Believing that unity is strength and when there is teamwork that anything can be achieved, student groups at Windham Middle School recently collaborated as part of an exercise intended to build trust while creating, designing and decorating a winning pumpkin.
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| The 'Oscar the Grouch' pumpkin design created by a sixth-grade team advised by teacher Matthew Zidle was the winner of this year's Pumpkin Contest at Windham Middle School. Team members proposed the design, painted the pumpkin and added the finishing touches in an exercise intended to build teamwork and collaboration among the students. COURTESY PHOTO |
The advisory groups at the school met, chose a pumpkin, suggested possible designs, voted on one design and then worked together on turning their pumpkin into the design they wanted. Following several weeks of work on the activity, the groups displayed their creations for their peers in the hallway outside the school gymnasium for a panel of judges including WMS Principal Greg Applestein and Assistant Principal AJ Ruth.
This popular annual student advisory group activity aims to forge strong connections among the students, foster creativity and to refine communications by drawing together students with diverse backgrounds and different personalities tasked to work on a common problem.
Zidle said the first task for the winning design group was to gather supplies needed for the pumpkin.
“Many of us were able to provide ‘trash’ items for the can,” he said. “Students painted the pumpkin and attached green ‘fur.’ We’d like to thank Ruth’s Reusables for helping us by donating supplies as well. They are an incredible resource for our communities by allowing us to work as a team and have a lot of fun in the process.”
He said it was a great opportunity for members of his advisory group to demonstrate leadership, think outside the box and develop a sense of solidarity, making them more invested in themselves and others.
Sixth grader Natalie Norcia was involved in painting the pumpkin to resemble “Oscar the Grouch” from Sesame Street.
“Besides painting, I helped with the googly eyes, the trash stuff and the fur,” Norcia said. “It took a few weeks to produce, but I thought it looked really good and that we all did a good job with it.”
Max Caron, a WMS sixth grader, said student creativity was on display in this activity.
“I liked how we could do whatever we wanted with the design,” Caron said.
He said some of the suggestions among their group for a design included the Earth, actor Mike Myers, and one based upon Friday the 13th films before the students settled on creating Oscar the Grouch.
He said this pumpkin decorating activity was challenging but was not so tough as to frustrate or overwhelm members of the student advisory group.
“Lots of friends got together in class, put our heads together and got to work on it,” Caron said.
As the project came together slowly, sixth grader Bradford Jorgensen thought that the group’s design might not get much attention from the judges.
“I thought we were going to get last place,” Jorgensen said. “In the end that wasn’t the case.”
When completed, Oscar the Grouch was seen emerging from a red trash can filled with crushed soda pop cans, candy wrappers and other trash. There is trash on top of his green hair, and he has thick black eyebrows over his large googly eyes. An empty plastic yogurt container is perched on top of his head and a sign on the trash can reads “Grouch says SCRAM.”
Members of Zile’s winning team included WMS sixth graders Chase Austin Lewis; Natalie Norica; Brittany Sharkey; Elena Vujanic; Elliot Condon; Liana Aguilar; Finnegan Niman; Bradford Jorgensen; Max Caron; Atticus Cunningham; James Riley; and Ian Dorie. <
