Cool School A Great Day For Everyone

Bobcats Breakdown | Cool School gallery

Normally when this many students are missing from school at the beginning of the week, it would be a cause for concern.

But that wasn’t the case at the Bobcats Third Annual Cool School Field Trip presented by Harris Teeter and co-sponsored by Kraft on Monday, as more than 17,000 students and teachers from over 43 cities in North and South Carolina were at Charlotte Bobcats Arena at 10 a.m. to see the Bobcats take on the Wizards.

From the moment the students started piling into the arena, it was clear they were ready to cheer on their favorite team.

Some brought signs that said all different variations of “Go Bobcats!” and others brought signs for their favorite players.

“I think it’s great for the kids and everybody,” Bobcats General Manager & Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff said prior to the game. “We’ve got a job to do, and these kids are going to have a great experience seeing us do that. They get to miss school, too (he laughed).”

It didn’t seem that the teachers minded being there either.

“It’s good for the Bobcats to put something like this on for the kids,” said Derrick Jones, a seventh grade teacher and basketball coach at Newton Conover Middle School. “I love basketball, and we have 30 students here that all earned the right to be here.

“We are trying to get kids to college. Out of the two grades levels, seventh and eighth grade, the ones who came today earned the most points (from their teachers).”

To be able to attend the game, students that represented a total of 88 public and private schools were required to demonstrate strong academic performance and commendable character.

“It is awesome; it’s really cool,” said Michael Iheanacho, a seventh grader at Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School. “I haven’t been here (before). It’s awesome that we get to be here cheering on our team like this.”

It was clear that the rest of the students shared his sentiments and their enthusiasm did not go unnoticed. The arena could not have been louder as the kids cheered every dunk by the Bobcats like it was the first one they had ever seen.

Basketball was not the only entertainment that got the kids on their feet.

Educational trivia games, music and fan contests were all crowd pleasers. The experience was not just about basketball either, as the students all received backpacks, workbooks, pens and lunches.

“It is cool (being at the game),” said Kailin Ross, a seventh grader at Raleigh Middle School. “We’ve been looking forward to this for a while now.”

“It is good for the kids to get out of school and be together,” said Dack Christian, a chaperone with Raleigh Middle School.

It came as no surprise that the players loved the atmosphere with all the kids cheering them on.

“It gives them a chance to come out and watch us play, you know have a lot of fun,” said Raymond Felton. “(The kids) get rewarded for what they have been doing (in school), and that’s important.”

Even though the Bobcats lost 100-91, everyone left with a smile on their face after having a great time.

That was the most important thing.