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Reminder Assistant Editor WEST SPRINGFIELD The Third Annual Education Celebration at West Springfield Middle School on May 28 brought a whole new meaning to "open house." Dozens of students in grades pre-kindergarten to 12 hurried feverishly from station to station, anxiously shepherding their parents throughout the nine stations dedicated to the showcasing of their education. Martha Tighe, principal of Fausey School and coordinator of the Education Celebration, called the evening "a wonderful representation" of the school district as a whole and a "spotlight" on their education model. Upon entering the middle school, students were given a "Passport to Education: A K-12 'Living Curriculum' Journey." At each of the nine stations spotlighting a certain area of their education they would receive a stamp. Parents had the opportunity to view student work as well as participate in various activities in each of the 16 rooms. Students and their parents danced the "Cupid Shuffle" in the gymnasium and participated in the "Hula Hoop Olympics." Face-painting and other arts and crafts were completed in the Visual Arts rooms; student work and activities were also conducted in the Multi-Media English Language Arts (ELA) rooms, Science & Technology/Robotics rooms, Mathematics rooms, Performing Arts auditorium, the Life Science rooms and the History rooms. Non-stop performances conducted in the auditorium throughout the Education Celebration showcased the various aspects of performing arts in the district, including elementary school band students, a recorder class, the Coburn School Dance Class, the Coburn School and middle school choirs, the West Springfield High School Singing Blues, the drama club's presentation of a scene from "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and the high school color guard. "This is a great opportunity for parents to see what's going on [in the classrooms] and what [their children] are creating in [their] art [classes]," Lisa Sofman, art teacher at Fausey Elementary School and John Ashley School, said. Kimberly Dotiwalla, mother of Alex Dotiwalla, a third grader, said she was eager to attend the Education Celebration in order to get her child "excited about school." She explained that they toured several of the rooms, including the Robotics rooms, which her child showed a great deal of interest. "I'm having a really good time," Alex said with a smile. Martha Buoniconti, mother of a student in pre-kindergarten and first grade, noted the importance of attending the event not only to understand what students are learning in their respective grades but also to know what they'll be learning in the future. Tighe explained that the Education Celebration is "still evolving" as they added the ELA room this year and will explore more expansion options next year. She described the evening as an elaborate demonstration of the commitment teachers and staff have to the students in the district as many participated in the preparation and execution of the evening. | ||||||
