Andrews Wins McKenzie’s ‘The Amazing Shake’

McKENZIE (May 6) — McKenzie Middle School’s seventh and eighth-grade students concluded “The Amazing Shake,” a semester-long competition designed to teach and test soft skills like handshakes, eye contact, conversation and professional etiquette, on Wednesday, May 6.

Seventh-grader Brooklyn Andrews won first place in the dynamic competition, taking home a $100 cash prize. Eighth-grader Sami Mathis won second, taking home $75. Seventh-grader Olivia Shank took third place, winning $50.

Developed by the Ron Clark Academy, The Amazing Shake is a dynamic live competition that rallies leaders and role models in a school’s community to teach students about professional skills for success.

Jill Renfro, school librarian, decided to implement The Amazing Shake at the McKenzie Middle School this year, challenging students to develop early leadership skills. Retired teachers, school board members and volunteers from the McKenzie community offered to judge the five-part competition.

The five-round competition began in January, with 200 seventh and eighth-graders participating. The first round challenged students to shake hands and introduce themselves to a panel of guest judges in one minute.

The second round took place in February, with 100 students participating. The second round was similar to the first, but students were given three minutes to introduce themselves instead of one.

The third round was in March, with 50 students left. Students were tasked to create a video responding to the following prompt: If the school received a $5,000 grant, what should they do with it and why?

In April, 25 students participated in the fourth round. They were given a new scenario — to interview for a camp counselor job. Students had 10 minutes to craft an elevator pitch before their interviews began.

The fifth and final round had only five student participants — Brooklyn Andrews, Sami Mathis, Olivia Shank, Julee Eubanks and Abby Carroll. They sat in a crowded gymnasium of their peers, all eyes on them, as they responded on-the-spot to various personal, leadership and critical-thinking questions.

“I’m very proud of our students,” said Renfro. “They did an awesome job. A lot of them really came out of their shells.”

The Ron Clark Academy created “The Amazing Shake” to emphasize teaching students manners, discipline, respect and professional conduct. The Ron Clark Academy also developed the House System, which McKenzie Middle School follows.