|
Lincoln High holds Lion's Pride student expo |
|
|
Thursday, 08 April 2010 |
By JOSEPH FITZGERALD
LINCOLN - "What did you do at school today?" When parents ask their kids that age-old question, the typical response is a shrug of the shoulders and a vague "nothing much."
The roughly 200 parents and community residents attending Lincoln High School's 4th Annual Lion's Pride Student Expo Night Wednesday found out for themselves what their kids are doing at school and they were astounded at what they saw.
What goes on inside the classrooms at Lincoln High School day in and day out is put on full display once a year when the school opens its doors for two hours to the public to showcase student academic and extracurricular achievements.
For those two hours the school's hallways and classrooms are transformed into a lively, interactive exposition that allows parents and members of the community at large a peek at the talent, skill and creativity of the school’s 1,100 students and their achievements and the teachers behind those accomplishments.
"This is just awesome," said Lincoln resident Marie Briggs, who's 15-year-old daughter, Gabrielle, is a special needs student at the school. "I graduated in 1971 and we never did things like this when I was in high school. These young people are doing amazing things."
Parents attending the event were given a color-coded map of the school at the door and invited to follow the “Lion Paw Prints” on the walls to help guide them through the halls and various exhibits, which inlcuded historical interactive activities; math lab presentations, student art gallery and open studio, jazz band and chorus performances, physical education and special education displays, to name just a few. Numerous clubs and student organizations were also on hand to demonstrate their skills and talents and engage the involvement of visitors.
“All of our departments are represented, as well as most of our clubs and student activities,” said Principal Kevin J. McNamara. “This year, the focus is on engaging the participation of our visitors to ensure that the learning continues.”
"It's important for us to have a public audience for what our students and teachers do here," he said. "It's all about celebrating the work they do every day throughout the school year."
"This is the one time of the year when we can really showcase our students' accomplishements which are the result of the hardwork that goes on between our students and teachers," said School Superintendent Georgia Fortunato, who toured the exposition with McNamara. "It's a chance for the community of Lincoln to see what a real gem the high school is."
Upon arrival visitors were greeted with the sounds of the high school band, and members of the school’s advanced journalism program, who were taping a segment of “Life from the Red Carpet.”
One of the highlights of the program is the English Department's Capulet Ball where english teacher Ashley Ellsworth and her students treated visitors to Elizabethan dance, music and food, while prominently dispplaying student work relating to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
The Writer’s Café offered delectable samples of student work in the discipline of creative writing, served up by the students themselves. The Café also offered a dessert course, allowing patrons to write their own creative pieces. Nearby, a plethora of samples of student work was on display, along with the teachers who assigned the tasks.
The Special Education Department's array of displays included one for the school’s new greenhouse, which should be ready and open to the public by May. Samples of the greenhouse’s plants were also on display. The department’s second new business, the LEAP print shop, gave parents a glimps of the students' work making posters, awards, bumper stickers and other creative projects.
The Department of World Languages had its student work on display, including lively videos of student dialogues, as well as foods from various countries from around the world. The Visual Arts Department was represented in a variety of ways. Art Club students set up a student art gallery allowing visitors to view student artwork. There was also a student art silent auction where students sold donated artwork to raise funds for the high schoo's visual arts scholarship. Students in Child Development II set up an early learning activity center set up in the classroom and handed out informational flyers to parents.The activitiy center also featured arts and crafts, story times, and sensory and active plays.
The school's Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) store was open during the event so people could buy merchandise as well as observe the business students as they work and manage the school store.
In the Business Department, parents were invited to compete with students from Computer Toolbox to see who can type faster and more accurately. Student work, including Powerpoints and lively presentations, were also on display.
Guests visiting the math Department displays had the opportunity to view a full corridor of interesting and exploratory activities used by the students to make learning mathematics fun. The department also had its doors open to its “I Can Learn” math computer lab where guests interacted with the software and experienced how students use the computer as a teaching tool.
Several Capstone students presented demonstrations from their semester-long projects, including one that showed how alcohol negatively affects driving through a “driving under the influence” simulation.
"This is a major opportunity for our students to showcase their work," said Susan Kolenda, art teacher and coordinator of the Lion's Pride Student Expo Night. "It's designed to show the many great things that go on here."
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 19 April 2010 )
|
|
|
|
|
|
Horoscope
