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Saturday, October 19, 2013

CELEBRATE





I'm participating in Ruth Ayres' Celebrate This Week!


Discover. Play. Build.


Katy Perry is coming to Denver!
Evidently the singer had a contest 
in honor of the release of a new album.
Schools were invited to create a lip dub of her song "Roar."
And Lakewood won!
Next week,  Katy Perry will be doing a concert
in the Lakewood High School gym!
 And I'm celebrating!

OK, so I'm not really celebrating 
that Katy Perry is coming to Denver.
Truth be told, 
aside from the general and vague category "celebrity"
I'm not even exactly sure
who Katy Perry is. 

Instead, I'm celebrating 
Principal Ron Castagna,
 and the Lakewood High School staff,
who, in this age of "rigor" and "data"
and "college and career ready"
took time
to simply let kids come together
and create
and have fun!

I'm not sure kids will remember
 the close readings they did
or the essays they wrote.
I doubt they will remember algebra tests,
or historic events
or science experiments.

But I know,
with absolute certainty
that those kids
will never forget
the time they made a video
and had Katy Perry
 come to their school.

Today I'm celebrating joy
and passion
and fun
 in schools!

16 comments:

Leigh Anne Eck said...

Last year our school celebrated its 100th year of education. We created a video of pictures of classrooms, students, and activities through the years. After watching it, many replied, we don't have fun anymore. What happened to the fun things? Yes, you do have a reason to celebrate...FUN!

Franki said...

This video makes me smile! I love that high schoolers had some time to have fun and how they celebrated all groups in the school. WOW! An impressive amount of work went into that and they certainly deserved to win!

On a side note, I am especially enjoying your line about not quite knowing who Katy Perry is:-) Same.

Holly Mueller said...

That video is FANTASTIC!! So glad I visited your blog today. I loved it. I love that song! What fun the kids must have had, and you're so right about your principal! I DO know who Katy Perry is - she's very cool, and so are those LHS students! ;-)

Holly Mueller said...

AWESOME! What a FUN video! I totally agree about your principal. I DO know who Katy Perry is. ;-) She's very cool, and so are those LHS students!

Deb Frazier said...

Love love love the inclusiveness of this video! The collaboration and community certainly do deserve to have Katie Perry's presence at your school! Making memories!

Linda B said...

I saw it on the news, and thought such similar thoughts, Carol, that that school had the courage to let the kids follow their passion this time, and they won! It's great to hear!

Deb Day said...

Awesome! Like you, I think it's wonderful that these students were allowed to do something creative that resulted in a wonderful treat. They will long remember this!

Today’s Joy said...

Carol--This is AWESOME! Here's to joy and fun in school and to the leaders who put scores and data and standards aside to put kids first! What power in valuing the voices and passions of children and running with it! Thanks so much for sharing. You are amazing!
Katy Perry comment cracked me up. ;)
love,
AM

Karen said...

Great video! Great opportunity for your students. As a side note, there was a central Ohio school in the running for the concert; they made it to the Top 5. But like you, it's not that Katy Perry is coming that is the celebration. It's how kids came together to celebrate. Love it!

elsie said...

Way to go Lakewood High! That is one awesome video and they will remember this video forever, plus the prize. We have to find a way to get the fun back into the school day.

Ramona said...

Joy and passion and fun! What a wonderful reason to celebrate. You're right, those students will never forget this experience.

Terje said...

This is such a fun celebration. All of it - the reason, the back story, the voice, the structure work so well together.

Christy Rush-Levine said...

"Instead, I'm celebrating
Principal Ron Castagna,
and the Lakewood High School staff,
who, in this age of "rigor" and "data"
and "college and career ready"
took time
to simply let kids come together
and create
and have fun!"

This stanza says it all. It is getting more and more difficult to convince administration to allow this sort of real life collaboration, problem solving, and FUN. Hooray for Lakewood High School!

Cathy said...

Amen!

"who, in this age of "rigor" and "data"
and "college and career ready"
took time
to simply let kids come together"

Pickerington, near Columbus, was also among the finalists. I like the message many of the schools made with their video, "Stand up for yourself and for others." They'll be talking about the video and message for weeks to come.

Cathy

MaryHelen said...

I love how you honor the staff for taking a risk and supported their students in a fantastic journey of learning.

Ruth Ayres said...

Wow! That's pretty much all I can say...WOW! (And I see I'm not alone in my awe.) So glad you celebrated with us, Carol.
Shine on,
Ruth