High Point Academy’s Fourth Quarter Enrichment Gallery Walks



Last week, the junior high celebrated their achievements in their enrichment classes during the Fourth Quarter Enrichment Gallery Walks. As a final showcase of their work, the students shared their work in a variety of areas.

On Monday, the junior high gathered with parents, teachers, and the sixth grade to honor this year’s athletes during the annual Sports Award Ceremony. All students who played on High Point teams were recognized, and the coaches for each team gave speeches about their special awards. Many students earned the Five-Sport Award, and the prestigious Athlete-of-the-Year Award was merited by Miles C., Ian K., and Miranda T.

On Tuesday, the Gallery Walks began in earnest in Mrs. Gangl’s debate class. The students argued intelligently and and articulately about the topic of whether the death penalty should be repealed. The proposition and opposition sides both presented valid arguments, but in the end, the win went to the proposition side. Kudos to the debaters: Andrew K., Miles C., Andrew B., Tristan S., Hank D., and Anushka V.

On Wednesday, the health class presented one of their major projects for the quarter. Each student was tasked with designing a t-shirt with a slogan to warn their peers about the risk factors of drugs and alcohol. With the slogan in the front of the shirt and the risk factors concisely bulleted on the back of the t-shirt, the students creatively presented their research to their junior high peers. It was a lively and informative session. Mrs. Stromberg and her health class should be very proud.

On Thursday, the students first headed over to the church for a presentation by the art class. Mr. Davis and his students have worked very hard these last two months designing, creating, and painting all of the sets for the Willie Wonka production. Amy L. took the lead in presenting the group’s journey from the beginning stages of the design process through the end production of the sets: preliminary hand sketches, working with design apps, projecting and reproducing the sketches, and finally the construction of the sets. Throughout the presentation, Amy spoke to a captivated audience about the group’s definition of design as a “creative endeavor to solve problems” and about the role of empathy in design.

Next, the students headed to Mrs. Zeiss’s classroom for the American Sign Language presentation. All students participated in the presentation of topics covered in the class: the alphabet, calendar items, food signs, clothing and colors, and research on major issues within the Deaf culture. The students signed fluently and showcased their impressive skills.

Finally, on Friday, the first exhibit took place in the Maker Shed for Mr. Moore’s Maker Time showcases. This past quarter, the students chose passion projects to create. The final projects ran the gamut: a carefully designed regal chair, a very functional scooter, a mailbox, a design for an official flag for High Point, an animation video, a video game, and the beginning stages of a drone, to name a few.

For the last presentation, the junior high headed to the MPR to enjoy the music of the band class. Mr. Divers provided an introduction to the audience, and the three band members, Jack B., Anthony B., and Adrian K., performed the song that they have been working on this quarter, “Never Going to Give You Up.” They played to an enthusiastic audience. Afterwards, the students met with the musicians to see the instruments up close and to hear about their process of learning the song.

It was quite a week, and the students should be so proud of their accomplishments. As we ended this last week of enrichment classes, the junior high now heads into finals week. No problem! We have seen what they can design, create, research, articulate, learn, and present. Finals will be a walk in the park for this group of kids!

High Point Academy, 1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road, Pasadena, (626) 798-8989 or visit www.highpointacademy.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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