At Frances Brandon-Pickett Elementary School, students recently showcased a year of hard work during the school’s Celebration of Learning, an evening filled with school projects and creativity.
For sixth graders, the event served as the culmination of everything they learned throughout the quarter. One student explained, “Celebration of Learning night is a day where you show everything you’ve learned, and there’s a big project for sixth graders.”
The student’s project focused on Frederick Douglass and included an argumentative essay, poetry, and visual text features. “We have to explain a few things,” the student shared. “We have to do an argumentative essay of how he was important, a poem to build structure in his career, and a text feature to show his career, and basically everything we’ve learned.”
Students also discovered new perspectives through their research. “This year I learned that he had multiple careers for his whole life,” the student said.
Another sixth grader researched legendary gymnast Nadia Comăneci. “I picked her because she was the first woman to ever get a perfect ten in gymnastics,” the student explained. “I think it’s fun that I learned she was the second in the whole world to ever be put in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.”
Beyond academics, students highlighted the supportive environment at the school. “I love my school because the teachers are super nice and always so helpful,” one student said. “They make sure everything gets learned.”
Sixth-grade teacher Kristine McLean said students spent the entire fourth quarter researching influential people and important topics. “This is the pinnacle of all their hard work,” she shared. “They’ve written beautiful argumentative essays, spent hours researching, and created these amazing boards and presentations.”
McLean added that the pride shown by students, families, and staff made the evening especially meaningful. “You can see the pride that they have and their parents have,” she said. “That’s really awesome.”