No more events/drives on campus at this time.  To complete a project students must tap into their own communities or neighborhoods.  Piedmont is closed to projects at this time.  

The Showcase is scheduled for Friday February 27th.  Reach out to Mrs. Thornburg with any questions if your questions are not answered below. Thank you  maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us

FAQ for Showcase 2026

Q. What if my child is going to be absent on the day of the Showcase?  What is the penalty or how might it impact his assessment? 

A.  If a student is absent and knows this ahead of time he/she can share the presentation with his/her mentor, create a video or slides to have available on the showcase to play in the room they are assigned to, or ask a friend or teacher to set up the presentation board in the viewing room the day of.  There is no penalty for being absent.  If a child is ill on the day of the event - then that students should communicate with the supervisor as soon as possible. 

Q. What if my child did not finish their journal yet.  

A.  There is still time to finish the journal.  The journal can be completed up to the showcase day.  It will be late, but should still be completed.  The students must communicate with the assigned Supervisor so he/she can give the final grade.  

Q. What if my child worked in a group, but the other classmates did not do an equal amount of work.  

A.  Communication is the key.  All students in a group have their own journals.  They are welcome to share information, but if there is a teammate that is not doing their part their grade will not be the same.  Students are not required to share their journals with their partners and provide editing access to them to copy any parts of their journals.  That is up to the individual students to decide.  If there are problems with students doing equal work - that should be communicated with the supervior as soon as possible. 

Q. What does my child need for the Showcase Day. Do they have to dress up?

A. We ask the students to look nice - wear school appropriate clothing, Dress to impress or wear Piedmont colors or spirit wear.  We will have a lot of visitors in the building that day and we want everyone to look their best.  Dressing to impress or wearing clothing to show school pride will often give students more confidence. 

Q. What should my child expect on the Showcase Day?

A.  Students will report to homeroom as usual.  Starting about 9:15-9:20 students will start moving to their assigned presentation rooms.  Students are assigned to a room based on their supervisor, not their homeroom teacher.  They will have an area to set up in the assigned room or the hallway.  They will be talking and presenting a lot.  There may be some scheduled breaks in the day, but becuase we have so many guests there may not be a time when their room is free from guests or students visiting the presentations.  All students should have lots of water for Showcase time.  They will be doing a lot of talking and sharing. 

Q. What do I do as a parent?  When can I visit the Showcase? 

A.  We will start welcoming families and guests in at 9:45.  The seventh grade students will begin their rotation to view the presentations at 9:30.  All presentations will be located on the 8th grade floor (on the first floor).  Families will sign in - in the lobby.  There will be student volunteers helping families find their way downstairs and there will be list for parents to find out where their child is located.  Visitors are invited to join all the rooms and go as quickly or as slowly as they like.  We will be asking visitors to wrap up their viewing around 10:50am.  The 8th grade students will have time to view their peers as well. 

The schedule will be - 7th grade rotates through first/ Then 6th grade comes through second/ and then 8th grade will do a swap - one half views while the others present and then flip flop that. Many students leave after the showcase with their families.  That is fine - just be sure to sign out your student. 

Q. When will my child know their assessment score for the project?  

A.  On the last page of the process journal students will see the rubric.  They do their self-assessment and the supervisor gives the final grade on that same sheet.  This is entered digitally.  Your child can share that information as soon as they receive it which could be on the day of the showcase or the following Monday.  This score will also be added to Infinite Campus through the homeroom teacher once all the grades are shared into our database as an exempted IB grade.  This is a 7 point score for the final grade so that will appear as a 1/7 grade.  7 being the highest.  The rubric is posted in the digital journal and can be viewed anytime. 

Q. Can i bring people other than family to this event?

A.  Yes, if there is a family friend or a mentor to your child, or a scout leader, or a former teacher, or anyone that would like to join you in celebrating your child's accomplishment- they are welcome.  Please note that the space will be a little crowded - so we are hopeful you will not invite too many guests beyond your immediate family.  We will also have IB Teachers and leaders from other schools visiting and CMS district leaders as well. 

Q. What can I do as a parent to help my child?

A.  Talk to your child about his/her project and find out what they need.  They do need a presentation board or a poster board.  Students may not offer any food at their presentation area for this event,  If they say they need candy or cupcakes - THIS IS NOT SO!  NO FOOD.  Also the event will last until 11:10 or so.  Please do not check your child out of school if you are doing so until after they have viewed and presented to their peers.  

Q. Who do I contact if I have any questions? 

A.  First contact the Supervisor.  If you cannot get a response or if you need more information contact Mrs. Thornburg at maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us

We look forward to seeing you at our 11th annual Community Project Showcase.  

Slides to guide you through the introduction to the Community Project and getting your journal started. 

Student Interest Survey Link - this is due by Friday September 19th. - is now closed.

Here is the link to begin your process journal for your community project

www.bit.ly/CPJournal2526 

Here are the slides from our Parent meeting on Monday September 8th.  Thanks to all of you that were able to attend and thanks for all the emails with good questions and enthusiasm for the projects. 

Possible topics when considering the 8th grade project.  

You idea may not be on this list.... no worries!  When you complete the student survey make sure you are describing what you want to work on. 

REMEMBER You CANNOT RAISE / COLLECT MONEY for your project.  

International Day of peace

Belmont Neighborhood Food Drive/Blessing Boxes

Veteran's Day Breakfast Autism Speaks Event

Tree Charlotte The Middle School Tool Kit

Clean Campus Media Center Organization

Diwali Celebration The Messages in the front of the school Marquee

International Festival Nutrition

Advocates for Street Clean up (Keep Charlotte Beautiful)

Music focus Block Love (feeding the homeless)

sports focus A Roof Above (Welcome Home Kit)

Alexander Street Park Clean-Up Preschool support (Near Piedmont)

Catawba River Keepers American Heart Association

Fall Campus Clean-up Cancer Awareness / Support

Piedmont Community Pantry Bicycle Drive/ ReCyclery support

Steve's Coats for Kids Turn the Lights off Campaign

Friendship Garden/Community Garden Supporting the Animal Shelter / Advocacy

Front Beds and Planters around the school Bike/Pedestrian Safety Campaign

Light the Night Leukemia/Lymphoma Foundation Walk

Support / advocacy for disabilities Anti-Bullying 

theater focus

Mental Health

School Mural ( we approve a maximum of 3 per year) You must apply with a drawing of your proposal, 

Nursing home/Elder Care 

Add a mural to our Piedmont walls (we will approve 3) - There is an application process for painting a mural. 

IN RED - someone has already requested to do that project. If you are still interested add it to your survey form and I can put you on a wait list in case someone changes their mind. 

ON Friday September 12th, All 8th grade students will make a copy of their process journal with the guidance of their 6th block teachers.  They will follow along with an informational video that will guide them through the process.  Once they make their copy of the process journal they can begin with Objective A, Journal 1.  They will share the process journal with their assigned supervisor once that is assigned and allow editing access to the journal. 

All students will receive training on this IB Community Project on Friday Sept. 12th through their sixth block classes. 

application for hosting an event

application for hosting a drive

application to paint a mural

The forms to host a drive or an event cannot be completed until the supervisor is assigned. 

All Events/ drives must have supervisor approval and then must be submitted to Mrs. Thornburg and Dr. Barone for final approval. 

Request to paint a school mural must include size, space, and drawing of the mural design. 

Approved Drives for the 2025-26 Community Projects

Myles G - Drive to Support the Harvest Center of Charlotte October 20-October 31 (Launch Oct. 16th)

Joselle and Kayela T - Drive to support "Girl Grind" to collect Women's Health Care Products (November 5-19)

Gabriel, Gabriel, and Darlin - Food Drive to support the annual Belmont Blessing Boxes for the Belmont Neighborhood.  Dates will be November 3rd - November 10th through the 19th

Micah H - Toiletries drive to support Salvation Army Center of Hope Nov. 21-Dec. 5th

Samuel A. V. and Jonathan S - Pet food Drive from 12/5-12/15 to Support Second Harvest Metrolina

Layla and Saleia - New Toys to support Mallard Creek Elementary School

Kadeem H. - Dec. 1-15 - Diaper Drive to support  NC Diaper Bank

Jorden C and Ava D.- Paw Creek Elementary Books for children ages 3-11. Nov. 3-14

Approved Events

Serenity Freeman and Lyrical Littlejohn - The Annual Veteran's Day Breakfast on Nov 10 at 8am

Bryson Leonard & Eli Campus Clean Up on Oct. 24th after school until 5:15

December 5th Christina Simmons - Police engagement event- focus on crime rate.  For parents and students

This is last year's information, but you can see many of the questions are still applicable. 

The community project is an IB continuation requirement and a Piedmont expectation.  Please reach out to Mrs. Thornburg, the IB Coordinator, at maranda.thornburg@cms.k12.nc.us with any questions.

FAQ about the Community Project

• When is the Community Project Due? The last objective (Objective D "Reflection") is due at the end of the Semester - January 17th, 2025

• When is the actual Showcase?  The 2026 Showcase will be Friday February20th, 9:35am

• How does my child know about this project? The community project is introduced to students in seventh grade after they visit the 8th grade showcase.  Students are asked to create a Google Document in their IB Portfolios for Community Project brainstorming.  Then in 8th grade Mrs. Thornburg will meet  with every student through their social studies class to go over the community project process journal and the selection of supervisors. This information is also on the morning announcements and shared through Principal Barone's Saturday messages. 

• How does my child know who his/her supervisor is? Students will complete the Student Interest Survey by Friday Sept. 19th. Mrs. Thornburg will use the survey information to assign the Students to their supervisors. We have lots of new staff members this year so students may be assigned to someone they do not know.  Mrs. Thornburg, as well as homeroom teachers,  are also available to offer additional support where needed.   T

• Does my child have to work alone on this project? Students may work alone, with a partner, or with two other teammates.  No more than 3 students should be working together on this project.  Choose partners wisely.  Once you make this choice of partnership you are committed. 

• What if we have a plan, but we change our mind and want to do something else? Communication is Key.  To change a topic students must get approval from their Community Project Supervisor.  Note it may be double the work to change the plan, but it is also a good exercise to recognize when a plan needs to change and to manage the execution of the new plan/idea.  

• What happens if my supervisor does not respond to my emails and I do not have the supervisor as a teacher this year? If a student is having difficulty communicating with the supervisor please reach out to Mrs. Thornburg as soon as possible. 

• Does my community project have to be done at school? No, the community project can be completed in a broader community (with adult supervision) . The project could be done completely in the student's neighborhood, place of worship, or with an organization that does not include exclusively Piedmont students and families. 

• What if I can't think of a project idea? No worries.  This is the first time students have had an assignment on this kind of scale.  Adults are here to help you.  Please reach out to Mrs. Thornburg with ideas.  We have lots of needs at Piedmont that students could tap into.  Check out the list below......

 Another Community Project Spotlight - go to our Peace Day Tab....

Showcase Information 

Check out the slides below for details for students to prepare for the Community Project Showcase on 

February 9th, 2024