Community Service Project at Childcare Network

Community service is an excellent way to instill confidence and encourage middle school students. So in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, celebrated on March 2, the students had the opportunity to volunteer in a preschool classroom as their community service project for the year.

Read Across America is celebrated every year on March 2 in honor of Dr. Suess' birthday. 

Each girl was given the opportunity to read to a preschooler. The girls were amazed at the enthusiasm of the preschoolers. They were also impressed by their talent and knowledge.

Community service is essential for building self-esteem and developing the potential for girls. Service to others helps you see how far you have come or developed in life. It also helps you appreciate the skills that you have and are able to offer to others.

We look forward to other opportunities to serve our community.

Drug and Alcohol Awareness Posters Designed by LOD

SPIDA (Students Preventing and Informing on Drugs and Alcohol) visited the Ladies of Distinction and helped them create posters to inform the Northeast Middle School student body about the importance of saying no to drugs and alcohol. 

The girls were able to review concepts learned previously about drug and alcohol abuse and spend time developing and creating marketing materials to be displayed throughout the school.

SPIDA has a focus on environmental strategies. Environmental strategies are focused on changing the environment that contribute to the use of alcohol and other drugs. These strategies are aimed to decrease the social and health consequences of substance abuse by limiting access to substances and changing social norms that support the use of substance abuse. 

For more information on SPIDA please visit www.spidacharlotte.org.

What does it take to be the director of CMC Huntersville?

So glad you asked that question because Monifa Drayton Director, CMC Huntersville came to visit our girls and shared the importance of managing relationships.


Carolinas Medical Center-Huntersville (CMC-Huntersville) is a healthcare pavilion in North Carolina that brings a higher level of medical expertise to the community. We are leading the way in advanced, comprehensive, community-based healthcare services

Drayton shared that her middle school years were stressful and full of mischief. She told the girls that she had a really bad experience with an elementary school teacher. The teacher said that Drayton would never amount to anything and Drayton began to believe this statement. So she started acting out.

Drayton wanted the girls to understand that their destiny was not set and there was still the possibility of making better choices to change their view and perspective.

The girls were inspired and shared their own struggles of getting along with others. Drayton told the girls that it was a choice they needed to make to value their education and their opportunities to succeed.

Chick Fil A hosts holiday party!

Everyone wants a party and what better way to party than with the Chick Fil A cow and great food! Girls were excited to listen and learn from Hal Queen, Owner of Chick Fil A Albemarle Road location. We were able to learn what qualities are essential for employees especially for those seeking employment with Chick Fil A.

Qualities of a successful leader are:  a servant heart, a willingness to help and assist others. In addition, they must have a desire to do the right thing. Hal Queen wanted our girls to know that people enjoy and like to work with those who are willing to be apart of a team.

Our girls were inspired and hope to show more servant leadership qualities throughout the year to improve their relationships with friends, teachers and parents.

 

 

 

All rise! Court is in session!

The Honorable Rickye McKoy Mitchell returned to speak with our group and she was as compelling as ever as she spoke with the students about her position as a District Court Judge in Mecklenburg County, the 26th Judical District, since 1998.


The Honorable Rickye McKoy Mitchell speaking with students!

Judge McKoy Mitchell was adamant about the importance of education and hard work. She wanted the students to understand that life circumstances does not define the rest of your life and that we all have choices to make.

Judge McKoy Mitchell shared her own story. She shared how she was raised by a single parent in eastern Carolina. The odds were against her, but she knew there was something bigger for her to do. So she finished high school, went on to college including law school at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and became a judge in 1998.

She currently presides primarily in juvenile court, hearing trials and motions involving custodial cases.

Judge McKoy Mitchell asked students to choose the power of words: to dream, to believe and to achieve.

Dream - you can do anything, big possibilities!
Believe - you have to know you can do it!
Achieve - work with your resources!



High School is just a year or two away!

High School can be intimidating and frightening. The school size will almost double. Peers who have gone to school with you for several years maybe in another high school zone. And those who never went to school with you before may suddently end up at the same school with you.

How will I make it in this new environment? Who can I trust? Will they like me?  How will I keep my grades up? Will I remember to do everything right? Will someone help me? What should I do if I get in trouble?

These are some of the questions that our students raised during our recent visit with Independence High School Counselor Ashley McKinley.

McKinley took the time to encourage and educate the students on what to expect in high school. She had each student calculate their GPA. Most were surprised at their ability to calculate their GPA and many more were disappointed. Students learned their current status and were encouraged to move forward with their grades.

McKinley also took the time to share how the demands of high school are real, but can be exetremely fruitful if you study hard, focus on the positive and remain faithful to maintaining good grades. McKinley noted that it's easier to maintain good grades than to fall behind and have to improve grades.

Students left encouraged and enthusiatic about the prospect of going to high school in just a few years.

Independence High School Charlotte, NC

Our first College Tour - University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC)

UNCC is the fourth largest UNC campus and we had a blast walking all over learning about the many opportunities available.

UNCC Belk Tower

The girls and their families met early and our tour began at Cato Hall thanks to our wonderful graduate student Kristen Reynolds.

First stop the Belk Tower where students of UNCC often gather to advocate and support human rights issues. You can find activists mingling and holding vigil to honor human life at this site.

J. Murrey Atkins Library

From the Belk Tower we visited the J. Murrey Atkins Library. The girls were amazed at the number of resources in the library:  the books, the research rooms, the computers and the quiet spaces.

Some of the girls are not avid readers therefore Reynolds made a profound statement, "you don't have to like it but you have to do it if you want to succeed in college."


After taking the grand tour of the library we made our way to the student union. The student union was bustling and full of people eating and meeting. The girls were amazed at all the amenities and were most excited about the salon and the movie theater. Some made their decision to attend UNCC right then in there.

UNCC Student Union

At the student union we were joined by a college freshman who shared her first year successes and challenges. One of the most intriguing statements made by the freshmen was the need for time management and financial resources to reach goals. The passion to learn is essential for success in college.

After leaving the student union we went to visit the dorms. The girls fell in love with the dorms at Hunt Hall and many of them have already picked out decorations.

What I am most excited about as a result of our visit is that many of the girls have begun the mental process of preparing for college ie working on time management and grades.

Our tour ended at Chick Fil A on Albemarle Road with lunch. Kudos to the owner and staff of this restaurant who provided food and a place for our girls and their families to debrief.

Please enjoy these pictures of our girls on campus at UNCC and at Chick Fil A.