Mr. R. stands proudly next to his art program trifolds. He explained his passion for art with excitement as he showed off his work.

On Tuesday February 8, 2022 different school programs were showcased in the Red Devil Dining Court during club time and lunch.

When you walked down the ramp and entered the cafeteria, the first table you were met with was Mr. Riesterer’s art table. Three trifold setups decorated to visually display the classes offered. Those classes include 2D Art, Visual Communications, Photography, Ceramics AP Studio Art, and AP Art History. “I think people should join these programs because it’s a way to mentally gain some stability. It’s a stress reliever, it’s a way to cope with difficult situations, it’s a way to express yourself in ways that other classes don’t let you express yourself, and it’s just a way to communicate visually in a talent that you may have or be interested in.” Mr. R. said.

A little farther down were Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Heim promoting their Family and Consumer Science program- or FACS. They used bright colors, fabrics, and photos from their classes in order to draw your eye to their display. “I think we’re both very creative people, so this was an outlet to combine creativity with academia. We see how it changes kids lives even though it’s not math and it’s not science, which are incredibly important, but we are providing them with the tools to survive after they graduate high school, and we’re pretty proud of that,” Ms. Heim said. “We do give students a way to learn about real life applications of things that they might know before and then to have some fun while they do it,” Mrs. Hart added.

The FACS program offers classes in Culinary, Fashion Design, and Child Development. “We provide a lot of hands-on experiences so we talk about everything first, but then there’s opportunities with every chapter we teach for kids to jump in with their hands, do hands-on projects and labs, they build things, they create things, they get to taste things, and I think the hands-on makes it more real-world,”Ms. Heim stated.

Diagonal from the FACS table was the Computer Science table, complete with sumo-fighting robots and an open plan computer setup. Mr. Woodard was aided by two students from the computer science program, Alexander Bousman (10) and Josiah Freeman(9). “To be quite honest, it’s really fun. You get to learn a lot about logic and problem solving, so even if you don’t enjoy the class you can use what you learn in almost every other class,” Josiah Freeman said.

Three eighth graders stop by to admire the Women’s Lit trifold. Their interest was piqued as they read information about the class.

Across from the Computer Science table was the one for the Greater Lafayette Career Academy. A woman named Kim Howat visited from the academy in order to present the multitude of programs they have to offer. “I’m the college and career pathway advisor. I have been a high school counselor and teacher in work-based learning. Careers are my passion and helping young people find their direction. These programs can help a student get several dual credits in each of the programs that we offer and it gives them a head start when they go into college,” Howat said.

Next to the entrance from the club room was the setup for the Women’s Lit program. Mrs. Hembrough was assisted by her student teacher, Gianna Levy (10). Their display consisted of a trifold with the faces of  different author’s faces around the edge, as well as books studied in the class, and examples of reports and activities done in the class. “It puts so much emphasis on women and what they’ve written in society. It’s also eye-opening. The things you talk about are not things you think about in other classes. It’s also a great group of people who do it. When I started out, I knew almost nobody in there, but we grew really close,” Levy said. “I definitely think the atmosphere of the class is really open to sharing and being respectful of people as they ask questions about things we don’t know and as we learn together. And it’s really easy to apply it to a historical standpoint and a modern standpoint, ” Hembrough said.

Mrs. Boyd and Mr. Boaz pose next to their Social Studies poster. They happily presented their program to any interested student who stopped by.

In front of the hallway was a poster about the Social Studies programs. Mrs. Boyd and Mr. Boaz stood proudly near their display all morning, presenting the programs. “I’ve loved social studies since I was in the third grade. I think it allows us to get in touch with the world around us and get to know some cool people and cultures. I think social studies allows you to view the world in new and different ways and that expands our horizons and allows us to be better people,” Mrs. Boyd said.

During the lunch periods, there was a table setup to display the Student Media program. Saffron Horton (10) and Ana Rakita(10) handed out lollipops and stickers to students who stopped by. “It teaches good people skills like communication and being more comfortable in crowds. Using the camera is really fun and putting together the yearbook is an experience that not most people can say that they had,” Horton said. “It’s a lot of fun and it’s a bit of a different structure than what you would get out of a normal class and so it takes the monotony away from school. You can just do something that benefits the school and be able to see the yearbook that you made at the end of the year, which is cool,” Rakita said.