North Royalton Middle School fifth-graders had the chance to show off their work to parents, as well as the entire fifth-grade community when they showcased their “Space Night” projects.
All fifth graders were assigned a project dealing with space. They were given 12 different options to choose from to match their specific talent. These options included technology, art, creativity, writing, and singing among others. After the projects were complete, all fifth-grade science teachers set up their classrooms in a museum-style and allowed students, parents and family to walk around the pods to view different projects.
“As teachers, we feel it is important that students share their work with more than just their parents and teachers,” said Sarah Franko, teacher at North Royalton Middle School. Other teachers involved include Gina Murphy, Doug Fischer, and Matt Stricker.
Franko said the teachers wanted to give students a chance to show off their amazing projects to the whole fifth-grade community. “It is an understatement if we said the projects were good. To quote our recent motivational speaker Keith Hawkins, they were better than good,” said Franko.
In addition to Space Night, for those students that selected to make space board games, Franko invited them to have lunch in her room with their friends to play their games.
North Royalton Middle School Students Learn About the Whole Child on “Fabulous Fridays.”
Fridays are usually every student’s favorite day of the week. But for the students at North Royalton Middle School, sometimes Fridays just don’t mean the weekend, it means a “Fabulous Friday” lesson. These “Fabulous Friday” lessons, which happen once or twice a month, focus on more than just facts from a textbook. They are dedicated to forming the student as a person through character building, mindfulness, team building, and the general brightening of someone’s day.
Parent Cari Harvanec said, “I love that Team Maverick teaches team building to our children. We have high expectations for our youth, but rarely do we model what it should look like. I believe my daughter will become a much more caring, calm, and empathetic person because of your “Fabulous Fridays” activities.”
On “Fabulous Fridays”, one category of activities students engaged in is team building and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). So far, they have, “Saved Sam” by figuring out how to use only paperclips to get a life saver under a cup onto a gummy worm.
The students participated in a competition to see who could create the tallest index card tower and are currently building paper bridges. Students also cut snowflakes to see which design made the snowflake fall faster or slower as well as attempting to copy the way another student cut a snowflake. At the end of this activity, the snowflakes were donated to a nursing home. Another upcoming activity will be geared towards the STEM aspect by experimenting with inertia through putting Mardi Gras Beads in a glass.
The second category of activities were computer-based. Students created their own memes, which are funny images, videos, or text that are copied with slight variations to fit a theme. Students used these memes when creating quizzes using the Quizizz website. The other project is called “Eyebombing.” This art form involves people putting googly eyes on inanimate objects in a public space such as a light post, a bench, or a parking meter. After placing the eyes on an object, pictures of it are shared on the Eyebombing website. The goal is to use humor and wit to bring some joy to a passerby’s day in this busy world.
“Fabulous Fridays” create opportunities for students to learn more about themselves. “Removing the focus from content for the day allows us to make special connections with students further enforcing to them how much we care about them as human beings, and not just students. Our team motto is based upon the quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world. ”We feel that teaching about character, mindfulness, and relaxation helps students to see their potential as future catalysts of change to make the world a better place,” said fifth grade teachers Sarah Franko, Amy Cowan, Lori Cole, Doug Zimlich, and Meredith Stanton.
The final category of “Fabulous Friday” is Mindfulness. Under this category, students read many books including the novel Wonder. In this book, a fifth grader with facial differences attends school for the first time and learns to deal with bullies. Students then do a monthly precept reflection based on what they learned from the reading. Another book lesson came from Ishi the Rock. This picture book showed a small rock with a face on it that was meant to promote happiness and fuel people to share that happiness with others. Students made their own rocks and still carry them today. The book, 40 Mistakes that Worked details forty inventions in the world today that began as mistakes before becoming successes. Students also partook in yoga, meditation and relaxation, and wrote positive quotes in chalk at the middle school, high school and Board of Education office. Teachers showed the Pixar short film, “Lou” that details why bullying is wrong. School counselors have also become involved by teaching lessons. Finally, for an hour on Friday, students are permitted to work on their “Genius Hour projects.”
Fifth grade English Language Arts teacher Lori Cole said, “Fabulous Fridays” allow me to connect with my students and develop the whole child. My lessons focus on creating mindful learners. This prepares them for the real world by giving them strategies that help them to regulate their emotions, reduce stress and increase their attention. These ‘special’ days have been some of the most rewarding as I see the students implementing what they are learning into their everyday lives.”