Beta Club is a nonprofit organization that focuses on developing leadership qualities in today’s youth. It recognizes high academic achievement, promotes character and social responsibility, and encourages service involvement to school and community. The event saw more than 27,000 people in attendance in elementary, junior, and senior competitions with hundreds of schools competing.
“We are extremely proud, and we want to take a moment to congratulate the club while highlighting their hard work and success,” Admissions Representative Mary Funderburk said.
The club is led by Matthews Third Grade Teacher Marissa Guarno and has earned awards at nationals the past three years.
Logan Claindoux receives the eighth-place award on behalf of the Elementary Convention Invention Team.
The junior Marketing and Communication team took home a third-place finish after being challenged to develop a marketing campaign to support a community-based project to assist a group in their community. They could pick from a Head Start Program, veterans, the elderly, or the homeless. The team invented a mind game for the elderly, then based its promotion on the four pillars of National Beta: Academic Achievement, Character, Leadership, and Service.
The elementary Convention Invention team spent months developing an invention and brought it to the convention to share with others. They invented a consumer product to increase quality of life at home called "The Pick-Up Truck." It’s a toy truck that allows your toddler to clean the floor while they play. The team earned an eighth-place finish.
Meeting of the Minds provides a team of four the opportunity to work collaboratively to engage in higher level cognitive abilities such as abstract reasoning, and problem solving. A prompt and rules for this competition are provided onsite to each team the moment before they begin their competitions.
This year the elementary team was given materials and told to make catapult within a certain time. They were then asked to fling a ball from the catapult and make it into a cup as many times as possible and were graded on design, collaboration, and accuracy. The team earned a 10th-place finish.
Great work Team Matthews and congratulations to all who participated!
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About Matthews Charter Academy
Matthews Charter Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Matthews, North Carolina, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through high school across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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