Students at Stone Bridge Middle School in Allentown held signs representing their homerooms during a Presidential Convention on Sept. 14. Each homeroom was assigned a state to teach students about the Electoral College. JEFF GRANIT staff ALLENTOWN — The auditorium at Stone Bridge Middle School was nothing short of patriotic pandemonium Sept. 14, when students gathered there for their own Presidential Convention.
“They were better than we ever expected,” fifth-grade teacher and debate team coach Dee Burek, one of the event’s organizers, said of the students. “It was unbelievable. It really blew us away.”
As students from grades five through eight filed into the auditorium, clad in red, white and blue — some with faces painted — and carrying signs to represent their various homerooms, the excitement was palpable.
“The kids’ signs were great,” Burek said. “They went to town. Teachers were really into it, too. Some of them ordered special Tshirts [to wear].”
Students at Stone Bridge Middle School dressed patriotically and waved signs bearing the names of their respective homeroom teachers during the school’s Presidential Convention on Sept. 14. JEFF GRANIT staff Hoots and hollers of enthusiasm rang through the expansive space as Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America” played behind driving chants of “U.S.A! U.S.A!”
“This is the best simulation of a presidential convention I’ve ever seen,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dick Fitzpatrick said, marveling over the students’ zeal.
After choral teacher Tara Bartlett and 10 of her students opened the festivities with a harmonized rendition of the National Anthem, teachers Judi Hoffman and Jackie Schappell got things rolling.
“We are gathered here today to celebrate freedom, democracy and the great process of the Electoral College,” Hoffman said.
Sixth-grader Melisa Lincoln showed her true colors during the election assembly. JEFF GRANIT staff After giving students a rundown on the Electoral College process, Schappell called each grade’s homeroom teachers up to the stage to blindly choose a state.
Linda Verrault, a sixth-grade teacher, said the students in her homeroom dove headfirst into the process.
“They enjoyed making the posters,” she said. “They’re very psyched. They even made up a team cheer.”
Each grade level and classroom went wild with cheers as their respective teachers chose the state that would be represented by their class. Of course, when sixth-grade teacher Jamie Taylor chose California — which gets the highest number of electoral votes, at 55 — her students were beside themselves.
Students were given a chance to answer presidential trivia to win patriotic bracelets, and art teacher Amy Kranchalk announced poster contests among fifth- and sixthgraders, and seventh- and eighth-graders, for getting out the vote and for campaigning, respectively.
The convention was only the beginning of Stone Bridge’s election-oriented events. On the day of the convention, students did a preliminary vote.
Trivia contests with election- related questions will be held in the school’s library, and lessons will center on the election process
Burek and Hoffman are planning a debate for Oct. 26, during which debate team members will represent the presidential candidates. On Nov. 1, the students will participate in the National Student Mock Election. Like others all over the country, the kids will cast their ballots via computer, with votes being tabulated to come up with the students’ presidential pick.
“It’s kind of like going to a voting booth,” Burek said, adding that students must register and sign in to cast their votes.
Students will vote one more time Nov. 2 in an election only for Stone Bridge.
“It’s just a fun way to get the kids to learn about it and make it real,” she said.