York County students are using a new learning method to help save elephants.
Cindy Evans, a teacher at Tabb Middle School and instructional trainer for the division, embarked on a yearlong endeavor with her students that has culminated in their involvement with an international charity to protect elephants.
Evans, an English teacher, was tasked with spreading the principle of project-based learning to her school. Project-based learning has students working on a project over the course of a unit, learning along the way, rather than building to a “dessert project” after all learning has been completed.
Evans said the strategy makes students more engaged with material and holds them responsible for their own learning.
“It changes a lot about the way we teach and the way kids learn,” she said.
The course might not be clear from the start, and Evans said teachers must be open for the student-directed approach to succeed.
In the fall, she and the three other English teachers started with a novel about a group of children who pledge to make a difference to end animal abuse. It was not long before Tabb middle-schoolers wanted to embark on a similar project of their own.
The students broke into teams and set off to focus on modern issues facing animals. They were assigned with finding out what hardships animals worldwide experience and how the Tabb community could make a difference. Along the way, they picked up research skills, learned how to structure a bibliography and discussed plagiarism.
“It started off we were just going to read a book and it turned into this incredible project,” Evans said.
Each of the 83 teams then crafted an argument for why their cause was the most significant and worthy of support from the community. They presented their projects – titled Action for Animal Awareness – to parents, the school board and members of the community at an event Dec. 5.
The guests voted for the most persuasive group, and three girls with the mission to stop elephant poaching took home the highest prize. Evans is not sure what sent Gracie Cannon, Kaylyn Rivera and Gracie Roberts over the top, but praised their ability to get their message across.
For their success, ending elephant poaching became the cause for the students to champion for the remainder of the school year. They began organizing fundraisers but were faced with deciding where the money should go.
Their journey led them to discover the trek of Sheryl Mays, a Williamsburg resident who pledged to walk 100 miles to protect elephants in Kenya. Evans happened upon a WYDaily article from January about Mays’ quest, and sent her a message while Mays was traversing African dirt roads and learning about the rangers who work with the community to keep elephants from being illegally killed.
Mays returned from Kenya full of stories of the blazing heat, camel caravans and the amazing knowledge and compassion of her local guides. While on the walk, she spotted elephant footprints and caught a glimpse of zebras; her camp heard lions at night.
After the century of miles was complete, she visited an elephant orphanage for young animals who are still being fed from a bottle and are allowed to interact with guests.
“We could get right next to them. We could pet them and scratch their heads,” Mays said.
Back in Williamsburg, she was thrilled to see an email from Evans, and a partnership formed. Not only could Mays vouch for the program Space for Giants, one of the organizers of her “100 Miles for Elephants” trip, but she will be sharing her firsthand account with the Tabb students Thursday. She will share photos and video from the experience, and answer questions.
Evans said it is important for the students to feel their efforts are going toward tangible change, and Mays’ appearance will re-energize them to move forward with the project.
They have raised $800 so far through a number of events, and are planning a schoolwide dance for May. The choice of event and bulk of the planning is done by students, who have the goal of $1,000 to be donated to Space for Giants.
The total at the end of the year will be added to Mays’ $5,500, which exceeded her fundraising target. It takes less than $500 to fund a ranger for a year, and Mays said the students’ work might also go toward radios to ease communication and allow for more effective protection of the elephants on the ground.
“I feel it’s important for young people to recognize that they can make a change, that they can make a connection with people from far away and make a difference,” she said. The spirit of their service will stay with them for a lifetime, and give them new perspective and inspiration to make change in their own community.
Evans said the work has changed how her students look at learning, and they are already eagerly asking when their next project will be.
To make a donation to the Tabb Middle School fund for Space for Giants, contact Evans at [email protected]. Mays is interested in sharing her story with more students and community groups, and can be reached at [email protected].
Providence Classical School Hosts Benefit This Weekend, Students Receive Honors
Providence Classical School will host its second annual benefit event at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the William & Mary School of Education. School families, local dignitaries and friends of the school can attend a reception and entertaining program on the theme “Back To The Future.”
The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required. To RSVP, contact [email protected], call 565-2900 x301 or visit the school’s website.
PCS freshmen earned top honors in this year’s Daughters of the American Revolution “Honoring our Heritage” contest for junior American citizens. Grace Calkins (back R) won first in district and first place statewide for the photography essay competition. Logan Leemis won second place in the district while Gabrielle Garnett (back L) and Georgia Hester (front R) tied for third.
Siblings Laura and Steve Slayton also received Langley Federal Credit Union top scholarship awards for 2014 summer space camps. Steve will attend camp at the Virginia Air and Space Museum, and Laura won national recognition and will attend a NASA Space Academy program in Florida this summer.
Walsingham Fourth-Graders Spread Cheer at Envoy Nursing Home
On Wednesday, fourth-grade students at Walsingham Academy visited Envoy Nursing Home to deliver more than 200 Easter decorations they created.
The students also prepared a few songs to share with the residents.
“I am proud that the class chose to serve in this fashion,” said teacher Jessica Gleason in a news release. “It was such a rewarding experience, to see how much compassion our students had for the residents of Envoy. Our students left with smiles wide on their faces, knowing that today they made a difference and so can you.”
YCSD Odyssey of the Mind Champions
Three York County School Division teams took First Place in the Peninsula Region Odyssey of the Mind competition March 29. First-place teams are eligible to advance to the state competition in April.
In all, eight YCSD student teams placed in the top three in their respective categories and divisions.
First Place:
- Magruder Elementary School, The Not-So-Haunted House Division I
- Queens Lake Middle School, The Not-So-Haunted House Division II
- Yorktown Elementary School, It’s How We Rule Division I
Second Place:
- Dare Elementary School, Driver’s Test Division I
- York High School, The Not-So-Haunted House Division III
- Mt. Vernon Elementary School, The Stackable Structure Division I
- Tabb High School, Seeing is Believing Division III
Third Place:
- Grafton High School, Seeing is Believing Division III
