CRESTVIEW SCHOOLS Putting technology to fun use

Pupils will showcase their efforts in incorporating technology into their learning.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
COLUMBIANA -- What do The Beach Boys, telescopes and catapults have in common? All will be part of the upcoming technology nights in the Crestview schools.
Crestview High School students and middle school pupils will offer a Journey Into the Future at the Fine Arts and Technology Festival at 7 p.m. April 25.
Crestview Elementary pupils are preparing to Rock Around the Clock with Technology during the school's annual Tech Night at 6 p.m. May 7.
Susan Kershner, the district's instructional technology coordinator, said most of the district's teachers and administrators are participating in the events.
At both events pupils will showcase how they have incorporated technology into all areas of their studies. The high school art club will display middle school and high school artwork; home and consumer economics and foods classes will provide refreshments.
High school English and physics students will demonstrate a Ping-Pong ball launching catapult. The project was a combination of senior English students in Paula Patterson's class study of Medieval times and Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," and a physics study on projectile motion by students in Veronica Kotel's classes, Kershner said.
Demonstrations on the use of a telescope and a variety of computer programs and equipment are the result of a technology grant the high school received last year, she said.
A musical night
Choir and band pupils will perform throughout the evening.
Visitors to Crestview Elementary's tech night will be greeted by staff members at the door, beside a classic Corvette. The evening pays tribute to the importance of music in history and culture throughout the decades.
Kershner said pupils discussed popular music and what groups are appropriate for their age level. The pupils researched musicians and prepared multimedia presentations about them..
Among the projects is a computer presentation by first-grade classes based on The Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" and various songs by The Beach Boys.
The evening also includes a scavenger hunt, root beer floats and a sock hop, and a parent who is a disc jockey will provide music for the evening, Kershner said.
Parents have also been helping to create '50s-style costumes for the pupils, she said. The sock hop will begin with 20 of the Crestview Little Rebel cheerleaders in poodle skirts performing a dance routine to "Rock Around the Clock."