Give Me a “G”!, Care Packages, Jump the Rope

As a former cheerleader, I guess I will just have to start with mentioning how proud I am of our cheerleaders who just got back from a trip to the National High School Cheerleading competition in Florida! They placed second overall - way to make Greendale look great in a big way! To check out their award winning performance, go to the Varsity website.

The athleticism and talent displayed by all of these girls is phenomenal. Cheerleading has come a long way from what it was when I was in high school. Of course, a lot of things do change in 25 years! Also let’s not forget to give a shout-out to all the terrific coaches and cheer-parents who helped them get there - great job, moms and dads!

As I write this, good things are also happening thanks to some sixth and eighth graders at . The two classes recently teamed up to organize an event called “We Care,” which supports family members of Greendale students who are currently serving overseas in the military. The sixth graders, led by associate principal Jessica Talsky and math teacher Lois Ricks, collected personal care items for care packages to be sent to the troops.

Larry Acker, an eighth grade social studies teacher, then planned an activity night to help pay the cost of shipping. Nearly 80 eighth graders each donated five dollars to the cause in exchange for an evening of dancing, volleyball, dodge-ball and basketball. The boxes were shipped early this week in conjunction with Valentine‘s Day, so it shouldn’t be long before some of troops see how much Greendale cares!

Finally, the goodness has certainly trickled down to the grade school level as well! Over fifty second through fifth grade students stayed after school at on Thursday this week to participate in the Jump Rope for Heart event. Students gathered in the gym to take turns jumping rope to raise money for the American Heart Association. They participated in various jump-roping contests to see who could jump the longest and tried out long-rope and double-dutch jumping as well. There were prizes for students who gathered a certain number of pledges from friends and family and a healthy snack was had by all afterward.

On that note. I’m always on the look-out for interesting things to write about that are happening in our schools, so even though two of my kids go to Highland View, let me know if you hear of someone doing GOOD things at any of the schools. I am happy to keep writing about all the GREAT things Greendale students are up to!