Valedictorian, Kourtenay Nash Salutatorians: Michael Barrera, Paulina Birenbaum, Sarah Gordon and Lynn Jones
Plenty of tissues were needed at Crenshaw on Friday when our high schoolers graduated. We were so happy to see our seniors graduating and celebrating with their friends and families. The celebrations started at The Grand Cypress Hotel for breakfast and the graduating ceremony was held at school. We are all so proud of our graduating seniors and we will miss them so much…..
On Friday the Crenshaw Dance Stars had a great party at My Gym kindly donated by Lindy Ringel who won the party at the Fall Festival. The kids and parents all had a great time enjoying the great food and drinks. The kids all received Dance Stars trophy’s and certificates and we gave Ms Marie a gift for her new daughter…..
The kids all did a great job today entertaining us with dance, flute playing, songs and a show. There was smiles all around as we enjoyed watching our kids perform. We were all so proud of the work they had put into this. Thanks to Ms Marie, Ms Paula and Ms Nicole for getting this together….
The kids surprised Ms Marie today with a lovely cake that everyone got to enjoy as a lunch-time treat today….they also gave her a variety of home-made gifts…..we are so excited for Ms Marie and Kyle…. and we can’t wait to meet our new mini dance star……
Where can you have a fun afternoon with water-balloons with your classmates and watch the space shuttle take off without moving?
The Crenshaw School of course……… the kids all came outside to watch Atlantis taking off for the last time – we are all so lucky to live in Florida and go to the Crenshaw School.
Third Grade had fun with water balloons and water pistols afterwards.
It’s non stop fun at Crenshaw today…..Today we also had the volunteer breakfast -
Thank you to Anita/Becky/Karen for laying on such a good spread for us all to enjoy. We had a great time catching up and we are looking forward to making great plans for next year…..please feel free to come and join ‘our Guild Gang’ anytime. Our door is always open and we are a very friendly bunch of volunteers who always appreciate any extra help or ideas. We have a lot of fun and its great to see the kids appreciate all the fun things the Guild provides. Please feel free to give a little or a lot of your time, anything is appreciated. Contact Lisa Sayers/Karen Ringel/Donna Oakley/Lisa Miller if you would like to know more…….
Crenshaw is being run by the kids today – but don’t worry you will be pleased to hear all seemed in order this morning when I went in ‘undercover’ to see how the new Ms Brenda’s/Ms Nicole’s/Ms Esther/Ms Libby’s/Ms Tanya’s and all the others were working out……….amazingly no one seems to have been fired yet…… I must admit there did seem an extra lot of laughter coming from those classrooms today and there was an awful lot of outdoor recess going on too. Here are some sneak pics -
What a great time we all had at Dr.Phillips Park. Special thanks to Anita, Becky and Ana for all the hard work in getting it together.
The kids danced, played their flutes, and then had fun in the park and in the water. The auction raised a lot of money for the Crenshaw Guild which will put to good use next year.
Thank you to all the Crenshaw friends that came to speak today. The following people came to speak to the kids about their jobs and we all learned something new. Diana Mogollon- dentist,Glen Ringel- Pediatrician,Beau Sydes- Acrobat/Performer,Jason Sayers- Inventor/ Franchising,Brooke Steranko- Nurse,Lisa Miller- Massage Therapist. Thanks so much for the taking the time out of your busy days…..
Lisa Miller explaining to the kids about Massage Therepy
Jason Sayers talking to the kids about franchising.
Thank you to everyone that shopped to day. I would like to say a special thank you to my helpers Becky,Karen,Carmen,Donna,and Lisa M. The kids had great fun today choosing gifts for you…. they were sooo cute. We had fun wrapping and attaching the gift tags. It was a great success we made $450 for the school (so far) possibly more with a few more to be collected….. the money will be used to benefit our kids:) Thank you again for participating and making this a sucess. Picture below of 4th grade shopping…..
Crenshaw School wants to congratulate its graduating Seniors. In fact, 30% of the Seniors who graduated actually graduated a year early thanks to the excellent teaching methods used at the school. Our students have been accepted to top universities across the nation.
Student Kourtenay Nash said “I enjoyed my time at the Crenshaw School and thank them for the opportunity in allowing me to complete my high school education a year early. Their one on one teaching gave me mentors for shaping my own thoughts and morals.
Paulina Birenbaum, another student said “I enjoyed the family atmosphere allowing me to have life long friends. I completed my high school education in 3 years and will begin Rollins College this fall. We will miss you at Crenshaw but we wish you all well.”
Everyone at Crenshaw is proud of the level of success the Seniors have achieved. We also wish to congratulate our former student Kylee Morris on receiving her Masters of Arts Degree with Honors from the University of Colarado.
Sarina’s Volleyball team, Top Select 14 E, came in third (Bronze medal) at this weekends Florida Region Volleyball Bid and earned a spot to participate in the USAV National Tournament (previously known as USAV Junior Olympics) in Reno, NV at the end of June!
The Crenshaw School’s 10th grader, Jeff Cox, passed his final Board of Review for his Eagle Scout award. “Unoficially”, they plan to have his very short Eagle Scout ceremony at the Windermere Union Church on May 8th at 2:30 pm. The premiere of the dvd of the Dedication 9-11 Memorial Ceremony will be at 1:00 pm Movie-Ceremony-BBQ- and then head to Rotary’s celebration at the shores (including a jazz band concert)!
Follow all the news and articles on Jeff Cox and his 9-11 Memorial project on their Facebook page click here
The kids and grown-ups had a great time on Friday at Winter Garden library. The library system was explained to us as well the role of a librarians and some “insider secrets“. The kids all got to choose and check out a book of their choice .
After the library, the group went for lunch at Winter Garden Pizza. We had a sweet treat to celebrate Nathan’s Birthday. Thank you Nathan and Happy Birthday!.
All the students participated in jumping for a good cause today. Everybody wore red to help signify the event and raise extra funds. The sponsorship donations will be counted next week with all funds going to The American Heart Association.
Here is a great picture of some Crenshaw students working on a project as part of their American History Class. Each group of students had to pick an event or monument to build/discuss. This particular group chose the Empire State Building. We all enjoyed the many facts presented to us. Did you know that the Empire State Building has 74 elevators?
On Saturday evening at 7.30pm, the Crenshaw Dance Stars performed at Olympia High School at the Masquerade Competition. They have been working so hard and were rewarded with a Gold Medal.
Congratulations Dance Stars. Friends and Family also enjoyed dinner at Gators while we waited for the results. A fun time was had by all. The dvd of the competition will be uploaded as soon as we receive it.
Third Grade are learning about Greek Gods. We had Tournament Day today! The kids wore their “Camp Half-Blood” t-shirts, divided into teams and battled it out… the Poseidon team versus the Athena team. Each pair of campers had to race to get the answer to a Lightening Thief question for their first battle! The Athena team was exceptionally good with the trivia questions. (It’s no wonder Athena is the goddess of wisdom!) For their second battle, the same 2 campers had to suit up in their team’s armor for a sword fight against the opposing camper. The end of their “pool noodle swords” were dusted up with chalk and the first to make a mark on the opposing campers chest plate won the battle! The Poseidon team showed their strength in these battles. They were very quick! (Poseidon is one of the most powerful gods on Olympus, after all!) But in the end, the Athena team won with the last 20 point question! The Athena team won gold glitter silly putty and a homework pass!
Third grade have been reading and studying ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief’. Last week they each made a ‘cabin’ for each of the different Greek Gods. Here they are making their Camp Half Blood T-shirts and having fun.
This is a picture of Nick and Darby at Studio 6 on a field trip with Ms Tami’s World History class. They are studying the Chinese Ming Dynasty. Nick painted the Yin-Yang on a plate that symbolized balance and harmony. It came from the Han Dynasty, and Darby painted her initials in hieroglyphics on a plate. The hieroglyphics represented were created during the First Dynasty in China. We had a great time and they learned so much.
Sarina Greenway plays volleyball for a team called TOP SELECT out of Winter Garden. She recently traveled to Denver to participate in the Junior National Olympic Qualifier. Her team placed 3rd in the 14 Club division.
Crenshaw Student Jeff Cox did something that really made a difference….
WINDERMERE — A 15-year-old Eagle Scout candidate has caused quite a commotion with his one-of-a-kind tribute to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
More than eight years and 1,100 miles removed from Ground Zero, the new monument was dedicated Saturday outside Windermere City Hall.
The display’s centerpiece is a 650-pound steel beam, taken directly from the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York.
The memorial is the vision of Jeff Cox, a high school sophomore, who started it as his Eagle Scout service project.
“I just thought it would mean so much to so many different people,” Jeff told News 13. “My brother is an injured firefighter, so I can understand. There’s 343 firefighters and 60 policemen who died during Sept. 11. It just means so much to firefighters and policemen, and so many different people.”
“I said, ‘How does a kid your age end up with a piece of the World Trade Center?’ It just blew me away,” said Sally Trant, whose brother died in the attacks.
Jeff said his project quickly took on a life of its own. His fellow Boy Scouts pitched in, creating 90 tiles to surround the beam, with each tile representing the homeland of the nearly 3,000 victims.
“[For] people who lost a loved one, it’s a place where they can go and think of them, and maybe have closure,” Jeff said. “People can go and laugh and play — there’s so many different things.”
An impressive display needed an impressive dedication ceremony. The unveiling of the memorial featured firefighters on bagpipes, a private A-61 flyover, and the heart-wrenching words from families directly affected by Sept. 11, 2001.
“When I first moved to Florida, it was kind of like, ‘Do people in Florida remember what happened on 9/11?’ Because it just didn’t feel like it,” Trent told News 13. “This kind of brings it home and lets you know that people haven’t forgotten, and it just feels good.”
For some, the memorial may be the reminder of an eight-year-old nightmare, but for one Boy Scout, it is the culmination of a dream nine months in the making.
“What can I say, you all must be very proud of your dancers,” said Brian Kamuda, of the Orlando Magic to dance teacher Marie Massa Wiley. Massa Wiley teaches dance at The Crenshaw School and the school’s dance team, The Crenshaw Dance Stars put on an amazing pre-game hip hop performance during a recent Magic game against the Indiana Pacers in January.
“They all put on a great performance and they proved to be good luck as the Magic also won the game!” said Kamuda, an Account Executive with the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic offers these once in a lifetime on court opportunities for youth performance groups in and around Central Florida as part of their community outreach program. Each season the Magic host between 30-40 top rated youth performances ranging from dance teams, martial arts, basketball clinics, jump ropers, and theatrical groups to showcase their talents at center court. Teams and groups represent Central Florida and occasionally travel from even out of state for these unique opportunities.
“We educate children within the confines of our buildings but it is wonderful experiences like this, outside of the classroom that can make a lasting impact and really help boost our children’s confidence,” said Brenda Crenshaw, headmistress of the school.
What do race car superstars Sam Hornish Jr. and Danica Patrick have in common with Crenshaw School student Ethan Ringel? Obviously a love of driving fast. But all three began their racing careers with the sport of karting.
Ethan Ringel, a student at The Crenshaw School and resident of Windermere has a “career” in racing. He is considered one of the fastest drivers in the world in the sport of go-karting. The old pastime of yore of building carts from scratch has turned into a major worldwide competitive sport. Ethan has been driving since he was 3 years old which is probably why he surprised no one last year when he began racing. He quickly became the fastest junior driver in the United States in just 4 months. “Racing was just something that he really took to. He was so intense about it that we felt we needed to support his passion from day one,” said his father Glenn.
Ethan just returned from Egypt where he competed in the Rotax Max Challenge, (http://www.maxterpower.com/drivers/index.html) the race part of the Commission Internationale de Karting(CIK) an international committee overseeing the sport which was founded in 1962. He drove against the fastest young drivers in the world. Although mechanical issues during qualifying became an issue to overcome, he still did well. He feels that he gained enough experience in Egypt to win next year. “I love the sport. I love learning about how the cars are built, how they perform on different tracks and meeting kids from all over the world. It’s really cool,” he said.
Ethan travels frequently to compete during the school year. In order to do that, he attends The Crenshaw School in Winter Garden. The school’s founder, Brenda Crenshaw is no stranger to teaching kids with non-traditional lifestyles. “I started my small school with child actors and performers. I know what these kids need. A stable, nurturing, yet flexible schooling environment where they can pursue their dreams and also receive a solid education,” said the school’s founder who taught performers such as Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass when they were younger.
Ethan hopes to continue his racing for a long time. “I just want to be the best and to race Formula One.”
In response to the increasing demand for flexible school schedules to accommodate school age children that participate in athletic and entertainment pursuits as well as students of adult athletes and entertainers, The Crenshaw School continues to grow and expand their Private Instruction Program.
The Private Instruction Program approach was created and began with school founder, Brenda Crenshaw, teaching award-winning entertainers and world renowned athletes such as golfers. Driven by demand, Brenda Crenshaw founded The Crenshaw School in 1999 which offers both a Private Instruction Division and traditional student classroom environment. The Private Instruction Division is designed to meet the needs of students balancing their education with careers in the performing arts or athletics as well as students who prefer a more personalized and flexible education at home, at school, or while traveling. The Crenshaw School has been providing a quality alternative to a traditional school environment in on-location settings for over 10 years. “The Crenshaw School allows me to establish friendships and participate in a typical high school classroom environment while at the same time be able to spend the hours necessary to train in Motocross and travel for events,” says Jessica “motogirl” Lee, a 2009 graduate of The Crenshaw School.” Lee continues “But I don’t get a free pass just because I am an athlete. The curriculum is tough as is student competition for top grades and the school requires SAT’s be taken starting in Kindergarten!”
“Meeting the needs of all types of students is what Crenshaw is all about. Whether a student themselves needs special allowances for their own activities, they are on the road due to being children of a traveling parent such as an entertainer or athlete, or the student is one of our regular full-time attendance students” says school founder Brenda Crenshaw.
The Crenshaw School provides flexible private instruction school schedules for both US and International students. Crenshaw’s accreditations include the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) and The Commission on International Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). Crenshaw is also a certified I-17 school by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and follow a stringent outlined process. International students, particularly athletic students, who wish to take advantage of the year-round excellent weather and many training venues Central Florida has to offer, can do so and receive a top education as a student of The Crenshaw School.
