Eighth Grade: A Year of Celebrating at Project Learn School!

By Jamie Polson

     8th grade…  What an exciting year!  So much to look forward to.

     Liam Gallagher, the Junior High science teacher, said, “The 8th grade year is a good celebration for all that the students who have been at Project Learn School.  They work on systems thinking, collaboration, and setting big goals. Collaboration is a very important skill to have anywhere you go; systems thinking is when you have a project with multiple steps or things that need to get done and people need to be assigned to certain tasks; and setting big goals is trying to see the big picture first, then trying to get there. In order for the 8th graders to practice these skills they have a lot of projects throughout the year to work on such as the Haunted House, weekly food sales, and the Costa Rica trip.”

     Earlier in the fall, the 8th grade went on a trip to Silver Lake in the Poconos. They were invited by Surya Bromley's family to their house. Liam's favorite part of the trip was "watching the kids go crazy over the rope swing as I watched from the kayak." The goal of this trip was to come up with fundraising ideas for the trip to Costa Rica and for ideas for the Haunted House. David Bromley, Surya's dad, Liam Gallagher, and Linda Pollack-Johnson, the mom of this reporter, were the leaders of this trip. 

     The Haunted House is a project that the graduating class does during the Halloween season. They make up costumes, plot lines and characters for the Haunted House, which they construct in some of the Jr. High rooms. On Halloween the rest of the school goes through the Haunted House. Sean Leber, a PLS Jr. High teacher said, " I was looking forward to seeing what the 8th grade put together. Although I didn't know much about it, I was looking forward to seeing their creativity." The Haunted House is kept a confidential activity so that it's not spoiled before the other groups go in. Joan Fox, the PLS art teacher, remarked, "I like going to it and being a little scared."

     In the Spring, the 8th grade goes to Costa Rica on a service learning trip. In order to raise money for their trip, they do weekly food sales, which are put together by the 8th grade students, Liam and Joan. Some of the items sold at these sales are spagheti and garlic bread, tomato soup and grilled cheese, tacos, and mashed potatoes with toppings. A drink is included with each meal. The cost of the lunch for the rest ofthe school is $5.00. Zack Waxler, an 8th grader, said, "Spaghetti is my favorite food sale idea." The Costa Rica trip is what the 8th grade looks forward to all year. Joan said,  “The staff at PLS has always been looking for ways to culminate the 8th graders’ time at PLS.  Five  years ago we decided to have that be in another country and through research, we decided that Costa Rica was the place we wanted to go to.”  

     During the whole school year, the 8th grade tries to raise enough money to go to Costa Rica, where they stay with local families and do service projects for the community.   Zack said that “ I am looking forward to being away from school for a week.”  They will be going with Liam and Joan, who have brought the 8th graders to Costa Rica for the past few years.  There are nine 8th graders this year. If you want more information or have questions about the 8th grade contact Jake Grubb, Elya Kaplin, Surya Bromley, Jamie Polson, Zack Waxler, Tania Crowell, Kyle Adams, Jhakur Hall, or Nasya Howard.  Look for them around the building; they are easy to spot.

 

8th grade students at Silver Lake in the Poconos.