3-D model gives students new perspective

BY CHRISTY MARSTERS

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

A local elementary class was given certificates of excellence June 9 from Windsor Town Council, as all were impressed with a 3-D miniature model of the town.

Grade 2/3 Teacher Danene Margolian, of Newport Station Elementary, and her class spent a lot of time researching, photographing and building a tiny replica of Windsor after students agreed the best topic to explore was an area near and dear to those here. “They could have chosen any place they wanted to research and they chose Windsor,” Margolian said. “And in the end, I think that’s what made this project so special. “It really built a good community spirit and sense of self-worth within these students,” Margolian noted. “The kids so worked hard and were so dedicated to this.”

Covered every part of the curriculum

Plus, the project covered every part of the curriculum: with language arts in the research; math in the mapping and scaling of buildings; science in the topic of structures; arts in the construction of the model; social studies in the histories of structures studied; and even some physical education in getting out to take photographs of the building researched with hands-on experience of creating an actual model of the lands, Margolian said. “Also, it made a nice connection to have the mayor involved with the project (by recognizing these students in council this way). That was really great.”

Grade 3 student Johanna McIntyre said the project was a fun experience and it was neat to learn the building were special. “I learned what they were used for,” she said.

Mayor Paul Beazley said council agreed it was a great idea for a project that should be recognized. “The kids showed interest in an in-depth topic and understood the lay of the land. Plus, it was really interesting to see just what they thought was important,” he said.

Grade 3 student Johannah Hartt said she thought the project was fun, but was a little nervous when she got to the mayor part. “But he said we did an awesome project and that felt good. We did it to learn all about how Windsor is and where places are.”

Director Lynn Davis, speaking on behalf of the Town of Windsor and Municipality of West Hants, said her committee helped prepare a base map for the model, and she was impressed by this teacher’s interest in the topic of planning. “It could lead to future careers,” she noted. It was great. It makes me hope some children will take interest in planning.”

Surrounding environments influence people, Davis added. “To me, the project really illustrates for our area the fact that, whether residents are of the Municipality or the Town, they still think of this as their town. There are no real boundaries between us.”