The Étude High School staff noticed over the years that many students start to lose motivation at the beginning of the second semester due to the stress of Exhibitions of Learning, Presentations of Learning and other school work. Because of this, Étude Think Tank (our school’s version of student council) decided to hold a school breakout day to not only rejuvenate the student body but also celebrate the Étude community. 

Last month, students participated in activities to build up their motivation and bring the school closer together as a community. We did this during the middle of the year to keep people motivated while going into the second semester. Students participated in project showcases, presenting projects that they created during the previous semester. The seminars included Contemporary Dance, Voice, Interpreting Dramatic Text, and Introduction to Engineering. The showcases presentations were well received by other students.  “I didn’t know what most of the classes were doing, so it was cool to see them,” said sophomore Spencer Kaufmann. The showcases offered students a chance to share their creations and the pride they have in the various creative disciplines. 

This pride carried over into student-led workshops in which students shared the knowledge that they had acquired like World Dance, Socialization Through Board Games, FTC, Astronomy, Nature Journaling, Proportions & Drawing. People enjoyed these workshops. Student Alex Moon, who led the proportions and drawing workshop said “It went well. I feel people received the information well and were on task. They were also listening to what I was saying and following instructions.” 

Étude even held its first annual winter games in which students were split into different groups to participate in games to bring the students closer to each other. These games not only provided yet another opportunity to practice their communication and collaboration skills, but also lots of laughs and smiles.