LINCOLN STUDENTS TURN CLASSROOM INTO ARCADE
STUDENTS GET INSPIRED BY WALKWAY MURAL ethel Park
LINCOLN STUDENTS TURN CLASSROOM INTO ARCADE
The students in Kelly Clouser ’ s classroom at Lincoln Elementary School put their imaginations to work by creating their own arcade games and opening an Arcade in their classroom for the students in Don Hays ’ classroom .
The students created their games out of recycled materials and they did a great job of making arcade favorite games such as air hockey , a claw machine with stuffed animals , marble run , ping pong toss , knockout , pool table , plinko and skee ball .
The first and second graders invited the third and fourth graders from Mr . Hays ’ room into the Arcade to try their hand at the games and to win some prizes . Mr . Hays ’ students earned tickets to play the games by demonstrating good behavior and turning in their class work and home work on time .
Ms . Clouser ’ s students were inspired to create their arcade after reading “ The Most Magnificent Thing ,” which is a story about a little girl and her dog , who is her best friend , who together try to create “ The
Contestants could pretend they were on “ The Price Is Right ” when they played Plinko in the Lincoln Arcade .
Most Magnificent Thing .” The little girl knows exactly
Ms . Clouser and her students who created the Arcade Games .
what it will look like and how it will work , but every time she tries to build her idea , it just keeps turning out wrong . But through her persistence , and encouragement from her best canine pal , she finally puts it all together .
Through this story , Ms . Clouser ’ s students learned important lessons about perseverance , perspective , creativity , and character that are prevalent throughout this wildly inventive story .
The students really embraced the challenge of creating the carnival games and Ms . Clouser used this activity as a natural tiein to learning about Science , Technology , Engineering and Math ( STEM ).
Ms . Clouser ’ s students wore special t-shirts with a red bow tie on them for the arcade activity .
STUDENTS GET INSPIRED BY WALKWAY MURAL ethel Park
BETHEL PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT
Independence Middle School students get inspired on a daily basis as they walk up and down the ramp that connects the first and second floors of their school , thanks to a mural created by Bethel Park High School junior Grace Evans .
The theme of the mural is “ Be Yourself ,” and it suggests ways to do that , including “ Be Definitive ,” “ Be Inclusive ,” “ Be Supportive ,” “ Be Creative ,” “ Be Inventive ,” “ Be Innovative ,” “ Be Reflective ” and “ Be Expressive .”
The mural was created as Grace ’ s Girl Grace Evans in front of her mural . Scout Gold Award project . The Gold Award is the highest award in Girl Scouting . The project took Grace over 40 hours to complete from sketching to painting .
Grace created the mural because she wanted to promote acceptance , diversity and the theme of “ being yourself .” She sent emails to Bethel Park school Principals to see if they had any room in their building for a mural of this size and IMS Principal David Muench knew he had the right place for the mural .
Grace hand drew every image for the mural and projected it in color on the wall at IMS . She had six helpers paint the mural on the wall over the course of three painting sessions , lasting up to 10 hours each . Because the mural is so high on the wall , Grace and
64 Bethel Park
her helpers had to climb on scaffolding to complete the painting process .
“ I selected this project for my Gold Award because it combined my talent for art with my desire for everybody to accept everybody else for who they are ,” Grace explained . “ My overall goal was to create something that everyone could look at and relate to .”
As the project progressed , Grace especially enjoyed seeing people ’ s reactions as the project came together . The response to her artwork and message has been positive .
Grace would like to pursue fine arts when she goes off to college and she would like to work as an Art Teacher or Professor when she graduates from college . “ I am also interested in studying the relationship between art and people and hope to carry out my research in college , especially in regards to how people feel and see the world . The Myers-Briggs personality types have always been a huge inspiration for me and they play a huge role in my mural , as well as my day-to-day life ,” she said .
She is especially thankful for the assistance she received from the custodial staff at IMS , who assisted her when necessary and helped her to clean up .