Groveport Madison Board of Education meetings are not always just serious business, sometimes there’s time for both reflection and fun.
At the board’s March 12 meeting, the board and those in attendance were treated with performances by awarding winning Groveport Madison Middle School South and Groveport Madison High School students, as well as a high speed cup stacking exhibition by students from Madison Elementary.
Award winners
Middle School South and the high school took first and second place respectively at the presentation competition at the NAACP Civil Rights Celebration at Franklin Park Conservatory on Feb. 28. Middle School South won $2,000 for the district while the high school garnered $500 for its efforts.
The two teams of students performed their award winning presentations for the board, which involved research on the life of William Powell of East Canton, Ohio, the first African-American to build, own and operate his own golf course called Clearview.
Middle School South’s performance included a well researched effort that used the spoken word, computer slideshow and live music to tell Powell’s story.
The high school students’ effort was a lively play that brought out the struggles and triumphs that Powell encountered in achieving his goals in the face of racism.
Cup stacking
Madison Elementary physical education teacher Beth Stevenson’s students also performed their high speed cup stacking skills for the board.
Cup stacking involves taking plastic or metal cups and stacking and unstacking them into various formations in a swift manner. Stevenson explained it’s a way to incorporate physical activity into a student’s day when poor weather makes it impossible to go outside or if the gym is not available.
The students wowed the crowd with their speed and agility and then good naturedly challenged board member Nathan Slonaker, who was once a student of Stevenson’s, to compete against them.
Slonaker was up to the task and held his own against the kids for a while, but in the end the students were just too fast for the old timer.
