It’s been an exciting week at Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding School as we prepare for Spring Break. We thought it would be fun to share some updates through the lens of the P.A.T.H.  (The model we use to help create balance in the key areas of Personal Enrichment, Academics, Therapeutics, and Health and Recreation.)

Garlinghouse Family

PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

We were honored to receive a very thoughtful and generous gift from Jeff and Kim. The gift is truly a labor of love!  With 250,000 stitches, Kim created an intricate Medicine Wheel for us. Jeff made an easel to display this one-of-a-kind project. They spent over 9 months making this beautiful piece of art.  That is right, 250,000 stitches! As the boys would say, THANK YOU MAMA AND PAPA G!

ACADEMICS

Nick hasn’t missed a beat! After returning from the State Lego League Competition he jumped right back into class. He continues to have fun in his classroom by finding creative ways to use his new Smart Board tool.  The image to the left gives you a peek into a lesson with the boys on angles. That sure makes geometry look more approachable and interesting!

THERAPEUTICS

Today wraps up a 2-day Parent Passages transition workshop. With 17 families attending, we know that the collaboration and support will help them to gain many additional tools and ideas to begin the process planning for their son’s graduation.

We had the privilege of Dr. Tim Thayne, author of the book Not By Chance to speak at this workshop. He is helping to fortify, heal, and inspire the family unit. We are excited for these families to start a new season in their lives. Keep up the good work everyone!

HEALTH AND RECREATION

Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding School had their first track meet with a local high school. Our boys did great! It was a fun experience for all of them.

Reno got 3rd in the 800 meter and 5th in the 400 meter. Frankie got 2nd in the 400 meter. These boys competed against other high schoolers! How cool is that!? Talk about being powerful and strong!

Let’s get a ‘Go Bears’ on the count of three…

1…2…3…GO BEARS!

What a terrific week!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates! We have a group of boys and staff leaving for Costa Rica today for the first Cherokee Creek Boys Boarding School International trip. We look forward to sharing pictures and stories soon!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Spring Break!

Carson and the students are having fun diagramming sentences. Don’t you wish you could be a part of this class?

We have been having fun the last couple weeks as we learn how to use our new Smart Boards!

Smart Boards are interactive whiteboards that use DViT (Digital Vision Touch) technology for user input such as scrolling and right mouse-click in the same way as normal PC input devices. This camera-based touch technology for interactive whiteboards and interactive displays uses digital cameras and proprietary software and firmware to detect finger or pen contact with the screen.

Math teacher, Nick, gets a lesson from the boys on how to use the smart board. Who said the teacher is the only one who can teach?

Each Smart Board interactive whiteboard operates as part of a system that includes interactive whiteboards, computers, projectors and Smart Notebook collaborative learning software.

At Cherokee Creek Boys School we know it’s important to incorporate a variety of teaching styles and methods to meet the needs of our students. These Smart Boards will certainly enrich our efforts and offer a more successful learning environment for our boarding school for boys.

After all, our mission states: ‘We are a learning community!’

Thank you to the friend of Cherokee Creek Boys School for this generous donation of Smart Boards! These extra tools will be of great value to our teachers and will benefit many CCBS students for years to come!

Last year we were given an incredible gift by an alumni family: 8 fully outfitted whitewater canoes! These are top of the line tandem “Captions”. Often, boys arrive at Cherokee Creek having canoed at summer camp or in a local waterway – in flatwater boats. Whitewater boats take a little getting used to. They are different in a couple of critical ways: they have less surface contact with the water; and they are designed to turn on a dime.

As we teach boys to become whitewater boaters, we start with “boat feel” – getting used to how to sit comfortably and move with the boat instead of working against it. A paddler who stays relaxed and moved with the boat is far less likely to find himself on the “swim team.”

Check out the video below of Sam and Dylan on Lake Hartwell. As they paddle into the sunset they are relaxed, have good momentum and paying attention to the distict feel of a whitewater canoe.

Moving water is next! Stay tuned…

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Colton and Davis guide their craft

Check out the new Mad River Caption canoes recently donated by an alumni family!

The new boats have already been on the Tuckaseegee, Nantahala and Green rivers of North Carolina.