We hired SCH Alumni Stephen Skeel and his video production company 7 Wonders Cinema to produce a comprehensive video overview of the CEL program pk - 12. Shooting took place November 4th and 5th. We should have a rough cut by January. The plan is to premiere this video at the 10th anniversary event, and use the raw footage to produce a number of internally edited pieces about the CEL experience in each division.

Our 10th-anniversary initiatives also include efforts to engage with successful entrepreneurs from the broader SCH community. Our Middle School speaker series will focus on entrepreneurship this January. Our April school magazine will also highlight community entrepreneurs. We are actively searching for a keynote speaker for the 10th-anniversary event in May. We are also developing a special book of essays on the foundational element of CEL, with alums, industry leaders, SCH faculty, and current students.

Reflections on the CEL program from a group of our 2021 SCH graduates, including TJ Spirito, Finn Seifert, Peter Humphreys, Mia Costonis, and Kylie Cantos. All of these seniors are moving on to continued pursuits in business, entrepreneurship, and non-profit leadership in college.

The Pre Kindergarten girls learned about the life and struggles of Sea turtles during class and then presented their learning at a Lower School Assembly. They also designed sea turtle drawings, which they, with the help of David Cool, made into pendants and eventually sent to the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ, where they were sold to the community. The girls were able to incorporate music, art, and science into their final presentation.

The students said they especially appreciated the freedom and real-world problem solving opportunities offered in their CEL classes, how they were able to use their creativity and think out of the box, be exposed to different ideas and approaches, and interaction more with classmates and teachers. “You have to figure things out for yourself,” said one student; “You learn by doing,” offered another.

When asked what advice they’d give Arcadia students taking CEL classes, the students offered, “Don’t be afraid to fail and explore,” “Persevere through your frustrations,” and “Pay attention to the coding; that’s the hardest part.”

To the teachers, they recommended being open to students’ opinions that may be different from their own, having enough challenges to keep students engaged, and being tolerant of students’ more relaxed behavior because CEL classes are like a game and students are having fun.

At the end of the call, Giles Pruett, Arcadia’s executive principal, expressed hopes that students from the two schools might soon be able to collaborate on projects and that SCH students can be mentors to the students at his school. Then he posed a question to them: What has being part of CEL given you?

The students were unanimous on this point: “Life skills,” said one. “It’s taught me to be more resilient,” said another. “I’ll most likely use what I learned in CEL,” said a third. “It’s real-life learning.”

Designed by Jennifer Perinovic (library and research team), the CEL Digital Publishing course is designed to provide opportunities for students to learn and practice research, teamwork, and online publishing skills. Students learn about the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and identify a human right that interests them. They conduct research on this human right - looking at local and global example - and explore digital communication tools as a vehicle to establish a positive digital footprint: they will be guided to find their own voice and publish on digital media to share their views/findings in ways that impact the global community.

Financial literacy and business acumen continues to be of strong interest to our middle school students. The CEL Money Matters provides eighth graders with a basic understanding of the many factors that drive the economy, including our everyday decisions. In addition, this class has become an opportunity for every student at SCH to engage in the "Venture Incubator" process - developing, testing, refining, and pitching their own unique business venture. Years of overwhelming interest in this class has led to the development of two upper school electives, Personal Finance, which will run for the first time next Fall, and Global Economics, which is in it's second year.

In this CEL class, designed by Rene deBerardinis, sixth grade students raise money to support entrepreneurs around the world in partnership with Kiva - a global microfinance organization. They learn about the 17 UN Global Goals, select one to focus on, and identify entrepreneurs whose missions align with those goals. This year, for the first time, CEL10 Capstone Students will be pitching their social ventures to the sixth graders, with the goal of obtaining startup investment from their fund.

Capstone sophomores, as well as CEL's advanced juniors and seniors, participated in a 48-hour virtual showcase where their products, designs and ideas were open for public voting. Anyone with the link could vote once for their favorite project.

With each passing year, the Upper School CEL team further refines the Capstone process, and the students develop more thoughtful project ideas, devote more effort, and create a strong foundation for future development of those ideas in the Venture Accelerator program. Mark your calendars for our Spring Capstone Showcase event, which will take place on May 19th in the CEL space.

In addition to studio awards, our faculty team gives mindset awards which recognize the process that the students go through over the course of each semester. These awards include

Infinity Prize for Resiliency - awarded to the student team embraced challenges and exhibited a relentless commitment to their goals.

Delphi Opportunity Seeking Prize - awarded to the student team that seeks to both solve problems and to make a broad, real-world impact with their solution.

MacGyver Resourcefulness Prize - awarded to the student team that sought resources and knowledge that weren’t readily available. They worked with external mentors, and utilized tools and technologies in a unique and inventive fashion.

The Awake Leadership Prize - awarded to the student team that expertly delegated tasks, effectively communicated as a group, and treated one another with respect.

The Dr. Sands Entrepreneurial Mindset Prize - awarded to the student team whose project embodies all four entrepreneurial pillars: Resiliency, Opportunity Seeking, Resourcefulness, and Creativity.

Sonas to America is a student-run, non-profit organization spearheaded this year by Mia Costonis '21 and Meena Padhye '22, and brought to life under the school's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) program.

Sonas, a weaving village located in Cambodia, consists of 12 women who weave all products sold through Sonas to America. The company then donates all profits back to the weaving village to create incomes for these women and give them an opportunity to send their children to college, which is rare in Cambodia. Each purchase makes a positive impact in these women’s lives, and for that we thank you!

Mia and Meena were featured on NBC10 last Friday in a quick interview! Watch their story on NBC10.

Our "Year 7" CEL curriculum launched in Dubai this fall, including Social Entrepreneurship, Digital Storytelling, and Personal Brand Design - a new course designed to experiment with the idea of using a personalized Google Website for each individual student to serve as their portfolio throughout the CEL program.