Students Take Over Classrooms to Show Appreciation

Eighth graders at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School developed a whole new appreciation for teachers while ‘walking a mile’ in their shoes during Catholic Schools Week. To honor teachers on Faculty Appreciation Day, twenty-eight students paired up and prepared a lesson plan based on input from faculty. On Friday, January 31, they took over and taught a class period for each teacher from Kindergarten through grade seven, including special subject instructors.

Students looked the part, wearing dresses, coats and ties, had official name tags, and enjoyed having their very own teachers’ lounge stocked with donuts and cocoa. The teaching teams incorporated iPads, laptops, dual screen technology, and a new interactive projector into their lesson plans. They taught math, history, technology, language arts, social studies, religion, and even Spanish.

 Most students, such as Max Kippenbrock and Ben Shropshire found teaching harder than they anticipated, but also considered it a good experience. Brian Bowers who taught 5th grade math commented, “It was pretty easy, like teaching my sister.” Abby Kallmyer enjoyed working with second grade. After reading them a story she used a Jeopardy style quiz to explain cause and effect as it related to the storyline. OLPH Religion teacher Mr. Matt Malone worked with Nick Zehring and Luke Hess on an interactive way to bring a lesson on Confirmation to the class. After reading Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles and discussing Pope Francis’ writings, students acted out scenes from Pentecost. “The 8th graders did really well; I’m proud of how they took it seriously.” Added Mr. Malone. “This was the first time we’ve done this;” noted OLPH Principal, Mr. Victor Pellechia, “but it likely won’t be the last. We encourage our students to be leaders and role models. This way a creative way for them to develop their planning skills and practice public speaking. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Catholic Schools Week.”