Community Day School’s Cheer Team excels at national competition

In its very first year of competition, the Cheer Team at Hershorin Schiff Community Day School reached heights no one might have expected: during the recent East Coast Grand National Championships in Orlando, the team took second place – missing first place by just one point.

For the two years prior to this school year, the group served as a sideline cheer team for the CDS athletics program. This year’s team included primarily third and fourth-graders, although there were three students from the CDS Middle School, two of whom competed at Nationals.

On the road to the national championships, the CDS Cheer Team earned the title of Grand Champions during the East Coast Championships in Lakeland, Fla. in March – this was the qualifying event for the Grand National Championships – as well as took the top spot in the Elementary School Division of the Florida Cheer & Dance Association’s Show of Champions in Orlando in April.

Athletic Director Jamie Griffitts noted that she and Cheer Team Coach Anna Griffitts had simply hoped to expose the participants to the thrill of costumes, concert-like lights, and performing in front of crowds numbering into the hundreds in an effort to build the program, not expecting the team to win big in its first two competitions and earn a slot in the national competition.

“Our intent in competing this year was to ignite a love for the sport so that we could build our program over the next few years,” said Jamie Griffitts. “We were hoping no one would cry on stage or freeze up; instead, the girls performed like rockstars and hit their routines! We are so happy that they were able to experience the thrill of competition and pride in excellence, and are already looking forward to next year.”

“The girls exceeded all of my expectations,” added Coach Anna Griffitts. “They are really one-of-a-kind, talented, hardworking girls, and I couldn’t be prouder of them!”

To learn more about the school, visit CommunityDay.org or call 941-552-2770.

About Hershorin Schiff Community Day School
The mission of the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, which serves students in preschool through eighth grade, is to impact the world by creating a community where children of all faiths demonstrate integrity, academic excellence, and a desire to improve the world. Community Day offers a rigorous, project-based academic program in a diverse and vibrant learning environment rooted in the Jewish values of honesty, integrity, mutual trust and respect. For more information, visit the website, communityday.org, or call 941-552-2770.