Rock the Vote: Lower School Election 2012
By Ann Glass - FF/S
Under Mr. McConnell’s leadership, the Lower School is gearing up for the November election by running book characters against each other.
Author-illustrator Brian Pinkney will visit us at the end of November, so we are using his characters in our election. Although all the students are reading all of his books, it is the third- and fourth-graders who have pulled out character values and invented platforms based on actions within the stories.
White Party candidate Sukey (Sukey and the Mermaid) is loyal. Her running mate from Max Found Two Sticks is musical, resourceful, and a good listener. They have a platform that includes Mermaid Protection Laws, cleaner oceans, and free music lesson for interested kids. They also want to encourage jobs that reuse, recycle, and improve communities.
The Purple Party is running Thomas (The Boy and the Ghost) and JoJo (JoJo’s Flying Sidekick). Thomas is honest and courageous and responsible. JoJo has a healthy lifestyle and has perseverance. Together they believe in always using your manners, especially during arguments, encouraging people to eat healthy foods and exercise, sponsoring family projects to build strong family units, and improving housing for the poor.
The next step for our students is to develop slogans for each party. In addition, Ms. Henry will help them compose a jingle in Music class using garage band, Mrs. Moore will help them design posters for each party in Art, and Senora Evans will direct them in translating everything into Spanish during Spanish class. Fourth-graders are especially looking forward to working with Mrs. Kinney to make presidential ads using iMovie that will be shown to all the classes during library time.
To help students decide which candidates to vote for, Mr. Ivey’s eighth-grade class is coming over to hold a debate between the Purple and White parties.
By the time Nov. 6 dawns, our gym will be turned into a voting precinct. Tiger PRIDE has generously agreed to decorate with red, white, and blue balloons and patriotic bunting. We will have registration tables set up for each class where students will show their ID and sign their names. They will then cast a private vote on an iPad (thanks to the I.T. Office) and receive an “I voted” sticker as they leave. Mr. Evans’ American History students are serving as docents and also want to conduct exit polls.
Our school day will end with an assembly as we remind students that despite the fervor of an election, we are all united behind this great country. We will recite the Pledge of Allegiance and Ms. Henry will lead us in our National Anthem and other songs. Third-graders will recite the Gettysburg Address and then the winner of our election will be announced. Win or lose, all students will end the process on a celebratory note as we join together in a victory party with cupcakes!
