As part of the seventh grade curriculum students at Houlton Junior High School studied women in history during the month of March.
The 90 students were divided into 15 groups of six or seven. Each member of the team was given a number and that number corresponded with one of four categories chosen for their project associated with the lives of famous women. Those categories included athletes and sports, artists and humanitarians, authors and journalists to politicians and reformists.
Then each group chose a woman from the category and researched that individual’s life.
The project included four parts. Each of the four parts had specific quality standards the students were required to meet.
Each group created a metaphor or simile that represented their historical figure. Then they included a written section with a collage created by the group that reflected the woman’s accomplishments and or personality in some way.
The third piece was a map of the woman’s home state or country.
Finally, the students were responsible for writing three interview questions and answers for their character, which they had researched for accuracy.
As the culminating activity for this month-long study students presented a performance as part of the annual Women in History Pageant.
Each group chose a pre-recorded song that they felt exemplified their contestant. For example, “Hey Good lookin’” was chosen for a Julia Child presentation. The students chose someone to be the interviewer and another student to portray the woman they have been studying.
The final portion of the pageant was the talent segment. Each group was responsible for creating an original poem, song or skit that detailed the woman’s accomplishments and or legacy.
For the final portion of the project, the students’ scores from the written section were tallied and given to the judges to be figured into the performance section.
These 15 groups showed a lot of creativity and ingenuity. The presentation demonstrated the research that the students had done and the props indicated the extra time they spent creating and setting the scene.
Women selected to study this year included, Cleopatra, Grandma Moses, Carry Nation, Carolyn Keene, Rachel Carson, Julia Child, Billie Holiday, Queen Elizabeth, Jeannie Brett, Jane Goodall, Wilma Rudolph, Susan Collins, Ann Meyers, Mae Jemison and Tracy Austin.
After the final tabulations there was a tie for first place. The following students, Lucas Sewell, Kierra Carmichael, Connor Cleary, Elizabeth Ford, Ricky Michaud, Cheyenne Raymond and Kim Lewis took one of the top awards for their research on Jane Goodall, who was a messenger of peace and will be remembered for her research of chimpanzees.
The second top award went to the group that presented their skit on Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist and nature-writer whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Team members in this group were, Breanna Longstaff, Alex York, Tyler Bartlett, Levi Chasse, Nicole Foster, Nick Phillips and Elizabeth Barry.
The runner-up team was Robby Woods, Paige Fitzpatrick, Isaiah Haney, Alana Pratt, Kole Buzzeo, Steven Phillips and Katelyn Millette for their project on Queen Elizabeth.
The pageant was held on April 10 with Paula Gendron serving as the mistress of ceremonies. Judges included, Renee Foley, Jason Tarr, Marty Bouchard and Betty Frazier with Fred Ludwig as the official scorer; all SAD 29 personnel.