Colonel Smith Middle School
Young thespians perform in school play
By Andrea Weigle
After several weeks of practice, the Colonel Smith Middle School Drama Club recently staged a production of “Romeo and Julie,†a play by Bill Comeau very loosely based on William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.†Under the direction of Phyllis Gerben, the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade actors entertained their audience of students and parents with their March 14 performance at school.
“Once the play started, I was surprised to find that I wasn’t nervous at all,†said Anny Wilson, 11, a sixth-grade student-actor who played the part of a heckler.
“Some of us had unusual roles, playing inanimate objects such as a bush or a doorbell, said Megan Schachter, 12, also a sixth grader. Those roles really made the audience laugh.â€
With assistance from the Parent-Teacher Organization, the drama club was able to purchase items to help them make their costumes. After the production, Jaedyn Burdick, 12, reflected on her performance and expressed an interest in pursuing acting in the future.
General Myer Elementary School
Submitted by Jill Peterson
In science, the 5th grade has been working on their “cells†unit. Students constructed cells out of common household objects to represent the structures of either a plant or animal cell. After they constructed it, they made a key describing the function of each of its structures.
Students will continue to build on this knowledge to learn about the human body and its systems. Finally, they will participate in a “sleuth†activity online by listening to interviews, reading pertinent information and using other available resources to discover why individuals react differently in certain situations.
Mrs. Sherod’s 5th-grade class hosted a poetry reading to share poetry they had written. In addition to reading their poetry, each poet created slides to enhance their presentations. Parents and staff members were invited for a morning of poetry reading and tea and cookies.
For the remainder of the year, General Myer School will be focusing on the last two pillars of their Character Counts Program – Caring and Citizenship. In conjunction, they are having a food drive to help support Relay for Life on May 11 at Veterans’ Memorial Park.
That evening, staff members and their families will be walking together to honor those who are fighting or to celebrate the lives of those who have been lost to cancer. The canned goods collected during the food drive will be used to hold the luminaries in place on relay day and donated to local food banks afterwards.
