Tolman's Amazing Shake

At Tolman Elementary we place an emphasis on teaching our students manners, discipline, respect, and how to conduct themselves in a professional environment. The Amazing Shake allows us to assess our students on these skills through a fun and memorable experience and enables us to engage with local business leaders on behalf of the school. The competition also introduces the students to the networks, roles, opportunities, and career paths they may not have been exposed to before.

During the Amazing Shake, students learn and develop professional qualities — from the mechanics of a proper handshake to how to “work the room” — so they are able to present themselves exceptionally well for opportunities today and in the future.

All year long, Mrs. Sullivan, our school counselor, and our teachers have been teaching students how to shake hand, make proper eye contact, engage in polite and proper conversation, and how to handle themselves under pressure. The students used the skills they learned all week long of The Amazing Shake.

In the first round of The Amazing Shake, we had 20 Tolman Community members volunteer. They sat in a circle. Students came into the gym with their classmates and chose which volunteer they wanted to introduce themselves to. Students approached the volunteer, stuck out their hand for a handshake, and said, "Hi! My name's Megan. What's yours?". And the conversation was off! The student was judged by eye contact, handshake technique, asking questions and responding to answers, and overall encounter. Based on the scores, 80 students advanced to the next level. Our volunteers, including school board president, Brigit Gerald, were so impressed by how amazing our students at Tolman handled themselves.

The Gauntlet, transforms our school into a giant obstacle course where each station is a creative challenge. We place one leader from the local community as the judge for every station (so finding the right volunteers to help with our event was crucial. The students go through each station one at a time, spending one minute interacting with the volunteering judge. Each student has his or her own personal “hype man” that escorts them from station to station, encouraging them, building them up, and making sure they understand the obstacle. The professional leader at each station judges the student on qualities such as handshake firmness, eye contact, confidence, common sense, charisma, and more.