON, OH) — Chardon Middle School's Family Literacy Night, hosted as an on-site, two-hour event on the evening of March 7, was jam-packed with engaging, hands-on reading and writing activities followed by a highly anticipated presentation by keynote speaker Malcolm Mitchell.
Mr. Mitchell is a New England Patriots Super Bowl champion turned children's author and Founder/CEO of Share the Magic Foundation.
The event, led by English Language Arts teacher Cher Culliton with her team of CMS teachers and parent volunteers, was made financially possible by funds from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's Reaching All Students Through Language and Literacy grant awarded to Chardon Schools in 2022.
ACTIVITY STATIONS
Family Literacy Night kicked off with a rotation of classroom stations wherein students could engage in art, digital, book exchange, library card sign-up, and game room activities related to reading and writing, as well as opportunities to read with therapy dogs.
The stations were well-attended with students earning raffle tickets for participating in the stations with a chance for prizes. Community partners leading some of the stations included Geauga County Public Library, United Way Services of Geauga County, and Cleveland Magazine (editor-in-chief Dillon Stewart).
Mrs. Culliton stated, "It was an amazing night seeing students enjoying all of the literacy activities throughout the building then gathering to hear Malcolm’s message. We got so many books to donate (through the book exchange) to the United Way, and students walked away with a personalized journal."
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
The anticipated presentation of Mr. Mitchell drew a standing room only crowd that, prior to the presentation, led to an impromptu relocation of the keynote speaker segment to the school gymnasium in order to accommodate all guests. The energy in the gymnasium was electric as the bleachers filled with Hilltopper families excited to welcome Mr. Mitchell to the event.
Mrs. Culliton shared, "Malcolm is such a great person—so down-to-earth with an amazing story to share. He tossed the football around with the kids in the gym before his presentation and stayed after to sign autographs for every kid who stayed."
Photo 1: Action photo of Mr. Mitchell preparing to throw a football to a student in the school gymnasium / principal Adam Tomco (right)
Photo 2: Group photo with Mr. Mitchell (5th from left) with (l to r) CMS faculty Amanda Weaver, Emily Ringler, Adam Tomco, Cher Culliton, Evie Petroff, Stephanie Curitore, Shalyn Swick, and educational assistant Libby Savel.
Each student received a free copy of Mr. Mitchell's latest book — "The Magician's Hat".
THANK YOU CUSTODIANS
Special thank you to the CMS CUSTODIAL TEAM for all they accomplished through set-up, clean-up and tear-down to help make Family Literacy Night a great success!
We Are Chardon
We Believe High-Quality Learning Experiences are Essential for All Students