Wednesday, April 18 was a very unique day for the students and staff at Chilton High School. The first-ever Tiger Values Celebration Day took place to measure students’ abilities through standardized testing, to expose them to everyday-life situations through the Reality Store and to celebrate their good behavior through an all-school movie.

Sophomore Erika Pethan said, “I liked the movie. Testing obviously wasn’t my favorite thing, but I kind of liked the Reality Store.”

Freshmen and sophomores took the PLAN and EXPLORE assessments, which were developed by the American College Testing (ACT) organization. These assessments are set up very similarly to that of the actual ACT, including sections in English, mathematics, reading and science.

Juniors and seniors didn’t need to report to school until 10:30 a.m. because they took the briefer MAP Reading Assessment to measure their reading abilities. Seniors who scored high enough on their previous assessment in the fall didn’t need to test again on Wednesday.

Following the testing portion of the day, each grade level was invited to attend the Reality Store in the gymnasium, something that hadn’t occurred since the 2009-10 school year. The Reality Store is a setup of different booths that pertain to everyday life expenses. For example, students had to visit a bank, buy groceries, purchase a car and much more using money from the salary of a job they picked. The program is offered by the Fox Valley Workforce Development Board to help prepare students for life after high school, but the event could not have taken place without dozens of generous volunteers from the Chilton community.

“I feel that the Reality Store helped me realize the financial aspect of life,” said junior Brienne Mallmann.

After each grade level had gone through the Reality Store and eaten lunch, the entire school was invited to watch the 1986 film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for the remainder of the school day. This was to celebrate the students’ good behavior and commitment to following the Tiger Values, a set of principles that CHS students abide by.

Principal Dr. Tim Schaid said, “Everyone should be most appreciative of the work that Mr. Graebel (CHS counselor) did to make this day a possibility. Others that should be thanked include our kitchen staff, our maintenance staff, our faculty and Mrs. Stenz and Mrs. Criter (CHS secretaries). Special thanks goes out to the individuals from our business community who donated their time and talents to help run the Reality Store! This was a great way for the school and business community to join with one another in an educational endeavor such as the Reality Store. Our hats go off to the Chilton community!”