Katie Krell
reporter2@greenepublishing.com
The Madison Creative Arts Academy (MCAA) Junior Beta Club recently participated in the virtual State Beta Convention.
The National Junior Beta Club is an organization for students in the fourth through eighth grades that encourages leadership and service in students. Founded in 1934, the non-profit organization has over 500,000 members in over 8,750 clubs, making it the largest organization of its kind.
Because the event was held virtually, the convention was for only one day. Students completed service projects, leadership activities and competitive events designed around the four pillars of Beta: Leadership, Service, Character and Achievement.
Service projects for the students included making cards for nursing homes and children's hospitals, working around their school campus and creating gifts for their teachers to express their appreciation.
Students also competed in an assortment of events, including a Quiz Bowl tournament, visual arts such as photography and painting marketing and apparel design. They also participated in academic competitions in the areas of mathematics, science, social studies and English Language Arts.
The students placed in two categories, receiving first place in apparel design and third place in marketing and communications. The goal of the Apparel Design competition was to create an original T-shirt design with the theme “It All Began With Beta.” The students worked together to create a design that highlighted that theme while also including the four pillars of Beta. The marketing and communications team was tasked with creating a campaign promoting a local charity or organization. The team, comprised of Camryn Bass, Logan Bass, Collin Copeland, Leah Mask and Savannah McNutt, created an advertisement for the Madison County Humane Society. The participants will be competing again in both events at the National Beta Convention, in late June.
The MCAA Junior Beta Club also held its own engineering competition, dividing students into teams to each create their own working zip-line. The winning team was comprised of eighth graders Emma Thompson, Kiley Malone, Jayden Russell and Erin Burnett.