One thing to know about Cherokee Creek Boys School… Graduations are a BIG deal on campus!

Each graduation ceremony is a solemn, important, and true “rite of passage” for our students. Each of our boys enter into the program as one person… and after months of hard work, they have been transformed into older, wiser, healthier, and confident young men.

During the Summer of 2015, we were blessed to hold several graduations for very deserving students. We won’t give away much of what happens during these special events because of the “sacredness” involved. Each part of the ceremony has a unique symbolic meaning for the boy, his parents and family members, his fellow students, and us as mentors and staffers at Cherokee Creek. If you’ve ever attended one of our graduation ceremonies, you’ll remember how special and sacred this occasion can be for all involved.

Here are a few things we can share with you about some of the symbols used within our graduations:

As many of you know, at Cherokee Creek Boys School we challenge boys to discover “what is real and true about themselves and the world around them”.  We understand that this involves a journey of learning. The journey is symbolized by the representation of a canoe on our logo.

The CCBS Medicine Wheel symbolizes a graduate’s journey and his growth in truth, love, wisdom, and courage while at Cherokee Creek Boys School.  Family, friends, staff and students gather around the Medicine Wheel for “honorable closure”.

During the graduation celebration, students express what they have learned – what is real and true about themselves – while at Cherokee Creek.

It is also a time to share meaningful goodbyes with their CCBS brothers and be reunited with those who have supported them from a distance.

We have more graduation ceremonies scheduled in the upcoming months. What a joy it is to celebrate the transformations that are taking place in the lives of these very special boys and their incredible families!

Many of the boys at Cherokee Creek Boys School have been really getting into health and fitness. A few days ago, several of our awesome staff members organized a trip to a local gym for a spin class.

Here are some of their answers:

Eli – (What did you learn that was new?) There are a lot of ways to be active. (What did you learn about yourself?) It can still be fun even if you aren’t really going anywhere. (What did you think about the overall experience?) I want to do it again.

Cross Training season has officially begun and we are proud to announce that Cherokee Creek Boys School is moving forward with an official team!

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce the coaches that will be undertaking this summer season with the boys. The coaches for the team will include April Payne and Andrew Stevenson.

April is in her inaugural year at Cherokee Creek and is excited to bring to our school her passion for running, fitness, and teaching healthy habits. She began running during middle school track, and has gone on to run multiple half marathons.  April recently completed the Disney Marathon in a time of 4:12. She is currently training to become a strength and conditioning specialist.

Andrew is in his third year coaching Cross Country at CCBS. He has truly been impressed watching the impact that fitness has had on the growth and personal enrichment for each of the students.

We will be developing a contract to outline the expectations of each team member. The expectations will detail both the mental and physical barriers that all runners struggle with, and how we expect team members to cope and overcome these challenges.

The students have responded very well to training thus far and we are excited to be more intentional about training, quantifying results, and defining success. We will be updating families, primaries, and therapists on the progress. We’ve created a series of benchmarks to provide measurable progress and we will be continuing to track and challenge students to strive for personal improvement.

Our coaches are convinced that cross training will incorporate student-specific challenges and reinforce a lifestyle of fitness and healthy choices. We plan to provide a safe and quality program that is both challenging and fun. The team is excited to see what they can accomplish. As students develop their skills, we’re confident that the summer success will transfer to other sports and activities they will participate in.

We believe that participating in individual sports are a great way to have important core values such as personal accountability and accomplishment instilled into the boys. Here’s to a great summer cross training season!