Animal abuse, cancer, domestic violence, obesity and poverty were just a few of the major issues that fifth-graders at Leonard Elementary discussed during their IB (International Baccalaureate) Exhibition, held at the school on March 26.
‘I thought the kids did a fantastic job,? said Leonard Principal Paul McDevitt. ‘They tackled some pretty serious issues and subject matter and learned an awful lot about it.?
As a part of their projects, the students were required to demonstrate the characteristics of an IB learner ? inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective.
Sebastian Pace, Taylor Giuliani, Jessa Chapin and Matthew Mullins addressed the topic of animal abuse.
The group took action by supporting the Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) by telling people if they register their Kroger cards online, a percentage of what they bought would be donated to DAWG.
Giuliani said she was ‘principled.?
‘I think I was principled because I was always trying to take this project very seriously,? she said.
Both Pace and Chapin said they were ‘risk-takers? because neither of them liked speaking in front of people.
‘I think I was open-minded because I was nervous at first, but now I’m not,? Mullins noted.
Madison Werner and Darren McLeod battled cancer with action by raising $96 over six weeks through the sale of rubberband bracelets and hairclips for 25 cents each.
‘I think it’s a great way to help raise awareness and to help us find a cure,? McLeod said.
‘I think it was an awesome way to involve kids and make them aware of cancer at an early age,? Werner added.
McLeod said he enjoyed picking a topic that he was interested in and making a presentation for it.
‘I think I learned how to be a risk-taker because I took on a subject I didn’t know much about,? he said. ‘I thought I showed balance between school, home and the exhibition project.?
Werner also enjoyed doing the exhibition and making others aware of cancer.
‘I think I displayed leadership because I had to be leader to take action to help others,? she explained. I was also a communicator because I shared my ideas with the group and communicated cancer awareness to everyone who watched our presentation tonight.?
Rachel Wozniak, Cade Liverance and Macie McDevitt tackled the issue of domestic violence by raising awareness.
They encouraged students to wear the color purple every Wednesday and those who wore purple donated 25 cents. In six weeks, they raised $65, all of which will be donated to the HAVEN, a domestic violence shelter for women and children in Oakland County.
They will also deliver toys for the children at the shelter.
‘It was a good idea and experience. It made me very happy to know that I was helping people,? said Liverance, who admitted at first, he was nervous about doing the project.
‘Then I felt confident because my mentor and my group and Mrs. Granger helped me,? he said
Both Macie and Wozniak agreed it was a fun project and a great experience.
‘I felt like a risk-taker,? Macie said.
‘I knew what (domestic violence) was from the start, so I was confident (about doing the project),? Wozniak added. ‘As we went along, (the project) got nerve wracking, but everyone helped me (stay calm).
Sebastian Speck, Xavier Kimmons and Julian Gonczar helped fight obesity by organizing a ‘Drop Everything and Exercise? (DEAE) event, where everyday students and teachers throughout the school would ‘drop everything and exercise? for two minutes, through a series of jumping jacks, push-ups and sit-ups.
‘The reason we did DEAE is exercising will help people and prevent obesity,? Gonczar said.
They also posted a sign by the salad bar in the cafeteria that read: ‘Remember your fruits and vegetables.?
‘I thought the sign was a good idea because part of preventing obesity is having a healthy diet,? Kimmons said.
Speck thought the exhibition experience was ‘amazing and fun.?
‘It was really hard at first because we didn’t know if we would get it done, but we ended up getting it done in time,? he explained
Gonczar called the project a ‘good thing for me and my life experience in the future.?
‘This was a good thing for Leonard Elementary and it was really, really fun for me and my group,? he said.
‘No doubt about it,? Kimmons added. ‘Exhibition helped me build upon (my) knowledge (of a topic) that before, I didn’t know much about. It was also very cool to sit in the principal’s office and do exercises.?
The thing that was ‘most impressive? to McDevitt was how well the students? presentations were put together.
‘Their power-point presentations with the animations and videos embedded in them and just the amount of technology that those students used to get the information to the audience was impressive,? he said. ‘I know when I was 10 years-old I wouldn’t have been able to do those types of things.?
He not only praised the work of his students, but the teachers as well.
‘Our fifth-grade teachers worked extremely hard over the last seven weeks with the students, trying to help guide them through this and teach them how to research correctly, how to organize their thoughts, how to put that into a research paper and make that presentation from that,? McDevitt added. ‘They worked extremely hard and I’m really proud of our fifth-grade teachers.?