WINSTED — Students in teacher Laurie Snyder’s science class at Pearson Middle School had their time in the spotlight Tuesday evening at Town Hall, where the Winchester Board of Education hosted a presentation on the human heart.
Showcasing models, artistic renderings and accompanying reports, the students displayed their knowledge of the body’s essential organ, discussing oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood and the path blood takes as it travels through the heart.
"It’s quite a complex system that they learned," said Snyder, who has been teaching a new science curriculum at Pearson. "We used our textbook as a springboard and went beyond that."
Students who presented projects were as follows:
Rob Flieger assembled a poster-sized rendering of the heart, but added clear tubes to the top of the picture. Using string attached to strips of red and blue cloth, he pulled the cloth through the tubes to show where oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood travels in the heart, in 15 steps, from the superior vena cava to the aorta.
Katie Ellsworth provided a multi-layered diagram of the heart in the form of a booklet with a series of transparent plastic pages outlining each layer.
Danielle Hall made a clay model of the human heart, clearly showing the sections where oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood reside. The diagram also indicated areas of the heart’s septum and included a pacemaker.
Alex Mueller presented a wooden model of the heart that he carved in wood shop during extra work sessions he completed before and after school.
Sarah Reilly showed a large, three-paneled board with an intricate drawing of the heart. Reilly provided a detailed accompanying report including information on the artificial pacemaker.
Patricia Schlosser created a two-sided heard diagram on a pillow. One side featured a diagram of the heart while the other featured an interactive puzzle. She presented a sheet of accompanying information on the heart’s functions.
Robert Crossman and Devon Molway teamed up to create a colorful diagram of the heart with an accompanying sheet of relevant information.
Pearson Principal Clay Krevolin said he was proud of his students for their hard work. "Once again it’s an honor to be the proud principal recognizing the excellence that happens at Pearson Middle School," he said. "I think these are the future cardiologists of the Northeast."
Krevolin added that creativity in education is a key to excellence. "Once you hook a middle school child and motivate him to learn, some incredible things happen," he said.
School board Chairman Rose Molinelli congratulated Krevolin, Snyder and their students. "I am really amazed at the creativity that they employed in all the different mediums," she said. "It was wonderful to see."
Molinelli handed out certificates to all students in recognition of their commitment to excellence.
