The Civics Action Project Showcase was held at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School on Tuesday, May 27. (Photo Courtesy Old Rochester Regional School District and MA Superintendency Union #55)
MARION — Superintendent Michael S. Nelson and Principal Silas Coellner are proud to share that more than 130 student projects exploring important issues facing society were on display at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School during the Civics Action Project Showcase held on Tuesday, May 27.
Eighth grade students who completed civics action projects over the course of four weeks were able to present their findings on a wide range of topics, such as school discipline, environmental issues, mental health problems, dress codes in school, plastic pollution, underage substance use and bullying. The eighth graders were tasked with picking societal topics that would help improve their community if only the issue was better understood.
As part of their projects, the students went through a multi-step process to learn about local government, public policy creation, and how laws and regulations can be changed to better address societal problems. Through their work, conducting surveys, contacting state representatives, speaking with school officials and communicating with community leaders, the eighth graders gained valuable insight into civic responsibility and the role they can play to improve the world around them.
After gaining sufficient information, the students developed a final goal proposal related to their topic. The students then prepared posters to display during the Civics Action Project Showcase, helping them to explain their subject to family, friends, teachers and other guests from the community. Several school administrators also attended the event to witness students deliver their presentations.
During the showcase, students, parents and local community members voted on what they considered the top project by two groups of students.
The winners for the Green Team were Oliver Ward and John Rousseau for “Interactive Lessons In School.” The winner for the Orange Team was Sophie Zhou for “Wildlife and Road Safety.”
The projects were facilitated by eighth grade civics teachers Sarah Makein and Rick Regan.
“We were very happy with and impressed by all the tremendous work and effort that our students put into their civics action projects,” Makein said. “This event was a great success, and we look forward to repeating the effort.”
“It was outstanding to see so many high-quality projects completed by our students,” Regan said. “They did a lot of hard work to collect information and to develop compelling findings on so many intriguing subjects. It was amazing to see what they came up with.”
Superintendent Nelson and Principal Coellner both congratulated the eighth graders for all of their efforts to tackle so many important issues, providing nuanced explanations and offering solutions for so many social problems facing the world today.
“I’m happy to see how so many of our students engaged intelligently on some of these very difficult issues impacting our communities,” said Principal Coellner. “There were so many thoughtful presentations that were based on data collected by our students who then offered some very interesting perspectives on these important topics. Thank you to Mr. Regan and Ms. Makein for all of their work to prepare our students for this endeavor.”
“It was amazing to see all the hard work on display by our eighth graders during the Civics Action Project Showcase,” said Superintendent Nelson. “It’s incredible to see the depth of information and the level of understanding our students demonstrated in regard to such a wide variety of issues touching on civic responsibility. I’d also like to thank Mr. Regan and Ms. Makein for their efforts to guide our students through this project and to get them thinking about good citizenship and the responsibility they all have as future leaders.”
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More than 130 student projects that delved into important issues facing society were on display during the Civic Action Project Showcase. (Photo Courtesy Old Rochester Regional School District and MA Superintendency Union #55)
Eighth graders completed civic action projects and presented their findings on a wide range of topics, such as school discipline, environmental issues, mental health problems, and dress codes in school. (Photo Courtesy Old Rochester Regional School District and MA Superintendency Union #55)
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