GRANDVILLE, Mich. — Grandville’s Oakestown Intermediate School held its third annual The Great Shake competition for fifth and sixth grade students.
This year alone, 850 students participated in the competition to strengthen their social and professional skills.
“The Amazing Shake is a competition for our students to show off their social skills and their employability skills,” Curriculum and Engagement Coordinator Stacey Byl said. “So they learn these skills through lessons we teach, and then we bring in community members to be judges, for the kids to try out different scenarios and then enact and apply what they've learned as far as social skills and employability skills.”
Each round pushes students to think outside of the box and to put their best foot forward. Each round all starts with the same thing: A good handshake.
“I think it's been really fun to have the kids move from nervousness, unsure, to confidence,” Byl said. “It's been a really good thing for them to learn that they can do hard things, even though it's a little bit scary because in all honesty, most adults are scared to interact with strangers, so having to go up and interact with an adult stranger is a huge ask for the students, but they're doing a great job.”
The final round of The Great Shake will take place in February 2025. Students from Indiana, Ohio and Michigan will travel to Grandville to put their skills to the test.
“We all have our gifts, right?” Byl said. “And for some of our students, it's their personality, it's their charisma, it's their ability to solve problems on their feet, just those skills that aren't for everybody, but this is an opportunity for those students to shine.”